Healthyville® returns to Stepping Stones Museum for Children

Children’s health matters. Not only is it a topic of vital importance for the Tri-State Area’s parents and families, but it is a critical issue for the short- and long-term health of our community as well.  As children’s early experiences help shape their lifelong habits and views on health and well-being, it is crucial to introduce and promote key health messages to them today.  Healthyville, a nationally touring exhibit created by Stepping Stones Museum for Children, delivers those important health and wellness lessons to children and families in a fun, play-based manner. This is a primary reason why Stepping Stones is excited to bring back Healthyville to Norwalk. Healthyville will be at Stepping Stones through Labor Day. 

Healthyville is a place for everybody. This bilingual (English/Spanish), interactive exhibit teaches health and wellness lessons through play-filled activities and educational messages that foster learning by doing. Designed primarily for children ages 5 – 12 and their parents, caregivers and teachers, Healthyville provides visitors with hands-on opportunities to explore health topics in ways that help them understand their bodies, the importance of making healthy choices and how to apply these concepts in everyday situations. Healthyville features engaging content about how the body works and the effects of our positive or negative health choices.

The young “residents” of Healthyville present fun facts about nutrition, fitness, safety, hygiene and the functions of the body.  Meanwhile, Stepping Stones visitors can explore how different activities affect heart rate, scan a variety of foods for nutrition facts, play sugar or salt detective and ride a bike or row a boat alongside a skeleton. Children can take a look at particle-trapping hairs and boogers inside a giant nose, learn why it’s important to cover the nose during a sneeze, brush and floss teeth inside a giant mouth, get moving on the fitness trail, balance their energy in with their energy out, choose the proper safety equipment and much, much more!

The Stepping Stones Museum for Children is located on 303 West Ave. in Norwalk.

For a free monthly newsletter on things to do and see and travel tips  visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Wine, Beer @ Food Safari June 3 @ Beardsley Zoo

If you are up for a wild time and a unique safari experience Connecticut style, don't miss the most popular event of the year, the Wine, Beer and Food Safari  hosted by the Beardsley Zoo located on 1875 Noble Ave. in Bridgeport that is taking place on June 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

This year guests 21 years of age and older can go on the hunt for more than 60 different types of wine from all over the country. As for food, there is food aplenty prepared by favorite local restaurants and caterers -- they know you will work up an appetite while exploring the Zoo and meeting all the wild residents that make Beardsley Zoo their home!  Please note, all wine & beer will be sampled from 6:00 PM through 8:30 PM (alcohol serving ends one half-hour before event close). Keep in mind that participating vendors are serving tastings, not full servings – the Zoo staff wants to encourage guests to sample as much as they can! There will also be plenty of non-alcoholic beverages such as soda and water at snack stations.

In addition to beer, wine and food tastings, there will be live music performed on the stage in the Peacock Pavilion, and even a silent auction with eighty great prizes to set your sights on! And, while on "safari", be sure not to miss visiting the Zoo's Amur tigers & leopards, otters, wolves and more outside; then stop in to the South American Rainforest to see monkeys, ocelot, and tamarins. Be sure to check the schedule of events that evening for animal demonstrations and feedings.

Admission to this event is $75 per person, groups of four or more are $70 per person and VIP admission is $120. VIP guests enjoy early admission, and a special cocktail reception hosted by Tito's Handmade Vodka from 5 pm - 6 pm, hors d'oeuvres and a special animal encounter! As a travel tip, buy your tickets in advance because this event is a sell out! Tickets are sold online.http://www.beardsleyzoo.com/wild-wine-safari/

House and Spring Garden in Bridgeport @ Colorblends

The Colorblends House & Spring Garden located in Bridgeport on 893 Clinton Ave. is open to the public from early April through mid-May and is free. Opening and closing dates will depend on the weather. Please follow on Facebook for up-to-date flowering reports. 

The Garden
The spring garden is located on the south side of the house and occupies about half an acre. More than 40,000 flowerbulbs have been planted since fall 2014. These plantings, the handiwork of Dutch designer Jacqueline van der Kloet in collaboration with COLORBLENDS, are designed to show what is possible with bulbs.

Whether you want to brighten your front walk, backyard or vegetable garden, whether you want to plant 200 bulbs or 2000, the COLORBLENDS spring garden will show you how to create a great spring display. The plantings exhibit a range of choices in spring-flowering bulbs and give ideas on where to plant them and how to maintain a bulb display year after year.

