LENOX, MA. – Chelsea Gaia, Director of Programming & Events for Ventfort Hall, will speak at Ventfort Hall on Tuesday, July 2 at 4 pm about the time Ventfort Hall operated as Festival House; an inn in the 50’s where everyone was welcome. A tea will be served after her presentation.

The Berkshires haven't always been so open and celebratory of diversity. In fact, it's a fairly recent development with an obscure catalyst.  During the 1950's, Ventfort Hall did not exist as the Gilded Age Museum it is today, but instead, an inclusive resort open to all who wished to stay, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic class or status. In 1949, after realizing the lack of places welcoming to Jewish patronage, Bruno & Claire Aron transformed an abandoned Ventfort Hall into a haven and gatehouse for anyone who wanted access to Tanglewood performances or to experience the splendor of the Berkshires who may not have previously based on identity.

While not many tangible relics remain from the Festival House era - it is the Spirit of the decade that remains strong today in the Berkshires. Join Ventfort Hall Director of Programming & Events, Chelsea Gaia, to learn more about the Aron Family and how their dream of an inclusive Berkshires was realized through Festival House. 

Chelsea Gaia is the Director of Programming & Events for Ventfort Hall.
An avid researcher and student of life, Gaia is openly neuro-divergent and finds joy and fulfillment executing in-depth study and research in many disciplines, as well as the history of each particular study.  Among her skills, she is a native plant expert for flora of the Pacific Northwest region of North America, a stained glass restoration specialist, a visual artist, a 20-year photojournalist, a seasoned graphic designer, and a multi-disciplined application scientist. 

Tickets are $40 for members and with advance reservation; $45 day of; $22 for students 22 and under. 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 us at (413) 637-3206. Please note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as an important partner of the Lenox Cultural District, one of the five such Berkshire County districts, Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Mansion & Museum was built in 1893 for George and Sarah Morgan, the sister of legendary financier J. Pierpont Morgan.

Self-guided tours of the historic mansion are offered daily, as well as Tea & Talks, such exhibitions as the Bellefontaine Collection, concerts, theater, ghost tours and hunts as well as other programs. This elegant Jacobean-Revival Berkshire “cottage” is open to the public year-round and is available for private rental.  Ventfort Hall, also an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures program sponsored by The White House, has undergone substantial restoration, which continues.