Forest Faeries & Woodland Wizards Festival Coming To Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury

Faeries are mystical little people who inhabit the land, living in harmony with nature. Come enjoy a day of magic and imagination on Saturday, July 15 when Flanders will become inhabited by the “wee folk”!

It will be a magical day of viewing faerie houses that will enchant the trails and grounds. Flanders is located at 5 Church Hill Road in Woodbury. The activities will be based at the center’s Sugar House area which is a quarter mile up from the intersection of Flanders and Church Hill Road. 

There will be crafts, animals, Cyril the Sorcerer, unicorn and tractor rides, games, face painting, vendors, surprises and food with a magical twist. The magic continues with a Costume Contest and Faerie & Wizard Parade, live bird presentation and woodcarvers on site creating wizard staffs and wands!

The festival is being held from 10Am to 3PM that day. Admission to the festival is $7.00 per person and free for children aged 2 and under.

Participants are invited to build their own Faerie/Wizard house for display at the festival. Each participant will have a 4 foot by 4 foot outdoor space, in which to display the miniature home and “landscaping.” 

Organizers suggest working with a base structure, which could be a bird house or milk carton, adding “towers” and “turrets,” using paper towel tubes or tooth paste boxes and decorating inside and out with natural materials, highlighted by artificial flowers, doll house furniture or other creative elements. 

Houses must be set up between 8 and 10 a.m. on July 15 at Flanders. Ribbons will be awarded in various categories for the best designed faerie dwellings.

Railway Post Office Dog Day at the Danbury Railway Museum

On Saturday, July 15, the Danbury Railway Museum will host a celebration honoring the legacy of Owney, the Railway Post Office dog. A centerpiece of the day will be the museum's fully-restored Pennsylvania Railroad circa-1910 Railway Post Office (RPO) car. The museum at 120 White Street is open from 10am to 4pm. Admission for this event is $8.00 (under 3 is free) which includes a train ride, access to all activities, and a free hot dog!

Owney was a stray dog which found its way into the Albany, NY post office in 1888 and was soon adopted by the Railway Mail Service clerks and became the mascot of this elite government service. He traveled throughout the state, and then all over the country, in the RPO cars, eventually venturing around the world as a U.S. Post Office Department "emissary" in 1895. In
2011, the U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp to honor him. Owney has been preserved and is on display at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. Visitors to the museum on the 19th will hear the true story of Owney, the mascot of the U.S. Railway Mail Service, and can tour the lovingly-restored RPO car.

The "Railyard Local" – a short train ride in a 1920's passenger coach or a vintage caboose pulled by a 1947 GE "44-Tonner" or ALCo RS-1 locomotive – will take visitors through the historic rail yard and past over 60 vintage railroad cars and locomotives, including a Boston & Maine steam locomotive built in 1907. Riders will have an opportunity to "go for a spin" on the operating turntable. Trains depart hourly from 10:30 to 2:30. Of course, the fascinating exhibits inside the restored 1903 Danbury station will be open, along with a fully-stocked gift shop. The model train layouts inside will also be operating.

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. For further information, visit the Website, email to info@danburyrail.org, or call the museum at 203-778-8337.

Jones Family Farm Summer Garden Cooking Classes

Once again this summer, Jones Family Farms located on 606 Walnut Tree Hill Road in Shelton is offering a series of summer garden cooking classes that begin on July 20 and run through August 24.  The classes focus on farm fresh ingredients that are grown in the farm garden and highlight  the preparation of easy, fresh-picked, healthy meals.

At the Kitchen Classroom, participants help the farm chef prepare the seasonal fruits and vegetables which are used in the evening's recipes. Each summer class includes a "Harvest Tour" of the Kitchen Garden (weather permitting). The evening concludes with a relaxed sit-down supper accompanied by a glass of Jones wine, and an in-season fruit dessert prepared by their kitchen team. Eating together is their favorite way to honor and celebrate farmers and your time on the farm!

The Summer Series begins on July 20 with a Greek Inspired Idyll that includes a menu of Chickpea patties with tzaziki sauce, sautéed zucchini, Greek salad, and a yogurt parfait with honey strawberry sauce.  The next class is just in time for prime berry season and is called You Can't Beat Blueberries!  The menu of this class held on July 27 will include: Frittatas with ricotta & blueberry chutney, shaved beets with orange, green salad with seasonal fruit & blueberry vinaigrette, and end with a  scrumptious summer blueberry pie.

