The 2017 Stockbridge Summer Arts & Crafts Show!
July 21, 2017 by Corey A. Edwards
The 26th annual Stockbridge Summer Arts & Crafts show is right around the corner, August 19th and 20th, 2017. This beloved event has become a regional staple, drawing talented artisans and craftspeople from around the region for nearly 30 years.
Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to get a head start on your holiday shopping – or even something just for you!
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Out of Site! – Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture at Chesterwood
June 16, 2017 by Corey A. Edwards
Art in the Berkshires is never far away and the warmth of summer brings out some of the best. Chesterwood is currently presenting “Out of Site,” a contemporary outdoor sculpture exhibition that no art lover should miss.
Chesterwood is a National Trust Historic Site preserving the country home and studio of Daniel Chester French (1850-1931). French is considered America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments. He sculpted the Minute Man monument in Concord and the the Lincoln Memorial Abraham Lincoln, among other works.
The 122 acre estate now serves as a popular museum and sculpture garden. The facility hosts numerous events and programs throughout the year, including an annual contemporary sculpture exhibition.
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Experience the 2017 Berkshire International Film Festival!
May 8, 2017 by Corey A. Edwards
The 12th annual Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) is set to be the biggest one ever with over 8 films to screen in four days. Plus this year’s festival is honoring Academy Award-winner Christopher Plummer. This is one BIFF you won’t want to miss! June 1st through June 4th, 2017 in Great Barrington, MA!
The Berkshire International Film Festival is always a wonderful diversion but this year’s event is truly shaping up to be something else! 30 documentary films, 29 narrative features, and 21 short films are on the schedule. True to the festival name, the 80 films hail from 23 different countries. These include Afghanistan, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iraq, Israel, Russia, and Syria.
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Celebrate Maple Syrup Season With A Visit To Ioka Valley Farm!
March 10, 2017 by Corey A. Edwards
February through April is maple syrup season. What better way to welcome spring than with a trip to a local sugar house, like Ioka Valley Farm in Williamstown, MA?
This time of year, the scent of maple is literally in the air. Sugar houses throughout the countryside are boiling down maple sap for syrup and the steam is heavy with the scent. It can be difficult to concentrate when you catch a whiff of that delectable, pure maple syrup.
Quit day-dreaming and take this seasonal opportunity to visit an actual sugar house! There are lots of maple producers dotting the Berkshires but one of the most popular in our area is Ioka Vally Farm in Williamstown, MA.
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A Berkshires Christmas: Festival of Trees and A Christmas Carol
December 12, 2016 by Corey A. Edwards
Festival of Trees at the Berkshire Museum and Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on stage at The Colonial Theatre are two great ways to enjoy the holiday season in the Bekrshires!
There’s always lots to do and see in the Berkshires and the holiday season is no exception. Bright lights, colorful decorations, special events, and holiday-themed stage shows set the scene for a magical time of the year.
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Take Advantage Of Our Berkshires New Year’s Eve Lodging Special!
December 9, 2016 by Corey A. Edwards
Ring in 2017 with a relaxing Berkshires getaway and save! Applegate Inn’s New Year’s Eve Lodging Special gives you a number of reasons to celebrate the season!
Between all the culture and natural beauty, no matter the season, there’s always a reason to visit the Berkshires! End of the year celebrations are no exception. Whether you’re here for some excellent skiing and snowboarding, to see some shows and museums – or both! – our New Year’s Eve Lodging Special is the icing on the cake.
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Visit the Crane Museum of Papermaking
October 7, 2016 by Corey A. Edwards
Papermaking may not sound terribly exciting but, at the Crane Museum of Papermaking, you’re learning about the paper used to make our currency. Plus you’re also visiting Amerca’s oldest paper company!
The Crane & Co, located in Dalton, MA, makes a paper you’ve undoubtedly handled and most likely covet, at least a little bit. That’s right, they make the paper used in U.S. currency. Crane & Co. is the only company that makes the paper – and they’ve been the only ones since 1879!
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It’s Berkshires Maple Sugaring Time!
March 4, 2016 by Corey A. Edwards
Spring is nearly upon us and that means Berkshires maple sugaring time! New England has hundreds of small maple syrup-producing farms and many are here in the Berkshires.
