BerkshiresCalendar .com YOUR LINK TO THE SEASON’S OFFERINGS SUMMER 2018
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FreshGrass Music Festival at MASS MoCA
BerkshiresCalendar .com YOUR LINK THE OFFERINGS A S A MTO PLIN G O FSEASON’S THE SEASON ’S OFFERINGS
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ON THE COVER Crowds enjoying the FreshGrass Music Festival in the courtyard of MASS MoCA. Photograph/Zoran Orlic.
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TOWNS
THINGS TO DO
Great Barrington
30 Music
Sheffield Stockbridge
36 Dance 40 Theater & Performance 44 Visual Art
West Stockbridge
50 Family Fun
Lee
53 Farmers Markets
Lenox Pittsfield
56 Day Trips
North Adams
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The Berkshire Edge welcomes you . . . to Issue #1 of BerkshiresCalendar.com, an overview of what’s happening in the Berkshires from June through September. We’ll publish new installments of this magazine every four months, to keep the Berkshires alive and accessible for you in all seasons.
YOUR LINK TO THE SEASON’S OFFERINGS
PUBLISHER
Marcie L. Setlow VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
BerkshiresCalendar.com is a print companion to our extraordinary online calendar, which you can visit at www.berkshirescalendar.com (hence our magazine’s name) and where you will find the most complete, varied and wide-ranging event listings available anywhere in the Berkshires and its environs… from high culture to community dinners… all online, updated daily and easy to use. Our listings are complete because we invite the public to post their own events for free… and they do.
James E. (Jim) Gibbons
In a region so rich in events and activities, our goal is to make the Berkshires easy for you to navigate. This print publication gives you a broad introduction to your options, organized by town and by category. Then we encourage you to go to the online calendar and get in-depth information about the places, events, and activities that intrigue you.
Michael Richman
Our online calendar puts amazing search features at your fingertips. Search by date, category, venue, name of group or town, and all the events will be sorted and arranged for you. Find in-depth information, including dates and prices, for every event or venue, and click through to the box office to buy tickets or make reservations. Each listing also has a map to help get you there.
A publication of
And while you’re at the calendar, check out the rest of The Berkshire Edge (www.theberkshireedge.com). Four years old now, we are the fastest growing news publication in the Berkshires—a complete newspaper, online-only and updated daily, where you can get the latest news, opinions, reviews, real estate information, births and obituaries and insights into life in the Berkshires. Plus poems, essays, cartoons, serialized novels and lots of other surprises.
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Leslie M. Noyes WRITER
Phil Holland MARKETING DIRECTOR
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PHOTO CREDITS | Table of Contents, Page 1: (Clockwise from top left), Pittsfield 3rd Friday Celebration, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Child on horse at Berkshire Botanical Garden, Ogden Gigli/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; ODC, photo by Andrew Weeks; Whoopi Goldberg, photo by Timothy White; Come to Your Senses, MASS MoCA; Main Street Great Barrington, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Kayaks, Town of Lenox. Great Barrington, Pages 6-10: Page 6. Main Street, photo by Ava Lindenmaier; Riverwalk, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. Page 8. Bard College at Simon’s Rock; Railroad Street, photo by Tim Grafft/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Farmers market, photo by Ogden Gigli/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; SoCo Creamery. Page 10. Lake Mansfield, photo by Evan Danan; Dancers, Berkshire Pulse. Sheffield, Pages 11-12: Page 11. Bartholomew’s Cobble, The Trustees of Reservation. Page 12. Colonel Ashley House, The Trustees of Reservation; Dewey Hall, photo by Stephen Donaldson. Stockbridge, Pages 14-15: Page 14. Main Street, photo by Kindra Clineff/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Red Lion Inn, photo by Kindra Clineff/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Naumkeg, The Trustees of Reservation. Page 15. Berkshire Botanical Garden; Elm Street Market, photo by Tony Blair; Berkshire Theatre Group; Stockbridge Arts & Crafts Fair, Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce; Parade, Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce; Norman Rockwell Museum. West Stockbridge, Pages 16-17: Page 16. All photos by Joe Roy. Page 17. No. Six Depot and the Williams River by Joe Roy; Fourth of July fireworks by Lear Levin. Lee, Pages 18-19: Page 18. Photos of Main Street, Premium Outlets and lake, all Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. Lenox, Pages 20-22: Page 20. The Mount, photo by Tim Grafft/Massachusetts office of Travel and Tourism; Bellefontaine Mansion at Canyon Ranch, Canyon Ranch; Shakespeare & Company, photo by Kevin Sprague. Page 21. Ventfort Hall, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Musician at Tanglewood, photo by Stu Rosner; the Curtis Hotel, photo by R.M. Hungate. Page 22. Sculpture Walk, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. Pittsfield, Pages 24-25: Page 25. 3rd Thursday; Colonial Theatre, and Hancock Shaker Village, all Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Pittsfield Suns. North Adams, Pages 26-27: Page 26. Photos of Sol Lewitt Wall Drawing 880, and MASS MoCA sign, by Kevin Kennefick/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Motorama, photo by Veronica Bodley. Page 27. Photos of Downtown Celebration, North Adams Office of Tourism; Eagle Street Beach Party, photo by Josh Mantello; MCLA mural, MCLA Berkshire Cultural Resource Center. Williamstown, Pages 28-29: Page 29. Photos of Williams Theatre Festival and Mount Greylock monument, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Clark Art Institute. Music, Pages 30-35: Page 30. Alison Krauss and Andy Grammer, Tanglewood. Page 31. FreshGrass at MASS MoCA, photo by Zoran Orlic; Berkshire Dance Party, Only In My Dreams Events, LLC.; Chris Thomas King, Guthrie Center. Page 32. Chris Thile, photo by Devin Pedde; Andris Nelsons with the Boston Pops, photo by Hilary Scott; Audra McDonald, photo by Autumn de Wilde. Page 33. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center; Rigoletto set design, Wikipedia.org; Blondie, photo, MASS MoCA. Page 34. Chris Smithers, photo by Jeff Fasano; Lucy Kaplansky, photo by Beowulf Sheehan. Dance, Pages 36-39: Pages 36-37. ACDA-Modesto Junior College, photo by Christopher Duggan; Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, photo by H. Heron; ODC, photo by Andrew Weeks, Philadanco, photo by Lois Greenfield. All photos, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Page 38. Fancy Free, Tanglewood; The Bolshoi, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center; Page 39. Parsons Dance and Bill Shannon, PS21; New York City Ballet, photo by Paul Kolnik/Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Theater & Performances, Pages 40-43: Page 40. Cymbilene, photo by Stratton McCrady/Shakespeare & Company. Page 41. From the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Alan Cumming photo by Phil Toledano; Whoopi Goldberg, photo by Timothy White; Children of a Lesser God, photo by Matthew Murphy/Berkshire Theatre Group; Josh Sharp, photo by Jasper Nash/MASS MoCA. Page 42. Berkshire Playwrights Lab; The Rose Tattoo, photo by Daniel Rader/Williamstown Theatre Festival. Page 43. Fun Home, graphic by Erin Briggeman/GhostLit Repertory Theatre Company; Sweeney Todd, Mac-Haydn Theatre; Barrington Stage Company, photo by Daniel Rader/Barrington Stage Company. Visual Arts, Pages 44-49: Page 47. Clark Art Institute, photo by Jeff Goldberg; Page 48. Schantz Gallery, photo by Sabine Vollmer von Falken; Hotchkiss Mobiles, photo by Joe Roy. Family Fun, Pages 50-52: Page 50: Dad at Berkshire Botanical Garden, photo by Ogden Gigli/Massachusetts Office of Travel; Boy on tractor, photo by Ogden Gigli/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Children dancing, and exhibit, Berkshire Museum; Page 52. Ashuwillticook Rail Trail and Monument Mountain, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism; Pontoosuc Lake, Photo by Ogden Gigli/Berkshire Visitors Bureau; Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum. Farmers Markets, Pages 53-55: Page 53 and 55: Photos by Sheffield Farmers Market; Page 54: Photo by Mary McGurn/ Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. Day Trips, Pages 56-60: Page 56: Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Historic District, photos by Peter Blandori; Olana State Historic Site, photo by Jim Gibbons. Page 58. Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center; Saratoga Racetrack and Saratoga nightlife, Discover Saratoga. Page 59. Baseball Museum Hall of Fame and Museum, and Main Street, Destination Marketing Corporation of Ostego County; West Side Story at the Glimmerglass Festival, Glimmerglass Festival.
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great barrington best small town in America
The view from Railroad Street to Main Street in Great Barrington (top) on a sunny afternoon; the Mahaiwe (center) offers a full schedule of music, theater, film and other performing arts events throughout the summer; follow Riverwalk (center) along the banks of the Housatonic River.
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In 2012 Smithsonian Magazine named it “Best Small Town in America,” and it just keeps getting better. Great Barrington is home to 7,100 people and is the southern Berkshires’ business and cultural hub. Visitors come for the fun shopping, superb restaurants, world-class entertainment and year-round outdoor recreation. Great Barrington was founded in 1766, and its historic districts and quaint residential neighborhoods are within walking distance of open spaces. The nearby village of Housatonic features renovated mill buildings, dance studios and art galleries. Great Barrington is also home to Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a 4-year liberal arts “early college,” and a campus of Berkshire Community College. This is the birthplace of civil rights leader, W.E.B. DuBois, and his childhood home is open to visitors. The historic Mahaiwe Center for the Performing Arts anchors the cultural life of Great Barrington, with a full schedule of music, theater, films and other performing arts events. At the Mahaiwe this summer, you can attend a staged reading from Berkshire Playwrights Lab and help shape a new play, enjoy early music at the Aston Magna Music Festival, laugh through the Berkshire Comedy Festival, or catch performances by Melissa Etheridge, Ani DiFranco, Alan Cumming, Whoopi Goldberg, The Peking Acrobats and Air Supply. New on the scene is church-turned-performance-space St. James Place, where something is always happening. Enjoy intimate folk concerts at more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
LENNOX JEWELERS D i a m o n d s ON-SITE FULL SERVICE JEWELRY & WATCH REPAIR 165 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel. 413.717.4239 | Fax: 413.717.4251 | mail@lennoxjewelers.com | www.lennoxjewelers.com
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great barrington Bard College at Simon’s Rock (top), an “early college” in Great Barrington; Shopping opportunities abound downtown (center left) on Railroad Street; Bounty (center, top right) at the Great Barrington Farmers Market every Saturday until October; The Guthrie Center (center bottom), previous home of Alice’s Restaurant, where Arlo and other folk singers perform; It’s a challenge to pick the right flavor (bottom) at SoCo Creamery on Railroad Street.
the Guthrie Center on Division Street; where Alice of “Alice’s Restaurant” lived and where Arlo himself lives not far away. Catch the latest movies at the Triplex Cinema downtown, where three screens have grown into four. Great Barrington is home to the local farm-to-table movement, and wonderful restaurants—more than 60 of them! If you’re into cooking yourself, meet the farmers (and your neighbors?) and stock up on fresh produce at the Weekly Farmers Market on Church Street every Saturday until the end of October. And don’t leave town without a lick of fresh and delicious local ice cream at SoCo Creamery. Cruise Main and Railroad Streets for charming owner-run shops, such as Griffin or Lennox Jewelers, featuring offbeat and one-of-a-kind treasures. Original art can be found at the Lauren Clark and Vault galleries. For the work of local artisans, visit One Mercantile or HayDay. And for a worldclass crafts there are two summer events the 18th annual Berkshire Arts Festival, July 6–8 at Ski Butternut, and the Berkshires Crafts Fair, August 10–12 at Monument Mountain High School. Buy books (new and old) at the Bookloft or 8
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something for everyone!
