Showing posts with label CT Litchfield Hills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CT Litchfield Hills. Show all posts

Friday, May 27, 2016

Pirelli World Challenge and Royals Car Show at Lime Rock Park Memorial Day Weekend

Lime Rock's traditional Memorial Day Weekend is featuring the Pirelli World Challenge in all Six Divisions & the Sunday Royals Car Show Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 27-29, 2016 that promises to be one of the highlights of the season. New this year is that kids 16 and under get in free with one adult paying general admission! 
 The SCCA Pirelli World Challenge has been a long time favorite of Lime Rock Park fans and  after a three year absence, the PWC is roaring back!  There are multiple races because all the classes want to shine from  GT/GTS-A/GT Cup/TC/TCA/TCB !  They are all stars with power and this will be a veritable hotbed of production and production based classes.

The  GT's are big bad and mean; the CTS series are closer to street spec while the GT Cup class is comprised of all Porshe 911s in the popular Porsche CT3 Cup series that supports many Formula 1 races around the globe. In TC it's about Mustangs and BMW128s and many other cars while the TCA class is have everything from Honda Civics and Fits to Mini Coopers.  In the TCB class you'll see Chevy Sonics, Fiat 500s, Mazda 2s and many other models. For a complete schedule check the website. 

Sunday is the seventh annual Sunday Royals Car Show, Connecticut's best "workingman's" show, the anti-concours concours; great cars of every kind, from hot rods to sports cars and everything in between.  Tickets are just $5 for this show.   If you want to enter your car, just show up at the gate on May 29 there is no pre-registration.  If it's cool, it's at Lime Rock Park located on Rte. 112 in Lime Rock Connecticut.  For more information, tickets  and a complete schedule of events visit http://www.limerock.com.
For more area information visit www.litchfieldhills.com

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Voices of Poetry at Hunt Hill Farm - Comfort and Joy!

The Silo will present "Voices of Poetry / Comfort & Joy" on Sunday, December 21, 2014 at 2 p.m. This afternoon of original poetry and music – to celebrate the holiday season - will be held at The Red Barn at Hunt Hill Farm, Crossman Road, New Milford, CT. A "meet and greet" reception with the poets & musicians – with holiday desserts - will follow the program.

The Silo will present "Voices of Poetry / Comfort & Joy" on Sunday, December 21, 2014 at 2 p.m. This afternoon of original poetry and music – to celebrate the holiday season - will be held at The Red Barn at Hunt Hill Farm, Crossman Road, New Milford, CT. A "meet and greet" reception with the poets & musicians – with holiday desserts - will follow the program.
There is an admission charge of $15 @ person for this program; and reservations are encouraged. For more information, and to reserve tickets, please call (860) 355-0300, visit www.hunthillfarmtrust.org, or e-mail info@hunthillfarmtrust.org. Reservations can also be made at The Silo during regular business hours. The Silo Gallery and Store are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m.
For more holiday event information www.litchfieldhills.com
About The Silo
Drawing on the creative legacy of Skitch and Ruth Henderson, the Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, is a vibrant and unique regional resource, offering the public opportunities to explore music, art, cuisine, and permanently protected historic open space.
About Voices of Poetry (VOP)
VOP was founded by poet and poetry activist Neil Silberblatt. Since 2012, VOP has presented a series of poetry and music events featuring distinguished poets and writers at venues throughout the state, including The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield; The New Britain Museum of American Art; The Sherman Playhouse; Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury; Gunn Memorial Library in Washington; Ridgefield Library; Hopkins Vineyard; and Hartford Public Library. VOP also has presented poetry events to raise support for community organizations. Voices of Poetry / Thanks for the Giving events (in 2013 and 2014) raised more than $2,500 for Loaves & Fishes, New Milford's community soup kitchen and food pantry. VOP hosts a Facebook "group" page which (at last count) had more than 1,900 members, including numerous poets and writers, editors, publishers, composers, musicians in all genres, professors, and fans of the printed, written or sung word. 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

INTRIGUE IS AFOOT AS LITCHFIELD, CT
CELEBRATES SPY WEEKEND

The serene and beautiful village green in Litchfield, Connecticut hardly seems the setting for spies and intrigue. But during the Revolutionary War, this classic New England town in Western Connecticut was a hotbed of activity.  This surprising history will come to life during the Litchfield History Museum's Spy Weekend, September 19 to 21.



The special activities are added reason to discover Litchfield, a town also noted for its early architecture, Colonial inns, fine dining and great shopping. 

The fun begins on Friday night when a showing of the film, The Scarlet Coat, a 1955 swashbuckling historical drama starring Michael Wilding, Cornel Wilde, and George Saunders.  The movie tells of the creation of the first "American Secret Service," with Litchfield's own Benjamin Tallmadge in the main role (though Hollywood has changed his name).  The film will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Litchfield Community Center. Admission is free and popcorn will be served!

