Disclaimer: The Bacon is the April Fool’s Edition of The Beacon. The following story is purely for entertainment and is NOT meant to be taken as a serious news story!

On April 1st, 2023, there was said to be a new art installation at MASS MoCA; however, to the shock of MASS MoCA employees and North Adams residents alike, trucks labeled JCPenney, Sears, Walmart, and Kmart pulled up to the scene instead.

Long time MASS MoCA employee Johnson Jones, age 70, took some time to speak with the Beacon about his thoughts on what’s going on and how it all went down.

“It was all out of nowhere honestly,” Jones began. “I’ve been an employee right here at MoCA for twenty-five years. And that’s saying a lot. I’m almost seventy-one. I should be in retirement, but I loved the cause. I loved the art. And I loved the people. I’ve lived in North Adams for all of my life, so I’ve seen it all. But I swear, I’ve never seen nothing like this.”

Jones then went on to explain how he heard about the change, “In short, I didn’t hear about it. No one even told me. I go to the staff meetings every week. And then the board meetings every month too. And there was just no word about it. I hope that I wasn’t just left out of the loop alone. But I really think that all of us were confused.”

“I showed up to work on the 1st and our gallery space manager was gone. The doors were boarded up, and the commercial trucks were moving in. A few other employees were wandering around looking confused too. But none of the higher ups. Just general staff like me.”

Jones then, unable to take it anymore, went up to speak with one of the truck drivers about what was going on. “I went right up to the JCPenney driver and started waving. He was still in the truck but noticed me, stopped driving, jumped out, and headed over to me. He said that MASS MoCA was bought out. He seemed surprised that they never let any of us employees know about it. He then explained that this was going to be a quick process. How within the next week the contemporary art museum will be no more, and a mini mall will take its place. I was distraught.”

While Jones was clearly upset by this, North Adams resident Sandy Sanders, age 30, had different thoughts on the matter. “I think that this change is great!” she stated. “Ever since the closing of the Berkshire Mall years ago there has been absolutely no place for anyone to shop. And North Adams itself, well it’s just essentially a collection of pizza places at this point. I think that this will be good! I’m excited.”

In general opinions tend to be mixed. Art lovers and employees of MASS MoCA are rightfully upset. But the long-term locals have been hoping for a mall shopping experience for years. Only time will tell how this change will really work to affect everything. By the end of this week the change should be complete.

If you have any thoughts on this matter, or any leads on where this change really came from, we would love to hear from you.