New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

Crosby Stills and Nash (photo, courtesy of BSO) In this post, you'll find listings for the final events at  Tanglewood  this season. Situated beautifully amidst rolling hills in Lenox, Mass.  -- one of New England's prettiest small towns --  Tanglewood has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937.  Attracting more than 300,000 music lovers for 10 weeks of concerts and recitals, Tanglewood is a harmonious, world-renowned sight to behold in the heart of the scenic Berkshire Mountains. The 2010 season concludes with some of the most recognizable tunes in classical music.  The  Boston Symphony Orchestra  will perform " The Planets " by  Gustav Holst   on Friday, August 27 , and bring the summer to a dramatic close  on Sunday, August 29  with Beethoven's 9th Symphony.   On Wednesday, September 1  Crosby, Stills, and Nash will play the Koussavitsky Music Shed, and the...

The Boston-based Highland Street Foundation invites you to visit a designated museum or attraction until Labor Day Weekend as part of its Free Fun Fridays for Massachusetts resident and tourists. This amazing program is a true budget-saver and features such noteworthy Massachusetts travel destinations like the Museum of Fine Arts, Old Sturbridge Village, Boston Museum of Science, the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, the Ecotarium and Sports Museum. For more a complete list of attractions -- and dates and times -- visit the Highland Street Foundation Web Site . You can also call contact the Highland Street Foundation at  508.820.1151  or e-mail  kbristol@highlandstreet.org .   The Highland Street Foundation contributes to a great number of varied charitable causes in Massachusetts.

Article and photo (Salty Brine State Beach) by Eric H. When it comes to New England summer ocean beach destinations, Narragansett, R.I., rides the waves as well as any in the northeast region. This popular "South County" Rhode Island travel destination features 23.63 square miles of water area with a generous amount of space dedicated to public access. Roger Wheeler, Salty Brine and Scarborough State Beaches along with the Narragansett Town Beach all offer great stretches of sand -- especially Scarborough and Wheeler situated on 26 and 27 acres, respectively. Despite its smaller size, I like Salty Brine State Beach the best. Located in the live fishing village neighborhood of Galilee , Salty Brine may be only have one acre but you still have ample ocean swimming space, a nice stretch of sand and a location within walking distance of some classic, amazing New England seafood restaurants like George's and Champlin's as well as shops and a ferry to the amazing Blo...

If you are looking for 4th of July fireworks celebrations around New England, we have found some valuable resource lists featuring such information -- thanks to all local businesses for providing such relevant, informative pages: Connecticut http://www.wfsb.com/station/24067762/detail.html Maine   http://www.maine.gov/dps/fmo/FireWorksShows.htm Massachusetts http://www.bostoncentral.com/events/massachusetts_fireworks_2010/p5389.php . New Hampshire http://www.newhampshire.com/entertainment/july-fourth-fireworks.aspx Rhode Island http://www.centralrichamber.com/fireworks.htm Vermont http://www.vtliving.com/events/4thofjuly/index.shtml Thanks to these great New England Web Sites for presenting the information! For the record, we have no affiliation with any of these businesses and, therefore, are not responsible for the content. We are just presenting them as resources. Also, double-check the dates listed as not all fireworks celebrations listed are on July 4th! ...

We just read that OpenTable , a leading provider of free online reservations for diners and guest management systems for restaurants, selected four New England restaurants in its top 50 2010 Annual Winners Best American Cuisine as voted by Open Table diners. The four New England restaurants receiving honors amongst the top 50 American restaurants are: White Barn Inn, Kennebunk, Maine Fore Street, Portland, Maine Capital Grill, Boston, Mass. The Schoolhouse at Cannondale, Wilton, Conn. Congratulations! By the way, OpenTable also features a monthly "Diner's Choice" list state-by-state, based on diner feedback . We recommend checking that section out, also, for constant updates.

I just read in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle that the Stoneforge Foxboro restaurant in Foxboro, Mass., will close on Monday, June 28, to make way for a new restaurant and function space under the Christina's Functions business. Attleboro Sun Chronicle reporter Rick Foster wrote an excellent piece (as usual -- one of the best reporters in eastern Massachusetts, in my opinion; impeccable note-taking skills!) on the impending closing, writing that Christina's Fireside Grill will take over the current restaurant, although in a smaller setting. Foster reports that the rest of the former Stoneforge space will be used for "additional  wedding rehearsals, private and corporate functions ." Christina's function facility building is connected to the site that has accommodated Stoneforge and its predecessors including the Funway Cafe. We will miss the Stoneforge in its Foxboro location, but take comfort in knowing that the Stoneforge restaurants in Raynham, Easton and...

Congratulations to the six New England  restaurants that were chosen by Food Network Magazine for their great breakfasts! The July/August 2010 Food Network Magazine edition features an appetizing article entitled "50 States, Fifty Breakfasts" with one breakfast place in each state getting a hearty mention --including a specialty dish.  Honors in Connecticut go to Kitchen Little , 135 Greenmanville Ave., in the lively seaport town of Mystic, for its "Portuguese Fisherman" dish -- scrambled eggs with ground chourico and linguica sausages and cheese accompanied by a "soft toasted and buttered Portuguese muffin." The best Maine breakfast goes to Boynton -McKay Food Co .,  at 30 Main St., in the idyllic mid-Maine coastal town of Camden, for fresh buttermilk pancakes . In Massachusetts , Craigie on Main Street at 853 Main St. in the academic city of Cambridge, (Harvard University, MIT) gets the notch for "airy cake doughnuts " (only made o...