Editor

Community

The Rural We: Kira Wizner

Kira Wizner, a part-time resident of the Hudson Valley, became the new owner of Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, New York last November. When she and her family, who live in NYC, were looking for a weekend place, the requirement was that it be “quiet and lovely," and they

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Community

Roads Less Traveled: Out of the Way Places We Love, Part 1

The West Cornwall Covered Bridge By Jamie Larson Over the years, we’ve crisscrossed the Rural Intelligence region highlighting the best our towns, villages and cities have to offer. But we have to admit that sometimes we wonder if we're missing out on some hidden treasures as we&

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Community

Sit Awhile: The Porch Brings Storytelling To The Spiegeltent

By Robert Burke Warren A single spotlight, a bare stage, a microphone, and a true story. With that simple formula, Red Hook resident Joey Shavelle has created The Porch, a standing-room-only storytelling series coming to Bard’s Spiegeltent in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, on Friday, June 24

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Food

Recipe: Chicken Jambalaya

If you’re in the Berkshires and need to meet with someone, in a place where you can get a nice pastry and coffee or a local/organic/homemade meal in a convivial (and wired) setting, where do you go? Very likely, it’ll be one of the two Haven

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Parties

Close Encounters Shakes Things Up At Gala Concert

Lisa Green reports from Great Barrington. Close Encounters With Music closed out its season with its annual gala concert on Saturday, June 11 at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. This year’s theme was “Music That Shook The World!" and its multi-media approach, complete with vintage film and

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Parties

First Columbians Celebrates 100 Years Of Preservation

Jamie Larson reports from Kinderhook. The Columbia County Historical Society’s yearly First Columbians gala is always a stylish and enjoyable happening, but this year took on special significance: it's the organization's centennial, and the historical society has in itself become historic. The storm clouds parted

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Parties

The Wassaic Project Welcomes You To The Jungle

Rachel Louchen reports from Wassaic. There's a good reason The Wassaic Project needs an entire summer to display its main exhibition: because there's so much to see, touch and experience. On Saturday, June 11, preview party guests got a glimpse of what's in store

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Parties

Finding Raven: Berkshire Museum Parties With Leather And Feathers

Amy Krzanik reports from Pittsfield. Once upon a midnight dreary, a Gothic vibe pervaded the normally vivid and cheery Berkshire Museum on Friday, June 10. (The weather was actually mild and it started at 5:30 p.m., not midnight, but I digress…) Guests embraced this year’s “Raven’s

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Style

'Books & Blooms' Garden Tour Crosses The Cornwalls

By Lisa Green We know, from posting countless listings over the years, that books and gardens loom large in the lives of Rural Intelligence readers. And when those two subjects are combined in one event, as they are in The Cornwall (Conn.) Library’s annual summer benefit and garden tour,

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Community

At The Mount, La Conversation Est En Français

Les Francophones in 2012. Photo courtesy Jan Werner. Francophiles take note: beginning June 23, on Thursday mornings through Sept. 1, only French will be spoken at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s estate in Lenox, Mass. And could there be a more glorious setting than the Terrace Café for Le Café

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Real Estate

Modern Craftsman

Built in 2001, the Camalot Craftsman in West Stockbridge features contemporary Arts and Crafts touches. All of the common spaces open up to views of the Berkshire Hills. The open floor plan includes the living room, dining room, kitchen, seven bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms and separate guest

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Real Estate

Lakefront Arts And Crafts

This custom Craftsman, sited on 100 feet of water frontage on Highland Lake in Winchester, was built in 2009 with traditional details like exposed rafters, decorative beams and a gabled roof with an overhang. The construction and attention to detail extends to the kitchen, living room, dining room, four bedrooms

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