Danger Came Smiling @ Franklin Street Artworks

For the exhibition Danger Came Smiling: Feminist art and popular music historian Maria Elena Buszek brings together work by contemporary artists who use popular music as a medium, subject, and reference point for activist messages. The show, which will be on view through– January 1, 2017, takes the title of an album by the pioneering, unabashedly feminist punk band Ludus, led by artist Linder Sterling, whose career—emerging in the first wave of punk in the 1970s—reflects the approaches in this exhibition.

By the late 1970s, visual artists like Robert Longo, Barbara Kruger, and Jean-Michel Basquiat started bands, and musicians like DEVO, Talking Heads, and Ann Magnuson treated their music as performance art, blurring the lines between popular music and visual art in ways that have profoundly affected contemporary art ever since.  The “No Wave” culture that emerged in this era is rife with examples: performers were as likely to present their work at the Danceteria as the Whitney Museum, and venues like Club 57, The Pyramid, and the Mudd Club and galleries like Fun, Gracie Mansion, and Artists Space all hosted both exhibitions and concerts, where popular music was emerging as its own “new medium.”

Years later, writer and Mudd Club habitué Kathy Acker would advise the young feminist art student Kathleen Hanna: “If you want people to hear what you’re doing…you should be in a band.”  Hanna proceeded to become a prime mover in what soon became known as the Riot Grrrl movement by way of her band Bikini Kill, and continues performing agit-pop in bands like Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin.

Hanna’s career is just the most visible of subsequent generations of feminist artists inspired by popular music, which this exhibition will address through the work of artists like Wynne Greenwood, Eleanor King, Shizu Saldamando, and Xaviera Simmons, who use punk, hip-hop, electronica, and jazz as part of their studio practice, and a reflection of their politics. 

The Franklin Street Works café will also include an audio portion that serves as a “curated mixtape” of music that relates to the artists and history on display in the exhibition.

The gallery is open Tues. - Sun. 12 noon to 5 p.m. and is located on 45 Franklin Street in Stamford.  There are 3-hour parking meters just outside the entrance to the gallery on Franklin Street that are free after 6 p.m., and 25 cents per 15 minutes before 6 p.m. There is also a lot with an attendant on Franklin Street just a couple of doors down on the right side of the street (closer to Broad Street) from Franklin Street Works. Rates are variable. There are also a number of parking garages nearby. The nearest are:Target  Entrance on Broad; $1 for the first 2 hours, then $2/hour, $11/day. Summer Street Garage Entrances on Lower Summer, Broad or Washington Blvd. Northbound;  $1/hour, $9/day, there is also an evening rate of $3/evening  Sat. & Sun. are free until 5pm.

For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Flags of Valor in New Milford

In honor of Veterans,  and in the memory of our Military Veterans and those men and women actively serving our country today, the Kiwanis Club Foundation of Greater Danbury, Inc. will erect the Kiwanis Flags of Valor on the New Milford Historical Society and the Town of New Milford's lawn at the north end of the Green. 

The Field of Valor will include at least 300 full size (3 foot by 5 foot) made in the USA American flags and will be on display from November 5 through December 3, 2016. All are invited to sponsor anyone they would like to HONOR with one of these keepsake flags. Your Honoree and sponsor name will be proudly displayed on a yellow ribbon with each flag. Major sponsors will be identified with on-site signage and up to ten flags for their honorees.

All proceeds from the $30 sponsorship support the efforts and the programs of the Kiwanis Club Foundation of Greater Danbury, Inc, 501c. Our programs include; Bringing Up Grades, High School Key Clubs in 6 towns and the Eliminate Program, College Scholarships. We are a volunteer organization whose mission is "To serve the children of the world, one community at a time." Find more information about Kiwanis or the Flags of Valor on our website www.kiwanisct.com or email ltorganizing.Linda@gmail.com.

American Artisan Show in Wilton

Once again the Wilton Historical Society is hosting the renowned American Artisan Show on Saturday, November 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, November 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year marks the 31st year of this popular annual event that is being held at the Wilton Historical Society located on 224 Danbury Rd. in Wilton. The admission is is $10 per person; young adults under 18 are free.

There will be more than forty artisans whose creations  will be fittingly set in the Society's charming 18th and 19th century buildings. The artisans are from across the country and will present arts, crafts and designs that have been part of American fine handwork since the 18th century.

Items for sale will include: Shaker-style furniture, pottery, baskets, candles, quilts, Windsor chairs, rugs, floor cloths, art, tavern signs, fine jewelry – and even beautifully turned pepper mills and custom made dollhouses; best of all, they are available for purchase just in time for gift giving session or for a special treat for yourself.  Unusual items such as art furniture by Troy Brook Visions, Sailor's Valentines, Redware, tramp art and wearable works of art composed of unusual combinations of textiles are just a few of the things available. 

