Chelsea Gaia, Director of Programming & Events for Ventfort Hall, will speak at Ventfort Hall about the time Ventfort Hall operated as Festival House, an inn in the 50’s where everyone was welcome. A tea will be served after her presentation. The Berkshires haven’t always been so open and celebratory of diversity. In fact, it’s a fairly recent development with an obscure catalyst.  During the 1950’s, Ventfort Hall did not exist as the Gilded Age Museum it is today, but instead, an inclusive resort open to all who wished to stay, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic class or status. In 1949, after realizing the lack of places welcoming to Jewish patronage, Bruno and Claire Aron transformed an abandoned Ventfort Hall into a haven and gatehouse for anyone who wanted access to Tanglewood performances or to experience the splendor of the Berkshires who may not have previously based on identity.