HARVEST KITCHEN AT JONES FAMILY FARMS BRINGS AUTHENTIC FARM TO TABLE COOKING CLASSES

“Farm-to-Table” is more than a slogan at Jones Family Farms in Shelton, Connecticut.  One of the rare cooking schools actually located on a farm, the classes in the Harvest Kitchen at this family owned farm in Fairfield County are able to use many ingredients grown on site.

Seasonal foods are the focus for many sessions, showing how fresh ingredients make for healthier and more delicious meals. The classes follow many creative themes, from ethnic cuisines like Japanese and Mediterranean to “Parties Inspired by Books,” with original menus inspired by volumes like The Great Gatsby or Pride and Prejudice. The Essential Eating series encourages home cooking from scratch and building a nutrition-rich home pantry.

Three-hour classes are held most Saturdays from 12 to 3 p.m. from spring through the holidays. Most are limited to 12 participants. The sessions are relaxed and informal, a mix of demonstrations and hands-on activities suitable for beginners, as well as experienced cooks. They conclude with everyone gathering around the big kitchen table to enjoy the meal they have prepared, along with a glass of the farm’s own Jones wine. Students take home their aprons and copies of nourishing recipes.

 In May, the Parties Inspired by Books Series will feature The Great Gatsby on May 2, Pride and Prejudice on May 9, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on May 16.

See the web site, jonesfamilyfarms.com, to register. Early reservations are strongly advised as classes fill up fast.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

Cooking is only one of the reasons to visit the 400-acre farm where the Jones family has been working the land for over150 years. Successive generations have left their impact on the original dairy farm. Philip Jones, the fourth generation, planted evergreen seedlings as part of a 4-H forestry project in the 1930s.  Some of these originals, now 100-feet tall, tower over what has grown into 200 acres of Christmas trees. Guests are invited to hike the fields to harvest their own or to pick a fresh-cut tree in the Homestead Barnyard, a treasured tradition for many area families.

In the 1960s, Philip’s son Terry, the fifth generation, added the fields of strawberries and blueberries that are favorites for pick-your-own fans each year. Terry’s wife Jean, a licensed nutritionist, originated the cooking classes in 2009.  Their son, Jamie began the Jones Winery in 2004. In 2013 Connecticut Magazine named it “Best Connecticut Vineyard.” From summer berries to fall grapes and pumpkins to trees ready for trimming,  Jones Family Farms is a delightful outing year round.

For more information about the farm and the area and a free copy of Unwind, a full-color, 152-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in the Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County in Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.visitwesternct.com.

For the birds in Litchfield Hills @ the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy

The Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy located in Litchfield Connecticut  was founded by S. Dillon Ripley, considered to be  one of the twentieth century's outstanding figures in ornithology and conservation.  Ripley began building an internationally known collection of waterfowl in Litchfield, Connecticut in the 1920's. He started his first duck pond at age seventeen and taught ornithology at Yale while director of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History. In 1964 Dillon became the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution where he led the creation of numerous new museums, such as the National Air & Space Museum and the Hirshhorn Museum, and the development of the Smithsonian Magazine.

An avid aviculturist, Dillon Ripley is credited with being the first person to propagate successfully many threatened and endangered species in captivity, such as the red-breasted goose, nene goose, emperor goose and Laysan teal. Dr. Ripley also raised various endangered species in Litchfield for re-introduction to the wild.

Today, known as the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, this is one of the pre-eminent facilities for breeding rare and endangered waterfowl. The public is invited on self-guided tours on Saturday and Sunday beginning April 1 and running through November 30 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Visitors to the Conservancy are invited to visit the aviaries at their leisure and enjoy the diversity of waterfowl on display. Information panels provide interesting insight about each species and Conservancy staff and volunteers are available to answer questions.

Visitors can also visit the duckery where ducklings and goslings are hatched and reared. Even during the fall and winter months there are often eggs incubating or chicks hatching as the southern hemisphere species often reproduce during Connecticut's northern hemisphere winter. 

October through May are the best months to observe male ducks in their breeding plumage. Male ducks of many species (but not all) molt their colorful breeding plumage towards the end of June and most resemble their respective females until late September when they molt into breeding plumage once again. Male swans and geese remain colorful throughout the year.

 Admission is $10.00 per adult, which includes one child under the age of twelve. Additional children are $5.00 each. Please note that no pets are allowed on Conservancy grounds. 

