On a recent trip to Woodstock, New York, we visited one of the best kitchen supply stores we've ever been in. Woodstock may be a fortress of hippitude - a tradition that dates beyond the 1969 festival (which, in any case, actually took place some forty miles away) to the 1902 establishment of the utopian arts colony Byrdcliffe - but, for just as long, the town has been a second home for many Manhattanites. These crowds coexist, even overlap, and the Gilded Carriage, a turn-of-the-20th-century house crammed with high-end wares (All-Clad, Le Creuset, etc.) and other specialty items, such as locally handmade soaps and candles, is this synthesis in microcosm. more ›

The Old Town School of Folk Music presents its twelfth annual installment of the Chicago Folk and Roots Festival this weekend in Lincoln Square. The Festival, spread across Welles Park, brings a steady stream of activities to a usually friendly, laid-back crowd: performances by Old Town staff, open jam sessions by the gazebo, dance lessons with live music, and a tent for kids, although we should point out that that's an area with entertainment for children, not a place to store them. more ›