Since 1853 the Laurel Hill Association has stewarded parkland, trails, and scenic overlooks in Stockbridge, Massachusetts located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills. In the early 1900’s the Association hired the Olmsted firm to develop the landscape plan for the village Railroad Station. This early connection inspired the Laurel Hill Association to devote two days in August to celebrate the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted and the expansive Olmsted legacy of over 40 projects spread across our region in the late 19th and through mid 20th century. A panel entitled “Olmsted and the Berkshires” Friday August 26 at 5:30 PM will feature authors Hugh Howard, Architects of an American Landscape, and Cornelia Gilder, Houses of the Berkshires. On Saturday the celebration culminates with Laurel Hill Day. Festivities begin in the morning with a range of activities for children including a children’s parade followed by a scavenger hunt in the wooded park. At 2 PM the formal program begins in the gladed setting of Laurel Hill Park Park. The highlight is a keynote address delivered by Dede Petrie, President of the National Association for Olmsted Properties. President Petrie will be speaking from a dramatic stone Rostrum designed by Daniel Chester French, master sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial.