For a holiday season anchored by a message of hope, redemption and love, this issue of Passport is filled with stories that highlight people, places and things that embody qualities that their potential audience might label as perfect, or close to it. At the outset, Passport Picks taps into the transformative powers of Shakespeare & Company and the Litchfield County Writers Project, and at the end, our Denouement features an artist whose holiday images of small towns stand as a testament that the glory and homespun quality of Christmases past is not gone but just veiled a bit by modern contrivances.
In between are stories about the enduring qualities of classical music, the appeal of traditional American landscape painting, the restorative nature of holiday entertaining at home, the value of houses with fireplaces and much more. Enjoy.

Some years ago, a movie about baseball promoted the idea that a central location was not needed for success. "If you build it, they will come" was the supernatural message delivered to the hero in "Field of Dreams," who was directed to create a playing field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield.

It might seem obvious that the son of famed violinist Isaac Stern would find his calling in music, but the decision was never preordained. Michael Stern did, indeed, gravitate to a career as a conductor but not until he had explored other possibilities.

There's been a house on the 14-acre property in Woodbury since 1775, but the one there now is the house that Gail built. Five years ago Gail Lettick, antiquary, antiques dealer and local activist found the place at 994 Main Street South and instantly knew the possibilities were there. Around its 18th-century core many, many changes had been made over the years, some of which made sense in terms of modern living, others of which caused prospective buyers to flee. Shag rugs abounded, there were plastic dentil moldings, Styrofoam beams, ancient bathrooms-in all a package that clearly said "money pit".

Dominic Palumbo has a very different sort of day trip in mind for you. Skip the ski slopes, forget about trekking the mountains, and instead of puttering the golf course he suggests that you go to a farm. All it would take would be an hour or two of your time, and it could be a revelation. A little while in Mr. Palumbo's company and you're bound to see edibles and their producers differently for the rest of your food-consuming life.

Prada and Dior are said to treat certain clients to cocktails while they shop in Milan and Paris. Nordstrom has been known to whip up sushi for guests attending the department store's preview shows of designer collections. Bloomingdale's chic bridal salon gives brides crystal glassfuls of champagne. Until now, tales of retail bliss and white glove service were relegated to international fashion capitals and luxury stores. What a delight then to discover a similar lavish treatment in the Berkshires' only lingerie boutique, Bra & Girl in Great Barrington, Mass.

In the stylish boutiques that light up town centers in the region like retail gemstones, it's never easy to pick just one item, or ensemble, especially when it comes to winter fashions. But this winter, Passport persuaded six retailers in Litchfield County and Dutchess County, N.Y., to single out essential pieces discerning shoppers shouldn't live without during the cold, blustery months.

Giorgio Baravalle can define his work, graphic design, very simply. "It's the visual communication of ideas," he explains.

After lunch service one Monday afternoon, Bjorn Somlo sat in his recently opened restaurant Nudel in Lenox, Mass., and ran his hand over the smooth, dark wooden bench.