2008 Summer Guide by Hersam Acorn

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SUMMER 2008

GUIDE Inside:

Farmersʼ Markets • Summer Festival • Suprises in Salem • and more!

Yankee Shopper Berkshire Penny Saver TriState Pennysaver News Vermont News Guide

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celebrating 80 years on stage in Stockbridge, Mass.

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May 22 - December 30

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413-298-5576 berkshiretheatre.org ��

Index ��

ER SUMM GUIDE 2008

Inside: rkets • Farmersʼ Ma tival • Summer Fes Salem • Suprises in and more!

Massachusetts Map ..................................... 14 Stone Hill Center Expands......................... 15 Places To See Things To Do ..........................................17-59 Ventford Hall: Guilded Age .......................20 Ride Safe This Summer ..............................22 New York Map ............................................. 32 Museum Celebrates The Slate Valley ........................................... 33 Let’s Go Antiquing! ............................... 38-39

per Yankee Shop y Saver Berkshire Penn ysaver News TriSt ate Penn s Guid e New ont Verm

Vermont Map ...............................................40 Farmers’ Markets ......................................... 41

A Hersam Acorn Newspapers Publication

VT Route 7A Map ...................................... 51

Melissa Miller, cover design Pearl Dennis, page design Berkshire PennySaver 154 West Park Street, Lee, MA 01238 413-243-2341 Yankee Shopper 20 Cleveland Road, Dalton, MA 01226 413-684-1373 TriState Pennysaver News 109 South Street, Bennington, VT 05201 802-447-3381 Vermont News Guide 99 Bonnet Street, Manchester, VT 05254 802-362-3535

Renee Tassone, General Manager

2008 Summer Guide

A Hersam Acorn Newspapers publication

Summer Clipper Pages 36-37

Check Out The Great Savings Inside! 13

Lakes Fishing

Golf

Map Not To Scale 14

A Hersam Acorn Newspapers publication

2008 Summer Guide

ST O NE HI L L C ENT E R E XPA NDS

The Clark Experience

photo courtesy of Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA The Berkshires have been a haven for cultural activity since the first half of the nineteenth century. The Berkshires are home to a wealth of cultural institutions that include Tanglewood, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, MASS MoCA, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Williams College Museum of Art and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Perhaps most prominent, though, is the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. In its permanent collection visitors will find major works by European and American artists, and the Clark offers a constant stream of changing exhibitions,

programs and events, including concerts, films and family activities. On June 22nd, the Clark will open the much-anticipated Stone Hill Center. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando with landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand Associates, the 32,000-square-foot building will expand the reach of the Clark’s exhibition programs, advance the field of conservation and make it more understandable to the public, and for the first time bring the visitor experience directly into the landscape. Blending into the hillside just south of the Clark’s main campus, where it is integrated into the landscape through a network of scenic trails, Stone Hill Center will house the Williamstown Art Conservation Center (WACC) and 2,500 square feet of intimate, chapel-like galleries dedicated to periods and cultures not currently shown at the Clark, as well as 1,000 square feet for classroom and meeting use. As designed by Tadao Ando, a recognized master of landscape views and natural light, the two-story, wood-and-glass building provides vistas of the countryside on the north, east and west, with a terrace and outdoor café offering a panorama of the Green Mountains and Taconic Range.

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RAW NERVE!

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STONE HILL CENTER EXPANDSThe Clark Experience continued from page 15

Situated within the Clark’s 140-acre campus of rolling fields and woodlands and a short walk from the Clark’s two existing buildings, Stone Hill Center will host smaller-scale special exhibitions of works from the Clark’s collections, as well as loaned works of art from periods and cultures not usually seen

at the Clark, such as non-Western and twentieth-century art. The grounds surrounding the building will be used to display sculpture. The inaugural exhibitions, “Homer and Sargent from the Clark” and “Like Breath on Glass: Whistler, Inness, and the Art of Painting Softly” both open on June 22. Also integral to Stone Hill Center is its light-flooded conservation facility – the only freestanding conservation center in the United States designed by a major architect – which will permit visitors to glimpse the work being done inside the labs, as well as its studio art classroom and conference room.

photo courtesy of Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

409 North St., Pittsfield, MA

PHONE: 413.499.0811

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OPEN: M-F 12-9 • SAT 11-6

photo courtesy of Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

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2008 Summer Guide

Music Aston Magna Festival Performances at Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts 1-800-875-7156 • www.astonmagna.org Presenting its 36th season, Aston Magna is the oldest annual summer festival in America devoted to music performed on period instruments. Aston Magna’s performances aim to interpret the music of the past as the composer imagined it. Aston Magna has been recognized internationally for decades for its contributions to the popularization of early music performed using historically accurate instruments and performance practices. Performances in Great Barrington on June 28, July 5, 12, 19, 26 and August 2. Performances in Williamstown on June 29, July 6 and 13 . Berkshire Choral Festival Performances on the Berkshire School campus, 245 North Undermountain Road (Route 41) in Sheffield, Massachusetts 413-229-8526 The Berkshire Choral Festival has become the leading summer choral music festival, featuring conductors and choral groups from across the country. Festival concerts will be held on July 12, 19, 26 and August 2. www.choralfest.org The Cabaret and Mainstage at Fort Salem Theater East Broadway in Salem, New York 518-854-9200 www.fortsalemtheater.com From church to fort, back to church and thence to theater— through war, fire and vicissitudes—the building now known as the Fort Salem Theater has endured for nearly two and a half centuries. In 1972, Judge Whilliam Drohan of New York City purchased it and replaced the altar with a stage and produced the first shows. This summer, the Fort will offer over 20 different musicals and cabaret acts on its Mainstage and in the Cabaret and the Cabaret Theater.

2008 Summer Guide

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Performances at Dodds Farm, 44 County Rd. 7D in Hillsdale, NY 860-364-0366 • www.falconridgefolk.com The 20th Falcon Ridge Folk Festival will be held from July 24-27. Customarily, over 40 acts perform on four stages, including an intimate Workshop Stage and the Dance Stage. Camping is available. The festival also features food & crafts vendors. Some of this year’s performers include John Gorka, The Strangelings, Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Clayfoot Strutters & Vance Gilbert. Live on the Lake Concert Series Onota Lake, Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-236-4105 Greylock Federal and WBEC sponsor this free communityconcert series on Wednesdays in July and August.

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Manchester Music Festival 42 Dillingham Avenue in Manchester, Vermont 802-362-1956 or 800-639-5868 • www.mmfvt.org The Manchester Music Festival offers concerts of fine chamber music — performed by world-class artists — and a strong music education program. This year’s concerts take place every Thursday evening from July 10-August 21. Memorial Hall Center for the Arts Main Street (Route 9) in Wilmington, Vermont 802-464-8411 • www.memhall.org Located in Wilmington, Vermont, Memorial Hall Center for the Arts offers a professional cultural arts series from early July

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Sonatina School of Music 5 Catamount Lane in Old Bennington, Vermont 802-442-9197 • www.sonatina.com Sonatina is a live-in, international piano camp offering two separate programs: Summer Sonatina for children ages 7 to 16 and Sonata for adult pianists. The camps are housed in a 42-room historic house furnished with antiques, beds and 26 pianos. Several articles have been written about the Sonatas in various newspapers and music magazines, including an article in late 2002 in the New York Times Sunday Travel section. The 2003 August Sonata was featured on CNN Newsnight with Aaron Brown. Sonatina students present two weekly concerts during the month of July. The Thursday evening concert is held at 6pm at Bennington Center for the Arts, and the 10:30am Sunday morning concert is held in the backyard at 5 Catamount Lane. The public is welcome to enjoy an evening or morning of music. South Mountain Concerts Performances at South Mountain Concert Hall, two miles south of downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts on Routes 7 and 20 413-442-2106 • www.southmountainconcerts.com

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through Labor Day, as well as one community theatre production each summer. The season traditionally includes cabaret, Broadway, Motown, musicals, oldies, light opera and classical concerts. Memorial Hall Center for the Arts is named after the historic building that it calls home. Endowed with acoustics that rival halls of greater capacity and renown, Wilmington’s Memorial Hall is resplendent with the spirit of a time gone by.

Since its founding in 1918 by the woman described as “the fairy godmother of chamber music,” Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, South Mountain has been sending the beautiful strains of great chamber music wafting over the Berkshire Hills. Distinguished musicians who have performed at this site include Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Alexander Schneider, the Beaux Arts Trio and such string quartets as the Borromeo, the Emerson, the Guarneri, the Juilliard, the Orion, the Tokyo and the Vermeer. Concerts on Sundays at 3pm in September and the first Sunday in October.

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Summer in the Park Concert Series Merchants Bank Park, just north of the Four Corners in Bennington, Vermont 802-442-5758 • www.bennington.com/bbc/summerinpark Concerts take place in the park under the tent on weekends from July 17th through August 23rd. Acts will include Alison Jacobs, Deena Smith, Peter King & The Prescriptions, Paul Gibbs, Rick Burgess, Kirsten Thien, Fred Lantz & Lisa Dee, Tony Lee Thomas, Woods Tea Company, Dave Banulis and Jazz X, Greg Van Houten & Cindy Baxter, Anna Cheek and Mo Harrington & The White Chapel Band. Tanglewood Route 183 (297 West Street) in Lenox, Massachusetts 413-637-1600 • www.bso.org Tanglewood has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home for more than 60 years. The 2008 season, featuring the BSO performing with world-class conductors, acclaimed soloists and renowned musicians, is a vibrant mix of musical styles. Before the opening night concert with Berlioz’ Les Troyens, Tanglewood will feature TMC: String Quartet Marathon, Boston Symphony Players, TMCO: Messiaen and Dvorak, James Taylor, a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and the Mark Morris Dance Group. The BSO season includes a long list of guest artists, including Joshua Bell, Renee Fleming, Andre Previn, Yo-Yo Ma, the Kronos Quartet and more. Vermont Symphony Orchestra Performing at Hildene Meadowlands in Manchester, Vermont 800-VSO-9293, extension 10 or 802-86FLYNN • www.vso.org. Seventy years ago, a small group of musical enthusiasts meeting in Woodstock, Vermont convinced each other that by working together, they could assemble the necessary musical and financial resources from across rural Vermont to create a statewide symphony orchestra. Whereas most other orchestras originate

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in a single town or city, performing there in one concert hall and touring occasionally, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra dedicated itself to traveling to any gymnasium, armory, racetrack or hillside where an audience could be found. The musicians, whose numbers included barbers, lawyers, mail carriers, doctors and farmers, came from all across the state to rehearse and perform. Before the advent of modern highways, this represented an extraordinary commitment. For 70 years, the orchestra has shuttled from town to town, overcoming geography with such energy and persistence that it has earned a national reputation. The VSO will perform Wednesday, July 2nd at 7:30pm at Hildene Meadowlands in Manchester as part of the Banknorth Summer Festival Tour. Call for a complete schedule of concerts in Southern Vermont.

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Ventfort Hall Transports Visitors to

The Gilded Age

By Beth Traver Adolphus If you visited the Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in Lenox, Massachusetts in May, you had a real treat. An unusual exhibit – “Les Petites Dames de Mode” (“The Little Ladies of Fashion”) – was housed in this stunning Elizabethanstyle mansion built for J.P. Morgan’s sister, Sarah. The creation of 85-year-old John R. Burbige, the display featured 59 miniature models who were “dressed to impress” in women’s fashions dating from 1855 to 1914. The fact that it took Burbige almost 30 years to complete the project is some indication of the level of detail present in each of these small masterpieces. Burbige’s exhaustive research and background as a designer for the bridal house Priscilla of Boston allowed him to create attire for these “little ladies” that is both historically accurate and original. To design each outfit, he imagined himself in

UPCOMING

JUNE–AUGUST JUNE 6/21 6/22 6/26 6/29

JULY

7/06 7/10 7/12 7/13 7/17 7/20 7/24 7/27 7/31

Ticket Office: (413) 997-4444 www.TheColonialTheatre.org �� Livingston Taylor with special guest Kate Taylor * La Scala Opera, Tristan Und Isolde ** Colonial Film: Romulus My Father La Scala Opera, La Traviata ** La Scala Opera, Maria Stuarda ** Colonial Film: The Band’s Visit Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson’s World Of Jewtopia La Scala Opera, La Forza Del Destino ** Colonial Film: Singing Revolution La Scala Opera, Il Trittico ** Colonial Film: Pete Seeger: The Power of Song La Scala Opera, La Rondine ** Colonial Film: Girls Rock

another era. Even if you miss the exhibit, Ventforth Hall will still transport you to a different time. The “cottage” is one of 75 built in Lenox by America’s aristocracy at the height of the Gilded Age, when the town was a summer resort. “ Ve n t f o r t ” is French for “strong wind” and was the photo courtesy of Ventford Hall Mansion name of the and Gilded Tours house that originally stood on the site. Guided tours provide a glimpse into the lives of the Morgans in addition to the history of this interesting house. It was, for a time, used as a dormitory for Tanglewood students and once belonged to Margaret Vanderbilt. The Gilded Age Museum occupies one section of the building and focuses on members of America’s “royalty” and the homes they built in the Berkshires. Ventfort Hall is built of brick with brownstone trim and features a distinctive porte cochere at its entrance and an enormous wood veranda along its entire back side. The interior boasts a three-story great hall, carved wood paneling, stained glass, a secret passage, plaster ceilings and impressive fireplaces. The mansion is partially restored and was used in the movie “The Cider House Rules” as the St. Cloud Orphanage. Ventfort continued on page 21

AUGUST 8/16 8/26

Steve Solomon’s My Sister’s An Only Child Marc Cohn †

* Sponsored by ** Sponsored by † Sponsored by

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2008 Summer Guide

Ventfort Hall Transports Visitors to

The Gilded

Age

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Hall’s restoration continues, and May 24th marked the celebratory opening of the restored library. Other events throughout the summer include the hall’s summer play and exhibit, “Colors of War: A Story of Love and Courage,” presented Wednesday through Sunday from late June through August. There is also an American Girl Club offered in half-day, full-day or single-day sessions. Ventfort Hall is open daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with guided tours on the hour. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for children ages 5 to 17 and free for children under 5. For more information, call 413-637-3206 or visit www.gildedage.org.

photo courtesy of Ventford Hall Mansion and Gilded Tours

Ventford Hall, Lenox, MA

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Ride Safe This Summer

A summer bike ride should not end in the emergency room, but 250,000 kids per year go to U.S. emergency rooms with bike-related injuries - including brain injuries. Bike helmets could prevent up to 75 percent of fatal head injuries to child cyclists, yet a recent study shows that cyclists ages five to 14 wear helmets less than half the time. Make sure your child wears a helmet every time - one that fits properly and meets federal standards.

Teach your child the right way to wear a helmet, snug and level (horizontal) on top of the head. In a bike crash, the risk of head injury is doubled if the helmet is worn incorrectly. Take the “Eyes, Ears and Mouth” test: The rim of the helmet should be one to two finger-widths above the eyebrows. The straps should form a “V” just below the ear lobe with the buckle and straps flat against the skin. The strap should feel snug when the rider’s mouth is open. Teach kids to obey traffic signs and the rules of the road. Kids should �� not ride without �� supervision until �� they have demon�� strated that they

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always follow the rules. Remember, too, that your child needs to see you wear a helmet when you ride. According to a study released in 2005 by Safe Kids Worldwide and Johnson & Johnson, kids really do learn their safety habits - good and bad - by watching adult role models. The bike itself needs to fit the child, too. There should be two to four inches of clearance between the bike frame and the child’s groin when the child’s feet are flat on the ground. Also, make sure the bike is in good repair - reflectors are secure, brakes work properly, gears shift smoothly, and tires are tightly secured and properly inflated. One last bit of advice: Let kids pick out their own helmets. A helmet that looks cool is more likely to stay on the child’s head when you’re not looking. More information is available online at www.usa.safekids.org.

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Farms and Agricultural Attractions Adams Family Farm 15 Higley Hill Road in Wilmington, Vermont 802-464-3762 • www.adamsfamilyfarm.com Rain or shine, this sixth generation working farm offers the “ultimate agricultural experience,” says the Boston Sunday Globe. The farm offers wagon rides, agricultural demonstrations, hay rides, bonfire parties, a “baby barn” of young animals, shepherding demonstrations, ice cream socials, a corn maze, special events and more. Reservations required for some activities. Open June 21st through October (Farm Store and Quilt and Fiber Arts Loft open daily, year-round, from 10am-5pm). The farm grounds are closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Apple Barn & Country Bake Shop VT Route 7 South in Bennington, Vermont 802-447-7780 or 888-8APPLES • www.theapplebarn.com The Apple Barn and Country Bake Shop has become a “must stop” for locals and visitors alike. Featured as an Editor’s Choice in Yankee Magazine Travel Guide, the Apple Barn combines high-quality baked goods with free entertainment for children of all ages. Enjoy over 30 varieties of apples grown by nearby Southern Vermont Orchards. Nestled in the southwest corner of Vermont, The Apple Barn offers pick-your-own fruit in the summertime and free children’s programming. The Apple Barn has been featured on The Food Network’s $40 a Day, Ron Hazelton’s House Calls and Good Morning America. Billings Farm & Museum Route 12 & River Road in Woodstock, Vermont 802-457-2355 • www.billingsfarm.org The Billings Farm & Museum is keeping alive the spirit and values of Vermont’s rural past. The farm dates back to 1871, when native Vermonter Frederick Billings set out to build a farm and forestry operation that would serve future generations as a model of wise stewardship. His farm flourished and today is still a firstclass working farm, operating with a museum of Vermont’s rural heritage. The Billings Farm & Museum operates in partnership with the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, the only national park to tell the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America. The park is a gift to the people of the United States from Laurance S. and Mary F. Rockefeller and represents several generations of conservationist thought and practice. The farm offers a large number of events, including a Sheep Shearing Weekend on May 24th and 25th, Wagon Ride Weekend on June 14th and 15th, Old Vermont 4th on July 4th and Antique Tractor Dayt on August 17th. The farm is open May 1st through October 31st, 10am to 5pm. Cabot Creamery 288 Main Street in Cabot, Vermont 888-792-2268 • www.cabotcheese.com Visit Cabot’s Visitors’ Center in Cabot Village, home of Cabot’s 2008 Summer Guide

famous cheddar cheese, and take a factory tour. The guided tour tells the history of Cabot Creamery and a little something about the agricultural history of Vermont. After the video, take a walk down the hall to view Cabot’s award-winning cheese being made. Following the tour ($2 per person over twelve years of age), nibble Cabot’s many varieties of cheeses, including the World’s Best Cheddar and Best Flavored Cheddar. The visit will include a Cabot Critters Coloring Book and weekly specials on selected cheese products. Call to confirm cheese-making days. Large groups welcome with reservations. Open daily June through October from 9am-5pm.

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Farms and Agricultural Attractions Continued Hilltop Orchards and Furnace Brook Winery 508 Canaan Road in Richmond, Massachusetts 800-833-6274 • www.hilltoporchards.com Furnace Brook Winery, Berkshire’s first farm winery, is located at Hilltop Orchards, a 200-acre family fruit farm. Taste their award-winning wines and ciders. The Normandy Gazebo offers wines by-the-glass and a menu in an open air environment over looking the orchards and the Berkshire Hills. Hilltop Orchards, established in the early 1900s, today produces over 20 varieties of apples, plums, pears and grapes and is the largest producer of fresh apple cider in the Berkshires. The Hilltop Orchards Farm Store stocks fresh baked goods, local produce and cheeses, as well as apples, cider and cider doughnuts. Pick your own apples from late August through the end of the harvest in October. Hiking, biking, picnicking and guided hikes are also offered. The orchards and winery are open Friday-Sunday, 11am-5pm. North River Winery Vermont Route 112, River Rd. in Jacksonville, Vermont 802-368-7557 or 800-585-7779 • www.northriverwinery.com North River Winery, Vermont’s first bonded winery, is located in the picturesque foothills of Windham County, situated along the North River. The 1850s farmhouse and barn which house the winery recall an age when wines were made by local residents. Started in 1985, the winery has grown from making 2,500 gal-

lons of wine annually to about 20,000 gallons. Approximately 90% of the fruit used by the winery is grown at the Dwight Miller Orchards, a State of Vermont, Certified Organic Orchard. All fermentation, bottling and distribution of their eleven different wines are done on the premises. Of the roughly 100,000 bottles of wine made per year, approximately 60% are sold at the winery’s retail locations. Their year-round tasting rooms are located in Bennington at Camelot Village and Manchester Center at Vermont Magic on Route 7A. Both are open seven days a week: 10am to 5:30pm in Bennington and 10am to 5pm in Manchester. Free tours are also offered at the winery. Agricultural Fairs Columbia, Rensselaer and Washington Counties, New York August 18-24 Washington County Fair on Old Schuylerville Road off of Route 29 in Greenwich. One of New York’s largest agricultural fairs. 518-692-2464. www.washingtoncountyfair.com August 27-September 1 The Schaghticoke Fair at the junction of Routes 67 and 40 in Schaghticoke. Third oldest fair in New York State. Children under 14 free. 518-753-4411. www.schaghticokefair.com August 27-September 1 Columbia County Fair on the fairgrounds at the intersection of Routes 66 and 203 in Chatham. 518-758-1811. www.columbiafair.com Southern Vermont July 26 The Pownal Valley Fair takes places at the Fire Department field on Route 346 in Pownal. Kids fun fair. 802-823-5258. August 21-24 91st Deerfield Valley Farmers’ Day Fair takes place on the grounds of the middle/high school on School Street in Wilmington. 802-319-0117.

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Hilltop Orchards

Home of Furnace Brook Winery

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2008 Summer Guide

Agricultural Fairs Continued August 22-24 The 211th Bondville Fair takes place on Route 30 in Bondville/ Winhall. Since 1797. 802-297-1275. August 29-September 7 The Vermont State Fair is held on the fairgrounds on Route 7 in Rutland. 802-775-5200. www.vermontstatefair.net Western Massachusetts August 1-3 34th Adams Agricultural Fair at Bowe Field off Route 8 in Adams. 413-743-5281 or 413-743-2148. www.adamsfair.com August 16 Berkshire County 4-H Youth Fair and Horse Demonstrations and Clinics off Holmes Road in Pittsfield. 413-448-8285.

