Editor

Arts

Review: "All My Sons" at Barrington Stage

Barrington Stage Company founder Julianne Boyd always shines when she directs plays that engage your emotions and your intellect—the type of theater that incites a craving for a stiff drink and a serious conversation after the final curtain. With her carefully calibrated production of Arthur Miller's All

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Parties

Hootennanny Brings Farmers and Friends to the Table

Dale Stewart reports from Craryville. The second annual Friends of the Farmer Hootenanny! Fundraiser Dinner, on the grounds of the Copake Country Club, succeeded in shining the spotlight on our region’s farmers. Held on on Friday, July 27, to benefit Friends of the Farmer Scholarship Fund, the evening featured

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Arts

Jessica Lang Dance: Skirting the Issue

Jessica Lang, formerly a dancer with Twyla Tharp, made her full company debut this week at Jacob’s Pillow with an ambitious program of five dances – two solos and a duet, bookended by two ensemble works. What came through in the program, especially in this Pillow season during which most

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Community

Community: 20 Questions for Yo-Yo Ma

Perhaps the most recognized, decorated, and beloved cellist in the world, Yo-Yo Ma makes his home in the tiny town of Tyringham, Massachusetts, “A Hinterland Settlement,” nestled between Lee and Monterey, the sleepy summer residence of many musicians and composers, past and present. Yet Ma is not here to

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Arts

Books: Sandisfield Then and Now

Anyone who lives in Sandisfield, the bucolic village at the southern tip of Berkshire County that lays claim to the distinction of being the county’s largest and most sparsely populated town, has likely heard from Ron Bernard. For the past two-and-a-half years, Bernard has been interviewing

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Community

Farmers and Foodies Have a Field Day - Several, Actually

Farm On! That’s the rallying cry of Friends of the Farmer, organizers of a two-part festival for lovers of farm-fresh foods and supporters of local agriculture. It could also be the catchphrase for everyone inspired to turn a patch of grass into a productive vegetable garden. This

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Parties

Mixing It Up at The Berkshire Fringe Gala

Fiona Breslin reports from Great Barrington.It was not your average Monday night in Great Barrington on July 23, when the Berkshire Fringe kicked off its three-week festival of performing arts with a gala benefit performance and party at Bard College at Simon's Rock's Daniel

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Parties

Fitch's Corner Horse Trials Brimming with Flair

Dale Stewart reports from Millbrook, NY.On any given Sunday, Millbrook’s hunt country already feels like the Cotswolds of the Hudson Valley. That feeling is heightened for one weekend each year during Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials. The multi-faceted event includes more than 300 horses competing in dressage,

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Parties

Shaker Museum Country Dance and Dinner at Darrow School

Dale Stewart reports from New Lebanon.Partygoers were easily coaxed into joining in the square dance under a waxing crescent moon at the Shaker Museum Summer Benefit on Saturday, July 21, at the Darrow School in Mount Lebanon. The dinner and dance had a true countrified feel, right down to

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Style

House Guests Part II: The Saga Continues…

Call in the experts for serious cleaning. ... and I Still Like the Miscreants.Primum non nocere. First, do no harm. My last column for Rural Intelligence, almost a year ago, was on House Guests. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then but the cyle continues. As

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Food

AgriCulture: Small is Beautiful at Turkana Farms

AgriCulture bloggers Peter Davies and Mark Scherzer are the owners of Turkana Farms in Germantown, NY. This week Mark writes. It has turned into a tough summer for growing, although by contrast to regions further south and west, which have been beset by searing heat and devastating drought, we would

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Arts

Dance: Moving Still, An Interview With Paul Taylor

Photos of dances by Paul B. Goodeby Scott Baldinger“I like to move.” This was the only thing the now-legendary dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor could think of saying, during an audition for a place at the Juilliard School more than 60 years ago, upon having been asked why

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