blog @ Applegate Inn B&B

Berkshire Summer Theater

Applegate Inn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:13:27 +0000

It has been a wonderful theater season in the Berkshires. Last year, we didn‘t go to the theater as much as we would have liked. We have been determined to see the best that is being offered this summer season. The first thing we saw was at Shakespeare & Company. The performance was of “The Ladies Man”, a French farce. It is a funny, convoluted story packed with smart dialogue and lots of physical comedy. Shakespeare & Company is very adept at pulling off this style of play. The production reminds me of a cross between Marx Brothers and Noel Coward. It runs through August 31st.

Our next treat was a Barrington Stage. Straight from a long run on Broadway, “The 25th Annual Spelling Bee” was a masterful performance. Years ago, we were treated to this show in workshop form as it developed. The Berkshires is its first stop on a regional tour. It is a very fun musical. We will be going to see “The Violet Hour” tomorrow night at Barrington Stage.

We have also seen a variety of interesting pieces at The Berkshire Theater Festival, including “Candida”,” Pageant Play” and the thought provoking “The Book Club Play”. You can check out the other plays the Berkshire Theater Festival will show for the summer at their website: http://www.berkshiretheatre.org/.

Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Applegate Inn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:53:33 +0000

We are all eager for the Tanglewood Jazz Festival coming up on Labor Day weekend! You can already feel the excitement in the air around here. I have been getting reservations for Labor Day weekend as soon as Tanglewood announced their line up for the Jazz Festival. If you are planing to come, be sure to make reservations ASAP as rooms are filling up for this busy weekend: http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/resbook.asp?memberid=applegateinn . The program sounds fascinating. Starting on Friday August 29, there will be a Colombian Harpist named Edmar Castaneda who is bringing a vibraphonist named Joe Locke. I don’t even know what a vibraphone looks like!

On Saturday there will be a live taping for NPR as well as a rocking show with composer Donal Fox and trumpeter Christian Scott starting around 8 p.m. It gonna be the place to be on Saturday night!

Sunday sounds amazing too. As well as music throughout the day, composer Terence Blanchard will be preforming his “Requiem for Katrina” that night to close the concert with a thirty piece orchestra!

The complete lineup for the show is below, and we hope to see you there!

August 29 Friday 8PM Ozawa Hall
Edmar Castaneda Trio with special guest Joe Locke
Eliane Elias
“Something for You”
A tribute to Bill Evans
August 30 Saturday, 2PM, Ozawa Hall
“A Celebration of Marian McPartland”s 90th Birthday with special guests. Live taping for ‘Piano Jazz” on NPR
8pm, Ozawa Hall
Donal Fox: Scarlatti Jazz Suite Ptroject
Dianne Reeves
August 31, 2PM, Ozawa
Eddie Daniels Quartet
Mark O’Connor’s “Hot Swing” with special guest Jane Monheit
8PM, Ozawa Hall
Terence Blanchaard’s “A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina)”
See you at the Jazz Festival .

Berkshire County Kayaking

Applegate Inn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:51:11 +0000

I have been kayaking throughout Berkshire County for the past three years. I have come to enjoy this sport with several friends. We use an Appalachian Mountain Club guidebook to help us discover new places each week. I’ve also gotten a lot of tips about where to go from the Berkshire Outfitters, http://www.berkshireoutfitters.com/. We have a few favorites that we go back to but are eager to find new venues. Last week, we returned to Goose Pond which is close to the towns of Lee and Tyringham. It was a wonderful spot! There were only a few other kayakers on the smooth, clear water. The reflections of trees on the surface of the pond were enchanting. We eagerly paddled across Lower Goose Pond observing some changes in the homes along the shores. We approached the channel which connects the inhabited Goose Pond to the undeveloped Upper Goose Pond. The shores of this channel are lined with Birch trees. We could see fish swimming in the channel. The Upper Pond is surrounded by the Appalachian Trail and some cabins for the hikers. We claimed a tiny island in the middle of the pond as ours for the day. After beaching our kayaks on the island, and went for a swim in the crystal clear sparkling water. Afterwards, we ate fresh blueberries and relaxed on a large rock. Paradise.

Berkshires Art Galleries

Applegate Inn — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:15:56 +0000

Len and I have recently been visiting some of the art galleries in the Berkshires.
The Berkshires has a dynamic mix year round of contemporary art through its world-class collection
of galleries.
It is the home to an exciting array of living artists working in both abstract and representational styles to create sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs, new media, fine crafts ,and design.
Whether you are interested in being the first to discover emerging artists or being inspired by the many renowned artists and artisans who make their home here, we encourage you to enjoy the visual feasts found in our galleries and take home an artwork that speaks eloquently to you and your time spent in the Berkshires.

Yesterday, we visited the Ferrin Gallery in Pittsfield.
It is a beautiful space.
It had a wonderful ceramics collection on display.
We than made our way to the Hoadley Gallery in Lenox.
It too had some exciting ceramics among other things on display.
We didn‚Äôt make any purchases this day.
On the street, we ran into Linda Novik.
She is a painter who we purchased several paintings from through the years.
She has a multi-media approach to her work.
We chatted for a while to find out that she is moving here full time and more excitement she is now making jewelry.
I love hand crafted items and she may twist my arm into buying one of her new creations.

