America’s premiere international dance festival is located on the site of Becket’s historic Carter Farm, which dates from 1790. The “Pillow” is an international venue for dance performance and education, founded in the early 1930s by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn. The Carter family farm was near the main stagecoach route, the Jacob’s Ladder Trail, said to be named after the biblical story of Jacob, who slept on a stone pillow and dreamt of a ladder to heaven. When the Carters found a large pillow-shaped rock on their property, they named their farm “Jacob’s Pillow,” a name that stuck with the property and is now beloved by dance artists around the world.

Today this 163-acre facility, designated a National Historic Landmark, is open to the public from June through August. Each year the Festival celebrates many dance traditions, from ballet to hip-hop, in the Pillow tradition of introducing new artists, presenting programs that happen nowhere else, and encouraging unexpected discoveries. Many free events are also offered, including tours of the site, talks, performances, films, exhibits, professional class observations and an annual Community Day. Everyone is invited to meet dancers, choreographers, designers, writers, musicians, and filmmakers to enjoy and learn about dance.

The Festival site also offers a variety of dining opportunities, including The Pillow Café, The Pillow Pub, a Coffee Bar, and an Ice Cream Bar. Souvenirs and gifts are available at The Pillow Store. For information on current programs and events, call 413-243-0745 or visit www.jacobspillow.org.

Magnificent, secluded stone bridges of exceptional craftsmanship, the series of Keystone Arch Bridges was the first system of bridges of their kind built for railroad use in the United States. These 70-foot high bridges, located in Middlefield, Becket and Chester, Massachusetts, were built between 1833 and 1841 without mortar or steel reinforcements and stand as impressive testimony to the engineering feats of the period. Major George Washington Whistler (father of the artist James Whistler) and William Gibbs McNeill were the chief engineers responsible for designing the bridges, referred to by some as “American cathedrals.” The bridges stand as a physical reminder of the evolution of the region and the extension of transportation routes westward.

The railroad itself was a marvel, the highest and longest in the world at the time, beginning as the Western Railroad and later becoming the Boston and Albany Railroad. The Keystone Arch Bridges allowed the railroad to extend from Worcester across the Connecticut River and through the Berkshires, over the deep gorges which border the Westfield River, to East Greenbush, New York on the Hudson River, where a ferry linked to Albany. There were originally ten Keystone Arch Bridges spanning the section of river known as the West Branch Gorge; only five remain. Three of the original bridges were washed away in floods during 1927, and two were removed by the railroad during a 1912 re-alignment. The five remaining Keystone Arch Bridges comprise the Middlefield-Becket Stone Arch Railroad Bridge District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Keystone Arch Bridges Trail, beginning at a location on Middlefield Road in Chester marked by an inconspicuous informational kiosk, extends for 2.5 miles and provides the only public access to two of the bridges. The trail, which was chosen by Yankee Magazine for their 2007 Editor's Choice List, also provides beautiful views of the West Branch Gorge of the Westfield River, the first National Wild and Scenic River designated in Massachusetts. A self-guided tour map is available at the Chester Railroad Museum. You can visit the Keystone Arch website at http://keystonearches.org/ or call 413-354-7752 to arrange a guided tour.

Founded in 1990, the Miniature Theatre of Chester (MTC) produces the highest quality professional theater in an intimate setting. Productions originating at the MTC have played Off Broadway and have toured regionally, nationally and internationally. The Theatre provides an appealing setting in which audiences enjoy language-rich, thought-provoking and entertaining theater performed by the finest professional actors in regional theater today.

MTC was founded in 1990 by Vincent Dowling, who established a commitment to new works. In the past 14 seasons, MTC has presented 17 world premieres, as well as many proven classics. In a region noted for its nationally acclaimed theater companies, MTC productions have won top honors among the very best of the Berkshires. The Theatre uses the auditorium of the Chester Town Hall, on Middlefield Road in Chester Village, for its productions. Plays are performed from the first week of July through Columbus Day weekend. For more information, call 413-354-7770 or visit www.miniaturetheatre.org.

This classic country store is one of New England’s foremost, welcoming visitors from around the world. Open seven days a week, all year long, the store is located on Route 112, just north of historic Huntington Village. The Huntington Country Store is filled to the ceilings with country goods in each of its cozy rooms, including a Holiday Room, spice room, porch, and ice cream parlor. The store is located on the first floor of an historic house, formerly a restaurant known as the Colonial Inn, which has been beautifully maintained. Its owners have operated three country stores in their long career, including the Williamsburg General Store.

The store is perfect for gift shopping, holiday decorations, specialty items and unique taste treats. Everything from gourmet chocolates and candy, jewelry, windchimes, baskets, Christmas ornaments and stocking stuffers, kitchen gadgets and pottery can be found. Shoppers can smell the wonderful aromas of candles, spices, baked goods, fancy soaps, incense, potpourris and gourmet coffees as they browse.