Jones Family Farms is offering three cooking classes in August. The first, on August 10 is called the "New" All American Cookout and will include: Black bean burger with homemade summer salsa, green bean & potato salad, roasted sweet corn, fresh coleslaw, and Elisabeth Jones' double good blueberry pie. Get ready to head to the southwest on August 17 when the class will feature a Santa Fe Fiesta.  This menu includes: Corn soup with adobo swirl, Santa Fe enchiladas with red & green chili salsa, southwest salad, and ground cherry squares.  The final summer class takes place on August 24 and the theme is a Provencal Picnic that includes the following items on the menu: Ratatouille tart, French potato salad, herb salad with artichoke hearts, fresh garden carrots, and an artesian cheese plate. 

The cost for each class is $70/person and all classes taught on Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm

Summer Birding Walks with Milan Bull at Deer Pond Farm

Milan Bull, The Connecticut Audubon Society’s senior director of science and conservation, and Cathy Hagadorn, program director, will lead early-morning guided bird walks this summer at Deer Pond Farm in Sherman, Conn. This is a great opportunity to view Connecticut Audubon’s new birding hotspot, recently received as a generous bequest from the estate of Kathryn D. Wriston. At this time, the Sanctuary can only be viewed by the public when accompanied by Audubon staff. 

Deer Pond Farm Sanctuary is a prime birding area. It sits in the highlands along the Connecticut and New York border with 20 miles of trails through 835-acres of rugged hardwood forest, meadows and wetlands. About 100 species of birds have been reported on or near the property during breeding season. The walk will include birding by ear as well as an overview of Deer Pond Farm and its importance as an ecologically diverse conservation property.

The walks start at 8 a.m. on July 12, 18, 21 and 26, and are approximately two hours long with two miles of moderate elevation change. All levels of birders are welcome. Be sure to bring water, bug spray, sunscreen and binoculars if you have them. Dress for the weather; walks are cancelled in the event of rain.

Walks are free for CAS members and $5 for nonmembers; groups are limited to 15 and reservations are required for each one. To register, visit: www.ctaudubon.org/summerbirding, or call 860-799-4074, x105.

Deer Pond Farm is located at 57 Wakeman Hill Road, Sherman, Conn. Walkers will meet in the parking area near the flagpole and birdfeeders. Learn more about the Deer Pond Farm sanctuary at www.ctaudubon.org/deer-pond-farm.

Burning of Fairfield Walking Tours July 9

Go back in time with the Fairfield History Museum located on 370 Beach Street as they once again offer the historic walking tours -- "The Burning of Fairfield"!  On this tour, you will experience the Town's burning as if you were there by walking in the foot steps of local residents that experienced the attack.  Participants will learn about the events surrounding the attack on Fairfield at the time of the American Revolution.

The tour begins with costumed tour guides at the classic Fairfield town green with its lovely Congregational Church and colonial homes. Stroll back in time while exploring the history and events surrounding the attack on Fairfield by the British on July 7-8, 1779.

 Listen to the Proclamation from British General William Tryon and Admiral Collier, to the people of Connecticut. Hear the anguished words of Eunice Burr, as she witnesses the ransacking and destruction of her home, at the site where it happened.

Young William Wheeler's voice speaks to you of his family's struggle to evacuate the town and his feelings of pride at the heroic actions of the local militia and the Fort at Black Rock as they work to fend off the Crown Forces.

Think about the somber after action report of Reverend Andrew Eliot as he reflects on the events of those two days in July, and their meaning for the town and its future.

It is recommended that you register for this tour in advance to guarantee your spot on the tour.  Tickets may be purchased online; adults are $10 and Students are $5. The tours are offered on July 9  12:30 pm - 2 pm. 

Connecticut Art Trail Welcomes Three New Members

The Connecticut Art Trail, a collaboration of world-class museums and historic sites across the state, welcomed three new and returning members in 2017: Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, and Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

The CT Art Trail began as the CT Impressionist Art Trail in 1995; it has since grown considerably to expand the group’s scope beyond Impressionism to showcase the diversity of collections within the state.

“As a founding member of the Connecticut Art Trail, the Florence Griswold Museum has seen the Trail grow from representing museums specializing in Impressionist art to embracing the variety of Connecticut’s contribution to American art. We value our association with the state’s finest art institutions. Participation in the group is one of the most effective tactics in our yearly marketing plan,” notes Tammi Flynn, Director of Marketing at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme.

New CT Art Passport

The collaboration between the 18 CT Art Trail members makes it possible for CT residents and visitors alike to visit all member museums within one year with a $25 Art Passport. The Art Passport is an enhanced version of the previous Art Pass, which will offer pass-holders additional benefits, discounts, free gifts, and a valuable cultural experience suitable for all generations. The Passport has a $90+ value, and is available to buy at any member museum and online at http://ctarttrail.org/the-art-pass/ starting May 1, 2017.

