For the Love of Our Library

Zoë Fedorjaczenko reports that the Chocolate & Chile library fundraiser was a huge success:

What do you get when you take twelve simmering crockpots of chili (from vegetarian to venison) made by organizations (from the Fire Department to the Historical Society), add fifteen chocolate desserts (from Scotch truffles to white chocolate cheesecake) and ten different selections of artisanal chocolate (from Chocolate Springs Café to Berkshire Bark), mix in silent and live auctions (with items from a hand knit bamboo yarn scarf to a Harney Tea gift package), toss with a Name that Tune game (with composer Joshua Stone), and combine with in a cold month - otherwise known as Chocolate & Chili in the Village - 2010 style. That’s what those who attended this Falls Village event to benefit the D. M. Hunt Library enjoyed on Saturday at the Old Town Hall in Falls Village. This event brought together the talents of many local bakers and chili-makers; it was even hard to find a parking space, an unusual circumstance in this small town. For all of us on the C/C committee, I thank everyone who came, contributed to, and worked on making this event a fun way to end winter’s tough month of February and benefit the library. We’ll see you next year!150 people (from Falls Village to Kent) in a spacious site? You get a hot time

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

The closest thing Falls Village has to Santa's Workshop is Sweet William's Bakery , which is tucked behind 100 Main Street. Baker Jason Young and his ebullient assistant, Sharon Hamilton, are busy baking extraordinary gingerbread men, snowman cookies and other sweets that make great holiday gifts. He'll package your presents in tins or baskets and tie them with ribbons so you're good to go. Jason has lovingly decorated his humble storefront with greenery and sparkling lights, which make you wish more than ever that his shop were right on Main Street, where Sweet William's could really shine.

Fall Fashions at Whippoorwill Farm

Robin and Allen Cockerline's Whippoorwill Farm was the improbable yet perfect setting for Karen Stone [right] to present her latest Country Couture collection to her friends, neighbors and growing clientele on Sunday evening. Karen has an unabashedly cinematic notion of fall, and she takes traditional fabrics and cuts them to create seasonal clothes with a romantic yet thoroughly modern sensibility. As Karen explains: "For autumn, I offer menswear woolens in feminine shapes...tweed, plaid and houndstooth skirts...necktie paisleys in a shirtdress (that will take you anywhere) pinstripes in a tidy sheath." As the Cockerlines [left] poured wine and served their tender grass-fed beef on sliced baguettes in the dining room, Karen was doing brisk business in their living room, which she had transformed into a chic salon with her own transcendent paintings on the walls. She gives her customers a choice of fabrics that she has hand-picked in New York and takes measurements so that each skirt, dress and jacket will fit like a glove. The shopping process is intimate and individualized, and Karen had a handout for customers so they would understand her modus operandi. "Although the clothing is generally made-to-order, you may find a sample garment that is perfect on you. Rule #1, Do not judge a dress on its hanger. Please try it on ... I do not design with 'hanger appeal' in mind, as they must in ready-to-wear. Therefore, something that looks a bit shapeless on a hanger may reveal fabulous subtleties when you put it on. You will not find sizes on the samples . . . . . . There is no such thing as true sizes anyway (have you noticed that?) Just explore, try it on, we'll pin it, talk about it, look at fabrics, dream up something great."
Karen Stone PO Box 24, Lakeville CT 06039 / 860.435.9789

A Revival on Railroad Street?

Mary Elling reports she ran into Stefan and Claudia Wessel at Mountainside today, and they told her that they have a tenant for their Falls Village Inn. They told her it's a restaurateur from Maine named Eric Krause. He supposedly has restaurant experience, will live upstairs with his family and serve comfort food like meatloaf. I've left messages at the inn and at Elyse Harney Real Estate trying to get more details but no one has called me back yet. Has anyone else spoken to Stefan and Claudia? If you know anything, please share....

North of the Border

I went to the new Staples in Great Barrington at sunset last night. I felt giddy. I felt guilty. I like the idea of being able to combine a trip to Guido's
or The Triplex with a pit stop at Staples (open 'till 9 PM during the week) for printer ink, notebooks and copy paper, but I don't like that once you step into Staples you could be almost anywhere in the world. With the bright lights and powerful air conditioning, I felt like I was somewhere in Florida. This miasma in Massachusetts hits too close to home. I fear that Great Barrington, which used to be a small country village, may be on its way to becoming a generic, traffic-choked exurb. If Applebee's or Starbucks comes to town, then there will be genuine cause for alarm and despair. Let's hope the "tipping point" is a long way off.

