December traditions @ White Memorial Foundation

White Memorial Foundation located on 80 White Hall Road in Litchfield is finishing out the month of December with a few lovely events that have become traditions.

In the spirit of the holidays, White Memorial Foundation is offering a free week of entrance to the museum for kids ages 12 and under from December 21 to December 27 when accompanied by an adult.

To unwind from the holiday stress, why not take a hike on December 24 to Apple Hill and Cat Swamp with Gerri Griswold. You can begin  this Eve of all Eves with Gerri and Bradley as they sojourn to Apple Hill and Cat Swamp in search of comfort and joy. Return to the Ceder Room for Hot Chocolate and Something Home-baked. Sing Christmas carols too! 8:00 A.M., Meet in front of the A. B. Ceder Room. We'll drive to the trailhead together.

The Wild and Wacky winter camp for grades 1 - 6 is back from December 28 - 30. If your kids are looking for a great way to spend their holiday break, why not spend it in an outdoor classroom!  Nature has so much to offer in the winter! So, grab your coat, boots, and hat and let's explore the wild and wacky wildlife of winter! Snack and drink will warm us up between adventures. Parents are welcome to stay, but it is not necessary. Meet in the A.B. Ceder Room. Grades 1-3: 9:30am-12:30pm, Grades 4-6: 1:30-4:30pm. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Please call 860-567-0857 or visit whitememorialcc.org → Education → Public Programs for Children to register. Space is limited! Members: $20/child per session or $55/all 3 sessions, Non-Members: $30/child per session or $85/all 3 sessions

On the last day of the year, White Memorial is offering the 4th annual winter walk along the lake and Butternut Brook Trails with Marlow Shami. Join Marlow as she leads you to the observation platform overlooking Connecticut's largest natural lake, Bantam! View the relics of what was once one of New England's largest Ice Houses. The relics are fascinating, so too the history. Pass by the slow moving Butternut Brook. Enjoy a landscape filled with the sounds of dry beach tree leafs fluttering, old stone walls traverse the forest, admire a stunning multi-trunked oak, tiptoe by a tiny princess fern colony. Indulge yourself in the sights, scents, and sounds of winter. Take in nature's restorative powers! 10 A.M., Meet in front of the A.B. Ceder Room.

For more information about White Memorial Foundation visit their website. 

Tinest Reef Creatures figure big @ Maritime Aquarium's IMAX

Some of the tiniest creatures of the ocean emerge on the biggest IMAX^® movie screen in Connecticut  with  “Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean” at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and  will show at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily through Feb. 16, 2017, on the Aquarium’s six-story screen.  

It’s narrated by acclaimed oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, and pairs perfectly with a new 3,000-gallon coral reef exhibit – featuring more than 40 species of wildly colorful fish – that opened Sept. 6  in the popular Connecticut family attraction.

Filmed over three years in vibrant marine environments from the Bahamas to Fiji, the first IMAX^® movie directed by Jean-Michel Cousteau provides a compelling new look at a secret world within the ocean that is perhaps the biggest story of all – that the smallest life in the sea is the mightiest force on which we all depend. In gorgeous underwater sequences, audiences are introduced to over 30 species of animals – some no bigger than one inch long – and witness behaviors captured for the very first time, thanks to new filming technologies in ultra-HD 5K, slow motion, macro, and with motion control.

“Secret Ocean” magnifies – in the IMAX format, by thousands of times – the unique adaptations and ecological roles of such creatures as sea hares, Christmas tree worms, arrow crabs, basket stars, cleaner shrimp and clownfish. These animals may go unseen by divers and don’t get their own weeks on “Animal Planet,” yet they are vital to the health of a reef system.

“Since the 1940s, the Cousteau family has been deeply connected to the water. Several generations have grown up with our Calypso adventures, which revealed to the public what was a totally unknown world at that time,” Jean-Michel Cousteau said in a statement. 

“Thanks to the new technology developed specifically for us, I immediately understood that this was a revolution in underwater filming that would allow us to capture a whole new range of behaviors I had never before witnessed in my 69 years of diving. ‘Secret Ocean’ takes us one step further in the discovery of the ocean in a way my father, Jacques Cousteau, could have only imagined.”

Diving alongside marine biologist Holly Lohuis, Cousteau provides a new view of the underwater world that will leave audiences in awe of the beauty and diversity of the oceans – the source of all life on our planet – and inspire an even stronger desire to protect what they have seen for the first time, or re-discovered along the journey.

“Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean” is produced by Ocean Futures Society & 3D Entertainment Films, and distributed worldwide by 3D Entertainment Distribution. It was written by Pamela Stacey. Gavin McKinney served as director of photography. Dr. Richard Murphy was the chief scientific advisor. The original musical score was written and performed by Christophe Jacquelin.

One IMAX movie is included with admission to The Maritime Aquarium, which is $22.95 for adults, $20.95 for youths (13-17) and seniors (65+), and $15.95 for children (3-12). Kids under 3 get in for free.  Learn more about the IMAX movies (even view trailers), exhibits, programs, study cruises and special events  – and purchase advance tickets – at www.maritimeaquarium.org.  For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Her Crowd: New Art by Women from Our Neighbors’ Private Collections @ the Bruce Museum

Only yesterday, it seems, one was hard-pressed to name more than a handful of successful women artists; now the list would be extensive, and the choices rich and varied. Although numerous recent exhibitions have featured women's art, the collecting of art created by women has received scant attention. In fact, private collections are in the process of being dramatically transformed, shifting to focus on contemporary artists, women in particular.

Image: 
Jenny Saville
The Mothers, 2011
Oil and charcoal on canvas, 106 5/16 x 86 5/8 in.
Collection of Lisa and Steven Tananbaum
© Jenny Saville.

The Bruce Museum's new exhibition- Her Crowd: New Art by Women from Our Neighbors' Private Collections will run through January 2, 2017. Greenwich and the nearby communities in Fairfield and Westchester counties are home to a number of the finest contemporary collections, and thus to some of the most exciting art by women being made today.

Her Crowd will offer the rare opportunity to see what some of America's most influential collectors of contemporary art consider beautiful, important, and compelling. Themes specific to women continue to be of significance: motherhood, food, sexuality; beauty and its discontents; stereotypes of femininity and their undoing; intersections of gender and race. Equally important for Her Crowd is the current powerful resurgence of abstraction in its myriad forms: minimalist patterning, expressive mark-making, and painterly exuberance. Many artists represented in the show traffic in unexpected collisions: of the second and third dimension, of the carefully crafted and the found object, of the concrete and the immaterial.

Running the gamut from established figures to brilliant newcomers, the exhibition includes remarkable work by Yayoi Kusama, Kiki Smith, Betye Saar, Annie Lapin, Margaret Lee, Carol Bove, Dana Schutz, Jessica Stockholder, Jenny Saville, and Tara Donovan, among others. Her Crowd: New Art by Women from Our Neighbors' Private Collections will offer a glimpse into the exciting interchange between contemporary artists and their passionate collectors.

The exhibition is co-curated by Kenneth E. Silver, New York University Professor of Modern Art and Bruce Museum Adjunct Curator of Art, and Mia Laufer, PhD candidate (Washington University in Saint Louis) and Zvi Grunberg Resident Fellow.

The Bruce Museum is located on One Museum Drive in Greenwich Connecticut and is open Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Doors close 1/2 hour before closing and the last admission is at 4:30 p.m.

Westport Country Playhouse Announces 2016-17 Family Festivities Series from December through April

Westport Country Playhouse announces its 2016-17 Family Festivities Series on selected Sundays from December through April, featuring musical productions based on classic and new children's stories. The six-show series includes the favorite tale, "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat," and a new show, "Twinkle Tames a Dragon, The Musical," by Katharine Holabird, the author of the popular book series, "Angelina Ballerina." Performances are at 1 and 4 p.m. Tickets, at $20 each, are now on sale.

To get in a holiday mood, "A Very Electric Christmas," will be performed on Sunday, December 18, produced by Lightwire Theatre. This performance features timeless holiday hit tunes by Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey, Tchaikovsky, and more. Santa's helpers are putting the final touches on presents as a young bird finds himself lost at the North Pole. As he makes his way home, he meets dancing poinsettias, Nutcracker soldiers, and other festive characters. Recommended for ages 5 and up.

