Hundreds turn out on overcast day for Bearcat 5K

SALISBURY — Many of the attractions of the annual Fall Festival in Salisbury are edible and buttery. For those who over-indulged (and for those who give fitness priority over really good freshly baked delights), the three-day festival also offered a perfect antidote: a 5K road race held on Sunday morning, Oct. 7.Sponsored by The Hotchkiss School (and named the Bearcat 5K in honor of the school’s mascot), the run follows the boarding school’s cross-country course. The run benefits the regional Housatonic Youth Service Bureau.This year, 188 men and women took part in the race, with top times for men going to Avery Baldwin of Lakeville (18:42) and Marco Quaroni (also of Lakeville and also with a time of 18:42) and Roco Botto of Cornwall (19:22).The top female finishers were Margaret Demarrais of Sharon (21:43), Laura Herr of Kent (22:20) and Sara Botto of Red Hook, N.Y. (23:48).Full race results are online at www.fasttrackcoaching.net.Race organizer Nancy Vaughan of Hotchkiss said there were 37 competitors ages 7 and under who took part in the Fun Run; and 36 competitors who were 12 and under who took part in the chip-timed 1K race. The first-place male was Ethan Friedman, 9, of Brooklyn, N.Y. The first-place female was Lola Henderson-Thomas of Lakeville. Food was of course a part of the race. Participants were invited to a free lunch that included burgers made of grass-fed beef from Salisbury’s Whippoorwill Farm and all-natural Freebird chicken gyros and veggie gyros.And for anyone interested in joining the fun but not the race, there were demonstrations by Joe Brien of crafts for kids, boomerang tossing by Patrick Surdan, face painting by Hotchkiss students, reptiles from the Audubon Center in Sharon and more.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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