Maple Sugaring the sweetest tradition in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County

It’s a sweet New England tradition—toasting old man winter out the door with delicious new maple syrup. As soon as days are above freezing and the sap begins to run, the annual spring ritual begins.

Turning thin sap into thick, fragrant syrup is a fascinating process and Western Connecticut, where sugar maple trees abound, is one of the best places to see it in action. More than a dozen sugar houses in Fairfield County and the Litchfield Hills invite visitors to see how it is done, from tapping the maple trees to collecting the sap to boiling down the thin watery sap until it turns to the thick, fragrant syrup.

A variety of settings, from farms and nature centers to museums are among the maple possibilities, most offering tastes as well as show and tell, and many have take-home syrup for purchase as a sweet souvenir. While many sugarhouses invite visitors anytime during the first three weekends in March (see list below), some locations plan one festive day to celebrate the season.

The MAPLE Calendar

March 4-5

The Plymouth Maple Fest takes place this year on March 4 on the Plymouth Green, 10 Park St, on Rte. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be maple syrup boiling on an outdoor fire, live music with Fiddlin’ with Down Home Frolic, crafts for kids, maple ham and baked beans to snack on and even horse drawn hay rides. Best of all admission is free.

The Stamford Museum & Nature Centers starts the month in gala fashion with its annual Maple Sugar Festival slated for March 4 and 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Every year, the Museum places buckets on more than 200 maple trees on its 118-acre site, collecting sap to produce maple syrup in the little red sugarhouse on its Heckscher Farm. Visitors will see firsthand the process of tapping and collecting the sap. Kids can make a maple-themed craft, go on a scavenger hunt, have their face painted and join in the fun on Saturday for the Chef’s Challenge, using maple syrup to make delicious treats. On Sunday everyone can join in the popular pancake brunch.  www.stamfordmuseum.org

The Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington will have a different take on sugaring at its annual Pancake Festival on March 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Demonstrations will show how local Native Americans traditionally made maple syrup and its importance to their culture. Pancakes will be served with local maple syrup and there will be special activities for children. New this year is the Connecticut Valley Siberian Husky Club’s dog sledding and mushing demonstration. www.iaismuseum.org

Pancakes are also on the menu on March 5 from 8 a.m. to noon at the annual all you can eat pancake breakfast to benefit Flanders Nature Center at the Woodbury Emergency Services Building on Quassuk Rd. in Woodbury.

Flanders Nature Center is also hosting maple sugaring demonstrations at the Sugar House located on 5 Church Hill Rd. in Woodbury on March 4 and 5, 11 and 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. www.flandersnaturecenter.org

March 8 – 11

For those who can’t make the first weekend, March offers many other special events.

The Greenwich Land Trust is hosting two maple sugar events. The first is the Sugar Maple Winter Walk on March 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Duck Pond Hill on 12 Burning Tree Rd in Greenwich. Stroll through the American Chestnut Sanctuary and learn about their comeback in Connecticut. The highlight of this event is to watch a maple tapping to learn what goes into making the sweet stuff!  Walking conditions may be a bit tricky because the walk will be on uneven terrain.  The second event takes place on March 11 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Greenwich Land Trust located on 370 Round Hill Rd. in Greenwich. There will be an afternoon of of demonstrations on maple tapping and syrup boiling – learn what goes into making the sweet stuff! Many family fun activities are planned.  The Rain Date: Sunday, March 12. Pre-registration required https://gltrust.ejoinme.org/MyPages/EventRegistrationPage/tabid/815080/Default.aspx

 www.gltrust.org.

The Annual Maple Festival at Sweet Wind Farm takes place in East Hartland on March 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The busy day will include tree tapping, maple syrup and maple sugar making demonstrations with free syrup samples, a narrated slide show and video, tours, live music, and --almost everyone’s favorite activity-- a sugar-on-snow candy making demonstration. www.sweetwindfarm.net

March 18

The annual Open House at the Great Brook Sugar House on Sullivan Farm in New Milford takes place on March 18 from 10 am to 5 pm and is one of the programs provided for the community’s young people by the New Milford Youth Agency.  Some 1600 trees are tapped on property donated by local residents. Dozens of high school and college students assist in the collection, processing, packaging and sales of the syrup. At the Open House guides will escort visitors around the farm to various sites to see demonstrations reflecting a 300-year history of maple sugaring. Syrup and other maple products will be available for purchase. Everyone is invited to visit the Sugar House anytime smoke from the chimney says that the syrup kettles are a-cooking.