The upgraded Passport is made possible by an exclusive sponsorship from Delamar Hotels.

“The Delamar Hotels and the Greenwich Hospitality Group are delighted to partner with the Connecticut Art Trail and its wonderful array of 18 member institutions, said Charles Mallory, Founder and CEO of Greenwich Hospitality Group. “We pride ourselves on delivering a level of hospitality and culinary excellence that will nourish the visitor experience in the same way that the Art Trail members will stimulate their patrons and Passport holders.”

About the Connecticut Art Trail

The Connecticut Art Trail is a nationally recognized partnership between eighteen world-class museums and historic sites, created to promote Connecticut's rich cultural assets as part of a travel experience.

The Trail was launched in 1995 as the Connecticut Impressionist Art Trail, celebrating Connecticut's ten museums and historic sites that highlighted American Impressionism. In 2005, the member museums voted to expand its membership beyond Impressionism to include even more quality museums and historic sites, increasing the membership to eighteen today. This strategic initiative was accomplished in order to reach a broader audience and showcase the diversity of collections within the state. The Connecticut Art Trail also offers the Art Passport, granting visitors one-day access to each museum along the trail for a small fee. More information about the Art Trail can be found online at ctarttrail.org.

Ruth Miller and Andrew Forge @ Washington Art Association Gallery thru Aug. 5

The Washington Art Association & Gallery has announced "Ruth Miller and Andrew Forge", a comprehensive exhibition bringing together paintings and drawings from their widely acclaimed careers.

Ruth Miller, a painter of still life and landscape, lives and works in Washington Depot, Connecticut. Although working occasionally from memory, the artist paints mostly from observation. For her no two cabbages, no two pitchers are alike; each object has its unique and formal presence, with attention paid to the way forms press against each other and shape the space around them.

Through her keenly observed drawing and sensuous expressive brushwork, her intimate portraits of simple domestic vessels along with fruits and vegetables are infused with life and radiant color which reveal their unique personalities. Forms and shapes are simultaneously specific and suggested; colors are faded and brilliant, capturing and abbreviating details creating an intoxicating atmosphere of simplicity and beauty.
Andrew Forge, born in England, spent his early career in London. In the 1970's, he married the painter Ruth Millerand moved to the United States, where he continued painting, writing and teaching. For over two decades he served as dean and professor at the Yale University School of Art.

The paintings of Forge "stand as poetic meditations on the process of perception," wrote Lisa Russell in 2001. He worked in dense but nuanced arrangements of dots, derived from close observation of ''places, seasons, times of day, conditions of light.'' The dots usually cannot be read as specific imagery, but sometimes they hover on the edge of representation, evoking trees, a pond or other aspects of nature. These paintings were made, it seems, to be soaked up rather than simply looked at. Their colors resonate in the mind, poetically echoing moods of nature.
Andrew Forge is also celebrated as a writer on art. He is best known for his writings on Degas, Monet, Manet, Klee and Rauschenberg.

Ruth Miller and Andrew Forge will begin on Saturday, July 1 and run through Saturday, August 5, 2017. An opening reception will be held on May 6 from 4:00- 6:00PM. Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 10 am - 5 pm.

For more information, please contact the Washington Art Association & Gallery by telephone at 860.868.2878 www.washingtonartassociation.org

Take an art class with a Professional Artist this summer

Karen Rossi an internationally acclaimed artist is holding art programs this summer in Norfolk from July 24th to August 4th (Monday through Friday) at the Church of Christ Congregational on the Norfolk Green, at the intersection of 44 and 272. The hours are 10 to 3pm. Ages 9- tween.

The project participants will be working on is a public art project for the Abundant Love Project. This project originates with a Carlsbad mother who is turning heartache into hope and finding inspiration in the least likely place, a rock on the ground.  Her effort to make others smile by leaving hand-painted rocks and little love notes hidden for others to find, is literally saving lives around the world. 

Each student will have a sketchbook (focus on journaling as we adventure on our walks through downtown). Highlights of the program are  visits to the library which houses an art gallery, The Artisans Guild, and the Yale Summer School of Art and Music, where students will meet with Artists, learn about their process, & their work.

You can sign up for the week of July 24, July 31 or by the day in Karen's  online store. The cost is 175 per week, $40 a day. It's limited to 12 students -so that each class has a ratio of four students per one adult/per day.