The past year in Amenia was marked by steady progress on infrastructure, preservation and community projects designed to improve daily life and position the town for future growth.
In March, the Town Board selected a contractor to extend the sidewalk along Route 44 between Broadway and Beekman Park, with construction beginning in August. When completed this spring, the project will provide a safer pedestrian connection between the town center and the park.
Work also advanced on plans for a new town garage and salt shed. Town crews completed site preparation throughout the year, handling initial land clearing and grading in advance of construction, which is scheduled to begin this spring.
Community groups played a role in enhancing public spaces as well. In early May, members of the Amenia Garden Club planted a native pollinator garden at the Amenia Free Library. Now established, the garden continues to attract bees, insects and birds native to the region.
New businesses added energy to the town in 2025. Isabela, Amenia’s newest restaurant, opened in late March and quickly built a loyal following, drawing steady local interest. In July, the Silo Bakery also opened in Amenia, offering an array of pastries, breads and pies and becoming another popular destination.
Preservation efforts also moved forward during the year. In late May, donations from the Amenia Historical Society and local residents supported restoration work on the town’s 1937 Sanford fire truck. Once complete, the town’s first fire engine is expected to return to public view, including appearances in local parades.
A long-anticipated preservation milestone was marked on July 3, when the town officially accepted the donation of the historic Wassaic Charcoal Kilns. The ceremony formalized the transfer of the two restored 19th-century stone kilns to the town on the eve of Independence Day celebrations.
A sign detailing the history of the charcoal kilns and the recent restoration now stands at the site of the historic kilns on Deep Hollow Road just off Route 22 in Wassaic. The sign and restoration were part of an effort by the Amenia Historical Society and Bernie Leighton, who cleaned up the site and restored the kilns. Photo provided
Community events drew visitors throughout the year. Despite clouds and intermittent rain, classic cars lined Wassaic’s Main Street in late May for a car show organized by Fenders and Flowers. In mid-October, months of planning culminated in the first annual Amenia Harvest Festival, which brought together vendors, residents and visitors.
Equestrian events also expanded in 2025. The Silo Ridge Masters returned to Keane Stud with an additional weekend of show-jumping competition. Riders were drawn to Amenia again in early October for a three-star competition, followed the next week by a new five-star event under the Highlands Cup banner. The expanded competition included two nights of concerts and a car competition.
Voters weighed in during the November election, continuing the town’s support for Democratic candidates. Rosanna Hamm won the supervisor’s race, defeating Republican Terrence McCauley by a margin of 686 to 402. Democrats also strengthened their presence on the Town Board, with Walter Dietrich winning one of two full-term seats and Vicki Doyle securing the remaining year of an unexpired term. Republican Nicole Ahearn won the second full-term seat.
Amenia voters also narrowly chose to retain the town’s ban on retail cannabis sales, approving the measure by a vote of 560 to 515.
Looking ahead, the coming year is expected to bring the completion of the Route 44 sidewalk project and construction of the new town garage and salt shed, along with continued progress on repairs to the Water District’s facilities, including new well heads and pumping station.
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Exterior of the Linde Center for Music and Learning.
“We have been thrilled and humbled to see the Tanglewood Learning Institute embraced as a year-round destination for a breadth of exceptional programming, including classical, jazz and family-friendly events,” said BSO President and CEO Chad Smith. “Our 2025–26 fall, winter and spring season reflects our deepening commitment to engaging the vibrant, year-round Berkshires community and to fully exploring the potential of TLI as a space where BSO programs make thought-provoking connections between music, art and society.”
TLI is once again presenting its Chamber Concerts series on Sunday afternoons, with small ensembles of BSO musicians performing familiar favorites and classic mainstays, as well as new music by contemporary composers. There are upcoming chamber concerts scheduled for Feb. 22, March 8 and March 15.
Interior of the Linde Center for Music and Learning.Hilary Scott, courtesy of the BSO
New this season is the TLI Jazz series, which continues March 20 with the Sullivan Fortner Trio, led by Grammy Award-winning artist and educator Sullivan Fortner, whose eponymous ensemble won the 2024 DownBeat Critics Poll for Rising Jazz Group. “Soul-sax sensation” Nick Hemp brings his free-blowing blend of “barroom excitement and modern jazz finesse” for a rousing night of soul jazz April 10. Rounding out the jazz series, and back by popular demand, is Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and singer Jumaane Smith, who brings his repertoire of jazz and American Songbook standards to the Linde Center on May 9.
Another season highlight comes April 12 with an animated live concert screening of the 3D stop-motion adventure film “Magic Piano.” Produced by the Academy Award-winning BreakThru Films production company in Poland, the film will be accompanied by a screening of “The Chopin Shorts,” a collection of animated films set to Chopin’s etudes, performed by pianist Derek Wang.
All performances take place in Studio E, the Linde Center’s 4,000-square-foot multiuse room that serves as TLI’s main performance and event space. It features retractable seating, acoustic and technical systems, flexible configurations, and is accessible and comfortable for all patrons.
The entire Linde Center for Music and Learning is worth a visit in itself. The complex, which also includes the informal Cindy’s Cafe (seasonal) for a quick bite, is conceived not as a single building but as a cluster of pavilion-like spaces connected by an outdoor covered walkway and arranged around a century-old red oak tree. The center promotes a welcoming and serene sense of place and continuity with the rolling Tanglewood lawn and surrounding woodlands.
Smith said, “This ongoing work is also a passion project for our musicians, who form deep ties to the area and are eager to remain active in the Berkshires beyond the summer months. We look forward to welcoming new and returning audiences to experience all that TLI offers — all year long.”
The Tanglewood Learning Institute is located at 3 W. Hawthorne Road, Lenox, Mass. For more information and to purchase tickets,
visit bso.org/tli.
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