The garden also shows how you can attract birds, bees and other wildlife to your yard. Aging trees, which provide habitat and food for many birds and small animals, have been spared. A new fruit tree has been planted. An innovative compost pile screens the vegetable garden and provides a haven for birds and insects.

The House
COLORBLENDS purchased the house, a fine example of Colonial Revival architecture, from Nationstar Mortgage LLC and Fannie Mae in a short sale on December 4, 2013, five years after it was put on the market.

The house was built in 1903 for Albert S. Wells, general superintendent of the Bridgeport Malleable Iron Company. It is set among other beautiful houses in the Stratfield historic district in Bridgeport.

The long road to restoration COLORBLENDS intends to bring the house back to its former glory. Initial steps have included opening up three porches that were enclosed over the years and clearing out the basement, which had been divided into nine small rooms during a period when the house was used for private tutoring. Other previous uses of the house were as offices for an architect and before that a doctor who also lived there with his family.

Fortunately, many original elements, such as the woodwork on the stairs and several stained glass windows, have been spared over the years. Replacing them would have been prohibitively expensive, if not impossible.

The goal is slow, steady progress towards restoration. During the spring while the garden is open the House will also be open with a pop-up gallery featuring works from 4 to 5 local artists.

Photography, Sculptures and the Yankee- Red Sox Riveralry @ Mattatuck Museum

The Mattatuck Museum located on 144 West Main St. in Waterbury has announced the opening of four new shows on March 26 including: Luminous Garden, the art of Beth Galston, Black and White, photos from the collection of Kevin McNamara and Craig Nowak, sculptures by Federico Uribe and a show tracing the rivalry of the Yankees and Red Sox in Connecticut. The fist three exhibits run through July 16, the Yankee- Red Sox exhibit runs through December 3.

Sculptor and conceptual artist Beth Galston creates site-based installations that are informed by many sources, including science, architecture, engineering, and nature. The immersive environment of Luminous Garden (Aerial) is an ephemeral light piece made of tiny yellow LEDs set in cast resin acorn caps. It is captivating because of it's delicate beauty.

Black and White displays images from the collection of Kevin McNamara and Craig Nowak. It features photographs by masters of 20th and 21st century American photography including John Dugdale, Sally Mann, and Jock Sturges among others. Like many contemporary photographers, the artists in this exhibition make imaginative use of the camera's power to document reality. Their pictures pose questions about identity, self-representation, history and truth.

QUEDAMOS EN PAZ #3 reflects the work of  Colombian-born, Miami-based artist Federico Uribe who trained as a painter, but in 1996 he abandoned paint brushes to make art with the objects of everyday life. In the At Peace series he creates sculptures from ammunition, his work informed both by his homeland Colombia, where violence is part of daily life, and the epidemic of gun crime in the United States where he has lived for 15 years.

Like most sports rivalries, picking a side in the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry is almost entirely geographic – and Connecticut is at the epicenter, more or less being split in two. Guest curated by sports lover Neil Scherer, this exhibition had its inception in the 2004 American League Champion Series. This was the infamous year that the Yankees won the first three games, leading everyone to believe the Yankees would sweep, only to leave America stunned as the Red Sox rebounded to win the remaining four games and their first World Series title in 86 years. Scherer was at the deciding seventh game. The exhibition tells this and other exciting stories about each team.

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Lighthouse Cruise of Long Island Sound

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk located on 10 North Water St. is offering a series of lighthouse cruises in central and western Long Island Sound this May in their new boat Spirit of the Sound. Revolutionary in design, this new catamaran is the only research vessel in North America with hybrid-electric propulsion. She runs virtually silently on electric power for thier cruises on Long Island Sound. This vessel also has a climate controlled cabin. It is advised that you make advance reservations for these very special cruises.

On May 6 the Aquarium is offering a cruise to western Long Island Sound. This seven hour cruise departs at 9 a.m. from the dock outside the Aquarium.  Participants will venture out for a rare close-up look at eight historic lighthouses on Long Island Sound! Participants aboard R/V Spirit of the Sound will make passes by these lighthouses: Greens Ledge, Sheffield Island, Stamford Harbor (or Harbor Ledge), Great Captain Island, Execution Rocks, Stepping Stones, Sands Point and Eatons Neck. Tickets are $75 ($65 for Aquarium members). Advance purchase is required.

