“As the President of Mahaiwe Tent, my passion is to lead with vision, infuse events with new inspiration, and bring joy to every celebration we touch. Every event holds the power to create lasting memories and fill hearts with joy, and it’s an honor to be a part of these special moments.”
— Lindsay Cavanaugh, owner/president of Mahaiwe Tent
“This is a huge move,” says Lindsay Cavanaugh, standing in her office at Mahaiwe Tent’s new location at 125 Sheffield Business Park, Ashley Falls. After 30-plus years of serving the tri-state area as a leading provider of wedding and event rentals from its space on Humphrey Street in Great Barrington, the local business, like a high school grad, had outgrown the home it was raised in.
Mahaiwe Tent began with a few tents and plates in 1986 when Lindsay’s parents, Tom and Lauren Cavanaugh, decided to fill a void in the growing Berkshire events industry. Now, with Lindsay Cavanaugh taking the reins, it is well poised to continue—and expand—its role (per its website) as a “family-operated business, passionate about curating exceptional rentals that turn ordinary moments into unforgettable experiences.”
The importance of connections
“In the small business world here, the effort you put in reaps its own rewards. Connections matter,” Lindsay begins. Those connections include clients and their word-of-mouth recommendations and testimonials. But the connections begin with employees—and Mahaiwe Tent’s longstanding ties there are the stakes that ground the business. “Weddings require a lot of muscle and machinery, but it all starts with your employees. Ours have an average of 20-plus years of invaluable experience,” she explains, adding, “You’re only as good as your team. I provide young legwork and keep the train and schedule moving.” As a second-generation owner/operator, she knows the importance of building mutual trust. “I have to rely on my crew to be responsible and accommodating to book the weddings, anniversaries, and repeat business. Working with other vendors in the Berkshires requires the same relationship-building and trust.”
Tom and Lauren Cavanaugh launched the business over four decades ago, after meeting at 20 Railroad Street (the restaurant’s name and address) in Great Barrington. Lauren was tending the bar when Tom came in with his firehouse company. Shortly after, he helped her on a catering assignment at a nearby mansion, serving guests under a circus-like yellow and white tent. “It was a lavish wedding, but that tent was the only local option at the time. Recognizing a need that could be filled, my parents purchased their first items (a few tents, tables, and chairs). Now we carry tents, lighting, lounge chairs, and everything needed to cater any size party,” Lindsay says with understandable pride.
The Cavanaughs officially started their company in 1986, naming it Mahaiwe Tent as an homage to Mahaiwe Theater, which Tom’s grandfather owned for a time and where Tom worked as a popcorn boy in the 1950s. Soon after getting married, the couple bought a warehouse at 17 Humphrey Street and used the extra space (the property has several outbuildings) to store and build their inventory. “Handling rentals is a very fluid market,” Lindsay notes. “You need to keep branching out to cater to [pun intended] people’s needs.”
A natural succession
“I grew up doing the dishes for many 300-person weddings. Besides a few family members, we employed a lot of locals, which was very important for us as a small business,” Lindsay continues. “When it came time for my mom to retire 10 years ago, we began thinking about a succession plan. My sister didn’t want to be involved in the family business, but I did.”
Lindsay originally went to Ithaca College intending to pursue a nutrition degree, but wound up transferring to the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst instead. She worked remotely for the family business during college; after joining full-time in 2017, she took on more financial and management responsibilities. Then COVID hit, and social gatherings essentially died overnight. “We had an 85 percent decrease in events as soon as it became illegal to gather in the three states we served (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York). Although we applied for every PPE loan possible, we relied on private schools needing outdoor classroom alternatives to stay in business.”
Things started picking up by the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. “Suddenly, all of those cancelled events got rescheduled. Everyone wanted to celebrate, and business jumped to twice what it had been pre-COVID,” she recalls. In addition, lots of transplants from all around started moving to the Berkshires. “We did a lot of legwork to bring our inventory up to snuff to attract the higher-end clientele,” Lindsay acknowledges, “replacing the previous buy-as-you-go way of doing things.”
Tom retired fully at the beginning of 2022, when Lindsay bought the business. “I mow the lawn now. Someone else looks after everything else,” he says, grinning. The company currently employs 20 people during peak event season (from May through November). But even in the off-season, the leaner Mahaiwe team must continue to do manual work outside and handle bookings and inventory inside. “We start hiring in January to have our crew up and running by April,” Cavenaugh notes.
As a new owner, Lindsay feels extremely fortunate that 75 percent of her staff return year after year. Although Mahaiwe Tent has to compete with other seasonal operations, it only hires for weekdays, not weekends. “We deliver and set up on Thursdays and Fridays, and we break down and pick up on Mondays and Tuesdays, which helps,” Lindsay shares. Someone is on call for emergencies on Saturdays and Sundays, but there typically aren’t any glitches.
