Walk with llama's and more @ White Memorial Foundation

Litchfield's White Memorial Foundation located off Rte. 202 has several late November events not to be missed. There is a "Star Party" on  November 20 that promises to be great fun.  

Participants will hook up with members of the Litchfield Hills Amateur Astronomy Club and the Mattatuck Astronomical Society and discuss supernovas! Weather permitting, there will be Star gazing after the program. The program begins at 7:00 P.M., in the  A.B. Ceder Room. Please note that children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You are invited to bring your own telescope or binoculars.

On the afternoon of November 21 get ready to spend some quality time with your family meeting and greeting internationally acclaimed artist and author Wendell Minor as he reads and signs his latest book for children, Daylight Starlight Wildlife. Enjoy cider and cookies during the book signing. Chat with White Memorial's court photographer, Leo Kulinski, Jr and hear about the role he played in Mr. Minor's beautiful book!

Wendell Minor's 45-year career as an illustrator and author in the world of books has brought him international acclaim. He has produced over 2000 book covers and 60 children's books. He has been the exclusive designer of the covers for David McCullough and Pat Conroy for the past four decades. Minor's children's books celebrate the world of nature, historic figures and moments in America's story. His books have been published around the globe in several languages. Minor's work can be found in many museum collections, including the Norman Rockwell Museum, Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, The Library of Congress, The New Britain Museum of American Art, Kennedy Space Center, University of Connecticut, and the United States Postal Service.

A highlight of the month takes place at 10 a.m. on November 28 when participants are invited to go on a llama walk with with Debbie Labbe from Country Quilt Llama Farm.  Stroll along the trails  of White Memorial with a new friend! Meet in the Museum parking lot. 10:00 A.M., $20.00 per person. A portion of the fee will be donated to the Conservation Center. Please register by calling Debbie at 860-248-0355 or email: countryquiltllamafarm@gmail.com or to schedule a private walk!

 Also on November 28 visitors are invited to take a walk on Cranberry Pond Trail with Gerri Griswold. This is the 6th Annual Edition of this popular walk! Nothing could cap off a wonderful "on the cusp of winter" stroll along this spectacular trail better than a cup of hot coffee and a thick wedge of Crimson Pie swimming in a pool of thick ginger crème anglaise! Meet in the Museum. 2:00 

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Westport Historical Society's One of a Kind Artisans’ Boutique

On Friday, Nov. 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, November 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Westport HIstorical Society is hosting a one of a kind Artisans Boutique for visitors and residents alike to get a jump start on holiday gifts.

The "One of a Kind" boutique is offering a unique selection of jewelry, ceramics, scarves and handbags made by Westport area artisans. To add to the fesitive spirit, there will be  wine, cheese and music in the Society's Sheffer Gallery.

This event will be like an artisan's atelier and will provide an "artistic, intimate, gift-giving setting" featuring local people who are highly skilled in their medium. Karen Ford will be selling her functional porcelain and glass pieces, that are a fusion of clay, fire and glass and reflect her love of nature and her Chinese heritage.  Judy Henderson showcases her artful approach to clay shows and her love for painting.

Another artist, Nancy Weir-Geaney, sells handmade organic, sustainable, hand dyed, printed and vintage fabrics. Her scarves, shawls, sarongs, bags, pillows, quilts and table linens are made using sustainable fabrics and natural dyes and inks. "Each hand-dyed piece is one of a kind.

Eda Miyazaki is the creative director of Te+Te, a company whose name translates as hand + hand. She is a former textile designer in New York whose silk handbags are done in a style that is a result of her upbringing in Japan, combined with many years of living in America. She will also be selling her natural aromas line from Japan.

Connie Pappas and Christina Coopersino operate Leaf & Ardor Tea Co. in Fairfield, providers of premium, all-natural, organic teas and herbal blends, and serving pieces.

Lindsay Bartlett makes precious metal and beaded jewelry. Some of her custom jewelry features the fingerprint of the wearer. This is accomplished using precious metal clay, usually silver or gold, which can be molded by hand. When the clay is fired in a kiln the clay matrix burns away and only the metal is left. Bartlett's line includes cufflinks for a groom with impressions of the bride's fingerprints as well as other iconic imagery on the silver clay.F

or more area event information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Masterful Tips for Holiday Entertaining at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will host, Setting the Table for the Holidays: Edward's Table on November 15th at 2 p.m. where tabletop guru Edward Lent will share a wealth of table setting and entertaining ideas, just in time for the holiday season.

Whether you are planning a joyous family gathering or a year-end "need to impress" business party, holiday entertaining will be at your fingertips with Edward's Table. Throughout his 20-plus year career, Lent has worked with Tabletop industry giants such as Noritake, Mikasa and Simon Pearce. His philosophy, "Stop keeping your dinnerware hostage. Let me show you how to set the mood and set a table with today's trends and tips using what you probably already own."

