image description
Nightwood lights up the grounds of The Mount for the fourth year.
image description
The installation is not so much a holiday theme but rather a reflection on nature.
image description
image description
image description
image description
image description
Food and beverages are available in The Mount's courtyard.
image description

Nightwood Illuminates The Mount for Fourth Year

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

Created during the pandemic as a safe activity, the outdoors light and sound installation has become a tradition at Edith Wharton's home.

LENOX, Mass. — Lights and sounds are bringing The Mount's property alive after hours during the fourth year of Nightwood.

Executive Director Susan Wissler said the show feels like an expanded experience, as there are many new components. The event opened on Friday and will run through Jan. 6.

"Front and center still are the stars, the trees," she said. "But the light and the musical score that accompany them just transformed into a completely different world."

The immersive winter exhibition stretches across about 3/4 of a mile through the historic property and includes four new installations: The Hollow, The Woods Revisited, The Crossroads and The Stream.  Nightwood combines scenic elements, theatrical lighting, and a dramatic score surrounding author Edith Wharton's elegant estate.

"Everything that we've built is very much inspired by the natural and the built elements that we find here, and each area is so unique. Some are very rustic," said designer Chris Bocchario of Clerestory Light.

"Some are very classically elegant, some are deep and dark, some are bright and airy so we really start just by trying to listen to what the environment is saying and draw inspiration from that."

The finale of the tour, "The Stream," is in an actual stream bed, "pulling the feel of that stream bed and the way that we experienced it in the day in the summer and sort of transforming it into something new that can be experienced at night that sort of speaks to the spirit of the stream," Bocchario said.

Rather than being a traditional holiday show, Wissler describes it as a "celebration of the vast splendor and mystery of our natural world."



Last year, Nightwood generated around 14,000 attendees over 27 dates. While it began as a way of embracing the possibilities of the outdoors at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, it has become a tradition for many.

"People have been coming and this is their third or fourth time coming and they love it," Wissler said. "They love the fact that it's so respectful of nature and not just sort of garishly driven, I mean, it really is something in harmony with nature as opposed to imposed on nature."

Bocchario said many don't think to do things in outdoors at night in the wintertime.

"At this point, it's really become just a celebration of that," he said. "I think we found that people want to spend time outdoors and want to experience this property in this way. It's not a COVID thing anymore, it's just kind of a positive thing to kind of come out of that experience."

NightWood runs from Nov. 17 through Jan. 6 with timed entries starting at 5 p.m.

Admission is limited each night so reservations are strongly recommended and can be made at NightWoodLenox.org. Golf cart tours are available on select days for those requiring accessibility accommodations and advance registration is required by calling 413-551-5100.

Warm beverages and light refreshments are available for purchase in the walled courtyard each night and the bookstore will be open for holiday shopping. New this year, small plates from Brook Farm Inn's new food truck will be available on select nights, and Berkshire Pulse will be on hand for special pop-up dance performances.


Tags: holiday event,   The Mount,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Dalton Division Road Project in Pre-25 Percent Design Stage

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The town's engineers say there is still time to work through the Dalton Division Road project’s design and permitting process. 
 
In December, the Select Board voted to advocate for Concept A, which would have sidewalks on both sides, a 5-foot bike lane in the road on both sides with a buffer, and a 2-foot painted buffer between the vehicle lane and in the bike lane. They also recommended the two-way stop control option. 
 
Since that decision, there have been sentiments to revisit this decision to reduce the cost and improve safety at the intersection off Williams Street, Washington Mountain Road, and Mountain Road. 
 
The original vote would have been the most expensive and "certainly not" the engineer or the state's "preferred design," Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said during a meeting in November. 
 
During last week's Select Board meeting, Fuss & O'Neil project manager and senior traffic engineer Steve Savaria represented the options, explained potential obstacles, and demonstrated the next steps. Present board members have yet to vote on their final choice. 
 
The project is still in the pre-25 percent design stage and is currently on the fiscal year 2029 Transportation Improvement Program list, so there is "plenty of time" to work out the details. 
 
Since the original vote, some board members have shifted their opinion toward advocating for the most feasible and timely option with a "path of least resistance to get this project done." 
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories