Page 41 - BusinessWest June 10, 2024

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Lenox
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owned in Lenox, and Piccolo essentially managed the tavern for the federal government while it arranged an auction.
“We’re operating normally; it’s business as usual, the staff is happy, so it’s ‘keep on trucking’ here,” she told the Berkshire Eagle the day after the U.S. Mar- shals Service took possession.
And those same sentiments apply today, after Annie Selke, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Annie Selke Companies, prevailed at that aforemen- tioned auction in April and in turn sold the tavern to the Piccolo sisters.
Indeed, when asked what it felt like to own the landmark instead of managing it for someone else, including the government, Piccolo said, “I run it the same. It’s just kind of like who I am; I’ve been here for so long.
“It’s a huge part of my life, and it continues,” she went on. “It’s like nothing changes; it’s like I never skipped a beat.”
Elaborating on what she said earlier, Piccolo said she is planning just a few small changes, but is large- ly invoking the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ philosophy, and in most all respects, the tavern isn’t broken.
Instead, it has grown from being purely a place for locals — a dive bar, by many accounts — to a destina- tion for those coming to Lenox to take in its many attractions.
That list includes Shakespeare & Company, which has an intriguing season planned for 2024. It includes a few traditional Shakespeare plays — The Comedy of Errors and The Winter’s Tale (in this case, an ‘enhanced reading.’ But it also features
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other offerings, including
a world premiere of The Islanders, starting July 25; a regional premiere of Flight of the Monarch, described
as a “darkly comic play that explores how siblings’ lives are intertwined”; the world premiere of Three Tall Per- sian Women, a “comedic
and touching play about gen- erational differences, grief, control, and learning to let go, but more than anything it’s a love story to immigrant mothers”; and Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret.
That eclectic lineup is part of what should be another summer and early fall of building more momentum in Lenox, said Stevenson, who returned to that notion of col- laboration among the tour- ism institutions at this pivotal time for the community.
Company artists Sara Linares, David Gow, and Naire Poole at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse. The company’s 47th season begins on June 21.
“We do a lot of art walks, art weeks, and music; Lenox loves music. These are things that happen year-round and are held at different locations, differ- ent venues, year to year,” she said, adding that Shake- speare & Company recently staged a Community Day (an open house of sorts with events that also show- cased area nonprofits), and other venues have staged
including artists that work in ceramics, fibers, glass, jewelry, painting and printmaking, photography, wood, metal, and mixed media. Food vendors and strolling musicians help to make the event a true late-summer destination.
FreshGrass Festival
1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams
www.freshgrass.com
Admission: Three-day pass, $64-$169
Sept. 20-22: The Massachusetts Museum of Con- temporary Art is known for its musical events, and the FreshGrass festival is among the highlights, showcasing dozens of bluegrass artists and bands on four stages over three days. This year, the lineup includes Shakey Graves, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, the Devil Makes Three, Drive-By Truckers, Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sanchez Trio, Steel Pulse, and more.
similar gatherings.
Collectively, they build not only awareness, but a
sense of community, hence the name, said Stevenson, adding that the cultural district works to call atten- tion to all different kinds of artists, promote diversity in the arts, and, in general, celebrate and promote the community’s rich inventory of restaurants and things to do. BW
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Summer
E isn’t the only agricultural fair on the block. The Middlefield Fair (middlefieldfair.org) kicks off the fair season on Aug. 9-11, followed by the Westfield Fair (thewestfieldfair.com) on Aug. 16-18, the Cum- mington Fair (cummingtonfair.com) on Aug. 22-25; the Three County Fair in Northampton (3countyfair. com) on Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield (fcas.com) on Sept. 5-8, and the Belchertown Fair (belchertownfair.com) on Sept. 20-22, to name some of the larger gatherings.
Glendi
22 St. George Road, Springfield
www.stgeorgecath.org/glendi
Admission: Free
Sept. 6-8: Every year, St. George Cathedral offers thousands of visitors the best in traditional Greek foods, pastries, music, dancing, and old-fashioned Greek hospitality. In addition, the festival offers activities for children, tours of the historic St. George Cathedral and Byzantine Chapel, vendors from across the East Coast, icon workshops, movies in the Glendi Theatre, cooking demonstrations, and more.
Mattoon Arts Festival
Mattoon Street, Springfield
www.mattoonfestival.org
Admission: Free
Sept. 7-8: Now celebrating its 51st year, the Mat- toon Arts Festival is the longest-running arts festival in the Pioneer Valley, featuring about 100 exhibitors,
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Old Deerfield Craft Fair
8 Memorial St., Deerfield
www.deerfield-craft.org
Admission: See website
Sep. 21-22: This award-winning show that closes out the summer tourism season has been recog- nized for its traditional crafts and fine-arts catego- ries and offers a great variety of items, from furni- ture to pottery. And while in town, check out all of Historic Deerfield, featuring restored, 18th-century museum houses with period furnishings, demon- strations of Colonial-era trades, and a collection of Early American crafts, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and metalwork.
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