Berkshires maple sugaring time begins when it starts to be warm enough in the day – 40 degrees or more – for the sap in the maple trees to begin flowing. On a maple farm, these trees will have been tapped, with buckets hanging from them to catch the flow of the maple sap. Once the bucket has collected enough sap, it is collected by a sugarmaker and taken to a sugarhouse, where it will be cooked down into maple syrup.
Depending on the sugar content of the maple sap, it can take up to 86 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup!
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Follow the Berkshires Beer and Cider Trail
February 12, 2016 by Corey A. Edwards
Craft beer and ciders are taking America by storm and the Berkshires are no exception. Come travel the Berkshires Beer and Cider Trail and discover the wide variety of flavors and styles available in the beautiful mountains of western Massachusetts.
The picturesque Berkshires are dotted with orchards and farmlands that, among other things, produce an abundant supply of natural, delicious apples and hops; the perfect inspirational backdrop for a healthy community of artisan cider makers and craft brewers. Consequently, the Berkshires are home to several award-winning breweries and cideries – enough, in fact, for a truly rewarding Berkshires Beer and Cider Trail.
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A Christmas Carol and Tanglewood 2016
December 7, 2015 by Corey A. Edwards
The end of the year is always an exciting time, but especially here in the Berkshires with the Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” on stage and the recent release of the Tanglewood 2016 season schedule.
Tanglewood 2016 Season Schedule
The 2016 Tanglewood season schedule was announced late last month, with tickets going on sale January 24th, 2016 at 10am.
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Berkshires 2015 Concert Season
April 11, 2015 by Corey A. Edwards
The Berkshires are known for their rich cultural fabric – Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow Dance – and that includes live music by popular artists, as the Berkshires 2015 Concert season for the Berkshire Theatre Group shows.
A while back I outlined the 2015 Season for the Berkshire Theatre Group but an upcoming concert had me realizing that I’d not mentioned many of the upcoming concerts also hosted on the Berkshire Theatre Group’s stages.
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The Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas Weekend
November 22, 2014 by Corey A. Edwards
Norman Rockwell working on Stockbridge Mainstreet At Christmas
1967 photo by Louie Lamone
courtesy of the Norman Rockwell Museum
Stockbridge, Massachusetts is like many small towns in the Berkshires: quiet, friendly, quaint, and so picturesque it looks like it could be right out of some Norman Rockwell painting.
Where Stockbridge differs is that it IS in a Norman Rockwell painting! Many of them, actually, but most famously in his “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas.”
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Edward Hopper at the Norman Rockwell Museum
September 13, 2014 by Corey A. Edwards
Prominent American artist Edward Hopper was known primarily for his realistic oil paintings but the current Norman Rockwell Museum exhibit presents his lesser known side with “The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator.”
Edward Hopper’s realist paintings are touchstones of the American twentieth century. His images have become an integral part of the very grain of the American experience, and his work continues to reflect and express classic American scenes and sensibilities. How ironic is it, then, that his career as illustrator, which came after his first, one-person exhibition of paintings in 1920, is largely ignored and glossed over?
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“Stockbridge Main Street At Christmas” Recreation – The Norman Rockwell Museum
November 22, 2013 by Corey A. Edwards
Have you ever wished you could visit a painting? Seen an image to warm and resonant that you wished you could just stroll right into it? Well, you can! Norman Rockwell’s famous painting, “Stockbridge Main Street At Christmas,” comes to life on December 8th in Stockbridge, MA.
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History of the Lee Public Library
June 29, 2013 by Katie Pate
If you have an interest in American history or architecture, make sure to leave a little time during your Berkshires vacation to visit the Lee Library. A beautiful, quiet and historic place, stop in to browse the shelves or enjoy a quiet place to read for a while.
The Lee Library is the only remaining Carnegie library building in the Berkshires. Because of this, it is not only beautiful but also historically significant.
The present building is on the Peter Wilcox homestead. The Wilcox one-story, one-room log house was the location of Lee’s first town meeting held in December 1777.
The remaining original part of the building was constructed in 1907.