5 Railroad St. Great Barrington
berkshiresouth.org 15 Crissey Road Great Barrington, MA 413.528.2810
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Take a dip on a lazy summer day at the town beach on Lake Mansfield. Or take a dance class at Berkshire Pulse in Housatonic. MEMBER: WHO'S WHO IN LUXURY REAL ESTATE, THE FOUR HUNDRED MEDIA GROUP, AND LAND.COM NETWORK
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at the Yellow Book Store. Ready for some exercise? Hike up Monument Mountain and follow in the footsteps of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville; they met on an excursion to the top with some literary friends in 1850. Take the Housatonic River Walk, a national recreation trail and a birding hotspot, or walk around the lake at the Beartown State Forest. Swim in Lake Mansfield, work out at the gyms at Bard College at Simon’s Rock or the Berkshire South Regional Community Center, or take dance classes at Berkshire Pulse in the village of Housatonic. You’ll be feeling healthy, fit, and happy before you know it. Of course, if you should sprain an ankle, or have a more serious medical emergency during your stay, Great Barrington’s award-winning Fairview Hospital and its efficient ER is there to help. The Berkshires is a gardener’s paradise. You’ll see why if you visit Ward’s Nursery and Garden Center or Windy Hill Farm or Taft Farm (which serves food, too).
FIND GREAT BARRINGTON EVENTS and beyond—online at
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sheffield
and yet, Sheffield is a quiet town…
The town of Sheffield lies just north of the
Bartholomew’s Cobble, a 329-acre National Natural Landmark, is a wonderful place for hiking, walking and boating; buy fresh produce at the Sheffield Farmers Market, Fridays from 3pm to 6:30pm, May through October 5.
Connecticut border in the Housatonic River valley, with gentle mountains on both sides. It’s only 100 miles from New York’s Central Park as the crow flies, or two and a half hours by car, and it’s where the Berkshires begins. After almost 300 years, it’s still a rural town with a comfortable pace of life. Second homes, both new and old, mix in nicely with working farms; produce from the latter goes on sale at the weekly Farmers Market—try the corn. Part of the town lies along Route 7, and the charming village of Ashley Falls is just a few miles to the southwest. The Ashley House there, where the enslaved Mum Bet (Elizabeth Freeman) sued for and won her freedom in 1781, is a stop on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail. Sheffield is also home to visitor-friendly Big Elm Brewing and the Berkshire Distillery (both offer tours and tastings), a prominent clay works, and a surprising number and variety of antique dealers. There’s always something going on at Dewey Memorial Hall, an impressive fieldstone and marble structure on the Sheffield green. The Stagecoach Tavern, as its name BerkshiresCalendar.com
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sheffield
find more Sheffield events at berkshirescalendar.com
implies, got its start in an earlier age; now it’s a place to go not only for food and drink but jazz and events. And if you like your music with strings attached, you might also like to visit the Magic Fluke, where they make ukeleles, banjos, violins, and more. And yet, Sheffield is a quiet town… Heather Fisch plays at the Down County Social Club, held every Thursday at the Stagecoach Tavern on Route 41.
Susan Silver Antiques (top right) is one of many places for antiques and collectibles along Route 7 in Sheffield; the colonel Ashley House (lower right) was home to the slave Mum Bet, later known as Elizabeth Freeman, who sued her owner for her freedom, won her case in 1781, and brought about the end of slavery in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Dewey Hall (left) hosts concerts and art exhibits—check berkshirescalendar.com for what’s happening now.
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stockbridge
Norman Rockwell and then some…
If you can resist just sitting there on the famous
front porch of the Red Lion Inn, the self-guided walking tour of the town is highly recommended (the Chamber of Commerce’s helpful website will guide you). You won’t be able actually to step into the setting for Norman Rockwell’s “The Marriage License,” but you’ll pass right by the 1884 House that provided it. Nor will you be able to get anything you want at the original Alice’s Restaurant, but the song—or at least the refrain—is likely to come back to you as you pass by that site too—it’s just off Main Street. If other places look familiar, blame Rockwell, who spent the last 25 years of his life in Stockbridge, living and working right in the heart of town. He created some of his most visionary and socially engaged work here, without losing the touch that had already made him the beloved painter of small-town American life. At his death, he bequeathed his studio, archive, and many paintings to establish a museum of his work, now the Norman Rockwell Museum on 36 green acres outside the town center. His studio itself was moved to the grounds of the Museum and provides a fascinating glimpse into his creative process (it’s open to visitors from late April into November—the Museum is open year round). The “Four Freedoms” are on tour this summer, but a special exhibit on the history of narrative illustration opening June 9 makes up for their temporary absence. 14
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It’s still Norman Rockwell country on Main Street, Stockbridge (top.); the porch at The Red Lion Inn invites rocking and people-watching; Naumkeag, Joseph Choate’s “Berkshire Cottage” and gardens are well worth a visit.
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Some drive, some walk, some cycle: most of Stockbridge’s attractions are within easy reach. Naumkeg, designed by Stanford White, and Chesterwood have beautiful gardens, and the latter was the home of Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial and the Concord Minute Man; many of French’s own studies for sculptures are on view. Stockbridge is also home to some exceptional nature trails just south of town. Park at the end of Park Street, take the footbridge across the Housatonic, and take your choice of trails: a paved, handicapped-accessible trail that runs beside the river, a trail that leads up to Laura’s Tower, with a threestate view, and – not to be missed on a hot day—the trail down to Ice Glen, with glacial boulders and caves of ice (“Kubla Khan” comes to mind) that last even into July. In the evening, if you can resist remaining in the Lion’s Den (all roads lead to—and from—the Inn), the Berkshire Theater Festival beckons with two Stockbridge stages, the iconic 314-seat Fitzpatrick Main Stage and the smaller 122-seat Unicorn Theatre, both just east of downtown. This is the BTF’s 90th season: the Festival has legs. Special occasion: the annual Stockbridge Summer Arts and Crafts Show takes place August 18–19 this year right on Main Street’s Bidwell Park. 85 jury-selected artists and crafters will display work ranging from paintings to ceramics, fiberware to glass blowing. Why would you ever leave this town?
Luxuriate in the beauty of the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge (top left); downtown, act like a native and hang out at the Elm Street Market (top right); Or, catch a show at the Berkshire Theatre Festival (center left); in August, support local artists and artisans by shopping at the Stockbridge Arts & Crafts Fair (center); catch a holiday parade on Main Street (center right) and, finally, relax and enjoy the Norman Rockwell Museum (bottom).
FIND STOCKBRIDGE EVENTS and beyond—online at
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west stockbridge 40 minutes from Albany but a world away If West Stockbridge isn’t on your radar,
maybe it’s time you pointed your radar in its direction. The town of 1,650 lies between Stockbridge and the New York border, only 40 minutes from Albany but a world away, with its hills, ponds, and streams beckoning the city dweller with visions of the countryside. Don’t let the dreaminess deceive you, though, because West Stockbridge is hopping. The opening of No. Six Depot in the old railway station started it all. No. Six is a small-batch coffee roastery, café, art gallery and event space that serves as a gathering place for both locals and visitors; the sandwiches are delicious, and their coffees show up on menus throughout the Berkshires. The lively downtown area is now home to stylish restaurants, including Rouge, one of the best in the region, and one-ofa-kind shops, too. One-of-a-kind, as in Charles H. Baldwin & Sons, which has been preparing extracts for cooks for 125
years. Their vanilla bean extract, aged in casks that have been used for generations, is out of this world; no wonder bakers who come across this store tend to think they have gone to heaven. And if heaven is not exotic enough for you, Truc Orient Express offers authentic Vietnamese food in its eatery, as well as Vietnamese crafts such as pottery, silk scarves and jackets, and lacquer work in its store next door. Just a short walk away from the town center is the 16-acre Turn Park Art Space—and it comes with a story. In 2016 a young, Russian art-collecting couple appeared out of nowhere and bought 14 acres that included an old lime and marble quarry on (of all places) Moscow Road. They’d been looking for a place to house their sculpture collection and hoped to establish an art park. Turn Park Art Space now combines a sculpture park, exhibition venues, and a beautiful marble amphitheatre for outdoor performances. It’s a fun place for
There is lots to do and see in this small town of West Stockbridge (top left). Welcome to the West Stockbridge Farmers Market (bottom left), held on Thursdays, 3-7 pm, all summer; ton’t miss the new Turn Park Art Park on Moscow Road (center), a lovely place to sit and walk; savor the view of the Williams River (opposite page) that flows through the town, and fireworks on the Fourth of July.
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adults and children alike, with a trail that runs along the river and next to striking sculptures from the Soviet Nonconformist Art Movement of the 1950s—1980s too. There’s more art downtown. The Diana Felber Gallery, located in a former glass-blowing workshop, features work in a variety of media by nationally recognized artists and craftspeople from California to the Carolinas—and the Berkshires too. Not far away is the Stanmeyer Gallery and Shaker Dam Coffeehouse (all under one charming roof), with stunning photographs by National Geographic photographer John Stanmeyer. The ongoing Town Hall restoration project is another sign of the town’s new vitality. And if you can’t forget that you came for nature as well as culture, or simply want to relax, just join the canoeists, anglers, or strollers along the gently flowing Williams River as it winds through this unusually attractive town.
No. Six Depot is the principal gathering place in the town, with art by local artists and its own freshly roasted coffee and food.
