Brooklyn Storyteller and Author to Speak at Ventfort Hall

08:20AM / Monday, June 06, 2022Print Story | Email Story

LENOX, Mass. — Brooklyn storyteller and author Bill Greer will kick off Ventfort Hall's 2022 Tuesday Summer Tea & Talk series on June 14 at 4:00 pm.

He will talk about the city of his book "A Dirty Year: Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in Gilded Age New York." Tea will be served after his presentation.

According to a press release, the year is 1872, seven years after the Civil War. New York is convulsing with social upheaval and sexual revolution. In this illustrated talk, Bill Greer paints a picture of the city from the man's world of Wall Street to the mansions of Fifth Avenue, from the smut dealers of Nassau Street to the limelights of Broadway, from pious Christians to free-loving iconoclasts. He highlights larger-than-life characters who fascinated the city – suffragist and presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull, vice hunter Anthony Comstock, celebrity preacher Henry Ward Beecher, and more – and the issues of the day that play out through their lives, issues that resonate today, from sexual impropriety and reproductive rights to attacks on the press and the chasm between rich and poor.

Bill Greer has spent decades exploring New York, along with the world. As a travel writer and internet entrepreneur, he built the early web's leading community for outdoor adventure. His turn to telling New York's stories began with his novel "The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan," exploring the city's founding as New Amsterdam. He has served as an officer and trustee of the New Netherland Institute, chairing the Institute's program to establish the New Netherland Research Center and receiving the Institute's Howard Hageman award. More recently, he has focused on New York's Gilded Age with his nonfiction narrative "A Dirty Year: Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in Gilded Age New York." Bill holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He has spoken on New York history throughout the Hudson Valley.

Tickets are $30 for members and with advance reservation; $35 day of. Reservations are required as seats are limited. For reservations call us at (413) 637-3206. All tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. Proof of vaccination and ID are required. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

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Ventfort Hall: Making New England Movies

08:09AM / Wednesday, February 25, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — Jay Craven, American film director, screenwriter, and former film professor at Marlboro College, will present his talk "New England Movies: How and Why" on Sunday, March 1 at Ventfort Hall at 3:30 pm.

Craven will tell the story of his adventures and experiences, developing a sustained filmmaking career in the unlikely settings of Vermont and Massachusetts. A tea will follow his presentation.

He will describe working with a wide range of actors, including Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal, Kris Kristofferson, Martin Sheen, Ernie Hudson, and Michael J. Fox. He'll share the satisfactions and challenges that come from immersion into place-based narrative filmmaking.

According to a press release:

Craven's work grew out of years of working as a teacher and arts activist whose mission has been the advancement of community and culture in the region. For four decades he has written, produced, and directed character-driven films deeply rooted in Vermont and New England, including five "Vermont Westerns" based on the works of award-winning Northeast Kingdom writer, Howard Frank Mosher. His latest film, Lost Nation, digs into the parallel Revolutionary War era stories of Ethan Allen and the pioneering Black Guilford poet, Lucy Terry Prince. His other films have adapted stories by Jack London, Guy du Maupassant, George Bernard Shaw, Craig Nova and, currently, Henrik Ibsen and Dashiell Hammett. Craven also made the regional Emmy-winning comedy series, Windy Acres, for public television and seven documentaries.

Craven's films have played festivals and special screenings including Sundance, South by Southwest, The American Film Institute, Lincoln Center, Cinematheque Francaise, the Constitutional Court of Johannesburg, and Cinemateca Nacional de Venezuela. Awards include the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Producer's Guild of America's NOVA Award, and the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces program. His film Where the Rivers Flow North was a named finalist for Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival.

Tickets are $45. Members receive $5 off with their discount code. Ticket pricing includes access to the mansion throughout the day of this event from 10 am to 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call (413) 637-3206. All tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker St. in Lenox.

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