Syrup Saturday at the New Canaan Nature Center on March 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. is always a festive day. Events include tree-tapping demos, a maple sap boil down at the Sugar Shack, and a look at historic methods of making maple syrup plus a delicious Pancake Brunch.  Visitors are invited to join naturalists for a hike along "Maple Lane" to learn tree identification tips, then warm up around the campfire to share tall tales, and make a Maple craft to take home. www.newcanaannature.org

March 25 is also the date of the annual Maplefest! at the Sharon Audubon Center. From 12 noon. to 4 p.m. guided tours of the center’s sugaring operation that includes at working sugarhouse and a re-creation of Native American and early colonial sugaring methods. Watch as pure sugar maple sap is collected from the trees and turned into delicious maple syrup. Fresh syrup will be available for purchase, while supplies last, as well as locally made maple candy.

http://ct.audubon.org

Visit Any Weekend

The sugaring season starts early at large facilities like Lamothe’s Sugar House in Burlington, where the public is invited to see how syrup is made every weekend through March 30. This family owned operation began as a hobby with seven taps and has grown to over 4500 taps and a year-round showroom. Their shop offers a tempting array of unusual foods like maple mustard and maple apple butter plus original maple-themed items from embroidered aprons, decorating sets, and cupcake shaped rubber spatulas to a cupcake carrier in the shape of a big cupcake. www.Lamothesugarhouse.com

Another sugarhouse open to the public on weekends is Brookside Farm on 79 East Chestnut Hill Road in Litchfield. Started in 1999 as a second act to corporate careers, the owners' overall goal is to promote the resurgence of sustainable agriculture in Connecticut. On their 30 acres farm, they produce hay (for horses) and maple syrup (for people). Their maple syrup won 3 rd place in the 2014 International Maple Syrup tasting contest. Call  (860) 567-3890 before setting out to confirm the syrup operation. They are open for visits through March 30. 

The following sugarhouse locations all welcome visitors the first three weekends in March, and some, like Lamothe’s begin in February as well. Weather can alter schedules, so a call ahead is absolutely necessary to verify openings, hours and directions before making a trip.

Brookside Farm, 79 East Chestnut Road, Litchfield, 860-567-3805, mid-February-March

Brothers and Sons Sugarhouse, 998 Saw Mill Road, Torrington, 860-489-2719, mid-February-March

Dutton’s Sugarhouse, 28 Sunny Ridge Road, Washington, 860-0345, mid-February- March

Flanders Nature Center Maple Sugar House, Church Hill Rd., Woodbury, 203-263-3711, www.flandersnaturecenter.org

Great Brook Sugarhouse at Sullivan Farm, 140 Park Lane (Route 202), New Milford, 860-210-2030, mid-February-March, www.youthagency.org

Hilljack Sugar Shack, 74 Wilson Rd., Litchfield, 860-482-6052.

Institute for American Indian Studies, 38 Curtis Rd., Washington, 860-868-0518. www.iaismuseum.org

Kasulaitis Farm and Sugarhouse, 69 Goose Green Road, Barkhamsted, 860-379-8787, mid-February-March

Land of Nod Vineyard and Winery, 99 Lower Rd., East Canaan, 860-824-5225, www.landofnodwinery.com

Lamothe’s Sugar House, 89 Stone Road, Burlington, 860-675-5043,mid-February-March. www.Lamothesugarhouse.com

New Canaan Nature Center, 144 Oenoke Ridge Rd., New Canaan, 203 – 966-9577, www.newcanaannature.org.

Sharon Audubon, 325 Cornwall Bridge Rd., Sharon, 860-364-0520, www.sharon.audubon.org

Stamford Museum and Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 203-322-1646.

Sweetwind Farm, 339 South Rd., East Hartland, 860-653-2038, www.sweetwindfarm.net

Three Pond Meadow Farm, 240 Ramstein Rd., New Hartford,

860-482-3628

Warrup’s Farm, John Reed Road off Route 107, Redding, 203- 938-9403, www.warrupsfarm.com

West Hill Sugarhouse, 525 West Hill Road, New Hartford, 860-379-9672

Woodbury Sugarshed, 41 Washington Road, Woodbury, 203-263-4550, mid-February-March, www.woodburysugarshed.com

Learn to shoot like a pro @ Stamford Museum and Nature Center

If you love to take photos and have thought about how to evolve from an amatuer photographer to a professional photographer these two thought provoking workshops offered by the Stamford Museum and Nature Center just might motivate you to make the leap!

On Wednesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. there will be a photography discussion with Julie Avellino, "Passion to Profits."  Julie Avellino is a photographer with work that will be on display at the Stamford Museum's POWERFUL yet FRAGILE: Connecticut's Waterways exhibition that opened in February 2017. 

She has also been called a renaissance woman, a muse, a soul coach and a power strategist. She develops strategies and insights for her clients that allow them generate revenue for their businesses and put order in their personal lives. Her workshops and speaker engagements combine her ability to boldly and unapologetically weave her strong creative mind and unfettered imagination with precise, candid business advice to clients who are ready to step into new markets and reinvent themselves along the way.

This session, Passion to Profits, will be a powerful, interactive, insightful and fast-thinking, hands-on workshop designed to move you from the idea and hobby you love to a profitable and scalable business opportunity designed by you, for you, and in support of your life goals. You will learn how to articulate your dream, how to get family on board, and how to balance your "day job" with your future goals.

A follow-up workshop, Everyday Photos to Professional Photos takes place on March 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Heather Liebensohn, a professional photographer based in Shelton, CT. She started 10 years ago photographing mostly weddings, and today she has a thriving business shooting events and concerts, doing commercial and fashion photography, and conducting atmospheric on-location photo sessions of families. She is also the creative director for her husband's commercial video business, Videoactive Productions.

One of the featured photographers of the POWERFUL yet FRAGILE: Connecticut's Waterways exhibition that opened in the Stamford Museum Galleries, Heather has been recognized at various art shows and contests. She's been published in many local magazines as well as on the home page of National Geographic.

For love, she shoots landscapes, edgy models in crumbling abandoned places, and documents outings with her family. At her workshop Heather will invite you to follow her on journey from taking everyday photos for love to becoming a professional photographer.

You can see the diverse facets of Heather's work on her main business website HeatherPrescottPhotography.com her personal blog where she documents her life and family adventures (even noting which places are autism friendly!) and ThatPhotographerGirl.com.

New England Carousel hosts trio of March events

The New England Carousel Museum located on 95 Riverside Ave. in Bristol has organized three fun events in March that are sure to chase away the winter doldrums!

The Chaparrals will perform live at the museum on March 18 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and the cover cost to hear this indie rock quintet band that is based out of Boston. Their music is best described as being strongly melodic with an emphasis on reflective lyricism and instrumental thematic parallelism, Chaparrals weave organic and synthetic sounds alike in and out of a lush sonic backdrop of ethereal and haunting beauty. This is the perfect time of year to get out with friends and enjoy a night of music and dancing on the museum's large wooden dance floor. Call 860-585-5411 to reserve a table or pay in advance.

To usher in spring, the New England Carousel Museum is hosting a spring ball with Al Fenton's Big Band on March 25. Tickets are $15 and pre-paid tables of 8 or more may be reserved ahead of time.

This is a BYOB event and snacks and set-ups will be available for purchase. Dress to impress and get out on the museum's large wooden dance floor in their ballroom as you swing, dip and jive to the live music. The Al Fenton Big Band performs a variety of music including blues, jazz and swing. This music lends itself to many styles of dancing, either alone or with a partner. This will be a night to remember, as you swing and jitterbug the night away. The museum will be filled with lights, music and, as always, their beautiful carousel animals. There will be many opportunities for fun festive photos and memories to cherish for years to come!

The month of March concludes with children in mind. On Sunday, March 26 the Princess Tea will take place at the Museum from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a tea perfect for a princess!  There will be face painting, dancing, story tellers and rides on the carousel and delicious snacks. Children are encouraged to wear their favorite princess dress and tiara...they will be treated like royalty!

Impressionist Master @ The Bruce Museum Greenwich

The Bruce Museum on One Museum Dr.in Greenwich and the Hôtel de Caumont Centre d’Art in Aix-en-Provence, France, are mounting a major monographic exhibition of the art of the French Impressionist Alfred Sisley (1839 – 1899). The first retrospective in the United States in over twenty years of this purest of all the major Impressionists, the show is comprised of about 50 of Sisley’s paintings from private collections and major museums in Europe and North America. The Bruce Museum will premiere the exhibition and be the only venue in the United States. This show will run through May 21, 2017.

