EXPLORE Summer 2014

SUMMER 2014

A TIMES UNION PUBLICATION

THINGS TO DO. PLACES TO GO.

... but you’ll have to turn to pg.20 to find out what!

Peter Sagal

plus shakespeare & co. · springfield, mass. · hikes for kids and more!

JUNE MOON July 2–13

By RING LARDNER and GEORGE S. KAUFMAN Directed by JESSICA STONE

LIVING ON LOVE July 16–26

By JOE DiPIETRO and GARSON KANIN Based on the play PECCADILLO by GARSON KANIN Directed by KATHLEEN MARSHALL With Renée Fleming and Justin Long

THE VISIT

July 31–August 17 Book by TERRENCE McNALLY Music by JOHN KANDER Lyrics by FRED EBB Based on the play by FRIEDRICH DÜRRENMATT Choreography by GRACIELA DANIELE Directed by JOHN DOYLE With Roger Rees and Chita Rivera

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By SAMUEL D. HUNTER Directed by ERIC TING

FOOL FOR LOVE

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Publisher George R. Hearst III Editorial Janet Reynolds, Executive Editor Brianna Snyder, Senior Editor Design Tony Pallone, Design Director Colleen Ingerto, Emily Jahn, Designers Contributing Writers Alan Bisbort, Phil Brown, Leigh Hornbeck, Stacey Morris, Gillian Scott

Contributing Photographers Colleen Ingerto Sales Kurt Vantosky, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing Kathleen Hallion, Vice President, Advertising Tom Eason, Manager, Display Advertising Michael-Anne Piccolo, Retail Sales Manager Jeff Kiley, Magazine Sales Manager Circulation Todd Peterson, Vice President, Circulation Dan Denault, Home Delivery Manager

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CONTENTS

In Every Issue 8 Calendar of Events » Summer 2014 28 Off the Beaten Path » Springfield, Massachusetts 35 Just the Two of Us » Stowe, Vermont 50 Last Call » Alan Chartock: Why I Love Block Island

Features ART

20 Savvy Sagal » Wait Wait’s star isn’t mad. He’s funny.

Pg. 22 — PHOTO COURTESY PARNASSUS PRODUCTIONS

MUSIC

22 The Language of Women » An ancient Chinese secret language inspires a performance THEATER

24 The Masterful Shakespeare & Company » The Bard meets Goldoni this summer in Lenox FAMILY TRAVEL

41 Day-cation » Want to go somewhere fun but not too far away? Check out these great daytrips.

44 Little Feet » Hiking can be fun for young ones — if you’re well prepared

Pg. 28 — PHOTO COURTESY MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF TRAVEL & TOURISM

OUTDOORS

47 Short Hikes from the Road » Quick walks in the Adirondacks

On the Cover Wait! Wait! » Peter Sagal chats about news and comedy. Read the story on page 20.

— PHOTO COURTESY NPR

Pg. 41 — PHOTO COURTESY PAUL BUCKOWSKI/TIMES UNION ARCHIVE

timesunion.com/explore 7

calendar summer 2014 Music Classical Bard College at Simon’s Rock The Daniel Arts Center 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, Mass. simons-rock.edu (413) 644-4400 Sat, Jun 21: C.P.E. Bach’s 300th Birthday — and J.S. Bach’s A Musical Offering. 6 p.m.

Sat, Jun 28: Winds of Romanticism. 6 p.m.

Sat, Jul 19: Italian Trio Sonatas, and a new work by Nico Muhly celebrating Aston Magna. 6 p.m.

The Glimmerglass Festival 7300 State Hwy. 80, Cooperstown glimmerglass.org (607) 547-0700 Fri, Jul 11 - Sat, Aug 23: Madame Butterfly. Puccini’s unforgettable heroine risks everything for love, but, once betrayed, chooses the only honorable path.

Sat, Jul 12 - Fri, Aug 22: Carousel. The story of a carousel barker’s struggles to rise above challenging circumstances. The musical includes such favorites as “If I Loved You,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Sat, Jul 19 - Sat, Aug 23: Ariadne in Naxos. This opera within an opera features both lighthearted comedy and heroic grand opera, as two different performing troupes compete for the attention of a wealthy patron.

Sun, Jul 20 - Sun, Aug 24: An American Tragedy. Based on Theodore Dreiser’s novel and inspired by a sensational murder trial in Herkimer, New York, Tobias Picker’s opera explores a small-town boy’s pursuit of his idealized dreams.

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center 14 Castle St., Great Barrington, Mass. mahaiwe.org (413) 528-6415 Sat, Jul 12: Vice Squad: Baroque Skirmishes with Alcohol, Tobacco, Coffee, and Love. 8 p.m. The Aston Magna Music Festival pres-

8 EXPLORE

ents J.S. Bach, Purcell, Tobias Hume, Thomas Ravenscroft and Nicolas Bernier. With six instrumentalists and three vocalists.

MASS MoCA 87 Marshall St., North Adams, Mass. massmoca.org (413) 662-2111 Sat, Aug 9: Alloy Orchestra: He Who Gets Slapped. 8:30 p.m.

Perennial MASS MoCA favorite, Alloy Orchestra, returns with a signature live score to the 1924 classic He Who Gets Slapped, the tragic tale of a brilliant scientist who loses his research — and his wife — to a dishonest man and becomes a circus clown with a very peculiar act.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center 108 Ave of the Pines, Saratoga Springs spac.org (518) 584-9330 Wed, Aug 6: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. The Great American Songbook featuring invigorating vocals and the return of conductor Bramwell Tovey to SPAC. Experience the delights of Gershwin, Copland and Bernstein!

Thu, Aug 7: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. An Evening on the Rhine with Avery Fischer Prize recipient Jeremy Denk and Maestro Tovey. Featuring works by Beethoven, Mahler and Strauss.

Fri, Aug 8: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. A Night With Yo-Yo, which of course means another visit from cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Maestro Tovey. Featuring works by Delius, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Family fun with an instrument petting zoo.

Sat, Aug 9: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. Cirque de la Symphonie returns to dazzle with their dynamic repertoire and entrancing physical capabilities.

The evening performance will be conducted by Cristian Macelaru.

Wed, Aug 13: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. On Broadway brings the dazzling voices of Stephanie J. Block and Andrew Rannells, conducted by the New York Pops own Steven Reineke.

Thu, Aug 14: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. Yannick Returns features two young clas-

sical superstars that are burning up the classical charts. The evening performances include Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with Alison Balsom, followed by Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique, all conducted by Yannick NezetSeguin.

Fri, Aug 15: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. Nu Shu: Secret Songs of Women features harpist Elizabeth Hainen with conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Sat, Aug 16: The Philadelphia Orchestra.

8 p.m. Celebration of an Artist features Canadian pianist Alain Lefèvre. The program includes works by Balakirev, Gershwin, and Rachmaninoff.

Wed, Aug 20: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. Violinist Itzhak Perlman. The program will consist of cherished favorites by Bach, Weber, and Brahms.

Sat, Aug 23: The Philadelphia Orchestra. 8 p.m. Tchaikovsky Spectacular will feature Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin with conductor Stephane Denève.

Spa Little Theater Mon, Aug 11: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. 8 p.m.

Opening night: Gems From Three Centuries. Wu Han, Anne-Marie McDermott, piano; Benjamin Beilman, Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello. Works by Beethoven, Barber, and Dvorak.

Sun, Aug 17: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. 8 p.m. Monumental Beethoven.

Mira Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello). Featuring works by Beethoven.

Tue, Aug 19: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

8 p.m. Extraordinary Quintets.

Mira Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello); Ricardo Morales, clarinet; Kirsten Johnson, viola. Works by Boccherini, Mozart, and Weber.

Tue, Aug 26: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. 8 p.m.

Season Finale. Wu Han, piano; Kristin Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Yura Lee, Richard O’Neill, viola; David Finckel, Paul Watkins, cello. Works by Beethoven, Tsontakis, and Brahms.

The amazing ITZHAK PERLMAN performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC (spac.org) on August 20.

— PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Tanglewood 297 West St, Lenox, Mass. tanglewood.org (413) 637-1600 Sun, Jun 15: Antonin Dvorak — A Bohemian Idyll. 2 p.m.

Sat, Jun 28: A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

5:45 p.m.

Mon, Jun 30: String Quartet Marathon. 10 a.m.

Tue, Jul 1: Boston Symphony Chamber Players. 8 p.m.

Sat, Jul 5: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Opening Night At Tanglewood. 8:30 p.m.

Sun, Jul 6 - Sat, Jul 19: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Brahms.

Sun, Jul 6: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Hindemith. 8 p.m.

Wed, Jul 9: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Chanticleer. 8 p.m.

Thu, Jul 10: Emerson String Quartet. 7:30 p.m.

Fri, Jul 11: Boston Symphony Orchestra: All Dvorak Program.

8:30 p.m.

Sat, Jul 12 - Fri, Jul 18: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Strauss.

Sun, Jul 20: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Joshua Bell. 2:30 p.m.

Thu, Jul 24: National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. 8 p.m.

Sat, Jul 26: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Mahler’s Ressurection.

8:30 p.m.

Sun, Jul 27: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Rachmaninoff. 2:30 p.m.

Mon, Jul 28: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Sibelius. 8 p.m.

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calendar summer 2014 Thu, Jul 31: Beeson. 8 p.m.

Lizzie Borden.

Fri, Aug 1: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky. 8:30 p.m.

Sat, Aug 2: Boston Pops Orchestra - John Williams Film Night.

8:30 p.m.

Sun, Aug 3: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Haydn. 2:30 p.m.

Tue, Aug 5: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Tanglewood on Parade.

8:30 p.m.

Wed, Aug 6: The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. 8 p.m.

Thu, Aug 7: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Emanuel Ax. 8 p.m.

Fri, Aug 8: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Bolcom. 8:30 p.m.

Sat, Aug 9: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Debussy. 8:30 p.m.

Mon, Aug 11: Boston Symphony Orchestra: All-Berlioz Program.

8 p.m.

Wed, Aug 13: Boston Symphony Orchestra: Jeremy Denk. 8 p.m.

Fri, Aug 22: Oz with Orchestra.

8:30 p.m. The Boston Pops plays entirely new transcriptions of Harold Arlen’s brilliant lost scores.

Sat, Aug 23: Boston Symphony Orchestra Berlioz. 8:30 p.m.

Sun, Aug 24: One Day University at Tanglewood. 9:30 a.m.

Sun, Aug 24: Boston Symphony Orchestra All-Beethoven Program.

2:30 p.m.

Sun, Aug 24: Maria Schneider Orchestra. 8 p.m.

Sat, Aug 30: Josh Groban with Boston Pops Esplande Orchestra.

7 p.m.

Pop, Rock, Folk, Country and Jazz Albany Riverfront Park Amphitheatre Quay St, Albany albanyevents.org (518) 434-2032 Thu, Jun 12: Fitz and the Tantrums with the Features. 5 p.m. Indie songsters of the hit jams “Out of my League” and “The Walker.”

Sun, Jun 15: Albany Fathers’ Day Concert. 7 p.m. Live music and a fireworks show over the Hudson River. Food and beverages available to purchase.

Thu, Jun 19: Reggae Night with Easy Star All-Stars and John Brown’s Body. 5 p.m. Top inter-

10 EXPLORE

Sat, Jul 26: Woodford Way. 7 p.m. Indie-folk.

Thu, Jul 31: Amir ElSaffar Quintet. 7 p.m. Iraqi-American trumpeter, santur player, vocalist and composer.

Sat, Aug 2: Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez. 7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 3: Pedrito Martinez Group. 7 p.m. Afro-Cuban.

Mon, Aug 4: Dick Dale. 7 p.m.

“King of the Surf Guitar.”

Fri, Aug 8: Claire Lynch Band.

7 p.m.

national reggae acts.

Thu, Jun 26: R&B Night with Dwele and Mirk. 5 p.m. Soulful pop and R&B. Thu, Jul 10: Lord Huron with Maryleigh Roohan. 5 p.m. Indie folk and singer-songwriters.

Thu, Jul 17: Albany Invasion with Eastbound Jesus, Stellar Young and Hard Soul. 5 p.m.

Indie, banjo and rock and roll, respectively.

Thu, Jul 24: Country Night with Dustin Lynch and Jacob Powell.

5 p.m. Tennessee singer-songwriters.

Thu, Jul 31: Grand Funk Railroad. 5 p.m. Homer Simpson (and dads across America)’s favorite band. With Wild Adriatic.

Thu, Aug 7: Sheila E. with Conehead Buddha. 5 p.m. Sheila E.’s known for her work on Prince’s Purple Rain (among other amazing things). Conehead Buddha is that good jam-band stuff.

Landis Arboretum 174 Lape Road, Esperance landisarboretum.org (518) 875-6935 Fri, Jul 18: The Landis Acoustic Music Series. 7 p.m. Jim Miller.

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center 14 Castle St, Great Barrington, Mass. mahaiwe.org (413) 528-6415 Sat, Jul 5: Natalie Merchant.

8 p.m.

Belleayre Music Festival 181 Galli Curci Road, Shandaken belleayremusic.org (845) 254-5600 Sat, Jul 12: Buddy Guy. 6 p.m.

Sat, Jul 19: Gretchen Wilson.

8 p.m.

MASS MoCA

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts 200 Hurd Road, Bethel bethelwoodscenter.org (866) 781-2922 Sun, Jun 15: Santana. 7:30 p.m.

Tue, Jun 17: Journey & Steve Miller Band - Summer 2014 Tour.

6:45 p.m.

Fri, Jun 27: Boston. 7:30 p.m.

Sat, Jul 5 - Sat, Jul 5: Crosby Stills and Nash. 3:30 p.m.

Sat, Jul 12: Peter Frampton & the Doobie Brothers. 7:30 p.m.

Thu, Jul 17: Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band. 8 p.m.

Sun, Jul 20: James Taylor. 8 p.m.

Sat, Jul 26: Kenny Rogers. 8 p.m.

Sun, Jul 27: Toby Keith. 7 p.m.

Fri, Aug 1: The Temptations & the Four Tops. 7:30 p.m.

Sat, Aug 2: Lionel Richie & CeeLo Green. 7:30 p.m.

Fri, Aug 8: John Fogerty. 8 p.m.

Sat, Aug 16: Kings of Leon with Young the Giant and Kongos.

7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 17: Keith Urban.

BECK — whose gorgeous new record came out earlier this year — is performing at MASS MoCA (massmoca.org) on June 24.

— PHOTO BY KATY WINN/INVISION/AP 7 p.m.

Tue, Aug 19: Goo Goo Dolls and Daughtry. 7 p.m.

Sat, Aug 23: Josh Groban.

8 p.m.

Sun, Aug 31: Miranda Lambert with Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett. 7 p.m.

Calvin Theatre 19 King St, Northampton, Mass. iheg.com/calvin_ theater_main.asp (413) 584-1444 Sun, Jul 13: Gordon Lightfoot.

8 p.m.

The Egg Empire State Plaza, Albany theegg.org (518) 473-1845 Sat, Jun 14: Melissa Etheridge.

7 p.m.

Tue, Jun 17: Lucinda Williams.

8 p.m.

Sun, Jul 6: Yes. 8 p.m.

Tue, Aug 5: Boz Scaggs. 8 p.m.

Iron Horse Music Hall 20 Center St., Northampton, Mass. iheg.com (413) 586-8686 Wed, Jun 11: Zvuloon Dub System. 8:30 p.m. Raggae.

Fri, Jun 13: Ed Byrne and Eastern Standard Time and Juke Joint Jazz. 7 p.m.

Fri, Jun 13: Masla. 10 p.m. Hip-hop.

Sat, Jun 14: William Fitzsimmons. 7 p.m. Singer songwriter.

Wed, Jun 18: Vanessa Carlton. 7 p.m. Singer songwriter.

Thu, Jun 19: The Band Of Heathens. 8 p.m.

Sat, Jun 21: Brandy Clark. 7 p.m. Country.

Sun, Jun 22: Jamestown Revival. 8 p.m.

Fri, Jun 27: Mark Mulcahy. 7 p.m. Former singer of Miracle Legion.

Fri, Jul 11: Johnny A. 7 p.m.

Guitarist.

Sat, Jul 12: Gordon Lightfoot.

8 p.m.

Thu, Jul 17: Zepparella. 8:30 p.m. Led Zeppelin tribute.

Thu, Jul 24: Whiskey Treaty. 7 p.m.

87 Marshall St, North Adams, Mass. massmoca.org (413) 662-2111 Tue, Jun 24: Beck. The indie singer/songwriter melds hiphop, anti-folk, and hi-fi funk into a sound completely his own.

Sat, Jul 19: Netsayi. 8 p.m. Zimbabwean contemporary folk.

Fri, Aug 15: Jason Isbell. 8 p.m.

One-time Drive-By Trucker.

Sat, Aug 16: Elysian Fields. 8 p.m. Indie.

Sat, Aug 23: Lost Bayou Ramblers.

8 p.m. Foot-stomping zydeco.

Fri, Aug 29: Roomful of Teeth.

8 p.m.

