Tree Lecture at Greenwich Historical Society

On Thursday, January 24, at 7:00 pm, in celebration of the Jewish New Year for Trees, Tu B’Shevat, Neil Pederson, PhD, will lecture at the Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob on “The Science of History: Tree Rings and the History They Reveal.” Dr. Pederson will discuss how ancient trees and timbers from human structures are used to broaden our understanding of history. He is a Research Assistant Professor in the Tree Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University.

From the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire to the construction of buildings and boats locally and globally, trees are the environmental historians that reveal events long faded from human memory and historical documents — including how the tree ring cores taken from the Bush-Holley House reveal its construction history. The Lecture is sponsored by the Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich Tree Conservancy, Bruce Museum, and Greenwich Reform Synagogue. 

Admission is free but reservations are suggested. Please call 203-869-6899, ext. 10. Doors open at 6:30; lecture begins at 7:00 pm. Vanderbilt Education Center, 39 Strickland Road, Cos Cob, CT.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

The VOICE OF Connecticut's INFINITY HALL Online Radio is live!

The Music of Infinity Hall Music Hall and Bistro is now available 24/7 with the launch of Voice of Infinity Hall, an online streaming radio show hosted by Rick Allison. Featuring the music of artists whp have played at the hall or who are coming to the hall, the Voice of Infinity Hall www.infinityhall.com/radio ensures that fans can get their Infinity Music fix whenever they want.

Bringing outstanding music to the people online is just an extension of Infinity Hall founder Dan Hincks’ original vision. “When I opened the hall in 2008, I always knew I wanted to expand beyond the four walls of the hall itself,” Hincks says. “A few years ago we formed a partnership with Connecticut Broadcasting Network to create the television series Infinity Hall LIVE, next year we open a second Infinity Music Hall & Bistro in Hartford, and now we’re online with the radio. I couldn’t be more excited.”

The Voice of Infinity Hall is DJed by someone well known in the industry in general and in Connecticut in particular, Rick Allison. His career has led him from WYBC to WHCN to WPIX to WPLR over the last 30 years. He’s also worked for ABC, CBS, ESPN, MSNBC, “an alphabet soup” of broadcast clients, as he puts it.

For Allison, going on line with Infinity Hall is the right move at the right time.”Imagine a playlist that covers rock, pop, folk, jazz, soul, blues and more. Imagine programming an on-line radio station that covers that much musical territory to an informed and passionate audience of music fans,” he says. “I am one happy DJ. I have found my radio home on the Voice of Infinity Hall.”

Now in its fifth year of operation, Infinity Music Hall & Bistro is located on Route 44, 20 Greenwoods Road, Norfolk. The box office telephone number is 866-666-6306 or tickets may be purchased online. Visit www.infinityhall.com for complete calendar and other information. For area information www.litchfieldhills.com.

Fairfield Museum reduces admission to Lincoln exhibition

Fairfield Museum and History Center will continue its promotion of a ticket stub discount from the new movie, “Lincoln” for reduced admission to its exhibition, Promise of Freedom: The Emancipation Proclamation through the engagement of the film. Visitors, who present a ticket stub, will receive $2 off of an adult admission to the exhibition, which runs through February 24th, 2013. For more information www.fairfieldhistory.org  or  www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

The Fairfield Museum planned this exhibit as the ideal educational component for Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking movie, “Lincoln”, which focuses on the war-weary president’s strategic journey from what he knew to be the “Band-Aid” fix of the Emancipation Proclamation January 1st, 1863 (150 years ago) to the final passage of the 13th amendment, which promised to abolish slavery.

The actual 13th amendment still left room for slavery to be applied as punishment for anyone who commits a crime. Nevertheless, the Proclamation and the Amendment, which are on display at the Fairfield Museum through February 24th, 2013, marked the journey towards ending slavery in America.

Promise of Freedom includes not only a rare signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation but also an even more rare-signed copy of the Thirteenth Amendment, signed by Lincoln and by almost all the members of the House and Senate who voted for it. Both documents are on loan to the museum from a private collection. The Thirteenth Amendment, which was not fully ratified by the states until well after Lincoln’s assassination, provided a stronger foundation for the elimination of slavery than did Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which rested on his wartime authority as commander-in-chief.

Today, there are very few copies of the 13th amendment bearing Lincoln's signature, like the rare one the Fairfield Museum has in the exhibit. The reason for this is that after Lincoln signed a several souvenir copies, the Senate passed a resolution stating that signing souvenirs was unseemly, so he stopped. Ironically, at the beginning of the Civil War, there was a completely different 13th amendment proposed, which would have protected slavery. Lincoln did not always support this amendment and had to be convinced by abolitionists and women's rights activists that an amendment abolishing slavery was important.

ABOUT THE FAIRFIELD MUSEUM

The Fairfield Museum creates experiences that make history personal, engaging and meaningful and in so doing strengthen people’s connection to the world around them. The Museum’s collection and archive is one of the most important humanities resources in southwestern Connecticut and a valuable resource for teaching history and related disciplines. Museum exhibitions attract more than 18,000 visitors annually from New York to New Haven, and our educational programs annually serve more than 5,000 students from southwestern Connecticut. We are committed to providing educational experiences, particularly to lower income constituencies that allow all students the opportunity to participate. The Museum is located on 370 Beach St. in Fairfield.

