Tuesday, March 18, 2014

It’s Getting Warmer

As the weather warms up, (rarely, but often enough) things start happening around here! On my trips to the gym or the grocery store I’ve noticed dogs outside on their runners and even clothes hanging out on clothes lines! As cold as it’s been, Spring is DEFINITELY on her way! I’ve been able to do my own Spring cleaning while enjoying a few open windows myself and it’s safe to say, I am very excited for the warm weather to arrive! And so is the rest of Berkshire County as they are coming alive this week with lots for all of our visitors to do! Everybody else will be here for the Baystate Games but perhaps winter sports aren’t YOUR thing? Have no fear, there are plenty of other things going on that have nothing to do with the Winter games J Enjoy free music concerts, local harvest dinners or even a little wine and painting!

Starts March 19

Daily until June 30, 2014
Nightly Entertainment
The Lion’s Den Pub, located downstairs at The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA, offers entertainment seven nights a week, and never a cover charge! Sun – Thur 8pm – 11pm; Fri & Sat 9-12am.

March 19

MIDWEEKMUSIC
Come to the Williams College campus in Williamstown, MA at 12:15pm and enjoy varieties of live music! Bring a friend, bring your lunch, and enjoy their popular midday and midweek concert series. A musical sampler, every week offers up a mixture of traditional fare, with exciting accents of the unexpected. Williams student musicians value the informal atmosphere of MIDWEEKMUSIC and they use it to workshop their pieces, try out something new, show off something that doesn't fit in other concert formats, or just to have some fun. Instructors are encouraged to have their students present themes together, and the impromptu mini-lecture can also be part of the enjoyment.
Relaxed and informal, MIDWEEKMUSIC is a chance for everyone to share the music while seated on the Chapin Hall stage. Enjoy the sound of their Bösendorfer Imperial grand piano in a setting that is at once both regal and intimate.

Maple Fest
When daytime temperatures rise above the freezing mark, while nights stay cool, the Darrow School community swings into action to begin the process of producing its signature maple syrup. Maple Fest will kick off with a pancake breakfast served with Darrow’s all-natural, handcrafted syrup. Following a bonfire and singing, teachers, staff, and students will participate in a variety of outdoor games for younger and older children, including an obstacle course, three-legged and wheelbarrow races, and a Double Dutch jump-rope contest. Refreshments and Sugar House Tours. Come to Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY from 9am – 3pm for festive treats and fun for the whole family!

March 20

Cookies and Canvas
Come to Bisque, Beads & Beyond in Pittsfield, MA for a fun evening for kiddos! A great canvas for boys and girls! Pick your favorite colors to complete your kicks canvas and hang your painting in your room! Create a 12 x 12 canvas. $25.00. 4pm – 5pm. Call to register.

March 21

Adult Cork & Canvas
Come to Bisque, Beads & Beyond in Pittsfield, MA for a fun ADULT evening! Celebrate Spring and create a great canvas for a Mother’s Day Gift with the newest Art & Social Craze – Cork & Canvas. Create a 16 x 20 canvas. BYOB and they will supply the munchies! $35.00. 6pm – 9pm. Call to register.

March Mud Dance Party
No. Six Depot Roastery & Café of West Stockbridge, MA is hosting a dance party! Dance party with DJ BFG (Jacob’s Pillow DJ) for all ages in the gallery. Dinner in the cafe 5-9pm. Wine and beer available. 8pm – 10pm. $5.00 cover. Don’t miss out on this good time!

Starts March 21

Daily until March 24, 2014

Bay State Winter Games
This is an annual Olympic-style winter sports festival going on March 21st thru the 23rd. Games will be held in Pittsfield, Williamstown, and North Adams, MA. There will be figure skating, Alpine Skiing, and Ice Hockey. This is an awesome event for the whole family to enjoy! Be sure to check baystategames.org for more information so you don’t miss a beat!

March 22

BETTY
MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA presents, BETTY! BETTY comes to MASS MoCA’s Club B-10 to perform the irreverent, tongue-in-cheek, and always super-fun music it is known for. The band’s appearance on MASS MoCA’s stage coincides with the presentation of new music commissioned for work in the galleries; Darren Waterston’s installation Filthy Lucre features a voice and cello soundscape composed by the band. In honor of the band’s contribution to Filthy Lucre, museum galleries will be open on the night of BETTY’s performance until 7:30pm for BETTY ticket-holders. Waterston will speak briefly about his work and collaboration with the band at 7pm in the third-floor galleries. The concert is at 8pm. A full bar, dinner and snacks from Lickety Split, are available before and during the show. Tickets: $20 reserved seating; $12 advance; $16 day of; $10 for students.

March 23

Reading and Talk by Karen Shepard
The Celestials is a historical novel about a group of 75 Chinese factory workers who arrived in North Adams, Massachusetts in 1870 to break a strike at the Sampson Shoe Factory. Except for the foreman, they don’t speak English. They didn’t know they were strikebreakers. They stayed for ten years. Come to The Mount in Lenox, MA for a lively reading and discussion with Karen Shepard about the fact, fiction and writing process behind her historical novel, The Celestials. This free event is presented with The Berkshire Festival of Women Writers and will take place in the Drawing Room. Seating is first come, first served. 2pm – 4pm.

