Thanks to Marti Mayne, who posted a great article about the Lenox Tub Parade on the BedandBreakfast.com blog.  Here’s a link http://blog.bedandbreakfast.com/post/2009/08/31/A-Tub-Parade-in-Lenox-MA-Great-reason-to-schedule-fall-getaway-to-the-Berkshires.aspx#comment.

Sunday, September 6th, the Muir String Quartet will open the South Mountain Concert series at 3 PM.  This chamber concert series runs for 5 Sunday afternoons in September and October.  It’s held in a most unusual wooded setting, in a building constructed solely for this purpose.  Situtated on a wooded slope in the midst of the Berkshires, the hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.  Its intimate atmosphere provides a unique setting to enjoy chamber music, and the performers are world reknowned.  It’s a 10-minute ride from Brook Farm Inn, and we can provide you with all the information.

• Sept. 4 Friday 8:00PM An evening with Paquito d’Rivera
• Sept. 5 Saturday 2:00PM Radio Deluxe withJohn Pizzarel, Jessica Molasky,Kurt Eling, Bucky Pizzareli, Aaron Weinstein, and Harry Allen
• Sept. 5 “Reverse Thread” with The Regina Carter Quartet  and “Dreamin the Duke” with Nnenna Freelon, Harolyn Blackwell and Mike Garson
• Sept. 6 Sunday 2:00PM “A Piano Duet” with Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
• Sept. 6 8:00PM “The Majestry of the Trumpet” with the Jon Faddis Quartet and special guests Wallace Roney and Sean Jones.  Also the Dave Holland Octet

Plus visit the Jazz Cafe’

Frederic Church was one of America’s most important landscape artists, and his home, Olana, is close enough to the Berkshires for a day trip.  A trip there from Brook Farm Inn yesterday took under an hour, and it was worth the trip. Church, a  Hudson River School painter, developed Olana as a 3-dimensional work of art; a totally integrated environment embracing architecture, art and landscape.  The views of the Hudson River — seen in his paintings – are spectacular, and the house tour was fascinating.  We intend to go back to enjoy the hiking trails on the property.

Tuesday evening we had the distinct pleasure of attending a chamber concert at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA.  The Ying Quartet played Mendelssohn and Brahms flawlessly and beautifully.   Then we came home under the full moon and starlit Berkshires sky.  This is one of a series on Tuesdays in August, and we’re recommending it to guests of Brook Farm Inn.  You can even combine the concert with a dinner special.  Here are the details!

Make a night of a performance with a special, fixed-price dinner offered beforehand at 6 pm. On concert days, the galleries will remain open until 6 pm and the museum shop will remain open until 8 pm. Concert tickets are $21 each ($18 members and students). Dinner is $25 per person, and does not include beverage, tax, gratuity, or concert. Reservations are required; seating is limited. Call 413-458-0524 for reservations.

August 11: Trio Solisti has won an international reputation as one of the most brilliant piano trios concertizing today. They will perform the Haydn Trio in G Major “Gypsy Rondo”; Beethoven Trio in B-flat Major “Archduke”; and the Brahms Trio in C Major, Opus 87.

August 18: Ensemble-in-residence at Florida International University, the Amernet String Quartet is one of today’s exceptional string quartets. Returning to the Clark after a well-received 2008 appearance, the group will perform the Haydn String Quartet Opus 76, No. 4, “Sunrise”; Stephen Dankner’s String Quartet No. 10 (premiere performance based on Dove/O’Keeffe: Circles of Influence); and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1.

August 25: Annually appearing on the great stages of Europe and America, the American String Quartet is resident quartet at the Manhattan School of Music and at the summer Aspen Music Festival and School. The group will close the 2009 Sights and Sounds Series with a program including the Haydn String Quartet in D major, Opus 76, No. 5; the Bartok String Quartet No. 3; and the Brahms Quartet in A Minor, Opus 51, No. 2.