September 14, 2007

Driving home from my Ashtanga yoga class this morning – which you can read about in the current issue of Berkshire Living magazine in an article I wrote called “Breathing Room” – I was listening to a story on WAMC public radio highlighting a new event in Lenox: the Weekend of the Gilded Age. The weekend represents an expansion of one of Lenox’s most loved affairs, the annual “Tub Parade,” a procession of period-appropriate horse-drawn carriages, with drivers and passengers in antique apparel. The parade takes place this Saturday, 9/16, at 1 pm, it’s followed by a picnic and ice cream social at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum, one of the original Berkshire “cottages” built by millionaires around the turn of the 20th century. The weekend begins tonight with “Sarah Morgan’s Soiree,” an evening featuring a light buffet of Gilded-Age treats, wine, port and mulled cider on the veranda of Ventfort Hall; Victorian parlor games; and special guest John R. Burbidge, creator of the museum’s current exhibit, Les Petites Dames de Mode. On Saturday evening the action moves to another Lenox “cottage,” Ethelwynde, for “A Gilded Age Celebration.” Curiously, K. & I were just there last night – we know it as the Lenox Athenaeum – where we had dinner with our friends Jamie and Ethan Berg, the mansion’s proud proprietors. They were pretty casual last night, but on Saturday we expect to see them decked out in robber baron finery! The weekend concludes Sunday afternoon with a Victorian tea at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Estate and Gardens. All weekend long the Berkshire Scenic Railway will offer special train rides from its Victorian Station and Museum in Lenoxdale.

Another local favorite event takes place this weekend, when athletes converge on the Berkshires for The 31st Annual Great Josh Billings RunAground, one of the country’s oldest and largest bike, canoe/kayak, run triathlons. Even if you’re not a member of the sporting set, you can join in the fun after the race at the Great Josh “Bash” on the grounds of Tanglewood, featuring music, food, festivities, the annual Kids Fun Run, and awards.

For those of us more sedentary folks, this weekend offers great opportunities to take a seat and let a few world-class performers do all the work. On Friday and Saturday, the Mahaiwe presents “Nick Felix: Depth of Illusion,” which is billed as a PG-13-rated spectacle of suspended disbelief. On Saturday afternoon, actor Sam Waterston drops by for a conversation with local public radio czar Alan Chartock. K. and I secured tickets months ago for singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega’s performance in advance of the release of  her new album, “Beauty & Crime.” And the Mahaiwe’s classic movie Mondays continue with “Blazing Saddles” on 9/17 and Antonioni’s “Blow-Up” on 9/24.

But weekends aren’t the only time for fun. One of my personal favorite events – and from the crowds, probably that of many other Berkshirites – is Third Thursdays in Pittsfield. This phenomenon continues on the verge of fall, on the evening of 9/20, when downtown Pittsfield throws an after-hours party on North Street. Spice is central, hosting a preview of October’s Barrington Stage Company production of “The World Goes Round” by Kander & Ebb at 5:00; and torch songs from the Berkshire Music School’s Cabaret-to-Go at 5:30. Pittsfield Brew Works will be pouring Shaker Chosen Ale, made with hops grown at Hancock Shaker Village, and offering free pool from 4-6 pm  in their new Bier Hall. The Berkshire Museum will stay open until 8 pm, with free admission and Colombian food will be sold in the garden, where Chuck the Tortoise will be making his debut from 5-6 pm. The Colonial Theatre will offer free behind-the-scenes tours at 6 and 7 pm. In addition to music, clowns, magic, square dancing and more family fun than I can mention, the Storefront Artist Project opens a retrospective of work shown by MCLA’s Gallery 51 in North Adam, and is sponsoring projection of an underwater video piece by local artist Laurie McLeod, which will illuminate the cityscape along with projection of other video art by Doug Truth and David Lachman. Further down North Street, The Ferrin Gallery featured two contemporary artists -- Raymon Aloyzua, showing photography, and Warner Friedman, showing large paintings -- through 10/8. At the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, the retrospective of vibrant paintings by local legend Julio Granda will be complemented by Manolo Caballos playing flamenco and Spanish songs on acoustic guitar from 5- 8pm. Beyond the thrills of Third Thursdays, the Lichtenstein Center offers an exciting array of classes, including pottery, tap dance, T’ai Chi, photography, life drawing, and acting for the camera, so adults can get in the back to school groove. If the kids are too young for school, they can join in at “the Licht” for art-making playgroup on Thursday mornings. And the Interlaken neighborhood of Stockbridge has a full roster of classes at IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, with all manner of ceramics, painting, drawing, photography, and 3-D disciplines such as sculpture, basket-making, knitting, collage, and floorcloths. Up in North County, The Clark is offering a course in plein-air painting on four consecutive Saturdays, starting 9/22.

While I’m considering getting my hands into some clay real soon, this weekend -- as befits a writer -- I’ll be exploring the art of the word at the Spencertown Academy’s Festival of Books. With music, authors’ readings, exhibitions, panel discussions, a long-sold-out harvest dinner, thousands of books for sale, and a special appearance by Clifford the Big Red Dog, it’s a delight for bibliophiles of all ages! And because I keep both my body and mind in shape, there’s that yoga habit. If you want to know more about it than what you can read in Berkshire Living, show up next Sunday, 9/23, 11 am, at The Triplex Cinema, where I’ll be co-moderating a panel discussion on Ashtanga yoga featuring several local teachers and fellow practitioners.

I like to get my feet dirty, too, mostly on hikes with my corgis Duffy and Hobbes, plus K. and some friends and their dogs. At this time of year, with the leaves just starting to turn, I prefer a hike with a view, and Laura’s Tower in Stockbridge offers a great one, with a real tower at its peak, from the top of which the brave are rewarded by an incredible 360-degree vista. A great place to stay for easy access to this hike is 1862 Seasons on Main B&B. This gracious Greek Revival inn may have been built a few years before the true start of the Gilded Age, but with luxurious touches in each room such as Frette bedding and towels, fresh flowers, feather beds, and velour robes, plus gourmet breakfasts, high tea, afternoon refreshments, and the modern convenience of wireless Internet access, Seasons on Main’s guests feel as if they themselves are members of the robber-baron set.

About Bess Hochstein
Buzz chronicler Bess J.M. Hochstein came to the Berkshires as a second-homeowner before deciding to move here full time. Previously a communications executive, she's now a freelance writer living in Tyringham with her corgis Duffy and Hobbs and K. She writes for several publications, including Berkshire Living, the Boston Globe, New England Wine Gazette, and Healing Lifestyles & Spas magazine.