Yayoi Kusama: Narcissus Garden at the Glass House

The Glass House located on Elm Street in New Canaan  is pleased to present Yayoi Kusama: Narcissus Garden, a landscape installation that will be on view throughout the 2016 tour season to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Philip Johnson's birth and the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Glass House site to the public. First created fifty years ago in 1966 for the 33rd Venice Biennale, this iteration of Narcissus Garden will be incorporated into the Glass House's 49-acre landscape. Tickets start at $25 including a tour of the site that is open Thursday - Monday 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Photo © YAYOI KUSAMA

The Narcissus Garden, comprising 1,300 floating steel spheres, each approximately 12 inches in diameter (30 cm) has been installed in the Lower Meadow and forest, creating a dramatic view to the west of the Glass House. Drifting in the newly restored pond, the spheres will move with the wind and follow the pond's natural currents, forming a kinetic sculpture. Their mirrored surfaces will reflect the surrounding Pond Pavilion (1962), wooded landscape, and sky.

The Glass House will also install Kusama's recently created enormous steel PUMPKIN(2015). The placement of PUMPKIN will be on the hillside meadow, east-northeast of the Brick House (1949), on a concrete sculpture footing where Ellsworth Kelly's Curve II (1973) was once installed.  "The first time I saw a pumpkin was in a farm in elementary school.  In Japanese, a 'pumpkin head' is an ignorant man or a pudgy woman, but for me, I am charmed by its shape, form, and lack of pretension." says the artist.

About the Glass House

The Glass House was built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson, the Glass House is a National Trust Historic Site located in New Canaan, CT. The pastoral 49-acre landscape comprises fourteen structures, including the Glass House (1949), and features a permanent collection of 20th century painting and sculpture, along with temporary exhibitions. The tour season runs from May through November and advance reservations are required. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit www.theglasshouse.org.

 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America's historic places to enrich our future. For more information, visit.www.savingplaces.org.  

More Music Than Ever During Weekend in Norfolk, Coming Up August 5, 6 and 7

Norfolk, Conn., has long been a mecca for those who love music of all kinds, but Weekend in Norfolk, its town-wide open house coming up August 5, 6 and 7, promises to be extra special. From Infinity Hall’s pop, rock, blues and jazz concerts to classical music and other performances at the Music Shed to pop-up musicians all around town, you’ll find music in the air everywhere you go.

Infinity Hall, with its Queen Anne architecture and vivid green paint, is an unmissable presence on Route 44. Built in 1883, the building housed an auditorium for concerts and lectures upstairs and a grocery and a dry goods store on the ground floor. The theater fell into disuse in the 1940s and had subsequent ups and downs, but in 2007 Infinity owner Dan Hincks bought the building and completely redid the interior, adding a state-of-the-art sound system and creating an intimate, friendly setting for live music of all genres. Singer Jane Monheit and the Glenn Miller Orchestra will both appear on Saturday, and bluegrass band Seldom Scene is slated to perform Sunday.

The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival is believed to be the oldest summer music festival in North America. Since the 1940s, it has held its concerts in the Music Shed, hailed as “an acoustic marvel” by the New York Times. The Music Shed, modeled after Steinway Hall in New York City, was built in 1906, and over the decades its beautiful redwood interior has welcomed many world-famous musicians to its stage. During 

Weekend in Norfolk, the Music Shed will feature concerts by the world-renowned Emerson String Quartet, faculty and students from the Yale Summer School of Music, and the U.S. Coast Guard Band.

And don’t forget those unexpected pop-up musicians, many of them recruited from Norfolk’s talented residents, who will be performing at the farmers market, on the village green, in the library, in the center of town and …well, come and be surprised.

For a full listing of all the Weekend in Norfolk musical events, plus the rest of the more than 60 events scheduled as well as places to eat, sleep or shop, visit weekendinnorfolk.org. If you have questions, send an email to info@weekendinnorfolk.org or call 860-542-5829.

Get Inspired by Art in Stamford

Get inspired and celebrate the arts at the 2nd Annual Stamford Art Festival at Harbor Point, taking place on Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31 from 10 am to 5 pm, rain or shine.