On May 20, the Aquarium is offering a five hour cruise of central Long Island Sound that departs from the Aquarium's dock at 10 a.m.  Guests will get a rare close-up look at five historic lighthouses on Long Island Sound! Participants aboard R/V Spirit of the Sound will make passes by five century-old beacons: Peck Ledge, Greens Ledge and Sheffield Island lighthouses in Norwalk, Penfield Reef Lighthouse in Fairfield and Stratford Shoal (Middle Ground) Light. All the lighthouses are on the National Register of Historic Places. Tickets are $70 ($60 for Aquarium members). Advance purchase is required.

On both cruises Aquarium educators will share history and anecdotes about the lighthouses, and also point out the Sound's waterfowl. Binoculars are provided. Lighthouse Cruises are a special photo opportunity for both lighthouse buffs and bird-watchers, so bring your camera! Water will be provided but food is not available for purchase on the boat. You may bring food and non-alcoholic beverages in a small bag or soft-sided cooler. Glass bottles are prohibited. 

NEW FOR 2017! The Maritime Aquarium is now participating in the U.S. Lighthouse Society's Lighthouse Passport program, a fun way to officially log your lighthouse adventures. Bring along your Passport, or buy one aboard the R/V Spirit of the Sound. We'll stamp your Passport for every lighthouse we see during your Aquarium Lighthouse Cruise. Also, members of the U.S. Lighthouse Society now receive 10% discounts on the Aquarium's Lighthouse Cruises.

Preserving the Bounty Series @ The Silo

The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm's cooking school in New Milford is offering a new series of classes called Preserving the Bounty that runs from May 6 through September 16.  Each class offers techniques on how to work with the season's freshest vegetables. The techniques you learn in each class with help you extend the season with simple easy to use recipes. Every class covers food safety and general procedures for a successful seal every time! These are "Hands-on" classes with each participant taking home recipes and 2 freshly made jars of seasonal goodness- plus the confidence to DIY at home

Preserving the Bounty kicks off on May 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a class, Pickles int he Pantry with chef Pam Lillis. As a participant you will become part of the farm to table movement as you learn to pickle almost anything! The class will start with creating your own jars of garlic dills or string beans, and pickled fruit or ginger ...and then can them from start to finish. Participants will learn about the brines, technique, and about the science of pickling.

On Saturday, June 17 participants will learn how to preserve the spring and summer bounty of fruits, and berries. Learn to make sweet and savory jams and jellies and take full advantage of what we wait for all year long here in the New England! Recipes using the best of the season will become favorites as you explore fresh flavor profiles to accommodate favorite flavors such as chai and cardamom.

The class on July 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be an intro to infusions: Oils, Vinegar, and Shrubs. This class will show students how to make their own herb infused oils for dipping and recipes. Participants will create flavored vinegar's that are not only delicious but beautiful to look at.  They will also explore fruit shrubs in creative combinations for cocktails and mocktails!

The final class on Saturday, September 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 pm is all about tomatoes !  A perfect class to take if you have a bumper crop!   Recipes include Original Gazpacho Salsa & Roasted Tomato Puree.  A highlight of this class is the focus on the methods used  to safely can whole or diced tomatoes that you can serve all winter long.

For a free monthly newsletter on things to do and see and travel tips  visit www.litchfieldhills.com

Reigning Fashion: Victoria and the Queen @ Lockwood Mathews Mansion

If you are interested in Queen Victoria and fashion, this is a lecture not to miss. The Lockwood Mathews Mansion in Norwalk is hosting a special lecture on the fashion of Queen Victoria on April 23 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

The popular new PBS series, Victoria, examines the life of Great Britain's nineteenth-century queen. The dazzling costumes worn by the actors prompt this lecture's examination of the cultural history of clothing in the Victorian era. What was the inspiration for women's dress styles in the period? How was clothing made and who did the work? What was Queen Victoria's role as a fashion leader? And, how authentic are the costumes worn in the PBS series? To complement the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum's current exhibition of wedding dresses, this lecture will include a discussion of nineteenth-century wedding fashions and the effect of Queen Victoria's 1840 marriage to Prince Albert.

