The City of Pittsfield invites you downtown this weekend for a festive celebration of the season! Enjoy artisanal shopping, caroling, visits from Santa, holiday film, theatre, art and more! Click here for a freedownloadable PDF guide to all the fun events and holiday shopping opportunities in downtown Pittsfield this weekend! More highlights below:
Friday & Saturday: The Handmade Holiday Festival Returns!Shop local, shop beautiful, shop handmade this season! Alchemy Initiative presents the festiveHandmade Holiday Festival, featuring 40 juried artisans of food, gifts & greenery. The Festival kicks off with an exclusive preview party Friday 4pm–7pm, featuring live music, delectable treats, and for the first 30 attendees an arts-filled goody bag. The festival continues with general admission on Friday evening and all day Saturday!Friday & Saturday, December 2 & 3 | Friday: Preview Party 4–7pm; general admission 7–9pm; Saturday 10am–6pm | Alchemy Initiative | 40 Melville Street | 413-236-9600 | $20 Preview Party; $4 general admission, kids under 5 FREE
Friday: Christmas Tree Lighting CeremonyBring the whole family to this community tradition, featuring the Taconic High School Chorus, free hot chocolate from Patrick’s Pub, and some surprises! (Rumor has it that, following the tree lighting, Santa Claus will arrive!) 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.Friday, December 2 | 6pm | Park Square | Downtown Pittsfield | 413-499-9344 | FREE
Friday: Festival of Trees Open Late!Before and after the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, admission to the Berkshire Museum is half-price! The Taconic High School Chorus will be performing before and after the ceremony, and the Museum will be serving free hot cider and donuts!Friday, December 2 | 5pm-8pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $7.50 adults, $3.50 children; members: $2.50 adults, $1.50 children, children under 3 FREE
Friday: Family Ornament Painting PartyAfter the Christmas tree lighting, Join the staff atBisque, Beads & Beyond for their second-annualFamily Ornament Painting Party after the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony! All ornaments are just $5 each and all proceeds are donated to local food pantries. And it’s a great place to make one-of-a-kind gifts with a personal touch for your family and friends.Friday, December 2 | 6:30pm – 9pm | Bisque, Beads & Beyond | 141 North Street | 413-442-9300
Friday–Sunday: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Returns!After a sold-out run in 2010, Castle Hill Theatre Company returns with its family holiday productionThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever! In this play, the town’s Christmas pageant has always been a sleepy affair. That is, until the Herdman’s catch wind of it. When the meanest, toughest, and wildest kids in this town decide that they want to be part of the show, it’ll never be the same again.Fridays–Sundays, December 2-18 | Fridays & Saturdays 7pm, Sundays 3pm | NEW Stage Performing Arts Center | 55 North Street | 413-418-0999 | $15/$10 children
Saturday: Drop & Shop for Families!Are you interested in quality shopping, but can’t seem to find the time? Drop your child off at Bisque, Beads, & Beyond for a two-hour art project while you are hands-free to shop at the Handmade Holiday Festival and all over downtown! These projects are perfect for gift-giving or to keep as a memento. One ticket to Drop & Shop gains you admission to the Handmade Holiday Festival and one two-hour session of creative fun for a child 7 or older.Saturday, December 3 | 11am–1pm & 3:30pm–5:30pm | Bisque, Beads & Beyond | 141 North Street | 413-236-9600 | $30+tax

While you’re out shopping, enter to win a free gift basket raffle at participating businesses!
Saturday & Sunday: Hancock Shaker Holiday Pop-Up ShopHancock Shaker Village presents its first-everholiday pop-up shop in downtown Pittsfield insideSpice Dragon. In the tradition of the Hancock Shakers, this holiday sale features deals on unique gifts, such as Shaker oval boxes and carriers, prints and posters, greeting cards, food items, children’s gifts, holiday ornaments, and more. The Shakers sold their goods in Pittsfield both as peddlers and at local stores from the 1790s through the 1950s.Saturday & Sunday, December 3–4 | 12–6pm | Spice Dragon | 297 North Street | 443-1234
Saturday: Free Holiday Concert!The Berkshire Athenaeum hosts this holiday performance sponsored by the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum. The concert opens with the preschool-aged Sunshine Singers, part of Berkshire Children and Families’ new program Kids 4 Harmony, followed by the folk trio Wintergreen.Saturday, December 3 | 1pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | 1 Wendell Avenue | 413-442-1411 | FREE
Saturday: Barrington Stage Holiday Open House!You’re invited to the second annual free Holiday Open House at Barrington Stage! Bring your friends and family down to visit with Santa and tell him all of your Christmas wishes and enjoy Christmas movie favorites on the big screen inside the theatre. Enjoy hot cider and delicious cookies from theMarketplace Cafe. Bring canned goods to donate for local food pantries and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a pair of free Fiddler on the Rooftickets!Saturday, December 3 | 2pm–4pm | Barrington Stage Company | 30 Union Street | 413-236-8888 | Free!
