In 1995, when I received a job offer to move to the Berkshires, Susan and I flew to Lenox with our two daughters, aged 13 and 14 to check things out.   It was a mid-September weekend and we arrived to find a large crowd roaming the two-square blocks of the village.   Apple Squeeze.

Wow.   It sold me and I am here to sell you.

What a great way to see what New England small town living is all about!   Take notice, Manhattan dwellers…it is what you need a dose of very once in a while.   This year, September 26-28, the streets will once again fill with what the locals have to share.    Yes, apples are in season, so there will be locally made apple donuts and pies, but the Apple Squeeze is so much more.

Most of the shops will fill the sidewalk with inventory which did not sell to the summer crowd at substantial discounts.   The restaurants will be setting up booths on the front porches to give you samples from their menus inside, or setting up grills to cook chicken and burgers to order.  Pretty much anyone who wants to set up a booth can do so…and the diversity is astounding.    Most of the local cultural attractions will have booths to educate the milling crowds about their offerings (Shakespeare & Company, Ventfort Hall, The Mount, etc) as well as Canyon Ranch, Cranwell and other spas and resorts.  

Very importantly, this is not another "craft fair" with the same vendors that travel from town to town.   Everyone in the Apple Squeeze is local…and this include glass blowers, artists, and craftsmen.    A really great way to get to know our area.

But back to apples.   The weekend is called "Apple Squeeze" because it coincides with the trillions of apples hanging around the Berkshires, ready to sample from the trees and pick by the bushel.   We'll be glad to give you directions.    Beyond apples, we know of several local farms that REALLY do a good job of providing an "harvest experience" (Ioka Farms is an example.)

Hampton Terrace will still be using our off-season rates in September and a two-night stay qualifies for the "Romantic Weekend Package," including a gift certificate to the local wine shop, Nejaimes, and rates less than $200 night.    We are ranked #1 in Lenox by Trip Advisor, based on our guests' satisfaction.  

Why is Lenox here?   Don't start me on that…..well okay, a little bit.  

At the turn of the century, Lenox, fueled in part by Edith Wharton's famous phrase "keeping up with the Joneses," became the "inland Newport," a concentration of Gilded Age homes and parties unrivaled in America.   Famous late-summer names included Vanderbilt, Morgan, Westinghouse, Carnegie, Proctor, Wharton, Sloane and scores of others.  They called their homes "cottages."   Our beloved Hampton Terrace was considered in that category.

And they called their beautiful horse-drawn carriages "tubs."   Both tongue-in-cheek characterizations were thin attempts to minimize their otherwise ostentatious life-styles.   We won't expound upon whose backs these fortunes were made….but now, 100-years later, it is fun to gawk at their great monuments to excess.   Which brings me to September 12-14, "A Weekend of the Gilded Age" in Lenox.

So let's start with the "tubs."   When these great estates were abandoned in the 1920s and 1930s, many of the original carriages were left hanging in their carriage houses.   Several decades ago, a local organization formed to rescue as many of these magnificent carriages as possible and find a way to use them in their former context.  That was not hard.   During the heyday of Lenox's Gilded Age, the 'famous" families of Lenox would venture into town for a month or so, have their parties, and then depart en-masse to their next destination (summer houses, fall houses, winter houses, city houses, etc).   Before leaving, they would cover their carriages with flowers, load up their families, and participate in Lenox's annual "Tub Parade," where they would wave good-bye to the locals until next year.   I think I used the word "ostentatious" before, and now I'll use "pretentious."

So how much fun would it be to reanimate that scene?   As it turns out, a LOT of fun.   Lenox's annual "Tub Parade" will be held Saturday afternoon, September 13, and it occurs just several hundred feet from Hampton Terrace's front door.   There will be hundreds of people attempting to find parking places before the parade.   Not our guests.   One of the many benefits of staying at Hampton Terrace, of course.   Another benefit:

The signature event during the Gilded Age Weekend is an actual Gilded Age Ball at Ventfort Hall on Saturday evening, the 13th.   Imagine you are an invited guest of the Morgan family, enjoying their Berkshire "cottage," smoking their cigars, drinking their wine….and here is the benefit of staying at Hampton Terrace….staggering across the street to fall into your bed.  I'll leave the light on.

And what is a Gilded Age weekend without the official chronicler of the Gilded Age, Edith Wharton, not weighing in.   "The Mount" grounds will be open on Sunday afternoon for picnics for just $10 with all proceeds supporting the mansion.   It is possible to also add a discounted tour of the house itself.

The GREAT NEWS is that Hampton Terrace considers September a "low season" month.   All rooms in the Main House and Carriage House are $189/night and we do STILL include the $30 Gift Certificate to Nejaimes, the wine shop with a 2-night stay.   How can I afford that, my banker asks?   By filling up, I answer.   So please make my banker happy.

I am here to dispel the misconception that things close down when the Boston Symphony leaves Tanglewood at the end of August.   To the contrary, all of the theater groups continue right through October, the museums don't miss a beat, and in fact, it can be demonstrated that MORE things are happening, as the individual towns attempt to extend the "season" by holding festivals celebrating everything from apples to zuchinis (true!).