Ms. Bassett is an independent scholar specializing in New England's historic costume and textiles. From 1995‒2000 she was the curator of textiles and fine arts at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Since going independent, Lynne has undertaken a number of large projects, including curating an exhibition and catalog for the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford: Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born: Costume in the Life and Literature of Mark Twain, for which she won the Costume Society of America's Richard Martin Award for Excellence. Since 2007, Lynne has been the guest curator of costumes and textiles for the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, also in Hartford. Her 2016 exhibition and catalogue for the Wadsworth, Gothic to Goth: Romantic Era Fashion & Its Legacy garnered enthusiastic reviews in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Vogue, and has been nominated for several awards (tba). Another recent publication, Homefront & Battlefield: Civil War Quilts in Context, (co-authored with Madelyn Shaw), published in 2012 by the American Textile History Museum of Lowell, Massachusetts, was awarded a bronze medal in history by the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Lynne is also the editor of Uncoverings, the annual journal of the American Quilt Study Group. Her contribution to the field of historic costume and textiles has been recognized by the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, Historic New England, and the International Quilt Study Center, which have all elected her to membership in their honorary or advisory societies.

The Salon includes a talk, refreshments, and a tour of the first floor of the Mansion. Refreshments are courtesy of Best in Gourmet. Tickets are available online or by calling the museum.

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Street Smart: Photographs of New York City, 1945-1980 @ Bruce Museum

In the decades that followed World War II, New York City became a world cultural center and was host to a whirlwind of activity: jazz music by legendary practitioners like Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald, feminist and anti-war protests, Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, and race riots in Harlem. James Baldwin once called the city “spitefully inconsistent” and Le Corbusier described it as a “beautiful catastrophe.” During the time showcased here, photographers raced around the city, capturing both cacophonous scenes of urban life and moments of quietude and respite from the chaos.

This exhibition features 30 photographs, chiefly drawn from the Bruce Museum’s permanent collection, including work by Larry Fink, Herman Leonard, Leon Levinstein, John Shearer, and Garry Winogrand. Street Smart provides a glimpse at life in the city during the post-war period and at how street-savvy New Yorkers navigated its bustling landscape.

The Bruce Museum is located on One Museum Drive in Greenwich and galleries are open Tuesday - Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
Doors close 1/2 hour before closing, Last admission 4:30 pm.

New Exhibit opens @ Litchfield Historical Society - Americas Pastimes Sports and Recreation

On April 16, the Litchfield Historical Society opens its 2017 special exhibit, America's Pastimes: Sports and Recreation in Litchfield that runs through November 26. Swing a bat with the Tri-State Champion Cowboys. Race your way through the Litchfield Hills. Splash around in Bantam Lake. Ride a high wheel to the town green. Score a basket in the school gym. Play cricket with the students of the Law School.

ports and recreation are universal experiences. Whether we make it to the big leagues or never leave our backyards, these activities play important roles in our lives. They promote health and wellness as well as leisure and relaxation. They teach us about competition, but also about working together. They help build teams and form lasting relationships. Above all else, they encourage us to move, to think, and to interact.

On April 16, 2016 the Litchfield Historical Society will open to the public its latest exhibition, America's Pastimes: Sports and Recreation in Litchfield. The exhibit highlights the role of sports and recreation in town from its founding to today, showcasing the stories and experiences of Litchfield residents, players, coaches, fans, and enthusiasts. To communicate the active nature of this history, the exhibit groups together sports, games, and leisure activities of both past and present based on the actions they entail, from swinging a tennis racket to playing a game of chess. The exhibit incorporates several hands-on interactives for visitors to enjoy.

Two workshops @ Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum  located on Main St in Ridgefield is hosting a special Glass Bending workshop with with Suzanne McClelland and Dorie Guthrie on Thursday, April 27, 2017, 6 pm to 8:30 pm.  Participants will join exhibiting  artist Suzanne McClelland and master glass artist and UrbanGlass instructor Dorie Guthrie for this special workshop in The Studio at the Museum.

The highlight will be experimenting with bending glass rods using open flame, combining rich colors and flexible forms. McClelland will talk about her exhibition, including the site-engaged glass installations, then partner with Guthrie to lead participants through the exciting process of working with glass. Materials and light refreshments provided.

This workshop will be followed by a weekday workshop: mix, mash and make on April 28 from 10 am to 11:30 am for kids ages 4 to 8 with an adult.  Kids will discover how Suzanne McClelland uses various materials and a range of art-making methods in her exhibition Just Left Feel Right, combining collage, drawing, and painting. Experiment with images, tools, and techniques to make mixed-media masterpieces. The cose is $15 per adult and one child; member $12.