A friend of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Sisley initially worked in the naturalistic landscape tradition of the Barbizon School but increasingly adopted a proto-Impressionistic style, creating a body of work that has an impressive internal consistency and cumulative authority. 

Throughout his career, Sisley adhered to the style of divided light and color, momentary effects of illumination, and an acute responsiveness to atmosphere that are the signature attributes of Impressionism. He dutifully painted en plein air in all manner of weather, recording his favorite sites in the environs of Paris – Bougival, Louveciennes, Marly-le-Roi, Saint-Mammès – in exhaustive detail, in all seasons, and under ever-changing skies. Born in Paris to British parents, Sisley studied the landscape paintings of Constable and Turner before enrolling in Charles Gleyre’s studio where he met Monet and Renoir. 

Little biographical information about his life has survived so his art must speak for itself, and does so with haunting beauty. The magic with which he was able to capture light sparkling on water, winter sun on snow, and trees rustled by a breeze create some of the most memorable Impressionist images.

Events Connected to this event:

Monday, February 27, 10:00 - 11:00 AM. Monday Morning Lecture Series. Laura Dickey Corey, PhD candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, will speak about Mary Cassatt's continuing ties to the US, in her art, life, and art advising, even while taking up permanent residence in France. Free and open to the public.

Monday, March 6, 10:00 - 11:00 AM. Monday Morning Lecture Series. Heidi Hirschl, Curatorial Assistant, MoMA, will speak about Degas: Impressions, which will consider Degas’s engagement in printmaking through the creation of Impressionist landscape monotypes. Free and open to the public.. Free and open to the public.

Graduate Student Symposium and Young Scholar Day

March 5, 1:00 - 4:00 PM. “Framing Nature” Graduate Student Symposium. MA/PhD students will present interdisciplinary papers that engage the multifaceted ways that artists and architects frame nature in their work. Advance registration through Eventbrite suggested: Free for Bruce members, and students and educators with ID, $10 for non-members. At the door: $10 Bruce members, and students and educators with ID, $20 non-members.

Film Series. The Great Artists: Their Lives, Times and Works – The Impressionists

Wednesdays from 10:30-11:45 AM. Free and open to the public. No reservations required. This film series chronicles the life, times and works of each featured artist and explores their stylistic trademarks. The programs also place each artist in historical context, highlighting the events that inspired his work and providing a clearer understanding of the creative process. The five programs in this collection provide an in-depth look into the fascinating world of the Impressionists and their art.
April 5: Manet
April 12: Pissarro
April 19: Monet
April 26: Degas
May 3: Renoir

Gunn Historical Museum Reopens with Reception

What better than an invitation to a historic open house of a Connecticut gem in late February.  The public is invited to an open house at the Gunn Historical Museum on Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 2-4pm, to view and participate in a new community-sourcing display in the Georgianna Middlebrook Room. They will even be serving George Washington’s famous “I Cannot Tell a Lie” Cherry Pie!

After having been closed to the public for over a year, the Gunn Historical Museum will now be open three days each week: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11am-2pm. Museum volunteers have been busy working behind the scenes inventorying the collection and conducting research in preparation for the upcoming permanent Washington history exhibit, and some of their discoveries will be on display. The open house is also an opportunity to meet and welcome Lisa Breese, the Museum’s new Operations Manager.

In the new one room display, created by the Gunn Museum’s Exhibition Committee, the community is invited to participate in the planning process of the upcoming permanent Washington history exhibit, while enjoying a retrospective display of past exhibits. We would like to collect your stories, objects, and photographs of the people, places, and events that gave rise to the unique town we know today. We’d like you to share the history of your family in Washington and your favorite Washington memories, and let us know what topics you think should be included in a permanent exhibit about the history of Washington, Connecticut.

The snow date for the open house is Sunday, February 26. The display in the Georgianna Middlebrook Room will be open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11am to 2pm. Additionally, research can be conducted in the Museum by appointment. The Gunn Historical Museum is located at 5 Wykeham Road, the intersection of Wykeham Road and Route 47, in Washington, CT. For additional information view www.gunnmuseum.orgor call 860-868-7756.