March 24

Berkshire Grown Maple Dinner at Cranwell Resort
Join Berkshire Grown at Cranwell Resort in Lenox, MA as they celebrate the first harvest of the season with a maple-inspired dinner.  6pm Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres; 7pm Dinner and Live Auction in the Mansion Ballroom. Reservations are required. 413. 528.0041

So come one, come all! We’ve got rooms and you’re not going to want to miss out on Berkshire County springing into Spring! Call me at the front desk and we’ll start planning your trip to the Berkshires and your stay here, at The 1896 House! Rooms are booking fast as the Baystate Games get closer so don’t dilly-dally! 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Where are you Spring!?

Happy March everybody! Ahhh, March, the month in which kicks off Spring. This is when we have warmer weather, green grass, spring flowers, showers and happy critters frolicking about. We begin to open our windows for fresh air and shed the winter layers and put away the wool socks. However, you will find none of that here this week! It’s STILL cold and I’m STILL wearing wool socks and I haven’t seen one happy critter since that groundhog granted us a longer winter.  Still, I am hopeful and patiently await the sunshine and warm weather. Despite my patience and positive spring attitude, I have gathered indoor events for you to do while you are in the Berkshires this week. Considering it is currently 0 degrees outside right now, I think it’s too cold to be outside still, and why freeze to death for a good time when you can have a ball staying warm inside? But as always, for those of you who enjoy frost bite and snow facials, we still have our discounted Jiminy Peak lift tickets here at the front desk. By all means, come and get ‘em and go freeze. J As for our sane guests ;), it’s a very theatrical and musical week in the Berkshires and here is what’s going on:

March 5
MIDWEEK MUSIC
03/05/2014 - 12:15pm
Come enjoy an afternoon concert at Chapin Hall on the Williams College campus in Williamstown, MA. At 12:15pm bring a friend, bring your lunch, and enjoy their popular midday and midweek concert series. A musical sampler, every week offers up a mixture of traditional fare, with exciting accents of the unexpected. Williams student musicians value the informal atmosphere of MIDWEEKMUSIC and they use it to workshop their pieces, try out something new, show off something that doesn't fit in other concert formats, or just to have some fun. Instructors are encouraged to have their students present themes together, and the impromptu mini-lecture can also be part of the enjoyment.
Relaxed and informal, MIDWEEKMUSIC is a chance for everyone to share the music while seated on the Chapin Hall stage. Enjoy the sound of our Bösendorfer Imperial grand piano in a setting that is at once both regal and intimate.

March 7
Williams Chamber Players
The Williams College Department of Music presents the Williams Chamber Players in concert on Friday, March 7, at 8 p.m. in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on the Williams College campus in Williamstown, MA. This free event is open to the public. The Williams Chamber Players is a group made up of musicians seasoned by careers rich in musical diversity. In this concert the group presents contrasting styles with composers from the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Distinguished performance faculty share the joy of making music together to the delight of student and community audiences.

March 7
Weekly on Sun, Fri, Sat until March 30, 2014
Private Lives
Chock-full of witty dialogue and laughs, Noël Coward’s Private Lives is considered one of the greatest comedies ever written. A divorced couple, Elyot and Amanda are honeymooning with their new spouses in the South of France. By chance they meet across adjoining hotel balconies, and without concern for scandal, their new partners, or any memory of what drove them apart in the first place, Elyot and Amanda rekindle their former tempestuous relationship. For show times and tickets, be sure to contact the Elayne P. Bernstein theatre of Lenox, MA at 413-637-3353.

March 7
Loni Love

Loni Love is one of the most hilarious and lovable comics performing stand-up on the comedy club and college circuits today. Both Comedy Central and Variety have named her among their “Top 10 Comics to Watch.” Her many television appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, VH1′s I Love the ′70s/′80s/′90s, and Comics Unleashed and many others. March 7th she will be at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA at 8pm.

March 8
Elaina Pullano
Come to the Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on the Williams College Campus in Williamstown, MA and enjoy music performed by Williams student, Elaina Pullano. Elaina is a junior studying biology and music at Williams College, and is an active member of the Williams Chamber and Concert choir ensembles as well as a variety of other organizations on campus. This performance features songs by Gustav Mahler, Gabriel Fauré, and Benjamin Britten. Collaborating on piano is Robin Kibler. 4pm.

March 8
Cowboy Junkies

For more than 20 years, the Cowboy Junkies have remained true to their unique artistic vision and to the introspective, quiet intensity that is their musical signature, creating a critically acclaimed body of original work that has endeared them to an audience unwavering in its loyalty. This Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band has released 16 studio albums, several live albums, numerous singles and built up a dedicated following in the alternative rock community. Enjoy this performance at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA at 8pm.

March 8
The Wonderful World of Maples & Woodland Treasures

Come to Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA and join horticulturalist Kevin Wilcox for an in-depth look at Maples: the genus Acer, focusing on small ornamental maples, including the Japanese Maple, as well as many lesser known species that make outstanding additions to the New England garden. 10am to 12pm.
Shortly after, learn about the beautiful woodland plants grown by John Lonsdale from Edgewood Gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania. He will showcase plants that are Zone 5 hardy, including large and small species of bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, herbaceous perennials and small trees and shrubs suitable for a variety of site conditions. The presentation will focus on methods for successful. 1pm to 3pm.

March 9
Learn how to make your own kombucha!

Come to Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, MA and learn how to make your own kombucha! In this class you will not only learn how to make your own kombucha, you will also learn about the many health benefits of this ancient beverage, which in its more than 2,000 year-old history, has earned a reputation for helping to prevent and fight cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases. Your teacher is Wild Oats’ sometimes-staffer and long-time kombucha maker, Evan Webb. 2pm to 4pm.

As always, we look forward to seeing all of our guests here at The 1896 House this week and hope you enjoy your stay in the very cold, yet very beautiful Berkshires!