Bethlehem’s Christmas Town Festival Marks 30th Anniversary in the Litchfield Hills

They call this little town of Bethlehem “Christmas Town”, and with good reason. The annual Christmas Town Festival, scheduled for December 3 and 4, celebrates its 30^th birthday this year as one of New England’s favorite celebrations.  Thousands travel to this small village in the Litchfield Hills every year to mail holiday cards with a special Bethlehem greeting.  The town’s historic Bellamy-Ferriday House opens to visitors for the occasion, and Bethlehem boasts a rare Christmas jewel, a museum-quality 18^th century crèche on view in a vintage barn at the Abbey of Regina Laudis

30^th Anniversary Celebration

This year’s special birthday celebration starts on Friday night at 6 p.m. when Santa turns on the lights on the towering 75-foot tree on the village green, with festive background music by the Region 14 choirs and bands, talented local groups. On Saturday, the gaily- decorated quaint buildings around the green will brim with over 70 art and craft exhibitors and there will be good food galore.  Strolling carolers and musicians from the First Church Bell Choir will keep things lively, hayrides will be offered in front of First Church and Santa will be waiting at the firehouse to pose for pictures with young friends.  Collectors can garner this year’s unique annual Christmas Town pewter ornament, sold only during the Festival.

           

            The Bethlehem post office will open for special hours during the festival, Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The idea of mailing cards from Bethlehem dates to 1938, when a local Postmaster, the late Earl Johnson, realized that people were coming to town just to mail their cards.  He designed a “cachet,” a special rubber stamp featuring a tree and lettering that said “From the Little Town of Bethlehem, Christmas greetings.”  New cachets have been added each year since.  More than 60 are now available and over 200,000 cards are now mailed each year from this small town post office.

Historic Home Tours

Bethlehem’s beautiful eighteenth century Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden also will open on Saturday, lavishly decorated for the holidays.  Guides will be on hand to give tours and the family-friendly program will include games, prizes and surprises for children.  Special entertainment is planned by The Sweetest Key, an all-female a cappella group, with a concert at noon and caroling from 1 to 2 pm.  Refreshments and hot cider will be offered in the Visitor's Center.

Magnificent Crèche

Another eighteenth century treasure is the crèche housed in a barn on the 400-acre property of the Abbey of Regina Laudis.  The recently restored Neapolitan crèche is similar to the famous crèche in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and came from the same donor, Loretta Hines Howard.  It is a remarkable creation containing 68 figures 14 to 16 inches high dressed in their original elaborate costumes.  Along with the Holy Family, the figures vividly portray children, women bearing gifts, merchants, peddlers, angels, the Three Kings, and peasants with their farm animals.  The Crèche is thought to have belonged to Victor Amadeus the Second, King of Sardinia, and is believed to have been presented to him on the occasion of his coronation in 1720.  It is open free to visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Christmas Town Festival will be held at the junction of Rte. 61 and Rte. 132 in Bethlehem on Friday, December 3rd from 5 to10 p.m., and Saturday. Dec. 4th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Free parking is available at the Bethlehem Fairgrounds on Route 61, where free shuttle buses will take visitors to and from the Festival.  For additional information, see www.christmastownfestival.com or phone (203) 266-5557.

For more information about holiday events in the region and a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to lodging, dining and all the attractions in the Litchfield Hills, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759,  (860) 567-4506, www.visitwesternct.com.

PT Barnum Celebrates the Holidays Mark Twain Style

The Barnum Museum in Bridgeport CT is celebrating the 200th birthday of Phineas Taylor Barnum, born July 5, 1810 in Bethel CT by chronicling the life and times of this extraordinary showman who once served as the Mayor of Bridgeport.

For a complete listing of anniversary year events celebrating this amazing – and sometimes outrageous – showman, civic leader and politician, visit http://www.barnum-museum.org. The original museum building, owned by the City of Bridgeport is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Barnum Museum has planned a special holiday presentation, Christmas with the Clemens Family that will take place at The Barnum Museum in Bridgeport CT on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.

