Author: Janet

I like to share travel deals, destinations, and travel tips!

Westport Arts Festival July 19 & 20

This year marks the 41st for the popular Westport Arts Festival that is taking place this year in the center of Westport in Parker Harding Plaza and on Gorham Island on July 19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on July 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Festival goers can expect original juried works in Painting, Watercolor, Photography, Sculpture, Drawing, Printmaking, Mixed Media, Glass, Ceramics, Fiber, Jewelry, Wood and Digital Art dispayed along the lovely Saugatuck River in the heart of this charming riverside community.

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Best of all, visitors will experience more than just the visual arts at the Westport Fine Arts Festival: there will be unique street performances, live music, hands-on art activities, and delicious food from local restaurateurs. As for kids, they will enjoy the special Beach Bonanza Children’s Tent Zone provided by the Westport Arts Center. This area will feature both collaborative and individual hands-on projects, all with a seashore inspired theme! From string murals to large-scale jellyfish, kids will be sure to have a blast; just look for the the palm trees to find the Kid Zone.

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As for entertainment, there is plenty with an exciting line up as follows:

Saturday July 19
10:15 – 11:30 Chris MacKay and the Tone Shifters

11:45 – 1:00 Shiny Lapel Trio

1:15 – 2:30 Paul Brockett Roadshow Band

3:00 – 4:30 Mill River Band

5:00 – 6:30 Dr. B and The Brotherhood

Sunday July 20

10:15 – 11:30 Josi Davis and Hot Damn!

11:45 – 1:00 Pete Herger Band

1:30 – 2:45 Dylan Conner

3:10 – 4:30 Washboard Slim and the Bluelights
For More information visit www.westportfineartsfestival.com. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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Tips on NYC at Lockwood-Mathews Mansion

On Wednesday, July 16, 2014, 11 a.m. at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Avenue in Norwalk, CT, urban historian Justin Ferate will give a talk entitled, Nooks and Crannies of New York City. Based on his popular tours, this lecture will explore some of New York City’s great, but often overlooked, treasures.

Fonthill Castle.
Fonthill Castle.

Mr. Ferate will take attendees on a virtual tour through some of New York City’s rich, secretive landmarks, many unknown to even the most diehard New Yorkers. He will reveal fascinating, yet lesser-known points of interests in one of the most iconic cities in the world, including some of New York’s more offbeat treasures, secret gardens, hidden houses, and covert byways.

Justin Ferate is an internationally known guide and the Director of Tours of the City, a specialty tour company that has created educational tours of New York City, focusing on the architectural, social, ethnic, literary, and cultural histories of New York for over 30 years. He has a background in Architectural and Social History with a B.A. in Education from Antioch College with subsequent studies in Architectural History at the University of Washington, University of London, University of Pennsylvania, and Salve Regina College. Recently The AAA Guide to New York rated Ferate’s weekly tour of the Grand Central Terminal neighborhood as New York’s “Best Walking Tour!” The New York Times described Justin Ferate as New York City’s “revered city Tour Guide among Tour Guides.”

The lectures are $25 for members, $30 for non-members per session. Please RSVP by Friday, July 11, 2014. The price includes lecture, lunch and a first floor Mansion tour. Lunch is courtesy of Michael Gilmartin’s Outdoor Cookers. The chair of the Lecture Committee is Mimi Findlay of New Canaan. Please contact info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or 203-838-9799, ext. 4.

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Contemporary Crafts Gallery presents exhibition of original prints from around the world

Revel in a professional display of recent works by local national and international printmakers; landscapes, portraits, animals, botanicals, representational and abstract original artwork, created by hand using traditional and contemporary printmaking methods. Over 210 diverse images, each print one-foot square, are on view this summer at the 4th Biennial Footprint International Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP), 299 West Ave., in Mathews Park, Norwalk, Connecticut 06850, www.contemprints.org, 203-899-7999.

Waving Goodbye
Waving Goodbye

The call for entries for the “Footprint International” exhibition is sent all over the world, to printmaking ateliers, gallerys, schools and individuals, at least 6 months before the exhibit opens. A juror is designated to reviews the original artworks after they arrive at the gallery, to select works for inclusion in the exhibit and award prizes. The Biennial Footprint International Exhibition is held on even-numbered years, alternating with the Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition, which is held on odd-numbered years.

Cavemen Kaleidoscope
Cavemen Kaleidoscope

The exhibition runs through Sunday, August 31, 2014 and the hours are Monday through Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 to 5 pm. The Center is closed on July 4. Admission is free, and the gallery is handicapped accessible. This biennial exhibition is an opportunity for visitors to acquaint themselves with current trends in the art of the original print from around the world. All artwork is for sale. The “footprint” in the exhibition title refers to the size of the artwork on display; each image is a one-foot square print.