Maverick Concert Hall Maverick Road, Woodstock maverickconcerts.org/ Schedule.html (845) 679-8348 Sat, Jun 28: Erica Pickhardt and Friends. 11 a.m.

Sat, Jul 5: Benjamin Verdery.

6:30 p.m.

Sat, Jul 12: Kim and Reggie Harris. 11 p.m.

Sat, Jul 19: Elizabeth Mitchell Family. 11 p.m.

calendar summer 2014 Sun, Jul 27: Latitude 41. 4 p.m.

Sat, Aug 30: Anthony Wilson Guitar Quartet. 8 p.m.

Old Songs Community Arts Center 37 S. Main St, Voorheesville oldsongs.org (518) 765-2815 Fri, Aug 15: David Munnelly and Mick Conneely. 8 p.m. The best in traditional Irish Music with Fiddle, Bouzouki and Melodeon.

Palace Theatre 19 Clinton Ave., Albany palacealbany.com (518) 465-3334 Tue, Jun 10: Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band. 8 p.m.

Fri, Jun 20: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. 8 p.m.

Tue, Jun 24: Diana Ross. 8 p.m.

Wed, Jul 9: Maxwell. 8 p.m.

Sun, Jul 13: Queens of the Stone Age. 8 p.m.

Thu, Aug 14: Jackson Browne.

7:30 p.m.

Proctors 432 State St, Schenectady proctors.org (518) 346-6204 Fri, Jul 25: Michael Benedict & Bopitude with Sharel Cassity.

7:30 p.m.

Mon, Aug 4: Jazz Institute with Special Guest Jerry Weldon.

9 a.m.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center 108 Ave of the Pines, Saratoga Springs spac.org (518) 584-9330 Sat, Jun 14: Journey & Steve Miller Band - Summer 2014 Tour.

6:45 p.m.

Sun, Jun 15: The Goo Goo Dolls & Daughtry. 7:30 p.m.

Tue, Jun 24: Monumentour: Fall Out Boy and Paramore with New Politics. 8 p.m.

Sat, Jun 28 - Sun, Jun 29: Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival. 12 p.m. This year’s headliners include Earth, Wind & Fire, Trombone Shorty, Terence Blanchard, Dave Holland Prism, Patti Austin, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, Quinn Sullivan, Dr. Lonnie Smith, among others.

12 EXPLORE

Thu, Jul 3 - Sat, Jul 5: Phish.

7:30 p.m.

Tue, Jul 15: Backstreet Boys & Avril Lavigne. 7:30 p.m.

Wed, Jul 16: Sarah McLachlan.

8 p.m.

Sat, Jul 19: James Taylor. 8 p.m.

Wed, Jul 23: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival featuring Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Suicide. 1 p.m.

Fri, Jul 25: Lionel Richie & CeeLo Green. 7:30 p.m.

Sat, Aug 2: 2014 Country Megaticket. 11:50 p.m.

Sun, Aug 3: Rascal Flatts, Sheryl Crow & Gloriana. 7:30 p.m.

Mon, Aug 4: Moody Blues.

7:30 p.m.

Tue, Aug 5: Kiss & Def Leppard.

7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 10: Kings of Leon with Young the Giant. 7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 17:Luke Bryan with Lee Brice and Cole Swindell.

7 p.m.

Tue, Aug 19: Chicago and REO Speedwagon. 7:30 p.m.

Tue, Aug 26: Motley Crue & Alice Cooper. 7 p.m.

Fri, Aug 29: Jason Aldean.

7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 31: Steely Dan. 7:30 p.m.

Schenectady’s Central Park Central Park Music Haven Stage 500 Iroquois Path, Schenectady, (518) 382-5151 Sun, Jun 29: Mokoomba. 7 p.m.

An electrifying blend of Afrofusion and traditional Tonga.

Sun, Jul 13: Eileen Ivers. 7 p.m.

Celtic.

Sun, Jul 27: James Cotton/25th Anniversary Gala. 7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 3: Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. 7 p.m.

Tanglewood 297 West St, Lenox, Mass. tanglewood.org (413) 637-1600 Thu, Jul 3 - Fri, Jul 4: James Taylor. 8 p.m.

Fri, Aug 29: Train. 7 p.m.

Sun, Aug 31: Tony Bennett.

2:30 p.m.

Times Union Center 51 S. Pearl St, Albany timesunioncenter-albany.com (518) 487-2000 Wed, Jun 25: American Idols Live. 7 p.m.

Sat, Jul 5: Paul McCartney.

8 p.m.

Wed, Jul 16: Justin Timberlake.

8 p.m.

Sun, Jul 20: Bruno Mars: The Moonshine Jungle Tour. 7:30 p.m.

Voorheesville Public Library 51 School Road, Voorheesville voorheesvillelibrary.org (518) 765-2791 Wed, Jul 9: Together at Twilight Concert: Red Haired Strangers.

7 p.m.

Wed, Aug 20: Together at Twilight: Beyond the Borders. 7 p.m.

Light and Shadow, set to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Orchestral Suite in D Major No. 3. The program also includes Nacho Duato’s commanding all-male work Castrati, which explores themes of masculinity and sacrifice, and a poetic trio A Room of Her Own by National Ballet of China resident choreographer Fei Bo. Fri, Jun 20 - Sun, Jun 22: Carmen de Lavallade in As I Remember It. This intimate portrait of dance icon and actress Carmen de Lavallade spans a six-decade career working with luminaries Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Josephine Baker, and more.

Wed, Jun 25 - Sun, Jun 29: Trey McIntyre Project. The program includes the East Coast premiere of The Vinegar Works: Four Dances of Moral Instruction, inspired by the surreal imagination and characteristic pen-

and-ink drawings of writer and illustrator Edward Gorey, set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor performed by Trio Solaris of Chicago.

Wed, Jun 25 - Sun, Jun 29: Unreal Hip-Hop. The all-female crew Decadancetheatre performing 4, their hip-hop interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

B-girl extraordinaire Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie in a variety of solos including one to James Brown’s signature “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” Bostonbased the Wondertwins, kings of freestyle and rapid-fire pop ‘n’ lock who have performed in hiphop festivals and competitions around the globe.

Wed, Jul 2 - Sun, Jul 6: T.P.O. in BLEU!. Through immersive technology and imaginative set design, Bleu! travels under the sea to explore a mythical world of sea creatures and ancient legends.

Wed, Jul 9 - Sun, Jul 13: Dance Theatre of Harlem. The company performs Past-Carry-Forward, created for DTH by Tanya Wideman and Thaddeus Davis, which brings the design, significance, and spirit of the Harlem Renaissance to life.

Wed, Jul 30 - Sun, Aug 3: Circa.

Bringing circus arts into the 21st century, these astonishing performers communicate the power of the human body through acrobatics, aerial work, and mindbending feats of strength.

Wed, Jul 30 - Sun, Aug 3: Dance Heginbotham and Brooklyn Rider in Chalk and Soot. Choreographer John Heginbotham and composer Colin Jacobsen combine their unique artistic forces. This evening-length world premiere features imaginative, theatrical choreography, live music performed by string quartet Brooklyn Rider, the vocal stylings of Shara Worden (lead singer of My

Wiswall Park Front St and Low St, Ballston Spa ballston.org 885-1031 Thu, Jun 26: Sirsy. 6 p.m.

Thu, Jul 3: Ballston Spa Community Band. 6 p.m.

Thu, Jul 10: Skeeter Creek.

6 p.m.

Thu, Jul 17: Jump Daddies.

6 p.m.

Thu, Jul 24: Zucchini Brothers.

6 p.m.

Thu, Jul 31: Hard Soul. 6 p.m.

Thu, Aug 7: Union Fire Company Band. 6 p.m.

Thu, Aug 14: Holly & Evan.

6 p.m.

Thu, Aug 21: Studio Two - The Beatles Tribute. 6 p.m.

Thu, Aug 28: Wild Adriatic.

6 p.m.

Dance Performance Jacob’s Pillow Dance 358 George Carter Road, Becket, Mass. jacobspillow.org (413) 243-0745 Wed, Jun 18 - Sun, Jun 22: The Hong Kong Ballet. The Hong Kong Ballet performs Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor’s In

THE ALL-WOMEN DECADANCE theater group presents 4, a hip-hop interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at Jacob’s Pillow (jacobspillow.org) on June 25-29.

— PHOTO BY DANIEL PINCUS

SNC &

Saratoga & North Creek Railway

calendar summer 2014 Brightest Diamond), and singer/ songwriter Gabriel Kahane on harmonium.

Wed, Aug 20 - Sun, Aug 24: Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. The program includes Spanish-born, Munichbased choreographer Cayetano Soto’s dramatic Beautiful Mistake.

Wed, Aug 20 - Sun, Aug 24: LeeSaar The Company. LeeSaar returns with Grass and Jackals, a spectacle of dance and light, which pushes physical and emotional boundaries and takes the audience to eccentric new places.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center 108 Ave of the Pines, Saratoga Springs spac.org (518) 584-9330 Thu, Jun 12: Martha Graham Dance Company. 8 p.m. Onenight-only engagement during SaratogaArtsFest, in conjunction with the dance companies residency at Skidmore College from June 1-21. This performance features Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and a new work by Andonis Foniadakis entitled Echo.

Fri, Jul 11: New York City Ballet. 8 p.m. This family-friendly evening features three captivating selections that showcase the versatility in artistic style. Before the show experience strolling magicians, free Stewart’s ice cream, balloon animals, chalk contests, and more.

Sat, Jul 12: New York City Ballet. 8 p.m. The culmination of the ballet’s Saratoga program will be a Tribute to Great Britain.

Tue, Jul 22: MOMIX. 8 p.m.

This mesmerizing modern dance company creates a show that breaks the bounds of the conventional and enters an aesthetic orbit all its own. This evening is entitled ReMix and combines pieces from the tremendous MOMIX repertory.

Tue, Jul 29 - Fri, Aug 1: Bolshoi Ballet. Saratoga will be one of just three US locations hosting the Bolshoi in 2014. They will be performing a stunning rendition of the storybook ballet Don Quixote. The opening night will feature Russian vodka bars and a fireworks finale.

14 EXPLORE

Stage Adirondack Theatre Festival Charles R. Wood Theater, 207 Glen St., Glens Falls atfestival.org (518) 874-0800 Thu, July 10 - Sat, July 19: The Whale. Charlie, a 600-lb man, is slowly eating himself to an early grave. His daughter, Ellie, a teenager who’s pushing against the adults in her life, suddenly shows up at his door.

So does Elder Thomas, a young Mormon on his two-year mission. Charlie deals with more than weight issues; issues from his past have brought him to a crisis in the present.

Thu, July 27 - Sat, Aug 2: Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash.

David Lutken, star of 2012’s hit show Woody Sez, returns to lead a talented ensemble of actor/ musicians as they ROF1celebrate the songs of a beloved American musical poet — Johnny Cash.

Albany Civic Theater 235 Second Ave., Albany albanycivictheater.org (518) 462-1297 Thu, Aug 28 - Sun, Sep 14: Man From Nebraska. A luxury sedan, a church pew, and visits to a nursing home form the comfortable round of Ken Carpenter’s daily life. And then one night, he discovers he no longer believes in God. This crisis of faith propels an ordinary middle-aged man into an extraordinary journey of self-discovery. This wickedly funny and spiritually complex play examines the effects of one man’s awakening on himself and his family.

Barrington Stage Company Boyd-Quinson Mainstage 30 Union St, Pittsfield, Mass. barringtonstageco.org (413) 236-8888 Wed, Jun 11 - Sat, Jul 12: Kiss Me, Kate. The Cole Porter musical about the onstage and backstage antics of two feuding couples during a touring production of Taming of the Shrew.

Thu, Jul 17 - Sat, Aug 2: Breaking the Code. Hugh Whitemore’s play is the life story of famed mathematician and computer science pioneer Alan Turing, who solved the German Enigma code

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE perform at the Palace (palacealbany.com) on July 13. during World War II. Thu, Aug 7 - Sun, Aug 24: Dancing Lessons. Mark St. Germain’s drama concerns the burgeoning relationship between a young man with Asperger’s who wants to learn to dance and the injury-sidelined Broadway dancer he seeks out.

Berkshire Museum 39 South St, Pittsfield, Mass. berkshiremuseum.org (413) 443-7171 Wed, Jul 23 - Sun, Aug 10: Hairspray Jr. A kid-friendly version of the Tony-winning musical about a Baltimore teenager in the 1960s who dreams of dancing on a local dance show, and breaking down racial stereotypes.

Berkshire Theatre Festival 6 East St, Stockbridge, Mass. berkshiretheatregroup.org (413) 298-5576 Fitzpatrick Mainstage Tue, Jun 24 - Sat, Jul 19: The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful. Charles Ludlam’s sat-

ire of several theatrical, literary and film genres, including Victorian melodrama, farce, the penny dreadful, Wuthering Heights and the Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca.

Wed, Jul 23 - Sat, Aug 9: Cedars. James Naughton stars in Erik Tarloff’s one-man comedy about an estranged father-son relationship.

Wed, Aug 13 - Sat, Aug 30: A Hatful of Rain. A Korean War veteran who made it home safely to New York City struggles with drug addiction in this drama by actor/playwright Michael V. Gazzo (The Godfather).

Unicorn Theatre Wed, Jul 9 - Sat, Jul 26: Benefactors. Michael Frayn’s Tonynominated play is set in 1960s Great Britain as an idealistic architect’s dream to build new homes on London’s Basuto Road soon gives way to plans for skyscrapers.

Wed, Jul 30 - Sat, Aug 16: Design for Living. In Noel Coward’s comedy, a woman can’t decide between two men who love her,

— PHOTO BY CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP

and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.

Sat, Aug 23 - Sat, Aug 30: A Lover’s Tale. Opera’s rising stars perform scenes from the original title piece, Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Lady of the Camellias, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata which was adapted by Dumas’ novel, and Charles Ludlam’s parody of the novel, Camille.

The Colonial Theatre 111 South St, Pittsfield, Mass. thecolonialtheatre.org (413) 997-4444 Mon, Jun 30 - Sat, Jul 19: A Little Night Music. Stephen Sondheim’s farcical tale of unexpected liaisons, relentless desire and ill-fated heartbreak in the life of an acclaimed actress.

Thu, Aug 7 - Sun, Aug 17: Seussical the Musical. 7 p.m. A musical amalgamation of many of Dr. Seuss’s most famous children’s books, especially Horton Hears a Who!, Horton Hatches the Egg and The One Feather Tail of Gertrude McFuzz.

Congress Park 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs saratogashakespeare.com Tue, Jul 15 - Sun, Jul 27: Macbeth. 6 p.m. Saratoga Shakespeare Company presents the Bard’s dark tale of ambition, greed and guilt.

Fort Salem Theater 11 E. Broadway, Salem fortsalemtheater.com (518) 854-9200 Fri, Jun 27 - Sun, Jun 29: Echoing Back: The Songs of Johnny Mercer. Broadway dance legend Karin Baker has created a new concert celebration of the songs of Hollywood and Broadway songwriting legend Johnny Mercer.

Fri, Jul 11 - Sun, Jul 20: Women in My Life. Former CBS6 newsanchor Jerry Gretzinger (popular Singing Anchor, with Jessica Layton and Benita Zahn) is Jerry Jerome, a fictional award-winning singer, down on his luck professionally and personally.

Fri, Aug 1 - Sun, Aug 10: Can You Hear Me Now? Jake Cochran struggles as a mogul striving

A MASTERPIECE REMASTERED OPENING JULY 4, 2014 The Clark’s expanded campus creates an unforgettable setting for exceptional art. Explore a new Visitor Center, reconceived Museum Building, and a sweeping landscape design that transforms the 140-acre site. Celebrate the return of the Clark’s renowned French paintings after a three-year tour.

SUMMER 2014 EXHIBITIONS CAST FOR ETERNITY: ANCIENT RITUAL BRONZES FROM THE SHANGHAI MUSEUM MAKE IT NEW: ABSTRACT PAINTING FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, 1950–1975 RAW COLOR: THE CIRCLES OF DAVID SMITH

calendar summer 2014 to be a model single father, his problems and solutions only as far away as the nearest phone.

Fri, Aug 15 - Sun, Aug 17: Signature Songs: The Songs That Made Famous Singers Famous.

Kathy Beaver returns for her first appearance since 2006, reprising her own signature role singing Patsy Cline and Barbra Streisand.

The Glove Theatre 42 N. Main St, Gloversville glovetheatre.org (518) 773-8255 Fri, Jun 20 - Sat, Jun 28: Avenue Q. The comedy musical focusing on a group of unique 20-somethings making their way in the big city, seeking their purpose in life.

Indian Ladder Farms 342 Altamont Rd., Altamont indianladderfarms.com (518) 765-2956 Fri, Jul 18 - Sun, Jul 27: Helderberg Theater Festival. The outdoor stage is the setting for free performances of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pinocchio.

Mac Haydn Theatre 1925 Route 203, Chatham machaydntheatre.org (518) 392-9292 Sun, Jun 8 - Sun, Jun 15: The Music Man. In Meredith Wilson’s

classic musical, slick salesman/ con artist Harold Hill tries to convince River City, Iowa, of its need for a band but instead finds himself sidelined by love.