Patti Philippon, Chief Curator at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford will regale guests with tales about the Samuel Langhorne Clemens family, better known as the family of hailed American novelist Mark Twain. This special program will describe the friendship between Clemens and P.T. Barnum and then take a look at the intricate details of the way the Clemens family celebrated Christmas at Nook Farm in Hartford.

Philippon will enlighten the audience with Mark Twain’s tales of holiday celebrations that took place in the Clemens family home and show images of the glorious Victorian era holiday decorations at the museum in Hartford. Hear some engaging quotes from Twain and the wonderful tales which he told his children while they gathered around the fireplace. Tea, hot chocolate and cookies will be served to warm your holiday spirit!

Holiday visitors to the museum will also be able to view the David Millen “Celebrating the Spirit of P.T. Barnum! Energy, Balance, Vitality” sculpture exhibition and a display of the original artwork created by the winners of the annual Kennedy Center “Unique Perspective 2011 Calendar.” The Kennedy Center publishes a full color calendar featuring artwork created by artists with disabilities. The calendars, along with other unique and memorable holiday gifts, are for sale in the Barnum Museum store.

Admission for these programs: Adults, Seniors and College Students: $5, $2, Children 4 – 17: $5, Under 4: Free. Events take place Dec. 4-16. please visit the website for exact times.

Mark Twains Birthday Bash in Redding Connecticut

The Parks and Recreation Dept of Redding Connecticut has arranged an exciting 175th Birthday Bash for Mark Twain, who died in Redding. With his passing, Redding, Connecticut acquired a unique distinction: Mark Twain’s final home. And while that distinction is of trivial interest, it is what transpired after his death that has kept Twain’s life and legacy alive and well in Redding.

Almost immediately after his arrival, Twain took interest in founding a public library for the residents of Redding. Why was this of interest to him? Perhaps it was in his genes…John Marshall Clemens, Twain’s father, is said to have been instrumental in founding the first Hannibal, Missouri Library.

To create Redding’s first public library, Twain donated books from his own collection. Next Twain went into fundraising mode, a role he greatly enjoyed. Male visitors to Stormfield were “taxed” $1 dollar, concerts were held, and his friends and associates were urged to contribute to the cause. He was very successful. Large contributions of books were sent to Redding by Collier’s Weekly, Harper & Brothers, and by Page & Company.

From 1908 to 1910, the library was a focal point for Twain. In fact one of his final acts was approving a check for the library building fund. Since that time, the Mark Twain Library has grown and it has evolved but what it has remained is a tribute to Mark Twain’s legacy. Visitors of the Mark Twain Library are surrounded by photos, paintings, quotations, artwork and sculptures… there is little doubt that you have entered the “Mark Twain” library. But, more importantly, the Mark Twain Library keeps Mark Twain alive.

On Tuesday November 30th, Twain’s 175th Birthday, the town of Redding is planning an exciting day that includes a Mark Twain impersonator who will visit points of interest throughout the town. The impersonator will give two performances at the Redding Community Center.

There will also be a showing of the 1939 Huck Finn movie starring Mickey Rooney, at 4 pm. at the Redding Community Center because it is the 125th anniversary of the first publication of this book. Nationally recognized Mark Twain impersonator, Alan Kitty, will be on hand before the film’s 4:30 showing to discuss one of his favorite characters. The film will be viewed in honor of the 125th Anniversary of the book’s first printing.

At 7:00 pm at the Redding Community Center there will be a world first preview of “Dangerous Intimacy” an exciting documentary produced by History Film Inc, a non-profit organization. The documentary, based on the book by Karen Lystra, tells the untold story of Mark Twain’s final years. Many of the scenes were filmed in Redding using local actors and locations. The director and producer of the film, Richard Altomonte, will give a brief talk about it’s creation and a question answer period after the film. Tickets are $5.00 each & can be purchased at the Redding Park & Recreation, call: 203-938-2551.