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lee
eat, shop, learn
“What I love about Lee is that’s it’s very low key,” says a visitor who knows the Berkshires, “and it’s so pretty, too.” Lee may be unpretentious, but that makes its charm and eye-appeal only more alluring. Even the steeple on the First Congregational Church, the tallest wooden spire in New England, soars discreetly above the town. But make no mistake: Lee will welcome you warmly and keep you quite busy. For one thing, this small town has more than 60 establishments serving food and drink. People come to shop and eat; they come to attend dance performances at Jacob’s Pillow in nearby Becket and eat; and they come just to eat. Lee hosts an astonishing range of restaurants, from those serving sophisticated farm-to-table fare such as Starving Artist Café and Chez Nous, to Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, Peruvian, Italian, French, and Indian establishments, as well as humbler eateries where you can get a hot dog on the go, pick up a pizza (try Timothy’s), or join the locally sourced customers for a plate of corned beef hash at Joe’s Diner. Each Lee restaurant is an experience unto itself: you may be dining in a former blacksmith shop or a faithfully restored railroad depot, a one-time stage coach inn, or even a long-ago post office from the era when Norman Rockwell used to drop into Joe’s for a bite (and to find a model). The eclectic collection of shops downtown is complemented by the more than sixty stores at Premium Outlets, 18
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with name-brand merchandise at discount prices, just one mile east of town via US Route 20. The Outlets is the most popular attraction in Berkshire County, with about two million annual visitors, some of whom then head into Lee and environs to find things that can’t be found anywhere else. Several places just outside of town are definitely worth a visit, such as the Route 102 Trading Post for a great selection of antiques, and Ozzie’s Glass Studio, also on Route 102 between Lee and Stockbridge, where you can watch Ozzie himself blowing glass. The Retro Pop Shop on Route 20 heading toward Lenox is full of fascinating memorabilia neatly displayed, and the scoop shop next door more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
Two places to shop in Lee, but worlds apart: along historic Main Street (opposite page, top) and the Premium Outlets mall (opposite page, bottom); after you’re done shopping, take a swim in one of the many beautiful lakes in town.
has home-made ice-cream that will transport you into the past; Pierre runs the former, his wife Paula the latter shop. While not as eminent in the arts as its Berkshire neighbors, Lee has its own distinction. From a renovated former fiveand-dime on Main Street, the College Internship Program
(CIP) offers a year-long curriculum focusing on creative and educational development in the visual and performing arts for young adults with Asperger’s, autism, ADHD, and other learning differences. The Spectrum Playhouse in a converted church and the Good Purpose Gallery on Main help integrate these individuals into the community and enrich their lives through creative work in fields where they often display special abilities. Lee will appeal to nature lovers too. October Mountain State Forest, the largest in Massachusetts, is just north of town. It offers camping, hiking, picnicking, and non-motorized boating. There’s also the Goose Pond Reservation in a dreamy setting south of Lee. The Appalachian Trail crosses adjacent National Park Service land, and Goose Pond itself, a mountain lake with exceptionally clear water, is ideal for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. And if you’d like to try fishing, or simply floating, on the region’s rivers, Berkshire Rivers Fly Fishing can help.
Lee Bank & Berkshire Grown
CULTIVATING community www.leebank.com | LEE | STOCKBRIDGE | GREAT BARRINGTON | PITTSFIELD | LENOX | 413-243-0117
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lenox
Tanglewood and more (much more)
The Mount in Lenox (top) is the home of noted American author Edith Wharton, who designed the house and gardens—take a tour and step back in time—or rejuvenate at Canyon Ranch (bottom left), housed in the former Bellefontaine mansion; at the end of the day, take in a play, by the Bard or by others, at Shakespeare & Company.
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Lenox has been a popular retreat since the 19th century, when wealthy New Yorkers built some 75 so-called “cottages” there and in nearby Stockbridge. Many still remain and are open to the public. Ventfort Hall, built for J.P. Morgan’s sister, offers lectures, performances and exhibits, including the Summer Tea & Talk Lecture Series every Tuesday from June through September. Literary giant Henry James was a regular visitor to The Mount, home of author Edith Wharton, and you can be, too: guided tours of the gardens, Back Stairs Tours of the house, the 2018 SculptureNow Exhibition, Le Café Francais, ghost tours, lectures, teas, and theatre performances make this one of the town’s favorite destinations. Canyon Ranch Spa occupies another “cottage,” as do the luxurious hotel/restaurant/spa/condo complexes at Blantyre and Cranwell. A more modern retreat, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health occupies a former Jesuit seminary and offers classes and stays that focus on yoga, creative expression, wellness and self-discovery. The Tanglewood Music Center, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is the jewel in the Lenox crown— the place for premier classical music performances as well as concerts by big names in rock, folk, and pop. The setting is as spectacular as the music, and a picnic on the lawn at Tanglewood is a tradition for many visitors. This summer, Tanglewood features special programming in celebration of the Leonard Bernstein centennial. First-class professional theater is a mainstay of the Lenox cultural scene. Shakespeare & Company promises “a season of Delight, Deceit, and Desire,” mixing the likes of Macbeth and As You Like It with plays by Terence McNally and August Strindberg and the premier of a hilarious new comedy by Carey Crim. Every seat in the house is a good one, and many are quite close to the thrust stage.
Another “Berkshire Cottage,” Ventfort Hall (top) offers events and exhibitions; The Stockbridge Bowl (center), down the hill from Tanglewood, offers swimming and boating and a cool respite on a summer day; music on the lawn at Tanglewood; the former Curtis Hotel building (left), where Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville are said to have dined together, now a senior residence with retail space on the first floor. BerkshiresCalendar.com
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lenox
find more lenox events at berkshirescalendar.com
The annual sculpture walk in downtown Lenox also takes you to charming, one-of-a-kind shops, tucked away in interesting places—like these on Church Street.
For music, food and drink in an intimate setting, check out the live music schedule every weekend at the Gateways Inn on Walker Street. Explore Church Street and its little side streets and you’ll find Lenox is also alive with fine shops and restaurants—some of the best in the Berkshires. One treat for the palate is right on Route 7: hot chocolate, velvety mousse cakes, divine chocolates, and great coffee await you at Josh Needleman’s Chocolate Springs Café. Recognized by Saveur magazine as one of the Top 10 chocolate makers in the United States, Chocolate Springs Café has become a special destination for locals and tourists alike. Book lovers mark their calendars for the annual Lenox Library book sale, August 17–19, with great bargains for all ages, and haunt Matt Tanenbaum’s Lenox Book Store and GetLit Bar, where regular readings bring the town together for good conversation. Lastly, don’t miss the 2018 Lenox Sculpture Walk. Every summer, contemporary sculptures in a variety of media adorn the town’s historic district and raise a smile, an eyebrow—and awareness of the power of public art.
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Bennington discover
Vermont’s 1st town
EN JOY T HE S M A LL T O W N
WELCOME
A short beautiful
ride away... plein air painting
blue benn diner
walkable downtown mount anthony country club grille & public golf
bennington museum
bennington potters
farmers market
AMONG OUR ATTRACTIONS — Oldcastle Theatre • Bennington Museum Bennington College • Robert Frost House Southern Vermont College/Laumeister Center
vermont arts exchange
Hemmings Motor News • 3 Covered Bridges/ 3.6 Mile Loop • Lake Paran Swims • Long Trail old first church
Biking Mt Anthony • Blue Benn Diner • Apple Barn & Maze • Hawkins House Craftsmarket VAE Basement Music • Village Chocolate Shop Sonatina Piano Camps • Catamount Glass &
oldcastle theatre
Tap House • Bennington Bookshop • Battle Monument • Unique Inns/Bed & Breakfasts
For maps & more info, stop by Bennington Potters — 7 Days a week!
pittsfield A city of 45,000, Pittsfield is the geographic and
commercial center of the Berkshires, with a proud history of manufacturing – and the contemporary challenges and opportunities that the decline of that sector has brought. In 2010 the Financial Times proclaimed the city the “Brooklyn of the Berkshires,” and while that phrase is now (thankfully) passé, the city’s transformation into a cultural hub continues.
North Street in Pittsfield, where business offices and retail outlets stand side by side
Pittsfield’s downtown is now its Upstreet Cultural District, anchored by the beautifully restored 1903 Colonial Theatre, part of Berkshire Theatre Group, and the innovative Barrington Stage Company, which now attracts almost 60,000 patrons per year to its four downtown venues and has become the incubator of shows that regularly go on to stages in Boston and New York, including the Tony-award-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The Whitney Center for the Arts, established by Pittsfield native Lisa Whitney in 2012 and located in the creatively repurposed 1865 Thomas Colt House, is another beehive of culture: it presents art shows, intimate theatre and music performances, and special events. The vibrant Pittsfield visual arts scene features public art, galleries, studios, and cooperatives, and the monthly First Fridays Artswalk. Cultural festivals include 3rd Thursdays, the WordXWord Festival, the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival, and 10X10 Upstreet. The Berkshire Museum, much in the news this past year over its planned “de-accessioning” of work by Norman 24
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the city at the center
Rockwell and other artists in its collections, is presenting “Art of the Hills: A Juried Exhibition of Berkshire-based Artists” this summer, along with a show (“Galactic Landscapes”) of works in glass by Josh Simpson. The legal dispute around the sale of the artworks has been resolved, and the Museum can now go ahead with plans to enhance its science and natural history offerings on a sounder financial foundation. Let Whitman keep Brooklyn; Herman Melville had Pittsfield. The native New Yorker bought a 1785 farmhouse in 1850 and settled in for some serious writing. He named his new digs Arrowhead, run by the Berkshire Historical Society after the many Indian ‘points’ that turned up in his fields, and it’s now a museum dedicated to his 13 years’ residence under its roof. Visitors can see the room where Melville wrote Moby Dick, with its view north to Mount Greylock. The mountain’s profile is said to have evoked for the author the whale that obsessed Captain Ahab. The house’s architectural eccentricities will be familiar to readers of Melville’s droll short story “I and My Chimney,” including the room with nine doors and the imposing chimney itself. Nathaniel Hawthorne, another Berkshire resident, was a frequent visitor. Fellow Pittsfield author (and Supreme Court Justice) Oliver Wendell Holmes had introduced them on a climb up nearby Monument Mountain. Pittsfield isn’t all urban: the 11,000-acre Pittsfield State Forest offers camping, hiking, and swimming, and the Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, Lake Onata, and the Bosquet Mountain Adventure Park also provide fun outdoor experiences. Pittsfield is also a great old baseball town. This summer you can root for the Pittsfield Suns, a collegiate summer baseball team that competes in the Future Collegiate Baseball League of New England at city-owned Wahconah Park. The park, constructed in 1919 and seating 4,500, is one of the few remaining ballparks in the United States with a wooden grandstand right out of “Casey at the Bat.” Carlton Fisk and Rafael Palmiero are among the many future major leaguers who have stepped up to its plate over the years. You’ll have to eat and you’ll have to stay: you can do both at the stylish 45-room Hotel on North, another repurposed downtown building that successfully blends new and old. There are 50 other restaurants, cafés, and wine bars to choose from too. If it’s more wine you’re after and you can forsake downtown, try Balderdash Cellars, which turns California grapes into “wicked” New England wines. For an entirely different vibe or family visit, 750-acre Hancock Shaker Village beckons. The Shakers created a utopian religious community here in 1783 around the ideas of pacifism, celibacy, and communal living. No Shakers remain, more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
but their way of life forms the basis for a living history museum with 20 authentic Shaker buildings, costumed interpreters, rich collections of Shaker furniture and artifacts, a full schedule of activities and workshops, a mile-long hiking trail and picnic areas, a store and cafĂŠ, and a working farm with extensive gardens and heritage-breed livestock.
