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News from The Porches Inn July 2008
in this issue
:: STARGAZING PACKAGE
:: BIKEFEST
:: BASEBALL
:: FARMERS' MARKETS
:: MASS MOCA'S BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS
:: MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

Year-round heated outdoor pool at PorchesJuly has kicked off with beautiful warm weather and exhilarating afternoon thunderstorms! The Porches Inn is situated in the northern Berkshires among hiking trails, invigorating lakes and rivers, and plenty of air-conditioned museums, such as MASS MoCA, right across the street. Our outdoor pool and hot tub are perfect for this time of year, whether it's to take a cooling dip in the heat of the day or gaze at the stars during warm nights. Head on over to The Porches Inn for a summer getaway you won't forget!

Click here for some great ideas on hikes for all levels of ability...
Look to the stars with our July lodging special... Stargazing!

Spend the day exploring local arts events and galleries, hiking trails or simply roaming our charming Berkshire towns and then get ready for some good ol' fashioned star gazing!  We'll give you a book on identifying constellations - so you can escape the lights of North Adams with the book and a blanket to a nearby field and try to find your Zodiac in the sparkling sky. Upon your return to Porches, we will provide marshmallows for our on-site bonfire pit - kick back, relax and cozy up by the fire. Package includes overnight accommodations with our healthful Continental breakfast buffet, a book of constellations and marshmallows. Priced from $189, Sunday - Thursday.
  *** Special available July 1-31, 2008 (based on availability)***
Please call 413.664.0400 to reserve.


Click here for more Porches packages and specials or go to www.porches.com for all information!
THERE'S NO FEST LIKE A BIKEFEST!

For those rough and tough adventurous folk, head over to Hancock for a killer bike fest! What is the KENDA BikeFest presented by DIRT RAG? A long weekend spent enjoying the best of the Berkshires by bicycle.  Camping, contests, clinics, special guest Pro Athlete appearances, live entertainment, family and kid-friendly activities and much more.

The Kenda Bike Fest presented by DIRT RAG is fun on a bicycle for recreational riders of all ages, interests and abilities taking place on July 25-27 at the Apple Tree Hill Organic Farm on Route 43, Hancock, MA.

Since 1995 the Festival has been one of the largest non-competitive cycling and demonstration events in the country.  It began as a small group of friends and family gathering for a weekend of mountain biking, camping, music, fun and games.  Today it is that and much more. Many of the same friends and family still come - and they're bringing their kids with them too!  The Cycling Industry turns out in force - showcasing their products to festival-goers in a unique, hands-on, user-friendly setting and providing Festival attendees access to new products generally not available to those outside of the Industry.  So make plans to enjoy great riding, music, fun and bikes, bikes, bikes!

www.bicyclefest.com

PS - Be sure to cheer the Porches team if you go! 
NORTH ADAMS STEEPLECATS
 
Baseball is not only America's favorite pastime, it is also said to have been invented in Pittsfield, in the center of the Berkshires. In the spirit of keeping baseball alive, The SteepleCats organization, a collegiate summer baseball team, brings the best college players from across the country to play summer baseball at Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams. The team is part of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a premier summer league that is known for its superb competition. So grab your peanuts and Cracker Jacks and root, root, root for The Steeplecats!
Check the schedule here!

The Steeplecats
Tom Wolfe Field
North Adams, MA
413-663-7333
www.steeplecats.com


MASS MoCA presents Interpretations: Devorah Sperber


MASS MoCA
1040 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA
413.MoCA.111
Interpretations: Deborah Sperber
On display through September 1, 2008

This "marvelously zany installation artist" (The New York Times) makes sculptures that at first glance appear to be multi-colored abstractions composed of volumes of common craft materials like spools of thread, map tacks, or marker caps. When viewed through special optical devices like a clear acrylic sphere or a convex mirror, however, recognizable images from art history surprisingly emerge.

Kidspace Hours:
Open everyday, noon-4:00 p.m. Kidspace is a contemporary art gallery and art-making space, organized in collaboration with the Williams College Museum of Art, Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, and MASS MoCA.



www.massmoca.org
 
FARMERS MARKETS

Support local Berkshire farms and merchants by shopping at Berkshire Grown's local Farmers' Markets. The Adams Farmers' Market, at 60 Columbia Street, is open Fridays from 12:00pm - 6:00pm, the North Adams Farmers' Market on 77 Holden Street is open from 8:00am - 12:00pm and the Williamstown Farmers' Market on Spring Street is also open on Saturdays form 8:00am - 12:00pm. Browse the fresh farm stands and take home some of the Berkshire's finest goodies!

Berkshire Grown is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization
Great Barrington, MA
413-528-0041
www.berkshiregrown.org
Bang on a Can All-Stars!






Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth

MASS MoCA
North Adams, MA
www.massmoca.org
www.bangonacan.org


Saturday, July 19, 8:00PM
The Bang on a Can All-Stars, New York's high-energy electric chamber ensemble, perform an impossibly diverse concert of music by some of today's most innovative artists, all of it commissioned by Bang on a Can. New music by jazz giant Ornette Coleman, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Lukas Ligeti, Todd Reynolds, Julia Wolfe, and Evan Ziporyn. Make a day of it: galleries open until 7 PM.

Please call 413 MoCA111 for tickets.

Head over early: Lickety Split serves dinner, snacks, and ice cream before the show or visit Caf� Latino on the MASS MoCA campus. There are also many great restaurants in North Adams that are within walking distance of Porches and the Museum.
MUSEUM & GALLERY SCENE

Interested in creating your own gallery tour? Click here for an extensive northern Berkshire Gallery Guide!


The Clark Art Institute
(413) 458-2303
225 South Street
Williamstown, MA
www.clarkart.edu

The Clark has been working with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando and landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand Associates to design a campus plan that enhances the Institute's setting, expands the facilities for its public and academic programs, and reconfigures its galleries to broaden the ways in which visitors experience works of art.

Phase I, Stone Hill Center, opened on June 22. The building features a 32,000-square-foot facility that houses new, intimately scaled galleries, a meeting and studio art classroom, and the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. Located on the wooded hillside, Stone Hill Center will reinforce the Clark's unique standing as one of the only major art museums in the world located in a dramatic rural setting. The new galleries will present exhibitions highlighting the Clark's collection as well as works representing periods and cultures not currently shown at the Clark. A terrace affords magnificent views of the Taconic Range and Green Mountains, and a new network of scenic trails and walking paths integrates the building into the landscape.
 

Williams College Museum Of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive
Williamstown, MA
413.597.2429
www.wcma.org
 
Wall Drawing #959: Uneven Bands from the Upper Right Corner by Sol LeWitt
To launch its 75th anniversary year, the Williams College Museum of Art invited renowned, conceptual artist Sol LeWitt to create a wall drawing for the museum's atrium. Consistent with the artist's belief that the concept and not the execution is the most important aspect of a work of art, a representative from his studio along with three Williams College students created the 33-foot high painting according to a set of LeWitt's site-specific plans. For two weeks in January 2001 visitors watched Uneven Bands from the Upper Right Corner take form from beginning stages to finished work. The completed wall drawing in red, blue, yellow, purple, green, and orange is now on view. This exhibit will whet your appetite for the huge LeWitt installation opening at MASS MoCA this November.