A juried event featuring more than 100 artists selected locally and from across the country, Canada and Israel,the Stamford Art Festival offers a selection of paintings, photography,drawings, prints, sculptures, mixed media, jewelry, ceramics, fiber, metal and glass pieces that are original works and available for collecting in every price range.

Held at the beautiful Harbor Point waterfront in Stamford, exhibitors will display their work on the gorgeous new boardwalk overlooking Stamford Harbor – an extraordinary backdrop for this visual feast.

Visitors will be able to browse and buy from a wide variety of artists. The Festival includes live musical performances on both days, as well as free arts activities and demonstrations for children and adults, plus a variety of food temptations ranging from gourmet food to homemade desserts. Sunday, July 31 features a Farmers Market to enjoy. And it all happens rain or shine, under tents.

Admission to the Stamford Art Festival is free. There is ample free parking. Harbor Point in Stamford is easy to reach via Connecticut Exit 7 on I-95 northbound and southbound. For more information, visit www.StamfordArtFestival.org

For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Coney Island: Visions from the Boardwalk @ Lockwood Mathews Mansion

A new exhibition titled, Coney Island: Visions from the Boardwalk by Gail Ingis-Claus will  run through Sept. 30th at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT. 

Inspired by a lifetime of loving memories of Coney Island, her playground from childhood to maturity, artist Gail Ingis-Claus depicts this landmark resort through a collection of twenty-five works, ranging from the representational to the abstract. 

Bright hues and rhythmic brushstrokes highlight this magnetic and alluring destination of American culture where dizzying, neon-colored rides on the Cyclone and swings and slides on the Wonder Wheel, evoke images and memories of a by-gone era. Ms. Ingis-Claus’ work has been exhibited throughout the region including: the Fairfield Arts Council, Lyme Association, Madison Art Society, Guilford Art League, Barnes & Noble, both Westport, CT and Paramus, NJ, among others.

The exhibit will be on view as part of LMMM’s tours, Wed.-Sun. at noon, 1, 2, and 3 p.m. General Admission: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $6 for children and young adults, ages 8-18. The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on schedules and programs please visit: www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799. For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Dance Party and Smooth Jazz Affair @ Palace Theatre in July

As part of the Summer Jazz Series being offered by the Palace Theatre on 100 East Main St. in Waterbury, ACT Jams Productions is presenting Chris "Big Dog" Davis' Birthday Bash, an All-White Attire, Smooth Jazz Affair on July 29 at 8 p.m.  This bash will take place in the orchestra lobby, featuring chart-topping flutist Althea Rene along with vocalists Barbara Fowler and Christi Jones.

Following the concert, guests will be invited to take to the dance floor for an Old School Dance Party featuring everyone's favorite R&B, funk, house and club classics spun by the evening's host, Al "DJ ACT" Taylor from 94.3FM WYBC. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their brightest white outfits and dance the night away!

Christopher "Big Dog" Davis is a Waterbury native and two-time Grammy nominated writer and producer, who has earned ten Billboard top #1 smooth jazz records over the past eight years.

Soul Jazz Flutist Althea Rene is one the world's most exciting solo improvisational flutists and regarded by some as a "master of her craft." Her hit song "In the Flow" allowed her to become the first flute player in the history of the Billboard Chart to reach the #1 spot.

Tickets may be purchased online  and are $38.75 per person. For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Booming Winsted Book Festival with Ralph Nader

The founder of the American Museum of Tort Law, Ralph Nader  located in Winsted is presenting the Booming Winsted Book Festival on Saturday, July 30 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, July 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 414 Main St. (Rte. 44) in Winsted.  There will be more than 200 all new non- fiction books available at discounted prices in addition to five authors making an appearance to sign their books and speak.

Part of the impetus of this event was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ralph Nader's groundbreaking book, Unsafe at Any Speed.  Mr. Nader will be speaking and signing his books, Unsafe at Any Speed and his latest book, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Allianceto Dismantle the Corporate State on Saturday, July 30 at 10 a.m.

The next speaker to take the podium at 12:30 p.m. is Patricia Klindienst, the author of  The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans.  This award winning book tells the story of what ethnic gardens have meant to newcomers to our land.

