Are We There Yet?: Holding On To Summer

This can't possibly be the last weekend before Labor Day weekend ... can it?

Boy, the summer flew by, especially with the kiddos out of school so late. There was hardly any "Mom, I'm bored" time at all. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself for next week!)

But with another nice weekend on the horizon, there's still time to enjoy some summer fun.

If you don't mind a little drive, the epitome of summer fun is happening just over the mountain to our east in Cummington: the 146th annual Cummington Fair. The fair actually starts tonight, Thursday, Aug. 21, and runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-24, though this weekend's weather looks better than tonight or tomorrow's for sure. Gates open at 4 p.m. Thursday and will be open 4-9:30 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

What's at the Cummington Fair? All the usual fair stuff: midway rides, fried food, agriculture, craft barn and exhibit halls, as well as a comedian, classic cars and much more. Visit the fair's website for more details.

If you're looking to stay closer to home, wherever in the Berkshires "home" may be, on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23 and 24, the Lenox Library holds its annual book sale. Yes, I know, books make you think of back to school, but there's bound to be a lot of good beach reads in the thousands of books the library will have for sale. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the library is right on Main Street in Lenox.

Also on Saturday, Aug. 23, in South County is the last chance to see a free Inside/Out performance at Jacob's Pillow in Becket. You can bring a picnic and watch METdance, a contemporary jazz company based in Houston. Showtime is 6:15 p.m. but come earlier to enjoy the lovely Pillow grounds.

On Sunday, Aug. 24, the Hubbard Avenue Barnes and Noble will present a special storytime and signing with Christine Sulborski, author of "Alex's Winter Adventure." This is to get you past summer AND fall and right into thoughts of winter! This free event is at 2 p.m.

One last Sunday event to mention: Motorama in downtown North Adams from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Main, Holden and Eagle Streets will be closed to all but pedestrian traffic as downtown North Adams fills with hundreds of cars, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles and tractors. Attendees can enjoy music, 50/50 raffles, food, shopping and more. The Downtown Celebration last week had lovely weather and a great turnout, so here's hoping Motorama can duplicate that.

As for me, well ... I actually haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. I love a weekend where I can go wherever the wind takes me!
 

Rebecca Dravis is the community editor at iBerkshires. She can be reached at rdravis@iberkshires.com.