Author Richard Welch will discuss his new book on Benjamin Tallmadge, "General Washington's Commando." on Sunday at 3 p.m.  Welch will describe Tallmadge's roles during the Revolutionary War, including his work as intelligence and counter-intelligence officer, as well as dragoon commander and master of combined land-sea operations.  The program is free for members; $5 for non-members.


 A guided walking tour on Saturday at 10 a.m. will relive Litchfield during the Revolution, when families were divided by those loyal to the British crown and those seeking independence and intrigue were in the air. Guides will point out historic sites where prisoners of war were jailed, and where a military presence guarded stores and provisions.  The tour is free to members, $10 for non-members. Registration is required for the Saturday and Sunday programs, by email at registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org or by phone at 860-567-4501.

On Sunday afternoon, there will be an added bonus as the Litchfield Fire Company hosts the 131st annual state Firefighter's Convention ending with a parade featuring over 1,000 firefighters from all over Connecticut.

For information about lodging, dining and other activities in the area and a free copy of UNWIND, a full-color, 163-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in Fairfield County and the Litchfield Hills of Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit www.litchfieldhills.com


Thursday, September 11, 2014

By Land and Sea and Air - paintings, drawings and etchings

The David Hunt Library  located bucolic village of Falls Village in the Litchfield Hills on 63 Main Street is hosting an art exhibition featuring the work of Robert Andrew Parker through October 10. 

The poet Marianne Moore said, "Robert Andrew Parker is one of the most accurate and at the same time most unliteral of painters. He combines the mystical and the actual, working both in an abstract and in a realistic way." Ms. Moore's is an apt description of Parker's recent work in this exhibit including serial images of an Avro Bison aircraft combining print and watercolor and a series of ships in the far distance, possibly warships. These are accompanied by landscapes, images of animals, and water conveying an overall sense of movement and adventure.
Besides being a foremost American artist, illustrator, and printmaker, Parker is also a writer and a working musician. Bob continues to perform with his band mates locally at the Interlaken Inn and other spots.
Parker's artworks have appeared in the pages of The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Esquire just to name a few. His drawings and paintings have accompanied the writings of Franz Kafka, Vladimir Nabokov, W. H. Auden, and Marianne Moore. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Morgan Library and Museum, and private collections throughout the world. Most recently, Parker was the subject of a Century Masters career retrospective at The Century Association in New York.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Twilight in the Garden at Hollister House July 12

Horticultural enthusiasts and bon vivants are cordially invited to savor the enchantment of Twilight in the Garden in the cool of the evening from 6 to 8 pm on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at Hollister House Garden. In a remarkable setting of charming views in all directions and the company of like-minded gardeners and friends, Twilight in the Garden guests can enjoy the garden with a glass of wine and cheese and hors d'oeuvres.

An exciting aspect of the garden this year is the new rill, a very narrow, 28-foot long water channel on the upper lawn behind the house. The rill is a classic but uncommon element of landscape design that places the sound and movement of water into the garden.
Stars of this very English garden at its early-summer peak are an exuberant abundance of daylilies, hydrangeas and old-fashioned phlox, plus various other happy plants spilling onto walkways, tumbling over walls and climbing up arches. Dahlias add masses of color and also offer quiet moments in certain places in the garden that are surrounded by a profusion of texture and form.
A 36-year labor of love by Washington resident George Schoellkopf, gardener extraordinaire and respected Early American antiques dealer, the romantic Hollister House Garden is beautifully situated on a gently sloping hillside behind a rambling 18th century farmhouse. The garden 's intimate outdoor spaces, bordered by dramatic hedges and the natural landscape, are lavishly planted with both familiar and exotic species in often surprising color combinations and open onto stunning vistas. 

Like many great gardens, it continues to be a work in progress. Hollister House Garden is one of only 16 exceptional gardens currently designated a Preservation Project by the Garden Conservancy, whose mission is to identify and preserve important and historically significant gardens across America for the education and enjoyment of the public.
Hollister House in 2010 achieved its prestigious listing on the National Register of Historic Places and the property was also named a Town Landmark Site by the Town of Washington.

The Twilight in the Garden party is priced at $30 per person, or for HHG members at $25 person. Reservations must be made in advance either on the Special Events page of the website a www.hollisterhousegarden.org or by phone at 860-868-2200. Hollister House Garden is open to visitors every Saturday through September. For June, July and August, hours are 8 to 10 am and 3 to 6 pm; September hours are 10 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm. Directions to the garden's 300 Nettleton Hollow Road location are also available on the website.
For information on the Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The Stairwell Gallery in Washington Presents Arthur Carter

The Stairwell Gallery at Gunn Memorial Library in Washington, CT is honored to present an exhibition of sculptures, orthogonals and paintings by Arthur Carter. The exhibit will be on view through June 21.