The Great Expectation
The Great Expectation

Prize Winners

Juror Elisabeth Hodermarsky, Sutphin Family Senior Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings, Photographs at the Yale University Art Gallery awarded Best in Show to Miriam Rudolph, (Minnesota) for her artworks, Waving Goodbye, 2012, intaglio/ chine colle/hand coloring, and Return, 2012, intaglio /chine colle. Elisabeth awarded two Juror Prizes: to Anne Desmet (United Kingdom) for Cavemen/Kaliedoscope, 2014, lithograph/engraving/ collage, and Changing Perspectives – Homage to Piero della Francesca, 2014, engraving/ collage; and to Josef Werner (Germany) for The Silence, 2014, etching/drypoint/embossing and The Great Expectation, 2014, etching/drypoint/embossing.
Two Connecticut artists, both CCP members, received Honorable Mentions: DeAnn Prosia (Newtown,) and Karen Kalkstein (Stamford). In addition, the juror awarded Honorable Mentions to 11 other artists including: Daniel Chiaccio, Kate Higley (New Hampshire); Katerine Kyselica, Sigita R Pranevicius (New York); Ellen Price (Ohio); Daniela Zekina (Canada); Christa Manz-Dewald (Germany); Aoiffe Layton, Bernadette Madden (Ireland); Adam Czech (Poland); and Kirsty Olivier (South Africa).

Participating Artists

Fairfield and New Haven Counties Well Represented by Area Artists
Other Connecticut artists in the exhibition include: Karen Vogel (Darien); Susan Newbold (Fairfield); Nomi Silverman (Glenville); Marian “Bing” Bingham (Greenwich); Anita Soos (Guilford); Thomas Stavovy (Hamden); Cynthia MacCollum (New Canaan); Oi Fortin, Evie Lindemann, Liz Pagano (New Haven); Binnie Birstein, Karen Brussat Butler, Katharine Draper (Norwalk); Allison Meyler (Ridgefield); Betty Ball, Hanneke Goedkoop, Mindy Green (Rowayton); Lou Hicks (Stamford); Kathleen DeMeo (Wallingford); Brenda Giegerich, Ruth Kalla Ungerer, Cecilia Moy Fradet (Westport); Renee Santhouse (Wilton); Margot K Rocklen (Woodbridge); and Karen Sorensen (Woodbury).

National and International Artists in the Exhibition
Stateside. In the USA, art by other printmakers from New York State towns and cities were by far the largest group, including: RM Gallimari (Astoria); Jane Cooper (Katonah); Christine S. Aaron, Ellen Lazarus, Annette Lieblein (Larchmont); Katharine Dufault, Lynne Lederman (Mamaroneck); Richard Sloat, (New York, New York); Lenny Librizzi (Staten Island); Susan Miller (Sparrow Bush); and Mitchell Visoky (White Plains). Printmakers from other states included: Liz Lyons Friedman (California); Dakota Nanton (Colorado); Sal Sidner (Florida); Karl LeClair (Idaho); Christine Beneman, Scott Schnepf (Maine); Steven Matthews (Maryland); Paula DeSimone, Cheryl Sutton Adams (Massachusetts); Jean Allemeir Boot, Andrew Jagniecki (Michigan); Rachele Unter (New Jersey); Joan Potkay (New Mexico); Anne Cushman (Ohio); Carrie O’Coyle (Oregon); and Sergey Zlotnikov (Pennsylvania).

Overseas.
International artists also included a good showing from our neighbors in Canada: Marie
Ange-Brassard, Daemon Baldwin, Peter Barron, Lysandre Donaldson, Ingeborg Jurgensen Hiscox, Louise Simard, Robin Smith Peck; and Cleo Wilkinson (Australia); Savina Montovska, Roland Shneevays (Bulgaria); Gerda Muehl, Marianne Riss (Germany); Aidan Flanagan, Joan Gleeson, Paula Pohli (Ireland); Adiana Lucaciu (Romania); Angus Buchanan, Gervasio Robles, Michele Rolstone (South Africa); Raul Ceville (Italy); Kristina Norvilaite (Lithuania); Toshinori Tanuma (Japan); Bo Cronqvist (Sweden); and Neala Glass (New Zealand).

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Hollister House – Twilight in the Garden

Horticultural enthusiasts and bon vivants are cordially invited to savor the enchantment of Twilight in the Garden in the cool of the evening from 6 to 8 pm on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at Hollister House Garden. In a remarkable setting of charming views in all directions and the company of like-minded gardeners and friends, Twilight in the Garden guests can enjoy the garden with a glass of wine and cheese and hors d’oeuvres.

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An exciting aspect of the garden this year is the new rill, a very narrow, 28-foot long water channel on the upper lawn behind the house. The rill is a classic but uncommon element of landscape design that places the sound and movement of water into the garden.

