Tanglewood Lure: Buy Gas For Free Lawn Pass

By Geoff Edgers, Globe Staff

Thinking about cutting down on travel because of gas prices?

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is hoping you'll reconsider, at least as far as Tanglewood goes.

Here's the deal: For every $50 of gas you buy at one of 11 Gulf stations on the Mass Pike, you'll get a free lawn pass to the BSO's summer home. This promotion runs June 30 through August 22. To get the passes, you'll need to bring your receipt. And there are a few dates when the offer isn't good: A Prairie Home Companion (June 28), James Taylor (July 3 and 4), Boston Pops (July 8 and July 26), August 3, Wilco (August 12), and the Jazz Festival (August 29, 30 and 31).

(Wednesday morning update from David Beard: Here's a reason why this promotion has such resonance now -- MasterCard says Americans facing record gas prices have cut their gas consumption for the past nine weeks, 2.7 percent last week alone from the same week last year. Here's the story. Useful note: A quick check on mapquest.com puts the driving distance at 129.71 miles between Symphony Hall in Boston and the Tanglewood Musical Center in Lenox -- nearly 260 miles roundtrip. Say, even with traffic, your vehicle can do that trip in 12 gallons -- we're talking about $50 in gas, not counting tolls).

What do you think? Are you cutting back on your driving this summer?