My favorite low or no-cost summer family activities in the Berkshires
Written: Sep 03 '02 (Updated Sep 03 '03)
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Pros: The Berkshires offer great cultural events and family fun for little or no cost!
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: Families can have a lot of fun and introduce their kids to great culture in the Berkshires for little or no cost.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Massachusetts |
We have been traveling to the Berkshires as a family for many summers. The Berkshires is a group of towns in the Berkshire hills including Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington and Pittsfield in western Massachusetts. This area is about 2 1/2 hours from Boston, 3 hours from New York City, 45 minutes from Albany and 1 1/2 hours from Hartford. The Berkshires is known as a cultural hot spot with many live music, dance and theater performances, as well as galleries, museums, historic houses and gardens to see. We have seen many of these attractions and I have listed below some of our favorite summertime things to do as a family that cost very little or nothing at all.
JACOB'S PILLOW
Jacob's Pillow is the longest running dance festival in the country. It is made up of several studios with pretty landscaping in a mountain setting.
In the Inside/Out Series, several times a week (primarily Thursday night through Saturday night) Jacob's Pillow offers a 45 minute performance for free!! The performances generally start at 6:30 pm and are outside if weather permits or inside if it rains. This is a great opportunity to see performances that are on the regular roster for free rather than pay $30 or more for tickets. You can also see new talent and talent that is otherwise not presenting at Jacob's Pillow. All of the performances we have seen have been very high quality. Plus, at 6:30, my kids are still wide awake enough to enjoy a performance, the 45 minute period does not exhaust their attention spans, and we can still go out to dinner after the performance and get them to bed at a reasonable time.
If you want to see a regular performance, Jacob's Pillow discounts children's tickets by at least 10%. For some performances, tickets are half off for children under 14. There are also family matinees that are, like the name implies, geared toward families and offer cheaper tickets. Family matinees are only offered about 4 times a summer, generally on weekend afternoons.
Parking is on a field. There is a short walk to the studios on gravel paths. There are snacks available for sale. The bathrooms are large and clean. You can also buy dinner on the property. It is served in a big open tent. We have never eaten dinner at Jacob's Pillow however, the setting is beautiful. Given the small size, if you are interested, I would strongly suggest reservations as it is probably very crowded before regular performances.
Jacob's Pillow is in Lee, MA. It is open from June to August. The web site is www.jacobspillow.org. The phone number is (413) 243-0745.
TANGLEWOOD
One of the preeminent Berkshire institutions, Tanglewood is a large, outdoor performance area. There is "The Shed" which is where the performers are in addition to assigned seating. This area is covered by a roof. We prefer the action on "The Lawn" which is a large grassy area behind the Shed. The Lawn is surrounded by tall trees on a hill top and you feel like you are on the top of the world. People often get to the Lawn hours before the performance. Many bring elaborate picnics, complete with tables, tablecloths, candles and substantial food. You can not see the performers from the Lawn, however they are sometimes broadcast on a large screen. Since most of the music performed at Tanglewood is classical, there isn't much to see. Plus, there is something really pleasant about listing to the music, laying on your back and looking up at the stars. More than a few times, our kids have fallen asleep.
Tanglewood is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and they dominate the performance schedule. However, you can see many other artists there. This summer, we were lucky to see a concert that combined John Williams conducting the Boston Pops and James Taylor.
We usually tackle the Lawn about an hour before show time. We bring a blanket (water-proof backing is a must unless you want to end up covered in dew), picnic dinner, warm clothes because the temperature drops after dark, and small simple toys that the kids can play with in the dim lighting. A flashlight is a good idea. Also, consider bringing a stroller or wagon for larger kids. The concerts end past 10pm and it can be a long walk back to the parking lot if you are toting picnic remains and sleepy/sleeping kids.
We get our picnic supplies at Price Chopper on Rte. 7 in Lenox which is about a 15 minute drive from Tanglewood. For $12 we got cheese, crackers, some sandwich supplies, fruit, vegetables and drinks. There are many, many opportunities for picnic supplies in and around Lenox and you can spend much more on gourmet takeout.
I have seen Tanglewood request that children sit on the back of the Lawn, presumably because it is less disruptive if your children are noisy. Many people ignore the request and I have never seen anyone asked to move. You can probably make your own call, knowing that the acoustics are fine on the back Lawn and you can't see the performers anyway.
Tickets for the Lawn at Tanglewood cost $15 for adults for most performances, however children under 12 are free. Tickets for the Lawn are almost always available at the gate so you don't need to pay a ticket handling fee to an agency. If the concert is really in demand (such as James Taylor) then consider buying them ahead of time.
The web site for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, www.bso.org, provides the Tanglewood summer schedule and information on Tanglewood. Tanglewood is in Lenox, MA and the phone number is (413)637-5165.
BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
Rainy day? How about an aquarium, children's museum, fine art, an egyptian mummy and an art house cinema all under one roof? That is the Berkshire museum and it can easily occupy your family for half a day. The basement of the museum is an aquarium which is a hit with both little kids and older ones. There is a touch pool with horse shoe crabs, star fish and other small sea life. Kids can touch and hold these animals. The rest of the aquarium is comprised of about 20 tanks showing fish, snakes, a tortoise, spiders and other small animals. There is a lot to see at the eye level of a 3 year old and the higher tanks have steps in front so little kids can see. There is also a small reading room with books for kids about the animals.