Festivals, Fairs & Events Berkshire Crafts Fair Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts 413-528-3346 www.berkshirecraftsfair.org The annual Berkshire Crafts Fair features a wide range of contemporary and traditional work. Over the years the Berkshire Crafts Fair has developed a reputation as a high quality, well-run show which has been awarded The Sunshine Artists 200 Award and has been listed in the Harris List of the Nation’s Best Arts and Crafts Shows. August 8th through 10th.

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Circus Smirkus Vermont Agricultural Business Education Center in Brattleboro, Vermont 802-533-7443 • www.smirkus.org Every summer, a company of talented Smirkus Troupers ages 10 to 18 from both the U.S. and abroad tour around New England. This year, the Big Top Tour will be a spectacle of wacky, weird science call Smirkusology: A Science Extravaganza! Circus Smirkus combines the best of traditional and contemporary circus styles, performed in a 750-seat European-style one-ring Big Top tent. Circus Smirkus is presented in most towns by local nonprofit youth or community organizations. The ticket sales and sponsorships raised through the performances provide a major source of income for their programs. This year, Circus Smirkus will �� perform on July 14th and 15th � at the Vermont Agricultural �� Business Education Center in Brattleboro, Vermont.

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Berkshire Summer Arts Festival At Butternut Basin Ski Area on Route 23 in Great Barring ton, Massachusetts 1-800-834-9437 www.americanartmarketing.com or www.berkshireartsfestival.com A special art show featuring 200 juried artists, live demonstrations, music, gourmet food and entertainment. The festival runs from July 4th through July 6th, rain or shine, under tents and inside the air-conditioned lodges.

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Events at Robert Todd Lincoln’s Hildene Historic Route 7A in Manchester, Vermont 802-362-1788 • www.hildene.org The beautiful Georgian Revival home of Robert Todd Lincoln has magnificent views of the valley nestled between the Taconic and Green Mountains and is a perfect place to enjoy an eclectic schedule of events. July 2 Vermont Symphony Orchestra July 9 Washington County Band Concert July 11 Alex Torres and the Latin Kings July 12 Antiques Show SUFFERING FROM...

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July 19 Lincoln Lecture Series July 24 Hubbard Hall Shakespeare July 26-27 Civil War Encampment July 27 Komen Race for the Cure August 1 New England Shakespeare Under the Stars August 1-3 Southern Vermont Art & Craft Festival August 9 Lincoln Lecture Series August 13 Robert D. Thum Memorial Concert September 13 Lincoln Lecture Series September 27 Mr. Lincoln’s Gift October 3-5 Foliage Art & Craft Festival Vermont Summer Festival/Horse Show At the Harold Beebe Farm just off Route 7 in East Dorset, Vermont 802-496-4878 • www.vt-summerfestival.com The Vermont Summer Festival features six weeks of top equestrian competition in the Manchester region. The show grounds boast five all-weather rings, including one of the largest Grand Prix fields in New England, as well as several all-weather schooling and riding areas, permanent wash racks, paddocks and extended trails for casual enjoyment. The festival runs Wednesdays-Sundays from 8am-4pm on the following dates: July 9-13 Vermont Summer Special; July 1620 Manchester Summer Festival Horse Show ; July 23-27 Manchester Classic Horse Show; July 30-August 3 Valley Classic Horse Show; August 6-10 Manchester & the Mountains Horse Show; August 13-17 Vermont Summer Celebration

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Jewelry, Gem and Mineral Show American Legion in Pownal, Vermont 413-664-4115 This show features minerals, gems, jewelry, gifts, a fish pond for children, prizes and refreshments. It will be held September 6th (10am-6pm) and 7th (10am5pm). Children will be admitted free, and there is a minimal charge for adults. Pawlet Public Library’s 40th Annual Book Sale Mettawee Community School on VT Route 153 in Pawlet, Vermont 802-325-3123 The Pawlet Public Library Annual Book Sale is celebrating its 41st year this year on Saturday, July 26th from 9am to 3pm and Sunday, July 27th from 10am to 2pm. The annual book sale is one of the largest book sales in Southern Vermont 2008 Summer Guide

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and last year featured between 30,000 and 40,000 hardcover and trade paperback books. The annual book sale is the principal source of funds for new books and magazines and library programs throughout the year. The event features a raffle with many chances to win, as well as a bake sale table and hot dog stand for those desiring a picnic lunch.

Galleries and Visual Arts Bennington Arts Guild Gallery 103 South Street at the Four Corners, Bennington, Vermont 802-442-7838 www.benningtonartsguild.com The Bennington Arts Guild is a cooperative run by artists from Bennington and the surrounding communities with the common goal of providing a viable market for, and bringing public attention to, fine art & fine craft produced in the area. Membership is open to artists throughout the greater Bennington area. Bennington Arts Guild Gallery is open Wednesday through Monday from 12pm-4pm. Bennington Center for the Arts Route 9 just west of Bennington, Vermont 802-442-7158 • www.benningtoncenterforthearts.org The Bennington Center for the Arts is known primarily for its fine arts galleries of nature-inspired and Native American art. It has, over the years, acquired a wonderful collection of sculpture, weavings, pottery and carvings. These works represent the beauty of wildlife, landscapes and the culture and history of Native Americans. It houses the awardwinning Oldcastle Theatre and the Laumeister Galleries, which feature rotating art exhibits and art sales. It is also home �� to the Vermont Covered Bridge Museum. Bennington Center �� for the Arts includes a museum shop, a main theater and a cov�� ered bridge theater, as well as a visitors’ information center. �� Open 10am-5pm Wednesday �� through Monday. ��

workshops and artists’ studios. The center features current work of local and regional artists and craftspeople, both well known and emerging. This community arts center also features performances and readings by a variety of musicians, dancers, actors and poets. Nine individual artist rental studios are housed in the Lichtenstein Center, joining over 40 other working artist studios in downtown Pittsfield to create a thriving creative community. Local teaching artists lead a variety of classes, including ceramics, tap dancing, life drawing, tai chi and more. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, noon-5pm.

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Lichtenstein Center for the Arts 28 Renne Avenue in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-499-9348 www.culturalpittsfield.com The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts is a community arts center housed in a historic building in downtown Pittsfield. Inside is a gallery and performance area, 2008 Summer Guide

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Featuring traditional and contemporary crafts by Vermont’s finest artisans, Frog Hollow also offers classes and camps for children. Special exhibitions year-round.

ing historic mill complex in the Berkshire Mountains into a multi-disciplinary center for visual, performing and media arts. More than a static display hall, MASS MoCA provides space, tools and time for artists, cultural institutions and businesses working in sculpture, theater, dance, film, digital media and music. With annual attendance of 120,000, it ranks among the most visited institutions in the United States dedicated to new art. Hours are 11am-5pm (closed Tuesdays), then 10am-6pm daily from June 28-September 2. MASS MoCA offers public tours at noon and 3pm on weekends and daily in July and August.

MASS MoCA 1040 MASS MOCA Way in North Adams, Massachusetts 413-662-2111 • www.massmoca.org

Southern Vermont Arts Center West Road in Manchester, VT 802-362-1405 • www.svac.org

MASS MoCA is an extraordinary project converting a 27-build-

Vermont’s oldest cultural organization, the Southern Vermont Arts Center is located in Manchester, Vermont in a National Historic Trust Mansion. The Arts Center’s ten galleries feature classic and contemporary art on view and for sale. Its 407 acres are situated on the slope of Mount Equinox and offer hiking trails, a botany trail, sculpture gardens and an indoor/outdoor café. In addition, art classes and performances of music and dance are offered in newly renovated facilities. The Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum is a stunning Hugh Newell Jacobsendesigned fine arts facility to display the Arts Center’s 800-piece permanent collection and special traveling exhibitions from the nation’s finest museums. Open year-round, Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5pm, and Sunday, 12-5pm. The center is also home to a number of festivals and events.

Galleries and Visual Arts

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Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Gallery 4716 Main Street, Historic Rte. 7A in Manchester Center, Vermont 802-362-3321 • www.froghollow.org

Now Serving - ICED COFFEES !!! Fruit ‘n’ Yogurt Parfaits Ice Cream Cones & Sundaes Oreo or M&M McFlurries Visit is in:

LEE, GT. BARRINGTON, & CANAAN, CT

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Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts 413-458-2303 • www.clarkart.edu The Clark is a dynamic institution welcoming visitors yearround to experience outstanding European and American art in a beautiful, rural setting. Surrounded by 140 acres of woodlands, meadows and hik�� ing trails, the Clark’s intimately �� scaled galleries are home to an �� exceptional collection. Opened �� in 1955 by Singer sewing �� machine heir Robert Sterling Clark and his wife, Francine, �� the Clark is renowned for its �� French Impressionist paintings �� by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, �� Camille Pissarro and especially Pierre-Auguste Renoir, with �� more than 30 paintings by the �� artist. The collection is also �� rich in American paintings by �� Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Frederic Remington �� and Mary Cassatt; Italian and �� Northern Renaissance master�� pieces; portraits and landscapes �� by European masters; and an �� extraordinary collection of silver, porcelain, and furniture.

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Galleries and Visual Arts

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The Clark offers a lively variety of events and programs for all ages including concerts, films, family activities, gallery talks and after-hours events. Most public events, including family days and summer band concerts, are free of charge. Food is available year-round. Picnic tables and benches dot the landscape, inviting visitors to relax and enjoy the surrounding hills. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am-5pm. Open daily July and August, 10am5pm. Williams College Museum of Art 15 Lawrence Hall Drive, Route 2 in Williamstown, MA 413-597-2429 • www.wcma.org One of the finest college art museums in the country, the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) houses 12,000 works that span the history of art. Within the broad range of time periods and cultures represented, the collection emphasizes modern and contemporary art, American art from the late 18th century to the present and the art of world cultures. In addition to displaying works from the permanent collection, the museum organizes loan exhibitions of outstanding works from other collections. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 1-5pm. Admission is free, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.

Trains and Automobiles 22nd Annual Manchester and the Mountains Antique & Classic Car Show Hildene, Historic Route 7A in Manchester, Vermont 800-362-4144 • www.manchestervermont.net/carshow/index.html The 22nd Annual Antique & Classic Car Show will be held on June 14th and 15th. In addition to antique and classic cars and vintage trucks, there will also be live music, a silent auction, carrelated games, contests and crafts, a car show, a parade, tours of Hildene and plenty of food vendors. New for 2008 are tech sessions with Allied Engines, a meet-and-greet with Hemmings Motor News editors, an appearance by author Pat Foster and a Northeast Chevy/GMC Truck Club Vintage Trailer open house. This year’s featured car is the Packard.