A display of The Mark Twain Centennial Collection” of limited edition prints, by Portrait Artist Susan B. Durkee, will be on sale, and a Mark Twain and Redding Historical Display will be on view at the Redding Community Center.
The proceeds of the event are to benefit www.historyofredding.com. historyofredding.com created by historian, Brent Colley.

SANTA’S ON BOARD FOR FUN IN LITCHIFELD HILLS CT

If you want to find Santa in Northwest Connecticut, catch a train.  On weekends, you can join Mr. and Mrs. Claus taking a break for a fun ride aboard the Santa Express, a restored 1920s train from the New England Railroad Museum in Thomaston.  To see Santa at work, ride a train to visit the great man and his busy elves in the weekend Toyland he sets up in a vintage train car at the Danbury Railroad Museum.  Santa works late this time of year, and the special Northern Lights tours from Thomaston let you make a stop to see him at Santa's Train Workshop.  Wherever you find him, you can be sure that Santa has gifts ready for all young children.

Fans of miniature trains also will find irresistible holiday exhibits of whizzing, whirring miniature trains at many spots in this scenic part of the state.

                                    Riding the Rails

The Santa Express leaves the 1881 station in Thomaston on Saturdays and Sundays for an hour and a quarter round-trip scenic ride beside the Naugatuck River in 1920s-vintage coaches.  Mr. and Mrs. Claus make sure to visit with each child on board and often they bring elves along. Evening light displays inside and outside the train greet passengers after dark on the very special Northern Express journey to Santa's Train Workshop.  

 The gift shop inside the gaily decorated historic station has a host of ideas for train fans young and old, including railroad books, children’s books, Thomas the Tank Engine™ merchandise and lots of train memorabilia.  And there is an operating miniature Christmas train layout.

Santa Express trains, $14 adults, $12 children, leave at 2 p.m., Northern Express trains, $22 depart at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on 12/4-5, 12/11-12 and 18/19. Additional Northern Express trains are scheduled for 11/27-28 and 12/3.

Santa’s Rail Yard

At the Danbury Railway Museum, which includes a classic 1903 station and a railroad yard with vintage train cars, visitors can ride a working vintage train through the yard to Santa’s own train.  They will find him in his workshop supervising his elves, who are busy making toys.  Santa rides begin at noon and run every half hour until 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays, December 11 and 18, and Sundays December 5, 12 and 19 from 12:30-3:30 p.m.  The $8 admission includes the ride, a gift from Santa, and exhibits and displays in the yard and indoors. A miniature layout is in action in the station, along with a coloring station.

Once again, there is a tempting Gift Shop, with over 600 different items, including Thomas the Tank™ and Little Engine That Could™ merchandise, books, clothing, puzzles, and other railroad items.  The station is at 120 White Street in Danbury. Reserve tickets in advance at www.danbury.org/DRM or phone (203) 778-8337.

Mini Magic

Miniature train displays are a traditional holiday favorite for many families. The Wilton Historical Society’s annual Great Trains exhibit features a range of makes, models and gauges of model trains rolling around curves, passing scenic local landscapes and rushing through mountain passes.  Each model landscape is intricately designed by the Society’s “Trainmen” and the holiday exhibit includes a vast collection of toys, dolls and miniatures.  Dates are December 4 through January 17. Admission is $5; Hours are Tuesdays - Fridays, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sundays 1 – 4 p.m.  The Society is located at 224 Danbury Road. Check online or phone for holiday closings:  www.wiltonhistorical.org or 203-762-7257.

