Five Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is around the corner. It is never too early to start looking for the perfect gift. If your special someone is a traveler, we have some very interesting gift ideas that we would like to share with you.  Our gift suggestions are affordable and fun!

BraeVal - Named after the Scottish word for the Upland River Valleys that exist between the mountains and the rugged braes of the Scottish Highlands where streams and rivers tumble to loch and sea, these tartan shirts are perfect for travel. They are made from a technically advanced proprietary all-natural Tiera fabric with tartan patterns found nowhere else and details like red buffalo plaid around the neck and cuffs. These custom shirts for men and women with zippered security pockets, accessory loops on the pockets, and a vented bi-swing back travel well in the field or for a night out on the town. To check out the online store click here.

Norwalk Seaport Association Gift Card - If your special someone likes an on-the-water excursion or better yet, an authentic New England Clambake on a private island in Long Island Sound that includes a cruise, then pick up a Seaport Association Gift Card. The best part of this Gift Card is that your special someone can choose the excursion they like, and, better yet, the card never expires! The gift card can be used on a number of excursions from a romantic summer sunset cruise to a picnic, cruise, and tour of the historic lighthouse on Sheffield Island. To order your gift card online click here.  

Wigwam Escape - If your partner likes to feel as though they have traveled back in time, loves puzzles that challenge, and is a history buff then get a gift certificate to the award-winning Wigwam Escape Room at the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Connecticut.  In Wigwam Escape 1518, players learn how pre-contact Native Americans survived in Connecticut by solving a series of puzzles that connects players to the ways Native people lived and the skills that they relied on 500 years ago in their daily lives. To book the room, click here. All bookings are private and you will not share your time slot with other groups.

Milk House Chocolates -For traditionalists, Milk House Chocolates, voted the best in Connecticut is a must if you decided to give chocolates for Valentine's Day. Each chocolate is connected to a very specific cow, with each cow's milk making an unbelievable and delicious difference in the flavor of the chocolates. Milk House Chocolates brings you artisanal chocolates made in small batches with farm-fresh milk, butter, and creme, making them an excellent choice for the chocolate lover in your life. 

Mackinac Island

Tours of Distinction, A Connecticut Tour Company in business since 1971, offers small-group day trips, multi-day trips, international journeys, and small riverboat cruises throughout New England, the US, Canada, and all over the world. They are offering a series of special travel deals on their website as well as a gift card, that will allow you to give the gift of travel. Travel is something precious. Its memories live with us forever. Your special someone will cherish the memories. Gift cards are available in any denomination. For gift cards click here.

Play Snow Snakes -A Traditional Native American Winter Game @ Institute for American Indian Studies

 Do you like to play with snakes? If you do, don’t miss the snow snake workshop on Saturday, January 29 at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. at the Institute for American Indian Studies on 38 Curtis Road in Washington. At this special Native American workshop, you will make a “snow snake” and use it to play a traditional Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) winter game.

Snow snakes are hand-made from a flattened piece of wood with a notch at one end that makes them easy to throw. Some sticks are carved in intricate patterns that resemble a snake and then coated with wax. Participants in this workshop will learn how to make their very own snow snake with Susan Scherf, an educator at the Institute and a wood crafter. This workshop includes materials and wood-burning kits. Participants are welcome to bring their own whittling knife if they have one although it is not required.

 

The competitive winter game of snow snake is still played today in many Native American Communities. The object of the game is for players to see how far they can slide a snake across the snow, usually in a trough that has been built up and then grooved by dragging a log along its length. Players toss the snake, similar to a javelin thrower onto the track. The challenge is to throw the snake with just enough force to make it slide a long distance without using so much force that it jumps the track. A highlight of this workshop, weather permitting, is to go outside and try out your snow snake in a friendly competition.

Space per session is limited and pre-registration is required. The price of participation including materials is $20 for non-members and $10 for members. For more information call 860-868-0518, email events@iaismuseum.org or click here to register online. For the video on the snow snake check out https://www.facebook.com/IAISMuseum/videos/357579399083631

 

About Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the Institute For American Indian Studies preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. They have the 16^th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present that allows visitors to foster a new understanding of the world and the history and culture of Native Americans. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.

 

Ansonia's Legendary Opera House

We often associate opera houses with a luxurious cultured lifestyle. A place to go and listen to classical music and watch performances that date back to the music and visions of musicians from the 17th and 18th  centuries. Even in the early 20th century, Opera Houses functioned like movie theaters do today, as a place to go to be entertained. Few Opera Houses in Connecticut have survived the onslaught of time and changing entertainment preferences. One that is still standing and in need of help is the Ansonia Opera House.

Courtesy Anthony Mullin

Ansonia's Opera House is still standing although it has not hosted a performance in more than half a century and, it is also the source of some very strange legends. You may ask why did Ansonia have an Opera House. It is the result of the manufacturing boom that took place after the Civil War throughout the Brass Valley, known today as the Naugatuck River Valley. Because of the number of factories and people living and working in the mills in Ansonia, the town decided that they needed a large meeting and entertainment space for performers to stop at along their circuit. Hence, the Ansonia Opera House was conceived and built.