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42nd Annual Bennington Car Show & Swap Meet Green Mountain Race Track in Pownal, Vermont 800-229-0252 • www.bennington.com/attractions/events/carshow.html This year’s show will be held September 12th through the 14th. It features original or restored to original classic cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles 25 years and older, a swap meet, craft festival, car corral, tractor pull events, food, entertainment and more. Berkshire Scenic Railway and the Gateway to the Gilded Age: A Museum of Berkshire History Housatanic Street and Willow Creek Road in Lenox, Massachusetts 413-637-2210 • www.berkshirescenicrailway.org On summer weekends and holidays, the museum offers two 90-minute round-trip excursions from Lenox Station to Stockbridge and a 45-minute round-trip excursion from Lenox Station to Lee narrated by a uniformed conductor using a diesel locomotive from the 1950s and vintage standard gauge coaches from the 1920s. A vintage railway coach houses The Gateway to the Gilded Age: A Museum of Berkshire History, a permanent exhibit where visitors are introduced to the rich history of Berkshire County and 24 important Gilded Age sites. Open weekends and holidays 9:30am-4:30pm May 24th through October.

Equinox Skyline Drive Off of Route 7 in Sunderland, Vermont 802-362-1114 or 802-362-1115 • www.equinoxmountain.com/skylinedrive The Mount Equinox Skyline Drive is the longest privately owned paved toll road in the U.S. Begin your adventure at the Toll House on Historic Route 7A in Sunderland at an elevation of 600 feet. As Skyline Drive winds and twist its way up the mountain, it provides panoramic views of lakes, rivers and valley communities below. There are many vistas and areas for picnicking along the 5.2-mile drive, which has a vertical gain of 3,248 feet to the summit. The serenity and beauty of the world famous Battenkill River may be seen meandering through town, farm and woodland below. There is so much natural beauty that the drive to the summit is half the experience. However, the view from the summit is truly breathtaking and an experience you’ll not soon forget. It offers incredible sunsets and panoramic views of the Green, White, Adirondack, Berkshire and Taconic Mountain ranges. The drive offers picnic areas, many of which have marble picnic tables made from marble quarried on neighboring Dorset Mountain. There is a fireplace for grilling at the first area located 1/4 mile from the entrance of the drive. Open 9am to dusk, May 1st through October 31st, weather permitting.

CD’S & RECORDS NEW, USED & IMPORTED AT DISCOUNT PRICES OUT OF PRINT LPs FOR THE COLLECTOR 131 WATER STREET WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.

413-458-5229 • Open 10-6 Mon.-Sat. www.toonervilletrolleycds.com

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Hemmings Motor News 216 Main Street in Bennington, Vermont 800-447-9580 • www.hemmings.com Located in the town of Bennington, Vermont, for over 50 years, Hemmings Motor News publishes the world’s largest collector-car magazine, affectionately known as the “bible” of the collector-car hobby, as well as their more recent titles, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines and Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car. Their free vehicle display features a rotating selection of their collector vehicles and an automobilia collection. The collector-car display also includes panel trucks, pickup trucks, bicycles, marine engines and vintage porcelain signs showcasing the automotive industry through the decades. The Car Lover’s Oasis Shop contains a huge collection of automotive items: over 150 unique reproduction porcelain signs, dozens of die-cast models, pedal cars, auto artwork, clothing, books and more. At the old-fashioned Sunoco filling station, attendants will clean your windshield and check your oil. Hemmings also hosts Cruise-Ins every other Thursday night from mid-May through August, as well as their Musclepalooza event at the Lebanon Valley Dragway (May 25th), Second Annual New England Concours d’Elegance in Stratton, Vermont (July 18th through 20th) and Third Annual Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car Show in Saratoga, New York (August 10th). The Filling Station and Gift Shop are open daily from 7am-7pm (closed holidays). The vehicle display is open on weekends in May and daily from 10am-3pm June through October, and the gas pumps are on 24 hours a day. Mohawk Trail Route 2, Western Massachusetts 413-743-8127 or 866-743-8127 • www.mohawktrail.com The Mohawk Trail is the first scenic road in New England. National Geographic Traveler selected the Mohawk Trail as

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one of 50 of the most scenic routes in the United States. The American Automobile Association also chose “The Trail” for scenic recognition, as has the federal government in one of its national programs. The Mohawk Trail has gained a world-wide reputation for its scenic beauty, both natural and man-made. It carries on its ancient trade route heritage via over 100 unique shops, attractions, public and private camping areas, inns and villages that line its path. With 63 miles of unsurpassed splendor and 50,000 acres of state parks and forests, it’s an excellent vacation choice for fun and adventure for all ages during any season. It extends from Williamstown to Shirley. Motor Madness 2008 Schaghticoke Fairgrounds, junction of Routes 67 and 40 in Schaghticoke, New York 518-279-9247 June 21st and 22nd, the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds will host Motor Madness. It’s drag racing complete with regulation drag tree, but when the light goes green on this track, the competition vehicles must race down a 160-foot mud track. You will also witness 4x4 Rock Krawling on both days. The 4x4s will give rides to little ones all weekend. There will also be a custom car, truck and bike show, food, parts for sale and vendors. Gates open at 9am, and racing starts at noon both days.

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Museum Celebrates the Slate Valley By Beth Traver Adolphus The slate roof is one of the most distinctive architectural elements in the area, and though homeowners tend to replace damaged slate with roofs of less expensive material, a large number of local houses and other buildings still include this unmistakable feature. In addition to its beauty, the stone is durable; the first barn to be covered with slate in 1848 still stands today in Fair Haven, Vermont with its original roof intact. The success of slate as a building material gave rise to an entire industry. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, immigrant quarrymen and their families flocked to the Slate Valley, an area stretching about 24 miles along the Vermont/New York border between Granville, New York and Rupert, Vermont to Fair Haven. The Slate Valley Museum in Granville honors these immigrants and their traditions. The museum also features exhibits, displays and artwork celebrating and revealing the history and science of slate and slate quarrying. Discover how slate was formed, why the Slate Valley is unique, why slate comes in different colors and how it was first quarried. Learn about its use in The White House and other landmarks of national importance, as well as in local buildings. Free guided tours of a new exhibit of machines, Heavy Lifting: A Human and Technological History of Moving Slate from Quarry to Market, 1850–Present, will be given during a grand opening event on Saturday, June 14th from 1-5 p.m. for the dedication of the museum’s new visitor center. Outdoor concerts

photo courtesy of Slate Valley Museum

of Irish, Welsh, Italian and Eastern European music during the afternoon will reflect the Slate Valley’s immigrant culture. Other events this summer include the opening of the art exhibit Slate is Our Muse, presented by the Adirondack Artists Guild on July 12th, and a gallery talk on the Heavy Lifing exhibition on August 16th. The Heavy Lifting exhibit will feature machines and other equipment from the 1850s through the 1960s, including a gage rail cart, carriage and billy wheel, a World War II armed forces surplus forklift and a dump truck. The display also includes continued on page 34

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photographs and video clips of today’s industrial technology. The human side of heavy lifting will be portrayed through oral histories, quarry and mill sounds and photographs. Interestingly, the staff of the museum and Granville native John Shaw learned cleaning and conservation techniques from the senior conservator at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan to prepare the machines for this exhibition.

Regular admission is $5 for adults, and children age 12 and under are admitted free. Summer hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. For more information, call 518-642-1417 or visit www.slatevalleymuseum.org.

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518-686-5711

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Did You Know?

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), among the more developed countries the U.S. lags far behind some of its counterparts when it comes to the average number of vacation days each year. While the average Italian citizen enjoys 42 vacation days per year, in the U.S. workers enjoy less than one-third of that total. The average American worker gets just 13 vacation days each year, exactly half the number that Canada enjoys each year. Following Italy at the top of the list are France (37 days), Germany (35 days) and Brazil (34 days). Joining the U.S. near the bottom of the list are Korea and Japan, both of which average 25 days of vacation per year.

2008 Summer Guide

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Summer Fun on the Battenkill

Canoe, kayak, tube...and vacation rental getaway Rentals, Shuttles, Sales, & Service 518

677677-3311

www.battenkillvalleyoutdoors.com

1414 Rte 313 • Cambridge, NY (Across from from Eagleville Br)

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FOCAL POINTS 2008

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Friday, August 8th & Saturday, August 9th 10am - 4pm Visit Salem, NY in picturesque Washington County. See demonstrations by local craftspersons and sample locally-grown produce.

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2008 Summer Guide

The Flavor of Vermont:

FARMERS’ MARKETS By Beth Traver Adolphus Vermont has long been at the forefront of the organic and “buy local” movements, and the state takes its farmers’ markets seriously. Through statewide marketing efforts and partnerships between the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont) and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture farms), these markets have blossomed into inviting, busy, social spots where you can purchase some of the freshest and best Vermont products. Five farmers’ markets in Southern Vermont — in Bennington, Brattleboro, Dorset, Londonderry and Manchester — feature a mix of fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, herbs, crafts, meat, eggs, cheese and milk products, jams and jellies, sweets, maple syrup, honey, wines, homemade condiments and other specialty foods. A number of vendors offer organic products, and even those that aren’t certified organic frequently offer foods grown without the use of chemicals. Entertainment usually includes live music, but expect the unexpected, like belly dancing by a professional troupe in Bennington and more than one vendor offering professional massages in Brattleboro. Manchester’s market also offers something for the kids with pony rides and Art Farm, a place where kids can combine art and agriculture through projects like potato printing, pumpkin painting or seed planting.

photo by David Traver Adolphus

Xavier Traver Adolphus enjoys a red pepper at the farmers’ market.

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who are growing, creating and buying such high quality products. Everyone is smiling, sampling and socializing with both neighbors and strangers alike. The surprising thing is that many of the prices for fresh, organic produce are competitive with grocery store prices for non-organic items. Many local patrons buy quantities that they then freeze or can. A word of advice: arrive early. Area residents have learned that the best items go fast, and things do sell out. All have their favor-

Did You Know?

photo by Lee Krohn

The U.S. National Park Service was established in 1916 by thenPresident Woodrow Wilson. Though the Park Service was established, the first National Park actually preceded the Park Service by almost 50 years, as President Ulysses S. Grant named Yellowstone Park the first national park in 1872. Today it comprises 391 areas covering more than 84 million acres. The largest park in the system is Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, which includes nine of the 16 highest peaks in the United States.

LOCAL AREA MARKETS

Brattleboro Farmers’ Market (around 50 vendors) Whetstone Pathway/Co-op Plaza Wednesdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Dorset Farmers’ Market (around 50 vendors) At the H.N. Williams Hardware Store on Route 30 Sundays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend Manchester Farmers’ Market (around 25 vendors) At the Dana Thompson Rec Center, Route 30 West Thursdays, 3-6 p.m., May 22 – mid-October Walloomsac Farmers’ Market Behind Bennington Station at Riverwalk Park in Bennington Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m., mid-May to mid-October Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., mid-May to mid-October West River Farmers Market (around 50 vendors) Intersection of Routes 11E & 100N in Londonderry Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., May 24 – Columbus Day weekend

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Gardens, Nature Preserves, and Parks

Berkshire Botanical Garden Junction of Routes 183 and 102 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts 413-298-3926 • www.berkshirebotanical.org

Ashintully Gardens Sodem Road in Tyringham, Massachusetts 413-298-3239

Nestled in the scenic Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, the Berkshire Botanical Garden (BBG) offers visitors a peaceful refuge of natural beauty, stunning display gardens, exciting community events and informative classes for all ages and levels of skill and knowledge. The collections (over 3,000 species and varieties) emphasize plants that thrive in the Berkshires and are displayed in an informal, country setting. The garden also serves as a gathering place for community events, weddings, meetings and classes. Display gardens open 10am-5pm daily, May through Columbus Day.

