When guests ask where they should hike, our favorite suggestion is Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, a Mass Audubon property. It’s minutes from Brook Farm Inn, and you can choose from 7 miles of well-marked trails.  Some trails are more challenging than others, but all offer the opportunity to enjoy the  natural beauty and wildlife of the Berkshires.  You can hike to the summit of Lenox Mountain (a young couple staying at Brook Farm Inn recently got engaged there!) or stroll around the ponds and see the beaver lodges.  This is a destination for any season. 

Shakespeare and Company theater group previewed “The Ladies Man” by Charles Morey on Memorial Day Weekend.  This hilarious French farce is adapted from George Feydeau’s “Tailleur Pour Dames.”  Guests of Brook Farm Inn who saw the performance gave it rave reviews.  They praised it for its high energy and comedic timing.  The play features one of our favorite actors, Elizabeth Aspenlieder.  She stared in “Rough Crossing” last season and will be featured in “Bad Dates” premiering in January.

Shakespeare and Company is located around the block from Brook Farm Inn.  We bought our tickets for this Saturday nights  show.  Get your tickets by calling the box office at 413 637 3353 and then call us at 800 285 7638 to book your room at Brook Farm Inn.  See you at the theater!

Starting tonight, and through June 8, guests of Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts have the opportunity to see “I Am My Own Wife” at Barrington Stage Co. in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Vince Gatton is the incredibly talented actor whom we saw last year in “Fully Committed.” In that one-man show, he played more than 30 characters.  In this new play, he’s back with another 3 dozen characters. Barrington Stage has been getting rave reviews for several seasons, and this performance promises to live up to their reputation.

Who would have thought? An exhibit combining Norman Rockwell and Herman Melville!  It’s opening tomorrow night at Arrowhead, Melville’s home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  And that’s very close to Brook Farm Inn, in Lenox, Massachusetts.  The exhibit features the original color study of Rockwell’s mural showing Pittsfield in 1854, and includes clothing, tools, and other items found in the buildings in the mural.  Sounds like a great activity for Memorial Day Weekend, or any time this spring and summer.

The public and is invited to a Library Restoration Sneak Preview and Ribbon-Cutting Saturday, May 24, 2008 – 4pm - 8pm .  A Wine Reception, Victorian Tea, Sweets and Savories will follow the ceremonies.  The cost of the event is $35 per person.   RSVP to Ventfort Hall at 413-637-3206
Ventfort Hall is located a short walk from Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Village. 

This is the opening weekend of Chesterwood, in Stockbridge.  It’s right near Lenox, MA, and a visit there is recommended for any visitor to the Berkshires. Chesterwood was the home and studio of Daniel Chester French, who sculpted the Lincoln Memorial and the Minuteman Statue, among other things.  The tour is fascinating, and  a walk of the grounds, including a lovely wooded trail with outdoor contemporary sculpture, makes for a great afternoon.

Take a Walk with Van Gogh

More information from Brook Farm Inn about the Art Walk…

  On Saturday May 24th and Sunday May 25th 11-5, Lenox, Massachusetts will open its art season with a new logo as we all walk along with the cheerful fellow carrying the Van Gogh.  We will be walking along Main or Housatonic or Church Street enjoying the wide array of works in the 15 participating galleries 

Brook Farm Inn is a short distance from Steepletop, in Austerlitz, NY.  Edna St. Vincent Millay lived there, and the home is still as it was in her day.  The Society sponsors artists-in-residence, and is restoring her gardens, and hopes to make the home into a museum for visitors.  Part of the grounds are available for visitors to walk, although most of the property is usually closed to the public.  However  this Saturday, May 17th, is the first of two Open Days, from 10-4.  In addition to the gardens, Millay’s writing cabin will be open. It should be a great day.  And a great book about the poet is Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford

On Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, there will be an Art Walk in Lenox, Massachusetts. Our many galleries will be exhibiting and having receptions.  One you won’t want to miss is DeVries Fine Art.  Andrew DeVries is a wonderful sculptor, and his reception is from 1:00-4:00 on May 24th.  We at Brook Farm Inn plan to attend!

Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, is close to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.  This wonderfully restored theater, one of the Berkshires’ best attractions, has announced its program for May through December, and there’s something for everyone. Judy Collins will be performing June 1st, then there’s Renee Fleming, more classical music, Paul Taylor Dance Co., and some summer special screenings, like “West Side Story,” “Oklahoma!,” and “The Graduate.” Also not to be missed is the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series — Saturday afternoon simulcasts from the Met. So go to “Area Attractions” on our homepage and then click on “Mahaiwe” for the entire program.