Finding more galleries on a downtown walk in Bennington

12:00AM / Wednesday, August 22, 2001Print Story | Email Story

When it comes to the visual arts, thereâ€™s a lot to see and do in downtown Bennington, Vt. In the past two years the downtown has grown to become its own destination for those seeking arts and crafts in a variety of media, with several shops and galleries located within walking distance of each other. The amount of exhibition space downtown has also increased, with a new gallery and an ongoing program that brings the work of local and regional artists to storefront windows. Flanking the corner of U.S. Route 7 and state Route 9, in the large marble building that once housed the First National Bank, is Fiddlehead at Five Corners, which co-owner Joel Lentzner calls â€œa retail theater.â€ Lentzner and his partner Nina Hardt spent many years as furniture-makers travelling throughout the country and met many crafters along the way. The store is an all-star lineup of their favorites; items include prints, hand-blown glass, furniture, lamps, and sculptures. They have a special room for kidsâ€™ items and each month they have a mini-exhibit from a local artist in what used to be the vault of the former bank. Sarah Doleâ€™s Left Bank Gallery, a few doors down on West Main Street, is chock full of interesting gifts and decorations. While she usually holds monthly exhibitions every summer in her upstairs gallery, this year she decided to focus on her downstairs shop and take time for her own artwork. Earlier this summer she had planned to hold a show of her own work, but she has postponed it until a later date. Entering the Left Bank is like stepping into another world. With global influences including Chinese calligraphy, Indian weaving, and Renaissance art, Dole creates an atmosphere that is both inviting and eye-opening. The smaller items make her shop/gallery most unique: a collection of unique greeting cards and prints, pillows made from a womenâ€™s co-op in India, and wrapping paper that is worth framing on its own. The small storefront located to the right of Left Bank is of Katie Cleaver, a metalsmith who has been in business for more than 25 years. Her small store specializes in contemporary jewelry with some sculpture. Cleaver said she has become so busy that she no longer takes custom orders, â€œunless someone is willing to wait for a year.â€ Around the corner, next to Your Bellyâ€™s Deli on Pleasant Street, is the historic Stark Hose Co. building, headquarters of an former neighborhood fire station. The building, with a Dutch style roof, was renovated through an adaptive reuse program by the North Bennington-based Vermont Arts Exchange (VAE). An artist apartment is located upstairs, and downstairs the Stark Hose Gallery opened this past winter. Currently, the VAE is holding an exhibit of photographs from students at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. And theyâ€™re gearing up for this fallâ€™s WindowWorks program, which invites local artists to submit artwork that may be chosen to go on display downtown in one of the many store windows. Heading east on Main Street, The Pea Pod has a wide variety of gifts and accessories for the home, including pottery, clocks, candles and lamps. For art supplies, both Knappâ€™s Pets, Hobbies and Music on Main and Jayâ€™s Art Shop and Frame Gallery on South Street are excellent resources. Jewelers include Tofel Jewelers and K.F. Armstrong Jewelers, longtime dealers in fine jewelry. And just a jaunt down the road, up Route 7, one will find an interesting mix of items at Hawkins House, which has handmade games, hand-woven rugs and much jewelry. Each of these venues has its own unique quality, and it is rare to find one hub with so many options.

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Q&A with State Representative Challenger Andrew Fitch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
10:01AM / Sunday, August 23, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Sept. 1, voters in the First Berkshire District will decide whether they want to send a new representative to Beacon Hill in Boston.

Andrew Fitch, currently a city councilor in the district's largest municipality — and the commonwealth's smallest city — is challenging former North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, who won the First Berkshire seat in a 2017 special election, in the Democratic Party primary.

There is no Republican on the primary ballot for the First Berkshire seat so the primary will effectively be the election for the seat.

The two candidates met for their only debate on Aug. 13 at Williams College. iBerkshires.com reached out to both candidates to follow up on some of the points raised in the debate and get their thoughts on some other issues facing the district.

Below are excerpts from a conversation with challenger Andrew Fitch:

Question: From the very beginning, you talked about the campaign as a listening experience, and this week you're continuing that with the bike tour …

Andrew Fitch: Knocking on doors that have never been knocked on before. … I was riding through, I believe it was Hinsdale coming into Windsor, and they started to yell at me, 'No!' And then the guy was like, 'Wait a second. That's Andrew Fitch.' They actually knew who I was, and they were actually wanting to chat with me.

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