Mr. Carter’s early years might seem like another person’s full lifetime of events.  He was trained as a classical pianist, majored in French literature at Brown University, served three years in the United States Coast Guard as a lieutenant commanding officer of an air search and rescue craft, then received his MBA in finance from Dartmouth, followed by a 25 year career as an investment banker. 
 In 1981, he started a new venture.  Founding the Litchfield County Times and six years later the New York Observer, he began his career as a publisher.  He was also the publisher of theNation and the East Hampton Star.   And in 2008, the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute was founded at New York University where Mr. Carter is a trustee and chairman of the Board of Overseers of the Faculty of Arts and Science.  Mr. Carter has also held adjunct professorships in philosophy and journalism at NYU.

 Now we come to the “art part” of Mr. Carter – the grid design and layout of the front page of his newspapers inspired him to reproduce that same theme but in a three dimensional format and using stainless steel.  This was a material he had learned to master when he was in Officer Candidate School where he learned welding.  Thus, sculpting “became the latest statement of his polymath proclivities.”
 Artists naturally evolve and he was soon working with wood, clay and copper wire and then larger constructions in silicon bronze and stainless steel.  Many of his larger pieces are on permanent public display in New York City.  The fabrication process can take months to complete and involves all the complexities of a machine shop, but each piece begins with one common denominator, his sketch pad.
The Stairwell Gallery exhibit will include Mr. Carter’s Orthogonals.  A catalog of his exhibit at the New Britain Museum of American Art from the Fall of 2011, describes the pieces as follows: “Arthur Carter’s bold new series, which he calls collectively the Orthogonals, offers a fine example of a mixed mode that channels the powers of painting and sculpture through the distinguished medium of the relief.”  These pieces are complex in their simplicity.  They are strong, mathematical and like his other work, they vary in finish and are affected by the changing light and reflection.  Carter has said, “My work focuses on simplifying and eliminating the excessive.  The question is how does purity of design lend itself to making a beautiful and elegant piece?”

 Arthur Carter maintains a production facility and design studio in Roxbury, CT.  He has been a featured solo artist at many galleries, including the Tennessee State Museum, The Grey Art Gallery, 80WSE Galleries at New York University and the New Britain Museum of American Art.  Mr. Carter is the author of two hardcover books, Arthur Carter:  Sculptures, Paintings, Drawings (2009) and Arthur Carter:  Studies for Construction (2012).
 Gunn Memorial is most pleased to welcome this prolific artist who is still immersed in the world of manufacturing and finance around the world.  Perhaps his philosophy can help unify this “polymath” for us.  Mr. Carter has said, “The simpler the economics are, the better; if you don’t understand it, you don’t do it.  Purity in both design and business function means never dilute, never diffuse, and never bloat.”
 For further information please call (860) 868-7586 or email chartman@biblio.org . The Gunn Memorial Library is located at 5 Wykeham Road at the juncture of Route 47 opposite the Green in Washington, CT.  For library hours and to learn more about our programs and events visit our website www.gunnlibrary.org .
For information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

Monday, February 10, 2014

Mix it Up Exhibit at Sharon Historical Society in Litchfield Hills through Feb. 27

The second annual winter “Mix It Up” show hosted by the Sharon Historical Society in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut will juxtapose portraits by seven contemporary artists with five portraits from the museum collection by well-known folk artist Ammi Phillips (1788-1865). The exhibit at the Sharon Historical Society located on Main Street runs through February 27th.

Aung San Suu Kyi, by Robert A. Parker
This year’s “Mix It Up” exhibit is designed to challenge the viewer to visually travel from early nineteenth century folk portraits of local Sharon residents painted by Phillips to contemporary portraits painted by Sharon (and other local) artists.

Robert Louis Stevenson, by Duncan Hannah
Phillips, known locally by various monikers including the “Kent Limner”, painted in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut in the mid-1830s. By that time he was well established as an artist of some note, painting his first portraits probably as early as 1809/1810 in the area of Pittsfield, MA. Phillips painted at least five residents of the town of Sharon, Calvin and Phoebe Dowd Day, John Cotton Smith, and Ira and Melissa Williams. It is extremely likely that there are more Phillips’ portraits of Sharon residents in private collections, unsigned and/or unidentified. 

