The Great Barrington Select Board approved a one‑day entertainment license for the W. E. B. Du Bois sculpture unveiling at Mason Library and amended the permitted hours to 2 p.m.–4 p.m. to ease overlap with the farmers market and to allow staff to coordinate logistics.

Organizer Julie told the board the event is expected to draw a large crowd: “We think it's gonna be about 500 people. It may be more, and we agreed to come back closer to the time to, sort of round out those numbers.” She said the event would include invited speakers, local performers and light refreshments, and that the bench and other infrastructure are arriving and being installed. She also reported possible tariff issues for a carved Vermont marble bench that was carved in Italy; the quarry arrangement may impose an unanticipated tariff the organizers said they are monitoring.

Board action and conditions: The Select Board voted to approve the license subject to staff conditions including coordination with police chief and public-works staff for parking, crowd control, emergency access and on-site waste handling. The board extended the originally proposed time to provide flexibility for speakers and to reduce overlap with the farmers market.

Context and partners: The unveiling was described as coinciding with the Du Bois Forum and other local cultural events; organizers named potential speakers and attendees associated with national institutions and scholarship (references included Lonnie Bunch and David Levering Lewis). The applicant said Chesterwood and other local cultural partners will host related programs the nights before and after the unveiling.

Next steps: The organizers will continue working with town staff on a final logistics plan and will notify the town of confirmed attendance and vendor plans prior to the event. The board’s approval is subject to those staff conditions.