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Bascom: A Venerable and Democratic Lodge Celebrates A Diamond Jubilee

By Shawn Hartley Hancock Visiting a stone lodge at the top of a mountain appeals to everyone, even the not-very-outdoorsy. The delicious smoke and crackle of a campfire, the bracing fresh air, or maybe just the absence of a TV and a break from the quotidian all seem

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Hudson's Oliver Bronson House: History in Brackets

By Shawn Hartley Hancock Among the Hudson Valley’s many historic homes is one that’s still a well-kept secret, mostly because of its location on the grounds of the Hudson Correctional Facility, an impediment that adds an obstacle for visitors sensitive to strip searches. (We’re kidding about

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Black Velvet: Gentle Giants in Litchfield

By Nichole Dupont“Never turn your back on a stallion," Ann Egan says as she enters the dusty paddock where her prize stud stands. “A stallion can have an off day, you just never know. I love this big guy, he's my heart horse. But he'

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Trade Secrets: The Ultimate Destination for Plants and Antiques

By Dan Shaw One of the unspoken fears in our neck of the woods is that our area will eventually become like the Hamptons, with the helicopters of hedge-fund managers hovering over our hills and women toting their tomatoes from the farmers' market in Hermès bags. Of course,

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Season Preview: 30+ Tix Pix Not To Nix

As the Rural Intelligence region gets more and more love on the national and international front, it seems like the summer seasons just keep expanding, pushing the limits of culture and celebrity. From world-premiere stage offerings to indie, eclectic (and electric) music venues, we have scoured the schedules of

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In Millbrook, Dyslexia Gets Unscrambled

When Ellie O’Heaney was in fifth grade, she didn’t picture college in her future. Diagnosed with dyslexia years before, she’d grown accustomed to feeling frustrated and adrift in the classroom. “She’d say, ‘Why would I willingly go on to more school?’" her mother Elizabeth O’

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Making A Day of Hyde Park

Springwood, the Dutchess County estate commonly (though erroneously) called Hyde Park, is to the pantheon of great American houses what Franklin Delano Roosevelt, its scion, is to the pantheon of great American men— perhaps not the most brilliant, but so preternaturally confident, relaxed, good-humored, and patrician that any shortcomings

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IS183's Annual Gala: As Out of This World as the Arts School Itself

From the dedicated yogis of Kripalu to the myriad musicians, painters, actors, writers, and other artistic types who flood the western edge of Massachusetts, the Berkshires’ ability to attract creative energy is downright otherworldly. It’s almost as if there’s a mysterious force hidden in the region’s mountains

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The Best of Media Matters 2012

Ah, 2012. We remember it....vaguely. Actually, it turned out to be another year in which not only The New York Times continued to be fascinated with what's happening in our territory. Many magazines, national radio networks, webzines, and other newspapers reported on us, too. Here are some

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Homegoing: Du Bois Legacy Honored In the Flesh

Du Bois at his 90th birthday with great-grandson Arthur. In 1975, Harvard developed a research institute in his name. This posthumous honor was preceeded by the construction of an entire department at UMASS Amherst in 1970, also boasting the name of the formidable scholar and activist. But it wasn&

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Lounge Acts: Allium, griffinGB, and Vintage Make Sitting Around an Art

The lounge at Allium. Photo courtesy of Allium. Lounging can be much more than just chilling on a comfy couch. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) In some cases, it can even be an art form (just ask Proust), one that requires the collaborative efforts of hospitable professionals

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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-

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