"Biscuit," Sunday, January 22, produced by ArtsPower, is a new musical featuring a frolicking little puppy named Biscuit who loves exploring, making new friends, and even stirring up some mischief. Along the way, Biscuit learns about the joy of having a family. With over 17 million books in print, "Biscuit" is a modern classic. Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

"Twinkle Tames a Dragon, The Musical," Sunday, February 12, is produced by Vital Theatre Company. From Katharine Holabird, the author of the classic book series, "Angelina Ballerina," comes a brand new show for all those who love fairies, friendship, dragons, and fun! Twinkle has always wanted a pet and is thrilled when Fairy Godmother grants her wish. While her friends get cute little pets, a naughty dragon named Scruffy is NOT what Twinkle had in mind! Can Twinkle tame her dragon in time for Fairy Pet Day? Recommended for ages 2 to 7.

"Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat," Sunday, March 19, produced by Childsplay, begins with a tall, red-and-white striped hat appearing at the door. Sally and her brother soon know that the Cat in the Hat is the most mischievous cat they will ever meet. Suddenly a rainy afternoon is transformed by the Cat and his antics. Will their house ever be the same? Can the kids clean up before mom comes home? With some tricks (and a fish) and Thing Two and Thing One, with The Cat in the Hat the fun's never done! Recommended for ages 3 and up.

"Pete the Cat," Sunday, April 2, produced by Theatreworks USA, finds Pete the Cat caught rocking out after bedtime. The cat-catcher sends him to live with the Biddle family to learn his manners – and boy, are they square! But for the groovy blue cat, life is an adventure no matter where you wind up. The minute Pete walks in the door, he gets the whole family rocking, except young Jimmy, the most organized second grader on earth. But, when Jimmy draws a blank in art class, Pete is the perfect friend to help him out. Together, they set out on a mission to learn about inspiration and friendship – all the way to Paris and back in a VW bus. Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

In conjunction with the Family Festivities Series, the Playhouse will once again host a book collection for Read to Grow, Inc., a statewide nonprofit organization that helps parents take an active role in their children's literacy development by providing free children's books to families with limited access and to community resources that serve them. At each Family Festivities performance, bins will be located in the Playhouse lobby for donations of gently used and new children's books which will be given to families and programs in the greater Fairfield County area through Read to Grow.

Everyone in the audience requires a ticket. For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org.  To sign up for a monthly newsletter on all there is to see and do in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.fairfieldcountyct.com

About Westport Country Playhouse

The mission of Westport Country Playhouse is to enrich, enlighten, and engage the community through the power of professionally produced theater worth talking about and the welcoming experience of the Playhouse campus. The Playhouse creates this relationship with the community and provides this experience in multiple ways by offering: Live theater experiences of the highest quality, under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos, from May to October; educational and community engagement events and opportunities to further explore issues presented by the work on stage; special performances and programs for students and teachers with extensive curriculum support material; Script in Hand playreadings throughout the year to deepen relationships with audiences and artists alike; the renowned Woodward Internship Program training program during the summer months for aspiring theater professionals; Family Festivities presentations from November through April to delight young and old alike and to promote reading through live theater; and the beautiful and historic Playhouse campus open for enjoyment and community events year-round. The value of the Westport Country Playhouse to all it touches is immeasurable.

Winter Wonderland @ New Canaan Nature Center Dec. 17

To unwind from all the pre-holiday hustle and bustle, The New Canaan Nature Center located on 144 Oenoke Road is hosting a Winter Wonderland event on December 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This family fun event is a perfect way to start a family tradition or to continue one.

Santa will be at this festival and kids, families and even pets can have their photo from 11:30 am - 2 pm taken with the jolly man in red! Photos are free but donations are greatly appreciated. Afterward, kids can marvel at the holiday express model train display depicting the charming town of New Canaan.

For all the sleuths in attendance, the New Canaan Nature Center has organized a Wacky Winter Scavenger Hunt, plus Holiday Stories, Crafts, & Carols to set the mood. Don't miss out on the open fire where chestnuts and marshmallows are roasting. Snacks are also available at the red and green cafe.

A special highlight is the horse  drawn wagon ride through the woods of this beautiful nature center, keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. Wagon rides are $5 per person.

Another special highlight of this event is the 4th Annual Family Gingerbread House Creation Contest.  Plan ahead because this is a first come first serve event and it is best to register now.  

Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members, adults and kids under 2 are free.

Cooking Down the Ages: Cookbooks and Recipes @ Pequot Library

As part of the ongoing series of changing exhibitions that Pequot Library shares with the community, the next Special Collections of archives, rare books, and manuscripts on view in the Reading Room and Perkin Gallery at Pequot Library will be, Cooking Down the Ages: Cookbooks and Recipes.  The exhibition will be on view through February 5, 2017.

