Experience “Nature as Healer” Program at Flanders

On Sunday, October 18, learn how to quickly access Nature's restorative power, discover nature's subtle language and enhance your ability to access the healing qualities the natural world offers. 

Flanders hosts teacher, artist, and writer Marlow Shami, M.S. who will combine mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques and sensory ecology in this restorative afternoon.

Begin your journey beyond the deafening onslaught of the technology-saturated world with a guided meditation inside the historic Flanders Studio. Continue your experience with a peaceful excursion soaking up the natural beauty of the Flanders’ Van Vleck Sanctuary.

Specializing in the healing connection between humans and the natural world, Marlow Shami conducts Nature as Healer workshops and talks throughout New England.

The group will meet at the Flanders Studio which is located at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Roads in Woodbury at 1PM. The Cost is $10 member and $15 for non members. Those wishing to lie down during meditation are invited to bring a yoga mat with them.

Registrations are being taken online at www.flandersnaturecenter.org.or call (203) 263-3711 Ext. 10 for more information.

For more area event information www.litchfieldhills.com

Ride a vintage train to the pumpkin patch at Danbury RR Museum

It's the Fall harvest season so what better way to celebrate and welcome in the cooler weather than with a short ride on a vintage train to the Danbury Railway Museum's Pumpkin Patch. This popular annual family event will take place on October 10-11, 17-18 and 24-25; Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4:00 p.m. with the last train at 3:30 p.m. at the museum, with trains departing hourly beginning ½-hour after opening each day. Admission is $10.00 for ages 2 and over; children under 24 months are free.

Visitors will ride the Pumpkin Patch Train through the historic rail yard in a 1920's passenger coach, pulled by a vintage ALCo RS-1 diesel-electric locomotive* to the special pumpkin patch where each child will receive a free pumpkin. 

Of course, the exhibits, artifacts, and multiple operating model train layouts inside the restored 100-year old Danbury station will be open for your education and entertainment. The kids can also enjoy the free activities such as the "coloring station," temporary tattoos, cider & cookies, and more. There is a fully-stocked gift shop on the premises. No reservations are required; the event will be held rain or shine. Children are encouraged to come in costume.

The Danbury Railway Museum is a non-profit organization, staffed solely by volunteers, and is dedicated to the preservation of, and education about, railroad history. The museum is located in the restored 1903 Danbury Station and rail yard at 120 White Street, Danbury, CT and has many artifacts of area railroading on display, including over 70 vintage railroad cars and locomotives. For further information, visit the Web site at http://www.danburyrail.org, or call the museum at 203-778-8337.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Bruce Museum 34th Annual Outdoor Arts Festival

 The Bruce Museum’s 34th annual Outdoor Arts Festival takes place rain or shine on Museum grounds on Columbus Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 10- 11, from 10 am to 5 pm. More than 90 artists from across the country, many new to the Bruce Museum festival, will be showcased this year. The juried works include painting on canvas, board and paper, mixed media in 2D and 3D, drawings and graphics, including digital media, sculpture and photography. All works are available for purchase and artists are on hand to discuss their work.

“The Bruce Museum's Outdoor Arts Festival has been ranked in the top 100 nationally among Fine Arts Fairs, drawing strong competition among artists who want to participate in the show,” says Sue Brown Gordon, the Festival’s organizer. “We are delighted this year to be welcoming many new artists and award winning veterans to the festival. What makes this festival so special is that it is an originals only show. The works being displayed are considered one-of-a-kind and of collectable merit.”

Live music, varied menu offerings, and children’s art activities are all available to provide family fun. Festival admission is $8 and includes admission to the Bruce Museum galleries. The Festival is free to Bruce Museum members and children less than 5 years old. Not yet a member? At the Festival entrance visitors will be able to join the Bruce Museum at a discount, and will receive instant free admission and many discounts both at the Festival -- many exhibitors offer discounts for Bruce Museum members -- and in the Museum store.

Visitors are asked to park on Museum Drive and Steamboat Road or in the Island Beach Parking lot near exit 3 off I-95. The Museum is a short walk from MetroNorth’s Greenwich railroad station. For information, visit www.brucemuseum.org, or call (203) 869-0376. 

For more area information visit www.visitwesternct.com

American Museum of Tort Law opened in Litchfield Hills

The American Museum of Tort Law, the nation’s first museum devoted to the legal system,

opened on September 26 in the Litchfield Hills town of Winsted, the home town of the museum’s

President, consumers advocate Ralph Nader.

After dedicating nearly half a century to battling businesses over issues such as dangerous

products, the 81-year-old Nader is spearheading the museum in a former downtown bank

building to celebrate the branch of law that offers relief to anyone who suffers injury from

wrongful acts of others, from careless drivers or neighbors to negligent corporations. The

nonprofit, educational institution hopes to make people aware of the pivotal role of tort law in

the protection of personal freedom and safety. And it will celebrate the historical and

contemporary achievements of the civil justice system.