So before putting Tanglewood in the rear view window, let's talk about their annual Jazz Festival on Labor Day Weekend.   This year marks a 90th Birthday celebration for Marian McPartland, the ubiquitous host of NPR's Piano Jazz.   For the seventh year, she'll be taping her live show for broadcast.    Also during the weekend, Tanglewood will present jazz luminaries Mark O'Connor, Edmar Castaneda, Joe Locke, Elaine Elias, Nnenna Freelon, Spencer Day, Mulgrew Miller, Donal Fox, Christian Scott (pictured), Dianne Reeves, Eddie Daniels, Jane Monheit, and Terence Blanchard.     For a schedule, and ticket information, TANGLEWOOD JAZZ FESTIVAL.

For something COMPLETELY different, the 3rd Annual Rock, Rattle & Drum Pow Wow will be held at Eastover Resort in Lenox.   Subtitled the "Spirit on the Mountain Music Festival," the weekend includes an authentic American Indian Pow Wow, American Indian Grammy winners Bill Miller and Indigenous, and the 60's icon band, Jefferson Starship.   The setting will also include Native American arts and crafts, food and vendors.   For information, CLICK HERE.

This represents only two suggestions for Labor Day.   There are hundreds of other options, from Shakespeare & Company and Berkshire Theater Festival, to blueberry picking and bar hopping.   As always, as a future guest of Hampton Terrace, we provide a long list of advance information to help you plan you stay.

For the Labor Day weekend, it is still possible to stay at Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast in Lenox.   Unlike many of the local Berkshire inns, we only require a two night minimum.   That leaves single Friday and Sunday nights available as well, so if you want to catch the Sunday show, for example, it is possible to stay here.   We are very proud that Hampton Terrace is now ranked #1 in Lenox, based on TripAdvisor unsolicited guest reviews.

At Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast in Lenox, MA,  we attempt to make every guest happy for every night they stay with us.   Since 1999, when we bought the inn, that represents 26,300 opportunities to meet or fall short of expectations.

Let us start by saying that we KNOW we cannot please all of the people all of the time….although we try very hard.   It is especially difficult to do that in a 110-year-old historic home, where every room is different and expectations are hard to manage.   For those who are looking for the uniformity and guarantees of a cookie-cutter hotel chain, they may not be prepared for what they find in an inn….a place where such guarantees are replaced by distinct experiences, authenticity and the warm embrace of an innkeeper hoping to earn a repeat guest. More on Hampton Terrace #1 in Lenox, TripAdvisor.com

For many decades there has been concern that there is not enough music education in the schools.   But one of the by-products of so much classical music in the Berkshires is a plethora of music education opportunities. More on Music in the Berkshires: Classical Beyond Tanglewood, Part 3

You can find classical music of some variety just about every night at Tanglewood from mid-June until late August every year.   But on any given night in the Berkshires there are thousands of visitors and second homeowners who are willing to support music at other venues up and down the county.

The Concerts at Tannery Pond is a series of six or seven chamber music evenings held in an 1834 Shaker building in New Lebanon, New York from May through October.   Established in 1991 by photographer/pianist Christian Steiner, the annual series combines music with a serene setting that would be hard to beat anywhere.

Continuing in the chamber music genre, there is the South Mountain Concert Series, held on weekends in September each year.   Located just north of Lenox, the series has been presented since 1918 and is held in a hall built that specifically for chamber music.   Performers over the years have included Leonard Bernstein, Gary Graffman, Leontyne Price and Peter Serkin, and quartets have included the Borromeo, the Emerson, The Guarneri, the Tokyo, the Julliard, the Orion and the Vermeer. More on Music in the Berkshires: Classical Beyond Tanglewood, Part 2

Of course, Tanglewood created the reason people began coming to the Berkshires annually to hear classical music.   But under the rationale of "critical mass," numerous arts presenters have sprung up over the years to give concert-goers multiple nightly options.

The Berkshire Choral Festival began in 1982 and performs weekends from mid-July to early August at the Berkshire School in Southern Berkshire County.   The Springfield Symphony provides the musical accompaniment.   If you are an experienced choral singer, and you would like to spend a week in the Berkshires, it is possible to sing with the Berkshire Choral Festival.   They also offer opportunities to sing with the Chorus in England, Canada and Austria.

The Berkshire Opera presents fully staged performances, featuring internationally known opera stars, on multiple venues throughout the Berkshires.  

The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield and the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington also present an annual slate of classical music.   Their websites offer calendars and the opportunity to purchase tickets.

Hampton Terrace in Lenox also offers classical music…much more ambiantly.   We have hidden speakers in our common area rooms that play classical background music during the day and jazz at night.   We also have a 1929 Steinway L Grand piano which is in great shape, is always in tune, and is frequently played by guests.   So for a great Berkshire bed and breakfast experience, stay at Hampton Terrace, one of the best reviewed Lenox inns.

What is he doing?   Promoting another Berkshire lodging option?   I guess that could be the end result of this entry, because I do really like everyone I know at the Red Lion Inn, including Nancy Fitzpatrick and Brian Butterworth.   But I am really just trying to promote their nightly music, and if I lose a few potential guests along the way, so be it. More on Music in the Berkshires: The Red Lion Inn