LRWC is located on Duck Pond Road in Litchfield.  For more information http://www.lrwc.net.  For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Elephants in the Room at the PT Barnum Museum

On Wednesday, April 8 at 12:15 p.m., the PT Barnum Museum located in Bridgeport Connecticut is presenting a program called Elephants in the Room: Stories of Elephant Artifacts and Images in The Barnum Museum's Collection a Sneak Peek. This will be presented by Adrienne Saint-Pierre, the curator of the Barnum Museum.

April's Sneak Peek program focuses on the large variety of elephant artifacts in The Barnum Museum collection in celebration of the past event of Jumbo, the famous African Elephant, arriving in America after being purchased from London Zoo by P.T. Barnum on April 9, 1882. Some artifacts include the largest taxidermy baby elephant, "Baby Bridgeport," the second elephant to ever be born in America was in Bridgeport, CT many years ago. A piece of famous white elephant tusk in the museum collection and a number of photographs featuring Victorian era elephants in photographs, post cards and advertising will be on display at the event. "Baby Bridgeport" was recently x-rayed by medical imaging faculty from Quinnipiac University. In the 1880s a color lithograph and handkerchief were created to celebrate the elephant's birth, Barnum's pride and joy.

No registration required. $3 Suggested Donation. Free for museum members and kids under 12. Patrons are encouraged to bring their lunch.

A program on Jumbo the elephant called Jumbo: Marvel, Myth, and Legend will be presented on April 19 at 2 p.m. by Dr. Andrew McClellan of Tufts University.  This program explores the magnificent life of the late Jumbo The Elephant, a larger-than-life celebrity in the animal world. His legacy lives on today: "jumbo" is now an English adjective used to describe anything humungous. His image is also featured in many advertisements throughout the past, and a giant Sequoia tree in California now bears the same name. View little-known images featuring Jumbo and learn about his extraordinary life. Led by Andrew McClellan, professor of Art History at Tufts University and author of Jumbo: Marvel, Myth & Mascot (2014).

No registration required. $5 Suggested Donation. Free for museum members and kids under 12.

The PT Barnum Museum is located on 820 Main Street in Bridgeport CT. Call for more information 203-331-1104 ext.100, M-F from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information http://www.barnum-museum.org.

Catch the BIG ONE at the Riverton Fishing Derby on the Farmington River.

April 11, the official opening of the fishing season in the Nutmeg State is the day when fly-fishing aficionados from near and far flock to the Annual Riverton Fishing Derby in the Riverton section of Barkhamsted located in the beautiful Litchfield Hills. 

The day starts before daybreak with a hearty breakfast beginning at 4 a.m. at the Riverton Fire Department on 3 Riverton Rd. in the center of town.  Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be available at the Riverton General Store located in the center of town in a mid.-19^th century building that is the hub of activity for this village. Green mountain coffee, made to order sandwiches, homemade soups, chili, salad and pastries are just some of the things offered here. For more information on Riverton General Store  www.rivertongeneralstore.com.

This exciting Litchfield Hills event takes place on April 11^th on the West branch of the Farmington River, a Nationally designated “Wild and Scenic” river that is known to host an abundance of rainbow, brown and brook trout.  As a matter of fact, on Friday afternoon before this event, over 100 fish are purchased and released into the Farmington River adding even more incentive to catch the “big one.” The contest, complete with prizes, begins at 6 a.m. and lasts for about four hours, ending at 10 a.m. and it’s all-free; and there is no registration or fee required.

The public is always welcome to attend this event and to cheer on their favorite fisherman.  Last year some 500 enthusiasts participated in the derby. An even bigger crowd is expected this year.  Prizes include items donated by local merchants as well as by Orvis and Cabela’s.  The coveted grand prize is a village chair of Riverton donated by the Hitchcock Chair Company.  The Hitchcock Chair Company Store is located in Riverton and stocks an excellent selection of this classic hand stenciled furniture.  For information about the Hitchcock Chair Company visit www.hitchcockchair.com.

A bit further upriver a section of the flowing waters especially stocked for the occasion, is set aside for the "Kid' Derby".  Any tot under 16 who is able to hold a fishing pole, can join in the fun.  Special prizes are awarded to kids.

To find out more about the Fishing Derby and other events in Riverton, visit http://rivertonct.com.