Courtesy Anthony Mullin

The Ansonia Opera House, Connecticut's oldest, was built by one of Connecticut's foremost architects, Robert Wakeman Hill, is located on 100 Main Street in Ansonia between1869-1870. It served as the premier theatre in the area until 1919. The first level of the building housed shops. On the second floor after ascending a grand staircase, is a promenade that once housed offices. The promenade leads to the third-floor grand hall and a welcoming proscenium arch. The Opera House maintained its prominence until the labor riots of 1919 and the coming of the trolleys that took people everywhere including nearby New Haven for entertainment.

Courtesy Anthony Mullin

Today, the opera house is in need of restoration and a vision. Many trespassers have entered the premises over the past 50 years. Some of those are paranormal investigators looking for signs of activity. Some investigators claim to have seen a great deal of paranormal activity that includes ghostly orbs and floating lights from nowhere, and some have encountered a nine-year-old boy. Whatever you believe, keep in mind that Ansonia hosted Connecticut's first-ever paranormal convention in the summer of 2021 called PARACONN and the second convention will be held on July 16-17, 2022 in Ansonia at the Haunted Ansonia Armory.

Courtesy Anthony Mullin

Regardless, this is a building that should be saved and maintained... it is used for a variety of abandoned photography shoots but could be so much more. For more information check out the Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Ansoniaoperahouse

Have A Hoot of A Time @ Institute for American Indian Studies Make a Birch Bark Owl January 23

 Many people love owls with their flat faces and forward-looking eyes that look more like us than any other bird. If your children love this magnificent bird, sign them up for the craft workshop on how to make an owl out of birch bark at the Institute for American Indian Studies on Sunday, January 23. Participants can sign up for one of three timeslots @ 1 p.m., 2 p.m., or 3 p.m. This workshop is perfect for kids five years and older. 

Kids will be hooting with enthusiasm about this engaging educational workshop to all their friends and family. They will learn about the environmental adaptations and cultural importance of owls to Native American communities while crafting their very own birch bark owl. In this way, children will connect and learn from a culture that has thousands of years of history in the area where they live.

There are diverse beliefs about owls in different Native cultures. While specific beliefs differed from tribe to tribe, owls were often both feared and revered. Many of these beliefs come from the very adaptations of owls that make them such great hunters. A special highlight of this workshop will be the lessons that can be learned from these stories and adaptations of owls.

Space is available per session and is limited. Pre-registration is required. To reserve your space please call 860-868-0518, email events@iaismuseum.org or click here to register online. The cost of participation is $15 for non-members and $5 for members including materials. Please note that masks are required for all participants regardless of vaccination status until further notice. 

About Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the Institute For American Indian Studies preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. They have the 16^th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present that allows visitors to foster a new understanding of the world and the history and culture of Native Americans. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.

The Musical An American in Paris comes to The Palace in Waterbury Jan. 28 and 29

Romance! Adventure! Gershwin! Who could ask for anything more? Filled with the music of legendary composers George and Ira Gershwin, the Tony Award-winning masterpiece, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, is dancing its way to the Palace Theater in Waterbury on January 28 and 29. Tickets for AN AMERICAN IN PARIS are on sale now and as low as $23. Tickets can be purchased online palacetheaterct.org by phone at 203-346-2000 or by visiting the Palace Theater Box Office at 100 E.Main St. in Waterbury. 

Inspired by the Academy Award-winning film, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS transports the audience to post-war Paris, where romance is in the air and youthful optimism reigns. In this poignant production, Gershwin’s soaring melodies are matched by gravity-defying dance as the world rediscovers the power of love. Hoping to start a new life, World War II veteran Jerry Mulligan chooses newly-liberated Paris to try and make his mark as a painter. Jerry's life becomes complicated when he meets the mysterious Lise, a young Parisian ballet dancer with a haunting secret who, like Jerry, is yearning for a new beginning. 

The winner of four Tony Awards, this exquisite production features classic Gershwin songs including “I Got Rhythm,” “Liza,” “'S Wonderful,” “But Not for Me,” and “Stairway to Paradise.” The New York Times proclaimed “Pure Joy...An American In Paris is a TRIUMPH!” Following its pre-pandemic closing, Big League Productions, Inc. is thrilled to relaunch the dazzling all-new production of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, directed by Jeffrey B. Moss and featuring breathtaking new choreography by Bob Richard. Scenic design for the 2022 national tour is by Randel Wright, with costume design by Costume World, lighting design by Steve O’Shea, video design by Jonathan Infante, sound design by Don Hanna, orchestrations by Matthew Lowy, and casting by Alison Franck. For more information, visit www.AmericanInParisOnTour.com. 

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is produced by Big League Productions, Inc. Led by President and Executive Producer Daniel Sher, Big League is celebrating its 30th season of producing and general managing Broadway shows and attractions throughout the world. For more information, visit www.BigLeague.org.