Berkshires resident James Taylor is playing a handful of dates at Tanglewood this summer. Celebrate Independence Day mid-week with us and enjoy one of his shows, as well as our mid-week booking special. Monday, July 2 through Wednesday, July 4, Taylor plays the Tanglewood Shed.
For the uninitiated, the Tangelwood Shed is a fan-shaped, open-air listening hall which seats around 5,100 concertgoers. Taylor will be just one of many luminaries to grace the Shed’s stage and you could be one of the lucky ticketholders for the show. His mellow vibe is especially perfect for a midsummer night’s show. Three special guests will join him for these shows, as well as a full band.
Fans: you may also want to investigate something fun we found on James Taylor’s website. Taylor took the time to sit down and record some online guitar lessons! There are currently three posted. They’re short and sweet, and give you a little personal time with an American legend. You may also enjoy the video gallery on his site. It features clips of interviews and performances.
Oh…and about the mid-week special here at Hampton Terrace. During Tanglewood and foliage season, we give mid-week discounts on our rooms: The discounts are $65 to $95
OFF the regular rates. Rates are $199/night for rooms in the main house (Sunday-Thursday nights).
See you in June!
Hancock Shaker Village, located in Pittsfield, MA, is just a wee journey from that cozy room that you booked at Hampton Terrace. Many people think of the Shakers in the past tense, and their way of life as something to be memorialized in a museum-like way. Interestingly, however, their simple way of life has very much become cool again and in a way in which modern people can participate.
The Shakers were truly innovative thinkers and their functional approach to design is world-renowned for its beauty and practicality. They proved over and over, through their furniture, production inventions, and more, that the simplest approach is often the best approach. Did you know that the Shakers invented the flat broom? Completely true.
These days, Hancock Shaker Village is a place you can go to learn skills for authentic and sustainable living, hands-on. Interested in keeping chickens? Sustainable gardening? Woodworking or timber framing techniques? Cabinetmaking? Quilting? Beekeeping? You can even join a CSA at the Village – probably not useful to the out of town guest, but still interesting to note that they are maintaining their gardens for the purpose that they were intended.
They also offer a “Choose Your Own Shaker Adventure” option for visitors. You get to choose from a variety of adventure possibilities to create your experience: Learn a Shaker Song and Dance, Calf Stroll, and Shakers’ Sustainability are just some of your choices.
Lots to see AND do at Hancock Shaker Village!
The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe is ready to bring you what you crave – if what you happen to crave is improvised theatrical comedy. Improv is one of the most popular and fun forms of theater our modern world has to offer. It’s easy to see why - you literally never know what might happen next.
Their May improv showcase is set for May 18 at the Spectrum Playhouse in Lee at 7pm. Tickets are $12.
The evening will include theater games (if you are a fan of Whose Line Is It Anyway, you know what we’re talking about) and a performance by Jellyfish, a visiting improv troupe with “tentacles”. Jellyfish perform in a longer-form improv style.
For more information about the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe, check out their website. They offer monthly improv showcases.
We’re delighted to see a Berkshires gem included in Smithsonian Magazine’s recent 20 Best Small Towns in America list. The featured town: Great Barrington, MA, just 20-ish minutes from our lovely Lenox.
Great Barrington is rich in history, amenities, and quirk. It’s the former home of both Arlo Guthrie and Alice, yes that Alice, of “Alice’s Restaurant” fame. It’s the current home of BerkShares Bills, an alternative currency created (and used by around 400 businesses in the area) to encourage people to support local businesses. Read more about it here.
Local food is also a way of life here, and the local food co-op and farmers’ markets are well-loved and interesting food in general is plentiful: Though its size is modest, Great Barrington is home to over 55 restaurants.
It is also home to the Mahaiwe Theater, once as vaudeville house, now a performing arts center. The Mahaiwe is ripe with variety in its lineup of shows. Upcoming shows include broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera, classic films, dance, music, comedy and family shows.
Great Barrington is a great destination to add to your itinerary on your Berkshires getaway.