Thu, Jun 19 - Sun, Jun 29: Fiddler on the Roof. The nine-time Tony-winning musical centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives in Tsarist Russia.

Thu, Jul 3 - Sun, Jul 20: 42nd Street. Based on the book and the 1933 movie musical, this Broadway smash follows the efforts of a tough director to mount a new show during the Depression.

Thu, Jul 24 - Sun, Aug 3: Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.

Brooks’ adapted his own hit 1974 film parody of the horror genre into a stage musical.

Thu, Aug 7 - Sun, Aug 17: Guys and Dolls. The classic musical from Frank Loesser brings to life the gangsters, gamblers, underworld figures and Christian missionaries of Damon Runyon’s 1920s and 1930s short stories.

Thu, Aug 21 - Sun, Aug 31: The Full Monty. The hit movie about out-of-work British steel workers who turn to stripping to make ends meet becomes a revealing Buffalo-set musical.

Oscar Seagle Memorial Theater Charlie Hill Road, Schroon Lake seaglecolony.org (518) 532-7875 Wed, Aug 13 - Sat, Aug 16: West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein’s ground-breaking Broadway musical.

Palace Theatre 19 Clinton Ave., Albany palacealbany.com (518) 465-3334 Sat, Jun 14: Million Dollar Quartet. 8 p.m. the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, inspired by the electrifying true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” brought together icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for one night.

Shakespeare and Company 70 Kemble St, Lenox, Mass. shakespeare.org (413) 637-3353 Sun, Jun 8 - Sun, Aug 24: Shakepeare’s Will. Filled with song, dance, and the poetry of language, Shakespeare’s Will, set in 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon, explores the uncharted and tumultuous life of Anne Hathaway — Shakespeare’s enigmatic wife.

Sat, Jun 21 - Sat, Aug 30: A

Midsummer’s Night Dream. In Shakespeare’s comedy, two Athenian couples’ lives are complicated by city law, feuding fairy royalty and love.

Wed, Jun 25 - Sat, Aug 23: The Servant of Two Masters. Carlo Goldini’s Italian farce about a servant secretly shuttling between two bosses who unbeknownst to him are star-crossed lovers and one is disguised as a man.

Fri, Jun 27 - Sat, Aug 30: Julius Caesar. The assassination of the would-be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for the idealist and the republic in Shakepeare’s historical drama.

Fri, Jul 4 - Sun, Aug 24: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). A madcap medley of all of the Bard’s works from just three actors and all in less than two hours.

Sat, Aug 2 - Sun, Aug 31: Henry IV, Parts I & II. Shakespeare’s historical plays about the exploits and ascension of Prince Hal presented in one performance.

Wed, Aug 6 - Sun, Sep 14: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Christopher Durang’s uproarious take on the plays of Anton Chekov revolves around a man and his adopted sister living in their family’s Pennsylvania farmhouse who find their lives turned upside down by the arrival of their narcissistic movie star sitter and her much younger boyfriend.

Theater Barn

CHEECH AND CHONG get funny at The Egg (theegg.org) on August 1.

— PHOTO COURTESY CHEECH AND CHONG

16 EXPLORE

654 Us 20, New Lebanon theaterbarn.com (518) 794-8989 Fri, Jun 27 - Sun, Jul 6: You Should Be So Lucky. Charles Busch’s comedy is a contemporary Cinderella story about an eccentric young electrologist in Greenwich Village who helps an elderly millionaire.

Thu, Jul 10 - Sun, Jul 20: Black Coffee. Hercule Poirot must solve the murder of a physicist who came up with the formula for an atom bomb in Agatha Christie’s mystery.

Thu, Jul 24 - Sun, Aug 3: Gutenberg! The Musical! In this two-man musical spoof from Scott Brown and Anthony King, aspiring playwrights perform a

backers’ audition for their big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg.

Thu, Aug 7 - Sun, Aug 17: I Love a Piano. A musical review of more than 60 songs by Irving Berlin.

Thu, Aug 21 - Sun, Aug 31: The Addams Family. Charles Addams’ creepy and kooky comic strip characters come to musical life for a monstrously good time as Wednesday brings home her unsuspecting fiance for a family dinner.

Washington Park Playhouse Madison Ave, and New Scotland Ave., Albany parkplayhouse.com (518) 434-0776 Tue, Jul 1 - Sat, Jul 26: Hands on a Hardbody. Ten people place their hands on a brand new pickup truck. The last one to hold on, wins. Presented by Park Playhouse, based on the book by Doug Wright and music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green.

Sat, Aug 2 - Sat, Aug 16: Oliver. Park Playhouse brings to life Charles Dickens’ classic story of an orphan in 1830s Great Britain who leads the life of a pickpocket in London.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival 1000 Main St, Williamstown, Mass. wtfestival.org (413) 597-3400 Wed, Jul 2 - Sun, Jul 13: June Moon. The classic comedy from Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman about an aspiring lyricist from Schenectady heading to New York to make his way in the music world and finding the path strewn with distractions, mainly of the female variety.

Wed, Jul 9 - Sun, Jul 20: A Great Wilderness. In Samuel D. Hunter’s play, the leader of a Christian retreat to “cure” gay teens is retiring and closing up shop but not before one final client arrives and challenges his way of thinking.

Wed, Jul 16 - Sat, Jul 26: Living on Love. Joe DiPietro adapts the Garson Kanin comedy about an opera singer who hires a handsome young ghostwriter to pen her autobiography after her maestro husband falls for the woman writing his. Stars opera soprano Renee Fleming and Justin Long.

Wed, Jul 23 - Sat, Aug 2: Fool for Love. Sam Shepard’s twohander about ex-lovers tearing apart their past relationship and each other in seedy motel on the edge of the Mojave Desert.

Thu, Jul 31 - Sun, Aug 17: The Visit. This Kander & Ebb musical, with a book by Terrence McNally, is about the richest woman in the world returning to her hard-luck hometown and offering help to its residents — at a hefty price.

Wed, Aug 6 - Sun, Aug 17: The Old Man and the Old Moon. PigPen Theatre Co. presents a musical tale of an old man at the end of the world who abandons his job of filling the moon with liquid light to search for his missing wife.

Comedy The Egg Empire State Plaza, Albany theegg.org (518) 473-1845 Sun, Jun 22: Tracy Morgan. 8 p.m. Comedian and actor Tracy Morgan brings his Turn It Funny show to town.

Fri, Aug 1: Cheech & Chong. 8 p.m. The iconic comedy duo defined an era with their hilariously irreverent, satirical, counterculture comedy routines.

Words & Ideas Bronck Museum County Route 42, Coxsackie gchistory.org (518) 731-6490 Sun, Jun 22 - Sun, Sep 14: Bronck Family at Home in the English Colony of New York. Join a costumed guide to explore the impact of English rule on traditional Dutch family life.

Sat, Aug 2: By the Light of the Silvery Moon. 7 p.m. The pleasures & perils of the night life in times past, period refreshments and entertainment.

Shaker Heritage Society Meeting House Road, Albany shakerheritage.org (518) 456-7890 Sat, Aug 16: Special Tour: Af-

Ulysses S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site

JOYCE CAROL OATES reads from her fiction as part of the NYS Summer Writers Institute, July 11 at Skidmore College (skidmore.edu).

— PHOTO BY SKIP DICKSTEIN/TIMES UNION ARCHIVES

rican American Shakers. 1 p.m.

The Shakers promoted and practiced equality within their communities, though several paradoxes existed within their official stance on race.

Skidmore College/ New York State Summer Writers Institute Davis Auditorium, Palamountain Hall 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs skidmore.edu/summerwriters 518-580-5593 Mon, Jun 30: Elizabeth Benedict and Campbell McGrath. 8 p.m. Fiction reading by Elizabeth Benedict and poetry reading by Campbell McGrath.

Tue, Jul 1: Francine Prose and Nicholas Delbanco. 8 p.m. Fiction reading by Francine Prose and non-fiction reading by Nicholas Delbanco.

Thu, Jul 3: Russell Banks and Chase Twichell. 8 p.m. Fiction reading by Russell Banks and poetry reading by Chase Twichell.

Fri, Jul 4: Howard Norman and Jane Shore. 8 p.m. Fiction reading by Howard Norman and poetry reading by Jane Shore.

Mon, Jul 7: Rosanna Warren and Cristina Garcia. 8 p.m. Poetry reading by Rosanna Warren and fiction reading by Cristina Garcia.

Tue, Jul 8: Phillip Lopate and Victoria Redel. 8 p.m. Nonfiction reading by Phillip Lopate and fiction reading by Victoria Redel.

Wed, Jul 9: James Longenbach and Joanna Scott. 8 p.m.

Poetry reading by James Longenbach and fiction reading by Joanna Scott.

Thu, Jul 10: Louise Gluck and Caryl Phillips. 8 p.m. Poetry reading by Louise Gluck and fiction reading by Caryl Phillips.

Fri, Jul 11: Joyce Carol Oates. 8 p.m. Fiction reading.

Mon, Jul 14: Carolyn Forche and Amy Hempel. 8 p.m. Poetry reading by Carolyn Forche and fiction reading by Amy Hempel.

Tue, Jul 15: Marilynne Robinson and Peg Boyers. 8 p.m.

Fiction reading by Marilynne Robinson and poetry reading by Peg Boyers.

Wed, Jul 16: Danzy Senna and Honor Moore. 8 p.m. Fiction reading by Danzy Senna and non-Fiction reading by Honor Moore.

Thu, Jul 17: William Kennedy. 8 p.m. Fiction reading.

Fri, Jul 18: Robert Pinsky. 8 p.m. Poetry reading.

Mt McGregor Road, Gansevoort grantcottage.org (518) 584-4353 Sun, Jun 29: Porch Chat: Sport, Activity, and the Presidency. 1 p.m. This presentation explores the role of sport and physical activity within the American presidency. Of particular note will be the activities of our 18th president, General Ulysses S. Grant.

Wed, Jul 9: Porch Chat: A True Renaissance Warrior. 1 p.m.

Thomas Wentworth Higginson funded John Brown’s Harper’s Ferry raid and later commanded a regiment of freed slaves. Higginson, knew that both the pen and the sword can be mighty.

Join him as he reminisces about General Grant, John Brown, and brings his friend Emily Dickinson to the stage to read some of her virtually unknown Civil War poems. Grant Cottage tour guides Steve Trimm and Diana O’Brien will portray Thomas and Emily.

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Fairs, Festivals & Family Fun Albany Institute of History & Art

New York's Second Most Visited Natural Attraction!

125 Washington Ave., Albany albanyinstitute.org (518) 463-4478 Tue, Jul 1 - Thurs, Aug 28: Artful Mornings: Small and Special. 9 a.m. In these weekly, three-day morning programs (Tuesday-Thursday), children (ages 6-12) will create vibrant works of art inspired by our summer exhibitions and our permanent collections.

Altamont Fairgrounds 129 Grand St, Altamont altamontfair.com (518) 861-6671 Fri, Jun 27 - Sun, Jun 29: Old Songs Festival: Music with Roots. Old Songs is a familyfriendly festival of folk, traditional, Celtic and world music and dance, known for its relaxed atmosphere, interactive sessions and workshops,hands-on experience and participatory nature.

In addition to concerts there are

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calendar summer 2014 120 daytime workshops given by performers. Also featured are a juried craft show, food and instrument vendors, and a well-run children’s activity area.

Tue, Aug 12 - Sun, Aug 17: Altamont Fair. 10 a.m. The three-county fair brings city and country together for agricultural competitions, farm animals, games, rides, educational exhibits, and a wide variety of great foods.

Sat, Aug 30 - Sun, Aug 31: Capital District Scottish Games.

8 a.m. A Celtic festival of arts, featuring pipe bands, highland dancing, athletics, clans, celtic folk/rock music and more.

Butternut Ski Area 380 State Road, Great Barrington, Mass. skibutternut.com (413) 528-2000 Fri, Jul 4 - Sun, Jul 6: Berkshires Summer Art Festival. Now in its 13th year, the Berkshires Arts Festival has become a Berkshire tradition attracting thousands of art lovers who come to the Berkshires for theater, dance, music and art.

City of Saratoga Springs Downtown Saratoga Springs Fri, Jul 4: Saratoga’s All-American Celebration. 9 a.m. The annual celebration steps off with the Firecracker4 Road Race, followed by the All-American Parade down Broadway, family day in Congress Park, barbecue, car show, history tours, carousel rides and much more.

Fri, Jul 11 - Tue, Jul 15: SaratogaArtsFest. The eighth annual event at venues throughout Saratoga Springs, features music, dance, visual art, film, theater, literary art performed by national, regional and local artists. saratogaartsfest.org.

Sat, Aug 30 - Sun, Aug 31: Final Stretch Music Festival.

Downtown outdoor music festival celebrating the last weekend of thoroughbred racing.

City of Schenectady North Jay Street, Schenectady Sat, Sep 6: 2014 Little Italy Street Fest: A Taste of Italy. 12 p.m. Featuring some of Schenectady’s most well-known Italian bakeries, restaurants, pastry

18 EXPLORE

and spumoni shops; live music and more.

City of Troy Historic River Street River St, Troy downtowntroy.org (518) 279-7997 Sat, Jun 14: River Street Fest. 10 a.m. This is a one-day arts, crafts, music and antiques festival.

Clifton Common Clifton Common Blvd, Clifton Park cliftonpark.org/townhall/ parks-rec/parks.asp (518) 371-6667 Fri, Jul 4: July 4th Celebration at Clifton Common. 12 p.m. Family fun with parade,live music, great food, fireworks and much more.

Columbia County Fairgrounds 32 Church St, Chatham columbiafair.com (518) 392-2121 Wed, Aug 27 - Mon, Sep 1: Columbia County Fair. 10 a.m. The 174th county fair welcomes the Oak Ridge Boys on Aug. 31, and features agricultural exhibitions, demolition derby, rides, games, shows and food.

Crandall Park Glen Street, Glens Falls Fri, July 4: Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra and Fireworks.

7 p.m. Celebrate the Fourth of July with music, family activities and fireworks.

Dodds Farm 74 Modley Road, Sharon, Conn. falconridgefolk.com (866) 325-2744 Fri, Aug 1 - Sun, Aug 3: Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. 10 a.m. A three-day community of folk music and dance at the foot of the Berkshires.

Dutchess County Fairgrounds 6550 Spring Brook Ave., Rhinebeck dutchessfair.com (845) 876-4001 Tue, Aug 19 - Sun, Aug 24: Dutchess County Fair. 10 a.m.

The second largest county fair in New York is the showplace for agriculture in Dutchess County.

Empire State Plaza

Mabee Farm Historic Site

Eagle Street and Madison Avenue, Albany ogs.ny.gov (518) 474-5987 Fri, Jul 4: New York State’s 4th of July Celebration presented by Price Chopper. 2 p.m. The annual holiday celebration features live music and fun for the whole family including fireworks. This year’s event will kick off with the naturalization of new American citizens. Tommy James and the Shondells, with hit songs, “Mony, Mony” and “Crimson and Clover” will headline the musical stage. Other musical guests include Blue Machine and the Back 40 Band.

1080 Main St, Rotterdam schenectadyhistorical. org/mabee-farm 518-887-5073 Sat, Aug 23: 11th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival. Featuring the best in local area arts and crafts, the festival includes handmade pottery, wood crafting, handwovens, candles, jewelry, fine arts, painted furniture and much more.

Gavin Park 10 Lewis Road, Saratoga Springs wiltonparkfest.com (518) 584-9455 Sat, Jul 12: Wilton Community Day and Parkfest. 10 a.m. The town of Wilton celebrates community with live entertainment, crafters, rides, food, contests, games and fireworks at dusk.

Greenwich Village and Parks

National Museum of Dance 99 S. Broadway, Saratoga Springs dancemuseum.org (518) 584-2225 Sat, Aug 16 - Sun, Aug 17: Saratoga Arts Celebration. 10 a.m.

The event celebrates the visual and performing arts. There will be sales, demonstrations, art talks, performances, children’s activities and food offerings.

Pavilion Park Highway 9N, Lake Luzerne-Hadley townoflakeluzerne.com (518) 696-2711 Sat, Jul 19: Riverview Arts & Crafts Festival. 10 a.m. A yearly

handmade arts and crafts show tied with community events and a library book sale.

Powers Park 111th St and Second Ave., Troy troyny.gov Sat, Aug 30: Uncle Sam Jam. 10 a.m. Guitars & Cars come together in this musical end of the season extravaganza. Four bands, with music & Classic Car show beginning at 12 p.m.

This years lineup includes, Decades Till Dawn, Sly Fox & the Hustlers, and rock legends, Emerald City with a special guest to be named later.

Round Lake Village Bike Path 49 Burlington Ave., Round Lake roundlakevillage.org (518) 899-2800 Sat, Aug 9 - Sun, Aug 10: Round Lake Arts and Crafts Festival. 10 a.m. The annual event, set in the quaint village of Round Lake, features hundreds of artisans and crafters.

