Month: May 2017

Franklin Street Works newest exhibition, “The Work of Love, The Queer of Labor,” is curated by New York City based artist/curator Yevgeniy Fiks and curator/critic Olga Kopenkina. In “The Work of Love, The Queer of Labor,” queerness is discussed through the lens of class and vice versa. Exhibiting artists are: Angela Beallor, Hugo Gellert, Montague Glover, Noam Gonick, Hagra, William E. Jones, Erik Moskowitz+Amanda Trager, Jaanus Samma, and YES! Association / Föreningen JA!. The exhibition is on view through August 17, 2017.

In “The Work of Love, The Queer of Labor,” individual artists and collectives contribute works that represent a desire for liberation through critically engaged connections between class, gender and sexuality. LGBTQI identities are explored from the class perspective in order to re-discover political potentialities in queerness’ countercultural paradigm. By exploring queerness through its relationship with class, curators Fiks and Kopenkina aim to interrogate the possibility of love in a class-based society. They attempt as well to envision a classless society akin to “affectionate community” built by LGBTQI people.

In today’s global economy the difference between work as a productive force in service of capitalism and labor as a condition of biological life is almost gone. Artists’ creative work, once avant-garde and independent, has become alienated and inseparable from market economy. Likewise, love and sexuality have become abstracted from the site of their enactment. They are no longer a product of biological body, but, instead, generated by techno-bodies impacted by multimedia technologies of global capitalist production.

Is it possible for queer activities, which are driven by “true desire,” not social norms, to restore love and produce new relationships between people? Could these relationships be based on equality of all forms of sexuality, love and labor? Artists who present their works in this exhibition extend this desire for love and personal relationships in a society built on equality and justice rather than exploitation and oppression to all people. The struggle for queer rights is everyone’s struggle!

Franklin Street Works is located on 41 Franklin Street in Stamford. Gallery Hours are: Tues. – Sun. noon to 5 p.m. To sign up for a monthly newsletter on things to do and see, special events and travel tips in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.litchfieldhills.com or www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

The Nationally Acclaimed American Museum of Tort Law invites you to Join Politico’s Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Wuerker, and Hall of Fame The New Yorker magazine cartoonist/illustrator Barry Blitt on Saturday, June 3rd, for a special daylong Program. ‘If It Doesn’t Please the Court: Two Ink-Stained Wretches on the Art of Political Satire.’ The program will be held at Winsted United Methodist Church, 630 Main Street, Winsted.

The program will include a workshop on cartooning/illustration, led by both Wuerker and Blitt, a presentation by them, as well as Consumer Advocate and author, Ralph Nader, and a meet and greet with the speakers.

CARTOON AND ILLUSTRATION WORKSHOP 11:00am to 12:00pm
Doors open at 10:30am. Blitt and Wuerker will discuss their distinctive approaches to creating visual communication that can influence how we interpret the political landscape and challenge leadership – beyond the written word alone.

PRESENTATION 1:00pm to 2:30pm Blitt and Wuerker present their unique, provocative and evolving perspectives on how their work has changed the way we see the world. Nader will speak on the connection between political satire and the critical role that tort law plays in not only compensating victims, but also in publically disclosing wrongdoing and acting as a future deterrent. A question and answer period will follow their remarks.

MEET and GREET 2:45pm to 5:30pm at the Museum. The AMTL bookstore will be open with a special collection of illustrations and books by Blitt, Wuerker and Nader, available for purchase and autographing by the presenters.
Tickets are $10. You are welcome to come for all three programs or make your reservation for the afternoon program. Advance reservations are highly recommended. The Workshop is limited to a maximum of 50 participants. RSVP now.

To purchase tickets, contact AMTL Director of Engagement, Joan Bowman, at joan@tortmuseum.org; or Online at: http://www.tortmuseum.org using your credit card or debit card.

For more information please visit: www.tortmuseum.org or call (860) 379-0505.

The Shelton Historical Society has reopened the Brownson House. In late October 2015, the Shelton Historical Society suffered severe water damage to the Brownson House, the cornerstone of the Shelton History Center, during a rainstorm while the roof was being repaired. Water poured down through the roof and attic all the way to the main collection storeroom in the basement, ruining ceilings and walls in its wake. One of the bedroom ceilings collapsed; holes were punched in certain areas to relieve water pressure and to keep it from traveling further along beams in the ceilings. The Historical Society had to close the facility to the public during 2016 for repairs.

