Rural Intelligence (Page 625)

Parties

At the Berkshire Museum, Nature Seen Anew

Sarah Todd reports from Pittsfield.A heart cockle shell the size of a skyscraper. A desert sunrise dividing a sand dune into even slopes of light and dark. At the Berkshire Museum’s opening reception on Saturday, February 9 for exhibits by Ansel Adams and Andreas Feininger, striking, Modernist nature

By Editor

Style

Boxwood Linen: Pressed in Hillsdale

Franca Fusco, designer and owner of Boxwood Linen, doesn't believe in holding the finer things in life back. “When I hear people say ‘It’s too pretty to use,’ I just think ‘Oh dear. What life are you waiting for?’ Do it for yourself. I don’t understand

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Community

Going Upstreet: Pittsfield's 10x10 Arts Festival

It’s nice when a good idea turns out to be an equally good reality. Looking for a way to harness the growing energy and community spirit among downtown businesses — and also provide a not-so-subtle nudge to encourage people to bundle up and make the scene in mid-

By Editor

Food

Our Daily Bread (South): The Power & The Glory of Pastrami

Sometimes a sandwich is more than just a sandwich. Take the pastrami on rye at the new Our Daily Bread Bakery & Café in Chatham, NY (not to be confused with its elder, gluten-free, vegetarian sibling at the north end of town that confusingly goes by the very same

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Food

A Coconut Cure: Congee, Chicken, and Greens

Berkshire native Alana Chernila, local politician, mother of two, and author of the new cookbook, The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making (Clarkson Potter), dispenses change and cooking ideas to readers and friends. She shares her peak-of-the-season recipes with Rural Intelligence to

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Parties

Intensive Care: Columbia Memorial Benefit At Helsinki Hudson

Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. This observer has been bandaged, injected, medicated, and cuffed (for blood pressure) under the auspices of Columbia Memorial Hospital – but never served hor’s doeuvres or entertained by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus (Stephanie Monseu, seen at left on her trademark stilts), at least until attending

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Parties

Honoring a Legacy at Hotchkiss Tremaine Gallery

On Saturday, February 2, Hotchkiss alumnus Raymond McGuire (class of ’75) returned to his former prep school as the guest of honor. He was there for the closing reception of “I Am,” a Tremaine Gallery exhibit featuring works by African-American photographers that spans a half-century. The artwork on

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Arts

Covering Duncan: Sheik At Infinity Hall

If you prefer your love odes on the bittersweet side, Duncan Sheik is your man, and his upcoming Valentine’s Day show at Infinity Hall is just the ticket for you and your date — or just you and a fantasy one. “I’ve written a lot of songs that are

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Community

Another New Era for the Salisbury Ski Jumps

There are not many spectator sports that make it worth your while to stand outside in frigid weather, but the annual Salisbury Ski Jumps are an exception because they're so thrilling—and heartwarming. The venerable competition (February 8 - 10), which is an unofficial proving ground for future Olympians,

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Food

AgriCulture: Hay Fever

AgriCulture bloggers Peter Davies and Mark Scherzer are the owners of Turkana Farms in Germantown, NY. This week Mark writes. In winter it sometimes seems to us that our main function is simply to serve as movers of a mountain of hay. Farmers who raise grazing animals often describe themselves

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Food

Helsinki Hudson

Food before music in a handsome space

By Lisa Green

Parties

Hitting Home: Benefit Rock Concert for Columbia County Habitat for Humanity

Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. Passive-solar housing for people of modest means is a very worthy cause for a number of reasons, both environmental and social. But it’s hard to imagine it generating as much heat as it did Sunday, January 27, at Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’

By Editor