Pittsfield offers great variety: 3rd Thursdays Street Festival, which includes dance, art, and live music; the Berkshire Museum with great exhibits for children; the Pittsfield Suns baseball team playing at historic Wahconah Park; concerts and plays at the Colonial Theatre, or just outside of town, the Hancock Shaker Village.
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north adams
What a story!
It began with manufacturing, thanks to power
generated by the Hoosic River flowing right through the center of town. Shoes, bricks, hats, cloth, marble, and the iron plates that sheathed the Monitor in the Civil War poured forth from North Adams’ busy factories. When the Depression shut many of those factories down, the Sprague Electric Company arrived to save the day. Sprague’s development and manufacture of components for early NASA launch systems and the consumer electronics industry provided employment for more than 4,000 workers in the post-war period, until foreign competition in the 1980s led to the closing of the firm and a sharp decline in the town’s economic fortunes. Many former New England mill towns have never recovered from such setbacks. For North Adams, recovery came from a surprising source: contemporary art. Sprague Electric’s beautiful and extensive brick buildings, dating from the 19th century, lay idle. Thomas Krens, then Director of the Williams College Museum of Art, saw an opportunity. The result was the creation of MASS MoCA, the largest museum of contemporary art and performance in America, which opened in 1999 and has been growing in space and scope ever since. It hosts both temporary and permanent exhibits, spaces for artists in diverse media to create large-scale works, and events like the annual FreshGrass bluegrass festival. They built it, and people came, about 160,000 a year at last count. The town began to thrive once again. Galleries, restaurants, and shops sprang up to cater to visitors. The ongoing River Revival project reimagined the Hoosic as a community resource. Paris has Paris-Plage along the Seine; North Adams holds the Eagle Street Beach Party on Saturday, July 14 (rain date, July 21), with help from 125 tons of sand spread from curb to curb July 14th. The town (technically a city, the smallest in Massachusetts), now has a vibrant Cultural District and a Downstreet Arts Initiative. The creative economy has spread to other former factory facilities as well, now home to artisans and specialized producers of everything from food to beer. It’s not all about art, either. The 7th year of Motorama, a celebration of all things motorized, including tractors and snowmobiles, takes over part of the town on August 26. If downtown gets too trendy (or motorized) for you, nature beckons on all sides with hiking trails, picnic spots, and recreational opportunities. Take in the free concerts on nearby Windsor Lake. And don’t miss the weekly Farmers Market—it’s one of the biggest in the Berkshires. There really is no place with the attractions—and story! —of North Adams.
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Part of a 25-year installation of art by Sol LeWitt at MASS MoCA (top), this is Wall Drawing 880, titled Loopy Doopy, executed on a 70-foot wall; as part of Motorama (bottom), vintage cars line up in front of the historic Mohawk Theatre on Main Street, opened as a movie palace in 1938, closed in 1991 and now the focus of a major restoration effort.
more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
(Clockwise from top) the MASS MoCA sign shines over its great post-industrial campus; one of the oddest and most fun downtown activities is the Eagle Street Beach Party, this year to be held on Saturday, July 14; MCLA ‘s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, decorated by this beautiful mural, is a place to go for a variety of cultural activities; a view of the annual Downtown celebration, to be held this year on Wednesday, August 15; a parade passes by the historic Mohawk Theatre on Main Street.
NORTH ADAMS and more—online at
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williamstown
Williamstown, nestled in Massachusetts’
northwest corner, was one of America’s first college towns; the town and the college both date to 1791. Williams College, consistently ranked at or near the top of America’s liberal arts colleges, is the town’s largest employer. You don’t have to have a connection to Williams, though, to enjoy what the town—and the College—have to offer. You could begin with Spring Street, the commercial center, where you’ll find galleries, stylish clothing stores, coffee shops with fast Internet connections, and restaurants that cater to the tastes of college students, locals, and visitors alike. Stop by the Greylock Gallery, which brings together traditional and contemporary art from emerging and established artists. Or step in to Mountain Goat Artisans around the corner on Water Street for pottery, weaving, furniture, jewelry, women’s clothing, honey, photography, original art and more. For DIY knitters, the Spin-off Yarn Shop is right there on the ground floor. Pick up a book at the Williams Bookstore and start reading at Tunnel City Coffee across the street. If you have Apple computer needs, there’s Mad Macs to help out. Images Cinema, one of the few remaining singlescreen, independent theaters still in operation, is also on Spring Street. This non-profit community movie theater presents a wide range of independent, foreign and classic films and has 28
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a college town and then some
been described as “a permanent film festival.” And the popcorn is always fresh. If you’re visiting, you probably came for the art and the theater. Visitors travel from all over the globe to The Clark Art Institute for its extraordinary permanent collection, groundbreaking special exhibitions, and striking architecture by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando. The Clark campus boasts 140 acres of lawns, meadows and walking trails. Seasonal exhibitions are a special draw, and this season’s highlight is “Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900.” (See our Arts pages for information on this and other special exhibits). The Williams College Museum of Art, always free and always innovative, offers modern, contemporary American, and world art. This season’s special exhibition is “Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob’s Pillow 1906-1940,” mounted jointly with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. (See our Arts pages.) If you want even more art, you can travel over the Vermont border to the Bennington Museum, or east to MASS MoCA in nearby North Adams.If it’s theater you’re after, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, winner of a Tony Award for Best Regional Theater among its accolades, has been staging classic and contemporary plays since 1955. For eight weeks, from June 26 to August 19, WTF presents three plays on its main stage and four plays on the smaller Nikos stage. (See Theater p42.) more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
Enjoy a production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; marvel at both the art and the architecture of the Clark Art Institute; then get outdoors with a hike to the monument at the top of Mount Greylock; back in town, catch an indie flick at Images Cinema.
FIND EVENTS IN WILLIAMSTOWN more—online at
berkshires calendar.com Get coffee and sweet treat at Tunnel City Coffee (above); before stopping by the Farmers Market (bottom) on Saturday morning.
Ready for some outdoor activity? Visit Sheep Hill, a 50-acre former dairy farm that was purchased by the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation (WRLF) in 2000. The farmhouse and grounds are open to the public for picnicking, hiking, and bird watching, and a full schedule of regular seasonal events and exhibits. The WRLF, at its Sheep Hill trail kiosk, offers complete information on all Williamstown trails, including Hopkins Forest, Mount Greylock and Field Farm. Climb (or drive) to where the Appalachian Trail crosses Mount Greylock at the highest point in Massachusetts. Camp to the sound of waterfalls at Sperry Campground, or, for more civilized repose, dine and rest at the Bascom Lodge. For food, visit the weekly Saturday Farmers Market on Spring Street or Chenail’s Farm Stand on Luce Road, voted by locals to have the best fresh corn. Local restaurants like Mezze source local foods. To top off your Williamstown excursion, indulge in home-made ice cream from the Lickety Split scoop shop on Spring Street. BerkshiresCalendar.com
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music
It’s a fact, the Berkshire Hills are alive with music
From Concerts at Tanglewood by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and top popular performers to folk, jazz and more in the intimate settings of cafes, bars, and galleries, there is music in every town and village during the summer months. You will even find it in the splash of streams and the songs of birds (which is what Julie Andrews was actually singing about).
Tanglewood has been the main attraction since the BSO made it its summer home in 1937. Whether you listen from inside the Shed or from the surrounding lawn, the acoustics are a marvel, and the drop-down screens allow everyone a close-up view of the orchestra. The 2018 season stars music of Leonard Bernstein, whose 100th birthday falls on August 25. The composer died in 1990, but his exuberant creative spirit will be felt in a dazzling array of performances, including a staging of Candide with the Knights and Fancy Free with the Boston Ballet. Other Tanglewood luminaries this summer include a roster of pop stars such as Andy Grammer, Alison Krauss, and James Taylor (for two shows, but reserve early even if you plan to sit on the lawn).
Alison Krauss at Tanglewood June 19 at 7:00 pm
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Andy Grammer at Tanglewood June 22 at 7:00 pm
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Not only is the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams the biggest contemporary art museum in the U.S., it’s become one of the top music venues in the Berkshires, offering more than 75 performances each year featuring indie-rock, progressive bluegrass (as in the FreshGrass Festival, below), world music dance parties, barn dances, and a great deal more.
MASS MoCA
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The Center, located in Great Barrington’s former Trinity Church (where a certain restaurateur named Alice once lived), was founded by Arlo Guthrie to honor his parents, the great Woody Guthrie and his wife Marjorie Mazia-Guthrie. It’s a home for inter-faith services, spiritual exchange—and music. The Troub ador Series brings a host of wonderful performers from June through September, with an emphasis on blues, folk, and social engagement, but with room for bands that you can kick up your heels to. Beer, |wine and a full dinner menu are available on concert nights.
The Guthrie Center
Legendary blues singer Chris Thomas King at the Guthrie Center on August 22 at 8 pm
The Colonial Theatre | On June 9 you’re invited to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month at the Third Annual Berkshire Dance Party and Cabaret at the Colonial Theatre (above), in Pittsfield (the grande dame of Berkshire venues and the perfect spot for a Drag Pageant). The Colonial will be also hosting three performances of the Berkshire Opera Festival’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto at the end of August. Now that’s diversity… and it doesn’t even include Pittsfield’s Eagles Band, playing Souza, show tunes, and even Shostakovich, or the 100th season of South Mountain Concerts, with chamber music in September in its 1918 Concert Hall (Bernstein was there).
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music
find more events at berkshirescalendar.com Wait—there’s more | Early Music specialists Aston Magna will be playing five consecutive Saturdays in June and July at two venues in Great Barrington (check online for locations). Close Encounters With Music presents the Berkshire High Peaks Festival August 6-16 at the 400-acre campus of the Berkshire School in Sheffield. The Festival offers chamber music concerts, lectures, and master classes with faculty from top conservatories and universities. The public is welcome at all events.
