Berkshire Botanical Garden Annual Harvest Festival

07:38AM / Monday, October 05, 2026Print Story | Email Story

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Berkshire Botanical Garden will celebrate the arrival of fall with its annual Harvest Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10–11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The two-day celebration brings together families, artists, farmers, gardeners, musicians and community members for a weekend honoring the Berkshires' agricultural heritage.

Admission is free for children under 12.

Families can enjoy a full slate of activities throughout the weekend, including pony rides, a haunted house, hay maze and hay jump, face painting, hayrides, a petting zoo, square dancing and more.

Music will fill the Garden on two stages, with performances by the Eagles Community Band, Brasskill, Lee Rogers, The Juckets, Twang Busters, Kayla Rae Music, The O-Tones and the Katherine Winston Band.

More than 90 vendors will offer a selection of regional food and beverages, handmade crafts, art and photography, jewelry, woodworking, farm products, plants and herbs, home décor, wellness goods and distinctive gifts.

The weekend's educational programming will include gardening demonstrations with Chris Ferrero and Kevin Johnson, a smartphone photography demonstration with Thaddeus Kubis and an Herbal Tincture workshop with Nicole Webster Clark. Visitors can also browse the Garden's plant sale and explore demonstrations and activities designed for gardeners of all experience levels.

A highlight of the weekend will be the Scarecrow Walk and Design Contest, which will bring an imaginative collection of scarecrows to the Garden's Daylily Walk. Businesses, nonprofit organizations and community groups are invited to create and enter a scarecrow for display. Harvest Festival attendees will serve as judges, with prizes awarded to the first- and second-place winners.

For more information about the Harvest Festival and Berkshire Botanical Garden, visit the Garden's website at BerkshireBotanical.org.

Tickets will be available at the gate (Adults $15, children under 12 free). There is no charge for parking in the Garden's adjacent fields. Pets (except registered service dogs) are not permitted. ATMs will be available on-site. For more information, visit BerkshireBotanical.org

Harvest Festival's lead sponsor is Blue Q. Other event sponsors are Beacon Bank, Bartlett Tree Experts, Meadow Farm Equipment, and Western Mass Power Equipment. The Festival's in-kind sponsors include Berkshire Co-Op Market, Berkshire Green Septic, Briskette and Birdie, Coco's Candy, Naumkeag, SoCo Creamery, Wards Nursery, and The Red Lion Inn.

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Greenagers Founder Will Conklin Honored as Business Person of the Year

By Breanna Steele12:17PM / Saturday, October 03, 2026

Casey Pease of state Sen. Paul Mark's office presents William Conklin, right, with a state Senate proclamation.

EGREMONT, Mass. — The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce honored a local businessman and nonprofit leader on Sept. 24 at Catamount Mountain Resort.

William Conklin was this year's Business Person of the Year, recognizing his work as founder and executive director of Greenagers, a nonprofit that helps youth and children engage in work in environmental conservation, sustainable farming, natural resource management, and vocational skills building.

Conklin and his family also run Sky View Farm and he is a managing partner of Konkapot Tree and Timber, a small-scale forest products business.

"If you spent any amount of time in Southern Berkshire, chances are you've heard his name, whether you realize the connection at the time or not," said board member Sierra King Watson, who emceed the event. "You might be having a conversation about farming, a new barn or structure that was built, students learning hands-on skills in sustainable agriculture, or a family that receives donated firewood to help keep their home warm through a cold Berkshire winter, or maybe you're simply talking about one of those community leaders who somehow manages to show up, support everyone, and seemingly be everywhere all at once.

"Well, one name has a way of continuously popping up, and that is Will Conklin."

Board President Mark Rulison said the region has more than 1,200 nonprofits. One in four jobs in the county is in the nonprofit sector, which ranks 27th nationally for nonprofit employment. He said the economic impact on the community is huge, thanking those who help.

For the event on Thursday, Conklin requested that as much of the food as possible was sourced locally. Most of it came from Greenagers, Sky View Farm, Indian Line Farm and Fancy Feast Supper Club, creative dinner series.

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