The Holiday Room changes with the seasons, but always includes Christmas items, including a wide variety of angels, Santas, and ornaments. The spice room attracts folks from far and wide for its collection of 75 different herbs and spices, including vanilla beans and real saffron. The room also contains an array of kitchen gadgets. Visit the porch for wind chimes, glass bottles, mugs, baskets, wrought-iron “tavern” puzzles, magnets, calendars, Coca Cola collectibles, and pewter figurines, just to name some of the many items. Visitors can also indulge in a treat from the ice cream parlor, which rotates among 80 delicious flavors and also serves hot gourmet coffee in a comfortable café setting. Add to this the old-fashioned toys, penny candy, and books, and the whole family can be entertained at the Huntington Country Store. For more information and directions, call 413-667-3232 or visit www.hcstore.com.

Situated on the Housatonic River, Lee was settled in 1760 and built around its marble quarry and paper mills. Lee’s Main Street, carefully refurbished during the 1990s, is notable for its historic architecture and friendly hometown atmosphere. The remarkably beautiful First Congregational Church is located at one end of the street, next to the town park and visitor’s center. The street contains many other buildings of historic and architectural interest, including the Lee Town Hall, which was the former Berkshire County Courthouse. Lee is also the home of Joe’s Diner, the setting for the 1958 Norman Rockwell painting “The Runaway.” Joe’s Diner is at the northern end of Main Street (and the Norman Rockwell Museum is only a few miles away in Stockbridge). Several inns and Bed & Breakfasts are available right on Main Street, including the Chambery Inn, a renovated 1885 schoolhouse; the Morgan House, a former stagecoach inn built in 1817, with colonial-style guest rooms and its own restaurant and tavern; and From Ketchup To Caviar, an 1841 building with two guest suites and a restaurant.

A number of other cafés and restaurants are located on Main Street, including the Cakewalk Bakery, Cactus Café, and Salmon Run Fish House. Nearby, on Railroad Street, is the Sullivan Station Restaurant, serving American cuisine in a fully restored railroad station. Shops include antique stores, gift shops, and an organic health food store, and Main Street is still home to a supermarket and two hardware stores, rare in small town centers these days. Each fall, Lee hosts a Founder’s Weekend Celebration, with three days of events such as the “Taste of Lee,” Hometown Parade, Festival Latino and the popular Classic Car Show. For more information, call the Lee Chamber of Commerce at 413-243-0852 or visit www.leechamber.org.

This store in Russell is the production site and showroom for custom-made, heirloom quality furniture and kitchens. A family-owned and operated business, Countryside Woodcraft craftsmen bring more than 100 years of collective woodworking experience to the manufacturing procedure. Their disciplined Mennonite heritage gives them the dedication and skills to build woodcrafts that exhibit traditional New England simplicity and functionality. The showroom in Russell is relaxed, with staff available to assist you to consider the full range of options as well as offer free kitchen design consultations. Workshop activity is also visible through large windows at the back of the store.

Furniture is offered in a variety of styles (including Shaker, Mission and Nantucket) and wood species, which can be custom finished with stains, paints, distressing, or glazes. Raw lumber is harvested from native northeastern forests, and purchased from environmentally responsible lumber companies. Each piece of furniture is bench-built by an individual craftsman, who hand assembles all of the components. Skilled finishers spray on the color stains, paints and glazes to provide a consistent color tone, and they will do custom detailing if desired. Hand-rubbed stain brings out the distinctive grain of the wood, enhancing its details and natural beauty. The Countryside Woodcraft showroom is a perfect place to visit just to enjoy these fine handcrafted items, and you can even watch craftsmen at their tasks in the workshop. Showroom hours are Monday-Friday 8-5 and Saturday 10-4, with some evenings available by appointment. Discounted items are also available, in the store’s basement. For information, call 413-862-3276 or visit their website.

This classic New England church has the tallest timber-framed steeple in the nation, at 171 feet. The present church was built in 1857 and has a 141-year-old clock system built by Turret and Marine Clock Company of Boston, with a Seth Thomas Clock movement to drive the four dials that strike the bell. The clock is hand wound and is designed to run for seven days at a time. The church is a fine example of the Italianate style of architecture and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The interior was decorated by two German artists using a technique called “trompe l’oeil” (fool the eye) stenciling, an almost-forgotten craft, and regarded as one of the finest examples of this work in the United States. The choir loft and the 1927 organ are also noteworthy. Sunday worship is at 10:30 a.m., and community suppers are served Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 413-243-1033 or visit www.ucc-lee.org.