While setting thousands of tables, Lent developed a unique sense of entertaining styles. He is a renowned expert in the visual merchandising industry, whose table setting and merchandising work has taken him around the country and around the globe, including Europe, Japan and South America. Lent holds a degree in Art Education and was associate editor of the industry trade journal Tableware Today.

Tickets for the event are $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Proceeds will go to support the Museum and its artistic, cultural and educational programs.

For reservations please contact: info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or 203-838-9799 ext. 4. The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. Tours are offered Wednesdays through Sundays, at Noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. Children under 8 are admitted free. For more information, visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com  or call 203-838-9799.

For more area event information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

REMINDER OF DAILY VETERANS DISCOUNT, PLUS DAY-OFF FUN FOR KIDS, AT THE MARITIME AQUARIUM AT NORWALK

As we honor the men and women who have served – and are serving – our country on Wed., Nov. 11, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk offers a reminder of its year-round admission discounts for veterans and active-duty military.

Every day – not just on Veterans Day – active-duty members of the armed forces receive free admission and veterans receive a $10 admission discount. (Admission is regularly $19.95 for adults, and $17.95 for seniors 65+.)  ID/proof of service is required to receive these discounts.

For kids whose schools are closed Wednesday, a visit to The Maritime Aquarium is a fun way to get close to sharks, seals, sea turtles, jellies, river otters and other fascinating creatures – and maybe learn something new too.

Children and veterans may especially appreciate that The Maritime Aquarium is home to a real Navy seal:  in the 1980s, Rasal the harbor seal was trained by the U.S. Navy to retrieve objects from the sea floor.

IMAX^® movies playing Wednesday (and every day through Nov. 24) on The Maritime Aquarium’s six-story screen are: “Humpback Whales” at 11 a.m and 3 p.m.; “Born to Be Wild” at noon; “Great White Shark” at 1 & 4 p.m.; and “Flight of the Butterflies” at 2 p.m.

Users of TripAdvisor.com rate The Maritime Aquarium as one of the Top 25 aquariums in the U.S. and No. 1 in New England.

Get details about all of the Aquarium’s exhibits, programs, IMAX movies and more at www.maritimeaquarium.org.  For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Modern Design – Collecting from the Jazz Age to the Space Age at the Fairfield Museum and History Center Nov. 19

On November 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., The Fairfield History Center is hosting John Stuart Gordon, the Benjamin Attmore Hewitt Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Yale University Art Gallery.  This  lively lecture will be about his role in acquiring design objects for Yale's collection and the current decorative arts market. What objects and eras are hot among collectors? What aesthetics and issues are of interest to auction houses, scholars, and museums?

Bio: John Stuart Gordon, the Benjamin Attmore Hewitt Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Yale University Art Gallery, has a Ph.D. from Boston University and is the author of A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920–1950 (Yale University Press, 2011). He specializes in American design from the late 19th through 21st centuries. In addition, he supervises the Furniture Study, the Yale University Art Gallery's large study collection of American furniture and wooden objects.

A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920–1950:

Americans living in the first decades of the twentieth century felt they inhabited a modern age. A spirit of excitement and experimentation transformed the world around them, in particular the consumer goods that filled their homes and offices. A Modern World draws upon the renowned collection of American decorative arts at the Yale University Art Gallery to explore the appearance and dissemination of modern design in the United States.

This catalogue organizes roughly 300 examples of silver, glass, industrial design, furniture, medals, jewelry, and printed textiles into thematic groups that chart the aesthetic and social trends that defined American design from the Jazz Age to the Space Age. The authors consider modernism broadly—from handmade luxury goods to mass-produced housewares—establishing a context for the objects within larger international developments in architecture, avant-garde art, and scientific innovation. New research and compelling juxtapositions offer an expanded understanding of the era, and designer biographies and corporate chronologies help make this catalogue a valuable resource.

For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

THE KLEIN@75: THE CELEBRATION CONCERT Paul Shaffer will host November 14th event

On Saturday, November 14^th, the Klein in Bridgeport will celebrate its 75^th Anniversary with an unprecedented concert featuring resident performing arts companies that regularly perform in the historic 1,450-seat theater.  This is the first time that all of them have appeared together on the Klein’s stage.  The emcee for the event is the popular television personality and musician Paul Shaffer, longtime bandleader of “Late Night with David Letterman”. 