Saturday: Walk On Walls Art OpeningThe Walk On Walls art show features artwork, photography and writing from over 25 local artists juried into Pittsfield 250th anniversary Walk-On commmunity art project, which placed images of Pittsfield past and present on sidewalks all over town! Now that winter is coming, the sidewalk images are leaving, and so we’ve gathered all the images (freshly printed on archival paper for holiday giving) in theLichtenstein Center for the Arts, for easy (and warm) viewing! Come join us for the opening reception!Saturday, December 3 | 3pm – 5pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renee Avenue | 413-499-9348 | FREE
Saturday: Christmas at The Colonial with Mary VerdiRing in the Yuletide season with an old-fashioned Christmas celebration featuring local singer Mary Verdi, who will be celebrating the release of her new Christmas album. Verdi takes the stage with over 60 other performers, including the St. Raphael’s and St. Patrick’s Bell Ringers from Williamstown, a children’s chorus, the Rock On Guitar Orchestra, Dalton Ballet Dancers, Tony Lee Thomas and, of course, Santa Claus!Saturday, December 3 | 7pm | The Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $15 adults, $10 children 12 and under
Sunday: Santa Visits the Festival of Trees!Santa’s whirlwind tour of downtown Pittsfield continues with a stop at the Berkshire MuseumSunday. Before slipping down your chimney and filling your stockings with delightful gifts, Santa Clausmust first hear what you wish to receive! Parents are encouraged to bring cameras to snap a coveted picture of their children with Mr. Claus sharing their holiday wishes. Free with Festival admission.Sunday, December 4 | 12pm – 2pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $15 adults, $7 children; members: $5 adults, $3 child, children under 3 free
Sunday: Polar Express & Santa Claus!The classic holiday film Polar Express rolls through the Beacon Cinema for a very special holiday screening. To help ring in the holiday season, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will be in attendance, so kids are encouraged to bring their wish lists. All proceeds benefit the Berkshire Carousel Project, a community-based group creating a carousel for Berkshire families.Sunday, December 4 | 2pm | The Beacon Cinema | 57 North Street | 413-499-0342 | $7 adults, $5 children
Sunday: Jacob Marley’s Christmas CarolAs part of its Readings at the Lichtenstein series, the Town Players of Pittsfield presents a staged reading of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol.Marley of course, was the business partner of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge! Find out what happened to them both, after Dicken’s tale ended. Written by Tom Mula and directed by Kevin Wixsom, this wonderful interpretation of the classic tale at the city-ownedLichtenstein Center for the Arts is read in two acts with an intermission. Refreshments will be served.Sunday, December 4 | 2pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renne Avenue | 413-499-9348 | $5 suggested donation

 
Sunday: Nutcracker Ballet Tea!
The Albany Berkshire Ballet hosts a Nutcracker Tea at the Masonic Temple to raise funds in support of the Albany Berkshire Ballet’s annual Nutcracker performances. Enjoy sweets, treats and tea. Professional dancers will be performing excerpts from The Nutcracker. A silent auction will take place with wonderful items to bid on.Sunday, December 4 | 2pm | The Masonic Temple | 116 South Street | 413-441-6284 | $15 adults, $10 children under 12
Sunday: Gingerbread House Decorating Party! Dotties Coffee Lounge hosts its fourth-annualGingerbread House Decorating Party. Delightful and delectable, these decorative houses come with all of the delicious decorations you can imagine. Space is limited so call now to make your reservation for a group of family and/or friends to decorate together!Sunday, December 4 | 3:30pm | Dotties Coffee Lounge | 444 North Street | 413-443-1792 | $29 per house with all the fixings (multiple people can join in)