Tanglewood rocks It’s not just the Symphony anymore. The summer’s stellar supporting cast includes the Steve Miller Band with Peter Frampton, Ry Cooder and Emmylou Harris (together), Steve Stills and Judy Collins (also together), Steve Martin and Martin Short (inseparable), and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The Boston Pops and Roger Daltrey get into the act with a performance of Tommy on June 15, and the Pops accompanies Audra McDonald (far right), on the 24th. Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile (left), will broadcast his “Live from Here” radio show live on June 30, and on August 11, John Williams conducts the Boston Pops (center) with Andris Nelsons on “Film Night.”
The legendary Blondie comes to MASS MoCA Friday, August 3, at 7pm, to perform new songs and timeless favorites. The evening opens with Northampton Natives and The Kids.
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Experience the Drama
take me back The Mahaiwe presents two evenings of legendary musical performers—greats from the ‘70s and ‘80s who are still vital on the musical scene today. Melissa Etheridge (below left), who released her acclaimed first album in 1989, remains one of America’s favorite singer-songwriters. She performs on June 10th at 7 pm. Then, on June 25th at 8 pm, experience “A Very Intimate Acoustic Evening with Pat Benetar and Neil Giraldo” (below right), rock and roll icons going strong in a four-decade partnership.
Emily Marvosh, contralto
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Dov Scheindlin. Sooyeon Kate Lee, Max Levinson
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC
Irina Emily Muresanu, Peter Zazofsky, American Brass Quintet, Emily Marvosh, Marvosh
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Ah, the drama of opera! The Berkshire Opera Festival presents a free concert introduction to Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto called “Meet Joe Green” (English translation of Giuseppe Verdi) at Saint James Place August 15 at 7:30 pm, as a lead-up to the full opera production at the Colonial Theatre August 25, 28 and 31.
LIVE MUSIC, GREAT BAR FARM TO TABLE FOOD
51 WALKER ST, LENOX MASS 413.637.2532 GATEWAYSINN.COM BerkshiresCalendar.com
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Find out what’s
GOING ON now!
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music coming to the Guthrie Arlo Guthrie has made a lot of friends in his many years of music making, and he brings them to the Trinity Church each summer. Smooth old timers like Tom Rush and Tom Paxton alternate with acts like the Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. The acoustic guitar is the featured instrument, and artists like Chris Smither, Chris Thomas King, Brooks Williams, and Tracy Grammer will show off its colors with songs both soulful and satirical. And don’t miss the Circle of Sound, billed as a global meditation in honor of the summer solstice, on June 20.
LISTINGS, DIRECTIONS TICKETS
August 6-16
CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERTS
LECTURES MASTERCLASSES BERKSHIRE SCHOOL, SHEFFIELD, MA
BETWEEN EAST AND WESTA RUSSIAN JOURNEY Saturday. August 11, 8 PM Works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Cesar Cui
That French “Je Ne Sais Quoi”
Tuesday, August 14, 7:30 PM Works by Franck, Debussy, Fauré, Boulanger, Chaminade, Saint-Saëns
MIKAEL DARMINE & ALEXANDER SHTARKMAN, PIANO PAUL DWYER, CHAGIT GLASER & YEHUDA HANANI, CELLO IRINA MURESANU, ADRIANE POST & PETER ZAZOFSKY, VIOLIN MICHAEL STRAUSS, PIERRE HENRI XUEREB & SU ZHEN, VIOLA
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At the Guthrie: Popular songwriter and performer Lucy Kaplansky (above), July 28 at 8 pm; Chris Smither (top above), considered among the finest acoustic guitarists in America, on August 24 at 8 pm; and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams (right), always mystifying, August 31 at 8 pm. more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
4.9.18.AM.BerkEdge.3.675x10.125.color_Layout 1 4/9/18 12:56 PM Page 1
BACH, BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS, BURTZOS AND MORE, ON PERIOD INSTRUMENTS JUNE 22 – JULY 21, 2018
High Peaks Festival, “Music with Altitude”After eight years in the Catskills, cellist Yehuda Hanani and his Close Encounters With Music bring their summer festival home to the Berkshires, August 6-16. An international group of young musicians will converge to learn and play music with a distinguished faculty. The Berkshire School’s 400acre campus on Route 41 in Sheffield offers a breathtaking setting for this musical celebration. The public is invited to rehearsals, lectures, master classes and performances.
BACH, HANDEL, TELEMANN AND BURTZOS Friday, June 22, 7:30pm Time & Space Ltd., Hudson, NY
Saturday, June 23, 6:00pm Saint James Place, Great Barrington, MA
DUELING VIOLINS, GENIAL GAMBAS MUSIC OF COUPERIN, CALDARA, MARAIS AND MORE Friday, June 29, 7:30pm Wethersfield Garden, Amenia, NY – Includes guided garden tour –
Saturday, June 30, 6:00pm Saint James Place, Great Barrington, MA
BRAHMS: THE SONATAS FOR P IANO AND V IOLIN Saturday, July 7, 6:00pm Saint James Place, Great Barrington, MA
BEETHOVEN SEPTET, MOZART QUARTET, BERNHARD ROMBERG TRIO
music without borders Just over the New York line in New Lebanon, Tannery Pond will be presenting six chamber music concerts, and in Annandale-on-Hudson, the Bard SummerScape festival offers seven weeks of musical excitement. In nearby Hillsdale, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival celebrates its 30th year of folk music and dance on the first weekend in August, at Dodds Farm, where you can camp out. Dip into Connecticut for Music Mountain, now in its 89th year, featuring outstanding chamber music, jazz ensembles, and more from June through September, and in Norfolk, just a note’s throw from the Berkshires, Infinity Music Hall and Bistro presents a varied lineup of wonderful musicians all summer long.
MORE LISTINGS ONLINE sortable, searchable, updated daily
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Saturday, July 14, 6:00pm Saint James Place, Great Barrington, MA
J. S. BACH: THE ART OF THE F UGUE
Saturday, July 21, 8:00pm - Season Finale Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
All tickets except Mahaiwe PAC call (888) 492-1283 or www.astonmagna.org Mahaiwe tickets only call (413) 528-0100 or mahaiwe.org Information: www.astonmagna.org BerkshiresCalendar.com
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dance
shall we? oh yeah!
In 1931 the dancer Ted Shawn had a vision. He purchased a run-down farm in the Berkshire town of Becket with the extravagant idea of turning the place into a home for modern dance. The farm was not far from the switchbacks of Jacob’s Ladder Road, and a large, sloping boulder on the grounds had already earned the place the name of Jacob’s Pillow (the Bible says that Jacob laid his head on a stone before dreaming of a ladder to heaven). It all made sense to Shawn, who turned his own dream into reality.
“The Pillow,” as it’s known, has grown through the years to become
America’s top summer destination for dance. Twenty companies and outstanding individual performers from America and abroad will come to its stages this Summer, ranging from principals and soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet to masters of South Indian dance, adepts of hip-hop, and the shape-shifting dancers of Pilobolus. The Festival will also feature more than 200 free performances, talks and tours, exhibits, community events, classes, and special events. Many patrons arrive early to take in the free “Inside/Out” series of outdoor performances by emerging and established dance companies and presentations by dancers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow every Wednesday through Saturday at 6:15 p.m. Once a month, the Festival also extends all the way into the Dance Zone at the north end of Pittsfield’s Third Thursday cultural street festival for free, family-friendly, pop-up performances beginning at 6 p.m.
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more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
(From left) The dancers of Philadelphia’s energetic Philadanco! troupe perform at Jacob’s Pillow July 11–15; the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company appears on the Pillow’s Inside/Out stage July 18 and in Pittsfield’s Third Thursday street festival July 19; San Francisco-based ODC/Dance visits the Pillow for performances August 22–26; (above) the American College Dance Association has selected dancers from California’s Modesto Junior College to appear in the Inside/Out series on August 24.
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dance
find more at berkshirescalendar.com
One of the dance highlights of the summer will take place at Tanglewood on August 18, when the BSO presents a fully staged performance of the Leonard Bernstein- Jerome Robbins ballet Fancy Free with the Boston Ballet. Bernstein and Robbins created Fancy Free in 1944, when each was just twenty-five years old; it catapulted both men to stardom. It’s a story of three sailors on shore leave and two women that they try to pick up; the imperfect mathematics creates the fun, and the result is what the New York Times has called “an enduring masterpiece of American ballet.” Balletomanes have other options, too. If you can’t get to Moscow for the Bolshoi’s 2018 production of the comic fantasy that is Coppélia, you can see it in HD at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on June 16. You can also hop over to SPAC in Saratoga to catch performances by the New York City Ballet, July 17–21; it’s less than 90 minutes from Stockbridge. 38
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The Bolshoi comes to the Berkshires: Coppélia, a beloved comic ballet with plenty of shadows, will travel in HD from Moscow to the Mahaiwe’s bright screen in Great Barrington on June 16 at 1 pm. A pre-show talk by Jacob’s Pillow Scholar-in-residence Brian Schaefer begins at 12:40. more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
When it comes to modern dance, Jacob’s Pillow is not the only show in town. The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington presents the ever-popular Paul Taylor Dance Company for three performances July 6 and 7. In Chatham, New York, just a short drive away, PS21 (short for Performance Spaces for the 21st century) opens its new 300-seat open-air pavilion theater on June 30 with a gala evening featuring performances by some of the artists who have appeared in its previous twelve seasons under the tent. In August, PS21 presents Parsons Dance (pictured
below), known for its energetic and imaginative ensemble work; Bill Shannon, performance artist extraordinaire; Dušan Týnek Dance Theatre, presenting “Middlegame” and “Romanesco Suite” (the latter, billed as “a playfully abstract reflection on the natural order of relationships,” is accompanied by a recording of the 17-year brood of cicadas that emerged in the summer of 2013); and choreographer David Parker’s “Mouthful of Shoes,” a blend of tap, body percussion, vaudeville, ballet and contemporary dance.