Expanding the vision—and footprint
In May 2024, Lindsay bought the company’s new property in Sheffield Business Park. “This was a machine shop, but the owner was ready to retire. A friend made the introduction,” she explains. Because they needed double the space of the existing building, she added a Morton (post-frame) building designed by her foremen and staff. “It was a pretty big project—costing roughly $2 million—but seeing their excitement as it was being completed has been huge,” she admits.
While some 31-year-olds might find such a massive project daunting, Lindsay Cavanaugh does not. “The entire process of taking over the business has happened in the most ideal way. It’s family succession 101,” she confides gratefully. And despite arduous red tape involving permitting and code compliance as well as processes to manage during the construction, she acknowledges it’s all worth it now. “Everyone is ecstatic and has been extremely loyal and helpful. I knew that if I built it now, I’d have plenty of time to pay it off.”
As event planner Lynn Wheeler (who has worked for Mahaiwe Tent for 16 years) attests, “This move to our new facility in Sheffield is proof of all the hard work that Lindsay has put into elevating our inventory and expanding our staff. I’m very excited for this new chapter!”
Of everyone involved in the relocation, Tom Cavanaugh just might be the happiest with the outcome. “I am over the moon—to see the construction process come to life has been amazing. This warehouse is everything I’ve always wanted for Mahaiwe, and it’s so cool that it’s now a reality!”
“I always knew that I wanted to come back to this area and run the business, and I have a lot of years left,” Lindsay smiles. Being involved from a young age and staying connected to the business even when she was in college has definitely paid off. “Half of our business is repeat business. We’ve been doing some events for decades.”
Expanding the inventory and raising the bar
When asked about her biggest challenges, Lindsay replies, “I’ve been working a lot on getting a better idea of our annual spending, including projecting big ticket items, bookings, payroll and bills, and seasonal cash flow. When I buy any item, it takes five to eight events to regain the cost.”
Maintaining high-quality inventory is especially challenging, requiring the replacement of broken or missing items immediately. “No one is going to care about your inventory like you do. As soon as an event is over, people are done! We have a damage waiver built into each contract. However, our employees must process everything as soon as possible.”
“My goal was not to be in coasting mode but to keep trying to improve the logistics, raise the inventory quality, and elevate the overall customer experience every year. This new building matches the quality we put out. It tells our clients we’re legit and can execute on a large scale but still provide the same small business trust,” she adds.
“You have to keep the excitement my parents had when they first started the business,” Lindsay continues. She also appreciates how Mahaiwe Tent has always been known for its warm and welcoming presence, accurate quotes, reasonable contracts, and ability to execute. “These are the perks of a small business where clients know who you are and you can provide the necessary flexibility and accommodations to both relate and be a calming presence during an otherwise stressful planning process,” she points out. “We handle weddings, galas, school functions, and all of the classic milestones—from our biggest event (the annual Tanglewood gala, serving roughly 700 people) to our longest-running partnership, which is the yearly Community Access to the Arts (CATA) fundraiser, now celebrating its 30th year.”
Dealing with inherent challenges and reaping the rewards
As for the most significant industry hurdles, Lindsay cites the pressure of forecasting the weather and its unpredictability as a big one. But there are many others. “People don’t want equipment or vehicles on their lawn. You don’t always know (and the client doesn’t always know) what is under the ground, including irrigation systems, septic, and electric—all of which could be damaged if you’re not alerted to their location before you put in the first tent stake,” she points out.
The company must also consistently deliver a high-quality experience, she emphasizes. That means the electrical, propane, and myriad other logistics have to be top tier to meet client expectations on a high-pressure day. After all, people won’t recommend your business unless everything is perfect.
What are the greatest rewards? “The most satisfying thing for me is seeing my employees love working here. So many roles involve a lot of tiring manual labor. When I hear them laughing in the back, I know we’ve created a good culture here,” Lindsay says. The other reward is praise and appreciation from clients on a job well done—in most cases, on one of the most important celebrations of their life.
Mahaiwe Tent’s website is filled with personal testimonials in that regard, including this one from Charlotte and Dylan, who got married in August 2023: “I cannot recommend the Mahaiwe team enough. Not only were they patient in moving through the process, but they were also thoughtful in giving me much-needed advice. I feel very blessed to have had the chance to work with this remarkable team. Professionalism Embodied!” Another review raves, “They see to all of the details, including floor plans, vendor recommendations and coordination, site and showroom visits, stand-by staff and on-call support, and tent permit—in essence, all-in-one service!”
Turning to the future, Lindsay is clear about her long-range priority in terms of growth. “I don’t want to get so big that it becomes a huge operation. The goal is to create a well-oiled hub for locals and non-locals alike, keep our good reputation, and manage the work-life balance,” she maintains. “This is plenty. The most important thing is staying good at what we do.”