Photo circa 1911: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection (REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-D4-72599)
The total cost of the building, including the lot and furnishings, was $35,500. Andrew Carnegie donated $12,000, the town appropriated $18,300, and the remainder was donated by citizens. Lee Marble Works quarried and cut the marble used in the construction of the building. The original section of the building is Corinthian in style, with interior woodwork of polished birch.
The library was expanded in 1977. Again, Lee Marble was used in the construction. The new wing tripled the size of the library to to 7,500 square feet. The addition includes the Betty Dennis Children’s Room, stacks, a reading room, and the Gallery.
What is a Carnegie Library?
Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated money to build a total of 2,509 libraries between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems. 1,689 were built in the United States, 660 in Britain and Ireland, 125 in Canada, and others in Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, the Caribbean, Mauritius and Fiji.
Very few towns that requested a grant – and agreed to his terms – were refused. The last grant was made in 1919 and there were 3,500 libraries in the United States; nearly half of them built with construction grants paid by Carnegie.
Lodging for your Berkshires Vacation
Whether you are visiting the Berkshires to take in modern American art at Tanglewood or Jacob’s Pillow, natural beauty or history, the Berkshires has something for everyone. We would love to be your hosts at our Bed and Breakfast in Lee, the gateway to the Berkshires.
Ride a Horse Through the Berkshires This Fall
September 25, 2011 by Applegate Inn
The trees have started to turn here, but fall foliage is not yet peaking in the Massachusetts Berkshires. Now is the right time to plan a trip here during peak season. Our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast tends to fill in October, when the surrounding forests are decked out in dazzling reds, oranges, and yellows. Plan now to be here then.
There is nothing like autumn in New England.
Driving down country lanes is a wonderful way to see a lot of trees. Spreading a picnic blanket under a large maple is a delightful way to drink in an autumn afternoon. But those who can delve deep into a New England forest during the peak of foliage season are truly fortunate.
Berkshire Horseback Adventures leads trail rides through nearby Kennedy Park and up Lenox Mountain. To experience New England foliage from the back of a horse is magical. The scent of the horses mixes with the woody odor of fallen leaves. The crisp air magnifies the sound of the horses breath, his feet clipping along the trail.
Leave New York, Boston, and Hartford behind and drive west like a cowboy heading into the sunset. Spend a few days at our Bed and Breakfast in the Berkshires this autumn. While here, treat yourself to a trail ride. It is sure to be one of the most memorable events of the year.
More information about trail rides may be found at Berkshire Horseback Adventures.
Applegate Wins TripAdvisor Award
August 31, 2011 by Applegate Inn
We are honored and downright pleased to announce that Applegate Inn, our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast, has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.
“The Certificate of Excellence is awarded to qualifying accommodations… listed on TripAdvisor that maintain a high overall user rating and a high volume of recent and quality reviews.” (TripAdvisor)
We’d like to thank all our guests who have taken the time to write a review for us on TripAdvisor; we appreciate the time and effort it takes. We strive to make your time with us as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Thank you for recognizing our efforts.
Lenox Massachusetts Concerts in the Park
July 8, 2011 by Applegate Inn
Many folks who stay at our Lenox Massachusetts Bed and Breakfast arrive in the Berkshires expecting to find relief from the stifling summer heat of Boston or New York City, and they do. They arrive expecting to find unparalleled art and cultural offerings, and they’re not disappointed.
Some guests arrive at our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast with tickets in hand to see performances at Tanglewood or Jacob’s Pillow. They come ready to see the latest exhibit at The Clark or the Norman Rockwell Museum. Some come with a plan to visit Hancock Shaker Village.
A delightful surprise for many of our midweek guests are the free concerts in Lilac Park on Wednesday nights.
See the Sister City Jazz Ambassadors at the Lenox Concerts in the Park.
Lilac Park is on Main Street in Lenox – a very charming place to enjoy live music. Some listeners bring picnics, while others dine early or late at one of the restaurants within walking distance of the park:
- Rumpy’s Tavern: a great spot for drinks.
- Rumplestiltzkin’s Restaurant: enjoy a meal full of seasonal offerings.
- Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano: hearty, tasty Italian fare.
Lilac Park Concert Schedule for July, 2011:
7.6: The Berkshire Highlanders
7.13: JoAnne Redding and her Band
7.20 Sister City Jazz Ambassadors
7.27 Jazz Tuber Trio