Saratoga Children’s Museum Maple Avenue Middle School 515 Maple Ave., Saratoga Springs childrensmuseumatsaratoga.org (518) 584-5540 Sat, Aug 2: Big Truck Day. 10 a.m. More than a dozen different trucks – from firetrucks and construction vehicles to busses and big rigs – will fill the parking lot of the school. Kids, and their parents, can pop in and out of the vehicles, take pictures, “test drive” and meet those that drive them for a living.

Saratoga County Fairgrounds 162 Prospect St, Ballston Spa saratogacountyfair.org (518) 885-9701 Fri, Jun 20 - Sun, Jun 22: Saratoga Balloon & Craft Festival. Saratoga’s first Hot Air Balloon & Craft Festival. Hot air balloons lift off and float magically through the air. Browse and shop among over 100 beautiful hand craft artisans. Listen to live music, and dine on delicious local food.

Academy and Main streets, Greenwich greenwichchamber.org (518) 692-7979 Fri, Jun 13 - Sat, Jun 14: Whipple City Festival. 10 a.m. Games, music and more.

Hunter Mountain 7975 Main St, Hunter huntermtn.com (518) 263-4223 Sat, Aug 9 - Sun, Aug 10: German Alps Festival. 11 a.m. Traditional German-American foods, Schuhplattler Dancers, plus some new entertainers, plenty of vendors, plus fun activities for the kids.

Little Theater on the Farm 27 Plum Road, Fort Edward littletheater27.com (518) 747-3421 Wed, Aug 6: Country and Bluegrass Jamboree. 10 a.m.

Featuring Smokey Greene, The Seth Sawyer Band, The Bluebillies,RGLB Westenders and Straight from West Virginia: high Octane.

COME TO TROY’S RIVER STREET FEST on June 14 for art, music, food and more!

Visit downtowntroy.org.

— PHOTO BY MICHAEL P. FARRELL/TIMES UNION ARCHIVES

Tue, Jul 22 - Sun, Jul 27: Saratoga County Fair. 10 a.m. Saratoga County Fair is a display of agricultural and life in the county area. Expect rides, games, shows, live animals, exhibits, food and much more.

Shaker Heritage Society Meeting House Road, Albany shakerheritage.org (518) 456-7890 Sat, Jul 12 - Sun, Jul 13: Shaker Craft Fair. 10 a.m. More than 70 local and regional crafters on the grounds of the Shaker Heritage Society. A family activity tent will host activities for all ages throughout the weekend. Members of the Abenaki First Nation will offer traditional craft activities, displays, and music.

Waterford Harbor Visitor Center 1 Tug Boat Aly, Waterford tugboatroundup.com (518) 233-9123 Fri, Sep 5 - Sun, Sep 7: Waterford Tugboat Roundup. A display of working tugs, restoration projects, pleasure tugs, mini tugs and other vessels line the port of Waterford for three days. The celebration starts Friday with a parade of tugs up the Hudson River. Vendors, live music, tug tours and boat rides start Friday and continue through Sunday. Kids’ activities all weekend. Fireworks Saturday evening. Tug competitions on Sunday.

Museums Albany Institute of History & Art 125 Washington Ave, Albany albanyinstitute.org (518) 463-4478 Thru Sun, Sep 28: Small + Seductive: Contemporary Art from the Albany Institute’s Collection.

More than 30 paintings and sculptures of smaller proportions by some of the Upper Hudson Valley’s most ingenious and talented artists.

Bennington Center for the Arts 44 Gypsy Ln., Bennington, Vt. thebennington.org (802) 442-7158 Thru Sun, Dec 21: Small Works Show. Fine art, 11 x 14 and smaller. Artwork is representational but not limited to a theme. Figurative, landscapes, cityscapes, wildlife and still-lifes by nationally recognized artists make up the show.

Thru Sun, Aug 24: Art of the Animal Kingdom XIX. One of the country’s most prestigious wildlife exhibitions opens on June 14 and will run through late August. This year’s special guest Artist is Rosetta. Over 65 pieces are in this exhibition and all work is for sale.

Thru Sun, Dec 21: Portraying The Human Spirit. Works that depict the soul, whether it be through a formal portrait or simply through an elegant gesture, will be the focus of our newest juried show.

Thru Sun, Sep 14: Impressions of New England. This annual exhibition will include over 60 scenes captured in paint and bronze. Seashores, rolling hills, foliage and New England wildlife will be depicted in fine works of art.

Thru Sun, Dec 21: Laumeister Fine Art Competition. Representational artwork selected by a guest juror will be on exhibit this fall.

The Hyde Collection 161 Warren St, Glens Falls hydecollection.org (518) 792-1761 Fri, Jun 13 - Sun, Sep 14: Larry Kagan: Lying Shadows.

Larry Kagan examines creating a hybrid combination of the solid component of a steel wire sculpture and the specific shadow it casts on the wall in a way that challenges expectations. The exhibition presents over 20 wall-mounted steel sculptures illustrating his development of this concept.

Iroquois Indian Museum 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave iroquoismuseum.org (518) 296-8949 Thru Fri, Nov 28: Iroquois Indian Museum Presents Standing in Two Worlds: Iroquois in 2014.

Showcases Iroquois art that explores contemporary issues including the environment, the digital/disposable age, the impact of national/international events and decisions and the role of tradition and community.

MASS MoCA 87 Marshall St., N. Adams, Mass. massmoca.org (413) 662-2111 Thru Mon, Sep 1: Izhar Patkin: The Wandering Veil. This longawaited survey of works by the Israeli-born, New York-based artist Izhar Patkin takes over the museum’s largest gallery.

Thru Jan, 2015: Darren Waterston: Uncertain Beauty. Drawing parallels between the excesses of the Gilded Age and current economic conditions, the artist re-imagines James McNeill Whistler’s “Peacock Room” as a fantastic ruin.

Thru Jan, 2015: In Transit: Between Image and Object. Artists Dike Blair, Hugh Scott-Douglas, and collaborative duo GuytonWalker paint, print, and project abstract images and patterns onto the surface of shipping crates.

Thru Feb, 2015: Mark Dion: The Octagon Room. Dion investigates into the blurred boundaries between art, society, and history, as well as the homogenized methods of their presentation and consumption.

Thru 2014: The Dying of the Light: Film as Medium and Metaphor. This exhibition features work by six artists who emphasize film’s unrivaled texture and luminosity, as well as its potential for metaphor.

New York State Museum 264 Madison Ave., Albany nysm.nysed.gov (518) 474-5877 Thru Sun, Jul 6: New York and the First New Deal. Features two

busts of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by sculptor Carolyn Palmer, who created a set of Roosevelt busts for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park.

Thru July 2014: Building a Collection: The E. Martin Wunsch New York State Decorative Arts Collection. The Wunsch Collection consists of over 700 pieces of furniture, paintings, silver, ceramics, and folk art crafted primarily between 1,700 and 1,900.

Thru Jan 2015: Focus on Nature XIII. The exhibit features 91 natural and cultural history illustrations, representing the work of 71 illustrators from 15 different countries.

Norman Rockwell Museum 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge, Mass. nrm.org (413) 298-4100 Thru Sun, Oct 26: Edward Hopper: Art for Commerce. A unique and comprehensive study of the little-known 20 year illustration career of the realist master.

Attitudes toward art and the crosscurrents of contemporary commercial society during the early- to mid-twentieth century will be explored in this exhibition, which provides an integrated understanding of Hopper’s published and personal art.

Thru Fri, Jun 13: Baseball, Rodeos, and Automobiles: the Art of Murray Tinkelman. Celebrate the art of Murray Tinkelman, an award-winning artist who has received illustration’s highest honors.

The Rensselaer County Historical Society 57 Second St., Troy rchsonline.org (518) 272-7232 Thru Sat, Jul 26: Hoarding History: Why the Museum Collects. Visitors will view more than 100 recent acquisitions and learn about the process to bring new aspects of Rensselaer County’s history to the public’s attention.

Skidmore College The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs tang.skidmore.edu (518) 580-8080 Thru Sun, Jun 15: Alumni Invitational 4. This exhibition celebrates the vibrant creative energy of four Skidmore graduates that span 50 years and a diverse range of mediums.

Galleries Albany International Airport Gallery Albany Shaker Road, Albany albanyairport.com/ exhibitions.php (518) 242-2241 Thru Sun, Sep 7: Body Language. The human figure is central in the works of 11 artists.

Center Gallery @ the Commons 6 Clifton Common Blvd., Clifton Park (518) 383-1343 Thru Fri, Jun 27: Photographs & Watercolors by Harvey Mendelson.

Artist exhibits watercolor landscapes and photographs. As a diversified artist/photographer, he has also helped publish a cookbook.

Chapel + Cultural Center, Rensselaer Newman Foundation 2125 Burdett Ave., Troy chapelandculturalcenter.org (518) 274-7793 Thru Fri, Jun 27: Excelsior! The Chapel + Cultural Center, Rensselaer Newman Foundation, welcomes back the artists of Roarke Center with their Spring 2014 exhibition.

Hudson Valley Community College Marvin Library Learning Commons 80 Vandenburgh Ave., Troy hvcc.edu/library (518) 629-7333

Thru Fri, Sep 19: Out of Print. A fresh look at books and print materials by artists who reflect upon the past and uncertain future of these information media. The artists have manipulated and documented existing books to create new forms and structures.

Each treats books and print materials differently: as found objects and relics, as flawed systems for information delivery, or as simple raw materials.

Sorelle Gallery 1475 Western Ave., Albany sorellegallery.com (518) 482-2000 Thru Thu, Jun 12: Colorfall featuring recent works by Rob Longley. Longley’s landscapes are infused with mysterious ambiance — from the hazy fog in Cape Cod to the bright sunlight on a New England day.

Longley’s urban scenes, a local favorite, shine with the radiant hues of city lights from Albany and Troy.

Thompson Giroux Gallery 57 Main St, Chatham thompsongirouxgallery.com (518) 392-3336 Thru Sun, Jun 15: As Above So Below. An exhibition featuring the work of Peter Acheson, Martha Lloyd, Tony Martin and Larry Webb.

Exhibit Spaces Riders Mills Schoolhouse Drowne Road, Chatham ridersmillsschoolhouse.org (518) 794-7146 Sat, Aug 23: Riders Mills Schoolhouse Art Show. An annual outdoor exhibition showcasing the work of Columbia County artists. This outdoor fence art show will feature 40 or more invited artists. The artists’ works, as well as music and food, will be featured on the grounds of the restored Riders Mills Schoolhouse. E

Listings compiled by the News & Information Services Department staff: Shannon Fromma, CJ Lais, Jennifer Patterson, Azra Haqqie and Bebe Nyquist. Calendars are compiled about six weeks before delivery, which is the first Sunday of April, June, September and December. To view a complete list of events, or to submit a listing, go to events.timesunion.com. For more information, call 454-5420.

timesunion.com/explore 19

comedy

Savvy Sagal Wait Wait’s star isn’t mad.

He’s funny.

By Brianna Snyder » Photos courtesy NPR

» WAIT WAIT! DON’T TELL ME , Aug. 28, Tanglewood, bso.org

I

f you’re a Wait Wait! Don’t Tell Me fan — and let’s face it, who isn’t? — you’ve probably heard by now that the beloved baritone Carl Kasell is retired. But don’t freak out: you can still win his vocals on your home answering machine or voicemail during the weekly NPR gameshow. And you can see the show live — sans Kasell, sadly — at Tanglewood this summer.

It’s a widely shared belief — sometimes even a joke — that NPR is a part of the liberal media, if not a leader of the lamestream media. But while WWDTM does lean left, its audience could be considered bipartisan. My parents, who are Florida Republicans (sorry, Mom), download the podcast every week.

20 EXPLORE

“I’m actually really glad to hear that,” Sagal says after I tell him. “NPR has a reputation of being liberal. So I love it when somebody comes up to me and says, ‘I’m a conservative and I love your show,’ because one of the things that I like about our show and I’m proud of is that we are an hour-long break from the constant civil war in our media. Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on everything but everyone can agree they love our show.”

WWDTM has been on the air since 1998. Since then all kinds of changes have taken place in the media landscape — how we consume it, produce it, feel about it. It’s a totally different place. Despite that, Sagal says he doesn’t see much of a change in his audience. NPR listeners have always been news junk-

ies, for the most part. And if the Internet’s bred more news junkies over the past 15 years, well, they’re just the WWDTM demographic.

Sagal loves news, of course, and says he wishes he could go more in-depth about some stories or topics, but the gameshow format doesn’t really allow for that (which he’s fine with, too). But with political corruption, ongoing wars in various countries, climate change, health care, all of the hot topics that get people really agitated, it can be hard not to get caught up in your own cynicism.

“I saw an interesting quote from John Oliver where he said some days it seems like an entire day is spent trying to work through my anger toward something funny,” Sagal says. “That’s what the job

Rockwell & Hopper America’s favorite artists this summer

PETER SAGAL ponders his next political parody — PHOTO BY ANDREW COLLINGS/NPR

is like — getting beyond your anger and your rage. So you can’t be cynical. Cynicism implies disapproval and there’s no humor in cynicism. There have been times when I was so upset that my producers have had to drag me down from the precipice of wanting to make a statement denouncing some horrific thing.” He says his crew will point it out to him if what he’s saying stops being funny and starts “sounding mad.”

One of the cool things about seeing WWDTM live is that the show is about twice as long as its usual one-hour radio slot, so you get to see improvisation and bloopers in real time. (The show is edited and refined for radio.)

“The format is actually not differ-

ent [live] at all. We’ve been doing the show 10 years in front of a live audience every week so what we’ve done is along the lines of what Garrison Keillor does [with “Prairie Home Companion”],” Sagal says. “This gives our live audience a particular pleasure in that they get to see the whole thing. If Paula Poundstone is there she tends to go on, much to everyone’s delight.” [At press time panelists for the Tanglewood taping had not yet been announced.]

As for Kasell? “He will continue to provide our prize,” Sagal says. “We anticipate he’ll be returning to the show in various ways. He’s becoming emeritus.” E

Edward Hopper (1882-1967). (A Theater Entrance), (1906-1910). Watercolor, brush and ink, and graphite pencil on paper. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest 70.1378 © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by Whitney Museum of American Art. Digital Image © Whitney Museum of American Art

Edward Hopper as Illustrator on view June 7 - October 26

45

years

ill ustration art PANELISTS at a Wait Wait! Don’t Tell Me taping.

— PHOTO BY RYAN MUIR/NPR

nrm.org

413.298.4100

Stockbridge, MA

open year-round

multimedia

The Language of Women An ancient Chinese secret language inspires a performance

— PHOTO COURTESY THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA

By Brianna Snyder

A

t one time women weren’t allowed to learn to read.

We’d like to say, “Wow, can you believe how terrible it was for women hundreds of years ago?” Except as of this writing, an anti-girls-education terrorist group, Boko Haram, has kidnapped almost 300 girls as a protest against young women going to school in Nigeria. Women and girls all over the world are deprived of what Americans take for granted: the access to education.

That’s why the subject of a new multimedia performance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center this summer is so fascinating. Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women is a piece about an ancient language — called Nu Shu — made by and for Chinese women who were refused the right to literacy. It’s a language that was passed from mother to daughter for hundreds of years. The piece’s composer, Tan Dun, spent years with Nu Shu’s few remaining speakers, filming short features about the women, their traditions and their culture.

The piece’s musical centerpiece is the harp, played

by Elizabeth Hainen from the Philadelphia Orchestra.

As Hainen performs, 13 of Dun’s mini-films will project on a screen behind her.

“Tan Dun is just incredible,” Hainen says. “He spent time in the field cultivating relationships with these women in this remote Hunan village with these women who still practice this language. I imagine when you go into a very indigenous culture that you have to gain their trust and I think he did that in a very gracious and respectful way and that’s why it

took him almost three years to make these films.”

That trust was hard-won, Hainen says. These women were ostracized for speaking this secret language.

They were cast out as witches “because they showed up speaking this language and people thought it was very suspicious.” Some of them were institutionalized, others jailed. When the Japanese invaded China in the 1930s and ’40s, they suppressed the language, worrying it could be used to send secret messages.

Music is another important element to this language. When it was being taught from mother to daughter, it was usually by song. The orchestration is a reflection of that, Hainen says, and the harp was chosen in particular because of its femininity.

Hainen says that’s appropriate. “It’s a beautiful instrument,” she says. “The harp is the largest orchestra instrument except maybe a concert piano. But it’s larger than a string bass — and mainly men play string basses — and a harp is heavier than a string bass as far as playing it. You have to have a certain amount of strength.”

The films — which are “highly guarded,” Hainen says, laughing when I tell her I couldn’t find them online — are varied and complex. “You have things like a mother teaching her daughter how to be a good

» NU SHU: THE SECRET SONGS OF WOMEN , Aug.15, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, spac.org.

— PHOTO COURTESY PARNASSUS PRODUCTIONS

22 EXPLORE

woman, how to be a good wife. Then you’ll have these very solemn ceremonies before a young girl gets married where they have this long cloth they hold between them called a marriage cloth, where basically they spend two or three days weeping and this cloth is supposed to become full of tears before the wedding.” Other films feature idyllic depictions of Chinese girls and women rowing boats, singing, working and playing.