Ashintully (Gaelic meaning “on the brow of the hill”) was the name given to the original 1,000-acre estate assembled in the early 20th century by Egyptologist and two-time state representative Robb de Peyster Tytus from three farms in Tyringham and additional land in Otis. In 1937, noted contemporary composer John McLennan, Jr. acquired the estate, later moving into the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill and renovating the nearby barn into a music studio. McLennan created, over the course of thirty years, Ashintully Gardens. The gardens blend several natural features—a rushing stream, native deciduous trees, a rounded knoll and rising flanking meadows—into an ordered arrangement with both formal and informal beauty. Garden features include the Fountain Pond, �� Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, �� Bowling Green, Regency Bridge and Trellis Triptych. Urns, col�� umns and statuary ornament the garden, while foot bridges, foot �� paths, stone stairs and grassy �� terraces connect various parts of �� the garden. A half-mile wood�� land loop trail leads to the ruins of the Marble Palace. From these �� ruins, visitors can take in a dis�� tant view north through the �� Tyringham Valley. Open June �� 1st through October 15th on �� Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 1-5pm. ��

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Berkshire Bird Paradise Sanctuary 43 Red Pond Road in Grafton/ Petersburgh, New York 518-279-3801 • www.birdparadise.com

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The Berkshire Bird Paradise Sanctuary is a safe haven for disabled and injured birds. It is one of the largest bird sanctuaries in the country, with over 1,200 birds and almost 100 different species, including: Australian black swan, blue eared pheasant, bald eagle, golden eagle, Indian bar headed geese, golden pheasant, white peacock, Ferruginous hawk, great horned owl, Impean pheasant, emu, osprey, blue peacock, Reeves pheasant and Demosih crane (India). Open 9am5pm daily Memorial Day to Labor Day. A small admission is charged to help feed and care for the birds.

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Gardens, Nature Preserves and Parks continued Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center

Dyken Pond Road off of Route 80 in Grafton, New York 518-658-2055

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Dyken Pond is the principal headwaters of the Poestenkill and the largest lake on the Rensselaer Plateau. Its historic dam was built in 1902 by Manning Paper Company and regulated the stream flow powering machinery along the Poestenkill to Troy. Manning Paper Company donated its land holdings to Rensselaer County in 1973. Since that time, Rensselaer County has owned

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and operated this living watershed as an ecological teaching unit as well as a low-use recreation area. Thirty-three ecological communities offer an exciting blend of places to explore and enjoy. The park has five miles of trail on county-owned lands and two miles of trail on privately owned conservation lands. No motorized vehicles, mountain biking, horseback riding, barbecues or swimming permitted. There is a non-motor boat launch near the parking lot. Call ahead to assure vehicle access to launch. Dogs are welcomed on leashes. Open daily during daylight hours. www.dykenpond.org Green Mountain National Forest Forest Supervisor, 231 North Main Street in Rutland, Vermont 802-747-6700 • www.fs.fed.us/r9/gmfl/green_mountain/index.htm The Green Mountain National Forest follows the backbone of Vermont north from the Massachusetts border, all the way to the Appalachian Gap. It was established in 1932 after uncontrolled logging, fire and flooding ravaged the State of Vermont. Today, the Green Mountain National Forest has grown—tract by tract— to almost 400,000 acres that stretch across nearly two-thirds the length of Vermont. The mission of the Forest is to sustain, protect and enhance forest ecosystems. The Appalachian and Long Trails, which extend along the ridgeline of the Green Mountains, are part of its 312 miles of trails. Within the forest’s boundaries are streams and ponds famous for brook & rainbow trout fishing. Other activities include birding, berry picking, canoeing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and scenic drives.

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LIMITED ENGAGEMENT - 10 performances only!

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AUGUST 14 - 30

THE KAUFMAN COLLECTION: Volume II ��

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by George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner 2008 Summer Guide

Gardens, Nature Preserves and Parks continued Flag Acres Zoo

2 Rowley Road in Hoosick Falls, New York 518-686-3159 Flag Acres is a state and federally licensed zoological park for rare & endangered species as well as native wildlife. The zoo provides 14 acres of viewing area for approximately 50 species and 200 adult & baby animals, including big cats, bears, monkeys, zebras, camels, kangaroos & native wildlife. Animal viewing and educational tours are given from 10am to 5pm daily from May 10th through September 10th.

est peaks. It was the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail, which coincides with it for one hundred miles in the southern third of the state. Although the Long Trail is known as Vermont’s “footpath in the wilderness,” its character may more accurately be described as backcountry. The trail climbs rugged peaks and passes pristine ponds, alpine bogs, hardwood forests and swift streams. It is steep in some places, muddy in others and rugged in most. Novice and expert alike will enjoy the varied terrain. With its 270-mile footpath, 175 miles of side trails and nearly 70 primitive shelters, the Long Trail offers endless hiking opportunities for the day hiker, weekend overnighter and extended backpacker. The Long Trail is marked by two-by-six-inch white blazes. Intersections are usually marked with signs. Double blazes may mark important turns. Side trails are blazed in blue and signed.

Lake Paran

Houghton Street in North Bennington, Vermont 802-442-2422 Peaceful and beautiful, Lake Paran offers swimming, picnicking and fishing, as well as a bath house, snackbar, charcoal grills and canoe rentals. Certified life guards are on duty during peak swimming times. An evening summer concert series is offered on select weekends. Daily admission. Summer memberships are available. Lake Whitingham/Harriman Reservoir Wilmington/Whitingham, Vermont www.thisisvermont.com/storywaters.html Lake Whitingham, also known as Harriman Reservoir, is Vermont’s largest recreational lake wholly within its borders, fully eight miles long from north to south, with over 28 miles of undeveloped shoreline. The lake was formed by the construction of the Harriman Dam, named for Henry I. Harriman, the engineer under whom it was constructed in 1923 by the New England Power Company. This large earthen dam stands 200 feet tall, 1,200 feet across and a quarter of a mile wide at its base. By the dam is the “glory hole,” an enormous 60-foot spillway shaped like a gigantic morning glory. Boating, fishing, swimming and picnicking are all available around the lake. It is maintained by the New England Power Company at no cost to the public. The Long Trail

Green Mountains, Vermont • www.greenmountainclub.org Built by the Green Mountain Club between 1910 and 1930, the Long Trail is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States. It follows the main ridge of the Green Mountains from the MassachusettsVermont line to the Canadian border as it crosses Vermont’s high-

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Gardens, Nature Preserves and Parks continued Merck Forest & Farmland Center

Route 315 Rupert Mountain Road in Rupert, Vermont 802-394-7836 • www.merckforest.com

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Merck Forest and Farmland Center’s mission is to teach and demonstrate the benefits of innovative, sustainable management of forest and farmland. The purpose of the farm is to demonstrate modern, sustainable approaches to agriculture while producing maple syrup, organic vegetables, flowers and herbs and raising livestock for meat, eggs, wool and dairy products. These are sold at Merck’s farmstand, through its Community-Supported Agriculture program and at three local farmers’ markets. Timber products include hardwood logs for furniture, veneer, flooring and other products. Merck Forest and Farmland Center has several relatively rare types of forest communities, which provide valuable wildlife habitats and allow for scientific research. Merck has a number of trails, camp sites and educational programs. Open year-round, dawn to dusk. Preserve located on Rte. 22, 8 miles south of Granville, New York Museum located at 33 West Main St. in Granville, New York 518-642-1515 • www.pembermuseum.com/preserve.shtml The Pember Nature Preserve, donated to the Pember Library and Museum in 1979, encompasses 125 acres of forest, wetland and fields on both sides of Black Creek, a tributary of the Battenkill. The mission of the Pember Nature Preserve is to provide a refuge for the region’s native wildlife and plant species. Visitors to the marsh walk on elevated walkways and over a footbridge spanning Black Creek. An observation platform at the edge of Black Creek allows for the observation of wetland wildlife. In 1987, the Granville School District deeded the Porter Schoolhouse to the Pember Library and Museum for use as a nature education center. The Porter Schoolhouse is one point of entry to the preserve; the other is on South Grimes Hill Road. Seven nature trails are available year-round from dawn to dusk. Trail maps at both entrances. The Pember Library and Museum were established in 1909 by Franklin Tanner Pember and his wife, Ellen Wood Pember. Both institutions continue to operate in the building designed and built for that purpose. Franklin Pember was an entrepreneur, with interests in the fur trade, oil fields and orange groves. From boyhood he was interested in

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Gardens, Nature Preserves and Parks continued the natural world and collected mounted birds and mammals, bird nests and eggs, shells, insects, plants, rocks and minerals. This collection became the basis of the museum. Open yearround Tuesday-Friday from 1-5pm and Saturday from 10am3pm. Closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays. www.pembermuseum.com Somerset Reservoir

Somerset Road off of Route 9 on Searsburg Mountain, Vermont Just shy of 1,600 acres in size, this is the first of a series of large reservoirs utilizing the Deerfield River for electrical power. The south end of the reservoir, just after the dam, has a parking lot with public toilets. Below the parking lot is a boat launch suitable for motorized and man-powered vessels. To the right of the launch a series of picnic tables and stone fireplaces provide opportunities for a day of picnicking with views of the opposite shoreline. The shoreline varies from grassy around the dam to brushy and forested as one progresses north. By canoe, fishing hidden inlets for rainbow trout, walleyed pike and bass are possible. Note: Only swim in designated spots. The area is open to day use between 6am and 9:30pm. www.thisisvermont.com/storywaters.html

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State Parks and Other Wilderness Preserves Massachusetts

• Beartown State Forest on Blue Hill Road in Monterey. 413-528-0904. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/bear.htm • Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, off of Holmes Road in Pittsfield. 413-637-0320. • Field Farm on Sloan Road in South Williamstown. 413-458-3135.www.berkshireweb.com/trustees/field.html • Glendale Falls on Clark Wright Road in Middlefield. 413-684-0148. www.thetrustees.org/pages/305_glendale_falls.cfm • Goose Pond on Cooper Creek Road in Lee. 413-298-3239. www.thetrustees.org/pages/306_goose_pond_reservation.cfm • Hopkins Memorial Forest at the intersection of Bulkley Street and Northwest Hill Road in Williamstown. 413-597-4353. www.williams.edu/CES/hopkins.htm • Kennedy Park on Route 7A in Lenox. • Jug End State Reservation and Wildlife Management Area on Jug End Road in Egremont. 413-528-0330. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/juge.htm

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• Lilac Park on Main St. (Route 7A) in Lenox. 413-637-3646. • McLennan Reservation on Fenn Road in Tyringham and Otis. 413-298-3239. www.berkshireweb.com/trustees/mclennan.html • Monument Mountain Reservation on Rte. 7 in Great Barrington. 413-298-3239. www.berkshireweb.com/trustees/monument.html • Mountain Meadow Preserve on Mason Street in Williamstown. 413-298-3239. www.thetrustees.org/pages/333_mountain_meadow_preserve.cfm • Mt. Greylock State Reservation Visitor’s Center on Rockwell Road in Lanesboro. 413-499-4262. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/mgry.htm • Natural Bridge State Park on Route 8 in North Adams. 413-663-6392. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/nbdg.htm • Notchview Reservation on Old Route 9 (off of current Route 9) in Windsor. 413-298-3239. www.berkshireweb.com/trustees/notchview.html • October Mountain State Forest on Woodland Road in Lee. 413-243-1778. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/octm.htm • Pittsfield State Forest on Cascade Street in Pittsfield. 413-442-8992. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/pitt.htm • Pleasant Valley Sanctuary on West Mountain Road in Lenox. 413-637-0320. www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/ Sanctuaries/Pleasant_Valley/index.html • Sandisfield State Forest (York Lake) on York Lake Road in Sandisfield. 413-528-0904 in winter, 413-229-8212 summer. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/sand.htm • Tolland State Forest on Tolland Road in East Otis. 413-269-6002. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/toll.htm