At 2 p.m., Nader will be joined by Pulitzer Prize winning American historian, Eric DeWitt Clinton, Professor of History at Columbia University, who will sign his book, Gateway to Freedom: Hidden History of the Underground Railroad. David Bollier, a world-leading scholar and advocate for the Commons will take center stage at 4 p.m. to present his book, Thinking Like a Commoner.  The book reviews the idea of the old commons (public lands and airwaves) and the new commons such as tax payer funded research and development and the ownership of intellectual property via the internet and what is owned but not controlled. All the books discussed at the Festival will be sold by the Hickory Stick Bookshop at regular prices.

On July 31, Historian and Western CT State University Housatonic Valley Regional High School teacher, Peter Vermilyea, the author of the Hidden History of Litchfield County and his new nook, Wicked Litchfield County will be at the festival to talk about and sign his books.

Book lovers that  buy two books in the $5 category get one free and with every $40 purchase patrons of the festival get at $10 coupon to Noujaim's Restaurant that is next door.  For those whose combined purchases and or charitable contributions to The Law Works equal to or exceeding $500 will receive one autographed copy of the 50th anniversary commemorative edition of Unsafe at Any Speed.

Don't forget to visit, the American Museum of Tort Law, the only one of its kind in the world -- it is educational, fun and a definitely eye-opening!  And, parents, bring the kids, there is a new teachable toy exhibit created for youngsters.

For more information www.litchfieldhills.com

New Milford Village Fair Days July 29 & 30

The center of New Milford located in the scenic Litchfield Hills is noted for its long traditional village green laid out in 1872. Here you will find monuments from past wars as well as a bandstand, first built in 1891 that is a symbol of New Milford's sense of community.

You can also explore many exceptional galleries, boutiques, restaurants and antique shops that are clustered in the heart of this village. Many are located in beautifully restored 18th and 19th century homes and buildings. Town Hall, facing the Green, marks the home of one of New Milford's most illustrious citizens, Roger Sherman, the only Connecticut man whose signature is on all key documents of the founding of this nation.

On July 29 and July 30, 2016 the New Milford Green becomes a hive of activity with the many activities and family fun offered up at the 49th Annual New Milford Village Fair Days.

Organized by the Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce, this is the largest annual event in New Milford. Hundreds of vendors including local businesses, organizations, church groups and clubs exhibit their unique offerings. If you like crafts, you won't be disappointed as many skillful crafters offer their wares.

Food is a big element of any Fair and New Milford's food vendors won't disappoint. There is even a dining tent and two days of entertainment that add to the festivities. Participants in this year's food court include: New Milford Rotary Club, Water Witch Hose Co 2, The Cookhouse, CC's Spiral Potatoes, Crab Cakes & Coconut Shrimp, Alfredo's/Colosseo Restaurants, New Milford Lions Club, Thomas's Ice Cream Truck, American Pie Company, Greek Isle and Primos Deli.

Exploring the south Green you will find a variety of businesses, organizations, church groups and clubs, while the north Green hosts master crafters. Food vendors can be found in the mid-section of the Green where fair goers will find everything from tasty snacks to a wonderful meal that can be enjoyed in the large sit-down dining area.

The Fair opens at 10:00 am and closes at 10:00 PM on both days. Among the many highlights on the 29th are the tour of town hall at 2:30 p.m., a performance by Theatre Works from 1:30 p.m. - 2 :00 p.m., an historic walking tour of Main Street at 4 p.m., an Old Fashion Pie eating contest at 5 p.m., the Kid's Fun Run at 6:00 PM and music by Hire & Hire from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

On Saturday, July 30th the Fair opens at 10:00 am and closes at 10:00 PM. Highlights on the 30th include: the 49th Annual 8 Mile Road Race & 14th Annual Fair Days 5K at 8:30 am, a town hall tour at 2:30 p.m., the band The Blue Yodels from 3:15 PM – 4 PM, an historic tour of Main Street at 4 PM and the band Zenith from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

For further information, please contact the Chamber of Commerce at 860.354.6080 or visit http://www.newmilford-chamber.com for up to the minute information.