The 23rd Annual Hands On Train Display at New Milford’s restored vintage train station December 18^th through 31^st offers four big operating train layouts.  Each year the waiting room of the station is transformed into a Lilliputian landscape of hills, valleys and villages.  The towns, populated by tiny figures dressed in winter finery, are crisscrossed by whizzing layouts of scale model Lionel trains.  The setup includes almost 100 feet of track.  Visitors can do more than admire the trains.  They are invited to take the controls, starting and stopping the action and operating signals and lights.  The trains operate daily from noon to 4 p.m.  This yearly free event is sponsored by the Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about trains, directions to events and listings of all the holiday doings in the region, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, www.visitwesternct.com. They offer a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to the Litchfield Hills and a free Fairfield County Getaway Guide.

Travel in Connecticut's Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County: December Events at the Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm

Travel in Connecticut's Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County: December Events at the Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm

December Events at the Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm

The Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm invites you to take part in their December Holiday Happenings to help make your season bright!

A Holiday Knitting Workshop takes place on December 4th with Bruce Weinstein, the author of Knits Men Want: The Ten Rules Every Woman Should Know Before Knitting For A Man from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants will learn to make reversible cables for a scarf either for a man or a woman. The cost is $75 per student (materials not included) and it includes a copy of Weinstein’s book and a light lunch from the Silo Cooking School prepared by Silo Cooking School Director, Chef Mary Kravec. Participants will receive a materials list with their registration receipt.

On December 8th from 10 a.m. to Noon Loretta Stagen is teaching a Fresh Holiday Wreath Decorating Workshop that uses a 28-inch double-sided balsam wreath at Hunt Hilll Farm. Students will learn to decorate the wreath with pomegranates, pinecones, cinnamon sticks, acorns and ribbons. In her Fresh Boxwood Topiary Workshop, students will create an 8-inch ball on top of a 24-inch stem and braid it festively with ribbons. The fresh topiary that you create will last two months. Class sizes are limited to 12 and last one hour. The cost for each workshop is $55 and materials are included.

On Dec. 11 in The Skitch Henderson Museum at 6 p.m., there will be a “Christmas Concert in the Country” with Alecia Evans, lyric coloratura soprano. Alecia Adams Evans has performed regionally and nationally throughout the United States. Her second performance at the farm will be a rich presentation of joyful holiday music from a repertoire of traditional Christmas standards and carols. Adding a spark to some of these holiday tunes will be an “Andrew Sisters” style sound, featuring the musical trio, Nobody’s Business which includes Evans, along with Cadden Jones and Linda Sue Moshier. Joining her on the museum’s famous Steinway piano once housed at NBC’s Tonight Show and signed by all four Steinway brothers, will be legendary Broadway Conductor Phil Hall. A reception will immediately follow the concert. Reservations Required. Ticket prices are $25 for members, $35 for non-members and $5 for students/children.

While you are at the farm this holiday season, visit The Silo Gallery to see the 38th Annual Christmas Tree and Holiday Exhibition on display through January 2nd, 2011 and don’t forget to browse The Silo Store, overflowing with special gifts and culinary items.

Visit for more information or to make reservations at www.hunthillfarmtrust.org or call (860) 355-0300. Hunt Hill Farm hours are Wed. through Sat., 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday’s noon to 5 p.m.

STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN TO REVEAL THE NEW 22,000 SQUARE FOOT/ $17 MILLION FACILITY

After more than two years of planning and construction, and three and half months of closure for final renovations, Stepping Stones Museum for Children will re-open its doors on Saturday November 20, 2010 and embark on its future.

The build and renovation, which more than doubles the space of the original museum, is one of the largest development projects in the city of Norwalk. The new structure features solar panels, a “green” roof, a wind turbine and the use of recycled materials throughout the construction, all of which has qualified for LEED Gold Certification. The focus on conservation, reusable materials and energy-themed education and learning extends throughout the museum’s new exhibits, galleries and programming.

