FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
City of Pittsfield Director of Cultural Development, Megan Whilden, 413-281-7289 mwhilden@pittsfieldch.com
Barrington Stage Company Press Director, Charlie Siedenburg 551-655-0968

SECOND ANNUAL 10×10 UPSTREET ARTS FESTIVAL
RETURNS TO DOWNTOWN PITTSFIELD FEBRUARY 14-24, 2013
Festival will feature music, theatre, dance, film, visual art, spoken word, comedy and more

(PITTSFIELD, MA)  The 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival returns to downtown Pittsfield for the second year, from February 14-24, 2013. From new theatre to dance parties, art shows and spoken word, 10×10 warms up the Berkshires winter with hot new performances, art and more.

Spearheaded by Barrington Stage Company and the City of Pittsfield, the 2013 festival (formerly 10×10 on North) will expand in size and geography to include more programming in venues throughout the city’s newly designated Upstreet Cultural District.

Last year’s debut 10×10 festival attracted more than 3,000 people to downtown Pittsfield to enjoy 44 performances and events featuring more than 120 new works including plays, songwriters, poets, visual art, film and dance.

2013 festival partners include Alchemy Initiative, Barrington Stage Company, Beacon Cinema/Berkshire International Film Festival, Berkshire Art Association, Berkshires Jazz, Berkshire Museum, Gallery 25, Hancock Shaker Village, Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe, WAM Theatre, and WordXWord, as well as a comedy show presented by Thomas Attila Lewis. This year, the 2013 festival will also include a family arts component, as the festival takes place during February school break. Family programming participants include Berkshire Museum, Bisque, Beads & Beyond, Hancock Shaker Village, The Marketplace Cafe and Miss Hall’s School.

“We’re thrilled to see Pittsfield’s vibrant Upstreet Cultural District come alive with creative art, performances and programming again this February,” said Pittsfield Mayor Daniel Bianchi. “Winter is going to be a whole lot livelier in the Berkshires. I’m especially excited by all the events for youth and families this year.”

The 2013 10×10 Upstreet festival will include the return of Barrington Stage’s 10×10 New Play Festival featuring ten 10-minute plays; the TEN SPOT art show at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, including ten billboards around Berkshire County featuring local artists; the smartphone 10-minute film festival at the Beacon Cinema featuring short films; a 10×10 art show at Gallery 25; 10 singer/songwriters at Mission Bar + Tapas; and 10 poets at y bar. New festival programming includes 10 decades of jazz composers from Berkshires Jazz; 10 improvised mini-musicals by the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe at the Colonial Theatre Garage space; PechaKucha (10+10)×(10+10) at Berkshire Museum; the “One Billion Rising” dance party at Spice Dragon; a 10×10 stand-up comedy show; Berkshire Art Association and Storefront Artist Project’s 10×10 RAP/REAL ART PARTY at Berkshire Museum; a visual art exhibit by Hancock Shaker Village; and “10×10on10” – an interdisciplinary spoken word and art exhibit by WAM Theatre and Alchemy Initiative.

Family programming for the 2013 10×10 Upstreet festival includes “10 Days of Play” at Berkshire Museum, 10 creative projects in 10 days at Bisque, Beads & Beyond, a Shaker music and dance program by Hancock Shaker Village, 10 young singer-songwriters at The Marketplace Cafe, and “THE TEEN TEN: A High School Art Show” at Pittsfield City Hall, organized by Miss Hall’s School students.

All 2013 Upstreet festival events and exhibits will take place in downtown Pittsfield’s Upstreet Cultural District, the first state-designated cultural district west of Boston. The Upstreet Cultural District stretches from the Colonial Theatre on South Street to Barrington Stage’s Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center in the North, and from First Street to Center Street.

More programming may be added in the coming weeks. A full schedule of events, venues, dates and times will be announced in January 2013. Visit discoverpittsfield.com/10×10 or find 10×10 Upstreet on Facebook for more information about tickets and the schedule of events.

Berkshire Gas is the lead sponsor of the 2013 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival. Additional support is generously provided by the following sponsors: Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Berkshire Magazine, The Berkshire Eagle, Lamar Advertising, Barrington Stage Company, and the City of Pittsfield.

About 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival
The festival is a collaborative effort spearheaded by Barrington Stage Company and the City of Pittsfield and coordinated through a steering committee that includes the Beacon Cinema, Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF), Berkshire Museum, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts and the City of Pittsfield, Mission Bar + Tapas, and y bar. For more information, visit discoverpittsfield.com/10×10, find 10×10 Upstreet on Facebook, or contact the City of Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development at 413-499-9348 or mwhilden@pittsfieldch.com

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