Editor

Parties

Shaker Shalom at Hancock Shaker Village

Cultural correspondent Bess Hochstein reports: The Shaker City of Peace is one of the few places to actually find peace in the frenzy of the Berkshire summer. All the hustle and bustle of running to make the curtain for this or that cultural event fade away as soon as you

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Community

The Mahaiwe's Mix-Master: 20 Questions for Beryl Jolly

Beryl Jolly, the executive director of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, has been at the historic theater since its grand renovation and reopening in 2005.   Before joining the Mahaiwe, Jolly was the director of individual giving and development at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)  and a

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Food

Farming: The Mid-Life Crisis Career Option

Roberto Flores's face is a familiar one in the Berkshires. For 15 years, he owned and operated Seven Hills Inn, a 60 room mansion hotel next door to The Mount in Lenox, which he sold last spring. But he's a fresh face at the  farmers'

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Community

The Wassaic Project Brings Art to the Right Side of the Tracks

The Wassaic Project has a lofty home and ambitions. Located in a  majestic, partially restored granary just a half mile south of the Wassaic Metro-North station, it is the brainchild of Eve Biddle & Bowie Zunino (who produce art together as Eve + Bowie) and Elan Bogarin, a movie producer.

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Arts

Dan's Diary: The Greatest Generation's Favorite Musical?

Though I'd argue with Time Magazine's contention that Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel is the greatest musical of the  20th century, Julianne Boyd, the artistic director of Barrington Stage Company, has given Carousel the kind of stunning production that only a great musical deserves. Boyd&

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Parties

Barrington Stage Company's 15th Anniversary Gala

What could be more unpretentious than a picnic dinner in a parochial school gym? Barrington Stage Company returned to St. Joseph High School for its 15th annual gala, which followed a late afternoon performance of Carousel (which runs through July 11). The party honored artistic director Julianne Boyd, who was

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Community

O Say Can You See Those Great Fireworks?

Considering the summer we've had so far, it's probably wise to have a weather-resistant plan in place for this weekend.  So we went looking for Fireworks Plus—agendas rich enough to sustain revelers in case Mother Nature turns on the a.c. yet again and

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Arts

Dan's Diary: Gray Skies Are Gonna Clear Up . . .

If you're a musical theater buff, you know that "Gray skies are gonna clear up/Put on a happy face" is a lyric from Bye Bye Birdie, which was the song in my head as I walked into the soggy parking lot after seeing TriArts'

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Community

Creative Solutions for Hard Times: A Great Barrington Auto Dealership Morphs Into an Art Gallery

Beginning Saturday, if you drive by Pete's Motors on Route 7 in Great Barrington late at night, the venerable Ford and Dodge dealership will be lit up inside but there won't be any cars on view.  Pete's Motors closed last year, and it is

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Food

Year Two: Project Sprout Continues to Flourish

"Part of the job is eating on the job," says Sam Levin, snapping off and handing me a leaf of his favorite—an unfamiliar red "braising green" which, in its delicious raw form, has a spicey, wasabi-like taste.  Exam week is coming up at Great

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Style

Open Days: Lush Litchfield, Blooming Berkshires

The Garden Conservancy's Open Days program is not only about touring extraordinary private gardens, but also about meeting great gardeners in situ.  You see first-hand how gardeners' passions and peculiarities are reflected in the landscapes they create for themselves. You come to understand that gardening requires

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Food

Of Samba-ing Sows, an Utter Boar, and Duck, Duck, Goose

Carmen, still waiting, with Vernon, the utter boar. Cigars are in order!   At last, Miranda, one of our Tamworth/Ossabaw sows, has farrowed (‘given birth’ in pig farm lingo).  Good thing too, as she looked ready to explode. The large size of the piglets suggests that she was late.  She

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