What’s New in 2019

The Berkshires is an exciting year-round destination for all ages, offering the perfect mix of arts and culture, outdoor adventure, great food, and distinctive shops. Here’s a partial list of places you will want to make sure is on your group itinerary through the Berkshires.

Visitors to the northern Berkshires will find two of the region’s most notable art museums. Both have newly renovated spaces worth a visit. Stop by the new Manton Research Center while at The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown to explore the new Manton Study Center for Works on Paper, Manton Gallery for British Art, The Eugene V. Thaw Gallery for Works on Paper, the Henry Morris and Elizabeth H. Burrows Gallery, the Lauzon Glass Study, and the new public reading room. Purchase a combined group ticket to the Clark and MASS MoCA to visit the new Building 6 in North Adams. Building 6 doubles MASS MoCA’s gallery space, adds support facilities and amenities for performing artists and music festivals, and houses four long-term installations. Both offer great group tours and discounts and their gift shops will ensure everyone in your group leaves with something to remember their Berkshire visit.

Head south to Lenox for a performance at the new outdoor Roman Garden Theatre at Shakespeare & Company. While in town, visit Tanglewood to learn more about the multi-use, multi-season, four-building complex scheduled to open in 2019. The state-of-the-art expansion will create an additional rehearsal and performance space and add year-round educational programming and amenities for visitors to the 524-acre campus. Both venues have been a favorite of groups to the Berkshires for years so be sure to include them on your upcoming itinerary.

Looking for a new place for your group to stay while in Lenox? Book a reservation at the Courtyard by Marriott Lenox Berkshires, a Marriott property offering an on-site restaurant, fitness center, pool, and business services and meeting space. Also new to the hospitality scene here is 33 Main, an eight-room bed-and-breakfast-style luxury lodging experience created by Berkshires-based designer Annie Selke, perfect if you are planning a small luxury group visit.

If your group is inspired by dance then you will want to be sure to visit the new 200-seat Perles Family Studio at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket. With the addition of this new building, the Pillow can offer year-round rehearsals, informal performances, instruction and more. In Stockbridge, the renovation of the 18th-century Center House at Berkshire Botanical Gardens creates a four-season space for education, programming, and special events. The restored building houses a new commercial kitchen, administrative offices, a gallery space, a library of horticultural and design books and a reading room. Plus, the gardens always delight and are a great stop on your tour through the Berkshires. For a one-of-a-kind experience that marries art and the great outdoors in one beautiful locale, head over to Turn Park in West Stockbridge. The 16-acre art space in a former marble quarry is home to unique outdoor sculptures, art exhibitions, live music and a stone amphitheater for outdoor performances.

No matter what part of the Berkshires your group wants to visit, there’s always something new to discover.