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Apple Barn is Yankee’s ‘Editors’ Choice’ BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Apple Barn & Country Bake Shop on Route 7 has been named an Editors’ Choice in the “Yankee Magazine 2004 Travel Guide to New England,” spotlighting noteworthy travel destinations. Mother’s Day will begin the entertainment season for the Apple Barn, which offers activities from May through October with a focus on families. Harry Diamond, who, with his wife, Lia, has operated the business and nearby Southern Vermont Orchards since the mid-1990s, said he will honor mothers with a special treat, the barn’s signature puff pastry, to usher in the season. Visitors will be able to tour both the barn and the orchard, which was first planted in 1912, covers 300 acres and grows 45 varieties of apples, as well as pears, plums and cherries. The Apple Barn features a cornfield maze and has a series of free performances each fall. The maze, crafted from 225,000 stalks of corn, challenges people to make their way around the state’s major thoroughfares as they search out their favorite destinations. The Apple Barn complements the maze with a season of free children’s programming, which will begin this year on Aug. 28 with Debbie Zacheo’s sing-along, followed on Aug. 29 by Spoof Gabbling Circus with a comedy juggling program. Other events will include Bowie the Magic Clown, wildlife exhibitions from the New York Wildlife Institute, comedian-magic man Tom Joyce, the National Theatre for Young Audiences’ production of “Dinoman in Space,” an interactive space tour for children and the No Strings Marionettes. The Apple Barn also will offer a wine and cheese festival and sampling day in September. Its products include baked goods, mustards, relishes and salsas, as well as apples. Yankee Magazine’s travel editors, as well as local people, choose the recipients of the Editors’ Choice destinations. Descriptions of the choices, whether scenic areas, attractions or dining and lodging establishments, include addresses, prices and Web site URLs. The 2004 edition is the 33rd year of publication for the travel guide, which has an audience of 600,000 readers. During its season, the Apple Barn will be open daily from 9:30 to 5:30. Information: 1-888-8-APPLES (1-888-827-7537) or www.theapplebarn.com . Pownal breakfast POWNAL — American Legion Post 90, on Route 7, will serve an all-you-can-eat breakfast Sunday, May 2, from 8 to 11 a.m. The menu will include bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, French toast, pancakes, home fries, juice and coffee. The cost is $4 for adults and $1 for children under 7. Sox and Yanks MANCHESTER CENTER — Northshire Bookstore will present Harvey Frommer, author of "Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry,” Saturday, May 1, at 7 p.m. His book covers nearly a century of battles on and off the baseball field. It features exclusive interviews with former governors Mario Cuomo of New York and Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts,former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, congressmen, reporters, broadcasters, players, coaches, managers and front-office execs from the Red Sox and Yankees, including Don Zimmer, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe, Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Lou Meroni, Dwight Evans and Theo Epstein. More than two years in the making, this coffee-table book contains more than 125 photos. Frommer is the author of 33 sports books, including "The New York Yankee Encyclopedia," "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," and "Growing Up Baseball" with Frederic J. Frommer. Information: 802-362-2200, 1-800-437-3700 or www.northshire.com . Talent show BENNINGTON — The second annual "Artists for the Future" performance to showcase artistic talents of grades 7-12 will be held May 1 at Mount Anthony Union High School. The event will start at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium with a silent auction offering items and services donated by businesses from all over Bennington County. The 7 p.m. show will feature musical, vocal and dance performers, including Michael Cervini, saxophone; Lauren Cauley, classical piano; Mount Anthony's competition dance team and a jazz ensemble with Issac Leslie, Nicole Erthein, Allison Seyferth, Vanessa Kosche and Sue Green. Other performers will be vocalist Crystal Matteson; a drumming duet of Jay Sager and Matt Heistler, and Casey Hehir, piano. Paul Lambert, Mount Anthony’s chorus director, will perform with vocalists Stacey Banfield-Hardaway and Tori Welch, with Adam Tronson on keyboard and vocals. Others will be two Celtic dancers from Hubbard Hall and vocalists Katie Beck and Rae Noyes. In addition, the Berkshire Dance Theatre will perform modern Celtic dance. The evening will include an art show with 20 submissions in the school cafeteria from area schools as well as Frog Hollow and the Vermont Arts Exchange. Proceeds will benefit the Bennington County School and Workforce Partnership, a coalition of