Brew-Ski Fest Oct. 11 in Salisbury

Beer, brats and live music are featured as the 6th Annual Brew-Ski Fest returns bigger and better than ever to the Salisbury Fall Festival on Sunday, Oct. 11th 2015 at Satre Hill in Salisbury.

The event  is sponsored by Stateline Wine and Spirits and hosted by the Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) boasts a record number of breweries in attendance this year according to Stateline representative and Brew-Ski organizer  with more than 30 breweries signed up.  Popular brands like Big Elm, City Steam, Charter Oak, Goose Island, Sam Adams and Berkshire Mountain will return as well as new names like Black Hog, Broad Brook and Fool Proof.

Live music also returns to the Brew-Ski this year when the popular local band The Nice Ones perform. NASCAR Dave and his group will serve up brats and burgers with proceeds to benefit the Country Food Drive.

Tickets for Brew-Ski Fest cost $30 per person in advance and are available at Stateline Wine and Spirits in Canaan, 860 824-7295 and Ledgebrook Spirit Shop in Winsted 860 379-4216. Tickets will cost $35 the day of the event.  The tented tasting will be held rain or shine.  For more information visit http://www.brewskifest.com.

Experience “Nature as Healer” Program at Flanders

On Sunday, October 18, learn how to quickly access Nature's restorative power, discover nature's subtle language and enhance your ability to access the healing qualities the natural world offers. 

Flanders hosts teacher, artist, and writer Marlow Shami, M.S. who will combine mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques and sensory ecology in this restorative afternoon.

Begin your journey beyond the deafening onslaught of the technology-saturated world with a guided meditation inside the historic Flanders Studio. Continue your experience with a peaceful excursion soaking up the natural beauty of the Flanders’ Van Vleck Sanctuary.

Specializing in the healing connection between humans and the natural world, Marlow Shami conducts Nature as Healer workshops and talks throughout New England.

The group will meet at the Flanders Studio which is located at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Roads in Woodbury at 1PM. The Cost is $10 member and $15 for non members. Those wishing to lie down during meditation are invited to bring a yoga mat with them.

Registrations are being taken online at www.flandersnaturecenter.org.or call (203) 263-3711 Ext. 10 for more information.

For more area event information www.litchfieldhills.com

Ride a vintage train to the pumpkin patch at Danbury RR Museum

It's the Fall harvest season so what better way to celebrate and welcome in the cooler weather than with a short ride on a vintage train to the Danbury Railway Museum's Pumpkin Patch. This popular annual family event will take place on October 10-11, 17-18 and 24-25; Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4:00 p.m. with the last train at 3:30 p.m. at the museum, with trains departing hourly beginning ½-hour after opening each day. Admission is $10.00 for ages 2 and over; children under 24 months are free.

Visitors will ride the Pumpkin Patch Train through the historic rail yard in a 1920's passenger coach, pulled by a vintage ALCo RS-1 diesel-electric locomotive* to the special pumpkin patch where each child will receive a free pumpkin. 

Of course, the exhibits, artifacts, and multiple operating model train layouts inside the restored 100-year old Danbury station will be open for your education and entertainment. The kids can also enjoy the free activities such as the "coloring station," temporary tattoos, cider & cookies, and more. There is a fully-stocked gift shop on the premises. No reservations are required; the event will be held rain or shine. Children are encouraged to come in costume.

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 and has many artifacts of area railroading on display, including over 70 vintage railroad cars and locomotives. For further information, visit the Web site at http://www.danburyrail.org, or call the museum at 203-778-8337.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Bruce Museum 34th Annual Outdoor Arts Festival

 The Bruce Museum’s 34th annual Outdoor Arts Festival takes place rain or shine on Museum grounds on Columbus Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 10- 11, from 10 am to 5 pm. More than 90 artists from across the country, many new to the Bruce Museum festival, will be showcased this year. The juried works include painting on canvas, board and paper, mixed media in 2D and 3D, drawings and graphics, including digital media, sculpture and photography. All works are available for purchase and artists are on hand to discuss their work.

“The Bruce Museum's Outdoor Arts Festival has been ranked in the top 100 nationally among Fine Arts Fairs, drawing strong competition among artists who want to participate in the show,” says Sue Brown Gordon, the Festival’s organizer. “We are delighted this year to be welcoming many new artists and award winning veterans to the festival. What makes this festival so special is that it is an originals only show. The works being displayed are considered one-of-a-kind and of collectable merit.”

Live music, varied menu offerings, and children’s art activities are all available to provide family fun. Festival admission is $8 and includes admission to the Bruce Museum galleries. The Festival is free to Bruce Museum members and children less than 5 years old. Not yet a member? At the Festival entrance visitors will be able to join the Bruce Museum at a discount, and will receive instant free admission and many discounts both at the Festival -- many exhibitors offer discounts for Bruce Museum members -- and in the Museum store.

Visitors are asked to park on Museum Drive and Steamboat Road or in the Island Beach Parking lot near exit 3 off I-95. The Museum is a short walk from MetroNorth’s Greenwich railroad station. For information, visit www.brucemuseum.org, or call (203) 869-0376. 

For more area information visit www.visitwesternct.com

American Museum of Tort Law opened in Litchfield Hills

The American Museum of Tort Law, the nation’s first museum devoted to the legal system,

opened on September 26 in the Litchfield Hills town of Winsted, the home town of the museum’s

President, consumers advocate Ralph Nader.

After dedicating nearly half a century to battling businesses over issues such as dangerous

products, the 81-year-old Nader is spearheading the museum in a former downtown bank

building to celebrate the branch of law that offers relief to anyone who suffers injury from

wrongful acts of others, from careless drivers or neighbors to negligent corporations. The

nonprofit, educational institution hopes to make people aware of the pivotal role of tort law in

the protection of personal freedom and safety. And it will celebrate the historical and

contemporary achievements of the civil justice system.

According to museum director Richard L. Newman, former president of the Connecticut Trial

Lawyers Association, the new facility will include a timeline of the development of tort law and

a theater. Exhibits will tell in compelling fashion of cases large and small where tort law and the

right to trial by jury has protected individuals against wrongful injury.  Two dramatic examples

are Liebeck vs McDonalds, a case concerning scalding coffee, and Cipollone v. Liggett, where 

the plaintiff alleged that cigarette manufacturers knew -- but did not warn consumers -- that

smoking caused lung cancer and that cigarettes were addictive. The public will learn a lot more

than they generally know about these and other important issues, Newman promises.

Details of museum hours and events will be available on the web site tortmuseum.org.

For information about lodging, dining and other activities in the area and a free copy of UNWIND, a full-color, 152-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine throughout Fairfield County and the Litchfield Hills of Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.visitwesternct.com