For a complete list of artisans visit their website.

Take a walk around historic Torrington with new audio tour

There is nothing more refreshing than a walk on a brisk day in a small city that offers great window shopping -- shopping and interesting architecture along the way. To improve on this experience, the Torrington Historical Society has installed of 21 audio tour signs in Historic Downtown Torrington.

The audio tour signs are permanently placed on each of 21 historic buildings and sites highlighted on the tour route. Each sign has a unique QR (quick response) code that can be read using a smartphone and will connect the user to an audio recording about the history of each building and site. The QR codes are located on 8 x 10 inch signs attached to each building on the tour or on sign posts near the sidewalk in front of featured sites; the audio is about two minutes long.

The audio tour allows residents and visitors to learn about the history of these sites that gives Downtown Torrington it's unique character and charm. 

Although the tour can be started at any of the 21 features attractions, it has been designed to begin with the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum at 192 Main Street where free parking is available. The audio tour is a partial loop of about ½ mile. The Tour starts with the Hotchkiss- Fyler House Museum at 192 Main Street and progresses down Main Street to Center Square also known as the Five Points Intersection.  At this point, the tour makes a short side trip up East Main Street as far as the Venetian Restaurant and then  doubles back to the center of town.  At this point, the tour crosses the Naugatuck River on Center Bridge and continues onto Coe Memorial Park and the Torrington Library.  In the final stretch, the tour re-crosses Center Bridge and goes up Water Street and turns right onto Prospect Street where it ends at the Allen G. Brady House located at 258 Prospect St.

For a complete list of featured sites visit www.walktour.info. To sign up for a monthly newsletter on things to do and see in Litchfield Hills visit www.litchfieldhills.com

Victorian Tea - From Downton Abbey to Camelot

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will host its annual Victorian Tea on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. This event will feature a talk by textiles, fashion merchandising, and design expert Susan J. Jerome titled, From Downton Abbey to Camelot, at 295 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT.

Susan J. Jerome is Collections Manager at the University of Rhode Island Historic Textile and Costume Collection. Her talk will explore how the highly popular television show, Downton Abbey, illustrates the clothing worn by the aristocracy during the first years of the 20^th century, while Jacqueline Kennedy reigned over a modern American gentry in a parallel Camelot, inspiring designers even as social forces re-defined fashion’s inspirations. The Mansion’s Victorian Tea will feature a traditional English tea menu by Susan Kane Catering and a hat contest with prizes.

This fascinating talk on clothing fit for royalty, surrounded by the timeless splendor of this iconic National Historic Landmark, is a perfect pairing to a quintessential English tea and an afternoon not to be missed and sure to brighten an afternoon in November. 

Tickets for the Tea are $35 for members and $45 for non-members. Proceeds will support the Museum’s artistic, cultural and educational programs. For Victorian Tea reservations please contact: info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, 203-838-9799.

To sign up for a monthly newsletter on all there is to see and do in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit To sign up for a monthly newsletter on all there is to see and do in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.fairfieldcountyct.comhttp://www.fairfieldcountyct.com

9th Annual Washington Green Cemetery Tour

Led by tour guides dressed in Vintage attire, visitors to this year's Washington Green Cemetery Tour held on October 28 from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. in Washington will be thrilled with tales and unforgettable characters. The theme of this year's tour, with all new characters, is "Uncommon Tales from Common Folk". 

Groups of visitors will meet at the Museum located on 5 Wykham Road and be led by Tour Guides dressed in vintage attire along a path of luminaries through the Cemetery to meet some of Washington's unforgettable residents from the past. Unique, memorable and familiar citizens from the last century will be brought to life by costumed actors who will tell stories of their life; some amusing, some sad, some tragic — even horrific!

Cemetery Tour attendees should come to the Gunn Historical Museum and form a line to get numbered tickets for the tours, handed out on a first-come first-serve basis, starting at 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 28, and continuing through the evening until the tickets run out. Tours of the Cemetery depart from the Gunn Museum in groups of fifteen people every eight minutes between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. and last approximately one hour. While there is no fee to attend the Cemetery Tour, but, donations are greatly appreciated.

A Halloween themed movie will be shown in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Library where attendees can wait inside for their tour group to depart. Visitors are urged to bring a flashlight, dress warmly, and wear comfortable walking shoes. 

The Gunn Museum is located at 5 Wykeham Road, at the intersection of Wykeham Road and Route 47, in Washington, Connecticut. Parking at the Gunn is limited, please carpool and use nearby lots and side streets.

The rain date for the Cemetery Tour is Sunday October 30 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.