Rural Intelligence (Page 737)

Community

Pittsfield's 3rd Thursday Lives Up to the Hype

Sometimes you wonder if the civic boosters in Pittsfield are delusional with their manic enthusiasm for everything that is happening in their town on the rebound. Could the heavily hyped 3rd Thursdays really be as lively, entertaining, and exhilarating as advertisd? We're happy to report that on July

By Editor

Arts

"Frozen River" Screens in Chatham

As usual on the last Sunday of the month, the Chatham Film Club will screen a movie at the Crandell Theater this week. But there's nothing "as usual" about this particular screening. In fact, it’s safe to assume, there has never been a screening closer

By Editor

Community

The Mount: Drop by for a Drink

The masterminds behind The Mount, the troubled but on the mend (we hope) Edith Wharton property in Lenox, have had an idea so brilliant it gives us hope for the historic site's future. On Friday and Saturday evenings throughout July and August, the cafe there will remain open

By Editor

Food

It's PYO Blueberry Season

We went blueberry picking the other day at Windy Hill Farm in Great Barrington. Picking them requires patience and perseverence, but doesn't everything worthwhile in life? In the back of our minds, we were thinking of the first stanza of Blueberries by the great New England poet Robert

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Arts

Summer Stock: Staying Alive (Part II)

The Mac-Haydn in Chatham is not the only barn in our region where you can see musical theater with high production values, vigor and pluck. TriArts at the Sharon Playhouse stages three musicals every summer with a unique formula that combines first-rate regional and community theater: a couple

By Editor

Parties

The Berkshire Fringe Takes Center Stage

On Monday at the Daniel Arts Center of Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, the Berkshire Fringe kicked off its fourth season with "Eating It," a fundraising party featuring local foods and a performance honoring the tomato that concluded with the serving of a

By Editor

Style

Mr. Siskin Blogs His Dream House

For anyone now in the process of building a house from the ground up, or anyone who dreams of one day building such a house, or even anyone who thinks that anyone who builds a house is insane, you'll find justification for your position on Paul Siskin'

By Editor

Arts

Talking about China in the Berkshires; Simon Winchester at Home

Simon Winchester, the Oxford-trained geologist turned bestselling author, became renowned with his inspired much-touted The Professor And the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, and almost equally praised for Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883. The latest

By Editor

Parties

Dog Day Afternoon in Hudson

Despite the sizzling heat, tous les chiens of Hudson and beyond, their proud and hopeful owners in tow, paraded down Warren Street on Saturday before gathering at the Basilica for the Walking the Dog Theater benefit dog show. A panel of dogly-wize children analyzed each canine's merits

By Editor

Parties

Spencertown Academy Garden Party

On Friday night, friends and supporters of the Spencertown Academy gathered in the garden of Liz Diggs and Emily McCully to celebrate the next day's Hidden Gardens Tour. As always, the Academy's in-house catering team, Let's Eat, aka 4 Guys in Aprons, kept

By Editor

Parties

Garden Gates Exhibit Opens at the Norman Rockwell Museum

Besides having an incredible collection of iconic paintings, the Norman Rockwell Museum has an incomparable park-like setting. On Thursday July 10, the museum had a fund-raising garden party to celebrate the installation of two-dozen fantastical garden gates designed by artists for "In Full Bloom," which

By Editor

Food

Grass-fed Beef (and Authentic Farmhouse Style) in Salisbury

Robin and Allen Cockerline, who raise grass-fed beef in Salisbury, CT, are not the type of farmers who'd call their house "stylish" or describe their hamburgers or hot dogs as "gourmet." But their good taste is quite evident at their quaint shop at

By Editor