Great Barrington — The third season of The Berkshire Busk! will start on the weekend of July 4. The event includes musical performances throughout the downtown area and includes performers from all kinds of musical genres, along with performances by magicians and circus performers.
Event founder and co-organizer Eugene Carr and co-organizer Carli Scolforo were at the March 27 Selectboard meeting to ask the town’s permission to close off Railroad Street as part of the event. Carr said that the event is scheduled to be held on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. up until Labor Day weekend in September. “Last year, we had a significant increase in the attendance and popularity of the event,” Carr said. “We tried some things that didn’t work. We’re aiming this year to refine what we did and improve upon it. We will have 10 weekends where we operate.”
Carr said this year’s series of events will be similar to last year’s. “We tried an experiment last year where we turned Railroad Street into kind of a town square by inviting people to set up vendor booths on Saturday nights,” Carr said. “We had a terrific response, with anywhere from 10 to 20 vendor booths each Saturday. We put up some inflatable arches that created a mini-stage. That attracted a real festival feeling on the streets. We’re going to improve on that this year. Last year, we didn’t realize how much time we would need to set up the vendor booths and outdoor stages. So we will need a bit more time.”
Carr requested permission from the Selectboard to close Railroad Street at 5:30 p.m. each Saturday and Friday night to set up for the event. “We’ve tried [closing off the street] at 4 p.m. during the first year of the event, and we have tried 6 p.m. last year, but that was too late,” Town Manager Mark Pruhenski said.
Several Railroad Street business owners spoke at the meeting to weigh in on the proposed time, including Jeff Neil, co-owner of The Elm Restaurant at 20 Railroad St. “We see the event as a real draw in town,” Neil said. “As a business owner, it is remarkable to see the number of people who come to dine around Railroad Street to specifically hear musicians playing the event. But as a restaurant owner, we have a challenge in accommodating all of the people who want to sit outside. It has been a bit of an issue for us.”
Neil said that closing off the street early would be advantageous to Railroad Street businesses. “Our position is that 5 to 5:30 p.m. would be ideal, as most people come to listen to music around then,” Neil said. “It’s not as if the shops are all mobbed around 5 p.m. We certainly want to work with our neighbors, but I would ask the board that the earliest reasonable time we can [close the street] would be much appreciated.”
Paula Friedman, co-owner of Bernay Fine Art on 296 Main St. on the corner of Railroad Street, argued against closing the street earlier than 6 p.m. “Saturday is a key day for us on the street and for the retail stores,” Friedman said. “Saturday afternoon is important for us at the gallery because that is when people come to town to do things, including shop before they go to see a movie or before they go to dinner. Last year, it was tough because they told people that if they were parking on the street, their car was going to be towed. They were trying to get people to not park their cars on [Railroad Street]. Most of us [retail stores] are open until 6 p.m. during the summer, so it’s really difficult for us to shut down much earlier.”
“What we observed last year is that nobody leaves their cars [on Railroad Street] all night,” Carr said in response. “What happens is that people just don’t pay attention [to the road closure time]. They come in at 6:10 p.m., 6:20 p.m., or 6:25 p.m. The reason we’re asking for the earlier road closure is so that we don’t have to talk to people in their cars and make a big deal out of it. We know that if we [start the closure at] 5:30 p.m., by about 5:45 p.m. people and their cars will essentially dissipate.”
Michael Marcus, owner of Bizen Restaurant on 17 Railroad St., requested said that the street should be closed at 5 p.m. because it would be easier for businesses to deal with their customers. “All of the restaurants open at 5 p.m., and everything is going at full blast at that time,” Marcus said. “There is a mad dash and hysteria in trying to get a restaurant set up. 5:30 p.m. is late because people are already lining up to eat.”
Eventually, Vice Chair Leigh Davis made a motion to close off Railroad Street at 5:30 p.m., which was seconded by Selectboard member Garfield Reed. The board voted unanimously to approve the motion.
As of press time, a full schedule has not been announced for the Berkshire Busk! Series on its website.