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Bennington Battle Monument 15 Monument Circle in Bennington, Vermont 802-447-0550 www.bennington.com/chamber/walking/monumentdescription.html

• Tyringham Cobble on Jerusalem Road in Tyringham. 413-298-3239. www.berkshireweb.com/trustees/cobble.html • Waconah Falls State Park off of Routes 9 and 8A in Dalton. 413-442-8992. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/wahf.htm • Windsor State Forest on River Road in Windsor. 413-684-0948 or 413-268-7098 (off season). www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/wnds.htm

This 306’ dolomite obelisk is Vermont’s tallest structure and was dedicated in 1891 to commemorate the 1777 Battle of Bennington. In 1953, it was restored by the Vermont Historic Site Commission, which now administers it for the state. The monument was constructed on the site of the Continental arms storehouse, the object of this Revolutionary War battle in which General John Stark led his troops to one of the first major American victories against the British. There are interpretive exhibits, an elevator to the top of the monument and a gift shop. Scenic vistas of Vermont, Massachusetts and New York can be seen from the observation level high within the structure. Open mid-April to October 31st, 9am-5pm daily.

New York State • Cherry Plain State Park at 26 State Park Road in Cherry Plain. 518-733-5400 or 518-279-1155. http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=115 • Grafton Lakes State Park on Long Pond Road in Grafton. 518-279-1155. http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=116 Southern Vermont

Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site Route 67 between Walloomsac, New York & Vermont state line 518-686-8266 Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site is the location of a Revolutionary War battle fought in August 1777 between the

• Bomoseen State Park at 22 Cedar Mountain Rd. in Fair Haven. 802-265-4242. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/bomoseen.cfm • Emerald Lake State Park at 65 Emerald Lake Lane in East Dorset. 802-362-1655. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/emerald.cfm • Jamaica State Park at 285 Salmon Hole Lane in Jamaica. 802-874-4600. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/jamaica.cfm • Lake Shaftsbury State Park at 62 Shaftsbury SP Road in Shaftsbury. 802-375-9978. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/shaftsbury.cfm • Lake St. Catherine State Park at 3034 VT Route 30 in Poultney. 802-287-9158. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/catherine.cfm • Lowell Lake State Park at 1765 Little Pond Road in Londonderry. 802-824-4035. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/lowell.cfm • Molly Stark Park at 705 Route 9 East in Wilmington. 802-464-5460. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/mollystark.cfm • Townshend State Park at 2755 State Forest Road in Townshend. 802-365-7500. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/townshend.cfm • Woodford State Park at 142 State Park Road in Bennington. 802-447-7169 summer. www.vtstateparks.com/htm/woodford.cfm

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www.familyfootwearcenter.com 740 Hoosick Rd 444 Pittsfield/Lenox Rd. 120 Northside Dr. 1500 State Rt. 9 Lenox, MA 01240 Lake George, NY 12845 Bennington VT 05201 Troy, NY 12180 (518) 271-0149 (413) 442-6330 (802) 442-6042 (518) 798-9658

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State Parks and Other Wilderness Preserves continued British forces of General John Burgoyne and Colonel Friedrich Baum against the American forces under Brigadier General John Stark and Colonel Seth Warner. British forces underestimated the strength of their enemy, and most of their men were killed or taken prisoner while the Americans sustained smaller losses. The British surrendered on October 17, 1777. The summer season often includes special events and exhibitions. Site includes caretaker’s house (open 1pm to 4pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays), game fields and 276 acres. Open daily May 1st through Labor Day from 10am-7pm. Open weekends only from Labor Day to Veterans Day, 10am-7pm. www.nysparks.com/sites/info.asp?siteID=3 Bennington Museum

West Main Street (Vermont Route 9) in Bennington, Vermont 802-447-1571 • www.benningtonmuseum.org The Bennington Museum was founded as the Bennington Historical Association in 1875 to celebrate Bennington’s Colonial past and, more specifically, to commemorate the historic Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington in 1777. Over time the museum acquired paintings and sculpture by Vermont artists, children’s toys, maps, books and military artifacts. Its Grandma Moses Gallery hold the largest public collection of Grandma Moses art and memorabilia available to the public. It also features: an extensive array of American glass from the 19th to the early 20th century; vintage portraits of early settlers by Ammi Phillips; a unique Ralph Earl townscape; examples of abolitionist newspapers by William Lloyd Garrison; a Windsor writing-arm chair owned by Ira Allen, a founder of Vermont and author of the State’s Constitution; and the world’s largest collection of Bennington pottery. Special exhibitions this summer include “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”: A Summer of Baseball (June 13th through August 17th) and Art of Vermont: The State Collection (August 30th through October 26th). The museum is open daily (except Wednesdays) from 10am-5pm. In addition, the adjacent Hadwen Pavilion and Trails are open to the public free-of-charge. Cambridge Historical Society & Museum 12 Broad Street in Cambridge, New York 518-677-5232 • www.cambridgenychamber.com/theregion.html This museum was established in 1929 by the Cambridge Historical Society to preserve the history of Cambridge and the surrounding area for the education and enjoyment of the public. The house is a

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fine example of Victorian architecture featuring a mansard roof, wraparound porch and ornate exterior moldings. Displays include Revolutionary and Civil War memorabilia, fire-fighting exhibits, Cambridge-made (19th century) Baron furniture, china, glassware, antique kitchen utensils, antique hat boxes, spinning wheels, toys, period clothing and more. Tours are given Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm or by appointment from May 31st to October 18th. Chesterwood Estate and Museum 4 Williamsville Road just off of Route 183 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts 413-298-3579 • www.chesterwood.org Sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, the Minute Man at Concord, Massachusetts and many familiar public monuments, Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) was a leading turn of the century sculptor. In the 1920s, his studio—Chesterwood—provided a retreat from New York’s urban life. Models, studies and full-size sculptures of his famous works, as well as striking contemporary sculptures, are displayed in the studio, museum gallery, summer home and gardens. Open daily from 10am-5pm, May 15th through October 15th with guided tours on the hour. Friends (Old Quaker) Meeting House & Maple Street Cemetery Corner of Friend and Maple Streets in Adams, Massachusetts 413-743-1799 • www.berkshireweb.com/quakers/index.html The Quakers, or “Friends” as they called themselves, were a religious denomination who came from the Smithfield, Rhode Island area. They were the first group of settlers to form a community in East Hoosuck, the original name of the Adams township. They lived in Adams for 15 years before starting to build the meeting house in 1782. They finished it four years later. The meeting house, like many Quakers homes, was built with very little ornamentation and left unpainted. The Quaker community in Adams reached its peak in 1819 when a total of 40 families were members of the Friends Meeting. There was a steady decline after that date and in 1842 the Society of Friends held its last official meeting in the old meeting house. Open Sundays Memorial Day through Labor Day. Georgi Museum & Park Center

Adams Lane in Shushan, New York 518-854-3773 • www.salem-ny.com/georgi.html A collection of Renaissance art, European antiques and Asian collectibles, situated on nine acres of park and gardens along the famous Battenkill trout stream. The art collection is comprised of Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German and French paintings from the fourteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Chinese and Asian tapestries and Oriental figurines are an added attraction. The Georgi Museum also boasts an extensive mineral collection with samples from as far away as South Africa. Museum grounds are open dawn to dusk. Open weekends only from 1-4pm. Herman Melville’s Arrowhead

780 Holmes Road in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-442-1793 • www.mobydick.org Arrowhead was the home of Herman Melville from 1850-1863 and where he wrote his most famous work, Moby Dick, along with three other novels, Pierre, The Confidence-Man and Israel

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Museum of Black WWII History 179 Oak Hill School Road in Pownal, Vermont 802-823-5519 • www.blackww2museum.org

Potter, a collection of short stories entitled The Piazza Tales, all of his magazine stories and some of his poetry. Arrowhead is now a house museum interpreting the life of the Melville family in the Berkshires. It is owned and operated by the Berkshire County Historical Society. Open daily from Memorial Day Weekend to Columbus Day from 10:30am-4pm (closed Thursdays). Tours begin every hour on the hour with the first tour at 11am and the last tour at 3pm.

This museum was created not to glorify war but to document it—in particular to honor the long-ignored role of AfricanAmericans in the largest worldwide conflict of human history. The museum’s goal is to enlighten visitors about the relatively unknown and unappreciated contribution of the 1.1 million African Americans who served in the U.S. military in World War II. More than a collection and display of objects, the museum is a center for ongoing teaching and research on this broad subject. Open Thursday to Monday from 10am-5pm and special hours upon request.

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Naumkeag

The Mount: Edith Wharton’s Estate and Gardens 2 Plunkett Street in Lenox, Massachusetts 413-551-5111 • www.edithwharton.org

An aura of grand times and gracious living still lingers at Naumkeag. This 26-room gabled mansion, designed by Stanford White in 1885, was the summer home of Joseph Hodges Choate (1832-1917), noted attorney and ambassador to England at the turn of the century. The rooms contain the Choate family’s collection of Chinese export porcelain, antique furniture, elegant rugs and tapestries. Naumkeag is famous for its eight acres of terraced gardens and landscaped grounds surrounded by forty acres of woodland, meadow and pasture that stretch to the Housatonic River Valley. Open daily Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day from 10am-5pm. Allow a minimum of one hour for the garden or two hours if also taking the house tour.

The Mount, Pulitzer-prize winning author Edith Wharton’s 1902 estate and gardens, is the creation of one of America’s greatest authors. An icon of American architecture and landscape design, The Mount combines English, French and Italian elements with a New England twist. The estate has been extensively restored, with nearly $9 million invested to bring the 42-room mansion and formal gardens back to life. Like Jefferson’s Monticello, The Mount is an “autobiographical house,” a telling reflection of her remarkable life and work. Three acres of formal gardens surround the mansion. Wharton, an authority on European landscape design, created her gardens as architectural compositions, divided into rooms and planned in concert with the house and surrounding natural landscape. Linger over lunch on the terrace where Wharton entertained notables like Henry James. The Mount is the only U.S. monument to Edith Wharton. Open Wednesday through Saturday from10am-4pm through May 23rd, then seven days a week from 10am-5pm for the summer.

