Community

Community

Third Thursday: An Extravagant Street Fair in Pittsfield

Every third Thursday from May through October, the city of Pittsfield gives itself the equivalent of an over-the-top Bar Mitzvah. Director of Cultural Development Megan Whilden manages to outdo herself each month,  coordinating the creative community to turn the downtown into what was known in the go-go

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Community

"Good Morning America" Wakes Up Stockbridge

Has anyone noticed how James Taylor more and more resembles one of the characters you see in Norman Rockwell's paintings? Certainly, this morning's scene on Main Street in Stockbridge was small-town Americana at its star-struck best when Good Morning America arrived via train and

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Community

Lenox Celebrates Its Gilded Age

When Edith Wharton lived in Lenox in the early 20th century, the town was known as the "inland Newport."   Unlike the famous Rhode Island resort with its Cliff Walk that allows visitors to oogle a 3.5 mile long strip of mansions, Lenox's  connection to the

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Community

The Preppiest Racetrack in America: Lime Rock Park

Lime Rock Park in northwestern Connecticut is to car racing what Tanglewood is to classical music and Jacob's Pillow is to modern dance--a well-bred, well-manicured rusticated setting where aficionados gather together every summer to indulge their passion and picnic on the lawns.  There are no

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Community

Volunteers in Medicine Needs You

Thank goodness the Third World has Doctors Without Borders.  And thank goodness our prosperous corner of the richest nation on earth has Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires.  Founded in 2004 by Leonard Simon, a former business professor turned banker, now retired, and his wife Marion (below), of Monterey, VIM Berkshires, a

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Community

Sidewalk Sale (And a History Lesson) in Kent, CT

Kent is one of the great strolling towns in our region. It has art galleries with integrity, bookstores for real readers, cafes, a few well-curated antiques shop, several housewares and clothing boutiques—and not a chain store in sight. Shopping in Kent is never better than during the annual

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Community

A Modernist Bed and Breakfast in Williamstown

When a top-notch innkeeper rhapsodizes about a bed-and-breakfast other than his own, you pay attention. Ira Goldspiel, a design aficionado who runs the Inn at Kent Falls, recently stayed at the Guest House at Field Farm in Williamstown and he raved about experiencing authentic 1940s  modernist architecture

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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

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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

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Community

The Old Treasures of New Concord

There’s a lot to be said for the New Concord (Columbia County) tour this Saturday: twenty exceptional late 18th- and early 19th-century houses and/or their gardens, including the Hosea Bebe house (above), all in one tiny hamlet so, instead of spending the day climbing in and out

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Community

Whole Lot of Shakerin' Goin' On

Before the industrial revolution, living alone was virtually unheard of for people without the means to keep a staff.  This appears to have been the principal draw, apart from spiritual striving, for followers of the strange religion popularly known as The Shakers.  The tidy, well-run, and, in many ways,

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Community

Eating Your Way Up (or Down) Route 22

There are two main arteries for traveling between New York City and our region—Route 22 and the Taconic State Parkway—and I prefer Route 22 because you can eat and shop along the way.  (Of course, nothing beats the Taconic in good weather for a Zen driving experience.) For

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