Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum explores the 1960s and its battle for preservation

The Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum located on 295 West Ave. in Norwalk has a special exhibition, Demolish or Preserve: The 1960s at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion through November 20, 2016.  This multimedia exhibit, curated by by Kathleen Motes Bennewitz has photographs, costumes, artifacts, and music that explores the fascinating and tumultuous decade of the 1960s.

It is impossible to remember the 1960s without thinking of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon, the Beatles arriving in the United States, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and—most hauntingly—the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Against this backdrop of turbulent cultural change and social unrest, was the nation's modern urban planning, which included the demolition of historic neighborhoods and irreplaceable buildings.

This exhibition will explore the fascinating and ground-breaking decade of the 1960s and the Mansion's connections to the revolutionary preservation battles and new landmark statutes of the era. It will also honor the museum's 50th Anniversary as it celebrates the bands of locals, led by the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, Inc. and the Common Interest Group, who fought to save the Mansion and secure its status as a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

With Europe's ongoing legacy of artistic and historic preservation and reuse as a model, in the 1960s concerned citizens brought national attention to the need for saving from demolition historically and architecturally significant structures in America. Jackie Kennedy, using her stature and influence, restored the White House's historic interiors; and just as the grand mansions of Fifth Avenue and Newport were slated for demolition, here in Norwalk LeGrand Lockwood's Civil War era palatial residence was faced with a similar fate. Recognizing that the demolition of this structure would be a great loss to the city, state, and nation, concerned citizens galvanized to save the mansion in one the most important and hard fought preservation battles in Connecticut's history.

General Admission to the Lockwood Mathews Mansion is Wed.-Sun., 12-4 p.m., $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6, 8-18. The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on schedules and programs please visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.

PALACE THEATER INVITES MOUSKETEERS TO ‘BE THEIR GUEST’

Disney fans will discover "A Whole New World" of live entertainment when the Palace Theater in Waterbury presents "Disney In Concert: Magical Music from the Movies" on Sunday, May 22 at 3:30pm. Tickets for the full length, multi-media concert range in price from $35 to $75 and can be purchased online at www.palacetheaterct.org, by phone at 203-346-2000, or in person at the Box Office, 100 East Main St. in Waterbury.

"Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies" offers Mousketeers of all ages an enchanting evening of symphonic arrangements that combine live orchestrations from the Walt Disney Studio songbook with synchronized film projections and live vocal performances by four Broadway caliber singers. Patrons will discover "It's a Small World" after all as they relieve iconic scenes from Disney's most popular films and experience their favorite soundtracks unlike ever before. From a sweeping Mary Poppins medley to the "Yo Ho" of Pirates of the Caribbean, the evening will feature live orchestrations from some of the most famous movie scores ever written including Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Aladdin and The Jungle Book.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

About the Palace Theater

The Palace's primary purpose is to revitalize the Greater Waterbury community through the presentation of the performing arts and educational initiatives in collaboration with area cultural and educational institutions. Its mission is to preserve and operate the historic Palace Theater as a performing arts center and community gathering place that provides a focal point of cultural activity and educational outreach for diverse audiences. For more information, visit: www.palacetheaterct.org.

Colonial Cookery and Customs for Kids at the Wilton Historical Society

When we think of spring in New England many of us think of asparagus.  On May 14 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the Wilton Historical Society is hosting a Colonial Cookery and Customs  workshop for kids in grades  4 – 8.  The workshop will include a special Connecticut recipe. 

While the food cooks, kids will learn about Colonial manners, morals and way of life.  This month, the children will be making Asparagus Forced in French Rolls. Tender asparagus, fresh from the garden, combined with fresh eggs, cream, nutmeg and French rolls would have been made by Colonial cooks into an easy and amusing spring offering, rather like a vegetable custard in a roll. The visual entertainment is that the asparagus stalks are presented poking through the browned crust of the roll, just as they would rise from their asparagus bed.
 

The workshops will feature relatively simple dishes made with local, seasonal ingredients.  The recipes used will be adapted for modern kitchens.  This is done for safety reasons, and also so that the attendees can recreate their meals at home.  All participants will sample their own cooking and take home recipe cards - as well as any leftovers! The children will learn how a Colonial kitchen would have operated, in order to appreciate the modern conveniences we take for granted.  Previous sessions have made bannock cakes, pease porridge, pickles and an amulet of green peas.  

Members: $15; Non-members $25. Space is limited --- please register by contacting

info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257. 

The Wilton Historical Society is located on 224 Danbury Road/Rt. 7, in Wilton; for more information www.wiltonhistorical.org. For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Study Tour- Gardens and Landscapes at the Glass House in New Canaan

On May 26 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. experience the gardens and landscape of the Glass House on a half day study tour led by noted scholar Maureen Cassidy-Geigerin celebration of the publication of her new book The Philip Johnson Glass House: An Architect in the Garden. Tickets for this program will include a complimentary signed copy of the book An Architect in the Garden.

Known as one of the world’s best and most recognizable modernist structures, the Glass House serves as an icon of twentieth-century landscape and architectural design. The Philip Johnson Glass House: An Architect in the Garden provides the complete story of the evolution of the landscape and building designs of the New Canaan campus. This tour will analyze the evolution of this architectural gem built on forty-nine acres with eleven Johnson-designed follies dating back from 1949 to 1995. With over half a century of their gardening and landscaping partnership, Philip Johnson and David Whitney produced a sublime and scenic setting for the Glass House and the site’s other structures. This site preserves some of the most innovative and exciting contributions to art, architecture, and landscape design.