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Prospect Hill Road in Stockbridge, Massachusetts 413-298-8146 • www.thetrustees.org/pages/335_naumkeag.cfm

New England Maple Museum Route 7 in Pittsford, Vermont • 802-483-9414 • www.maplemuseum.com The New England Maple Museum offers a trip through over 200 years of maple sugaring history starting with the Native American discovery that maple sap cooked over an open fire produces a sweet syrup. The museum has the most complete collection of sugaring artifacts in existence, from an ancient block of wood with a sap collecting gash made by American Indians to modern plastic pipeline. And a trip would not be complete without sampling various grades of maple syrups and mouthwatering Vermont specialty foods in the tasting room. Open daily 8:30am-5:30pm from May 23rd to October 31st. North Adams Museum of History and Science Western Gateway Heritage State Park in North Adams, Massachusetts 413-664-4700 • www.geocities.com/northadamshistory

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Housed in a beautifully restored historic freight yard, the North Adams Museum of History and Science portrays a microcosm

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State Parks and Other Wilderness Preserves continued of America as told through the history of North Adams and the environment of the Northern Berkshires. It provides over 25 exhibit areas on its three floors and includes hands-on discovery rooms, the Solar System Black Light Gallery, the Natural History Center, early social, industrial and railroading history, the Fort Massachusetts Barracks Room and other military exhibits and more. Open 10am-4pm Thursday through Saturday and 1-4pm Sunday May through December. Free admission.

architecture. The cemetery adjacent to the church contains the graves of Robert Frost and approximately 75 revolutionary war patriots as well as British and Hessian Soldiers killed in the Battle of Bennington. The site of Ethan Allen’s home is on the border of the cemetery. Across the street from the church is the Walloomsac Inn, which is now private property. Built in 1764, the inn is the oldest in the state. Many great dignitaries, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, stayed there. About halfway up Monument Avenue on the right is a marker for the site of the Catamount Tavern, where a pivotal meeting between the patriots and Ethan Allen took place on May 3, 1777.

Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge Route 183 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts 413-298-4100 • www.nrm.org

Old Hopkins Observatory & Mehlin Museum of Astronomy Main Street (Rt. 2) in Williamstown, Massachusetts 413-597-2188 • www.williams.edu

Presenting the world’s largest collection of original Rockwell art, his original Stockbridge studio and changing exhibitions featuring current and past masters in the field of illustration. Highlights include enduring favorites from Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers, the powerful Four Freedoms and the nostalgic Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas. The Norman Rockwell Archive contains more than 100,000 photographs, letters and other rare mementos. Current exhibitions: Norman Rockwell: Illustrator in Chief; Norman Rockwell’s 323 Saturday Evening Post Covers; and The Art of Norman Rockwell. Open daily 10am-5pm, May through October.

The Hopkins Observatory is the oldest existing observatory in the United States. In 1834, Prof. Albert Hopkins went to England, with the permission of the trustees of the college, to search for astronomical apparatus. On his return, he enlisted some of his students to build a permanent observatory, which they constructed by hand from 1836 to 1838. That building is now the planetarium. It was originally located in the center of the quad but was moved to the far end in 1908 and to its present location in 1961. Some of the original equipment from the 1834 trip to England still survives in this building.

Old Bennington Walking Tours Old Bennington, Vermont Old Bennington, located on and around Route 9 and Monument Avenue just west of downtown, contains the Bennington Battle Monument (but not the battlefield), a statue of Colonel Seth Warner, the Walloomsac Inn, the site of the Old Catamount Tavern, the Old First Church and its surrounding burying ground. Standing much as it did during its dedication in 1806, the Old First Church is a beautiful example of early colonial

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State Parks and Other Wilderness Preserves continued Park-McCullough House

Corner of Park & West Streets in North Bennington, Vermont 802-442-5441 • www.parkmccullough.org The Park-McCullough House, a 35-room Victorian Mansion, was completed in 1865 for Trenor and Laura Park. Trenor Park, a Bennington lawyer, had made a fortune in California successfully managing John C. Fremont’s Mariposa gold mines. Returning East, he commissioned architects Diaper and Dudley to design this “summer home,” a classic example of French Second Empire Style. The furnishings and decor are nearly unchanged. As you walk in the front door, you will find rooms with fourteen-foot ceilings opening onto a gracious central hall with a sweeping staircase. The fine interior details include oak and walnut paneling, parquet floors and bronze chandeliers (originally supplied with gas from an ingenious gas-making machine). The grounds feature a playhouse, rose gardens and a Carriage Barn, which houses a fine collection of horse-drawn carriages, buggies, sleighs and firefighting equipment. Open daily 10am-4pm mid-May to mid-October. Guided tours on the hour. There is a series of classical concerts on Sundays at 4pm in July and August, and the Park-McCullough House also plays host to theater and other events. Robert Frost Stone House Museum Historic Route 7A in Shaftsbury, Vermont 802-447-6200 • www.frostfriends.org/stonehouse.html The Robert Frost Stone House Museum opened in 2002 in the home where Frost lived in the 1920s and wrote one of his most famous poems, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Frost came to live in

Shaftsbury at the height of his career. He wrote two books of poetry during his first nine years at the Stone House and was awarded three of four Pulitzer Prizes during the time he lived in Shaftsbury. A small bookshop offers books, posters and postcards. Open May 1st to November 30, Tuesday through Sunday, 10am-5pm. Allow one hour for your visit. Robert Todd Lincoln’s Hildene Historic Route 7A in Manchester, Vermont 802-362-1788 • www.hildene.org In 1902, Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest son of President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, hired a Boston architectural firm to build a stately home on a promontory overlooking the Battenkill Valley in Manchester. The site he chose commanded sweeping views of the valley bordered by the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. His magnificent Georgian Revival style home was completed three years later. Robert Todd Lincoln named his new home Hildene, meaning “hill” and “valley.” Hildene would be Mr. Lincoln’s summer home for the next 21 years and would be the only house in America where all of Abraham Lincoln’s descendants would eventually reside. Mary “Peggy” Lincoln Beckwith, a great-granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln, was the last of the president’s descendants to live at Hildene. She occupied the home until 1975. Shortly thereafter, Friends of Hildene, a nonprofit organization, was formed to oversee “the preservation of Hildene’s open land and the restoration of those buildings that best serve the public as an educational and cultural resource and as a memorial to the Lincoln family.” Today, Hildene welcomes thousands of visitors from around the world who arrive to enjoy this meticulously restored home with its elegant formal gardens, cutting and kitchen gardens and farm and to participate in the many special events held annually on the beautiful grounds of the estate. To enjoy the home, exhibits and grounds you should allow approximately 90 minutes. You may also visit the cutting and kitchen gardens, the observatory, the exhibit area and the Museum Shop. Grounds passes are available to visit the gardens and grounds but are not valid for admission into the Lincoln home. Open 9:30am to 4:30pm daily. Slate Valley Museum 17 Water Street in Granville, New York 518-642-1417 • www.slatevalleymuseum.org

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The Slate Valley Museum is housed inside a restored 19th Century New World Dutch Barn. Through artifacts, photographs, videotapes, art, displays, immigrant histories and a quarry shanty, the museum presents the history, science and art of slate quarrying and its influence on Slate Valley culture and community life. Learn why the Slate Valley is unique in all the world and why slate from the Slate Valley has been used in national landmarks such as the White House. Open year-round. Summer hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day): Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-5pm, and Sunday 1pm-4pm. Williamstown House of Local History David and Joyce Milne Public Library, 1095 Main Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts • 413-458-2160 • www.milnelibrary.org/hlh.html Williamstown House of Local History was founded in 1941 to promote knowledge of the town’s history by collecting and preserving materials, mounting exhibitions, presenting educational programs and facilitating research. The collection includes photographs, documents and artifacts from the 1700s to the present day, as well as published material on the town and genealogical material on local families. Open Monday through Friday 10am-noon and other hours by appointment.

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Theatre and Cinema Adirondack Theatre Festival

Charles R. Wood Theater, 207 Glen Street, Glens Falls, New York 518-798-7479 • www.atfestival.org 2007 marks the 13th year of the Adirondack Theatre Festival, the region’s professional summer theater. According to The New York Times, “audiences delight in this company’s work on an oldfashioned main street in Glens Falls.” AFT brings the best writers, actors and theater artists from New York City and around the country to present a season of live theater at the Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls. ATF’s mission to produce “new and contemporary” plays and musicals means audiences will see some world premieres, some of the best recent shows from Broadway and Off-Broadway and some of the most promising “up and coming” artists working in the theater today. June 18-28: Love Son, by John Kolvenbach June 30-July 5: Filler Up!, by Deb Filler and Lowry Marshall July 10-19 :Altar Boyz, book by Kevn Del Aguila, music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker The Albany Berkshire Ballet 116 Fenn Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-445-5382 • www.berkshireballet.org

in Pittsfield. Co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, BSC is committed to presenting new productions of neglected musicals and plays, in addition to developing new works for the American Theater. BSC garnered national attention with William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s Tony Award-winning musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which began as a workshop at BSC. 2008 Mainstage Season May 21-June 8 I Am My Own Wife, by Doug Wright June 11-July 12: The 25th Annual Putnam County SPELLING BEE, book by Rachel Sheinkin, music and lyrics by William Finn, concept by Rebecca Feldman July 17-August 2: The Violet Hour, by Richard Greenberg August 7-24: Private Lives, by Noel Coward Berkshire Opera Company

Performing at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 30 Castle Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-442-9955 • www.berkshireopera.org Berkshire Opera Company is dedicated to presenting the finest professional opera performances and enriching the lives of people of all ages in Berkshire County and the surrounding areas. The 2008 season includes Uncharted Territory, Women on the Verge, Vocal Colors, Secrets of the Sky and Sea, Le nozze di Figaro and Exhilaration.

The Albany Berkshire Ballet was founded in 1960 by Artistic Director Madeline Cantarella Culpo. Nationally recognized for its versatility in performing both classical and contemporary dance works with excellence, the company’s classical repertory rivals that of any large company performing today. With works created by some of ballet’s greatest choreographers, including Igor Youskevitch, Michel Fokine and Antony Tudor, the Albany Berkshire Ballet performs such full-length ballets as Giselle, Cinderella, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, delighting audiences of all ages. Barrington Stage Company

Berkshire Music Hall at 30 Union Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-528-8888 • www.barringtonstageco.org Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity theater now located in the crossroads of the Berkshires

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Berkshire Theatre Festival Main Street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts 413-298-5576 • www.berkshiretheatre.org The Berkshire Theatre Festival is the oldest performing arts venue in Berkshire County and one of the oldest in the United States. 2008 Main Stage Season June 17-July 5: Candida July 8-19: The Book Club Play July 22-August 9: A Man for All Seasons August 12-Sept. 6: Play TBA September 11-14: Oliver! The Unicorn Theatre May 22-June 28: The Caretaker July 1-26 : Pageant Play July 25-26: Hercules July 29-Aug. 23: Waiting for Godot August 6-23: Around the World in 80 Days August 26-Nov. 9: Eleanor: Her Secret Journey

prime. Designed by noted theater architect J.B. McElfatrick, the Colonial was of a class above most playhouses of the day. Noted London theater consultant Louis Flemming called the Colonial “one of the greatest acoustical houses in the entire world.” McElfatrick designed about 350 theaters around the country—66 in New York City alone—but the Colonial is one of only a dozen still standing. An extensive and meticulous restoration has brought the majestic 1903 theatrical masterpiece back to life for its opening this summer. The 810-seat historic theater will once again host leading performers from around the country. The new season will include a British Invasion Tour, Praying with Lior and Romulus My Father. Dorset Playhouse/Dorset Theatre Festival Cheney Road off Route 30 in Dorset, Vermont 802-867-5777 • www.dorsettheatrefestival.org; www.dorsetplayers.org The historic Dorset Playhouse has been in continuous use since its construction in 1929. This playhouse is the site of the Dorset Theatre Festival, which received the Moss Hart Award for Outstanding Theatre in 1995 and 1997. Some of the plays and authors first produced with the Dorset Theatre Festival or written at the Dorset Colony have gone on to major openings in New York, Miami and elsewhere.