Explore the history of culinary literature spanning the Middle Ages to today, with a vivid selection of items from the Library’s Special Collections. This exhibition highlights the significance of food preparation over the ages. It includes the first printed cookbook (1475) and several nineteenth-century cookbooks including Mary J. Lincoln’s Boston Cookbook: What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking (1891), plus cookbooks written by contemporary culinary masters Julia Child, Mary Berry, and Sara Moulton.

The oldest entry of the exhibition is Bartolomeo Platina’s (1421-1481) De honesta voluptate et valetudine (“On honorable pleasure and health”), widely considered the first printed cookbook (1475). An Italian Renaissance humanist writer, gastronomist, and controversial Vatican librarian who presented recipes with a balanced and measured commentary on health, Platina compiled and circulated Roman ideas about fine dining throughout Europe.

Another key feature of the exhibition are cookbooks by famed American chef Fannie Merritt Farmer (1857-1915) and her teachers Maria Parloa and Mary J. Lincoln. Several cookbooks by celebrated chef Julia Child will be on view, including Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Also on display will be Accum’s Treatise on Adulterations of Food and Culinary Poisons (1820), the Southport Fire Department Cookbook, and colorful books featuring meatless options for vegetarians and gluten-free choices for the paleo-taste palate.

Holiday recipes wanted! The public is invited to submit a favorite holiday dish or dessert recipe either at Pequot Library’s Front Desk or email it to: specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org. The recipes will be added to the growing Pequot Community Cookbook.

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The sweet scent of gingerbread in Kent

The sweet scents will tease your sense of smell as you enter the quaint village of Kent CT. The rolling pins are spinning and creative minds of all ages are working hard to create dozens of  Gingerbread Houses. Ovens are filled to capacity and working overtime to get ready for the ANNUAL KENT GINGERBREAD FESTIVAL beginning on November 25 and running through December 31.

Gingerbread Houses of all shapes and sizes will be on display in many of Kent's beautifully decorated shop windows until December 31. As you approach Kent you will find yourself in what looks like a movie set of the perfect little New England town, twinkling lights will guide you through the unique one of a kind shops. What an enjoyable way to do your holiday shopping.

Lots of places feature colorful gingerbread houses for the holidays, but Kent, CT goes a step further. The whole town will take place in this sugary sweet celebration. Everyone is invited to follow the Gingerbread Walk through town to view imaginative and ingenious gingerbread delights. Visitors can enjoy the displays as they navigate the gingerbread map and solve the NEW mysterious riddle the Ginger Girls have cooked up this year. At the end, visitors  vote for their favorite creations. Displays are guaranteed to delight all ages!

 Should you be hungry after your Gingerbread Walk there are many temptations that will lure you, from a chocolate shop and baked goods to delicious culinary delights in one of Kent's many restaurants & cafés. In addition to gingerbread displays, Kent will have special holiday events every weekend, from the Annual Kent Holiday Champagne Stroll, wine tastings and even Pancakes with Santa to an old time horse-drawn carriage ride through town and a Messiah sing-along. For more holiday information a visit http://kentct.com/events/

Christmas at the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum

The Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, 192 Main Street, Torrington, is once again decorated for the Christmas season.  Built in 1900, this grand house was home to the Hotchkiss and Fyler families for more than half a century and in 1956, was bequeathed to the Torrington Historical Society.  The interior features impressive woodwork, painted and stenciled walls, original furnishings and collections of fine and decorative arts.  

The Society will offer guided tours of the first floor which is decorated for the Christmas season.  Tours will be available Thursday through Sunday, December 10^th through December 30^th.   Hours are 12-4 p.m; the last tour is at 3:30.  Admission is $10 for adults;  FREE to Torrington Historical Society members.  Children 12 and under are free. 

One of Connecticut’s best house museums, the Hotchkiss-Fyler House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  A tour of this house provides visitors with a rare opportunity to view an historic home as it was when last occupied.  At Christmas, the house takes on a particularly festive look.  This year, inspired by the icy landscape of winter and the season’s outdoor activities,  the Hotchkiss-Fyler House will take on a different appearance than in past years.  

Silver decorations and lights, combined with traditional decor, add a bit of sparkle against the paneled interior and gold stenciled walls.  Vintage sleds and skis, as well as skates manufactured at the Union Hardware Company of Torrington, will be on display.  The rooms on the first floor will be decorated with an array of Christmas trees and greenery.  One of the many trees will feature antique ornaments from a private collection while another will be decorated with vintage ornaments from the Society’s collection.  

