As the sun starts to warm up the air and spring approaches the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Pittsfield is catching its breath after a typically busy winter. One of the last winter activities hosted at the club was just this past weekend, when members of the Pittsfield Figure Skating Club took to the ice of the third-floor ice rink for their final show of the season. Can I say, “ooooo fun?!” Because I had a blasty-blast, and my figure skatin’-lovin’ sister is going to be jealous.

First, let’s go back to the rink itself. The fact that it’s on the third floor is the ultimate cool factor. Plus, I wondered if Cathy and Chris Reed, Japan’s 2008 National Champion Ice Dancers, thought the same thing when they stopped in to perform two numbers at the show; the Reeds are world-class artists and athletes who offered a performance that was on par with any evening at the theater, night out for dinner and drinks, or tour of an historic site in the Berkshires… and you could feel their wind as they wooshed by from where I was sitting, and unless you’re watching a show with Patti LuPone that’s just not going to happen anywhere else.

Comparing their talents with those of the Berkshires’ own skaters was another thrill; indeed, it’s easy to imagine that one of the performers that took to the ice last weekend could one day skate for audiences from around the world – skaters like graduating seniors Brianna and Molly, below, who performed their final numbers as PFSC members. I was all choked up.