News

Community

Rural Rules of Life: Twenty Questions for Ellen Spear, President of Hancock Shaker Village

Since taking over as president and CEO of Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield four years ago, Ellen Spear has become a regional mover and shaker,  a visionary who helped establish the Berkshire Creative Economy Council. “The challenge is how to transform our cultural and artistic wealth into something richer, more

By Editor

Community

Summer Starts Here & Now with 3rd Thursday in Pittsfield

Pittsfield has become the region's Street Fair Mecca. Megan Whilden, the city's director of cultural development, has mastered the art of organizing a monthly, massive block party. The third year of Third Thursdays, as the street fairs are called, begins on the eve of Memorial Day

By Editor

Community

Rural Rules: 20 Questions for MASS MoCA Director Joe Thompson on the Museum's 10th Anniversary

Although MASS MoCA is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend,  its founding director, Joseph C. Thompson, has been involved with MASS MoCA since it was conceived in 1987. A 1981 graduate of Williams College who has masters degrees in both art history and business from the University of Pennsylvania, Thompson

By Editor

Community

Tracy Seckler Is A Mother On a Mission To Save Lives

Mother's Day, like every other day of the year, is bittersweet for Tracy Seckler. The high-energy, one-time elementary school teacher lives in a 200 year-old-farmhouse in South Egremont, MA, with her adoring husband, Benjamin (a doctor whom she met when they were both undergraduates at Harvard), and their

By Editor

Community

DUI Inc., A Growth Industry

Now, let's get one thing straight from the outset: I am against drunk driving, even if it's a friend who is doing it.  I have been a supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving since it was founded in 1980. I cheered the judge who threw the

By Editor

Community

The Racetrack Next Door: Rights Incur Responsibilities

On April 21, at the Taghkanic Fire House, at 6:30 p.m. there will be a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals on the controversial issue of Alan Wilzig's proposed racetrack, which has already won Planning Board conditional approval.  Here, Sam Pratt, who had been

By Editor

Community

Passages: Our Blogger Ties the Knot in Connecticut

It's not just Connecticut that's full of surprises. This just in from faithful correspondent Carey Maloney. Connecticut Welcomes You!   If only you knew how long and how relentlessly we have made fun of Connecticut—the proverbial “state of mind”…Particularly Greenwich. … Precious and preppy.  The Upper

By Editor

Community

The Next Big Thing: Slow Money

"Let's bring money down to earth," suggests Woody Tasch, author of Slow Money, Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered.  On Earth Day Eve, Friday, April 24, Tasch will share the podium at Time & Space Limited in Hudson with the legendary Paolo Di Croce,

By Editor

Community

Community: Saving Chatham's Crandell Theatre

Concerned Chatham citizens met at the Spencertown home of John and Paige Orloff (our recipe maven) on Saturday, March 21, to discuss the future of the town's 83-year-old Crandell Theatre, the only movie house in Columbia County outside the city of Hudson.  Chatham Film Club board member Sandi

By Editor

Community

The 'It' Boy: Emeric Harney Brings People Together

Last Sunday night, on the eve of his 22nd birthday, Emeric Harney who lives in Lakeville, CT, and works in Millerton, NY, hosted a party in the border town of West Stockbridge, MA.  "I wanted to bring together guys from three states,” says Emeric, who organized the gay "

By Editor

Community

Milestones: We're Celebrating Our First Anniversary

This has been an exciting, exhausting, entertaining and educational year for us. We have worked to unite the residents of Berkshire, Columbia, Dutchess and Litchfield counties—a tri-state community rich in culture, natural beauty and smart, interesting people. More than anything, we want to encourage local exploration. We are continually

By Editor

Food

Foodies-and-Farmers Mix it Up at "Carhartts and Cocktails"

Ever wonder about all those farms referred to on menus? Who is the farm girl behind Farm Girl Farm?  Now's your chance to find out. This Sunday, March 1,  Mezze Bistro + Bar in Williamstown and Allium in Great Barrington will host simultaneous afternoon farm-to-table mixers.  The public is

By Editor