Think Globally, Eat Locally

The best thing you can do for your health, the environment and your community is to to eat as much locally raised food as possible. And while organic fruits, vegetables and meat are the best, it is better to eat a conventionally grown local tomato than an organically grown tomato from a mega farm in California or Mexico, according to former Cornwall resident and best-selling author Michael Pollan and author Barbara Kingsolver. So when I have finished all my produce from Chubby Bunny I head to Dean's Farmstand on Route 63, where George Dean was born and where he has been growing tomatoes, cukes and corn for 30 years. Mr. Dean trades with other Connecticut farmers, which is how he gets the wonderful blueberries and peaches he usually has for most of August. As the last and oldest farm stand in Falls Village, Dean's deserves our patronage, gratitude and respect.

A Dream Deferred

Alas, the Falls Village General Store will not be setting up shop at 107 Main Street (at least not this year.) One of the dreamers behind that plan informed me yesterday that their group was told the town has found another tenant for the space. Who's moving in? What will fill those empty shelves? Only the First Selectman can answer that question . . .

The Falls Village General Store?

There are delicious rumors that some folks would like to turn 107 Main Street (the old Town Hall, which was most recently Clifton Jaeger's studio), into a marketplace featuring local foods and produce--Hautboy milk, Cockerline Beef, Isabella Freedman sauerkraut and pickles, Rustling Wind beets and blue cheese, Chubby Bunny lettuce and tomatoes, Dean's corn etc. They envision a year-round indoor farmer's market plus a whole lot more: old-fashioned handmade ice cream, books by local authors, a gallery area with local crafts and artworks. Maybe they would sell some antiques, too, and flowering plants, and penny candy for kids to buy after school, and toys so you don't have to schlep to Great Barrington or Torrington for birthday gifts. Of course, they wonder if the community would and could support such a venture.

The prospect of having the lights shining on winter's nights in the plate glass windows of 107 Main Street is exciting. But that can only happen if they can create a place where we really want to shop, which meets not only our everyday needs but also supports our neighbors' home businesses, grows our local economy and fosters a sense of community.

What would you like a Falls Village General Store to be? What would you like to see sold there? What gap in your life could it fill? Leave your comments here on the blog. Let's give these prospective entrepreneurs some insider information so they can have a fair chance to succeed. And then someday you'll be able to say, "I bought that at the Falls Village General Store."

What's Your Lottery Fantasy?

The other day, I had lunch with Kimberly Rock who lives in the cute little yellow house on Main Street (and whose husband, Eric, runs Pulp Products in Torrington). We were having one of those discussions that us expats often have. We were talking about how much we love Falls Village and how we would like to see all the storefronts on Main Street filled with thriving businesses (Welcome, Sweet William's Bakery!) and how we dream about the Falls Village Inn becoming a true community tavern. "Buying the Inn and making it work is my Lottery Fantasy," she said. "If I had an extra million dollars, that's what I would do."

I was nonplussed, because that is MY Lottery Fantasy (although I never buy lottery tickets so maybe I am just full of beans). I thought this was a funny coincidence, a bonding moment for me and Kimberly. I thought maybe we should drive over to the Village Deli Mart and buy Lottery tickets together.

And then while I was working backstage at FVCT's "Ciinderella," Cheryl Pecha told me that HER lottery fantasy is to buy the Inn and make it the kind of restaurant where everybody in town would feel comfortable--a real neighborhood joint. (Cheryl used to run a cafe where Toymaker's is now, so she understands what this might entail.) I was beginning to think that there may be a Falls Village Collective Consciousness and that everyone in town has the same Lottery Fantasy.

Does anyone know what is happening with the Inn? Today when I drove by the corner of Route 7 & 126, the Inn's sandwich board sign was gone. What does that portend? Does anyone know if Claudia and Stefan will ever return and reopen it? According to Elyse Harney Real Estate, the Inn can be yours (or ours) for $1.25 million.

What would YOU like to see happen to the Inn? Please post a comment. (You may need a free Google email address to do so.)