Among the most amazing attractions is the technologically unique Multimedia Gallery designed to help prepare children for a changing and diverse world. Simultaneously a theater, technology lab and broadcast-ready environment, the Multimedia Gallery includes a 43 x 11 foot immersive high-definition screen, interactive floor projection, video-conferencing technology and a state-of-the-art camera, lighting and sound system. Programs will include distance learning, live performances, interactive games, short films, youth-hosted forums and opportunities to create meaningful and relevant connections with children, communities and cultures around the world.

Joining exhibit favorites Build It!, Healthyville and Rainforest Adventure is the exciting new exhibit Energy Lab,  a futuristic, wet and windy environment that will inspire children to explore and invent while learning about the science of energy and energy sources.

Also new is Tot Town, inspired by the latest research in early childhood development and play and designed to promote literacy for little learners. Nursery rhymes play a large role in Tot Town as they are placed throughout the exhibit. Tot Town will encourage infants and toddlers to investigate the real world in ways that stretch all of their abilities just as nursery rhyme characters use all their skills and senses to investigate and explore their imaginary world.

Rounding out the expansion is a larger and more robust parent and teach resource center, an all new art studio, a science lab, an expanded Café and the Age of Reason museum store.

Stepping Stones will open its doors to the public Saturday, November 20 at 10 am. With the newly renovated museum comes new opening days as Stepping Stones will be open 7 days a week from 10 am-5 pm. 

Annual Christmas Luncheons & Holiday Boutique at Ridgefield’s Keeler Tavern

On of the most popular holiday traditions in Connecticut is the Annual Christmas Luncheons and Holiday Boutique at the historic Keeler Tavern Museum located on Main Street in the heart of Ridgefield Connecticut. This year’s luncheon and boutique are scheduled for Tuesday, December 7th through Saturday, December 11th.

The highlight of this event is the lavish lunch that will be served in the festively decorated Garden House that overlooks the sunken garden. There will be two seatings each day the first at 11:30 AM and the second at 1:00 PM. To make your reservation please call the Museum Office at 203-438-5485 from Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, or download a reservation form by going to the events page on the museum web site http://www. keelertavernmuseum.org.

Prepaid reservations are $23 per person. This event is a major fund raiser that helps support the Keeler Tavern Museum and has become a seasonal pleasure for many.

The Holiday Boutique will be open each day from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM and Sunday, December 12 from 1:00-4:00 PM. A wide variety of seasonal ornaments, gift items and crafts will be on display in the Cass Gilbert Dining Room in the Museum building. Gifts for family, friends and some especially to please you are there to purchase.

WATERBURY'S PALACE THEATER DREAMS OF THE “HOLIDAZE

Whimsical dreams become a magical reality when the Webster Broadway Series presentation of Cirque Dreams Holidaze transforms the Waterbury Palace Theater’s stage into a holiday wonderland of fantasy and imagination for three performances, December 7 - 9 at 7:30pm.

Cirque Dreams Holidaze is an original musical extravaganza where ornaments that come to life as costumed characters perform astonishing feats that celebrate the holiday season with spectacle and imagination.  An international cast of artists transform into gingerbread men flipping mid air, toy soldiers marching on thin wires, and reindeer soaring high above a landscape of holiday wonderment.  With an original musical score featuring holiday favorites, Cirque Dreams Hoildaze will have audiences of all ages mesmerized with its memorable tribute to the holiday season.

 

In conjunction with The Broadway League’s annual “Kid’s Night on Broadway” promotion, the Palace Theater is offering a special “Buy One Ticket, Get One Half Price” promotion for children, ages 6 – 18, to attend the 7:30pm evening performance on Wednesday, December 8. The special offer is valid on all remaining seats and is only available by phone or in person at the Box Office. All children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, and the offer is not valid on previous purchases.

 

In the spirit of holiday giving, the Palace Theater is donating a portion of ticket sales from the Cirque Dreams Holidaze performance on December 7, to the WATR Sunshine Fund to help those in need during the holiday season. In addition,  the Republican-American’s Campership Fund will have their “Celebrity Beggars” out in force before the December 9 performance to collect donations to help defray the cost of sending deserving children and youth  to summer camp.

