We've narrowed down our picks for Tanglewood as follows: Friday, 8/7 - Boston Pops @ 8:30 p.m., Saturday, 8/8 - Food & Wine Classic 12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m., Sunday, 8/9 - Perle, Shostakovich, Fauré and Bizet with Yo-Yo Ma @ 2:30 p.m. My assumption is that we should buy seats for the Boston Pops on Friday, but plan a picnic on the lawn on Sunday. Does this sound like a good idea? Also, the Red Lion Inn is already booked on Friday and Saturday nights, so we'll have to find another hotel/inn. We thought we'd look again in Stockbridge or perhaps Great Barrington. Any suggestions?

You probably have enough music on your agenda, but if you're a classical music lover and can't get enough, there are usually free open rehearsals at the shed during the day and better chance at getting a good seat.

Although the lawn is nice, I prefer Ozawa Hall, for the architecture and more intimate atmosphere.

nstevey - are you sure the open rehearsals are free? I'm looking at my Tanglewood program brochure, and I believe tickets are $17 for open rehearsals.

I could be wrong though, as I find the brochure rather difficult to read/navigate.

Ozawa Hall is beautiful! If you can hear something there, I surely would.

Your biggest concern should be lodging...if you can find a place in your price range for your dates. If there is something big going on at Tanglewood, you can count on a minimum stay. The Berkshires are compact...you can get most anywhere fairly quickly (an hour to a bit more, depending on traffic), but should shoot for town character--Lenox, Stockbridge, Williamstown. Great Barrington will always be a Mill town in my mind, right or wrong, (and I know today that is wrong). Red Lion too would be my choice. Plenty of character...very old...coiled rope fire escapes. LOL...don't know if they were serious about that, but we never had to use them. She is a grand dame, showing her age as any of us would if we were older than 100, so make allowances. Rooms won't be large, nor will bathrooms, but there will be plenty of character!

I grew up there. It's a wonderful place for tourists in the summer, and for residents in the winter. Only those from the area might "get" that statement! Winter unfortunately has no Tanglewood, so you'll face hordes of fellow tourists, but it is just an unbelievable area. Sadly, growing up in it, you take it all for granted until you leave.

Whoops, I stand corrected. Not free. Oh well. For some reason, I got them free.

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately the Red Lion Inn is already booked on Friday, 8/7, and Saturday, 8/8, so we have to look for something else. We have relatives in Chesterfield, MA, who we will meet us at Tanglewood for the day on Sunday, 8/9 and then we will be spending a few nights with them, visiting with family, spending a day in Northampton (my 13-year old loves it there!), etc. So it might make sense to pick a hotel/inn between Lenox and Chesterfield for the Friday and Saturday nights. Any suggestions?

I've stayed at the back of someone's house via VRBO. It was about the same price of a hotel, and I had a kitchen and a pretty roomy place.