Berkshire Busk has been operating during the summer weekends in downtown Great Barrington for the past four years. Its organizers appeared before the town’s selectboard Monday night to explain their request for summer 2025.
“We are a free, accessible event that brings the community together through the arts. We do so by bringing, on average, between five to seven different buskers or busking groups, which is kind of a catch-all name for performers of any genre that play on the street for tips, and we place them all throughout downtown Great Barrington to encourage anyone who comes to walk around, patronize different local businesses, and really interact with each other," said General Manager Carli Scolforo. “We really believe that this model of closing down Railroad Street and placing all these performers and allowing the outdoor dining to occur creates this beautiful, vibrant space where people are able to walk around and enjoy. We really think that this turns downtown Great Barrington into a dedicated third space, which is, of course, a space that is not work or home where people go specifically to socialize and interact with their community.”
The organization came before the selectboard to seek road closure approval for the 2025 season, which will run from late June through August.
Some local businessowners with downtown shops told the selectboard they oppose the program closing off streets and converting segments of Great Barrington into pedestrian-only zones. James Garzon read a statement from Karen Allen, also a famous screen actor, of Railroad Street’s Karen Allen Fiber Arts.
“It is the closing of railroad street that we oppose, that the busking, per se, that could still happen within other locations without having to close Railroad Street- Castle Street, for example," Garzon read. "The most significant effect this road closure for our store is that we have virtually no business between the hours of 4 and 6pm during the summer months. This used to be our busiest time for customers coming into town on the weekends. Since the busk started with street closures, our business during this time has plummeted to just about zero.”
Bernay Fine Art owner Paula Friedman agreed.
“There's cones in the middle of the street where people are trying to park which I feel are unnecessary during the day on Friday and Saturday," she said. "There are vans that come and cars that come to unload at five o'clock, where we agreed that at 5:30 the street could start being prepared for the busk. I mean, it's really difficult. We're trying to run our businesses, and we're having a really hard time.”
Kristen Kanter of the Railroad St. Collective shop says opinion is split among downtown retailers, and supports Berkshire Busk’s efforts.
“Every week, [festival director] Gene [Carr] and Carli and their team do amazing work to support not just the artists that sign on to come and show their music and their craft and the magicians and whatnot, to support the downtown and give us business during what is the most important season, because it carries us through the rest of the year," she told the selectboard. "So, it would be an absolute shame to stop Busk.”
Matrushka Toys & Gifts owner Brooke Redpath also spoke up on behalf of the Busk.
“It's something we're excited to participate in in the future, and I hope that you guys will approve it and that it will continue," she said. "It does remind me also of the old days of the Barrington Fair and Summer Fest, which was, it was a big community event.”
After hearing from the community, the selectboard members offered their takes on the plan.
“Growing up as I did here with Summer Fest, that's what this reminds me of," board member Eric Gabriel said. "We were only lucky enough to have Summer Fest for one day when I was a kid, and it was like the highlight of summer. Although I have no kids of my own, I have way too many nieces and nephews, and this is their highlight. This is gives them something to do, gets them away from their video games, gets them out of the house.”
Selectboard vice chair Leigh Davis, who disclosed that she is an advisor to Berkshire Busk and is running for an open state House seat, said the program’s popularity is evident beyond the town limits of Great Barrington.
“I'm on the 1Berkshire board, and I constantly bring up Berkshire Busk as really saying this is what we're doing in Great Barrington and thanks to you," she said. "And a lot of the other towns and the people that sit on that board that are all about economic development are saying, oh, we want to get hold of that. So, for us to have this feather in our cap is is really something I'm very feeling very strongly about, that we should do anything we can to keep it going.”
The board unanimously approved Berkshire Busk’s request for the summer 2025 season.