Antique toys from the Society’s collection will be displayed as will a 1950s aluminum tree, both of which are sure to delight visitors.  In addition, the dining room table will be set for Christmas dinner with the fine china, crystal, silverware, and linens that belonged to Gertrude Fyler Hotchkiss, the last occupant of the house.

The house will be open select days, Thursdays through Sundays, beginning December 10^th and ending December 30th.   Closed Christmas Day.  The Torrington Historical Society welcomes new members.  Join now and your tour is free!   For more information, call (860) 482-8260 or visit www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org.

Flash Art Sale... The Skill of Hand and Head

The David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village will host its popular year-end flash art exhibit, 12X12 2016: The Skill of Hand & Head, on Saturday, December 10 with a reception from 6pm to 8pm. Original works by 53 local artists are all in a 12" x 12" format, priced at $100 each, and sold off-the-wall. Works will be replaced on the wall as they are sold. Remaining art will be on display through Saturday, January 7. The reception with refreshments is free and open to the public. A portion of the art sales will benefit the library.

12X12, with up to three pieces by each artist, is presented in a uniform grid on the Hunt Artwall creating a salon-style exhibit. Installed alphabetically by artist, all manner of genre and media are jumbled up together. The subtitle of the exhibit, "The Skill of Hand & Head," is meant as a tribute to our community artists and is an FDR quote from a fireside chat in 1938, referring to the economic power of the American worker.

Among the 56 artists declared at press time are eleven artists exhibiting in 12X12 for the first time: Pamela Berkeley, Lorraine Connolly, Bonnie Evans, Jill Gibbons, Scott Jack, Ken Musselman, Sue Pakula, Babs Perkins, Anouk Schmitt, Craig Wickwire, and Natalie Will. Returning artists include Heather Allyn, John Atchley, Lori Barker, Mary Anne Carley, Erika Crofut, Robert Cronin, Karen Culbreth, Lynn Curtis, John Dildine, Virginia Dildine, Sergei Fedorjaczenko, Zoe Fedorjaczenko, Israel Fitch, Richard Griggs, John Hodgson, Shaari Horowitz, Joey Jablonski, Gail Jacobson, Amanda Kauftheil, Sallie Ketcham, Garth Kobal, Michael Lampro, Danielle Mailer, Louise March, Willie Marlowe, Sarah Martinez, Randy McKee, Roger McKee, Lonnie Miles, Hope Mongeau, Terri Moore, Patty Mullins, Phyllis Nauts, Janet Newman, Charles Noyes, Karin Noyes, Joan Palmer, Robert Andrew Parker, Bernie Re, Tom Schaefer, Diane Schapira, Joel Schapira, Annike Timmermans, Kathy Wismar, and Judith Wyer.

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8th Annual Greenwich Reindeer Festival & Santa’s Village

Once again this year Santa and his live reindeer -Dancer, Dasher and Prancer - are coming back for the 8th Annual Greenwich Reindeer Festival & Santa's Village to an exciting NEW HOME, "the North Pole on North Street," Sam Bridge Nursery & Greenhouses, 437 North Street, Greenwich, Connecticut, through December 24, 2016.

The cherished town tradition continues at this expansive nursery where visitors can have their photo taken with Santa, meet the reindeer and also ride on the Winter Wonderland Carousel and the North Pole Polar Express Train, all just minutes from downtown Greenwich. Parking is free.

While waiting for the reindeer to arrive in the afternoon, everyone can enjoy special refreshments, face painting by Faces by Wells and balloon artists. Throughout the four weeks, the reindeer will make Sam Bridge their home, thanks to Reindeer stable sponsor, Pepsi, and children, adults, corporate groups and even pets (on leashes) can have their photo taken with Santa at Santa's Village, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich. Photo packages begin at $29.99 and include a gift bag filled with promotions redeemable at participating downtown Greenwich stores. Rides on the Winter Wonderland Carousel and North Pole Polar Express Train are $4 per person. Family package prices are available.

Hours for the Photos with Santa, train and carousel rides are Monday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reindeer feeding times will take place daily at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The reindeer will depart on December 23 but Santa will remain for photos until 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve. For more details on this magical holiday tradition, visit www.Greenwichreindeerfestival.com

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