“It just displays how an individual exists in their culture. They work, they play, they celebrate, they mourn, all these different things just within their world and you’re seeing it,” she says. “It’s really powerful. It speaks to both men and women but I think it’s especially powerful for women, just because there’s just so much about it that would speak personally to the mothers and daughters, grandmothers and aunts and sisters, especially sisters. There’s a lot of sisterly bond that takes place in this culture.” E

34 th Annual

June 27, 28 & 29, 2014

The Stray Birds

Altamont Fairgrounds

A family festival with the best in Folk, Celtic & World Music 8saturday stages&with 12o sunday

daytime derformances

• Musical Sessions • Participatory Jam Sessions • Instrument Learn-Hows

participatory dancing (on a wooden floor) Contras • English • Swing Acadian step-dancing • Clogging Community and Family Dances

Singing in Harmony

Family Activities

• Sacred Harp Singing (shape note) with Stefan Amidon, • Choral Workshop with Peter & Mary Alice Amidon, • Ballad Singing

• Great Groove Band for kids with school instruments • Boomwhacker Ensemble for kids • Roger the Jester & Stories • Todd’s Musical Petting Zoo

Juried Artisan Court

Instrument Exchange

Jewelry • Pottery • Instruments Clothing and more

Bring your unused instrument and buy one you’ll use.

Varieties of Food

THREE MAIN STAGE CONCERTS Friday, June 27, 6:30 pm MC: Bill Vanaver

Comas • Nanne, Ankie & Tseard Trio of Poets • Brooks Williams • Matuto Stuart Fuchs • The Stray Birds • Vishten Contra Dance (11pm) callers: George Marshall & Tim Van Egmond band: Swallowtail

Old Songs programs are made possible by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature.

Saturday, June 28, 6:30 pm

* Program Subject to Change

MC: John Roberts

Sunday, June 29, 4:00 pm special performance:

De Temps Antan • Cindy Mangsen & Steve Gillette • Long Time Courting Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman Vanaver Caravan • Lauren Sheehan Panache Quartet • Sheesham & Lotus & Son

featuring: Festival Choral Workshop

Contra Dance (11pm) caller: Will Mentor band: Nor’easter

For complete details go to:

Carrying on… In Memory of…

Louisa (Louis) Killen, Faith Petric, Allan Block, Bob McQuillen and Pete Seeger.

Fennig’s All-Stars • George Wilson Deb Cowan • John Roberts • John Kirk Sonny Ochs • and more

festival.oldsongs.org

theater

The Masterful Shakespeare & Company

SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY are returning to the roots of Commedia dell’arte.

The Bard meets Goldoni this summer in Lenox

By Alan Bisbort

E

ven though Shakespeare & Company is entering its 36th season of summer productions in the lovely Berkshire Hills, the venerable theater company is still a work in progress. And that is meant as a compliment.

Never has this Lenox, Mass.-based company, founded by British expatriate Tina Packer in 1978, rested on its many laurels and seldom has it rested at all. This is in keeping with Packer’s mission to “create a theatre of unprecedented excellence rooted in the Elizabethan ideals of inquiry, balance and harmony, performing as the Elizabethans did; in love with poetry, physical prowess, and the mysteries of the universe.” That’s a high-falutin way of guaranteeing an audience will be entertained and maybe even inspired.

Things are currently in their usual — to paraphrase the Bard — “double, double toil and trouble” at the Lenox home base, with more exciting and ambitious plans afoot for its 30-acre campus. Yet, even

24 EXPLORE

as Shakespeare & Company vaults into the future, it is actually digging deeper into the past.

Take the production of The Servant of Two Masters, which runs from June 25 through August 23 at the Rose Footprint Theatre, one of three venues on the campus. Carlo Goldoni’s 1743 play is a staple of the Italian Commedia dell’arte tradition. But even as Shakespeare & Company contemporizes the action in its hilarious adaptation by director Jenna Ware, it is actually returning to the roots of Commedia dell’arte.

“Early Commedia was street theater, improvisational theater,” Ware explains.

Like a modern improvisational troupe, the 18thcentury players were given general scenarios and scene descriptions on which to hang such stock characters as the doddering old miser, the flirty sexpot, the hot-blooded fighter, the strutting lawyer and the pedantic professor. Then they set them loose in front of an audience.

“Goldoni was one of the first to begin scripting the stories and writing lines for the actors to memorize,” says Ware. “Legend has it that some of the actors were not pleased.”

Perhaps, then, this gives Ware, and her players, a more authentic sense of how Commedia may have actually existed in its heyday.

“When I create adaptations, I am trying to take scripted Commedia back to a more relaxed, freewheeling street feel,” she says. “The actors sing, run through fields, clash swords and play with the audience. This freedom allows the actors to bring their own life to the characters, to invite the audience into their story and have fun with it.” (To wit: this production requires the services of a fight choreographer.)

The most freewheeling character in The Servant of Two Masters is Truffaldino, the character around which all the action swirls and one of the great comic characters in world theater. Truffaldino is a servant

COME EXPLORE

who, essentially, wants (or needs) two paychecks. Actually, the perpetually famished servant craves two dinners and thinks this is the best way to go about getting them (he’s so hungry at one point, he may or may not have eaten Beatrice’s overly pampered cat).

Long story short: Truffaldino works for Beatrice but sees an opportunity to hire himself out to Florindo and keep the extra freelance work a secret from each of his two masters. There’s a catch, er, a platter full of catches.

As the play opens, Beatrice is disguised as her dead brother to collect a dowry owed “him” by the father of the woman whose hand he had been promised. Beatrice wants to use the money to escape with her lover who is, yes, Florindo. Further weirdness: Florindo is also the murderer of her brother.

From there, things spiral into mass confusion as this comedy of pratfalls, slapstick and mistaken identities culminates in one memorable scene where Truffaldino is required to serve two dinners at once to two different masters. The Servant of Two Masters is reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and All’s Well that Ends Well, spiced with a little Marx Brothers and I Love Lucy.

The same spirit of present-meets-past can be found in the venue where The Servant of Two Masters will be staged, the Rose Footprint Theatre. Ultimately,

this site will be home to an authentic reconstruction of an Elizabethan theater, The Rose Playhouse. The Rose was Shakespeare’s first London theater and the only sixteenth-century playhouse whose foundation still exists today.

The original Rose was located within the shadows of the more famous Globe Theatre in an area of London known as Banksyde on south side of the Thames, a safe distance away from the Puritans on the other side.

The district around the Rose in Elizabethan London was a sort of proto-Vegas, filled with bars, brothels, gambling dens and lots of theatrics, on and off the stage. To re-create that atmosphere for the 21st century, Shakespeare & Company plans to nestle the new Rose among a village of mid-19th century farm buildings, an eighteenth-century barn (for rehearsals), period-style gardens and a new museum. Think Sturbridge Village set in Elizabethan England.

For now, though, the Rose Footprint Theatre’s only similarity to the original is that it has the actual dimensions of the Rose Playhouse. The stage is ample but simple and the seating is on bleachers under a large festive tent.

Lawn chairs are provided and there is open ground for picnicking. Seating is general admission. What better way to level the playing field among the teeming masses, the better to appreciation the shenanigans of Truffaldino. E

Bennington Vermont!

Only 30 miles from Hoosick Street in Troy.

Downtown Welcome Center

Monday-Saturday 215 South St. • 802-442-5758 Brochures • Activities • Directions Menus • Walking Tours • Touring Bikes Public Restrooms • Recommendations • Maps

Vermont Specialty Products Sidewalk Cafes • Galleries • Studios Entertainment • Shopping • Events Restaurants • Gifts • Historical District Public Art Exhibits • Lodging ATM • River Walk

Visit www.BetterBennington.com

Alice Neel/Erastus Salisbury Field

Painting the People

JULY 5 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2

75 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont benningtonmuseum.org | 802.447.1571 20 minutes from The Clark, 30 minutes from Mass MoCA Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900), Luman Preston Norton, c.1840(detail), Bennington Museum Collection Alice Neel (1900-1984), Jenny Brand, 1969 (detail), ©Estate of Alice Neel, Brand Family Collection

THE

new BENNINGTON MUSEUM — Get into It!

an extraordinary selection of A Few Asides Shakespeare and Company moved to its present location in downtown Lenox in 2000, after 23 years of making its home at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s celebrated house and gardens. The “new” location on Kemble Street has allowed the company to spread its wings and to expand its productions into other theater venues.

To wit, coming to the Tina Packer Playhouse, which seats more than 400 people, are productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (June 21 to Aug. 30); The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (July 4 to Aug. 24); and Henry IV, Parts I and II (Aug. 2 to Aug. 31).

And coming to the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, the largest building on the property, are productions of Shakespeare’s Will (May 24 to Aug. 24); Julius Caesar (June 27 to Aug. 30); and Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Aug. 6 to Sept. 14).

The grounds are spacious and relaxing and picnics are encouraged, though there is a food venue on site, Josie’s Place. All the world’s a stage, it seems, in Lenox, Mass.

» SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY, 70 Kemble St, Lenox, Mass., (413) 637-1199, shakespeare.org

jewelry and fine gifts

craftsmarket & gallery

open seven days a week

jewelry wood pottery clothing bags toys

262 north street • bennington, vermont • 802-447-0488 • www.hawkinshouse.com

40 Years Strong!

It’s worth the trip!

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CRAFT BEERS CIGARS SMOKING ACCESSORIES

CIGARETTES SUPER LOW DISCOUNT PRICES!

Cartons • Packs

WINE • BEER • MAGAZINES 340 North St., Bennington, VT (802) 442-2861 Mon-Sat 9am-9pm • Sun 9am-5pm

between lenox and stockbridge

june 28 saturday 5:45pm, Shed A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood with Garrison Keillor Live broadcast

garrison keillor National Sponsors: Holiday Vacations and Ford Motor Company

july 3 thursday & july 4 friday 8pm, Shed James Taylor James Taylor returns to his beloved Tanglewood with his extraordinary band for two spectacular performances.

james taylor

Proceeds from the July 4 concert to benefit Tanglewood.

july 5 saturday 8:30pm, Shed

Opening Night at Tanglewood

888-266-1200 • tanglewood.org

boston symphony orchestra summer 2014

The Robert and Jane Mayer Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra renée fleming William Eddins and Rob Fisher, conductors Renée Fleming, soprano Celebrated soprano Renée Fleming opens the 2014 BSO season at Tanglewood in an all-American program. With the Boston Symphony, she will present great works of the American concert hall and opera stage, plus favorites from musical theater and popular genres.

july 6 sunday

2:30pm, Shed The Cynthia and Oliver Curme Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Asher Fisch, conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano asher fisch BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 LISZT Les Préludes WAGNER Excerpts from Die Meistersinger

july 11 friday

2:30pm, Shed The Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, gabriela montero conductor Gabriela Montero, piano Marjorie Owens, soprano (Aida) Elizabeth Bishop, mezzo-soprano (Amneris) Issachah Savage, tenor (Radames) Stephen Powell, baritone (Amonasro) Morris Robinson, bass (Ramfis) Julien Robbins, bass (The King) Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 VERDI Overture to Nabucco VERDI “Va, pensiero” (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco VERDI Finale of Aida, Act II Family Day at Tanglewood, see tanglewood.org

8:30pm, Shed UnderScore Friday* Boston Symphony Orchestra Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor Thomas Hampson, baritone STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s christoph von Merry Pranks dohnányi COPLAND Selection of Old American Songs BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 Date Night package available, see tanglewood.org

july 19 saturday

8:30pm, Shed The Jenkins Family Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons, conductor Håkan Hardenberger, trumpet BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 MARTINSSON Bridge, Trumpet Concerto No. 1 TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio italien

håkan hardenberger

july 20 sunday

2:30pm, Shed The Stephen and Dorothy Weber Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons, conductor Joshua Bell, violin joshua bell ROUSE Rapture LALO Symphonie espagnole, for violin and orchestra BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

july 25 friday

anne-sophie mutter

july 12 saturday 8:30pm, Shed

Tanglewood Gala

july 27 sunday

2:30pm, Shed The Canyon Ranch Concert Boston Pops Orchestra Keith Lockhart, conductor Jason Alexander, vocalist Singer, dancer, and master jason alexander of comedic timing, Jason Alexander is best-known for his appearances on television (as George Costanza in Seinfeld) and in film. A Broadway veteran and Tony Awardwinner, with the Boston Pops he will perform selections from The Music Man, Pippin, and Merrily We Roll Along, plus a few surprises.

july 18 friday

Fireworks to follow the concert on July 4.

8:30pm, Shed The Linde Family Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons, conductor Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin ALL-DVORˇ ÁK PROGRAM The Noonday Witch Violin Concerto Symphony No. 8

july 13 sunday

The Caroline and James Taylor Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra andris nelsons Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (Strauss) Andris Nelsons, conductor Sophie Bevan, soprano (Sophie) Angela Denoke, soprano (Marschallin) Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano (Octavian) STRAUSS Excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances RAVEL Bolero

8:30pm, Shed The Joseph C. McNay/New England Foundation Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor paul lewis Paul Lewis, piano BEETHOVEN Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus MOZART Piano Concerto No. 12 in A, K.414 MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, Italian Date Night package available, see tanglewood.org

july 26 saturday

8:30pm, Shed The Evelyn and Samuel Lourie Memorial Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor sarah connolly Camilla Tilling, soprano Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor MAHLER Symphony No. 2, Resurrection

august 1 friday 8:30pm, Shed UnderScore Friday* The Serge and Olga Koussevitzky Memorial Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Marcelo Lehninger, conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano jean-yves thibaudet Thomas Rolfs, trumpet (Shostakovich) TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 1 SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4 Sponsored by Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club Capital Region Night, see tanglewood.org

august 2 saturday 8:30pm, Shed

John Williams’ Film Night

The George and Roberta Berry Supporting Organization Concert john williams Boston Pops Orchestra John Williams, conductor BUTI Young Artists Chorus Boston Children’s Chorus John Williams’ Film Night has become one of the most eagerly anticipated evenings of the Tanglewood season. Join Mr. Williams, the Boston Pops, and special guests for a celebration of the music of the silver screen.

august 3 sunday 2:30pm, Shed Boston Symphony Orchestra Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor Augustin Hadelich, violin HAYDN Symphony No. 6, augustin hadelich Le Matin MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K.218 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 Sponsored by EMC Corporation

Chocolate Dessert Brunch, see tanglewood.org *UnderScore Friday Series At these performances, patrons will hear comments about the program directly from an onstage BSO musician.

august 5 tuesday

august 15 friday

august 23 saturday

8:30pm, Shed

8:30pm, Shed UnderScore Friday* The Jean Thaxter Brett Memorial Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Stéphane Denève, conductor Emanuel Ax, piano elena manistina Elena Manistina, mezzo-soprano Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor PROKOFIEV Alexander Nevsky Microbrewery Beer tasting, see tanglewood.org Pioneer Valley Night, see tanglewood.org

8:30pm, Shed Boston Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Kirill Gerstein, piano BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a kirill gerstein Theme of Paganini RESPIGHI Roman Festivals; Fountains of Rome; Pines of Rome

Tanglewood on Parade

The Gregory E. Bulger Foundation Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra Boston Pops Orchestra Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra Stéphane Denève, Keith Lockhart, Andris Poga, Leonard Slatkin, and John Williams, conductors SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture GERSHWIN (arr. BENNETT) Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture GLINKA Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla BRUBECK Blue Rondo à la Turk Arr. SEBESKY The ’20s Roar WILLIAMS The Book Thief WILLIAMS “Swing, Swing, Swing!” from 1941 TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture Fireworks to follow the concert.

august 8 friday

8:30pm, Shed Boston Symphony Orchestra Leonard Slatkin, conductor Gil Shaham, violin John Ferillo, oboe BOLCOM Circus Overture leonard slatkin (world premiere; BSO commission) BARLOW The Winter’s Passed, for oboe and strings BARBER Violin Concerto ELGAR Enigma Variations Celebrating Leonard Slatkin’s 70th birthday Date Night package available, see tanglewood.org

august 9 saturday 8:30pm, Shed Boston Symphony Orchestra Stéphane Denève, conductor Leonidas Kavakos, violin DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun leonidas kavakos SZYMANOWSKI Violin Concerto No. 2 TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4

tanglewood wine & food classic august 7 – august 10

The Tanglewood Wine & Food Classic features wines from around the world, East Coast chefs, and locally sourced foods, enjoyed in an incomparable setting on the Tanglewood grounds.

grand tasting sat, august 9 12noon–3pm, Hawthorne Tent, $90 For full details visit tanglewoodwineandfoodclassic.com.

august 10 sunday 2;30pm, Shed The George W. and Florence N. Adams Concert Boston Symphony Orchestra David Zinman, conductor Yo-Yo Ma, cello yo-yo ma ALL-TCHAIKOVSKY PROGRAM Polonaise from Eugene Onegin Andante cantabile for cello and strings Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello and orchestra Symphony No. 6, Pathétique

august 16 saturday

8:30pm, Shed Boston Symphony Orchestra Bramwell Tovey, conductor Nicholas Phan, tenor (Candide) Anna Christy, soprano (Cunegonde) Kathryn Leemhuis, bramwell tovey mezzo-soprano (Paquette) Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano (Old Lady) Beau Gibson, tenor (Governor, Vanderdendur, Ragotski) Paul LaRosa, baritone (Maximilian, Captain) Richard Suart, baritone (Voltaire, Pangloss, Martin, Cacambo) TMC Vocal Soloists Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor BERNSTEIN Candide Concert performance sung in English.

august 17 sunday

2:30pm, Shed The Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor nikolai lugansky Nikolai Lugansky, piano STRAVINSKY Scherzo fantastique RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3 STRAVINSKY The Firebird (complete)

The 2014 Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert is supported by generous endowments established in perpetuity by Dr. Raymond and Hannah H. Schneider, and Diane H. Lupean.

august 22 friday

8:30pm, Shed The Carol and Joe Reich Concert Boston Pops Orchestra Keith Lockhart, conductor “Oz with Orchestra” The Wizard of Oz was a technical keith lockhart marvel for the MGM studio in the late 1930s. MGM has stunningly re-mastered this timeless classic, and in this version, produced by John Goberman, the brilliantly restored images are accompanied by the Boston Pops playing entirely new transcriptions of Harold Arlen’s brilliant lost scores.