businesses, schools and workforce training providers that seeks to strengthen workforce quality, develop career opportunities and foster a culture of lifelong learning. Tickets, at the door, are $10 for adults $3 for students. They are also available at the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, Off the Wall (802-447-0217) or the school. Information: 802-447-7511. Needlework show MANCHESTER — Hildene’s annual Needlework Show will be held on Mother's Day weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 7, 8 and 9. Sponsored by Manchester Woodcraft, the show hours are l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the main house. There will be over 20 needlework categories on display, and the show will again include a raffle for a chance to win a Claire Murray hooked rug. The winning raffle ticket for the rug will be drawn Sunday afternoon, and the winner will not need to be present to win. Admission to the show is $10 for adults and $4 for children. Members are free. Other show events will include an exhibit by McAdoo Rugs, a boutique with kits and supplies and demonstrations throughout the show weekend. There are still some openings for the punch-rug hooking workshop on Saturday afternoon offered by Liz Williams of McAdoo Rugs. The preview reception will be held on Thursday, May 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission to the reception is $12 per person. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Additional sponsors for this year’s event are Equinox Resort, r. k. Miles, the Vermont Country Store and the Perfect Wife Restaurant & Spiral Press Café. Information: Lisa Fairley, 802 362-1788 or e-mail lisa@hildene.org. Haswell history BENNINGTON — In conjunction with the exhibition “Independence of Thought, Freedom of Speech,” a talk at the Bennington Museum will bring to life the 200-year-old story of Anthony Haswell, a Bennington newspaper publisher who was fined and jailed for violating provisions of the “Patriot Act” of his day. Telling the Haswell story will be Tyler Resch, the museum’s librarian, author of several books about this region and former long-time editor of the Bennington Banner. The talk will be at 2 p.m. on May 2 in the Museum Court. Regular admission to the museum will be charged. “Independence of Thought, Freedom of Speech” features the work of photographer Kevin Bubriski, with recent photographs of political expression in Bennington. Artifacts and documents from Haswell's trial and imprisonment are also on display. The exhibition will be on view through Nov. 12 in the museum's Changing Exhibition Gallery. Haswell was publisher of the Vermont Gazette, printed in Bennington, who in the summer of 1800 spent two months in a jail then located in Old Bennington. His crime was printing words on paper that offended the national political leaders of the day and the Federalist Party of President John Adams. The laws Haswell violated were the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by Congress in 1798 and signed by Adams. They provided for fines and incarceration of those who criticized the government or the president. They also provided for the deportation of any persons the president chose. Many today see parallels between those and today's so-called Patriot Act. Haswell's case, as well as that of Vermont Congressman Matthew Lyon, who was also fined and jailed for similar “violations," became the first real test of the First Amendment. Haswell and Lyon eventually were pardoned by President Thomas Jefferson, and the laws were allowed to expire. Haswell died in 1816, and his gravestone is near the swag fence of the Bennington Center Cemetery next to the Old First Church. A plaque honoring his role in establishing national freedom of the press is just east of the Bennington Battle Monument, where his print shop was located in the 1790s. The museum is at 75 Main St. (Route 9), 1 mile west of the intersection of Routes 7 and 9, and is open daily from 9 to 5. Information: 802-447-1571 or www.benningtonmuseum.org . Green Up Day BENNINGTON — The Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce has reminded residents that Saturday, May 1, is Green Up Day. Volunteers will meet at the chamber offices, rain or shine, and will help clean up Route 7A, County Street to Kocker Drive, from 9 to 11 a.m. The Chamber will provide bags, vests and snacks. Bring your own gloves. RSVP: 802-447-3311 French group BENNINGTON — Francophones are invited to gatherings on May 2, 16, and 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the Bennington Elks Club. French speakers of all levels of proficiency meet for informal small-group language practice and the sharing of culture. The biweekly schedule may vary in the summer, but is likely to include a picnic. The club is at the corner of Elm and Washington streets, one block west and one block south of the center of Bennington. Parking and the entrance are at the back. Information: Tordis Ilg Isselhardt, 802-442-3204.
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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