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Autumn Outings: Harvest Festivals Across the Region

By Rachel Louchen Oh summer, we hardly knew ye. After our never-ending winter, it felt like things finally were getting warm again. But if there's one positive that comes with the return of cooler temps, it's the abundance of harvest festivals and autumn activities in our

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Community

The Rural We: Howard Rosenfeld

When Howard Rosenfeld first came to our region, his mind was set on relaxing. But soon, despite no retail experience, he saw a lot of business potential in the walkable village of New Preston. Using vintage materials and methods, he rebuilt the village blacksmith's shop and opened The

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Community

The Rural We: Janet Elsbach

Janet with her husband, Bart Elsbach The Great Barrington Fairgrounds have always held a special place in Janet Elsbach's heart, so watching it slide into ruin was a sad experience. The Sheffield-based writer and her husband, Bart, always thought the space had so much potential, so they watched

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Hudson River Valley Ramble Is More Than A Walk In The Park

Tour Innisfree Garden in Millbrook on September 27. By Amy Krzanik The 15th Annual Hudson River Valley Ramble is something of a misnomer, as it involves so much more than leisurely strolls. Occurring every Saturday and Sunday in September, the Ramble celebrates the trails, the river and the historic and

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Community

Young Farmers Create Hudson's New Upstreet Farmers' Market

Dan McManus and Tess Parker, co-owners of Common Hands Farm, started the Upstreet Market. By Jamie Larson With wide smiles, good intentions and dirt under their fingernails, the next generation of Columbia County farmers just, casually, reinvented the farmers market— by moving from Saturday morning to Wednesday evenings and out

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Community

The Rural We: Andrea Pyros

Writer Andrea Pyros grew up a NYC girl, but fell in love with Rhinebeck during her college days at Vassar and finally moved here in 2004. Since then, she’s worked as a freelance writer for a variety of publications (including Rural Intelligence). Now, with inspiration from professors, friends and

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Community

Groundswell at Olana: A Site-Specific Artistic Revelation

By Jamie Larson For just a single afternoon, Saturday, September 13, the unparalleled viewshed at the Olana State Historic Site will serve as both muse and canvas for the site-specific sound and transmission focused artwork that is Groundswell. It's the second installment of the unusual yet wonderfully balanced

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Community

My Turn As a Tourist: A Day With Behold! New Lebanon

By Lisa Green Behold! New Lebanon is a living museum of contemporary rural American life. There are no ladies in bonnets spinning wool a la Sturbridge Village. These people are the real deal, willing to open their lives to share their skills and experience of rural living as a step

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Community

Behold! New Lebanon Is A Living Museum Of Rural Life

By Lisa Green We’re quite fond of our towns, villages and hamlets in the Rural Intelligence region. But let’s face it, some towns beg you to jump out of the car and explore their Main Street, while others seem more like drive-through towns. The rural New Lebanon, despite

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The Rural We: Lisa Landry

Lisa Landry, husband Flavio Lichtenthal and two sons, Sebastian and Paolo, moved to the Berkshires from Brooklyn 13 years ago. After living and working for 10 years at Gould Farm, they moved to Great Barrington. A little over a year ago, they opened No. Six Depot Roastery and Café in

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Community

TEDxHudson To Bring Big Ideas – And Big Names — To Town

Photo by Amanda Marsalis. By Greg Cerio The revered chef Alice Waters [in photo, left] has much in common, perhaps surprisingly, with Theodore Roosevelt. For example, they enjoy some of the same regional cuisine. On October 8, 1914, the Boston Globe reported: “Col. Roosevelt likes the soup they make in

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Community

The Rural We: Gina Hyams

Gina Hyams moved to the Berkshires from the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Dave, and their then 10-year-old daughter, Annalena, in June of 2005, to to live closer to Dave’s elderly parents, who were in Norfolk, Connecticut. They’d rented sight unseen what turned out to be

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