Hearing Judy Garland’s original 1939 vocals backed by lush, live orchestration will transport children and adults alike. With this presentation of The Wizard of Oz on the big screen, moviegoers will be treated to the Oscar-winning film as it has never been experienced before.

august 31 sunday 2:30pm, Shed Tony Bennett with very special guest Antonia Bennett Not to be missed, the incomparable Tony Bennett tony bennett returns to Tanglewood for one concert only, bringing over five decades of entertainment to the Shed.

august 24 sunday

2:30pm, Shed Boston Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano Nicole Cabell and Meredith Hansen, sopranos nicole cabell Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano Noah Stewart and Alex Richardson, tenors John Relyea, bass-baritone Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM Choral Fantasy Symphony No. 9

VIP Passes available for this concert.

Priority parking passes also available for $25.

ozawa hall concerts

Celebrating Ozawa Hall’s 20th Anniversary Kenny Barron Trio (6/27) Boston Symphony Chamber Players (7/1) TMC Orchestra (7/6)

Sponsored by The Red Lion Inn, Country Curtains, and Blantyre

Chanticleer (7/9) Emerson String Quartet (7/10)

One Day University at Tanglewood The acclaimed adult education series.

Visit tanglewood.org/onedayu.

Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music (7/15) The Daniel and Lynne Ann Shapiro Concert

august 28 thursday

Festival of Contemporary Music (7/17–21)

8pm, Shed Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! NPR’s oddly informative weekly hour-long news quiz program is again live at Tanglewood. The Peabody Award-winning series offers a fast-paced, irreverent look at the week’s news, hosted by Peter Sagal along with judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell.

august 29 friday 7pm, Shed Train Join this Grammy Awardwinning band as they play all of their hits in their return to Tanglewood.

Thomas Hampson & Wolfram Rieger (7/16) The Knights with Dawn Upshaw and Håkan Hardenberger (7/23) National Youth Orchestra of the USA (7/24) The Louise and Henry Leander Concert TMC Orchestra (7/28) Boston Lyric Opera Lizzie Borden (7/31) The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (8/6) In Honor of Paul L. Robert Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, & Yo-Yo Ma (8/7) The Walter and Alice Gorham Foundation Concert TMC Orchestra (8/11) Jeremy Denk (8/13)

VIP Passes available for this concert.

Priority parking passes also available for $25.

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (8/14)

7pm, Shed Josh Groban with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra Keith Lockhart, conductor Members of the Tanglewood josh groban Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor One of today’s most popular music superstars, Josh Groban has become a Tanglewood favorite.

He partners with the Pops, Keith Lockhart, and chorus for a spectacular close to the 2014 summer season.

Family Concert featuring the Boston Cello Quartet (8/23) Supported by The Edward Handelman Fund

august 30 saturday

shed prices

Lawn: $10–$27.50

The Last Southern Gentlemen with Ellis Marsalis, Jr. and Delfeayo Marsalis (8/17)

Maria Schneider Orchestra (8/24)

Ozawa Hall Tickets: $11–$64

Visit tanglewood.org for programs and details. official chauffeured transportation of the boston symphony orchestra

tanglewood.org • 888-266-1200

Inside Shed: $15–$121

off the beaten path FORREST PARK, Rose Garden

The First

Springfield

It’s time to return to this underdog city

A

lthough Springfield, Mass. is called the City of Firsts, the first thing you have to do is find it. That may sound crazy since it is right there, off the interstate, for anyone to see.

And yet, Springfield, the fourth-largest city in New England (pop. 153,000), still seems hidden in plain sight somehow.

Situated near the intersection of Interstate 91 and the Massachusetts Turnpike alongside the Connecticut River and at the confluence of two other rivers (Chicopee and Westfield), the city is simply taken for granted by people who speed through it on the

28 EXPLORE

By Alan Bisbort » Photos courtesy Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism

highway. Most carloads are headed north to the more rarefied towns in the Pioneer Valley that are home to Smith, Amherst, Hampshire and Mount Holyoke colleges, or east toward Boston or west toward the Adirondacks and Albany. About all one can glean from this sort of pass-through is that this old city is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame, which you really can’t miss because it’s housed in a giant ballshaped complex that resembles a grounded UFO hard by the interstate.

Full confession: I am guilty as charged of ignoring Springfield on my many passes through on the way

to Vermont and Canada. Fuller confession: I recently left the highway and entered the city — ostensibly to take my son to the Basketball Hall of Fame — and I have been back a second time for an encore. I am now convinced that 1) its nickname, The City of Firsts, is fully justified and 2) this city should not be a stranger to those millions who pass through it. As one native I met while having lunch at Chef Wayne’s unsurpassable Big Mamou (see below) put it, “Springfield is an incredible gem that is sinfully underappreciated. It’s got great bones, you know, great structure, great housing, a wonderful symphony, a

Springfield published the first American-English dictionary (Merriam Webster, 1805); was the first city to use the assembly line in manufacturing (1819); produced the first “horseless carriage” (1825); patented and manufactured vulcanized rubber (Charles Goodyear, 1844); the first gas-powered car (Duryea Brothers, 1893), the first public swimming pool (Forest Park, 1899), the first motorcycle company (Indian, 1901); and, of course, it was the first place where basketball was played, the game invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 so that young men at Springfield’s YMCA could get exercise in the winter.

Springfield has produced many other luminaries, including James McNeill Whistler, Daniel Shays, Johnny Appleseed, Timothy Leary, Dr. Seuss and Taj Mahal. The Springfield area is home to an equally eclectic array of businesses, including Milton Bradley, Smith & Wesson, Breck Shampoo, MassMutual insurance and Friendly’s. This is also at the heart of the so-called Knowledge Corridor, a swath of brainiac power that includes 32 colleges and universities, biotech firms and high-speed computer centers. How can such a breeding ground be so hidden in plain sight?

The short answer to why Springfield fell off the map is that the city planners in the 1960s made some terrible decisions in the name of urban renewal, just as they did in Hartford and Albany. One of the worst for Springfield was building Interstate 91 in such an elevated, landscape-obscuring way as to divide a city upon itself and hide its most appealing natural feature — the Connecticut, the longest river in New England — behind a bunker of asphalt. Thus, curious motorists are given few clues as to the hidden treasures that lie within those street grids below them. Among the dumbest of the other moves was to raze some historic structures, including Unity Church, the first commission by Henry Hobson Richardson, one of America’s pioneering architects. continued on page 30 

Photo by Susan Bibeau

jazz club, great and diverse restaurants, but it has suffered from gross incompetence by the city officials for as long as I can remember.”

This chatty local, a lawyer and selfdescribed “contrarian,” would have gone on if my attention hadn’t been diverted by the chicken etouffee and crawfish quesadillas that had just arrived at my table. By the time I looked up again, he was neck deep in his Bourbon Street cheese bread and Louisiana Lenny’s Sausage-n-Chicken Ya’Ya and I didn’t have the heart to interrupt him.

I couldn’t help but wonder, as I smacked my lips and looked around contentedly at the crowded dining room, “THIS is Springfield?! Who knew?”

Among the first of the “firsts” is that name. Springfield. This was the first city in America to be called Springfield, a name that is now applied to 38 cities, towns and townships across the country, not to mention being forever linked to Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa Simpson, as their fictional hometown (Mike Scully, a writer for The Simpsons, is from Springfield, Mass.).

Springfield was founded as Agawam Plantation in 1636 by the restless Puritan William Pynchon. The original settlement — like Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor, Connecticut, to the south around the same time — was built next to the Connecticut River to take advantage of the fertile farmland in the watershed and the liquid highway leading all the way to the Long Island Sound. In 1641, Pynchon renamed his settlement Springfield, honoring his former hometown of Springfield, Essex, England. (Today, a suburb of Springfield is called Agawam, home of Six Flags New England.) Sticking with this “first” metaphor, Pynchon was the author of the first banned book in America, entitled The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption. Published in London in 1650, it slammed Calvinism as too hardbound and cruel, and copies of it were burned on the Boston Common.

Among the other impressive firsts:

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off the beaten path

DR. SEUSS garden sculpture at the Quadrangle

S

o, what lies beneath that ribbon of highway?

For starters, Springfield is a one-stop shop for museums. Indeed, in one quadrangular block off State Street, the city is home to five separate museums.

The Michelle & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts contains a permanent collection of work by homeboy Whistler, as well as Impressionist and Dutch Renaissance paintings, and augments these treasures with traveling exhibitions. The George Walter Vincent Smith Museum, next door, has the largest collection of Chinese cloisonne outside of China, as well as an amazing collection of Asian suits of armor. The Springfield Science Museum has America’s first planetarium (built 1931), and a large dinosaur exhibit.

The Connecticut Valley Historical Society is devoted to “The Great River” and its people. Finally, the most recent addition to the Quadrangle is the Museum of

If You Go… Do this…

SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS

21 Edwards St. 1-800-625-7738 springfieldmuseums.org TITANIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.

208 Main St. (inside Henry’s Jewelry Building) (413) 543-4770 titanic1.org ST. JOHN’S CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

643 Union St (413) 734-2283 SPRINGFIELD ARMORY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

1 Armory St #2 (413) 734-8551 nps.gov NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

1000 Hall Fame Ave. (413) 781-6500 hoophall.com

30 EXPLORE

FOREST PARK

PANJABI TADKA

89 Longhill St (413) 734-104

1688 Main St. 413-732-1453 panjabitadka.com Indian cuisine

SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

623 Main St Agawam, MA sixflags.com/newengland

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CHEF WAYNE’S BIG MAMOU

63 Liberty St. 413-732-1011 chefwaynes-bigmamou.com Cajun cooking STUDENT PRINCE CAFÉ AND FORT DINING ROOM

8 Fort St. 413-788-6628 studentprince.com Classic German restaurant and beer hall.

KATZ ‘N’ DAOGS

1244 Main St. 413-205-2993 katzsndaogs.com New York Delicatessen

Stay here…

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1060 Main St. 413-739-8510 redrosepizzeria.com Landmark Italian restaurant run by three generations of the Caputo family, from Naples.

800 Hall of Fame Ave (413) 886-8000 hilton.com (next door to the Basketball Hall of Fame)

Springfield History, which showcases the innovations that transformed Springfield into a progressive center of abolitionism and industry. Each museum in the Quadrangle has something unique and suitable for all ages. And the five museums surround a national memorial to the city’s most beloved native son, Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel.

Beside the Quadrangle, in Merrick Park, stands The Puritan, a statue by the granddaddy of American outdoor sculpture, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It depicts Deacon Samuel Chapin, an early settler of Springfield, and the statue is now the symbol of the city.

If that’s not enough, the Titanic Historical Society, Inc., has a small museum that dates back to 1963 and contains rare Titanic survivor artifacts and other fascinating exhibits related to the 1912 tragedy. The society is located in Indian Orchard, a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Springfield.

Adding to this embarrassment of riches, and an easy three-block walk away from the Quadrangle, is a veritable smorgasbord of great restaurants, clubs, bars, concert venues and architecture to suit all tastes and lifestyles in an area known locally as the “Club Quarter.” The downtown area is relatively flat and most of the signature attractions are within a 10-block radius.

For more insight into the abolitionist spirit that made Springfield a progressive haven, visit St. John’s Congregational Church. Founded in 1844 as the Sanford Street “Free Church,” St. John’s was a vital cog in the abolitionist movement, being the place where John Brown met Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth and where he founded his militant corps, League of Gileadites, after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. While living in Springfield, John Brown attended services here from 1846 to 1850, and the church still displays his personal Bible.

As you move eastward away from the river, the city gets hilly, and at the top of one promontory sits the venerable Springfield Armory. Founded in 1777 by Gen. George Washington and Henry Knox, this repository was vital to the success of the War for Independence. In 1787, the armory was nearly commandeered by Daniel Shays, a farmer who’d led a rebellion against the nascent American government.

Soon thereafter, partly in response to Shays’ Rebellion, the U.S. Constitutional Convention convened.

The Armory was also the manufacturer of the U.S. military’s firearms from 1794 to 1968, when it was shut down by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, to the city’s collective chagrin. Today, it is a National Park, National Historic Site, and features a museum

2 0 1 4

P R E M I E R

S P O N S O R

See stomping, roaring, robotic creatures come to life! Experience the thrill of meeting these enormous prehistoric animals up close, including Maiasaura, Apatosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, and T-rex, along with a Woolly Mammoth and a family of Smilodon saber-toothed cats.

JUNE 14 - SEPTEMBER 14 1910 1960 FROM O’KEEFFE TO ROCKWELL Fifty-seven masterworks from the Brooklyn Museum exploring the subject of modernity in America will be on display. The leading artists of the day are featured, including O’Keeffe, Avery, Hartley, Davis, Dove, Kent, Nadelman, Marsh and Rockwell, each of whom addressed the changes brought on by two world wars, the Depression, and modern technology. American Moderns features works in a wide array of artistic styles, including Cubism, Synchromism, Expressionism, and Social Realism.

American Moderns, 1910-1960: From O’Keeffe to Rockwell is organized by The Brooklyn Museum.

Sponsored by

and Lyman and Leslie Wood

Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887-1986). 2 Yellow Leaves (Yellow Leaves), 1928. Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 1/8 in. (101.6 x 76.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Georgia O’Keeffe, 87.136.6.

JUNE 6 AUGUST 31

21 Edwards Street, Springfield, MA 01103 • 413.263.6800 • springfieldmuseums.org •

/springfieldmuseums • Easy access from I-90

$5 special exhibition fee for all visitors ages 3 and up in addition to museum admission to view Life Through Time and American Moderns.

off the beaten path GOLIATH at Six Flags New England — PHOTO BY CAROL HOLMES

BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

that includes one of the world’s largest collections of firearms.

For obvious reasons, Springfield has also been called Hoop City, being the place where Dr. James Naismith developed his “Basket Ball” in 1891. Most people reading this have visited Cooperstown and spent an enjoyable day at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

So, think of it this way: Only two hours farther away is another hallowed sports hall, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame that is worth a separate weekend getaway.

Upon entering, the voice of Marv Albert directs you to “the Honor’s Ring” on the third floor, which overlooks the Jerry Colangelo Court of Dreams, the dome’s centerpiece. While basketballs bounce below, you walk the long circular hall around the court, learning the history of the game. Everybody you’d expect to be enshrined is here but then multiply that by 10 for those you’ve never heard of but who are also here, and also as fully deserving.

The long story short: Scottish immigrant James Naismith was born in Ottawa in 1861, but after both parents died of typhoid fever in 1870, he was orphaned.

Having been instilled with great religious piety, he developed a philosophy that helped him survive.

32 EXPLORE

In a nutshell, according to the curators here, it was that the “essence of humanity was in the triangular relationship between the mind, body and spirit … physical activity and exercise enhanced intellectual curiosity which in turn nurtured the spiritual realm.”

Naismith was both a great athlete and great teacher and while at the Springfield YMCA, he propounded “muscular Christianity” of which basketball was just a part. In 1892, the first rules were published, and outside of replacing the original peach baskets with nets and adding a backboard, the sport has remained almost entirely unchanged since then, which cannot be said about any of the other American sports.

If you’ve forgotten how great players such as Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Billy Cunningham, Walt Frazier, Wes Unseld, Pistol Pete Maravich were, then you need this refresher course. Archival footage and radio broadcasts are played to show the great moments in the sport. And the three floors contain enough artifacts to sate any Basketball Jones. There are also many hands-on exhibits for the kids, including playing the role of sportscaster and shooting hoops at peach baskets, and the visit here is a full-day affair.

If the kids want more, there’s always Six Flags New England, located across Springfield’s South End

Bridge in Agawam. It’s the largest amusement park in New England, with ten roller-coasters, including “Bizarro,” the No. 1 roller-coaster in the world, a water park, kids’ rides, and an outdoor concert stadium.

