(HOUSATONIC, Mass.) – The Association of Housatonic Artists (aHa!) presents its Annual Holiday Artwalk on Saturday, November 26, 2011, 11am-6 pm. Seven venues will feature artworks by over 50 artists, all within walking distance of each other.  Maps and refreshments will be available at all locations. The event is free and open to the public.

Off the beaten path and peacefully tucked between Stockbridge and Great Barrington on Route 183, Housatonic offers visitors a timeless view into the past. West of the more traveled Route 7 and just minutes south of the Norman Rockwell Museum and Chesterwood in Stockbridge, Housatonic was once, from the late 1800s and for nearly 60 years, a thriving mill town. Textile mills powered by the Housatonic River flourished until the largest mill closed and the town was left with huge, deserted buildings.

During the 1970s, teenagers converted the abandoned mill buildings into a vast playground, including adorning the water tower that rises from the center of town with graffiti. Although some might consider the graffiti to be an eyesore, there are many that view the tower (graffiti and all) as a proud symbol of Housatonic’s industrial past and its current status as an artistic community. The village of Housatonic has long been the home and work place of a wide range of artists who took advantage of the plentiful space in the abandoned buildings, and today Housatonic is known for its galleries and artists’ studios.

For more information call 413.274.1432.