Parsons Dance (above left) brings passion and impeccable technique to PS21 for two evening shows August 3 and 4 at 8 pm; Celebrated performance artist Bill Shannon (above right), definitely “differently abled,” presents “Maker Moves,” a multimedia contemporary clown theater piece, for two shows at PS21 August 10 and 11 at 8 pm; The New York City Ballet is at Saratoga Performing Arts Center for the week of July 17, performing an all-Ballanchine program, Romeo and Juliet (left), and, a special Gala featuring Berstein-Robbins collaborations, plus an evening of works by 21st century choreographers including Justin Peck, Gianna Reisen, and Lauren Lovette. BerkshiresCalendar.com
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theater & perform
Shakespeare and Company’s 2017 production of Cymbeline
“Summer theater”— the very sound of those words is catnip to theater-goers. That’s because there is nothing quite like live professional theater on summer evenings away from the hurly-burly of city streets to captivate and entertain. The Berkshires has been providing superb summer theater for decades, and there are many plays to choose from this season, from Shakespeare to exciting new works that haven’t yet arrived in urban settings. 40
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The theme of the season at Lenox’s Shakespeare and Company is “Delight, Deceit, and Desire.” The Shakespeare season begins with Macbeth in the Tina Packer Theater, where the audience is seated close to the actors Elizabethan-style. The family-friendly production of Love’s Labors Lost, Shakespeare’s witty court comedy in which certain powerful men get their comeuppances, will be staged outdoors at the Dell at the Mount, Edith Wharton’s Lenox home. As You Like It will also get alfresco treatment, in the company’s Roman Garden Theater. Plays by Carey Crim, Terrence McNally, Simon Stephens, Taylor Mac, and August Strindberg complete the Company’s summer. more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
mance
all the Berkshires is a stage July 5–August 11 at The Unicorn Theatre
The Larry Vaber Stage BTG’s Stockbridge Campus 6 East Street, Stockbridge
book and lyrics by
music by
Gerome Ragni & James Rado
Galt MacDermot
produced for the Broadway stage by Michael Butler originally produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival
directed by
Theatre
Daisy Walker
music direction by choreography by
Eric Svejcar
Lisa Shriver
www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org (413) 997-4444
MASS MoCA (Clockwise from top) Tony Award-winning actor and activist Alan Cumming brings his “Legal Immigrant” cabaret show to the Mahaiwe July 15 at 7pm; Whoopi Goldberg will be speaking her mind (as usual) for a gala performance at the Mahaiwe, July 29 at 8pm; the Berkshire Theatre Group presents Hair at the Unicorn Theater in Stockbridge, July 5–August 11; the BTG also presents new productions of modern classics, such as Children of a Lesser God in 2017.
Don’t let the corporate sound of ‘Berkshire Theatre Group’ or the word ‘merger’ fool you. True, the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge and the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield did join forces in 2010 under a new name, but they have retained the ethos that inspired the creation of those two institutions in 1928 and 1903, respectively, namely to foster the unique power of theater to engage and entertain. From musicals such as Hair (OMG, it’s been 50 years!) and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (one show only, at the Colonial, and it’s free!), to Robert Sherwood’s tense 1934 drama The Petrified Forest (at the Fitzpatrick), summer stock lives, under the aegis of BTG.
The effervescent and unpredictable Josh Sharp presents a music-and-comedy show at the Dré Pavilion at MASS MoCA at 8 p.m. on July 14.
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theater
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Daniel’s Art Party arT anD audienCE ruN amoK
At the Daniel Arts Center
JUNE 12 – JULY 1 Tickets at danielsartparty.org Adults $10-$15, Kids $5 (3 and under free) | Party Pass: Adults $50, Kids $25
The Elgar Variations Tour
June 12–14, 7:30 p.m. June 15, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. | June 16, 8:00 p.m.
Experience Victorian composer Edward Elgar’s life through a site-specific, pop-art ballet, walking tour of the gorgeous Daniel Arts Center. Directed/choreographed by Ken Roht; co-choreographed by Andrea Blacklow, Ellen Gorman (Moving Arts Exchange); featuring the Berkshires’ own Martin Jason Asprey as Edward Elgar.
Play a role in the theater! With the sole mission to encourage, develop and present new plays, Berkshire Playwrights Lab (BPL) is known for its fullyblocked script-in-hand staged readings. Four Caption for playat the Mahaiwe this wrights lab image summer June 27, July in thison space. 11, Caption July 25 and August 8 for this at 7:30 pm. Tell playimage in thisthe space. wright what you think in Caption for this. the feedback session.
Scavenger Hunt
June 16 & 17, 2:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.
Embark on a sprawling, multimedia scavenger hunt produced by director/designer Michael Counts, hailed by the New York Times as a “master of immersive theater” and directed by Ashley Tata. The hunt features fantastical creatures by Huck Elling. Prizes for winning players!
The Secret City
June 17 & July 1, 12:00 p.m.
This secular revival show is a sincere and fabulous community celebration of art and creativity, with outrageous outfits! From the heart and mind of Obie Award-winning performer Chris Wells.
Maestro Doolally and the Choir June 17, 19 & 24, 7:30 p.m.
A majestic choral concert gone hilariously awry, featuring the Cantilena Chamber Choir and James Warwick as the grand and flappable Maestro Doolally.
Leatherheads: Berkshire Firefighters Tell Their Stories June 20, 7:30 p.m. | June 24, 3:00 p.m.
This in-depth group interview features exciting photo-documentary media by Fire Chief Ed Harvey, who brings together fellow firefighters to share their lives as honored members of our communities. Musical accompaniment by the Danju String Quartet.
Danny’s at the Fair June 22 & 23, 7:30 p.m.
With all the fun and heart of an outdoor fair, MOON IN THE POND FARM and the local farming community mix with entertainers to create a lively onstage variety show. Join us in appreciation of local agriculture—the growers, makers, chefs, artisans, and farm animals that enrich our daily lives.
Orange Star Smasharoo! June 27–30, 7:30 p.m.
This rollicking, folk-musical farce swirls around a stage full of dining audience members as they, and the rest of the audience, experience a high-drama night in the life of a colorful, slightly bawdy Wyoming family. [Parents be advised: some naughty adult themes.] Written and directed by Ken Roht, and starring Broadway belter Lauren Elder (Hair, Side Show ) as our Queen of
Dinner Theater, Orange Star!
DANIEL ARTS CENTER | 84 ALFORD RD. | GT. BARRINGTON, MA | 413-528-7400
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Enjoy bold productions of new and classic works this summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, June 26 to August 19.
Since 1955 the Williamstown Theater Festival has been revisiting classic plays with fresh productions and also developing new plays and musicals. This year’s season opens with The Closet, a new comedy by Douglas Carter Beane starring Matthew Broderick, Jessica Hecht, and Brooks Ashmanskas, followed by the world premiere of Lempicka, a musical with book and lyrics by Carson Kreitzer and music by Matt Gould. Meanwhile, in Pittfield, the Barrington Stage Company is presenting a new musical comedy of its own, The Royal Family of Broadway, from the creators of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, also launched by the BSC. The BSC’s St. Germain Stage will be mounting a series of adventuresome works in its 132-seat theater in Pittsfield, too. Cross into New York for all-musicals-allthe-time at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham and a fun series of plays and musicals at the Theater Barn in New Lebanon, or slip down to the Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, Connecticut, for crowd-pleasing musicals and first-rate children’s theater. more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
B P L
b e r k s h i r ee
PLAYWRIGHTS LAB PLAYWRIGHTS
Join Us for Original Plays, Year-Round Staged Readings
Fully staged readings of original works Wednesdays at 7:00 pm / $15 at the Mahaiwe June 27 | July 11 & 25 | August 8
Radius Playwrights Festival
More theater choices! (Clockwise from top) GhostLit Rep offers two productions this summer, The Tempest at Saint James Place, Great Barrington, June 14–17, and Fun Home, winner of five Tony Awards, at The Egremont Barn, August 8-12; Barrington Stage offers nine productions on two stages this summer; new this year at the Sharon Playhouse, all seats $20 on Thursdays—a great price for great productions; see musical theater in the round at Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, NY, launching its 50th season with Damn Yankees.
Winter festival of original short plays Local playwrights, directors and actors
Berkshire Voices
Workshop program for Berkshire writers
www.berkshireplaywrightslab.org BerkshiresCalendar.com
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visual arts
museums & galleries
Outside of urban settings, there may be no
place with more art of more kinds than the Berkshires in the summertime. The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, and MASS MoCA in North Adams are the headliners, but innumerable galleries, craft shows, and intriguing displays of public art extend the visitor’s art experience in virtually every town. Not only are the permanent collections of the region’s museums impressive, their special exhibitions are worth traveling for in their own right. It’s a region that has long attracted visual artists and craftspeople— a place where art is a living presence in many forms.
WILLIAMS COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART & SCULPTURE WALK Works of public art, most of them from WCMA’s collection, can be found all across the Williams College campus. These sculptures and installations, from the newly controversial 1867 Haystack Monument to Louise Bourgeois’ striking “Eyes (nine elements)” of 2001, integrate encounters with art into the daily lives of students, residents, and visitors. A guide to the location of the artworks is available online. 44
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WOMEN ARTISTS IN PARIS, 1850–1900 For many visitors, the highlight of the summer art season in the Berkshires will be the Clark Art Institute’s special exhibition “Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900.” The exhibition examines a key chapter in the history of art during which an international group of women artists overcame gender-based restrictions to make remarkable creative strides and bring about a more egalitarian art world. “Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob’s Pillow, 19061940,” opening at the Williams College Museum of Art June 29, explores the fascinating world of Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, the visionary couple who lit the way for American dance in the early 20th century.
more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
the lure of the dark MASS MoCA | Sex, death, romance, magic, terror, wonder, alienation, and freedom: the night invites a myriad of often contradictory associations. For centuries, painters have been drawn to the night and its perceptual and poetic possibilities. From Rembrandt and his “Night Watch” to Georges de la Tour’s intimate candle-lit scenes, Vincent van Gogh’s dizzying “Starry Night,” and Edward Hopper’s lonely “Nighthawks,” artists have sought to make the experience of night visible. In so doing they have had to render the sources of the light that illuminate the darkness, from the moon and stars to candles, cigarettes, and (lately) the ghostly glow of cell phones. Featuring paintings— including new commissions—by a diverse group of over a dozen contemporary artists, including Patrick Bermingham, William Binnie, Cynthia Daignault, T.M. Davy, Jeronimo Elespe, Cy Gavin, Shara Hughes, Josephine Halvorson, Sam McKinniss, Wilhelm Neusser, Dana Powell, Kenny Rivero, and Alexandria Smith, “The Lure of the Dark” illustrates the ways in which the hours of darkness continue to provoke the contemporary artistic imagination.
Not only does the Norman Rockwell Museum hold the world’s greatest collection of Rockwells, it mounts special exhibitions on aspects of the art of illustration. This summer, “Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell and the Narrative Tradition” advances an intriguing thesis: that there is an unbreakable thread connecting legendary American artists such as Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell to the roots of European painting through the long line of teachers who have passed along their wisdom, knowledge, and techniques to the next generation of creators through the centuries. Great artists create their own precursors, said T.S. Eliot. See for yourself in this richly illustrated survey of the art of visual storytelling.
