Holiday Food and Wine Festival at the Warner Theatre

The Warner Theatre on Main Street in Torrington is hosting it's annual gala Holiday Wine and Food Tasting on Friday, November 6 from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  This event promises and exciting evening of lavish wines and delectable food in the beautiful environment of this Art Deco theatre. 

For 13 years, the Warner Theatre has hosted its Holiday Wine & Food Tasting fundraising event, drawing crowds of wine and food lovers from throughout Northwest Connecticut and beyond. This year's event features selections from over 30 international wine vendors, food selections from 15 area restaurants and a penny auction.

There is even a "VIP" room, now located in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, which includes a catered spread, private tasting of high-end wines, a small batch bourbon table, and live entertainment.

Tickets are $25 General Admission, $60 VIP. VIP tickets allow admittance to the VIP Room (limited availability). To purchase, call the Warner Theatre Box Office at (860) 489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org

For more holiday information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

About the Warner Theatre

Built by Warner Brothers Studios and opened in 1931 as a movie palace (1,772 seats), the Warner Theatre was described then as "Connecticut's Most Beautiful Theatre." Damaged extensively in a flood, the Warner was slated for demolition in the early 1980s until the non-profit Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts (NCAA) was founded and purchased the theatre. The Warner reopened as a performing arts center in 1983, and restoration of the main lobbies and auditorium was completed in November 2002. In 2008, the new 50,000 square foot Carole and Ray Neag Performing Arts Center, which houses a 300 seat studio theatre, 200 seat restaurant and expansive school for the arts, was completed. Today, the Warner is in operation year-round with more than 160 performances and 100,000 patrons passing through its doors each season. Over 10,000 students, pre K-adult, participate in arts education programs and classes. Together, with the support of the community, the Warner has raised close to $17 million to revitalize its facilities. NCAA's mission is to preserve the Warner Theatre as an historic landmark, enhance its reputation as a center of artistic excellence and a focal point of community involvement, and satisfy the diverse cultural needs of the region

Theodore Nierenberg: Photographs from His World Travels at the Bruce Musuem

Theodore Nierenberg (1923–2009) was a prominent industrial designer and photographer. An engineer by training, Nierenberg – along with his wife, Martha -- founded Dansk International Designs in 1954, a business best known for tableware and house-wares of a distinctive Scandinavian Modern style. The company was started in the couple's garage in Great Neck, NY, after a trip to Europe during which they became interested in the work of foreign industrial designers. Dansk went on to operate for many years afterward from its headquarters in Mount Kisco, NY. After directing the company for more than thirty years, the Nierenbergs sold it in 1985, allowing Ted to concentrate on his many hobbies, which included most notably gardening, photography and traveling.

Having studied with many well-known photographers including Magnum photojournalist Ernst Haas, Nierenberg became an accomplished photographer. Over the years, he amassed a vast body of work, focusing mainly on two subjects: his garden estate and portraits of indigenous peoples taken during his extensive travels around the world.

A book of photographs by Mr. Nierenberg -- The Beckoning Path --was published in 1993, and documented Mr. Nierenberg's woodland garden, widely considered to be among the finest gardens in the Westchester/Fairfield area. Theodore Nierenberg: Photographs from His World Travels opens August 1 and runs through November 29.

The Bruce Museum is a museum of art and science and is located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and free for members and children less than five years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at https://brucemuseum.org/

November Events at the Glass House

The Glass Househttp://theglasshouse.org/ in New Cannan Connecticut, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation was built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson and is now open to the public for tours through November 30.  The estate is comprised of 49 pastoral acres and features fourteen buildings including the famous "glass house".  In addition to the structures located on the property there is a collection of 20th century art and sculpture in addition to changing exhibits.

This November, the Glass House is hosting three special events. The first event, SO-IL + Kays Varnelis takes place on Thursday, November 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu of SO - IL will discuss their work with historian and theorist Kazys Varnelis. Founded in 2008, SO - IL focuses on the development of new ideas and their viability in the world. The firm has been one of the most recognized emerging architectural practices in recent years.

The next event takes place on Saturday, November 21 from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. and is a study tour of the Glass House and the newly opened Grace Farms. On this fascinating tour participants will visit two significant achievements in architecture on a one-day study tour of Philip Johnson's Glass House and the newly opened River, a building designed by SANAA, on the grounds of Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT. Shuttle transportation between sites and afternoon snack provided.

Through the month of November, the new exhibition called Lipstick by Enoc Perez will also be on view. This exhibition will present a new body of work by the artist that refers to the Lipstick Building (1986), an elliptical office tower in Manhattan designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. In each work, Perez uses his characteristic style to explore the formal qualities of the Lipstick Building in a variety of palettes.

For more area information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Understanding the Brass Valley in Litchfield Hills

On, October 29, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at the Coe Memorial Park Civic Center located on 101 Litchfield S., Emery 'Ted' Roth II, a photographer and writer, will host a slide presentation and program titled Finding Brass Valley.  The slide show chronicles Roth's experiences as he chronicled the last vestiges of the brass industry in the Naugatuck Valley.

The slide show is based on a newly published book by Roth, Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry (Schiffer Press, October 2015). Both the book and the program pay homage to the industrial history of the Naugatuck Valley, a history which began in the early 19th century. Known in particular for its large scale brass manufacturing, the region eventually came to be known as the "Brass Valley" and mill towns such as Torrington and Waterbury developed into thriving cultural centers.

