tagged: Art, Event, Festival, Food & Dinning

Hancock Shaker Village & a night at The DreamAway!

Posted by Kaitlyn in Arts & Culture, Events, Food

Simple Gifts exhibit

Saturday was a beautiful overcast day in the Berkshires and also the 50th Anniversary of Hancock Shaker Village in Hancock MA! Tom and I had been invited to view the newest exhibition, Simple Gifts in which Contemporary Artists Celebrate Hancock Shaker Village’s 50th Anniversary. We had gotten a free pass from our library where you can check them out just like a book, most passes will admit an entire family for free or for a significant discount!

Bella - a calf at HSV

The exhibit was in the “Poultry House” and it was full of beautiful things to look at. We spent some time checking it all out and read over the schedule and found out there would be a hot air balloon launched to celebrate another 50 years at the village! We ran home because I had to have my camera, I didn’t bring it originally because i usually make do with my iPhone but I really wanted to be able to capture the colors and the depth as well as capture a piece of history (i’m a sucker for history!).

The balloons getting ready to take off at HSV! See more shots on my facebook page!

Before heading back for my camera we took a walk to the round barn to see the animals and admire the beautiful structure that has become the icon of Hancock Shaker Village. Inside were the typical farm animals, one of which was a calf named Bella which reminded me of our bull dog who passed earlier this year at the age of 10. We arrived a bit late in the day so we didn’t have much time to check things out before the balloon launched so we headed out of the barn and grabbed the camera. We watched as the balloon was inflated which was kind of scary, flames shot up into the balloon which inflated it fairly quickly. After the first one was almost complete they started to inflate a second balloon. I was excited because it meant I had more chances to take pictures! (check out my album on my facebook page)

While at the village you can also check out audio tours which allows you to take a tour on your own time. They also do demonstrations of some of the amazing technology that the Shakers pioneered and also have regular events throughout the season! It is a very family friendly place or great if you are just looking for a beautiful place to spend your day.

The front porch of The DreamAway Lodge

The DreamAway Lodge

After we watched the balloons sail over the village and out of sight behind the hills we headed back to the car and prepared for a night of food and music at The Dreamaway Lodge in Becket!! We had plans to have dinner with Tom’s dad so we made sure to make a reservation which was a good thing because they only had one table left! I had only ever been there once when I was younger and worked a random night prepping salads in the giant kitchen during a busy summer night! We came from Windsor so we went through Hinsdale down route 8 until we reached a fork on our right, one way led to Washington Mountain Rd and the other to Country Rd. About 2 miles down Country Rd is The Dreamaway Lodge. It was an overcast evening so there were no stars but there was plenty of food, people, and music!

I love the bar and relaxed atmosphere!

There was a full parking lot up a hill where the old house sat so we parked on the road and walked up the drive way. In the front yard is a fire pit where people were already relaxing and enjoying the music that played in the side yard. The old house was full of decorations for every time period and full of different table sets. There was a colorful bar that was already very busy with people getting drinks to sit outside with. Our waitress was great and came over after we were seated to get our drink orders. They have a no cell phone use policy inside the restaurant but they didn’t seem to mind me taking pictures. We spent a good hour or 2 chatting, drinking, eating, and enjoying the music that played outside.

The band outside at The DreamAway

After we paid our bill we were offered table clothes to lay on and we brought our drinks out and laid on the lawn where we enjoyed the music some more. There happened to be a band playing that had also played the weekend before at Mass MoCA for the Solid Sound Festival that we had missed that weekend so it was a great surprise! We were surrounded by bushes full of fragrant white flowers while we all laid on the table clothes and finished our drinks and conversation. It was a really great experience and I will definitely be going back, hopefully after I make it to Jacobs Pillow it will be out dinner stop! Click here to check out a music schedule to help you plan your visit!

Kaitlyn