Finally, you simply must drive through Forest Park, if not spend half a day exploring this treasure by foot or bike. Designed by the genius of American landscape architecture Frederick Law Olmsted, Forest Park, at 735 acres, is nearly as big as his more famous Central Park in New York City. It features the Zoo at Forest Park, a small, nonprofit venue that’s perfect for the littlest kids; a 31-acre lake; three other ponds; numerous playgrounds; a formal rose garden; 38 tennis courts; a skating arena; numerous basketball and bocce courts; lawn bowling fields; Victorian promenades and water gardens; tree groves; baseball diamonds; numerous statues; an aquatic park; and the Barney Carriage House, where many weddings take place. When you are through touring, you exit into the community of Forest Park, with block after block of well-tended Victorian-style homes.

Forest Park is just another totally unexpected surprise. Springfield really is the City of Firsts … and of lasting impressions. E

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The Hills are Alive ...

Why Stowe is a great summer weekend getaway

By Stacey Morris Photos courtesy Stowe Area Association

T

he thing about Stowe, Vermont, is that it’s far from everything and close to nothing … if you’re counting strip malls and shopping centers as something. And that’s just the way its handful of residents and droves of tourists prefer it.

Set smack in the middle of the Green Mountain state, Stowe is a mountain village that closely mirrors the Bavarian Alps in topography and in architectural style. To the west are Lake Champlain and Burlington and due east is the New Hampshire border. Handsdown one of the most visited ski resort towns in the

Northeast, it’s only been in the last 10 or 15 years that Stowe was thought of as a summer destination.

Sheri Baraw Smith, 48, grew up in her family’s business, the Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa, and remembers the stillness of summer back in the ’70s. “When I was a kid there was almost no tourism in the summer; winter was the busy season,” says Smith, who is now vice president of the resort. “It still is, but things have changed, and there’s something going on here pretty much year-round.”

The number of year-round residents, or the “9/11-

timesunion.com/explore 35

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just the two of us

If You Go…

A SUGAR SHACK used for maple sugar processing.

ers” as they’re sometimes called, is growing as well.

Many work in industries where telecommuting is an option. Even with the slightly larger population of about 4,700, Smith says Stowe’s charm is a communitywide effort. “A lot of the dirt roads are now paved, and there’s been a lot of development, especially on the mountain,” she says. “But the town really works together to allow growth, while keeping the quintessential New England feel. Changes are made in a managed fashion.”

Stowe’s downtown is a quaint cross section of streets that are Rockwellian in their innocence.

Church steeples tower over coffee shops and general stores. And there’s an abundance of individually owned boutiques, restaurants, and retailers, including a family owned supermarket. There’s nary a chain around for miles … unless you count the Mobil station on the corner — and even that is forgivable with its brick and clapboard exterior and dozen-plus varieties of Green Mountain Coffee lined neatly at attention near the door.

According to long-time resident Carol Crawford, chains don’t fare well in Stowe. “We had a McDonald’s here a while back but it closed because the locals wouldn’t support it,” she says with a smile.

“Now it’s Sushi Yoshi, and it’s always packed.”

Crawford, who works as concierge at Topnotch Resort, fell in love with Stowe after graduating the University of Vermont in Burlington. “I love living here,” she says. “We all know each other and we all look out for each other. The degrees of separation aren’t six around here.”

The town has a few bed and breakfasts in its center, many of which are on the registry of historic places, but much of the lodging is discreetly tucked out of town along Route 108, most of them momand-pop motels with rooms laid neatly in rectangular strips. Luxury-end resorts include the Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa, open since 1963, and Topnotch, the AAA four-diamond resort that reopened

a year ago after a massive overhaul. Topnotch’s campus includes several restaurants, a tennis academy, world-class spa, an equestrian center, and its own outfitting barn.

One iconic stop is the Trapp Family Lodge, a 96room hotel that sits at the top of Trapp Hill. The chalet-style hotel is as much of a tourist destination as a lodging option, thanks to the Von Trapp family’s enduring fame from The Sound of Music. It’s not unusual to see tour buses unload visitors who roam the main building’s hallways studying framed family photos and album covers as if they were milling through the Louvre. Also on the property is a sugar shack, a concert meadow that bustles during the summer, and a brewery that’s slated to open in July.

C

heck out any tourism website for Stowe and you’ll see colorful montages of hikers, paddleboarders, cyclists, swimmers, and of course, skiers.

The abundance of protected land means endless hiking, biking, and paddle-boating options in the summer. The town’s five-and-a-half-mile recreation path is bordered by a river, making biking or walking a picturesque endeavor. Meanwhile, the nearby Waterbury Reservoir is a magnet for the watersport crowd, as are the Lamoille and Winooski rivers.

Perhaps it’s the pristine air or the remote location, but Stowe in recent years has increasingly attracted the wellness crowd. Several major spas are located there, including the Spa at Topnotch, The Spa at Stoweflake, the spa at the Trapp Family Lodge, and the Spa at the Mountain House.

Topnotch’s spa reopened a year ago after a major renovation of the resort, and features a solarium, steam rooms and saunas, cardiovascular room, 26 treatment rooms, and more than 100 different treatments and wellness prescriptions, including energy work, personal training, Decleor facials, four-hand massage, Lomi Lomi. The spa’s signature is the Mount Mansfield Saucha, a two-hour wrap-

Eat Here…

Do This…

SUSHI YOSHI

BEN & JERRY’S

1128 Mountain Road (802) 253-4135 sushistowe.com Hibachi, Chinese favorites, and sushi bar all under one roof.

1281 Waterbury Stowe Road (866) 258-6877 benjerry.com Take the factory tour, and the samples that are offered along the way.

FLANNEL

Topnotch Resort 4000 Mountain Road (802) 760-6330 topnotchresort.com/ explore/dining/flannel Chef Cortney Quinn manages to spin local ingredients into both comfort food and haute cuisine.

THE HELEN DAY ART CENTER

90 Pond St. (802) 253-8358 A community arts center and gallery with rotating exhibitions by local and national artists.

BINGHAM’S FALLS

EDELWEISS MOUNTAIN DELI

2251 Mountain Road (802) 253-4034 A Jewish deli in a Bavarian setting? Yes. TRATTORIA LA FESTA

4080 Upper Mountain Road (802) 253-8480 trattoriastowe.com Southern Italian favorites GRACIE’S

18 Edson Hill Road (802) 253-8741 gracies.com Steaks, jumbo fried shrimp, clam chowder and other forms of comfort food PLATE

91 Main St. (802) 253-2691 California-style, glutenfree-friendly cuisine

northeastwaterfalls.com A pristine series of cascades, waterfalls, and swimming holes that are a 1.5-mile hike off of Route 108.

GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE CAFÉ AND VISITOR’S CENTER

1 Rotarian Place Way Waterbury (877) 879-2326 greenmountaincoffee.com Take self-guided tours in an historic, remodeled train station and sample flavors of coffee.

THE STOWE RECREATION PATH

gostowe.com/thingstodo/ sports/recreation-path The 5.3 mile paved path meanders by the West Branch River, swimming holes, and plenty of picnic tables.

timesunion.com/explore 37

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just the two of us massage that spa director Alexandra Sharpe-Keene says is a favorite recipe among clients for skin and body rejuvenation.

“We don’t do treatments that are dictated by product companies,” she explains. “We create treatments that are truly nurturing to our clients.”

Stoweflake’s spa features a solarium where guests wash away the stress under the 12-foot-high Hydrotherapy Waterfalls or in the Hungarian Mineral Soaking Pool. “At Stoweflake we emphasize wellness through lifestyle,” says Smith. “We don’t do things like Botox treatments, because we believe in looking and feeling good through healthy living.”

Aside from spas, the region has a sizable massage studio population (undoubtedly partly due to legions of sore skiers), yoga and Pilates studios.

And just outside of town in Waterbury Center is Sunflower Natural Foods, where owner John Di Carlo offers samples of roasted non-GMO corn at the register while patiently answering questions about herbal supplements, the latest organic tea to hit the shelves, and his favorite grass-fed beef in the freezer.

It was the lure of a more even-paced, wellnessoriented way of life that eventually brought Smith back to her native turf. “I moved away from Stowe for a time, but my heart brought me back,” says Smith. “There’s something about the vibe here and I think it’s why Stowe has become a year-round destination. Visitors tell me all the time that the friendliness of the people and the beauty of the mountains make them feel relaxed and at peace. E

If You Go… (Cont’d) THE WATERBURY RESERVOIR

Special Summer Events  STOWEFLAKE BALLOON FESTIVAL

July 11-13 stoweflake.com/activities_balloon_festival.aspx CONCERTS AT THE MEADOW

Trapp Family Lodge trappfamily.com/activities/meadow_concerts Take in a concert with mountaintop vistas as the sun sets.

STOWE THEATRE GUILD

Performances this season include On The Town and The Secret Garden. stowetheatre.com

177 Reservoir Road Waterbury Center (802) 244-1226 vtstateparks.com/ htm/waterbury.htm Plenty of swimming and watersport options on Vermont’s 9thlargest body of water UMIAK OUTDOOR OUTFITTERS

849 South Main St. (802) 253-2317 umiak.com Paddle sport rentals and tours of all kinds along the scenic Lamoille and Winooski rivers.

Stay Here…

TOPNOTCH

4000 Mountain Road (802) 760-6330 topnotchresort.com A favorite of skiers, spa junkies, and tennis lovers, with its Tennis Academy. Pet-friendly, elegant, and tranquil.

THE TRAPP FAMILY LODGE

700 Trapp Hill Road (802) 253-8511 trappfamily.com A combination hotel and museum dedicated to the Von Trapp legacy.

STOWEFLAKE MOUNTAIN RESORT AND SPA

1746 Mountain Road (802) 253-2233 stoweflake.com Plenty of on-site activities, including a 9-hole golf course.

THE 1860 HOUSE

73 School St. (802) 253-7351 1860house.com Colonial lodging, right in the center of town.

Soak and Steam Here…

THE SPA AT STOWEFLAKE

1746 Mountain Road (800) 253-2232 stoweflake.com Wellness weekends are available, as are Ayurvedic counseling sessions.

THE SPA AT TOPNOTCH

4000 Mountain Road (802) 760-6330 topnotchresort.com/ stowe-vermont-spa/ Famous for luxuriously long and pampering massages and facials.

For more information on Stowe, visit gostowe.com.

THE SPA AT TOPNOTCH — PHOTO COURTESY TOPNOTCH RESORT

timesunion.com/explore 39

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family fun LARGEST MARBLE CAVE entrance in the eastern U.S. — PHOTO BY IAN LIGGET/FLICKR

Day-cation Want to go somewhere fun but not too far away? Check out these great daytrips

By Leigh Hornbeck

D

uring the school year, many families maintain a demanding schedule of sports practices, music lessons and other extracurricular activities on top of the demands of school. Summer is a time for kids to slow down and for Mom and Dad to take time off work so the whole family can spend time together. Here are five ideas for day trips you can take from the Capital Region that offer fun for the family without packing a suitcase or booking a flight.

 NATURAL STONE BRIDGES AND CAVES

535 Stone Bridge Road Pottersville, (518) 494-2283 stonebridgeandcaves.com Adults: $14 Children: $8.50 Under 5: Free You may have heard of Howe Caverns, but did you know there’s another geologic wonder nearby? Natural Stone Bridges and Caves is about 80 miles north of Albany, off Exit 26 off the Northway. It’s home to the largest marble cave entrance in the eastern U.S. Visitors can take a self-guided tour along a trail that’s three-quarters of a mile long. Most of it is above ground, with the opportunity to check out

lighted surface caves. It takes about an hour. The trail isn’t suitable for strollers, so if you have a little one, plan to use a backpack or rent one at the site.

The site owners also offer a guided adventure tour if you’re willing to get dirty. It takes about three hours, and it’s offered in July and August only. Children must be 13 or older to do the adventure tour.

While you’re there: Visit Railroads on Parade, an indoor model train exhibit at 7903 State Route 9, Pottersville. Not into trains? It doesn’t matter. The work created by Dunham Studios is worth seeing. (railroadsonparade.com) continued on page 43 

timesunion.com/explore 41

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family fun NATURALISTS CABINET at the Wild Center.

— PHOTO BY PAUL BUCKOWSKI/TIMES UNION ARCHIVES

If you’re not up for a long drive, CMOST is right here in the Capital Region. It’s part of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The idea is to inspire children to love science and technology through hands-on exhibits and a planetarium. Parents and children can work together on an “explorer box,” which contains different science experiments.

Other exhibits explain the care of wild animals and how weather develops.

We suggest a visit to CMOST in the early afternoon, followed by homemade ice cream at the Snowman at 531 Fifth Ave., and then a walk through Oakwood Cemetery at 50 101st St., Troy. It is a lovely spot overlooking the Hudson River and the final resting place of nine Civil War generals and Trojans Emma Willard and Sam Wilson (“Uncle Sam”). It’s a good opportunity to talk about Troy’s history and how people lived in the mid-19th century, when the cemetery was opened.

ADIRONDACK EXTREME ADVENTURE

 THE WILD CENTER

45 Museum Dr., Tupper Lake Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Memorial Day–Labor Day. Adults (15-64): $17; young’ns: (4-14): $10; seniors (65+) $15; under 3: free wildcenter.org; (518) 359-7800 Originally called the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, the Wild Center is as impressive as the network of museums run by Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. The Adirondack Park is the country’s biggest and most unique park because it is a blend of public and private land. The Wild Center seeks to tell that story. Exhibits include wild animals, including river otters, and there are outdoor trails to enjoy as well. The museum is a beautiful space on 31 acres in Tupper Lake, near the center of the Adirondack Park, about 185 miles northwest of Albany.

35 Westwood Forest Lane, Bolton Landing Open seven days at 8:30 a.m. but reservations are required. Prices range from $50 per person for the adult extreme course to $25 for the Little Adventurers course designed for kids 7 and older. adirondackextreme.com; 494-7200

— PHOTO BY JOHN CARL D’ANNIBALE/TIMES UNION ARCHIVES

Skip passive entertainment at the amusement park down the road and try this ropes course in the treetops. It is a series of zip lines, suspended bridges, Tarzan swings and more, all suspended 10 to 60 feet off the ground. Adirondack Extreme has adult courses and courses for juniors and children, as well as a fancy playground for little kids. It is 65 miles from Albany, off Exit 24 of the Northway.

While you’re there: After the excitement of dangling over the forest, wind down with a stroll through Lake George village for some people-watching. The Lake George Steamboat Company offers

— PHOTO BY BUSINESS WIRE

 OLD STURBRIDGE VILLAGE

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, Mass.

Adults, $24; seniors, 55 and older, $22; children (3-17), $8. Children 2 and younger: free. Open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 31 osv.org; (800) SEE-1830

THE CNSE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY



250 Jordan Road, (Rensselaer Technology Park), Troy Open 1-5 p.m. Wednesdays for Toddler Explore and More Time; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Adults and children 2 and older: $5. Shows in the planetarium: $1 per show. cmost.org, (518) 235-2120

dinner cruises. Adults, $46; children, 3-11, $17. It’s a 2-hour, 15-minute cruise. Boarding on Beach Road starts at 5:30 p.m. daily.lakegeorgesteamboat.com; 668-5777

A MUSEUM EDUCATOR shows attendees a European Legless Lizard.

— PHOTO BY SKIP DICKINSON/TIMES UNION ARCHIVES

The best part about Sturbridge is the costumed reeanctors, but there’s so much to see. Sturbridge is a recreated 1830s New England village. It includes more than 40 buildings on 200 acres — homes, meetinghouses, a district school, country store, bank, working farm, three water-powered mills, and trade shops. In addition to the costumed staff, there are heritage breed farm animals, too. The museum is 114 miles away, about two hours from Albany on the Thruway. E

timesunion.com/explore 43

on the trail

Little

Feet

Hiking can be fun for young ones — if you’re well prepared

By Gillian Scott

44 EXPLORE

Photo: altrendo images/GettyImages.

T

he sky was clear and blue and the sun was shining. My husband and I leaned back on the rocky summit of Giant Mountain in the Adirondack High Peaks one summer day many years ago, enjoying our sandwiches and a stunning view.

My nephew, meanwhile, age 7, having devoured his lunch in mere minutes, was pretending to be a dog.

He jumped around the summit on all fours, barking.

“Can we go now?” he asked after a few minutes, oblivious to the view. “This is boring.”

Sigh.

Hiking with children requires patience, say parents with experience. Patience and snacks. Lots of snacks.

Jeff Farbaniec, who blogs at The Saratoga Skier and Hiker (saratogaskier.blogspot.com), spends a lot of time outdoors with his two children, Daniel, age 10, and Sylvie, 6. The family skis together in the winter and rock-climbs and hikes in the summer.

Farbaniec says he and his wife have been hiking with the kids since they were babies when they started by carrying them in a baby backpack. “It’s actually easier when they’re about a year old and they’re in the backpack,” says Farbaniec. It’s when the kids start walking that parents need to slow down and start planning their trips according to what little legs can manage.

“You do have to be patient sometimes,” he admits.

“It takes a little bit of adjustment.”

Diane Chase, author of two Adirondack Family Time books that describe regional hikes and other activities to do with children, agrees. When her children were little, Sawyer and Lisse, now 14 and 11, sometimes wanted to look at leaves or at bugs under rocks

more than they wanted to hike. They weren’t always interested in getting to the summit, and that was okay with Chase.