Maureen Cassidy-Geiger is an internationally recognized curator, scholar and educator with special expertise in European decorative arts, patterns of collecting and display and the history of architecture, gardens and photography. She is also a free-lance contributor to Departures, Elle Décor, The Magazine Antiques and Bentley Magazine. She has been studying the Glass House landscape since 2010 and was featured in the 2011 article by Suzanne Gannon on the Glass House landscape, ‘Natural Artistry,’ published in New Canaan/Darien/Greenwich magazine.

Please note that tour participants must be able to climb hills of moderate grade and stand for extended lengths of time. We regret that visitors using wheelchairs or scooters are not permitted on this tour.

For more information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Party @ The Palace in Waterbury May 13

The “party of the decade” returns to Waterbury, CT, on Friday, May 13, 2016, as the Palace Theater celebrates the culmination of its eleventh season with Palace 10.1, the latest version of the theater’s wildly popular “Palace 10.0” tenth anniversary event, which sold-out last season.

Featuring six different parties in one location, Palace 10.1 engages guests in a one-of-a-kind experience that invites them to explore six different spaces throughout the theater, each buzzing with themed entertainment, specialty bars, plentiful food stations, and live music running the spectrum of musical interests.

The pre-party kicks off at 5p.m. outside on the theater’s loading dock with an array of craft beers, food trucks, and a live performance by local tribute band E2 “An Eagles Experience.” 

At 6p.m., the doors swing open to the Grand Foyer and into a Tuscan themed lounge where guests will enjoy hors d’ oeuvres, wine and light musical entertainment from soprano Marissa Famiglietti and her husband Shae Apland.

 From there, guests can venture to the Poli Club for an evening of cabaret with Broadway performer Trevor McQueen, mosey to the mezzanine for a country bar encounter with Nashville artist AJ Jansen, dance the night away at a trendy on stage club featuring special guest DJ Jim O’Rourke, Executive Director of the Greater Waterbury YMCA, and end the night on a high note with an interactive performance by Keys to the City’s dueling piano players in the orchestra lobby.

Admission to the event is $75 per person, which includes two complimentary drink vouchers and complimentary food stations throughout the theater. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online at www.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the Box Office, 100 East Main St. in Waterbury. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Palace Theater’s Annual Campaign.

For more area event information www.litchfieldhills.com

What's happening in New Preston

The businesses in the charming riverside village of New Preston located at the foot of scenic Lake Waramaug have planned several exciting events, sales and art exhibits for the month of May and in early June.

On May 7, for example, the Smithy Store and Gallery will host a local Makers Market from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the 2nd floor loft gallery of the store.  Visitors will find a wide selection of offers of products created by a variety of Connecticut artisans, including clay tiles and pots by Linda Boston of Boston Tile & Pot, jewelry by artists Elizabeth MacDonald, Missy Stevens and Terri Tibbatts, and others.  

On May 28, the Smithy will have an artist's reception for Ella Crampton-Knox whose artwork will hang in the gallery through July 10.  Ella paints stunningly beautiful, light-filled paintings of our breathtaking Connecticut countryside and shoreline. The work of Emily Kennedy will also be on display.  With a unique artistic eye, Emily shoots photos of her surroundings that continue to inspire her, including the nature and landscapes right outside her back door.

Ella Crampton Knox

J. Seitz and Co., a fine furniture, accessories and apparel store is celebrating the work of Michael Quadland, currently artist-in-residence at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in Palm Beach, on Saturday, May 14th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Inspired by the WPA and Ashcan schools of American art, where artists found beauty in unadorned industrial landscapes, artist Michael Quadland uses acrylic paints to create layered, textured abstractions.

Rain on Lake

For those of you that love to arrange flowers, be sure not to miss the flower arranging class at Dawn Hill Antiques on May 21 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.  This workshop will feature two fantastic talents in the world of flowers and design: Nicolette Camille of The Little Flower School, and Frances Palmer of Frances Palmer Pottery. Nicolette will do a demonstration, followed by a class in which each participant can create an arrangement in their own limited edition vase created by Frances Palmer especially for the class. Tickets to the class are $350, which includes a limited edition Frances Palmer vase, and all flowers. For reservations all 860.868.0066 or 917.767.6384.

On June 1, the Private House has organized its annual Backyard Sale at the George Platt Field in New Preston located on 16 Church Hill Road.  This event held under a big tent features the wares of many antique dealers displaying all manner of treasures at affordable prices. The tent is just up at the top of the hill, behind the New Preston shops.

Center for Contemporary Printmaking presents the annual members’ exhibition

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking presents the annual members' exhibition Re:Location that will open on April 3, 2016, and run through May 22. The Opening Reception and Award Ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 3, from 2pm to 5pm.

This exhibition asks artists to consider the role location plays in their life and practice. Would they be the same if they lived someplace else? Where would their ideal place be? How have their present and past residences shaped who they are and their creativity? This exhibition provides CCP members the chance to interpret their world through the art of the print. We ask submitting artists to look back on the places that have made an impact on them and have shaped their lives today.

Nomi Silverman, CCP's 2015 Best in Show Award Recipient will present, Refugees in the lithography room in conjunction with Re:Location. When asked about the works Silverman explained, "In numbers equivalent to the population of the United Kingdom, the greatest migration in the world to date, refugees, like a raging river, stream across borders. They are forced by necessity – be it war, famine, persecution or other insurmountable challenges to leave all they know. They are isolated and alone, separated from family and home, carrying only a small backpack with all their possessions, most to never return."

For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com