BETHLEHEM (CT) OFFERS A FESTIVE START TO THE HOLIDAY SEASON

They call this little town in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut “Christmas Town” with good reason. Bethlehem’s Christmas Town Festival is scheduled for December 2 and 3, celebrating its 42nd birthday this year as one of New England’s favorite ways to kick off the season. Wherever you turn, special treats are waiting, from the town green to the post office to the Abbey of Regina Laudis and the 1754 Bellamy-Ferriday House. Some of the unique attractions continue when the festival is over. The opening ceremony and Tree Lighting on the Green will take place on Friday, December 2 @ 6 p.m. with Honorary Emcee WFSB TV3 News personality, Irene O'Connor. On Saturday only there is a Santa Made Me Do It 5K road race that begins at 10 a.m. For details click here.

Vendors and More On the Green

The quaint town green, centered with a giant tree, is home to over 70 vendors with unique gift items, wreaths, and delicious foods for sale. Strolling carolers and musicians help keep things lively, Santa will be waiting at the firehouse to pose for pictures with young friends, and everyone is invited to climb aboard for hayrides offered in front of First Church. Collectors can garner this year’s unique limited edition Christmas Town pewter ornament, sold only during the Festival. 

Bethlehem’s beautiful eighteenth-century Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden will be festively decorated and open for tours and holiday cheer during festival hours. Guides will offer house tours and there will be hot cider and a scavenger hunt for children. The home is located at 9 Main Street North, information can be found at www.ctlandmarks.org

Hours for the Christmas Town Festival are Friday, December 2 from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, December 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, see www.christmastownfestival.com or phone 203-266-7510, ext. 300.

Christmas Town Mailings at the Post Office

 

 

The Bethlehem post office is busy in December serving the many who come every year to mail holiday cards with their unique postmarks.  Visitors can select favorites among the “Christmas Cachet” designs, hand-stamp, and mail these unique greetings to friends and family. The idea of the special stamps dates to 1938, when a local Postmaster, the late Earl Johnson, 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 almost every year since. Over 70 designs are now available and nearly 200,000 cards are mailed each year from this small post office.  Located at 34 East Street, the post office will have extended hours during the festival, Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Precious Crèches at the Abbey

One of Bethlehem’s not-to-be-missed jewels is open all month for visitors. The museum-quality eighteenth-century Neapolitan crèche on view in a vintage barn at the Abbey of Regina Laudis includes hundreds of beautiful hand-carved figures. Made of wood, terra cotta, and porcelain, the figures portray the Holy Family, angels, the Three Kings, merchants and peddlers, children, peasants, and farm animals.  This fabulous gift from artist and philanthropist Loretta Hines Howard is similar to the one Howard donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is prominently displayed every Christmas. 

A second Crèche, The Lauren Ford Crèche, created by a favorite Connecticut artist, is displayed in a farm shed near the Lower Abbey Chapel. This charming rustic Nativity scene displays figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph dressed in typical New England garb.

The Monastic Art Shop on the property offers crafts, cheeses, jams, herbal teas, flavored vinegar, herbs, and honey, all created on-site by Abbey’s residents.

The Abbey of Regina Laudis, located at 249 Flanders Road, is open to visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.abbeyofreginalaudis.org

Breakfast with Frosty and Friends at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

Frosty the Snowman was a popular song written in 1950 and became an overnight classic by being adapted to a popular television special.  The song of Frosty recounts the fictional tale of a snowman that is magically brought to life through a black top hat that a group of children place atop his head. Although Frosty enjoys frolicking and romping throughout town with the children who constructed him, the sun becomes too much for him to bear and Frosty is forced to leave town, promising his friends that he will return.

On December 15 & 16, 22 & 23:  The Beardsley Zoo is getting into the holiday spirit by offering a special “Breakfast with Frosty & Friends” that will take place from, 9 a.m. - 10 am.  Families are invited to join Frosty and his friends for breakfast at Connecticut's only Zoo. Reservations are required and can be made by calling Amanda Bolanos at (203) 394-6574.  The cost of this special event that includes Zoo admission and breakfast is $10 per person for Zoo members and $20 per person for non-members.

The Beardsley Zoo is also offering a special Holiday Crafts & Fun Photo Opps event on December 15 & 16, 22 & 23 from 10 am - 2 pm.  Participants will enjoy making a variety of holiday crafts in the Zoo’s Research Station.  Afterward, there will be a memorable photo session in the Zoo’s festively decorated, tropical greenhouse.  A stroll through the grounds of the Zoo will allow families to visit their favorite animals and wish them happy holidays!

ZOO GIFT GIVING IDEAS:

As the holidays are approaching fast if you are looking for something unique you might consider picking up an unusual and thoughtful gift from the Beardsley Zoo for everyone on your list!

Membership to Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo for example can be enjoyed year-round. Your loved one gets free admission to the Zoo and free or discounted admission to over 150 zoos and aquariums nationwide. Membership also includes ZooBucks, carousel rides & guest passes! Contact Amanda Bolanos at 203-394-6574 for more information.

If you are looking for a more permanent gift, consider purchasing and engraving a 90^th Anniversary Brick for someone special. Bricks will be displayed at the Zoo's Front Gate for all to see! Contact Emily Bobowick at 203-394-6569 for more information.

