The Mass Audubon Society and the Housatonic Valley Association are offering free guided educational canoe trips down the Housatonic River.  The route begins at the Mary Decker boat launch in Lenox MA and goes to Woods Pond.  The three hour trip will be a good way for novice paddler to be introduced to the beauty and nature of the area.  You may encounter many types of birds, deer, moose, muskrats, and an occasional black bear.  Canoes, paddles and life vests are provided.  For more information call 413 637 0320.  Dates and times of the trips are:

9 am to noon       July 12,13,19, and 26

                            Aug. 4,11,17,23,25 and 30

2 to 5 pm            July 14 and 28

Noon to 3 pm      Aug. 3 and 9

Ventfort Hall, in Lenox Massachusetts, is one of the Berkshires’ gems.  It’s a mansion and Gilded Age Museum.  Guests can enjoy, in addition to tours and exhibits, lectures and picnics on the porch, and special events.  This weekend we recommend the play, “They Called Me Lizzy…from Slavery to the White House.” See it Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14. It’s the true life story of ELizabeth Keckly and her rise from slavery to entrepreneurial freedom, then scandal and decline.  She was dressmaker & confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln.  You can walk to Ventfort Hall from Brook Farm Inn!

“Art insiders, the inn crowd, and even the outsider art in-crowd (you following this?) gathered on Saturday night at the fabulous barn at Stonover Farm for an opening of paintings by Curtis Ripley, pottery by Luna Garcia, and still-life photography by Dede Reed.  This is a quotation from Rural Intelligence, a great new website that covers events and attractions in the Berkshires, plus Columbia, Dutchess, and Litchfield Counties. We met Marilyn Bethany, co-editor, at the Stonover event, and you can see our photo –that is Linda and Phil, owners of Brook Farm Inn, Lenox MA — in Marilyn’s article. Here’s a link, so take a look!  http://www.ruralintelligence.com/index.php/parties_section/parties_articles_parties/

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!

  The Berkshire Bach Society, under the direction of James Bagwell, will be presenting ORFEO ed EURIDICE on Friday May 9th.  The semi-staged “Opera In Concert” will be performed at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington begining at 8pm.  Tickets are available at the Mahaiwe box office or by contacting the Berkshire Bach Society at 413 528 0100. 

Lenox, MA: Jun 4–7  ·  Berkshire Invitational Croquet Tournement will be held at the Lenox Croquet Club.  For more information contact David Ekstrom at 413-443-4957 or drekstrom@hotmail.com .  The event is sanctioned by the United States Croquet Association.  One of the competitors, who will be staying at Brook Farm Inn, describes the event as “cutthroat croquet.”

Lenox Ma: You don’t have to wait for the summer for great concerts in the Berkshires. On Saturday, May 10th, the Aston Magna Foundation http://www.astonmagna.org/astonwinter.html will have a concert featuring music of Purcell and Handel. It will be held at the St. James Church in Great Barrington. This is a really talented group of musicians, and the concert is at 6 PM, so you’ll have time for a leisurely dinner afterwards. Here’s our list of recommended restaurants http://www.brookfarm.com/dining-lenox.html. Hope to see you soon!