The easiest way of getting a fishing license is to visit the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s online sportsmen licensing at https://ct.outdoorcentral.net/InternetSales.  Fishing licenses are also available from town clerks and this website has a complete listing of town clerks and businesses that sell fishing licenses.  The website also has a weekly fishing report that runs from opening day through the end of November.  The report is a summary of fresh and saltwater fishing activity in the state as reported by tackle stores around the state.

For more information on Litchfield Hills, where to stay, dine and what to see and do visit www.litchfieldhills.com.

Franklin Street Works Presents: “It’s gonna take a lotta love”

“It’s gonna take a lotta love” is a group exhibition that explores ideas about inclusivity, authenticity, and commonality in an age of anxiety, isolated individualism, and virtually lived experience. The show is on view from March 7 – May 24, 2015, and is curated by Liza Statton and Terri C. Smith. A free public reception will take place on Saturday, March 7th from 6:00-8:00pm with member VIP reception from 5:00-6:00pm.

The artists in “It’s gonna take a lotta love” intentionally avoid many of the sensationalist strategies used by the culture and advertising industries, Rather than critiquing these methods of slick production, elaborate fabrication, and massive scale through ironic appropriation, they make art that focuses on the aesthetic and conceptual potential of the everyday.

These artists also share a type of tragic-comic vision of contemporary culture. Humor, joy, and melancholy, among others, mix easily in their work. Such emotional credibility creates a slippage between empathy and alienation. Some artists create this slippage by making and re-making objects using seemingly inconsequential materials.

Wayne White paints witty and sometimes biting phrases on found paintings of pastoral landscapes and rustic barns. Andy Coolquitt resituates familiar materials such as vinyl records, lightbulbs, synthetic shag fabric, and books-on-tape into installations that are inspired by functions and spaces outside of the gallery. His works articulate a tension between the familiarity of our real lives and the exclusive domain of the white cube gallery. Whiting Tennis creates drawings, paintings and sculptures that pit Modernist art’s fascination with pure form against an intentionally personal mode of a hobbiest aesthetic that wrestles with ideas of concealment and containment.

Other artists such as Jon Campbell, Stephen Vitiello, and Jeremy Deller create subtle interventions using everyday language and music. Deller’s poster “Attention all DJs” takes on the form of a handwritten sign with tongue-in-cheek instructions for DJs. Jon Campbell’s “four letter word flags” brightly declare words like “Yeah,” “Home,” and “Want.” By inserting his word flags between country, state, or corporate flags in a city, Campbell prompts passerby’s to ask if the words we all use are worthy of a public format usually saved for pagentry or branding. Stephen Vitiello’s sound works in “It’s gonna take a lotta love” appropriate commercial music from well known singers. With “Dolly Ascending” Vitiello slows down Dolly Parton singing “Stairway to Heaven” to the point where it sounds like choral music. In A.L. Steiner + Robbinschild’s “C.L.U.E. Part I” video two women perform dance infused movements in backdrops of natural and built environments, connecting color, action, attitude, and environment in a straightforward way that includes the audience in their choreographed antics.

Two of the exhibiting artists, Andy Coolquitt and Jon Campbell, have been commisioned to make new works for “It’s gonna take a lotta love.” In the gallery, Coolquitt, whose assemblages reconsider the materials we unconsciously engage with, will be creating a new mixed media installation entitled “oo oo.” Australian artist Jon Campbell has been commissioned to make new works for the exhibition. His gallery contributions include a "four letter word" mural and a set list painting, which is based on a Melbourne band’s 1984 performance. Campbell extends his painting practice into the public sphere with an ambitious installation in Downtown Stamford, his first in the United States. Campbell, who is interested in representing “the overlooked and undervalued,” will design and exhibit flags and banners with the words: Hold, Home, Look, Play, Want, and Yeah. The works will be mounted on existing flagpoles in public parks, at office buildings, and on construction fences throughout Downtown.

Getting There: Franklin Street Works is located at 41 Franklin Street in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, near the UConn campus and less than one hour from New York City via Metro North. Franklin Street Works is approximately one mile (a 15 minute walk) from the Stamford train station. On street parking is available on Franklin Street (metered until 6 pm except on Sunday), and paid parking is available nearby in a lot on Franklin Street and in the Summer Street Garage (100 Summer Street), behind Target. The art space and café are open to the public on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 12:00pm - 5:00pm with extended hours on Thursdays, 12:00pm - 7:00pm. Franklin Street Works does not charge for admission during regular gallery hours.