Featured companies are: Greater Bridgeport Symphony (which has performed at the Klein for the past 70 years), New England Ballet, Fairfield County Children’s Choir, Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras, student singers and dancers from the Klein’s innovative after school program ASK as well as from All Stars Project of Bridgeport, and noted jazz musician Joel Martin, creator of “Jazzical” and the Klein’s annual “Footsteps of Peace” concerts.   Also included are special appearances by Mayor Bill Finch, George Mintz, president of the Bridgeport chapter of the NAACP, Kathleen Maher, executive director of the Barnum Museum, a segment about Fairfield Theatre Company, which has presented over 100 concerts at the Klein in recent years, representatives from the Barnum Festival, and others yet to be announced.

During the concert each company will perform its own segments.  They will all assemble together in a spectacular musical finale.  The concert will be held at the Klein on Saturday, November 14^th at 8 pm.  Tickets  can be purchased at the Klein’s box office, on-line at www.info@theklein.org, or by calling 800-424-0160.  Tickets are priced at $75 / $40 / $25 and $15.

As a thank-you to patrons of the resident companies that are performing that evening, the Klein and its performance partners have also announced a special subscription discount offer in a package of 4 upcoming events at the Klein.  By calling the Klein box office, patrons who purchase tickets to all four of the following events will receive a twenty per cent discount on the entire package.  The events in the package include:

WYNTON MARSALIS AND THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ENSEMBLE (November 5^th), presented by Fairfield Theatre Company

THE KLEIN@75: THE CELEBRATION CONCERT (November 14^th)

BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY with the MENDELSSOHN CHOIR (December 12th) performed by the Greater Bridgeport Symphony

24^TH ANNUAL NUTCRACKER PERFORMANCES (December 19^th and 20^th) by New England Ballet Company

RESTAURANT PROMOTION: The Klein is also conducting an exclusive discount offer through 4 restaurants in downtown Bridgeport.  Beginning October 15 and running until the day of the concert, patrons of these restaurants can receive a card with a discount code entitling them to 15% off the ticket price of the November 14^th concert.  Participating restaurants are: Trattoria ‘A vucchella, Two Boots, Joseph’s Steakhouse, and the Holiday Inn.  This promotion is in collaboration with the Downtown Special Services District of Bridgeport.

ABOUT THE KLEIN: 

The Klein is a 1,450-seat historic American theater that was built in the 1930s with funds willed to the City of Bridgeport by Jacob Klein.  Designed by local architect Leonard Asheim, the auditorium was built in the Art Deco style and features bronze doors, a marble lobby, inlaid wood and geometric motifs.


After opening its doors for performances in 1940, The Klein has played host to programs ranging in scope to symphonies, operas, theater, folk, blues and rock concerts, local dance recitals and political debates. It also operates ASK, a tuition-free after school program where up to 100 Bridgeport students receive instruction in music, dance, drama and acting for the camera.  In earlier years, the Klein has hosted such luminaries as Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Arthur Fiedler, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Paul Robeson, Milton Berle, Victor Borge, and Gloria Swanson.  More recently such diverse musical acts as Vienna Boys Choir, Alice Cooper, B.B. King, Boz Scaggs, Ziggy Marley, Taj Mahal, Herbie Hancock, George Carlin, Peter Frampton, Boyz II Men, the B-52s, the Parris Island Marine Band,  comic Elizardi Castro, and satiric comedy group Capitol Steps have appeared on the Klein stage.   

Holiday Food and Wine Festival at the Warner Theatre

The Warner Theatre on Main Street in Torrington is hosting it's annual gala Holiday Wine and Food Tasting on Friday, November 6 from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  This event promises and exciting evening of lavish wines and delectable food in the beautiful environment of this Art Deco theatre. 

For 13 years, the Warner Theatre has hosted its Holiday Wine & Food Tasting fundraising event, drawing crowds of wine and food lovers from throughout Northwest Connecticut and beyond. This year's event features selections from over 30 international wine vendors, food selections from 15 area restaurants and a penny auction.

There is even a "VIP" room, now located in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, which includes a catered spread, private tasting of high-end wines, a small batch bourbon table, and live entertainment.

Tickets are $25 General Admission, $60 VIP. VIP tickets allow admittance to the VIP Room (limited availability). To purchase, call the Warner Theatre Box Office at (860) 489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org

For more holiday information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

About the Warner Theatre

Built by Warner Brothers Studios and opened in 1931 as a movie palace (1,772 seats), the Warner Theatre was described then as "Connecticut's Most Beautiful Theatre." Damaged extensively in a flood, the Warner was slated for demolition in the early 1980s until the non-profit Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts (NCAA) was founded and purchased the theatre. The Warner reopened as a performing arts center in 1983, and restoration of the main lobbies and auditorium was completed in November 2002. In 2008, the new 50,000 square foot Carole and Ray Neag Performing Arts Center, which houses a 300 seat studio theatre, 200 seat restaurant and expansive school for the arts, was completed. Today, the Warner is in operation year-round with more than 160 performances and 100,000 patrons passing through its doors each season. Over 10,000 students, pre K-adult, participate in arts education programs and classes. Together, with the support of the community, the Warner has raised close to $17 million to revitalize its facilities. NCAA's mission is to preserve the Warner Theatre as an historic landmark, enhance its reputation as a center of artistic excellence and a focal point of community involvement, and satisfy the diverse cultural needs of the region