If you have a real animal lover on your list, consider a gift of Animal Sponsorship.  With this gift, you will receive a Sponsorship Certificate, Fact Sheet & Photograph of your sponsored animal that you can visit at the Zoo.

If you are seeking something different, don’t forget to check out the gift shop at the Zoo. The Beardsley Zoo’s fabulous gift shop offers everything from children's games and handmade jewelry to clothing and animal-themed Christmas ornaments. You'll be amazed at the wide selection of gifts for him and her and for the little ones, too!

About Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo celebrates its 90th birthday in 2012 and is closer than you think! Connecticut's only zoo features 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Visitors won't want to miss our Amur (Siberian) tigers, Brazilian ocelot, Red wolves, and Golden Lion tamarins. Other highlights include our South American rainforest with free-flight aviary, the prairie dog exhibit with "pop-up" viewing areas, the New England Farmyard with goats, cows, pigs, sheep, and other barnyard critters, plus the Grasslands trail featuring bison, pronghorn, deer, and more. Visitors can grab a bite at the Peacock Café, eat in the Picnic Grove, and enjoy a ride on our colorful carousel. For more information, visit www.beardsleyzoo.org

“Twas the Night Before Christmas” at the Keeler Tavern Museum

A very special holiday treat for children will tale place at the Keeler Tavern Museum, 132 Main Street. Ridgefield, CT on Friday December 14th from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. 

The children will gather in the Museum’s Garden House in front of the fireplace warmed by a friendly fire. All will listen to a reading of Clement C. Moore’s delightful poem “Twas the Night before Christmas.” The Rev. Moore wrote this treasured poem in 1822 for the pleasure of his own children. Children have been enjoying it ever since.

Each child will make and take home a craft suitable to the season. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.

The cost to participate is $15 per child.

Advance prepaid reservations are required. Reservations for this event are first come first served, regardless of membership status. Reserve now at www.keelertaernmuseum.org or call 203-438-5485.

Bethlehem New England’s Christmas Town

Choose from more than 70 special holiday cache's

To get into the proper holiday spirit early, the place to be the first weekend in December is the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut.  Festivals galore start the season right in this region that is always as pretty as a Christmas card, and there are numerous opportunities to check off your holiday shopping list in scenic settings. The only dilemma is where to go first.

 One good place to start is Connecticut’s own little town of Bethlehem, a quaint, village that is transformed each December, when it becomes New England’s favorite Christmas Town. Thousands of visitors arrive to mail their Christmas cards with a Bethlehem postmark and to enjoy the 30^th annual gala Christmas Town Festival, set this year for Friday night December 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a tree lighting at 6 p.m. and Saturday, December 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m..   The town green is transformed for the occasion with some 70 vendors offering crafts and good food. Bring the family for musical entertainment, hayrides and the chance for a photo with Santa. Find the complete schedule at www.christmastownfestival.com

Bethlehem’s historic Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden will be festively decorated for the weekend, with themed decorations in each of the first floor rooms. Children will enjoy games, prizes and surprises and refreshments in the Visitor's Center. This house will be open during festival hours, December 7 and 8 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For details, phone (203) 266-7596. For details, phone (203) 266-7596 or visit www.ctlandmarks.org

Bethlehem also offers the chance to visit a rare museum-quality 18^th century Neapolitan Crèche housed in a barn at the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Check the hours at abbeyofreginalaudis.com 

 The Bethlehem Post Office is also offering extended hours. Bring your holiday cards and stamp them with a special cache. There are 76 stamp designs to choose from as one new design is added each year. The post office will be open with extended hours for the festival. The post office is open on Fri. Dec. 7 from 8 am to 8 pm; on Sat, December 8, 15, & 22 from 8 am to 3 pm and Mon.- Fri. 8 am  to 5 pm the month of December.

For area information on where to stay, shop and dine, please visit www.litchfieldhills.com.

A Furry Point of View Art Show in Litchfield CT

Litchfield, Connecticut artist Elizabeth Wolff is excited to show a new collection of her whimsical mice in an exhibition of her one woman show "A Furry Point of View." Many other creatures, including turtles, pigs, foxes, and feather-headed chickens, will join her mice in a gallivant across paper for all to enjoy.

For years the townspeople of Litchfield and the surrounding areas have supported this young illustrator as her work has developed and this show will be a celebration of that ongoing friendship.
Since she was a little tyke of 3 or 4 years old, Elizabeth has eagerly devoured countless picture books with illustrations by Beatrix Potter, Jan Brett, Graham Oakley, and Kevin Henkes.

As a spirited color enthusiast, Elizabeth began drawing with bright markers and crayon scribbles at a very young age. Today, she is a young artist seeking to master her media of choice which includes pen and ink, colored pencils and a little dabble of watercolors. Elizabeth finds inspiration from episodes of daily life that influence her characters own unique and comical plots. In the near future she aspires to become a children's book illustrator and in such a hectic world, people might enjoy the optimism and humor that her fuzzy friends bring to life...inky paws and all. Her website is www.ewolffdesigns.com.

In the gallery: November 1- December 28 at the Oliver Wolcott Library, 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030. www.owlibrary.org. To accommodate the December holiday season, purchased works of art may be picked up at the Oliver Wolcott Library after 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 and immediately upon purchase throughout the month of December.

For area information visit www.litchfieldhills.com.