Flat Stanley Visits the Berkshires

Applegate Inn — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:13:34 +0000

Flat Stanley came to the Berkshires this winter to have a look-see and it turned out that his blitz would hardly touch the surface of what is going on here.
He came from New Jersey. courtesy of our grandson Aaron, who was assigned to send the little man off somewhere. We were chosen as the target.

For those of you who have not met Flat Stanley, he is an ageless boy of 44, born to author Jeff Brown in 1964 and is now flourishing as a way to teach geography and get kids thinking outside their own little boxes.
His traditional form is a small cutout, perhaps 8 inches tall, arms outstretched and legs likewise..
In a bygone era, we‚Äôd have called him a paper doll, but his clothes don‚Äôt come off.
They‚Äôre
colored right on the cutout by the child in charge.

Prior to his death in 2003, Jeff Brown explained how flat Stanley was born.
One of Brown‚Äôs sons was apparently grasping for one more reason why his parents shouldn‚Äôt leave the bedroom yet and announced that he was afraid his bulletin board would fall on him while he slept.

Brown assured him that is was securely fastened and that even if it did fall, it would slowly slide down the wall and just rest on top of him while he slept on.
Of course, Brown joked, there would be the possibly that in the morning the boy would wake up flat.

‚ÄúBoth sons thought that was a hoot,‚Äù the author said, and the result was one evening after another of made-up stories about the adventures a kid could have if he were flat.
He could slide into storm drains, for instance and under closed doors.
He could pose as a painting in a museum and thus apprehend art thieves.
He could become a kite, and he could be mailed off in an envelope for a visit to Grandma‚Äôs house in the Berkshires.

It was not until 1995 that a third grade teacher in Canada seized on Flat Stanley as a way to generate letter writing between children who would tell each other what the unusual boy had done with them.
Ten years later, 6,000 classrooms in 47 countries were creating scenarios for Flat Stanley and sending him to see the world.

He wasn‚Äôt in Lee, Ma. long enough to take in all that this small county has,
something that became more apparent than ever as we hit a few of the bases.
He went to Laurel Lake to watch the ice fishermen and then took a yoga class at Kripalu and stopped at the gate of Tanglewood
to dream about the Boston Symphony Orchestra. summer concert season..
He did go to the Norman Rockwell Museum and had a wonderful dinner at Chez Nous.

He missed Chesterwood, The Mount, Hancock Shaker Village, Barrington Stage Company, Jacob‚Äôs Pillow, Shakespeare and Company, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival to name a few.
He admired Mt Greylock and Mountain from the distance but considered it a long climb for his short legs, and was amazed to learn that so many famous people had lived, worked ,written and played theatrical roles in this small bit of
the country.
He wants to come back for a Tanglewood picnic and a performance of
‚ÄúThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee‚Äù and a baseball game at Wahconah Park, which he considered a unique place.
He also wants to kayak on one of our wonderful lakes perhaps Pontoosuc or Goose Pond.

He thinks he would not have to buy tickets because he should be able to slide under the gates or doors.
This could be embarrassing.

Spring Guests at Applegate Inn

Applegate Inn — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:42:45 +0000

On the window sill of one of our guest rooms, a robin has built her nest. Last week, four tiny eggs hatched into four tiny birds. The mother comes and goes regularly bringing them food.

Berkshires Spring Arrives, Summer Soon to Follow

Applegate Inn — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:39:38 +0000

Spring has arrived early this year in the Berkshires with consistently good weather and temperatures in the 70‚Äôs.
Len has even played golf 4 times already.
But mostly we are very busy at Applegate preparing for summer.
Gloria has set up the porch with some new furnishings and lighting and the gardens have been cleaned up and are starting to sprout.
The pool is even open now and will be ready and heated for swimming in a few days.
John, our handyman and Len have been roaming the property in our golf cart cleaning things up from the winter.
Several of the summer cultural venues have announced their schedules and it looks like it will be an exciting season.
We have gotten our tickets already for Tanglewood and Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival.
We are studying the Barrington Stage and Stockbridge Theater schedules and will be getting those tickets soon as well. The Williamstown Theater looks very interesting as well and we may go there for a couple of plays.
Mostly though, Spring is a miracle of rebirth and regreening of the landscape.
It is something we love and look forward to each year.

Room 7, Main House, Applegate Inn

Applegate Inn — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:29:08 +0000

Room 7, Main House, Applegate Inn‚Äî
Originally uploaded by applegate_inn

Room 7, Main House, Applegate Inn
Enjoy sipping a glass of wine or a cup of coffee on a furnished private balcony during your stay in Room Seven. Located on the third floor, this room features large windows and a French door that leads to the balcony

It has a wonderful gas fireplace.

Room 10, Carriage House, Applegate Inn

Applegate Inn — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:57:58 +0000

Room 10, Carriage House, Applegate Inn‚Äî
Originally uploaded by applegate_inn

Relaxing has never been easier, simply reserve Room Ten today. This elegant, handicapped accessible suite, located on the first floor of our Carriage House, features an antique bronze king-size bed with matching night tables with lamps. Write a postcard to friends at the sewing machine table vanity or curl up on the love seat that converts to a single bed while flames dance in the room’s gas fireplace. Be sure to step outside onto your private patio to enjoy the peaceful outdoors.