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Let It Shine! public art party

September 9 @ 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Two women hold each other in a painting a building high, as Sylvia López Chavez' mural Sisterhood brings vivid color to North Street in Pittsfield.
Photo by Kate Abbott

Downtown Pittsfield will celebrate the Let It Shine! Public Art Partnership — and eight new murals around town — with a block party, live music and entertainment, community art making, games and food vendors at Palace Park at the Cooper Center, 116 North St. and self-guided tours of the mural sites, and a chance to meet mural artists Cara Petricca, Trinity Rivard, Pops Peterson and Jasmine Sade.

Grab a bite from Upstreet Smoke, the destination for smoked meats and Southern style sides, or Grampie’s Dog House, home of Ernie’s famous hot dogs. Have a seat in the Beer Garden provided by Wandering Star Craft Brewery and settle in for live music from Youth Alive, the Benny Kohn Trio, Sample The Cat and Dance and Drum with Aimee, Kim and Dan.

Schedule of events at the Block Party location:

Noon to 12:30 p.m. – Welcome and Introductions/House Music
12:30 to 2:30 p.m. – Benny Kohn Trio
2:30 to 3 p.m. – Youth Alive
3 to 4 p.m. – “Dance and Drum with Aimee, Kim and Dan”
4 to 6 p.m. – Sample The Cat

The Benny Kohn Trio brings Benny Kohn (piano, vocals), Ed Moran (lead vocals and harmonica), and Dan Broad (bass, vocals). The trio plays a mix of classic blues, soul, jazz, and popular songs. Ed provides the hard driving, deeply blues-infused, powerful lead vocals, while Dan and Benny lay down a solid foundation ranging from hard swinging to straight solid grooves.

In “Dance and Drum with Aimee, Kim and Dan,” Aimee Gelinas and Dan Cohen on drums perform with dancer Kim Waterman. For 25 years, Aimee, Kim and Dan have been sharing traditional West African and Caribbean song, drum, and dance in the Berkshires and beyond. They have all studied with master teachers from West Africa, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, and it is with these teachers’ blessings and an abundance of spirit and respect that they bring these traditions to you.

Sample The Cat is a 4-piece soulful rock group storming the region’s rock scene. The band fuses elements of rock, soul, blues, and funk into an energetic yet smooth original sound that grooves with a serious head bop factor. Years in the making, the group includes singer Kendrah Bellevue with her soulfully enriching vocals, Steve Dalton with his masterful melodic arrangements on guitar, Bryan “Dizzy Fingers” Brophy with his colorful layers on keys, and Olivia Davis with her punchy groove on drums.

You can pick up a map at the Block Party to follow a self-guided tour of the mural sites, or you can download the Downtown Pittsfield app in the App Store or on Google Play to follow a virtual walking tour of all murals downtown and in the West Side neighborhood of Pittsfield.

Sisterhood by Silvia Lopez Chavez on the Shipton Building at 146 North St.

Making Wishes by Cara Petricca on the north-facing side of 348 North St. (the alleyway facing St. Joseph’s Church)

Young Legends by Trinity Rivard on The Howard Building at 41 Federal St.

An original mural by qwynto on Carr Hardware at 547 North Street

Wings and Two Colors of Water by Pops Peterson at the Riverside Sitting Park at the corner of Columbus and Dewey Avenues (in partnership with the Westside Legends)

Memory Lane by Jasmine Sade at the Riverside Sitting Park at the corner of Columbus and Dewey Avenues (in partnership with the Westside Legends)

Seven Stars for Renne Ave by Huckleberry (Huck) Elling on the east side (facing Renne Avenue) of The Cooper Center at 1 Fenn Street

Other murals will also be included as part of the self-guided tour.

The Westside Legends will host an unveiling of “Wings” & “Two Colors of Water” by Pops Peterson and Memory Lane by Jasmine Sade at the Riverside Sitting Park, corner of Columbus and Dewey Avenues, at 2 p.m. with an opportunity to meet with Pops and Jasmine at this event.

Karen Chase and Paul Graubard will also have paintings on view at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, 28 Renne Avenue, from noon to 4 p.m., and Witch Slapped, 78 North Street, will be open with an afternoon of spooky, free family fun wiht atorytime at noon with Poppy DaBubbly and spooky ornament making from noon to 4 p.m.

By the Way Berkshires is a digital magazine exploring creative life and community — art and performance, food and the outdoors — and I’m writing it for you, with local voices, because I’ve gotten to know this rich part of the world as a writer and journalist, and I want to share it with you.

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Event Details

Details

Date:
September 9
Time:
12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Event Categories:
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Event Location

Downtown Pittsfield
33 Dunham Mall
Pittsfield, MA
413-443-6501

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