Medusa came into a conversation at Wild Soul River. Walking out of the snow at dusk, I found a group of friends and neighbors talking about stories. …
Read articleLooking for something to do on Friday night? You can sit on a blanket in a high meadow, sharing blueberries while you’re waiting for a new play to begin. You can dance to live bluegrass and African blues.
By the Way Berkshires has a free weekly newsletter with a roundup of events and new stories and places we are discovering — if you want to take a look, just scroll down. The newsletters come out by email, so you’ll see it in your inbox on Wednesday evening or on Thursday morning, before I post them here.
This is a rich place, even in deep winter. Even in a pandemic. I’ve lived here 20 years, and I find new places and people every day. Doors are open when you know where to look. Let me show you some of the ones that stand out to me.
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The Housatonic River reflects overhanging branches in the golden hour in Stockbridge.
Albert Park and Shirley Chen cross swords in Man of God by Anna Ouyang Moench. Press photo courtesy of Williamstown Theatre Festival
Rose B. Simpson's ceramic sculptures look out from the meadow below the Taconic Crest in Counterculture at Field Farm. Photo by Kate Abbott
Young welders create new forms at Salem Art Works. Press photo courtesy of SAW
Brandon St Clair as Davon appears in ABCD at Barrington Stage Company. Press photo courtesy of the theater
Tunnel City Coffee in the Mass MoCA courtyard serves local ice cream from High Lawn Farm in Lee.
the Bistro Box in Great Barrington serves homemade roadside fare under the white pine trees.
L. James and Tamara Hickey as Beatrice and Benedick clasp hands in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare & Co.
Photo by Jamie Kraus
Finding BTW Newsletters
If you’d like to see some of our By the Way roundups, you can check out the latest ones below … or find them on the home page with our weekly stories, or take a look at the whole library in our newsletter archive.
newsletter archiveBy the Way — what's happening #this weekend
A hot drink to keep out the sleet — #berkshireweekend
Today I walked out of the cold drizzle into Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and thought it must be about the warmest place in Pittsfield.
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Riding the crest of a wave — #berkshireweekend
The wave arcs upward, jade green and gleaming. British photographer Rachael Talibart has caught the water at the height of the movement.
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We made these memories for ourselves — #berkshireweekend
What can we imagine for 2023? … Looking ahead, I’m hoping for a rise in returning energy. 2022 has held quiet moments of intense beauty.
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Happy New Year! — #berkshireweekend
I’m southeast of the Berkshires this week with my family for the holidays — we’re taking a walk to the pond to look for the beaver lodges or sitting by the fireplace …
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Joyful holidays from all across the Berkshires — #berkshireweekend
We were talking about music and finding beauty even when it isn’t easy, and translations and the layers of meaning you only hear when you know the original words … and I thought, gifts can come in many forms.
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Winterlights glow on full-moon nights — #berkshireweekend
Coming up the hill, you can see the house gleaming in the distance and the birches shining like candy canes all along the Blue Stairs. Naumkeag is decked out again in Winterlights.
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Fresh bread on rainy mornings – #berkshireweekend
Ice Glen feels like its own world. You walk through a gap in the rock, and the land changes — steps and caves, boulders covered with moss and fern.
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Riding a brand new roller coaster — #berkshireweekend
The sun is setting early outside the long mill windows at Mass MoCA, and the ridges turn the color of E.J. Hill’s roller coaster tracks.
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Hot coffee and the swish of leaves — #Berkshireweekend
Where the Hoosic River and the Green River meet, the late maples are gold and sifting down along the bank. You can walk through them ankle deep and stir up the mild sweet mushroom scent.
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