Third Thursday Festival Returns to Pittsfield, MA This Week

Third Thursday is back for summer 2022! The downtown festival will return this Thursday, May 19 from 5-8 pm on the Common on First Street after a two-year hiatus. This Thursday's festivities will highlight entertainment on the mainstage while activities, food, and vendors fill the park. It is the first of four seasonal events with a more artisan and creative format.

The theme for the month of May is youth and this year's presenting sponsor is General Dynamics Mission Systems and they will offer an interactive experiment live at the Common.

Our Third Thursday team, led by Jenna Russ and Drue Davis, is thrilled to once again bring STEAM educational opportunities to the families of Berkshire County. We hope to inspire future engineering and manufacturing professionals to get excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math and hope that they will join our team after high school or college.
Paul Dalton, vice president of undersea systems at General Dynamics Mission Systems.

The General Dynamics project will take visitors through the process of building their very own catapult. Using a variety of household objects, patrons will be able to test different designs and see which ones work best.

In addition, The Flying Cloud Institute and BART Charter School also offer interactive STEAM experiments.

Performances for this May's Third Thursday event will include: the Pittsfield High School Jazz Band A Minor Triad; Scoil Rince Bréifne Ó Ruairc; Kids 4 Harmony and BTG PLAYS! Touring Show: Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS.

Cultural Pittsfield is collaborating with CozQuest and Roots Rising this season to have a wide array of food trucks and vendors and activities with an artisan focus. Some highlights are live screen printing of a custom Pittsfield poster with the Blog Bus; crafts and more with Berkshire Macaroni Kid; pottery wheel demos with Jim Horsford; the Berkshire Athenaeum Book Bike; Thistle & Thorn Floral and the Plant Connector. Click here for a complete list of vendors and activities.

Stay downtown for Third Thursday After Hours and take advantage of the restaurants, theatre, and nightly entertainment that are always present in Downtown Pittsfield.

Upcoming Third Thursdays include:

· June – Celebrating Summer with the Whiskey Treaty Road Show sponsored by MountainOne

· July – Touch a Truck sponsored by Lenco Armored Vehicles with a special interactive performance hosted by Jacob’s Pillow

· August – Love Pittsfield Showcasing Cultural Organizations sponsored by Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Cultural Pittsfield serves as the city’s first point of contact for artists, cultural organizations, event organizers, and creative businesses in Pittsfield. The Office is located in the city-owned Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in downtown Pittsfield’s Upstreet Cultural District. The office publishes the free Love Pittsfield Email Newsletter and leads the Love Pittsfield campaign. Go to LovePittsfield.com for more information.