Top: Kenny Rivero’s painting was begun at nearby Buxton School while he was in residence in 2017; (l. to r.) N. C. Wyeth, “In the Crystal Depths,” 1906, Brandywine River Museum of Art; Maxfield Parrish, “The Lantern Bearers,” 1908, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Norman Rockwell, “Girl at Mirror,” c. 1954, Norman Rockwell Museum Collection. BerkshiresCalendar.com
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visual art
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THINK BIG To comprehend the phenomenon of MASS MoCA, you have to think big. It’s the ultimate loft, with 250,000 square feet (about five acres) of open and naturally lit space in the former Sprague Electric complex astride the Housatonic River in the heart of North Adams. But it’s also a big idea: it reconfigures the traditional, jewel-box concept of a museum as “a dynamic open platform that encourages free exchange between the making of art and its enjoyment by the public, between the visual and performing arts, and between an historic factory campus and the patrons, workers, and tenants who once again inhabit it…” Patrons come for collections like the Sol Lewitt galleries, Anselm Kiefer’s striking “Velimir Chlebnikov” (2004), a steel pavilion containing 30 paintings dealing with nautical warfare, and “Come to Your Senses,” the current show in the Kidspace gallery, curated by Sally Taylor, which asks visual artists, poets, dancers, musicians, perfumers, chefs, and sculptors to use one another’s art as a catalyst to create their own work; artworks by local schoolchildren laid the groundwork for the explorations.
CHESTERWOOD | Daniel Chester French, the sculptor of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial and the Minute Man in his hometown of Concord, Mass., spent working summers at his elegant (and functional) home in Stockbridge. The turn-of-thecentury house itself, a National Trust property, with original wallpaper and furnishings, is worth a visit, but it’s the newly opened permanent collections gallery, with over 150 sculptures by French and portraits of the artist and family members, on view for the first time in this gallery, that is the draw this summer. The 122 acres of formal gardens and woodland paths were created by French himself. 46
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more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
the clark art institute The rural setting is serene, the permanent collection extensive and important, the special exhibits often sensational. The Clark is destination enough for any art lover from anywhere; one visit is typically not enough to take it all in; moreover, the Clark has grown substantially in recent years. The collection features European and American paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. It’s especially rich in French Impressionist and Academic paintings, British oil sketches, drawings, and silver, and the work of American artists Winslow Homer, George Inness, and John Singer Sargent. A Gilbert Stuart George Washington looks down at you with a profoundly reassuring gaze; seemingly around the corner, Gauguin invites you to escape to Tahiti. Besides this summer’s “Women Artists in Paris 1850–1900,” the Clark is also presenting “A City Transformed: Photographs of Paris 1850-1900,” focusing on the city’s dramatic architectural changes during the period. A more offbeat French offering is also on view: “Objects in Iron from Rouen’s Musée Le Secq des Tournelles.” An exhibition that would be equally at home at MASS MoCA is L.A.-based Jennifer Steincamp’s “Blind Eye.” It’s the Clark’s first video installation, featuring six of the artist’s most immersive projections. Branches, leaves, and flowers intertwine and overlap in her animations, twisting and changing color in deeply transformative ways. Recommended: top off your visit with a meditative spell at the Clark’s three-tiered reflecting pool.
For intimate contact with great art, it’s hard to beat the FreylinghuysenMorris House and Studio in Lenox. Suzy Freylinghuysen and George L. K. Morris may not be household names, but they are well known to connoisseurs of 20th century art and architecture as a couple who were both abstract artists and collectors. Morris’ studio at Brookhurst, his parents’ estate, was the first building in New England in the Modern style. He and Suzy went on to integrate a stucco and glass house onto it and to decorate with frescoes, furniture, their own paintings, and works by Picasso, Léger, Gris and others. They have extended a posthumous invitation to you.
ARTCOUNTRY , a consortium of five north Berkshire arts organizations—the Clark Art Institute, the Williams College Museum of Art, the Bennington Museum, MASS MoCA, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival—is offering flexible new discounts on admissions and lodging in 2018— full details at artcountry.org. BerkshiresCalendar.com
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visual art
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and a galaxy of galleries, too When world-class museums are not enough, or simply for a change of pace, the region’s distinctive galleries and extensive craft fairs beckon. Some draw on the creative resources of the Berkshires’ own artists; some bring fine art and objets d’art from the far corners of the world to the main streets and side streets of the region’s towns. But be forewarned: the quality of the art on offer is likely to put you in an acquisitive mood (a mood that museum-goers can’t enjoy – or need to be protected from). To gallery-hop in the Berkshires, and to browse the booths and tables of the August craft fairs, is to feel the pulse of the region’s creative economy. And perhaps to contribute to it... Whether you’re after a one-of-a-kind gift or simply an object of desire for yourself, or just to browse, the Berkshires make it easy to see original examples of the latest developments in painting and sculpture, home furnishings, work in glass, clay, and cloth, hand-made furniture, bowl-turning, iron-working, photography, jewelry, quilting, and more. Don’t be surprised to find 19th-century nautical scenes and vintage home decor on the same block as the latest trends in ceramics. It’s all part of the region’s charm.
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The Schantz Gallery (above left) in Stockbridge is a museum in everything but name. Visitors can experience the work of more than 50 internationally recognized glass artists, including some of the best known in the world; Evergreen (top) in Great Barrington offers fine American crafts—jewelry, pottery, blown glass, leather goods and wearable art, original sticks furniture, garden art, and lighting fixtures, as well contemporary stained glass; the Diana Felber Gallery (bottom) in West Stockbridge hosts fine art and crafts in a variety of media, including painting, photography, sculpture, pottery, glass, jewelry, and woodworking. more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
Lauren Clark Fine Art (top above), on Route 7 just north of the center of Great Barrington, features the work of painters, printmakers, potters, glassblowers, jewelers and woodworkers, and also offers a complete custom framing shop. At Hotchkiss Mobiles (above) in West Stockbridge, you will discover museum-quality hanging mobiles, both contemporary and traditional, for homes, garden patios and offices.
photo: Russell Johnson
A contemporary glass art gallery exhibiting more than fifty artists, in Stockbridge.
Dinosaur, 2017 50.75 x 22 x 7.5”
Lino Tagliapietr a Schantz Galleries contemporary glass
3 Elm Street, Stockbridge, MA schantzgalleries•com 413•298•3044
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family fun
so bring the fam— and even the dog
The beauty of the Berkshires for families is that there are fun activities to suit every age group and pocketbook, from traditional pursuits like hiking and horseback riding to activities that may be as new to parents as to children, such as negotiating the treetops on aerial walkways and ziplines.
In the Berkshires, wild nature is often just a short
drive out of town. The waterfall at Bash Bish State Park (with the longest vertical drop in Massachusetts) in Mt. Washington or the caves of Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield will give kids (and adults) destinations to aim for. The Cobble itself rises a thousand feet above the local terrain and rewards the hiker who makes it to the top with exceptional views of the surrounding countryside. The Berkshires are mountains. The Appalachian Trail traverses 90 miles of western Massachusetts, passing over Mt. Greylock in Adams, at 3,491 feet the highest peak in the state; the summit is accessible by trails and an automobile road. Camping is available at many state parks and state forests, such as Beartown State Forest in Monterey and October Mountain Forest in Lee. The Guilder Pond Loop at Mt. Everett State Park circles around a lovely mountain pond, and you can bring the family dog. Eleven-mile long, ten-foot wide, paved Ashuwillticook Rail Trail runs over an old railroad track through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams; it’s well suited to hiking, biking, roller-blading, and pushing a stroller. Four adventure destinations in the Berkshires promise memorable experiences. Jiminy Peak in Hancock, in winter a ski mountain, offers chairlift rides in summer, mountain biking, a mountain coaster, an alpine super slide, a selfguided aerial forest ropes course, a two-person zipline, a giant swing, a climbing wall, bounce houses, and—wait for it—a Euro bungy trampoline. Catamount Aerial Adventure Park in South Egremont features 12 self-guided treetop courses with varying levels of difficulty; they’ve been at it for ten years. Ramblewild is another top arboreal adventure destination in a beautiful hemlock grove in Lanesborough, and Bousquet Mountain Adventure Park in Pittsfield has waterslides, ziplines, miniature golf, and more.
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(Clockwise from top left) Hula hooping at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge; Hancock Shaker Village; thrill rides at Jiminy Peak; a zip line at the Catamount Adventure Park in South Egremont; a Rock On Workshop in Pittsfield; kid fun at the Berkshire Museum, and a wigwam built by Wampanaog artisans.
more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
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family fun
find more at berkshirescalendar.com
Many of the region’s farms welcome guests and provide children with both fun and learning. Hancock Shaker Village is a whole world of rural living designed for family visitors. Adults come on their own, too, for Goat Yoga (bleat in, bleat out—no kidding). Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock serves brunch in season, and at Cricket Creek in Williamstown you can meet the calves and watch the dairy herd come in at milking time. Even the region’s cultural attractions take children into account. MASS MoCA’s Kidspace is a creative child’s playground, and the Berkshire Museum also offers special experiences for children, including one for infants (and their caregivers). The Heritage State Park Museum in North Adams will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered how they bored the Hoosac 52
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(Clockwise from top left) The smoothly paved Ashuwillticook Rail Trail runs 11 miles over a former rail bed through Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams; climbing Monument Mountain in Great Barrington—just as Hawthorne, Melville, and Holmes did; 480-acre Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield attracts boaters, kayakers, water skiers, and anglers; see an old station and catch an old train at the Berkshire Railway Museum in Lenox.
Tunnel through almost five miles of rock in the 19th century to link the town to Albany by rail. You can ride a train today between Adams and North Adams on the Berkshire Scenic Railway. The Railway also operates a fun museum-station in Lenox, with rides in the railyard. more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
farmers markets AMENIA, N.Y. Amenia Farmers Market
ameniafarmersmarket.com Amenia Town Hall parking lot, Rte. 22 Fridays 3pm-7pm, May–October A wide selection of fresh produce, farm products, prepared foods, and more. Accepting WIC, SFMNP. BENNINGTON, Vt. Bennington Farmers Market benningtonfarmersmarket.org 150 Depot St., at the Riverwalk Park Saturdays 10am-1pm, May 5–October 27 Fresh produce, baked goods, eggs, crafts, jams and jellies, and more. Accepts debit cards. COPAKE/HILLSDALE, N.Y. Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market copakehillsdalefarmersmarket.com Roeliff Jansen (Roe Jan) Park, 9140 Rte. 22, ½ mile south of Rte. 23, Hillsdale Saturdays, 9am-1pm, May 26–October 27 Organic vegetables, fruits, locally raised meats, specialty products, prepared food, cheese, bread, baked goods, eggs, jams/jellies, honey, maple syrup. Live music and children’s programming. CORNWALL, CONN. The Original Cornwall Farmers Market cornwallfarmmarket.org 413 Sharon Goshen Tnpk., West Cornwall CT 06796 Saturdays 10am-1pm, May 16-October Locally grown, raised and artisanal handcrafted food, flowers, edible and ornamental plants. DALTON, Mass. Dalton Public Market Community Recreation Association, 400 Main St. Thursdays 4pm-7pm, June–August
Organic vegetables, grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured heritage pork, maple products, plants, seedlings, micro greens, soaps, books, and other locally made items. Artist pavilion features local artists works for sale. Libation tastings and prepared foods. GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. Great Barrington Farmers Market gbfarmersmarket.org 18 Church St. Saturdays 9am-1pm, May 12–October 27 Accepts SNAP/EBT/HIP. HANCOCK, Mass. Hancock Farmers Market 3210 Hancock Rd/ Rte. 43, Located between the firehouse and Hancock Central School. Sundays 10am-3pm and Wednesdays 10am-2pm, June 10–October 7 A roadside farm stand and farmers market offering local organic fruit and produce.