Gigantic industrial dehumidifiers were brought in by a disaster recovery company. Running constantly for over a month, they finally dried the ceilings and walls, albeit with an $800 electric bill. It took such a long time, not only due to the extent of the saturation, but because of the lath, horsehair, and lime that made up the plaster walls in the circa 1822 house. Specialized contractors were brought in to repair, replace, and paint.

While the house was closed and our attention was on the physical structure, consideration was given to a long-term project that had, out of necessity due to the disaster, been postponed: focusing the interior of the Brownson House to interpret a middle class lifestyle of the early 1900’s. The Society had been working room by room but having the house closed permitted the project to proceed without interruption. Committees could concentrate on locating and installing period-appropriate floor coverings, lace curtains, and other furnishings. The most challenging aspect was finding the correct wallpaper, so it was decided to have it custom designed and printed. Furnishings were cleaned, polished, photographed, and put back into place.

The decision to interpret the house to 1913 rather than 1822—when the house was built—is due to the significant collections of photographs, diaries, account books, furniture, and textiles from the 1890’s through the 1940’s that the Society holds. Using these sources in the environment of an appropriately decorated house enables Shelton’s history to be told in a clearly understood manner. We know how money was earned and spent, how neighbors socialized, and how the growing middle-class farm families interacted with the businesses and industries that called Shelton home during this time.

Additional opportunities to tell stories of a rapidly changing society are told using this new interpretation: women seeking the vote, unions organizing, immigrants flooding through Ellis Island, and a world war looming. All these factors were reflected locally and related to those who lived in Shelton at the time.

The preservation of the Brownson House as a pre-World War I era farmhouse will fill a gap in interpretive history in Connecticut, both in terms of the time period depicted and the status of people represented. Most historic homes and historical societies demonstrate the colonial period or a famous or wealthy individual. Through the lives of ordinary people—the Brownson’s—the Society illustrates, as Harriet Beecher Stowe once stated, that “Every individual is part and parcel of a great picture of the society in which he lives and acts, and his life cannot be painted without reproducing the picture of the world he lived in.”

In addition to the Brownson House, the Shelton History Center consists of the Wilson Barn, the one-room Trap Fall School, a carriage barn, a corncrib and an outhouse. While the Shelton History Center staff is available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, they also accommodate appointments for those who would like to arrange tours or use research materials.

For more information, visit www.sheltonhistoricalsociety.org

The annual Barnum Festival is a seasonal celebration of the City of Bridgeport and its surrounding towns including Monroe, Trumbull, Easton, Shelton, Stratford, and Fairfield. Dating back to 1948, the festival originated to help support local businesses and honor P.T. Barnum—a world-renowned showman and city leader. The Barnum Festival events span May 13 – June 25, 2017 and culminates in a weekend-long Barnum Palooza that hosts parades, concerts, fireworks, and other family-friendly festivities.

The festival celebrates many of Barnum’s imaginative concepts for entertaining the populace. The Wing Ding Parade for kids at Beardsley Zoo, concerts and musical competitions in the spirit of Jenny Lind, and the concluding event, a grand civic parade celebrating all of the wonderful assets the City of Bridgeport and surrounding area have to offer, are created to delight attendees of all ages.

On May 28, Memorial Day weekend join the Barnum Festival for the Aquarion Water Company Barnum Festival 5k & 10k Road Race. The timed race will begin at 8:30am at Webster Bank Arena taking runners along the picturesque Long Island Sound through Seaside Park with heart-thumping finish inside The Ballpark at Harbor Yard. There will be a FREE Kid’s Run in the Ball Park with kid’s prizes, a Bounce House, face painting, clowns & a magician to keep the fun going post-race. The race will be followed by The Best Race “After-Party on Earth” featuring great food & beer, a live band, swag bags, Dri-Fit shirts & tons of fun for the whole family.

On June 1, you can eat, drink and be merry! Join festival goers for a day of fun hitting the hot spots of historical Black Rock. There will be plenty of libations, food and drink specials, music, raffles, and fun. Each attendee must purchase a wristband* 21 and over only. All proceeds will benefit Barnum Festival activities and scholarships. Bar Crawl Itinerary: Hub & Spoke: 5-6pm Event Kickoff!, Tautog Tavern: 6-7pm, Fire Engine Pizza Co.: 7-8pm, Smitty’s of Black Rock: 8-9pm, Brennan’s Shebeen Irish Bar and Grill: 9-10pm & Afterparty *Pricing: Drinking wristbands = $25.00, Designated Driver = $10.00 (Includes free soda) Wristbands available for purchase day of for $30., Wristbands purchased online require pickup at The Cardinal Shehan Center. 1494 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604 Pickup Hours: 9am – 5pm, Monday-Friday. Purchase of wristband includes special drink pricing & free t-shirt! Once wristband is purchased t-shirt size will be noted and will be available to pick up at Brennan’s Shebeen 2 weeks prior to event; Please note: Guests are encouraged to wear their t-shirt to the crawl!