Midwinter Saint, by Richard T. Scott
In this exhibit all five Phillips portraits in the museum collection will be hung side-by-side with contemporary works by Duncan Hannah, Pieter Lefferts, Patty Mullins, Robert Andrew Parker, Warren Prindle, Richard T. Scott, and Peter Steiner. The exhibit hopes to challenge the viewer to evaluate the meaning of portraiture beyond the realm of “work of art”, and into the role of portrait as visual entrée into the historic record.
Phoebe Dowd Gay, by Ammi Phillip, ca. 1835

The Sharon Historical Society and Museum is located at 18 Main Street, Sharon, Connecticut 06069. For more information, call 860-364-5688 or visit http://www.sharonhist.org/ 

Museum Hours are Wednesday & Saturday from 10AM - 2PM, Thursday & Friday from 10AM - 4PM and by appointment.

For information on what to see and do in Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Snowshoeing in Litchfield Hills CT



Bredeson Outdoor Adventures is offering a day of guided snowshoeing in Washington and Warren, Connecticut in the heart of the Litchfield Hills on February 9, 2014.  Participants will meet at 9:45 a.m. at Hopkins Vineyard located on Hopkins Road in New Preston overlooking beautiful Lake Waramaug.

A short shuttle ride will take participants to Macricostas Preserve, where you will explore the area's boardwalks and admire the dramatic view of Lake Waramaug. This 368-acre parcel of land, known as Meeker Swamp is a mix of meadowland, farmland, wooded ridge and wetlands with a pinnacle that overlooks Lake Waramaug. Bee Brook and the Shepaug River wends its way through this lovely preserve. 

The day will consist of intermediate snowshoeing or walking if no snow (approximately 4-6 miles total) in beautiful countryside under the leadership of a professional and enthusiastic guide.  No prior snowshoeing experience is necessary; this but tour is rated intermediate because snowshoeing 4-6 miles requires a fair amount of energy, unless there is little snow.  Due to the venue and optional winetasting, participants should be 21 years or older.

Participants will enjoy lunch and lake views upstairs in the warmth of the Hopkins Vineyard's Hayloft Wine Bar and an optional wine tasting downstairs by the fire. The Breseson Outdoor Adventures Tour Company will provide lunch and hot tea and cocoa, information on where to rent snowshoes (they have a few pair available for rent), brief instruction and a day of winter fun. Tips and lists for what to wear, bring and do to enjoy a safe cold weather outing are also part of the package.

After lunch, participants will snowshoe through the vineyard and on Lake Waramaug.  The cost of this outing is $63 per person.  For more information visit http://bredeson.com/trip-sign-up.  For information on Hopkins Vineyard www.hopkinsvineyard.com.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Historical Society to Screen Three Films on Civil Rights

The Litchfield Historical Society, along with the Torrington Historical Society and the League of Women Voters of Litchfield County, are pleased to introduce three documentaries with riveting new footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America. These three organizations will offer a series of programs once a month from January–March in 2014.


Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities that uses the power of documentary films to encourage community discussion of America’s civil rights history. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials for the sites.

The Litchfield Historical Society is one of 473 institutions across the country awarded a set of four films chronicling the history of the civil rights movement. Each film is available on the historical society’s website to view before each formal program led by local humanities scholar. The schedule of films is as follows:

Thursday, January 16, 2014 7:00 pm, Litchfield Historical Society: “Slavery by Another Name”

Join us as Stephen McGrath, Litchfield Historical Society board member and history professor at Central CT State University, kicks off the first film discussion in our series. Steve will feature clips from the to challenge the belief that slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

Thursday, February 20, 2014 7:00 pm, Torrington Historical Society: “The Loving Story”

Our second civil rights film discussion will take place at the Torrington Historical Society. Led by Tom Hogan, former lawyer and legal history professor at UConn, we will take a look at a groundbreaking case that dealt with the legality of interracial marriages. The documentary brings to life the Lovings' marriage and the legal battle that followed through little-known filmed interviews and photographs shot for Life magazine. Participants will view film clips from the HBO documentary.

Thursday, March 20, 2014  7:00 pm, Litchfield Historical Society: “Freedom Riders”

Litchfield blogger and history professor Pete Vermilyea brings to light the activities of the freedom riders in the last of our film series. Freedom Riders tells the terrifying, moving, and suspenseful story of a time when white and black volunteers riding a bus into the Deep South risked being jailed, beaten, or killed, as white local and state authorities ignored or encouraged violent attacks. The film includes previously unseen amateur 8-mm footage of the burning bus on which some Freedom Riders were temporarily trapped, taken by a local twelve-year-old and held as evidence since 1961 by the FBI.
 
Each of the films was produced with NEH support, and each tells remarkable stories of individuals who challenged the social and legal status quo of deeply rooted institutions, from slavery to segregation. Created Equal programs bring communities together to revisit our shared history and help bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American civic life. Visit www.neh.gov/created-equalwww.neh.gov/created-equal for more information. 

The Created Equal film set is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

These programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required—please register by calling (860) 567-4501 or emailing registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.


For more information on these programs, please check our website, www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/tours/createdequal.phpwww.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/tours/createdequal.php or call 860-567-4501.