news, views & what’s happening at theBerkshireEdge.com
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. Berkshire Area Farmers Market Berkshire Mall parking lot, Old State Rd. and Rte. 8 Wednesdays and Saturdays 8am-2pm, May 5–October 27 Vegetables, fruit, plants, meat and more. LEE, Mass. Lee Farmers Market leefarmersmarket.com 25 Park Place, at the town park at the intersections of Main St., Housatonic St., and West Park St., in front of the First Congregational Church. Saturdays 10am-2pm, May 26-October 6 Market held rain or shine. LENOX, Mass. Lenox Farmers Market facebook.com/lenoxfarmersmarket lenoxfarmersmarket.com St. Ann Church, 134 Main Street. If there is an event at the church, the market will BerkshiresCalendar.com
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food & farm
find more at berkshirescalendar.com NORTH ADAMS, Mass. North Adams Farmers Market explorenorthadams.com/item/northadams-farmers-market Municipal parking lot on St. Anthony Drive between Marshall St. and Holden St. Saturdays 9am-1pm, June 9-October 20 Accepts SNAP/EBT/HIP. OTIS, Mass. Otis Farmers Market In the parking lot of Papa’s Healthy Food and Fuel, 2000 East Otis Rd., East Otis Saturdays 9am-1pm, May 26-October 6 Otis Farmers Market has been going strong since 2005. Each year continues to get better and better with more vendors and more to choose from. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market
be up the street at Roche Reading Park for that day only.
NEW LEBANON, N.Y. New Lebanon Farmers Market
Fridays 12:30-4:30pm May 25–September 21
facebook.com/newlebanonfarmersmarket 519 State Rte. 20 / Columbia County Turnpike
MILLERTON, N.Y. Millerton Farmers Market
Sundays 10am-2pm, June-October
millertonfarmersmarket.org Millerton Methodist Church, 6 Dutchess Ave. Saturdays 10am-2pm, May 19–October 27 Managed by the North East Community Center. A wide variety of seasonal organic produce, pasture-raised meats, fruit, cheeses, baked goods and prepared foods. All vendors are local and follow sustainable and ethical growing practices.
A community gathering place for people to access locally grown and produced food, goods, art, and entertainment. Vendor-run market. Accepts FMNP, WIC, SNAP/EBT, Senior Coupons, credit cards. NORFOLK, Conn. Norfolk Farmers Market norfolkfarmersmarket.org Town Hall, 19 Maple Ave. One block north of Rte. 44 Saturdays, 10am-1pm, May–October
MONTEREY, Mass. Monterey Farmers Market In the center of town Tuesdays, 4pm-6pm, Starting in June Offering vegetables, eggs, meat, cheese, baked goods, jam, fruit and more.
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Locally grown fruit and vegetables; locally raised meat; herbs, cheese, yogurt, bread, cookies, tarts and pies, jewelry, honey and maple syrup, jams and pickles, arts, crafts and much more. Come enjoy our local farmers, food producers and artisans while listening to live music!
farmersmarketpittsfield.org The Common Park on First St. Saturdays 9am-1pm, May 12–October 13 Year-round producer-only market. Fresh, local & seasonal produce, pasture-raised meats, eggs, cheese, bread, wine, coffee, artisan goods & more. Live music, chef demos, workshops & children’s activities. A program of Alchemy Initiative. SNAP, WIC & Senior FMNP benefits proudly accepted SALISBURY, Conn. Salisbury Farmers Market 38 Main St. Scoville Memorial Library Lawn Saturdays 10am-1pm May 19–October 13 Organic vegetables, grass-fed meats (chicken, pork, and heirloom beef), breads, fresh donuts, coffee, maple syrup, honey, jams, seedlings, ornamental plants, cut flowers, health and beauty products, breakfast, lunch, occasional tastings and chef demos.
SHEFFIELD, Mass. Sheffield Farmers Market sheffieldfarmersmarket.org Old Parish Church parking lot 125 Main St. Fridays 3pm-6:30pm, May 25–October 5 The place in Sheffield to buy and sell food fresh from the farm as well as other locally produced goods directly from the producers while socializing with your friends and neighbors. Rain or shine. Accepts SNAP, HIP, Berkshares, debit and credit cards. VALATIE, N.Y. Valatie Farmers Market www.facebook.com/valatiefarmersmarket Valatie Medical Arts Building 1301 River St Sundays 10am-2pm, May 20–October
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. West Stockbridge Farmers Market
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Williamstown Farmers Market
weststockbridgefarmersmarket.org Merritt Green on Harris St. in the village center.
williamstownfarmersmarket.org also Facebook Parking lot at the base of Spring Street
Thursdays 3pm-7pm, May 17–October 4 Rain or shine. Accepts SNAP/EBT.
Saturdays 9am-1pm, May 19–October 13
news, views & what’s happening at theBerkshireEdge.com
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day trip The Berkshires are inexhaustible: the more you come to know about the region, the more you want to see and do, and you never have to stop. Still—whether you’re a year-round or summer resident or just a frequent visitor, it’s sometimes nice to get out of town and see something new. Let us suggest (for starters) that you go west, into the Hudson Valley and beyond, to four destinations that are doable as day trips but also beckon you to spend the night.
The Hudson River was America’s first highway (when
the best traveling was by water). The Dutch got there first (that is, after millennia of native habitation) and founded towns from New Amsterdam (aka New York) to Beverwyk (later Albany), inaugurating more than 400 years of European-led settlement. Layers of history can be observed in almost every town in the Hudson River Valley, including the recent emergence of a flourishing creative economy and leadership in sustainable agriculture.
a visit over the border HUDSON, NEW YORK The town of Hudson, only 45 minutes from Stockbridge on the east bank of the river, has it all. The Historic District includes most of downtown, with a core area of 45 blocks. It’s one of the rare downtowns to have followed the grid plan laid out by its 18th-century founders through to the present day, and Warren Street, its main artery, is New York’s most intact 19th-century main commercial street. In the 19th century the town provided a safe harbor for New England whalers, a past which lies behind the whales on the street signs. Shortly after the Historic District was designated, antiques dealers began setting up shops on Warren Street. “Best antiques shopping in the Northeast,” pronounced the New York Times; “everything you need for a beautifully curated life,” exclaimed a Yelp reviewer. Art galleries followed, and many weekend visitors have relocated to Hudson full-time, including celebrities. You may spot some familiar faces in the town’s chic eateries. Olana, Hudson River School painter Frederic Church’s grand home in nearby Greenport, overlooking the river, is open to the public. Church died in 1900, but his house is remarkably intact (and now well cared for by the State of New York). The architecture, decoration, and landscaping, in all of
Hudson waterfront (top left); Warren Street with its many shops and restaurants is part of the Hudson Historic District (bottom left). Home to the artist Frederic Edwin Church, the Olana State Historic Site (right) was built after the artist traveled to the Middle East, which greatly influenced the design. Even if Victorian architecture isn’t your “thing,” the views from the property are spectacular.
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which the painter had a hand, are unique. If you’d like to get out on the river itself, there’s a cruise for that: Hudson Cruises operates scenic river trips right from the Hudson riverfront. And if you’d like to get up into the air, or watch others do it, the Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival, at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds July 6–8, is for you.
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This is where Nathan Detroit (in Guys and Dolls) would always get off the train that he had promised Adelaide would take them to Niagara. The fact is, it’s an irresistible destination, 90 minutes from the Berkshires, and you don’t have to play the horses to have a great time. But you may well wish to! The Saratoga Race Course is simply a grand and unforgettable experience, whether you’re betting or not. Opening Day is July 20, and the season runs through September 3. Once it was the mineral springs that drew the fashionable crowd. Now it’s the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia more news and features at theBerkshireEdge.com
Orchestra; July belongs to dance, August to music. Top rock and pop acts play all summer long (for example, Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, September 15—not a tribute act, the real thing!), and the Saratoga Jazz Festival runs June 22–24. The Saratoga Wine and Food Festival (plan to stay over) takes place September 7–9. Who needs Niagara?
COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK Cooperstown is synonymous with the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Hall is worth the trip (two and a half hours from the Berkshires) for any baseball fan. They built it (in 1939), told a tall tale about baseball being invented in the town, and sure enough people came (almost 300,00 a year at last count).
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Baseball Hall of Fame; Main Street in Cooperstown; West Side Story at the Glimmerglass Festival.
The exhibits, memorabilia, photographs and videos of baseball’s greatest moments, and of course the plaques for the 323 (and counting) individuals enshrined in the Hall will stir memories of triumph and tragedy on the field. After your visit, you can celebrate (or drown your sorrows) in one of the local establishments serving the region’s superb craft beers, like the Belgian-style ales from nearby Brewery Ommegang. Cooperstown’s Glimmerglass Festival, showcasing opera and musical theater, also draws visitors from afar. This summer’s
four new productions include Bernstein’s West Side Story, Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, and Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night. The Fenimore Art Museum is also worth a visit; the Museum has an exceptionally rich collection of American folk art and American Indian art. The letters between Hamilton and Burr that led to their duel, as well as related art from the collection, are on display through December. Also on view, are photographs by Edward Weston.
30th Anniversary - 2018 Aug 3, 4 & 5 on Dodds Farm Hillsdale NY over 40 acts on 4 stages
Three Days of Folk Music & Dance at the Foot of the Berkshires
Concerts, Dance Tent, Family Stage, Emerging Artist Showcase, Activities 4 Kids, Craft Village, International Food, Accessible & ASL Interpreted
Thurs Pre-Fest Tastings, Farm Market & Lounge Stage - incl w/ 3 day tix or purchase separately Dar Williams, Tom Paxton & the Don Juans, Vance Gilbert, Sloan Wainwright, The Kennedys, Greg Greenway, Laura Love, Adam Ezra Group, Tempest, Gaslight Tinkers, Bunkhouse Boys, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Magpie, Kim & Reggie Harris, Hoopoe, others www.FalconRidgeFolk.com - 860 364-0366 60
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Enjoy performances by Music Director Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the idyllic summer home of the BSO. Don’t miss performances by world-renowned guest artists, concerts featuring the Boston Pops, and the season-long tribute to Leonard Bernstein.
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