Tanglewood Offers New Programs To Patrons

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LENOX, Mass. - Patrons planning to attend Tanglewood this summer can choose from a number of new programs and promotions designed to give visitors and Berkshire residents a variety of options to enhance their visit to the BSO’s summer home. The four new programs this year include the Grass Pass, allowing lawn admission to all classical concerts during the 2009 Tanglewood season; the 45/45 Clark and Tanglewood ticket promotion, offering discounted access to both Berkshire institutions; two Backstage Pass Weekends, July 24-26 and July 31-August 2; and One Day University at Tanglewood on August 23. Detailed information about these new programs is available at tanglewood.org.

GRASS Pass

The Tanglewood Grass Pass allows patrons lawn admission to all classical concerts that take place during the 2009 Tangelwood season, including 22 Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts, 3 Boston Pops Concerts, Tanglewood on Parade, and performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinists Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, and Christian Tetzlaff, and pianists André Previn, Yefim Bronfman, and Leon Fleisher. The Grass Pass, priced at $250, is a non-transferable photo ID pass that needs to be purchased in person at the Main Gate Box Office, which opens on June 19. Blackout dates for the Grass Pass include Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor (June 27), Diana Krall (July 4), Tony Bennett (July 21), James Taylor (August 26-30), and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival (September 4-6).

Backstage Pass For “Tanglewood Immersion Weekends”

The “Tanglewood Backstage Pass Weekends,” July 24-26 and July 31-Aug 2, offer music-lovers an unprecedented look at life behind-the-scenes at Tanglewood. This first-time-ever immersive program offers patrons a look at Tanglewood from an insider’s experience, with private picnics and receptions with BSO musicians, classes, discussions, and workshops relating to the weekend’s programming, and food, parking, and hotel accommodations. The package includes one concert per day, four meals, two nights at a hotel, and a Tanglewood parking pass. The cost for each of the “Tanglewood Immersion Weekends” ranges from $500 to $882 per person, based on double occupancy. Tickets for the Backstage Pass Weekends can be purchased online through the BSO’s website at www.tanglewood.org or by calling SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200.

“One Day University At Tanglewood”


On Sunday, August 23, One Day University, the acclaimed adult education program, will present three lectures in Ozawa Hall by award-winning professors from Harvard and Yale. Topics to be discussed include “You Call That Art? Understanding Why We Like What We Like,” with featured speaker Professor Paul Bloom of Yale; “Positive Psychology and the Science of Happiness,” with Harvard University’s Shawn Achor; and “Beethoven’s Ninth – The Story of a Masterpiece,” with Harvard Professor of Music Thomas Kelly. The day concludes with the BSO’s final Tanglewood performance of the year: Ives’ Thanksgiving and Forefathers’ Day for chorus and orchestra, followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the traditional Tanglewood season closer, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas and featuring the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. The cost for the full day’s events is $299, which includes all professor presentations, a continental breakfast, lunch in the Hawthorne Tent, a Shed ticket in section 17, 18, 19, or 20, VIP parking, and a 10% discount in the Tanglewood Glass Houses. Tickets for One Day University are available only through One Day U at 800-663-3298 or by visiting www.onedayu.com/tanglewood.

45/45 Clark And Tanglewood Ticket Promotion

Tanglewood and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute are coming together this summer to offer a $45 ticket package for patrons making the 45-minute drive between the two institutions. The package includes two lawn tickets to Tanglewood classical concerts, typically priced at $20 each, and two tickets for admission to the Clark, usually $12.50 each. This summer’s 45/45 ticket package is designed to make it easy and more affordable for visitors to take in a variety of experiences while enjoying the scenic Berkshire Hills.

Tanglewood lawn tickets available for this special promotion include all classical concerts, as well as Pops and Tanglewood on Parade. Blackout dates include Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor (June 27), Diana Krall (July 4), Tony Bennett (July 21), James Taylor (August 26-30), and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival (September 4-6). Clark admission tickets are valid June 7 through September 7.

Tickets for the 45/45 promotion can be purchased online through the BSO’s website at www.tanglewood.org or by calling SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200. Tickets are also available in person at the Symphony Hall box office, at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, in Boston, MA. The Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood’s Main Gate on West Street in Lenox, Mass., will open to the public on Friday, June 19, at 10 a.m. Tickets can also be purchased through the Clark’s website at www.clarkart.edu or by calling 413-458-0524. Tickets will be available in person at the Clark beginning June 1.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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