Theodore Nierenberg: Photographs from His World Travels at the Bruce Musuem

Theodore Nierenberg (1923–2009) was a prominent industrial designer and photographer. An engineer by training, Nierenberg – along with his wife, Martha -- founded Dansk International Designs in 1954, a business best known for tableware and house-wares of a distinctive Scandinavian Modern style. The company was started in the couple's garage in Great Neck, NY, after a trip to Europe during which they became interested in the work of foreign industrial designers. Dansk went on to operate for many years afterward from its headquarters in Mount Kisco, NY. After directing the company for more than thirty years, the Nierenbergs sold it in 1985, allowing Ted to concentrate on his many hobbies, which included most notably gardening, photography and traveling.

Having studied with many well-known photographers including Magnum photojournalist Ernst Haas, Nierenberg became an accomplished photographer. Over the years, he amassed a vast body of work, focusing mainly on two subjects: his garden estate and portraits of indigenous peoples taken during his extensive travels around the world.

A book of photographs by Mr. Nierenberg -- The Beckoning Path --was published in 1993, and documented Mr. Nierenberg's woodland garden, widely considered to be among the finest gardens in the Westchester/Fairfield area. Theodore Nierenberg: Photographs from His World Travels opens August 1 and runs through November 29.

The Bruce Museum is a museum of art and science and is located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and free for members and children less than five years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at https://brucemuseum.org/

November Events at the Glass House

The Glass Househttp://theglasshouse.org/ in New Cannan Connecticut, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation was built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson and is now open to the public for tours through November 30.  The estate is comprised of 49 pastoral acres and features fourteen buildings including the famous "glass house".  In addition to the structures located on the property there is a collection of 20th century art and sculpture in addition to changing exhibits.

This November, the Glass House is hosting three special events. The first event, SO-IL + Kays Varnelis takes place on Thursday, November 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu of SO - IL will discuss their work with historian and theorist Kazys Varnelis. Founded in 2008, SO - IL focuses on the development of new ideas and their viability in the world. The firm has been one of the most recognized emerging architectural practices in recent years.

The next event takes place on Saturday, November 21 from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. and is a study tour of the Glass House and the newly opened Grace Farms. On this fascinating tour participants will visit two significant achievements in architecture on a one-day study tour of Philip Johnson's Glass House and the newly opened River, a building designed by SANAA, on the grounds of Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT. Shuttle transportation between sites and afternoon snack provided.

Through the month of November, the new exhibition called Lipstick by Enoc Perez will also be on view. This exhibition will present a new body of work by the artist that refers to the Lipstick Building (1986), an elliptical office tower in Manhattan designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. In each work, Perez uses his characteristic style to explore the formal qualities of the Lipstick Building in a variety of palettes.

For more area information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Understanding the Brass Valley in Litchfield Hills

On, October 29, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at the Coe Memorial Park Civic Center located on 101 Litchfield S., Emery 'Ted' Roth II, a photographer and writer, will host a slide presentation and program titled Finding Brass Valley.  The slide show chronicles Roth's experiences as he chronicled the last vestiges of the brass industry in the Naugatuck Valley.

The slide show is based on a newly published book by Roth, Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry (Schiffer Press, October 2015). Both the book and the program pay homage to the industrial history of the Naugatuck Valley, a history which began in the early 19th century. Known in particular for its large scale brass manufacturing, the region eventually came to be known as the "Brass Valley" and mill towns such as Torrington and Waterbury developed into thriving cultural centers.

By the 21st century, few of those mills remained in operation. Ted Roth, on a mission to capture the vestiges of a disappearing aspect of American life, began photographing some of the last working brass mills in the Naugatuck Valley. During that time, the management and workers of these last brass mills invited him to shoot anywhere and at any time. This continued until 2014, when the last plant closed, and the tradition of soot-covered workers charging generations-old furnaces came to an end. His images, both artistic and documentary, capture the glowing metal flying through the air at a foundry in its final days, the vast structures that housed industries, and the abandoned opera houses, train tracks, and other remnants of a once vibrant infrastructure and way of life.

Over 230 such images appear in Roth's book, Brass Valley. Ted Roth's program on October 29th will include a selection of his photographs from the book but he will also talk about what it means to try and find "Brass Valley", a place in time that has not quite vanished.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com