Winter Happenings at The Institute for American Indian Studies

The Institute for American Indian Studies is offering a series of January events that will help families warm up to this chilly season of the year.  On Tuesdays through February 12 from 10:30 a.m. through 11:30 a.m. for example pre-school children will enjoy the wonders and joy of traditional Native American stories. Why does Bear have a short tail? Who is Gluskabi and from where did his superpowers come? And why is Coyote known as a "trickster?"  An added treat is that the stories are told in a beautifully replicated 16th century indoor Sachem's house.  The story hour is included free with regular museum admission of $5 Adults; $4.50 Seniors; $3 Kids; IAIS Members Free. www.iaismuseum.org

On Saturday January 19 and Sunday January 20 at 2 p.m. guests will enjoy a Winter Film Festival that features a documentary called Reel Injun. Native American peoples have long been a topic in Hollywood filmmaking, but the picture presented of them was not always flattering or accurate. Most westerns of Hollywood's Golden Age presented "Indians" as either ruthless savages with no sense of honor or fools who were lost without the help of the white man. Adding insult to injury, they were usually played by white actors in make up. In the 1960s movies began to show a more positive and realistic portrayal of American Indians and Native American actors were given a greater opportunity to present their story in television and the movies. Director Neil Diamond (a member of Canada's Cree community) offers a look at the past, present and future of Native People on the big screen in this documentary. The film is included free with regular museum admission of $5 Adults; $4.50 seniors; $3 Kids; IAIS Members Free. www.iaismuseum.org

Also on January 26 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. it is time to put on your winter boots and go on a Winter Tracking Walk.   Certified wildlife tracker Andy Dobosof Three Red Trees School of Natural Living will lead you through the winter woods to discover how the animals live in this stark time of year.  He will also demonstrate some of the skills ancient people employed to survive during the winter months. Fee: $8 Adults; $6 IAIS Members; $4 Children. www.iaismuseum.org

About IAIS

Through discovery, research and education, the Institute for American Indian Studies enriches contemporary society by engaging the public and making more visible the history, cultural values, beliefs and living traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere, especially those of the Northeast. With its museum, archaeology, research and unique collection, IAIS creates a focal point for the community by preserving the knowledge of the continuing stories of these indigenous peoples.

ARTSPACE-Torrington Opens First Show of the 2013 Season

ARTSPACE-Torrington, located at 33 Main Street in Downtown

Torrington, begins its 2013 season with an exciting show of one-of-a-kind photographs by West Hartford artist, Robert Calafiore whose work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions.  Most recently, Calafiore’s work has been shown at the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Nina Freudenheim Gallery (Buffalo, NY), Nest (New York City), as well as the  University of New England (Portland, ME), and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth, MA).

The series of work shown at the ARTSPACE-Torrington gallery consists of large C-print photographs, 40” x 30”, taken with a pinhole camera.  This particular series features ordinary glass objects which are lit and photographed. The type and intensity of lighting, length of exposure, and color and surface of the subject can be controlled by the artist to produce varying results. The end result is a one-of-a-kind image which is produced without creating film negatives or digital technology.  Part of Mr. Calafiore’s interest lies in the ability of the pinhole camera to transform ordinary objects into items of beauty.

The opening reception for Mr. Calafiore will be held in the gallery on Friday, January 25^th  from 6-8 p.m.  Mr. Calafiore will present an artist talk on Friday, Feburary 8^th at 6 p.m. 

The public is encouraged to visit the gallery during normal hours:  Fridays from 6-8 and Saturdays and Sundays from 2-4.  The gallery is also open by appointment; to schedule an appointment, please contact Executive Director, Judith McElhone (860-309-2932).   ARTSPACE-Torrington may also be open during special downtown events. 

About ARTSPACE

ARTSPACE-Torrington is supported in part by the Torrington Downtown Partners and the Arts and Culture Commission of Torrington (ACT).   33 Main Street, located at the corner of Main and Water Streets in Downtown Torrington, is a former retail space that is now home to the city’s newest gallery.  Each month, a new show of contemporary work by one or more professional artists will be featured in the gallery.     

For further information about ARTSPACE-Torrington please visit www.artspacetorrington.orgwww.artspacetorrington.org.  For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

From Farmington to Sharon: Journey of an 18th c. House

If the preservation, architecture and restoration of early American homes makes your heart flutter, please join the Sharon Historical Society on Saturday, January 12, at 3 pm as the Society welcomes Sharon resident John Baroody, speaking on "The Journey of an 18th Century Home."

During the program, Mr. Baroody will share the story of his home, a classic timber-frame Colonial originally built in Farmington Connecticut in the early 1700s and now situated in Sharon. "After more than two centuries the house had fallen on hard times and was going to be torn down for commercial development before I got my hands on it. While it looked beat up from the outside, the bones of the house were still in excellent condition. The frame was constructed entirely of white oak and was joined and assembled with traditional timber frame pegged joinery. Having done this before, I've become familiar with how 18th century houses are built, so the process of deconstructing, moving, and reassembling the parts was fairly straightforward. All of the boards and timbers were marked and mapped out, then loaded one by one onto a truck and delivered to the site where we laid a new foundation and began putting it back together," says Baroody.

This was truly a labor of love. The program is based on a 3-part video series done with Fine Homebuilding about the project and will include hands-on examples of 18th century building materials, plus a question and answer period.

Be sure to mark your calendar for our next winter lecture, on Saturday January 19 at 3 pm, when local author, geologist and historian Ed Kirby presents, "Amesville, Horatio Ames and the Ames Brothers."

The Sharon Historical Society is located at 18 Main Street, on the green, in Sharon, CT. Parking is available on the street in the museum's lot. Feel free to visit the SHS website at www.sharonhist.org for more information on upcoming programs and Sharon history.