According to museum director Richard L. Newman, former president of the Connecticut Trial

Lawyers Association, the new facility will include a timeline of the development of tort law and

a theater. Exhibits will tell in compelling fashion of cases large and small where tort law and the

right to trial by jury has protected individuals against wrongful injury.  Two dramatic examples

are Liebeck vs McDonalds, a case concerning scalding coffee, and Cipollone v. Liggett, where 

the plaintiff alleged that cigarette manufacturers knew -- but did not warn consumers -- that

smoking caused lung cancer and that cigarettes were addictive. The public will learn a lot more

than they generally know about these and other important issues, Newman promises.

Details of museum hours and events will be available on the web site tortmuseum.org.

For information about lodging, dining and other activities in 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 throughout Fairfield County and the Litchfield Hills of 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

October at White Memorial Foundation - Fun Naturally!

October is a great month to get outdoors and enjoy the firecolors of fall foliage and one of the best places in Litchfield Hills to explore the great outdoors is White Memorial Foundation in Litchfield located off of Rte. 202. The staff has organized some wonderful events in October starting on October 3 with Dave Paton from the Sharon Audubon that will share his knowledge about mushrooms beginning at 10 a.m. Participants will spend a couple of hours in the forest with Dave learning do's and don'ts , basic identification, and stories behind all of the fungus among us! 10:00 A.M., Meet in front of the A. B. Ceder Room. Dress for the weather! Members: $10.00, Non-members: $15.00, Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Class is limited to 30 participants! 

On October 7, there is a program with Gerri Griswold called hiking and healthful eating that begins at 6 p.m. Participants spend the evening taking a brisk walk with Gerri, then settle into a delicious and simple to prepare super tasty meal. The objective is to share recipes, learn how to use herbs and spices to create wonderfully delicious meals that will keep you focused on your goal and to use this beautiful property to help you become the very best you can be. Dress for the weather and don't forget your flashlight! Members: $15.00 Non-members: $25.00. Limited to 20 people! Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.

There are two events on October 10. The first is an early morning walk to Laurel Hill, Cat Swamp, Apple Hill and back that begins at 7 a.m. rain or shine. This event is free. The second event begins in the Museum parking lot at 10 a.m. and is an autumn tree identification walk with White Memorial's forest superintendent, Lukas Hyder. This event is free.

On October 16 White Memorial is hosting a "Star Party"! This astronomy program is organized by members of the Litchfield Hills Amateur Astronomy Club and the Mattatuck Astronomical Society. Tonight's topic: Life in the Universe. Weather permitting, there will be Star gazing after the program. 7:00 P.M., A.B. Ceder Room. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You are invited to bring your own telescope or binoculars. This event is free.

On October 17, Marlow Shami leads a quiet sensory walk that is a guided meditation especially designed to enhance your ability to "speak" nature's sensory language. Discover the natural world's subtle vernacular as you soak-up the Sanctuary's exquisite beauty. Mindfully walk through the deafening onslaught of an all too often technology-saturated world, in peace! Learn to quickly access nature's restorative power. Marlow Shami combines Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques and sensory ecology in this restorative afternoon journey down the Lake Trail. 10:00 A. M., Meet in front of the A. B. Ceder Room. This event is free.

There are two events on October 24 - the first is Celebrating Connecticut's Apples with Barr Weeks and Russell Powell from the New England Apple Association as she weaves the delicious story of apple growing in Connecticut. Learn about apple history, their growing cycle, Connecticut's ten most popular apples and some rarer New England varieties. Samples will be available in raw form as well as pie form! 2:00 P.M.  This event is free.

Also on October 24, David Leff will entertain with supernatural tales of Connecticut. Join poet and essayist David Leff for dramatic readings about the ghostly and weird around us. Meet the headless horseman of Canton, the vanishing hitchhiker of Chester, the Jewett City vampires, and the black dog of West Peak, among others. We share a landscape laced with mysteries. Dare to believe or endure a skeptic's regret! www.davidkleff.com . Mr. Leff's reading will be at the fire pit, weather permitting. A comfy dinner will be served! 7:00 P. M., At the Keinholz Fire Pit. Members: $25.00 Non-members: $30.00, Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.

On Halloween, there will be a Super Spooky Halloween Walk with Gerri Griswold and Bradley the Wonder Dog!  Begin Halloween afternoon dressing up yourself and your four-legged best friend for a stroll along the Pine Island Trail to Little Pond and then onto the Litchfield Greenway via Gallows Lane (chills) passing the cemetery (BOO!) and finishing up at Mallard Marsh. Look for signs of life and a good deal of pointing and staring along the way! All dogs must be on leads! Spooky treats for everybody after the walk! 12:00 P.M., Meet in front of the A. B. Ceder Room! The program is free but you must register by calling 860-567-0857.

For all "free" events. donations will be accepted to help defray the Conservation.  For more information about White Memorial Conservation Center visit www.whitememorialcc.org