“Let the kids set the tone,” Chase advises. “It’s all about being flexible and being able to go with the flow. … Take the experience as it is and turn around and make it a positive.”

Instead of making a mountain summit her family’s goal, Chase says she is more focused on getting her kids to experience nature and have fun. If that means they don’t make it more than a quarter mile from the trailhead, so be it. “It’s not a failure if you don’t get to the top,” she says.

Farbaniec admits his children are not always enthusiastic about the idea of a hike. Sometimes they’d rather stay home and watch cartoons on a Saturday morning. But once the family hits the trail, “they always have a great time.”

“Within the first 100 yards, they’ll find a newt or some flowing water,” and their reluctance is forgotten.

Though the family makes trips north to the Adirondacks, they also explore trails close to their Saratoga County home, including those at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve off Route 50 and Moreau Lake State Park. Short trips and nearby trails are easier to fit into the family’s busy schedule.

Rotterdam resident Brent Pierce, a special education teacher, not only goes hiking with his 4-year-old daughter, Harper, but also takes his students into the woods at least once a year. Though his students are teenagers, most have never been in the woods before, so he sets a basic goal.

“Easier is better,” Pierce says, and keeps students from feeling overwhelmed.

Similarly, because Harper is still so young, the family keeps hikes to about an hour, often visiting local nature preserves, such as the Christman Sanctuary in Duanesburg. “The big thing is to only go as far as they can go,” Pierce says. “If you push them too hard, you can ruin the fun for them.”

A hike to the Plotter Kill Preserve in Rotterdam this winter offered the chance for Harper to see some frozen waterfalls, to slide down a hill and to discover animal tracks. The things that delight adults about the woods are not always the things kids find fascinating. “She got a kick out of seeing some rabbit poop on the trail,” Pierce recalls.

The patience sometimes required to hike with kids is worth the effort, he says. Hiking is “something that hopefully she can do forever.”

Guidebook author Chase agrees. By giving her kids the opportunity to hike, Chase says she hopes to instill a lifelong love of the outdoors. “Hiking really just is the most amazing gift.” E

For ideas on places to take your kids, check out these publications: Adirondack Family Time; Champlain Valley: Plattsburgh to Ticonderoga and Adirondack Family Time; Tri-Lakes and High Peaks Regions, by Diane Chase, Hungry Bear Publishing, $17.95 each.

Kids on the Trail! Hiking with Children in the Adirondacks,

by Rose Rivezzi and David Trithart, $12.95 ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse has four publications covering natural areas — from state parks to short nature trails — in the Capital Region. They’re available through the group’s website, www.ecosny.org, and may be on the shelves at local independent bookstores: • Natural Areas of Albany County, $15 • Natural Areas of Schenectady County, $10 • Natural Areas of Saratoga County, $14

WITH A GLIMPSE OF A NEWT or a view of the waterfalls at Christman Sanctuary, kids will quickly forget all about the couch and TV. — PHOTOS BY COLLEEN INGERTO

• Natural Areas of Rensselaer County, $18

Want a Successful Family Hike?

Be patient. Be flexible.

Keep it fun.

Bring snacks. Gummy worms, raisins, crackers, M&Ms, trail mix.

Have kids bring a backpack. Even if they’re only carrying a small bottle of water and a snack or maybe even a favorite stuffed animal, it gives them some control over their food options and instills a sense of responsibility.

Bring a change of clothes. A wet and muddy child may be a miserable

one and bathroom accidents happen, even in the woods.

Assess the weather and know where you’re going. It’s important to know the trail and be aware of the conditions your family will face.

Consider letting your child bring a friend. They’ll enjoy the company and you’ll be immersing another child in the outdoors.

Break the hike down into manageable pieces. If your

Follow these tips

child thinks they can’t make the summit, ask if they’d like to go to the next lookout or junction, or just hike until lunch.

Don’t focus on the summit.

Children care less about the view than about what you may see along the way, like salamanders and frogs or waterfalls and caves.

Don’t overestimate your kids’ abilities. It’s better to start out small and take your time than to push too hard and ruin the experience.

timesunion.com/explore 45

Kick off your summer!

Photo by Howard Hoople

Butterflies

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outdoors OWL’S HEAD MOUNTAINS

Short Hikes from the Road Quick walks in the Adirondacks

By Phil Brown Photos courtesy CNY Hiking

W

This story originally appeared in Adirondack Explorer magazine. For more infomation, go to adirondackexplorer.org.

e had been driving for nearly two hours when Martha, my 13-year-old daughter, started complaining. “How much farther?” she wanted to know. “I’m bored.”

Fortunately, we were approaching Cathedral Pines, a stand of giant white pines just off Route 28 between Inlet and Raquette Lake. I pulled off at the trailhead, and we stepped into the woods.

The Cathedral Pines trail is no doubt the shortest state-maintained route in the Adirondacks. Within a minute, Martha and I found ourselves surrounded by centuries-old trees. We joined hands and tried to circle our arms around one of the trunks but came up two feet short.

We then followed the trail down a bank to a stone memorial for a local aviator killed in World War II. The memorial was constructed at the base of a huge pine. A plaque reads: This Tree was created by God and old when our country was born, fine and clean and straight, grained like the boy himself, 2nd Lt. Malcolm L. Blue, Navigator of a Liberator Bomber with the Eighth Air Force, killed over France, June 2, 1944. Few men have earned so fine a memorial.

The pine had fallen long ago and now lies gathering moss. My daughter and I marveled at its girth and then returned to the car. Our excursion had lasted only five minutes, but that was long enough to distract Martha from her complaints and refresh us for the rest of the drive.

Of course, you don’t need a cranky teenager as an excuse to get out and stretch your legs on a drive through the Adirondacks. Should you feel the urge to break up your trip, we have selected 10 more short hikes. All begin on or near main highways.

Mount Severance You won’t see any trailhead signs on the Northway, but if you’re willing to take a short detour from Exit 28, near Schroon Lake, you can be on top of this 1,638-foot mountain in less an hour. Beginning on Route 9, the 1.2-mile trail takes you through a tunnel under the Northway and past large specimens of hemlock, white pine and white cedar as it ascends to two rocky lookouts. The first affords views of Schroon Lake and the wooded peaks of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness. From the second you can see Paradox Lake and the mountains to the north.

DIRECTIONS: From Northway Exit 28, drive east a

short distance to NY 9. Turn right and go 0.6 mile to a parking lot on the right.

Owls Head If you’re driving to or from Lake Placid via Route 73, you may notice a pointy little peak a little north of Keene hamlet. This is Owls Head, a favorite of families with young children and a great destination for anyone with only an hour to spare. The 0.6-mile trail passes several ledges with good views before reaching the summit, where you see Cascade, Pitchoff, Hurricane and Giant, among other peaks. In late summer, you may find wild blueberries. Keep in mind that the trail passes through private land.

DIRECTIONS: Driving north from Keene, look for

Owls Head Lane on the left about 3 miles outside the hamlet. Turn and follow the gravel road 0.2 miles to a junction. A small green signs marks the start of the trail. (If you’re coming from the north, Owls Head Lane will be on the right 3.6 miles past the Cascade Mountain trailhead.) continued on page 48 

timesunion.com/explore 47

outdoors continued from page 47

Pack Forest For those heading north from Warrensburg on Route 9, a brief stop at the Pack Demonstration Forest is order for a lesson in ecology and a visit to the Grandmother Tree. The state College of Environmental Science and Forestry owns and logs this 2,500-acre tract, but it has set aside a preserve with a nature trail that winds through a wetland and past many old-growth pines and hemlocks. The highlight of the 1-mile loop is the Grandmother Tree. At more than 175 feet tall, this white pine is one of the largest trees in the state. Brochures explaining stops along the trail are available at the trailhead.

2,160-foot peak on the northern fringe of the Blue Ridge Wilderness. The summit is wooded, but a rock ledge just beyond affords a marvelous view of Snowy, Panther, Blue and many other peaks. Don’t be surprised to find a fat garter snake sunning itself on the ledge on a summer’s day.

DIRECTIONS: The trailhead is on the south side of

NY 28/30, about 6.2 miles west of the junction of 28 and 30 in Indian Lake or about 7.2 miles east of the highways’ junction in Blue Mountain Lake.

Rocky Mountain So you’re driving between Old Forge and Inlet and

DIRECTIONS: From Warrensburg, drive north on NY

9. About 0.7 mile past the junction with NY 28, look for an entrance road on the left. Drive 0.5 mile to the parking lot.

Col. Peck’s Grave If you’re passing through Speculator and want a different sort of hike, take a walk through the woods to a quaint cemetery where Col. Loring Peck lies buried with his wife and son. Peck fought in the Revolutionary War and moved to Lake Pleasant in 1811. A half-mile trail leads to his grave. The land had once been cleared for agriculture, but it’s now a dark forest. There’s something poignant about coming across this tiny graveyard, enclosed by a simple stone wall, in the wilderness. A small American flag decorates the colonel’s modest headstone and a white pine towers over the scene.

DIRECTIONS: From NY 30 in Speculator, take Downey

Avenue to South Shore Road and continue on South Shore Road about 1.7 miles past Gilmantown Road to the trailhead on the left.

Sawyer Mountain From the highway between Blue Mountain Lake and Indian Lake, it’s only a mile to the summit of this

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMIT

48 EXPLORE

COL. PECK’S GRAVE — PHOTO COURTESY ELIZABETH EMERY VIA ADIRONDACKALMANACK.COM

you don’t want to climb Bald Mountain again? Try Rocky Mountain. Although less popular than Bald, its views are outstanding. Located just west of Inlet, this 2,200-foot summit can be reached after a halfmile climb. For that small effort, you’ll be rewarded with a great vista of Fourth Lake and wooded hills rolling to the horizon. The trail is worn to bedrock in sections.

DIRECTIONS: From NY 28 and Big Moose Road in

Eagle Bay, drive east on NY 28 for 1.2 miles to a large parking area on the left. If you’re coming from the east, the turnoff is 0.9 mile past the public parking lot in downtown Inlet.

Wawbeek Plantation

FERNOW FOREST at the Wawbeek Plantation

In the early 1900s, Bernard Fernow, a pioneering forester, cleared 68 acres of hardwoods west of Upper Saranac Lake and planted white pine and Norway spruce to show that the more valuable softwoods could grow on hardwood sites. Paul Smiths College students maintain an interpretive trail that loops through the experimental forest. Leaflets are available at the trailhead.

DIRECTIONS: From Wawbeek Corners, where NY 3

meets NY 30, drive north on NY 30 for 0.8 mile to a parking lot on the left. Wawbeek Corners is about 6 miles east of Tupper Lake and 16 miles west of Saranac Lake.

Clintonville Pine Barrens This preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy is a little off the main road, but it’s worth a side trip if you’re driving on Route 9N through the Ausable Valley west of Keeseville. The pitch pine community that thrives in the preserve’s sandy soil depends on periodic fire to survive. The barrens is home to prairie redroot, a rare shrub, and the pine pinion moth, a rare insect. There is a 1-mile marked loop trail. Brochures are at the trailhead.

DIRECTIONS: From the blinking light in Ausable

Forks, drive northeast on North Main Street 0.2 mile to stop sign; go straight on Golf Course Road about 2 miles to Dry Bridge Road, turn right and go 0.3 mile to Buck Hill Road, turn left and go 0.5 mile to trailhead on left.

Cathedral Rock If you’ve always wanted to visit a fire tower but are too lazy to climb a mountain, you’re in luck. The Wanakena Ranger School dismantled a tower that once stood on Tooley Mountain and reassembled it at Cathedral Rock in the school’s forest. You still have to hike 1.2 miles to get to it, but there’s little elevation

gain. From the tower, you can see most of Cranberry Lake and, on a clear day, the High Peaks.

DIRECTIONS: About 7 miles west of Cranberry Lake,

turn south from NY 3 onto County 61. At 0.8 mile, bear left. Turn left again after 0.2 mile onto Ranger School Road. Go 1.2 miles and turn left as you near the school. After 0.1 mile turn left and look for parking lot.

Coney Mountain This bald summit, lying just off Route 30 between Long Lake and Tupper Lake, affords 360-degree views, including an expansive vista of the western High Peaks. Few other hikes of less than a mile pro-

vide this big a reward. The unofficial trail (which the state plans to mark in the future) is easy to follow and is interesting in its own right as it follows the Totten-Crossfield line, surveyed in 1772. The line is now the boundary between Franklin and Hamilton counties. At one point, the trail passes a steel I-beam monument put in place by later surveyors.

DIRECTIONS: Look for a pull-off on the west side

of NY 30 at the Hamilton-Franklin county line. The trail begins on the other side of the road. It’s 7.9 miles south of the state boat launch in Tupper Lake.

If you are coming from the other way, the pull-off will be on your left 11.4 miles north of the bridge over Long Lake. E

CONEY MOUNTAIN SUMMIT

timesunion.com/explore 49

last call

Dr. Alan Chartock » Why I Love

Block Island

By Stacey Morris » Photo by Colleen Ingerto

D

r. Alan Chartock is a man with multiple irons in the fire. Though he’s best known as the administrative and creative force behind WAMC, his resume extends far beyond his duties as president and chief executive officer of Albany’s National Public Radio affiliate. A long-time professor of political science, Chartock is now professor emeritus at the University at Albany. He also made a lasting impression on the region back in the ’80s when he served as political commentator on both WRGB and WNYT. In addition to being executive publisher and project director of the Legislative Gazette, the newspaper about state government, Chartock also writes two political columns, has authored a book on his years of radio interviews with Gov. Mario Cuomo, and still finds time to tour locally as the banjo player for the Berkshire Ramblers. “I love what I do, so it doesn’t feel so much like work,” he says.

When he’s not on the radio airwaves hosting “Capitol Connection” or “The Media Project,” Chartock and his wife, Roselle, travel the nation and abroad. Though they adventured in Barcelona and Paris recently, one of their favorite getaways is Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. “I love the concept of reading by the water, while my wife loves exploration and activities,” he says with a laugh. “We handle it by compromising.

Block Island offers the perfect balance of exploration and relaxation.”

Part of the state of Rhode Island, the 11-milelong island sits almost equidistant between the coast of Rhode Island and Long Island’s Montauk Point. Chartock favors the island’s lighthouses, beaches, and hiking trails. “It’s a great walking island. I take a long hike each morning when I visit Block Island,” he says. “A lot of people say it’s the poor man’s Martha’s Vineyard, but if I won the lottery, I’d buy a house there.” E

50 EXPLORE

BEST PLACE FOR SEAFOOD, ITALIAN-STYLE Aldo’s Chapel Street, New Shoreham (401) 466-5871; aldosblockisland.com What started out as a sub shop and pizzeria has blossomed into a menu bearing seafood specialties such as Mussels Provencal, Clam Chowder, and Seared Tuna. But there are still Italian standards. “It’s a very family-friendly place and the pizza is fantastic,” says Chartock.

BREAKFAST AND MINGLING Rose Farm Inn High Street (401) 466-2034; rosefarminn.com “This is one of our favorite places to stay,” says Chartock. “The rooms are well appointed and we always meet interesting people from around the world who stay there. … And the breakfast is delicious.”

TAKING NOTE OF HISTORY Block Island Historical Society Old Town Road (401) 864-4357 “It’s a wonderful place to learn about the island’s history,” says Chartock of the museum that features artifacts dating from the time of the early Native American village settlement (500 B.C.) to maritime fishing and farming. It also includes Colonial memorabilia, photographs capturing life during the Victorian age, and exhibitions of fine furniture, textiles, quilts,

boat models, tools, fishing gear, maps, and oral history tapes.

A COOL DESSERT The Ice Cream Place Water Street, New Shoreham (401) 466-2145 Flavors include ginger, Tollhouse cookie, and caramel-chocolatepretzel. The parlor is also known for towering sundaes and homemade waffle cones.

CATCHING A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE ATLANTIC Mohegan Bluffs Mohegan Trail, New Shoreham (401) 466-5009 “It’s quite a place. There are great views and you can walk all the way down to the water. It’s a great place to experience the natural beauty of the land,” says Chartock of the 150-foot high clay cliffs on the

island’s south shore. “I’ve never seen more birds anywhere than on Block Island. And the bluffs have the biggest stairway I’ve ever seen.”

THE QUINTESSENTIAL NEW ENGLAND INN EXPERIENCE The Atlantic Inn High Street, New Shoreham (800) 224-7422; atlanticinn.com “Block Island has a number of big, old, wooden hotels. We enjoy staying here because of its history,” says Chartock of the inn, which opened in 1879.

GETTING THERE: Block Island is about 220 miles southeast of Albany and approximately a fourand-a-half-hour drive. Ferry service is available in Point Judith, R.I. For more information visit blockislandinfo.com or visitrhodeisland.com.

17 DAYS OF

TIMELESS MEMORIES

It’s your little girl’s squeals of delight every time a cow looks her way. Or the way your husband smiles after finishing a Craz-E Burger, or fried dough, or key-lime-pie-on-a-stick.

It’s the look on your best friend’s face as she twirls through the sky on a crazy ride. Or the feeling you get when you catch a strand of Mardi Gras beads at the parade. The biggest fair in the Northeast is filled with amazing little moments. What will yours be?

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