Iconic dance festival, Jacob's Pillow, in its 78th Season, announced it 2010 schedule recently and tickets are on sale today, March 1.

Beginning June 23rd, the line-up includes Nina Ananiashvili, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Le Ballets de Montreal, Camile A. Brown, Barak Marshall's "Monger," Shantala Shivalingappa, Armitage Gone!, Pichet Klunchun, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Jacoby and Pronk, CND2, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Trey McIntyre, Yin Mei, Les Ballets Trockadero, Kyle Abraham, The Goteborg Ballet, Lucy Guerin, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the Vanaver Caravan.   For information or tickets, CLICK HERE.

An insider's tip.   Enjoy Jacob's Pillow performances mid-week and save up to 30% at Hampton Terrace in Lenox.   CLICK HERE to learn about our mid-week discounts.

We are very proud at Hampton Terrace of our loyal customer base.   There are more than 4,000 couples who remain on our newsletter list, even though opting out is one click away.    We are equally proud that our summers fill each year with more than 50% repeat visitation.

We are careful about sending out our e-mail newsletters, knowing that an abuse of our valuable e-mail list will result in more opt-outs.  So we limit our newsletters to about three per year….two of them pertaining to important dates involving Tanglewood.   The third features off-season specials.

So we see Facebook as a terrific opportunity for those guests who want to hear more from us to voluntarily do so.    Through Facebook we will be offering last-minute specials, discounts and values….and as importantly….we will keep you in touch with interesting Berkshire activities….for example…last night was the inaugural lighting of the new Westinghouse Street Lights in the village.    A little known fact:   Lenox was among the first towns in America to have electrically lit streets, due to the fact that George Westinghouse's wife did not like the dark ride from her summer home into the village.   He was in  the process of installing street lights in downtown Niagra Falls, so she leaned on him to  throw a few around Lenox.    Now, 100 years later, there are still a few of the original (although non-working) lights around town, which served the role of allowing us to make exact replicas for the newly restored Lenox streetscape.   

The town leaders turned out last night, dressed in full turn-of-the-century formality, to flip on the new lights.   You could have been here.    Future Facebook fans of Hampton Terrace will hear about such fun opportunities.  CLICK HERE!

Every year we schedule major upgrades at Hampton Terrace, and this year involves all new flooring  in our Wynnstay Cottage.    Our Living Room area (shown) now has a durable hardwood-style planking with area rugs to aid areas that have always had too much traffic for carpet.

And the guest rooms, as of yesterday, are newly carpeted with some bold new color changes.    All-in-all, a hugely positive experience for us…a chance to rebuild all of the beds to make sure they are solid, clean behind and under furniture which has not been moved in a while…    We get a lot of repeat visitation in our Wynnstay Cottage (6 guest rooms, all with gas fireplaces and Jacuzzis) and I cannot wait to hear the reactions.

Last night we were fortunate to be invited by our friend, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, to the premier of "Les Liasons Dangereuses" at Shakespeare & Company, located just two blocks from us.   She was playing the lead role, Marquise de Merteuil, in what has become a theater classic.

Beside being a wonderful and intimate production (no different than other quality offerings from this well-established presenter) we were reminded how lucky we are in the Berkshires.   And I speak not only as someone who lives here, but also from the point of view of our visitors.   In a pre-show welcome, director (and founder of Shakespeare & Company) Tina Packer offered that a mid-winter presentation was S&Co's contribution to the effort to turn the Berkshires into a four-season cultural destination.    This is a fully costumed production of 12 actors.    Not a low-risk proposition.

That is not to say that we have not always attracted skiers, outdoor enthusiasts, and those who enjoy a nice inn with fireplaces.    But to offer theater such as this, on cold winter weekends, is to up the ante with all those who want to grow the "Berkshire Creative Economy."

It is our pleasure and obligation to help make that effort pay.    So if you are considering a trip to the Berkshires between now and March 21, know that you have four opportunities to see "Les Liasons Dangereuses" per weekend:    2 evening performances and 2 matinee performances.    Tickets are available for $12 to $48 by calling 413-637-3353, or by going to Shakespeare & Company.

And consider a stay at Hampton Terrace.   Our Romantic Weekend Package applies…which includes a $30 gift certificate to the local wine/gourmet food shop in town.   Imagine a glass of wine and some cheese in front of our living room fireplace, and then an evening immersion with scheming 18th century aristocrats.    That is what we did last night.   

Before Marti Mayne of BedandBreakfast.com visited Hampton Terrace a couple of years ago on a tour of Berkshire inns, she checked out our website.   I had always been told that we had a good website, but deep down I was not so sure.

After her stay, she volunteered that our inn photography undersold our inn, and that we should give serious thought to an upgrade.   She put me in touch with Mark and Matthew of Jumping Rocks Photography and the rest, as they say, is history.   In November 2008, they spent a couple of days shooting all of our guest rooms, and by January 2009, Kathy Barto and I had created a whole new website to showcase our pictures.    The impact was immediate and profound.

Our 2009 occupancy was 25% higher than 2008, in spite of the economy.   Most impressively, our off-season occupancy (all months except July, August and October) was up 60%!     The power of good images.

This increase got us noticed by USAToday as well.  

So next month in Austin, Texas, when PAII holds their annual convention, Jumping Rocks has asked permission to use Hampton Terrace as an example of the impact of good photography on a website.    Could not be more pleased to help out the guys who so profoundly helped us.

We are pleased to share that you can now  be a fan of Hampton Terrace, with a special set of benefits to be associated with that.    By following us on Facebook (and soon Twitter) you will be the first to know about special events here and in  the Berkshires, last-minute availabiilty, associated discounts, and other items of interest.  

CLICK HERE to register as a fan.