Summer Reading Programs at the Lenox Library

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The Lenox Library Association Youth Department will feature nationally renowned storytellers Eshu Bumpus and Motoko on Thursday, July 3 at 2 p.m. These storytellers promise to bring humor, drama and a talent for singing to their stories from Africa and Asia. This program is free to the public and no registration is required.

A snowy owl, peregrine falcon, red-tailed hawk and an American bald eagle visit the Lenox Library Association’s reading park, 18 Main Street, on Thursday, July 10 at 2 p.m. Wildlife rehabilitator and former state wildlife biologist, Tom Ricardi, gives families an up-close look at these marvelous creatures of the wild. Free to the public. No registration required.
                
Beginning Readers: Learn to love reading with your book buddy at the Lenox Library Association on Saturday, July 12 at 11 a.m. Bring a favorite older reader to read with and join us for an exciting morning. After 20 minutes spent reading with your book buddy, enjoy an especially FUN activity and ice cream for all. Registration required.

Through Wolf Talk Educational Program, a live wolf visits the Lenox Library Association, 18 Main Street, on Thursday, July 17 at 2 p.m. Wolf Talk has been educating people about wolves since 1978 in order to clarify the misconceptions about one of our most valued endangered species. Wolf Talk has cared for, worked with and studied wolves at research facilities, zoos, in the wild and at their own Massachusetts compound. Families will learn about wolf behavior in captivity and in the wild in this free one hour presentation. No registration is required.

The Lenox Library Association presents a Young Adult workshop: You Can Do A Graphic Novel for ages 11 and up on Wednesday, July 23 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Enjoy drawing? Get inspired! Barbara Slate, author of 300 graphic novels and comics demonstrates how cartooning can be neither intimidating nor difficult but fun and something YOU can do! Please bring any work-in-progress. Registration Required.

                 
The Lenox Library Association invites you to come join award winning local children’s author and illustrator, Marc Rosenthal, for an illuminating morning on Thursday, July 24 at 10:30 a.m. Author of Phooey, illustrator of Dig! and other highly praised picture books, Mr. Rosenthal will demonstrate his artistry for preschoolers and their families. No registration is required.
                     
Come howl at the moon…with a wild thing tune at the Lenox Library Association on Thursday, July 24 at 2 p.m. Singer and guitarist/banjoist Tom Sieling performs humorous songs about our natural world in a very participatory family program for all ages. Tom has delighted thousands in New York and beyond for twenty years with his sense of humor and sheer fun. Free to the public. No registration is required.

Location: Reading Room
                  
On Thursday, July 31 at 2 p.m., the Lenox Library Association presents Nature in Action, Story and Song: a Romp on the Wild & Crazy Side of Natural Science with storyteller Jackson Gillman. Nationally renowned and a celebrity in his home state of Maine, storyteller Jackson Gillman reaches out and touches children, making them laugh, making them think, and leaving them delighted. This program is ideal for families. It is free and no registration is required.

For further information on any of the above events call 413-637-0197 ext. 105.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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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