The Wing Ding Parade takes place beginning at 9 am on June 17 at the Beardsley Zoo.Bring the whole family for a day filled with excitement and entertainment. Get creative as you dress up for the kid’s parade through Beardsley Zoo. Your means of transportation are up to you—make a float, pull a wagon, ride a bike, or just walk together. Prizes will be awarded for best costume. Enjoy entry to the zoo until 12pm, as well as face painting, balloon animals, music, and food. It’s fun for the whole family. Registration opens at 9am and the parade starts at 11am. Admission is FREE.

June 24 promises to be a “Barnumpalooza” of family fun from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Seaside Park! The Barnumpalooza is an all-day festival with food trucks, live music, and carnival rides for kids. Bring the whole family for a day of fun celebrating the city of Bridgeport and its surrounding communities. Admission is free. The Bridgeport Symphony will perform at 9 p.m. and there will also be fireworks at 9 pm. that is sure to impress the whole family.

The Barnum Festival concludes with the “Great Street Parade” that begins at 12 noon. Firetrucks, bands, floats, clowns, and more will travel from the corner of Brooklawn and North Ave all the way to the corner of Lincoln Blvd and Capitol St. in Bridgeport.
For more information visit the website. http://barnumfestival.com

To sign up for a monthly newsletter on things to do and see, special events and travel tips in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.litchfieldhills.com or www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Weir Farm National Historic Site is offering a free, one-hour Nature of Love Walk on Sunday June 11, 2017 from 10:00 to 11:00 am with local scholar, poet, and volunteer Bonnie Tremante.

Enjoy a walk through the lush, summer landscape of Weir Farm National Historic Site as you learn about the connection between art, love, and landscape that fundamentally affected Weir’s appreciation of his Branchville farm. Bonnie will discuss love letters exchanged between artist Julian Alden Weir and his then fiancée Anna Dwight Baker during the summer of 1882. In the letters, Julian and Anna express their deep affection for each other, their observations of nature, and nature’s role in fostering the bond between them.

Bonnie Tremante graduated with a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in Reading and Language Arts from Montclair University, and earned a Humanities and Writing Certificate of Advanced Study from Wesleyan University. She taught for 14 years in the Wilton Public School system in the English Department. Bonnie continues to explore her love of literature and art by volunteering at Weir Farm National Historic Site, where she enjoys transcribing historic letters, staffing the historic studios as a Studio Docent, and presenting special interpretive programs.

There is no fee to participate, but registration is required and space is limited. To register or for more information about the Nature of Love Walk, please call 203-834-1896 ext. 28.

The historic Merwinsville Hotel located on 1 Browns Forge Rd in the quaint village of Gaylordsville is hosting an annual wine tasting on June 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Event goers will enjoy tasting an array of wines from all over the world. The tasting trip includes wines from California, continuing on to Europe with stops in Italy and Portugal with other samplings along the way before returning to the United States to check out some local Connecticut wineries. A free wine glass is included with your admission. J. P. Gifford Market & Catering Co. of Kent, Connecticut, will be supplying light fare to help cleanse the palate between tastings.

Tickets in advance are $25 and $30 at the door. If you would like to pre-order your tickets, please visit www.merwinsvillehotel.org or stop in at either NeJaimes Wine & Spirits at 164 Danbury Road or New Milford Spirit Shoppe at 16 Prospect Hill Road (Rt 67), both located in New Milford. A portion of all sales from this event go towards the continued restoration of this historic 1843 building.

The Merwinsville Hotel is located at 1 Browns Forge Road in Gaylordsville, CT conveniently located 15 minutes from Kent, Sherman, New Milford and the Harlem Valley/Wingdale Railroad Station (the northwest corner of New Milford).

To sign up for a free monthly newsletter on Litchfield Hills or Fairfield County on things to do and see and special deals visit www.litchfieldhills.com