About Dorie Guthrie

Born in 1982 in Moline, Illinois, Dorie Guthrie was first exposed to the medium when she stumbled upon a small glass studio in her hometown. Since graduating from Illinois State University in 2008, she has continued her studies, being awarded scholarships at Corning Museum of Glass, Penland School of Craft, and Pittsburgh Glass Center, where she furthered her technique. Over the last five years, she has worked on staff at the Pilchuck Glass School and has also been a teacher's assistant at Corning Museum, Pilchuck, and Pittsburgh Glass Center. Guthrie was selected to demonstrate flameworking at the 2013 Glass Art Society Conference in Toledo, Ohio. Before moving to Brooklyn, she taught kilncasting, flameworking, fusing, and imagery techniques at Brazee Street Studio, a Bullseye Resource Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Explore Wedding Traditions @ Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum opens its spring-summer season on Wed. April 5, 2017, 12-4 p.m., with new programs and extended tour hours. LMMM will be opened to the public through Jan. 8, 2018 and feature a 45 minute tour as well as a new and extended, 90 minute tour; both tours will be available by reserving online, through the Museum’s website, or by calling 203-838-9799 ext. 4. The 45 minute tour will include the first floor of the Mansion and the Servants’ Quarters, while the 90 minute tour will be more extensive and include the Mansion’s second floor bedroom suites and family room. Walk-ins will be welcomed subject to availability. All new exhibitions will be part of the tours’ admission.

New Exhibition

Wedding Traditions and Fashion from the 1860s to 1930s

Wed. April 5, -Sun. Nov. 12, 2017

Curated by Kathleen Motes Bennewitz

Opening Reception: Thurs. April 6, 2017, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $10 non-members $5 members

Gen. Admission: $10 Adults, $ 8 seniors, $6 children 8-18 years old/45 minute tour

Gen. Admission: $20 adults, $18 seniors, $16 children 8-18 years old/90 minute tour

From simple, at-home ceremonies to lavish events modeled on Queen Victoria’s, to weddings of young heiresses of Gilded Age fortunes that commanded social-page attention, this exhibition will explore the evolving nature of weddings and the socio-economic changes of this timeless tradition during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Dining and Drawing Rooms of the Mansion will display luxurious artifacts and accessories, as well as elaborate wedding gowns, while the Servants’ Quarters of the Museum will highlight ceremonies of immigrant brides who, once settled in the United States, desired to follow American customs and fashions.

New Exhibition

Right Angle Bliss

Contemporary Photography Exhibit

Curated by Gail Ingis-Claus

Wed. April 5, 2017-Thurs., July 6, 2017

Opening Reception: April 27, 2017, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $10 non-members $5 members

Gen. Admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors, $6 children 8-18 years old/45 minute tour

Gen. Admission: $20 adults, $18 seniors, $16 children 8-18 years old/90 minute tour

From vows taken in magnificent settings, to cutting edge images that will redefine rituals and boundaries, this exhibition will feature six up-and-coming as well as award-winning photographers that highlight today’s diversity of cultures and customs in wedding ceremonies throughout the United States. Right Angle Bliss will capture the tenderness, whimsy, beauty, and grit of the promised, “I Do”, and visually redefine this time-honored tradition through the lenses of photographers: Stephanie Anestis, David Bravo, Sarah Grote, Kathy Harris, Airen Miller, and Karol Setlak.

Heavenly Notes: St. Mary’s at the Mansion

Sun. May 7, 2017, 2-4 p.m.

Reservations Required – Limited Seating

Admission: $30 (third row and up) -$50 (second row seating), $100 (front row seating)

Reception: $10 per person

In collaboration with the Parish of St. Mary’s in Norwalk, CT, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will feature, Heavenly Notes: St. Mary’s at the Mansion, a rare fundraising concert highlighting the church’s outstanding choir. Repertoire will feature music from the Victorian and Edwardian eras led by Organist and Choirmaster David Hughes. As described in Florence Mathews’ diary, there was a longstanding relationship between St. Mary’s and the Mathews family, as the church was central to the life of the many servants who lived and worked at the Mansion during the Edwardian era. Built in 1848, and originally located on Chapel Street in Norwalk, St. Mary’s burned to the ground and was replaced by a magnificent Gothic Revival stone church in 1871 on West Avenue, half a mile from the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion.

For a free monthly newsletter on things to do and see and travel tips  visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com