Tickets for Cirque Dreams Holidaze, sponsored in part by WTNH/MyTV9, WATR Radio, Republican-American, Brass Mill Center, Powerstation Events and Crystal Rock, can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online at www.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the Palace Theater Box Office, 100 East Main St. in Waterbury.  Groups of 20 or more qualify for discounted rates and should call the Group Sales hotline at 203-346-2002.

 

 

 

 

Bethlehem’s Christmas Town Festival Marks 30th Anniversary in the Litchfield Hills

They call this little town of Bethlehem “Christmas Town”, and with good reason. The annual Christmas Town Festival, scheduled for December 3 and 4, celebrates its 30^th birthday this year as one of New England’s favorite celebrations.  Thousands travel to this small village in the Litchfield Hills every year to mail holiday cards with a special Bethlehem greeting.  The town’s historic Bellamy-Ferriday House opens to visitors for the occasion, and Bethlehem boasts a rare Christmas jewel, a museum-quality 18^th century crèche on view in a vintage barn at the Abbey of Regina Laudis

30^th Anniversary Celebration

 This year’s special birthday celebration starts on Friday night at 6 p.m. when Santa turns on the lights on the towering 75-foot tree on the village green, with festive background music by the Region 14 choirs and bands, talented local groups. On Saturday, the gaily- decorated quaint buildings around the green will brim with over 70 art and craft exhibitors and there will be good food galore.  Strolling carolers and musicians from the First Church Bell Choir will keep things lively, hayrides will be offered in front of First Church and Santa will be waiting at the firehouse to pose for pictures with young friends.  Collectors can garner this year’s unique annual Christmas Town pewter ornament, sold only during the Festival.

           

            The Bethlehem post office will open for special hours during the festival, Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The idea of mailing cards from Bethlehem dates to 1938, when a local Postmaster, the late Earl Johnson, realized that people were coming to town just to mail their cards.  He designed a “cachet,” a special rubber stamp featuring a tree and lettering that said “From the Little Town of Bethlehem, Christmas greetings.”  New cachets have been added each year since.  More than 60 are now available and over 200,000 cards are now mailed each year from this small town post office.

                                Historic Home Tours

Bethlehem’s beautiful eighteenth century Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden also will open on Saturday, lavishly decorated for the holidays.  Guides will be on hand to give tours and the family-friendly program will include games, prizes and surprises for children.  Special entertainment is planned by The Sweetest Key, an all-female a cappella group, with a concert at noon and caroling from 1 to 2 pm.  Refreshments and hot cider will be offered in the Visitor's Center.

Magnificent Crèche

Another eighteenth century treasure is the crèche housed in a barn on the 400-acre property of the Abbey of Regina Laudis.  The recently restored Neapolitan crèche is similar to the famous crèche in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and came from the same donor, Loretta Hines Howard.  It is a remarkable creation containing 68 figures 14 to 16 inches high dressed in their original elaborate costumes.  Along with the Holy Family, the figures vividly portray children, women bearing gifts, merchants, peddlers, angels, the Three Kings, and peasants with their farm animals.  The Crèche is thought to have belonged to Victor Amadeus the Second, King of Sardinia, and is believed to have been presented to him on the occasion of his coronation in 1720.  It is open free to visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Christmas Town Festival will be held at the junction of Rte. 61 and Rte. 132 in Bethlehem on Friday, December 3rd from 5 to10 p.m., and Saturday. Dec. 4th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Free parking is available at the Bethlehem Fairgrounds on Route 61, where free shuttle buses will take visitors to and from the Festival.  For additional information, see www.christmastownfestival.com or phone (203) 266-5557.

For more information about holiday events in the region and a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to lodging, dining and all the attractions in the Litchfield Hills, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759,  (860) 567-4506, www.visitwesternct.com.