The June 3rd.Thursdays is almost here!

The largest party in Pittsfield is back – bringing music, dancing, and fun to the streets of Pittsfield this Thursday, June 16th. North Street will be closed to traffic from 4:30 to 8:30pm – from Park Square to Maplewood Avenue to allow room for the thousands of attendees to enjoy everything downtown has to offer, including dozens of restaurants, shops, and cultural hotspots. Bicyclists are invited to bike to the festivities, park their bikes and then stroll around downtown and enjoy. Bike riding on North Street while it is pedestrian only is not allowed.

Thursday, June 16 | 5-8pm | Downtown Pittsfield | 499-9348 | FREE

Click here to download the map & schedule of events!

It's easy being green!

We’re thrilled to welcome back the Pittsfield Farmers Market in its first appearance of the year. We’re also welcoming back the 3^rd annual Green Mile Road Race down North Street, a benefit for the Westside and Morningside Neighborhood Initiatives. Onsite registration begins at 4:30pm at the base of North Street at Park Square, and the race kicks off at 6pm. (And watch for the Silver Swimmers swimming up and down the street too!) Berkshire Gas, Center for Ecological Technology and the City of Pittsfield are teaming up to provide you with information and way to help live more sustainable. And the Beacon Cinema hosts a midnight premiere of The Green Lantern to top the evening off!

There'll be music in the streets!

Great live music fills downtown on 3rd.Thursdays. The City Stage features the folk trio Mountain Breeze and world music balladeers HuDost, while local jazz-funkers Unfulfilled Desires perform at the Palace Park stage on North Street near Fenn along with Aimee Gelinas and her Monday night drum group, and Berkshire Community College presents the exciting sounds of South American/world music band MarkaMusic at Persip Ark. The Berkshire Bateria will be drumming on the lawn in front of St. Joseph’s Church, and Berkshire Rocks, a local group dedicated to helping promote youth bands, will be in front of Pittsfield City Hall, as well as providing live music in front of the Crowne Plaza, where food and drink will also be served al fresco. The Colonial Theatre moves its lobby bar out-of-doors for some outdoor karaoke on South Street with DJ Denis Clavette.

Do you feel lucky? Roll the dice!

Barrington Stage invites you to roll the dice with them as they celebrate their first Main Stage production of the season, the classic musical Guys and Dolls about gamblers in love and much more. They will have two large dice featuring the cast of Guys and Dolls on the sides. Roll the dice on the lawn at St. Joseph's Church between 6-7pm for a chance to win some free tickets!

Art all over town!

Local artist Michael Bushy leads a free book/journal making workshop at Emporium/Storefront Artist Project from 5:30pm to 7:30pm open to all. The Berkshire Community College Intermodal Gallery hosts an opening reception for a solo show by Lisa Yetz-Griffith, and you can visit the studios of local artists & the Art.On.No gallery on the second floor at 311 North Street. Pittsfield 250^th anniversary headquarters at 441 North Street hosts a historic exhibit called Pittsfield at Home and offers 250^th anniversary mementos for sale. (You can also sign up to be a free member of the Bearded Brothers of the Berkshires!) The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts hosts the Pittsfield Art Show Invitational exhibit, featuring the creative talents and collective works from 16 local artists. Lots of great art to see while strolling downtown on 3rd.Thursdays!

DUNKING DAD & MORE

Carr Hardware provides a novel way to “Keep Dad Cool” this 3^rd.Thursday. Dunk him in their Dunking Booth & get a coupon for 10% off any regularly priced item in the store. Or score a hole-in-one on their putting green & receive a $25 gift card. And be sure to check out their new photo booth for some fun family pics.

MORE FUN FOR YOUTH & ALL AGES!

Otha Day will be leading an interactive drum circle and Stefanie Weber, founder of the Pittsfield City Hoopla Festival will be showing folks how to hula hoop on Park Square. Down the street the Berkshire Museum will be open late until 8pm with free admission for Berkshire County residents. Check out their new exhibit Geckos: Tails to Toepads featuring 14 different species of geckos from around the world, plus a Gecko scavenger hunt in the museum, Gecko sidewalk drawing & more!

SHOP LOCAL, SHOP LATE

North Street’s unique locally-owned businesses will be open late for your browsing pleasure, including Pateez Boutique, a store for women of all ages is offering 25% off Janska jackets and the New Berry Place with their one-of-a-kind gifts. RJ Stohr’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry will be offering 50% off almost everything in the store for one day only, excluding trollbeads; Chapters Bookstore is running a 20% off their green living titles; and Pittsfield Bra & Girl will not only give you a 10% off coupon for a future purchase when you shop from 5-8 but they will also donate 10% of their sales to the Elizabeth Freeman Center. Massive Graphics will be offering a chance to win a $50 gift certificate at the end of the night. MAD MACS Inc is running a season long raffle for an iPad 2. The Pittsfield Colonials will be offering a special deal when you buy two tickets, you will get a third ticket free. They will also be holding a raffle for free tickets.

DELICIOUS FOOD FOR EVERYONE

Enjoy great food from around the world at 3^rd.Thursdays: Vietnamese springrolls at Spice Dragon, sushi at Shiro, Spanish wine and tapas at Mission Bar, Italian specialties at the Highland restaurant, plus more at House of India, Pancho’s Mexican restaurant, and Mad Jack’s BBQ. Plus great food at Baba Louie’s Woodfired Pizza, Bagels Too, Crowne Plaza, Doc’s Deli, Flavours, the Highland Restaurant, Hot Harry’s, the Lantern Bar & Grill, Marketplace Café, Mary’s Carrot Cake Café. In addition, there are a wide range of street vendors will be selling a variety of food to enjoy as you walk around the streets and enjoy all that 3rd.Thursdays has to offer.

THE FUN CONTINUES AFTER 8PM

Downtown Pittsfield will continue to be alive with entertainment and fun throughout the evening. The Celtic folk band Rakish Paddy continues its tradition of playing every 3^rd.Thursdays at Patrick’s Pub on Park Square, the jam band Billy Keane & the Misdemeanor Outlaws at Mission Bar & Tapas, DJ Bruno will be spinning at the Underground Pub, Melissa Brinton will be playing solo acoustic guitar and singing at Flavours. It’s your last chance to see Meek's Cutoff at the Berkshire Museum’s Little Cinema, and at midnight, the Beacon Cinema will screen the midnight premiere of The Green Lantern in 3-D.

3^rd.Thursdays attracts as many as 15,000 people to downtown Pittsfield on the third Thursday of each month between May and October, from 5pm to 8pm and beyond. The next 3^rd.Thursdays will be held on Thursday, July 21^st with a Lift Ev’ry Voice theme.

3^rd.Thursdays is organized by the City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development, and is made possible by our major sponsors, including the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Berkshire Gas, Berkshire Life, Greylock Federal Credit Union and Berkshire Bank, as well as dozens of downtown partners.

For more information about 3rd.Thursdays, please call 413.499.9348 or visit www.culturalpittsfield.com. 3rd.Thursdays is held rain or shine. Plenty of free parking is available. See you downtown!