The children's museum is primarily on the first floor and includes a lot of stuffed animals and birds (great for taxidermy buffs), a dinosaur dig, mineral exhibit, magnet exhibit and others. There are no name brand characters here and it doesn't have the splash of a big city children's museum. However, there is a lot to touch and manipulate. The rooms are large giving it an open feel and it has never been crowded when we have visited. The dinosaur area had a "dig" where kids could find fossils. There was also a small area in a corner with baby books, puzzles, stuffed dinosaurs and other toddler toys. This was a hit with the diaper set while older kids could view the more complicated exhibits. The kids loved it.
Upstairs, there is a fine art collection and revolving exhibits. In the summer of 2002, there was an interesting exhibit of kinetic sculpture by Arthur Ganson. Many of the sculptures moved and the exhibit was briefly interesting to my kids. Ganson also invented Toobers and Zots which are colorful foam pieces that fit together. In the middle of the Ganson exhibit there was a huge tub of the Toobers and Zots which my kids happily played with while we looked at the exhibit. One genius approach of the Berkshire Museum is that they combine things that appeal to different age groups in one space so that families can move about the different levels together.
There is also a small area on the top floor with a real egyptian mummy and other artifacts. There are also copies of greek statues.
There is an art cinema in the building as well. When we visited there was a play for children being performed in the space. The play was sold out when we arrived at the museum in the morning. You can purchase tickets before arriving to the museum. So, if you are interested in finding out what is being performed, call ahead. You can get tickets in advance and then plan to visit the museum before or after the show. If you wait until the day of the performance, you may find, as we did, that it is sold out.
The museum does not have a restaurant but there is a vending area in the back with tables. There is a small, but quality gift shop. There are many, many items under $10 and it is a great place to shop for stocking stuffers or lots of small gifts. There is no parking on the museum grounds however there is a lot of street parking in the area.
The Berkshire Museum is in Pittsfield, MA. Adult tickets are $7.50, children 3-18 are $4.50. The web site is www.berkshiremuseum.org and the phone number is (413) 443-7171.
THE BERKSHIRE BLACK BEARS
Tired of culture? Try a Northern League baseball game. You won't see a no-hitter or professional league playing. The games are more like college games, and because they have a lot of action, kids will watch for longer. Between every inning, the Bears sponsor some kind of contest, including a dance contest, a contest to see who can put a frozen t-shirt on first and a toss the plunger into the toilet game. They also give away free pizza and Tater, the mascot, chooses a girlfriend and they have their first dance on home plate. This year they had a moonbounce that cost $1 for 3 minutes. It made a great break for little kids.
The games are played at Wahconah field in Pittsfield, MA. Tickets cost $7 for a box seat, $5 for a grandstand seat, $12 for a family four pack and children under 4 are free. There is ballpark food served at Wahconah including pizza, hot dogs and beer. The web site is www.berkshireblackbears.com.
MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY
Sunny day and the kids need some exercise after watching all those cultural events? The Massachusetts Audubon Society manages the 1,314 acre Pleasant Valley Sanctuary. The Sanctuary has seven miles of trails. You will see beautiful mountain vistas, wildlife, a pond and fields. The best part of the Sanctuary is that it offers all kinds of special programs. The programs are usually geared toward children over 4 and last 1-2 hours, although there is a great variety of programs offered. The cost of the shorter programs is usually around $6-7 per person. We attended one about crickets. The leader read the kids a book about crickets then helped each child catch a cricket and examine it in a bug box. The kids loved leaping and jumping in the field and the success of catching their own cricket. I highly recommend their programs. My only advice is to remember bug spray and sunscreen.
Pleasant Valley Sanctuary is located deep in the woods of Lenox, MA. In summers past, we got to the Sanctuary over a dirt road although this year we noticed there was some construction starting nearby. Maybe they are finally paving the road? The web site is www.massaudubon.org and the phone is (413) 637-0320. Admission is $4 for nonmember adults and $3 for nonmember children (3-12) and seniors.
OTHER THINGS TO DO IN THE BERKSHIRES
The Hancock Shaker Village is a fantastic day trip for the whole family.
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA)is a place to see very large, modern art pieces in a unique setting.
A visit to author Edith Wharton's house, otherwise known as the Mount, built in 1902 and located in Lenox, is like stepping back in time.
The Norman Rockwell Museum has art dedicated to one of America’s favorite illustrators.
In good weather, a visit to Naumkeag , a 44 room “cottage” from the Gilded Age surrounded by beautiful gardens, makes a nice half day trip.
PLACES TO EAT IN THE BERKSHIRES
Dakota is one of our favorite places to eat. They have a great kid’s menu plus good stuff for the grown-ups.
Baba Louie’s Organic Sourdough Pizza Company has great pizza.
Bizen has some of the best sushi outside of New York City in a really unique setting.
Happy traveling!!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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