I don't think anyone gets Halloween off from work or school, but somehow it feels like a three-day weekend, doesn't it?

First off, if you're going trick-or-treating Friday night, stay safe. I'm sure you know the drill but here are some tips just in case you want a reminder.

You might as well keep the Halloween fun going into the evening of Saturday, Nov. 1.  Starting at 5 p.m., the Mason Library in Great Barrington is hosting a free Community Halloween Party. The kids party starts at 5 p.m. with "spirited" storytelling by Tim Van Egmond, a folksinger and storyteller who performs throughout New England. Devilish pizza and creepy cupcakes

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Get your Halloween on this weekend ... and prepare to party for a full week!

I admit, Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays. It always seems to rain (or snow, a la 2012) and my daughter STILL has to go trick or treating. I suck it up and take her because I was not allowed to trick or treat when I was a child. (My mom had her reasons; I've gotten over it.)

Then there's the candy ... oh, all that candy. Who needs it? Well, ironically, my daughter kind of does. As a child with type one diabetes, she chooses to treat low blood sugars with candy. Did you know Smarties have the same chemical makeup as the official diabetic-friendly glucose tabs - but taste much better?

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It's a quiet mid-autumn weekend in the Berkshires.

It might rain Saturday, Oct. 18, so there are a couple of indoor options for family fun. First, the Berkshire Athenaeum will join Coordinated Family and Community Engagement for a “Fun with Fall” playgroup from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The program will include exploring, tasting, and reading about apples. Parents and children will also be able to complete an art activity as well as interact with various levels of math, literacy, and science stations. This event is geared toward children ages 2 to 5 but older and younger siblings are welcome to attend.

This event is free, no registration is required but children under

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This column is brought to you by the department of shameless promotions.

But keep reading. It's for a good reason!

I have a little girl who has been living with type one diabetes for four years now. She wears two "gadgets" attached to her body, deals with blood sugar highs and lows, and never really feels "normal." It's a lot for anyone to deal with, much less a sweet 8-year-old. We are so very close to amazing technology (bionic pancreas) that would make living with this difficult disease much easier ... and maybe even a cure, as Thursday's news out of Harvard was amazing.

All year round, I do everything I can to promote awareness of this

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I was driving down Route 7 in Williamstown on Thursday around 6 p.m. and my breath literally caught at the beauty of the stretch of road in front of Mount Greylock Regional High School.

I've always considered this to be one of the most beautiful half-miles in all the world, though I may be biased. Still, seeing the fading ray of the sun caressing the lovely fall foliage was awesome. So awesome that my daughter tried to take a picture through the car window. It didn't work, but I will always have it in my mind's eye.

This weekend in North Berkshire is all about the foliage. Starting tonight, Friday, Oct. 3, with the Fall Foliage Festival Children's parade and

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