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Community

The Sun Never Sets On The Silent Auction

Even as the days grow shorter and summer segues into fall,  Silent Auction Season continues. Actually, it's always Silent Auction Season in the Rural Intelligence region. When was the last time you attended a benefit for a library, theater company, day care center or museum and weren'

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Community

Excursion: Columbia County Farm Festival in Valatie

Free tractors rides, pick-your-own apples (Honey Crisps!), live bluegrass (Cathy Grier and the Gentlemen of the Night followed by the Wickers Creek Band), Kinderhook Farm burgers made from hormone-free, grass-fed, cosseted-and-coddled cattle (all that bovine happiness results in lots of healthy Omega 3'

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Community

Historic-Site Hopping: New York's First Heritage Weekend

2009 has been a big year for the Hudson River Valley.   The Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's discovery of his namesake river has launched a thousand ships and a history feeding frenzy.  Now that we're all in the mood, what better time to introduce a lovely custom

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Community

Fence Art Show in the Hamlet of Riders Mills

Riders Mills, a tiny hamlet in north-central Columbia County,  is a rarity even here in the country: it is bisected by neither a state nor a county road, making it the most remote and perhaps least spoiled of a trio of small villages (in addition, Rayville and Malden Bridge)

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Community

Dan's Diary: Scenes From A Connoisseur's Cookout

The Herculean challenge Emily Newman & Jeremy Stanton set for themselves would have been difficult enough to pull off in perfect weather. But Saturday, August 22, was another one of those days when torrential rains appeared out of nowhere, which complicated every aspect of serving a five-course dinner to

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Community

The Winthrop Estate: New Life for a Gilded Age Mansion

In 2002, when Jamie and Ethan Berg were living in Cambridge, MA, and expecting their first child they started to explore the real estate market in the Berkshires.  Their broker mischievously asked them: "You wouldn't be interested in a 15,000 square foot mansion in the middle

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Community

The Pied Piper of Pittsfield: Megan Whilden

"I've always liked underdogs, which is one of the reasons I was so attracted to Pittsfield" says Megan Whilden, the city's upbeat director of cultural development since 2005. Whilden is as responsible as anyone for making Pittsfield a destination rather than just a place

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Community

Road Trip: Copake Falls Day This Saturday

Lots of towns around here have an annual festival with live music and plenty to buy, eat and drink but Copake Falls Day may be the only one we've heard of that kicks off with not one but two foot races.  This is as it should be.  On

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Community

“Taking Woodstock” Benefit at the Moviehouse in Millerton

Next Thursday, August 27, The Moviehouse in Millerton will host two benefit screenings of Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, portions of which were filmed last summer on Route 22 at the Lone Pine Farm in Millerton.  The remainder of the film was shot in nearby

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Community

Rachel Maddow at Jacob's Pillow

Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC news star, who has a weekend house in Cummington, MA, came to Jacob's Pillow for a talk on Saturday afternoon, and it was SRO on the Inside/Out stage. What does Maddow know about dance? “I know nothing about dance," she told Scholar-

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Community

The Mount Is A House of Mirth Once More

When Susan Wissler took over as executive director of The Mount last year, the Edith Wharton Estate & Gardens in Lenox was on the brink of foreclosure and we believed The Age of Innocence Was Over.  Working tirelessly with board chairman Gordon Travers, Wissler has not only kept The Mount

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Community

Fitch's Corner Horse Trials This Weekend

Now in its 16th summer, the Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials in Millbrook this weekend, are, in essence, a competition, with each horse performing three disciplines.  Dressage will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, and there will be cross-country jumping and stadium jumping on both days.  Two

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