Join us December 2-4 in downtown Pittsfield to celebrate the season with Christmas tree lightings, holiday shopping, the Handmade Holiday Festival, visits from Santa, the Festival of Trees, gingerbread housemaking, Polar Express, theatre, song and much more!
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FRIDAY: CHRISTMAS TREES, HANDMADE HOLIDAY FESTIVAL, ORNAMENT MAKING, HOT CIDER, FAMILY THEATRE & MORE!
Organized by the City of Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development with Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., the weekend kicks off with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Park Square at 6pm on Friday, December 2nd. The Taconic High School Honors Chorus will sing carols, Patrick’s Pub is providing free hot chocolate for all, and Santa Claus will be making an appearance! Those planning to attend the ceremony are asked to bring non-perishable food items that will be donated to the Christian Center’s food pantry. While you’re downtown enjoy the holiday lights all around you!
Down the street at the Alchemy Initiative, the festive fourth annual Handmade Holiday Festival kicks off with a preview party from 4pm to 7pm, followed by evening shopping from 7pm to 9pm, and again Saturday from 10am to 6pm. The Handmade Holiday Festival features forty creative vendors of handmade craft, gifts, and greenery for the holidays.
Friday night is also the opening night of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at NEW Stage Performing Arts Center in downtown Pittsfield, a sellout hit last year. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will be performed at 7pm Friday and Saturday, December 2 & 3, and at 3pm on Sunday, December 4th.
Friday evening the Berkshire Museum will be open late for visits to their magical Festival of Trees show before or after. Tickets to the Festival of Trees will be half-price that evening, the Taconic High School Honors Chorus will perform before and after he tree-lighting and apple cider and cider donuts will be served. Bisque, Beads & Beyond will also be open late & are inviting families to come and create heirloom Christmas ornaments.
SATURDAY: SANTA CLAUS, HOLIDAY FILMS, CHRISTMAS CONCERT, SHAKER SHOPPING, HANDMADE HOLIDAY FESTIVAL, FESTIVAL OF TREES, ART OPENING & MORE
Saturday, December 3rd, downtown Pittsfield will be open for holiday shopping and family fun. The Handmade Holiday Festival will be open all day for festive shopping in the gorgeous setting of the former Notre Dame Church on Melville Street, as will the Berkshire Museum’s Festival of Trees, this year with a playful circus theme! And Hancock Shaker Village will feature a pop-up holiday shop of gorgeous Shaker gifts inside Spice Dragon. Also on Saturday, Bisque, Beads & Beyond offers a ‘drop & shop’ service where families can leave their children there to create holiday projects while parents go shopping. And downtown merchants will be offering a free gift basket raffle and other specials!
At 1pm enjoy a free holiday concert at the Berkshire Athenaeum and at 2pm he Barrington Stage Company will be hosting its second annual free Holiday Open House with Santa Claus, refreshments, and free Christmas films in the theatre. At 3pm everyone’s invited to the opening reception of Walk On Walls, a show of images juried into this year’s innovative community art project celebrating Pittsfield’s 250th birthday at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts.
In the evening the Colonial Theatre will be hosting its annual Christmas concert with Berkshire favorite Mary Verdi and a host of special guests, while the NEW Stage will feature The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
SUNDAY: GINGERBREAD HOUSES, JACOB MORLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL, POLAR EXPRESS, THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, SANTA AT THE FESTIVAL OF TREES & MORE
Sunday, December 4, the Holiday Pittsfield Weekend Celebration features family fun, from a visit from Santa from noon to 2pm at the Berkshire Museum’s Festival of Trees to a screening of the beloved family classic, Polar Express at 2pm at the Beacon Cinema, to benefit the Berkshire Carousel Project. Dottie’s Coffee Lounge hosts their annual Gingerbread House making workshop at 3:30pm. Space is limited and reservations are suggested!
The Town Players present a staged reading of the play Jacob Morley’s Christmas Carol at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts also at 2pm, and the NEW Stage Performing Arts Center will feature a matinee performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Enjoy your community and celebrate the season in downtown Pittsfield!