By the 21st century, few of those mills remained in operation. Ted Roth, on a mission to capture the vestiges of a disappearing aspect of American life, began photographing some of the last working brass mills in the Naugatuck Valley. During that time, the management and workers of these last brass mills invited him to shoot anywhere and at any time. This continued until 2014, when the last plant closed, and the tradition of soot-covered workers charging generations-old furnaces came to an end. His images, both artistic and documentary, capture the glowing metal flying through the air at a foundry in its final days, the vast structures that housed industries, and the abandoned opera houses, train tracks, and other remnants of a once vibrant infrastructure and way of life.

Over 230 such images appear in Roth's book, Brass Valley. Ted Roth's program on October 29th will include a selection of his photographs from the book but he will also talk about what it means to try and find "Brass Valley", a place in time that has not quite vanished.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin!) To the Wilton Historical Society

 Avoid the mess at home!  The Wilton Historical Society is hosting a pumpkin carving event on Wednesday, October 28 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm that will be fun for the whole family.

Join museum educator Allison Reznik in the 1860 Abbott Barn at the Wilton Historical Society as she leads a fun Halloween pumpkin carving and decorating session for children and their adults.  Pumpkins available for purchase on-site from the Kiwanis Club or participants can bring their own pumpkin. The Wilton Historical Society will supply carving tools, craft materials, cider and cookies! 

Suggested for ages 8 and up.  Not a drop off program. $5.00 for members, $10 non-members.   Please register by email info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257

Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road/Rt 7, Wilton, CT  06897   203-762-7257   www.wiltonhistorical.org 

For more area event information www.litchfieldhills.com

Howl-O-Ween at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo

Howl-O-Ween  is an annual Halloween themed event at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo.  This family fun event takes place on Oct. 24, 30 & 31 from 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

This family-oriented event features activities and attractions geared toward children from 8-15, although brave youngsters have found the event to be quite enjoyable.

For the more timid, there are events such as magic shows, face painting, fortune tellers, dancers and more. Braver children (and parents!) can enter the zoo's special haunted attractions: The Haunted Hayride, Farmer Beardsley's Farmstead, and the Ghastly Greenhouse.

Tickets for this event are $12 presale and for Zoo members and $15 on the night of the event. The ticket purchase includes two haunted houses, a haunted hayride, all performances, face painting, carousel rides and more.  Food and beverages are not included, but are available at the Zoo's Peacock Cafe during the event. Parking at the zoo is free!

For tickets and more information http://www.beardsleyzoo.com/howl-o-ween

For more area information on Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

The Sherman Playhouse Opens The Insanely Campy Cult Masterpiece 'The Rocky Horror Show'

On Friday, October 23, The Sherman Playhouse will premiere the outrageous cult musical comedy THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, with Book, Lyrics, and Music by Robert O'Brien. The curtain rises at 8:00 p.m.

On the way to visit an old college professor, two clean-cut young people, Brad Majors and his fiancée Janet Weiss, run into trouble and seek help at the freaky Frankenstein mansion. However, little do they know that the estate is inhabited by alien transsexuals from the planet Transylvania, and Dr. Frank N. Furter is in the midst of one of his maniacal experiments. What transpires is nothing less than THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, one of the most deliberately kitschy, campy, funny, rock 'n' roll, sci-fi, gothic epics to ever grace the stage.

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW first premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London on June 19, 1973. The show made its Broadway debut at The Belasco Theatre on March 10, 1975. WNBC TV called it a "socko wacko weirdo rock concert." The cult play spawned an equally popular cult film, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," in September 1975, starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon.

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW runs October 23,24,25 29,30,31 at 8:00 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays, with two 2:00 p.m. Sunday matinees on October 18 and 25. There are one Thursday evening show at 8:00 p.m. on October 29, and the final performance is at midnight on Halloween, Saturday, October 31. Tickets for all shows are $30. THERE IS NO PRICING FOR CHILDREN AS THE SHOW IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE UNDER 12.

Reservations can be made online at www.shermanplayers.org or by calling the box office at (860) 354-3622. The Sherman Playhouse is a non-Equity theatre company located at 5 Route 39 North (next to the firehouse) in Sherman, CT.

For more fall events www.litchfieldhills.com

A Walking Tour at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum Sheds Light on life, “Behind the Scenes,” at Elm Park

For history buffs and Downton Abbey fans, Curator Kathleen Motes Bennewitz will lead an exclusive walking tour of The Stairs Below: The Mansion's Domestic Servants, 1868-1938 on Oct. 21, 2015, 11 a.m. at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT.

Anne Louisa Lockwood with Children. Legrand and Louisa Lockwood were loving parents to six children, ages 25, 23, 17, 12, 8, and 6 years of age when they moved to the mansion in 1868.

Viewers will experience a renewed vision of life at "Elm Park" during its seven decades as a private residence for the Lockwood (1868-73) and Mathews (1876-1938) families. Bennewitz will share, for the first time, the history of the mansion's servants who worked and lived under this roof. Costumed vignettes, historic photographs, artifacts and the newly restored Servants' Quarters will help bring to life the 'invisible' staff whose hard work and long hours kept the household running smoothly. Follow a servant's route through the mansion, counting the steps taken, and come to grasp the toil and drudgery of their 10-hour days and taxing routines in such a large and opulent residence. Bennewitz will also touch upon some of the relationships that developed over the decades between staff and the wealthy owners.

Trade card for Sapolio Soap, undated. Courtesy Historic New England 

The lectures are $25 for members, $30 for non-members per session. Limited availability, please RSVP by Friday, Oct. 16, 2015. The price includes the walking tour and lunch courtesy of Michael Gilmartin's Outdoor Cookers Catering & Event Planning. Please contact info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or 203-838-9799, ext. 4 to purchase tickets.

For more information www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com  For area information  www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com