Hancock Shaker Village Hosts Annual Winter Weekend

01:10PM / Tuesday, February 10, 2009Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hancock Shaker Village's annual Winter Weekend is filled with countless family activities that celebrate the season.

Slated this year for Valentine's Day weekend, Feb. 14 to 16, activities will include ice harvesting at the Shaker reservoir, horse-drawn sleigh rides and nature walks, in addition to a number of indoor offerings. Visitors will have a chance to participate in craft projects, cooking demonstrations, and tours of historic Shaker buildings, in addition to exploring the village on their own from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. daily.

Horse-drawn sleigh rides are included in the village admission price, and carry passengers along trails and through the woods toward the Shaker Reservoir, where ice harvesting is performed.

The Shakers cut, harvested and transported ice from the reservoir for cooling and refrigeration purposes in the 1800s and, during Winter Weekend, Dennis Picard will present ice-harvesting demonstrations that include narrative on the centuries-old art. Picard appeared last year in "Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold," a PBS "Nova" program.

Inside, cooking demonstrations will be held for adults and kids' craft sessions are planned for younger visitors. Displays of Shaker maple sugaring artifacts and how-to talks about starting a backyard sugaring operation will also be provided, as well as other hands-on programs in the Discovery Room.

Winter Weekend is an opportunity to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing on the village grounds; the "Farm and Forest" one-mile trail offers breathtaking views of the village grounds, as well as a great, low-impact cardio workout. Tickets are $7.50, and skiers and snowshoers receive discounts on guided tours.

Hancock Shaker Village is situated on 7,500 acres of farm, field and woodland. It includes 20 buildings, 22,000 examples of Shaker furniture, crafts, tools and clothes, as well as heritage farm animals and spectacular gardens.

For more information, call 800-817-1137 or visit www.hancockshakervillage.org.

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New Camp Is Safe Place for Children Suffering Loss to Addiction

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:26AM / Saturday, December 27, 2025

Last year's Happy Campers courtesy of Max Tabakin.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A new camp is offering a safe place for children who have lost a parent or guardian to addiction.

Director Gayle Saks founded the nonprofit "Camp Happy Place" last year. The first camp was held in June with 14 children.

Saks is a licensed drug and alcohol counselor who works at the Brien Center. One of her final projects when studying was how to involve youth, and a camp came to mind. Camp had been her "happy place" growing up, and it became her dream to open her own.

"I keep a bucket list in my wallet, and it's right on here on this list, and I cross off things that I've accomplished," she said. "But it is the one thing on here that I knew I had to do."

The overnight co-ed camp is held at a summer camp in Winsted, Conn., where Saks spent her summers as a child. It is four nights and five days and completely free. Transportation is included as are many of the items needed for camping. The camp takes up to 30 children.

"I really don't think there's any place that exists specifically for this population. I think it's important to know, we've said this, but that it is not a therapeutic camp," Saks said.

She said the focus is on fun for the children, though they are able to talk to any of the volunteer and trained staff. The staff all have experience in social work, addiction and counseling, and working with children.

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