Colonial Theatre 111 South Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413-997-4444 • www.thecolonialtheatre.org Pittsfield’s refurbished Colonial Theatre is a living time machine, transporting visitors to a resplendent Gilded Age theater in its

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2008 Season June 19-28: Nobody Don’t Like Yogi, by Thomas Lysaght July 3-19: The Dining room, by A.R. Gurney July 24-Aug. 9: A Year with Frog and Toad, book and lyrics by Willie Reale, music by Robert Reale, based on the books by Arnold Lobel August 14-30: June Moon, by George S. Kaufman Hubbard Hall Projects, Inc. 25 East Main Street in Cambridge, New York 518-677-2495 • www.hubbardhall.org This community arts center, dedicated to bringing the best of theater, music, dance and the visual arts to the region, is housed in a restored 1878 rural opera house. Hubbard Hall offers plays, concerts, classes and local art. Among this season’s offerings are Man of La Mancha (May 15-June 1), Cosi fan tutte (August 15-24), Children’s Theatre Group, Music from Salem concerts, the Theatre Company at Hubbard Hall’s Summer Outdoor Shakespeare Tour, contra dances, a theater conservatory and more.

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Images Cinema 50 Spring Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts 413-458-5612 • www.imagescinema.org One of the few remaining single-screen, independent theaters still in operation, Images Cinema is a historic part of the Northern Berkshires, offering an exceptional variety of independent, foreign and classic films year-round. Images has shown independent cinema for independent minds for over 80 years. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 358 George Carter Road in Becket, Massachusetts 413-243-9919 • www.jacobspillow.org Celebrating its 75th year, Jacob’s Pillow is America’s premier dance festival and is now a National Historic Landmark. World-renowned dance is performed in two theaters, and there are free outdoor performances, talks, exhibits and historic grounds to visit. Founded by dance pioneer Ted Shawn in the 1930s, the Pillow today is renowned not only for producing a premier festival, but also for its professional school, intern program, archives of rare holdings, artist residencies and year-round community programs. This year’s community day will be July 20th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 2008 Ted Shawn Theatre Season June 14 Season Opening Gala June 18-22: Garth Fagan Dance June 25-29: Compagnie Heddy Maalem July 2-6: Lar Lubovitch Dance Company July 9-13: Hofesh Shechter Company July 16-20: Ballet Boyz July 23-27: Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet July 30-Aug. 3: Mimulus August 6-10: Stockholm 59 Degrees North August 13-17: Aspen Sante Fe Ballet August 17: A Jazz Happening August 20-24: Trey McIntyre Project

2008 Doris Duke Studio Theatre June 26-29: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company July 3-6 Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company July 10-13: Natural Dance Company and Ko & Edge Company July 17-20: T,P.O. (Teatro Piazza D’Occasione) July 24-27: Conny Janssen Danst July 31-Aug. 3: David Michalek’s Slow Dancing August 7-10: Shantala Shivalingappa August 14-17: Kate Weare Company and Maureen Fleming Aug. 21-24: Keigwin + Company Mac-Haydn Theatre 1925 Route 203 in Chatham, New York 518-392-9292 (Box Office) • www.machaydntheatre.org Mac-Haydn Theatre is New York’s exciting professional musical theaterin-the-round, this year celebrating its Ruby Jubilee 40th anniversary season. It boasts outstanding professional performers and children’s theater shows in July and August. Performances are Thursday through Sunday. 2008 Season May 22-June 1: My Fair Lady June 5-15: 7 Brides for 7 Brothers June 19-29: A Chorus Line July 3-20: Hairspray July 24-Aug. 3: Phantom August 7-17: Will Rogers Follies August 21-31The Sound of Music

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The Main Street Stage

57 Main Street in North Adams, Massachusetts 413-663-3240 • www.mainstreetstage.org The Main Street Stage presents published and original works by area playwrights for small casts. It is committed to theater that delves into the human condition with pluck and mettle. Call for summer season information.

Oldcastle Theatre Company Performing at the Bennington Center for the Natural and Cultural Arts at the junction of Gypsy Lane and Vermont Route 9 in Bennington, Vermont 802-447-0564 • www.oldcastletheatreco.org Company members have played in theaters from local Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, New York to Broadway. 2008 Season - May 16-June 1: Trying, by Joanna McClelland June 20--July 6: The Grass Is Greener, by Hugh & Margaret Williams July 25-Aug. 10: Bedroom Farce, by Alan Ayckbourn August 29-Sep. 14: Third, by Wendy Wasserstein October 3-19: A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens Paramount Theatre 30 Center Street in Rutland, Vermont 802-775-0570 • www.paramountvt.org Opened in 1914, The Playhouse Theatre of Rutland was considered by many to be one of the finest theaters in New England through the early part of the 20th century. The Paramount, as

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it has been known since the early 1930s, has been completely restored as the “Jewel of Downtown Rutland.” The Paramount Theatre is more than just a beautiful building that embraces the remarkable history of the area; it is a living performing arts venue that echoes with the voices of Sarah Bernhardt, Ethel Barrymore, Harry Houdini, Groucho Marx and others. The Paramount season runs from September through June, and other groups also use the performing space. 2008 Summer Season June 27 The Machine, July 10-13: Aida, J uly 15: The Indigo Girls, August 24 : John Hiatt Shakespeare & Company 70 Kemble Street in Lenox, Massachusetts 413-637-1199 • www.shakespeare.org Launching its 31st season, Shakespeare & Company is a company that performs as the Elizabethans did—in love with poetry, physical prowess and the mysteries of the universe. With a core of over 150 artists, the company performs Shakespeare, generating opportunities for collaboration between actors, directors and designers of all races, nationalities and backgrounds. Performances in Founders’ Theatre, Spring Lawn Theatre, Outdoor Rose Footprint Theatre and on Bankside. The free outdoor Bankside Festival, already one of the largest Shakespeare Festivals in North America, has expanded and includes country dances, magical pageants, sword play, songs, lectures and presentations on life in Shakespeare’s day. Some of this year’s offerings include All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet and Othello, as well as Charles Morey’s The Ladies Man, Christine Whitley’s The Goatwoman of Corvis County, Irina Brook’s/Michael Hammond’s The Canterville Ghost and Michael Burnet’s The Mad Pirate and the Mermaid. Starlight Stage Youth Theatre Performing at First Congregational Church, 906 Main Street (Route 2) in Williamstown, Massachusetts 413-458-4246 • www.starlightstageyouththeatre.com Founded in 1976, the Starlight Stage Company works with local youngsters ages 8-18 to present excellent theater for general audiences. This year, Starlight celebrates its 33rd season from July 23rd through 26th. The Theater Barn 654 Route 20 in New Lebanon, New York 518-794-8989 • http://theaterbarn.pcinfinity.com

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The Theater Barn provides “Professional Theater in the Country,” the best of Broadway and Off-Broadway at the base of the Berkshires. The 2008 summer season marks its 25th anniversary. Performances are Thursdays through Sundays. 2008 Season June 13-22: How the Other Half Loves June 26-July 6: Same Time Next Year July 10-2: The Mouse Trap July 24-Aug. 3: Musical of Musicals August 7-17: Forever Plaid August 21-31: Grease

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The Weston Playhouse

703 Main Street in Weston, Vermont 802-824-5288 • www.westonplayhouse.org The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, a nonprofit regional theater dedicated to excellence in a unique Vermont setting, serves a community of artists and audiences through a broad spectrum of dramatic works and educational programs. The playhouse is Vermont’s oldest professional theater, now in its 71st year, and the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is one of the oldest summer stock theater groups in America. Act IV Cabaret each evening immediately following Main Stage performances. 2008 Main Stage Season June 24-July 5: Doubt, July 10-26 : The Light in the Piazza July 31-Aug. 23: Les Miserables, Aug. 28-Sept. 6: As You Like It On Other Stages (at the Weston Rod & Gun Club) July 23-Aug. 10: No Child. Young Company Production June 18-July 6 : Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type Williamstown Theatre Festival Performing at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance at Williams College, 1000 Main Street (Route 2) in Williamstown, Massachusetts • 413-597-3399/413-597-3400 (box office) www.wtfestival.org Nestled in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, the Williamstown Theatre Festival is a summer-long celebration of theater that brings together a vast and impressive array of artists and offers audiences varied cultural experiences. Every summer, WTF presents over two hundred performances of classic and new plays, outdoor free theater, cabaret and countless readings and workshops. 2008 Main Stage Season June 27-July 12: She Loves Me, July 16-27: The Three Sisters July 31-Aug. 10: A Flea in Her Ear, August 13-24: Home 2008 Nikos Stage Season June 11-22: Beyond Therapy, June 25-July 6: The Atheist July 10-20: Broke-ology, July 23-August 3: The Understudy August 6-17: Not Waving c

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Summer Camp! Before parents across the country know it, the school year will have ended again and they’ll be thinking about summer programs for their children. Recent research indicates that nearly 10 million children go to summer camp each year. But summer camp enrollment is not something that can be done on a whim; most programs fill up early in the year. This makes researching and sign-up something that should be done as early as possible — with most families doing so in December of the previous year or January. Summer camp can be an enriching experience for children, provided they are emotionally ready to embark on this adventure. Parents should assess their children for readiness, taking children’s needs into consideration over their own “need” to have the children in camp. Additionally, children should be able to independently manage personal hygiene issues, such as bathing, dressing, and grooming. Some kids are ready for camp at age 8, others not until 14. Many children go to camp with mixed feelings. To make the experience as comfortable as possible, here are some tips to consider. continued on page 60

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Summer Camp!

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1. Involve the child in the camp-selection process. Don’t make it something that is simply forced on the kid. Have him or her review brochures, Web sites and other informational material with you. Select camps that will cater to the child’s interests. If possible, try to find a camp where a friend is attending.

5. Create a scrapbook of your child’s moments in camp to show you are truly interested in his or her time spent away. Encourage your child to share any new skills learned upon visits or when he or she returns home.

2. Count down to summer camp so that when the day arrives it won’t be a complete surprise and catch your child off guard. Involve him or her in the preparation process, including shopping for supplies and packing. Encourage your child to bring familiar items from home to ease away some feelings of homesickness. 3. Tour the camp in advance so that your child knows what to expect — and so will you. See the sleeping arrangements (bunks) and what type of schedule is involved. Talk about any fears your child may have, and work through solutions together to assuage these fears. A good idea is to talk about your personal experiences with camp, if any. 4. Encourage letter writing, and send some of your own. Mail a few letters before the first day of camp, so your child will have some mail waiting for him or her already. Pack fun stationery and pre-addressed and stamped envelopes so writing a quick note home will be a snap.

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2008 Summer Guide

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