If your kids are among the lucky ones who haven't started school yet (and you are among the unlucky parents stuck trying to entertain them for one more week; see my hand waving madly here) then mark this Friday, Aug. 30, on your calendar.

This is the last day of the Highland Street Foundation's Free Fun Fridays around the state, and it features two Berkshire County institutions this week: The Mount in Lenox and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. I highly recommend taking advantage of the free admission at both of these South County cultural venues, for several reasons.

First, free is always better than paying. That's a no-brainer.

Second, when admission

0 Comments
Read More >>

For the last two summers, my daughter has participated in the Berkshire Children's Theatre summer production. This year, because of schedules, she missed out on participating, but that doesn't mean you should miss out on these adorable shows.

Director Kara Demler somehow always pulls together a group of Berkshire County children of all ages and levels of experience; as a "backstage mom" at these shows, I know how hard they all work to do their very best.

This summer's offering is the classic "Charlotte's Web." Shows are Friday, Aug. 23, at 11 a.m. and Saturday, Aug. 24, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Berkshire Museum. Tickets are available in

0 Comments
Read More >>

Is summer over? It somehow feels like it, even in mid-August: You should have seen the jeans and jackets at the annual North Adams Downtown Celebration on Wednesday! I'm not convinced summer is over quite enough to take the air conditioner out of the window, but I did see a red leaf on the ground the other day.

The other way we know fall is around the corner, of course, is the thought of going back to school. Or, for our region's 5-year-olds, going to school for the first time. This week, there are two events geared toward those boys and girls who will be starting their school careers this fall.

First, on Friday, Aug. 16, the Family Resource Center is hosting its annual

0 Comments
Read More >>

If there is one event I have always wanted to attend during a Berkshire summer but never seemed to make it to, it's the .

Don't get me wrong: I don't actually enjoy eating zucchini, though every summer some well-meaning friend presents me with a green giant from their garden and I am left pretending that I can come up with all sorts of tasty ways to eat it, even though inside I know that it will sit on my counter until it gets mushy and gross.

(But don't get me wrong here: I do understand the impulse to dole out excess produce, as I am the proud owner of half a dozen blueberry bushes that produce pounds and pounds of the fruit that, while tasty, can get old

0 Comments
Read More >>

My family was first introduced to Jack and Annie of the Magic Tree House series in a most unlikely way: Wendy's.

A few years ago, well before my 7-year-old could read, Wendy's gave away CDs of Mary Pope Osborne reading her popular series with their kids' meals. We scored "Good Morning Gorillas" and proceeded to listen to it in the car over and over — and over again.

Thus began her love affair with Magic Tree House. We attended a reading in Stockbridge a couple years ago of the Christmas book that Pope Osborne herself attended. We have purchased and borrowed from the library many of the other books, and they have sparked my daughter's imagination

0 Comments
Read More >>