Stars of this very English garden at its early-summer peak are an exuberant abundance of daylilies, hydrangeas and old-fashioned phlox, plus various other happy plants spilling onto walkways, tumbling over walls and climbing up arches. Dahlias add masses of color and also offer quiet moments in certain places in the garden that are surrounded by a profusion of texture and form.

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A 36-year labor of love by Washington resident George Schoellkopf, gardener extraordinaire and respected Early American antiques dealer, the romantic Hollister House Garden is beautifully situated on a gently sloping hillside behind a rambling 18th century farmhouse. The garden ‘s intimate outdoor spaces, bordered by dramatic hedges and the natural landscape, are lavishly planted with both familiar and exotic species in often surprising color combinations and open onto stunning vistas. Like many great gardens, it continues to be a work in progress. Hollister House Garden is one of only 16 exceptional gardens currently designated a Preservation Project by the Garden Conservancy, whose mission is to identify and preserve important and historically significant gardens across America for the education and enjoyment of the public.

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Hollister House in 2010 achieved its prestigious listing on the National Register of Historic Places and the property was also named a Town Landmark Site by the Town of Washington.

The Twilight in the Garden party is priced at $30 per person, or for HHG members at $25 person. Reservations must be made in advance either on the Special Events page of the website a www.hollisterhousegarden.org or by phone at 860-868-2200. Hollister House Garden is open to visitors every Saturday through September. For June, July and August, hours are 8 to 10 am and 3 to 6 pm; September hours are 10 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm. Directions to the garden’s 300 Nettleton Hollow Road location are also available on the website.

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Extreme Habitats: Into the Deep Sea at the Bruce Museum

Extreme Habitats: Into the Deep Sea at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich explores the vast and extraordinary deep sea. This show focuses on the highly adapted survival strategies utilized by creatures of the deep and the technology that enables researchers to record ground-breaking observations of what is often called the last frontier on this planet.

Sea butterfly (Thecosomata) Photo by Larry Madin © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Sea butterfly (Thecosomata)
Photo by Larry Madin © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Museum visitors might feel like they are in a deep-sea submersible as they look through view ports to observe the mesopelagic – or twilight zone – of the sea with its bioluminescent inhabitants. The exhibit will show visitors the extremophiles that form the foundation of a hydrothermal vent as well as the bizarre appearances and adaptations of deep-sea species. One of the take aways from experiencing this exhibit is an understanding of the technology that makes deep-sea explorations possible.

Bloodbelly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer) almost 2000 meters below the surface in Monterey Canyon. Photo by MBARI ©2002 MBARI
Bloodbelly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer) almost 2000 meters
below the surface in Monterey Canyon.
Photo by MBARI ©2002 MBARI

The Bruce Museum has created highly accurate casts of deep-sea organisms such as the Pacific Viperfish, Cock-Eyed Squid, Bloodbelly Comb Jelly, Gulper Eel, Giant Tube Worms, and more, created from molds on loan from the American Museum of Natural History. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History is lending preserved deep- sea specimens collected from various deep-sea explorations and dives around the globe. The University of Connecticut is assisting with interpretation of the New England seamounts, or underwater mountain ranges. Rare footage of creatures of the deep comes from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is sharing cutting edge information on the deep-sea submersible Alvin as well as their expertise on deep-sea ecosystems around the world.

_Display Background Bruce Museum Exhibition Preparator Sean Murtha painting hydrothermal vent display background. Photo by Sean Murtha
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Bruce Museum Exhibition Preparator Sean Murtha painting
hydrothermal vent display background.
Photo by Sean Murtha

The exhibition is the second in a series at the Bruce Museum looking at extreme biological, chemical and physical factors that affect different ecosystems around the world. Extreme Habitats: Into the Deep Sea opens runs through November 9.

And when you go, don’t forget your cell phone: This exhibition, like many others at the Bruce, will be accompanied by a compelling cell phone audio tour guide program, Guide by Cell, generously underwritten by Nat and Lucy Day. Easy to follow Guide by Cell instructions will be available at the front admissions desk.

About the Bruce Museum
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 Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1 pm 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 www.brucemuseum.org.

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LANDMARK AMUSEMENT PARKS PROMISE NEW THRILLS IN WESTERN CONNECTICUT

America’s oldest amusement park, Lake Compounce in Bristol, proves once again that it is totally up to date this season, debuting a spectacular new laser light show and a new campground while Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, celebrating its 106th birthday this year, promises new water park fun and new entertainment thrills at its Carousel Theater. Quassy’s popular Summer Idol singing contest also returns this year.

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CELEBRITY-CHOICE DOGS, LASERS AND TIPIS at LAKE COMPOUNCE

A spectacular new laser light show beginning July 4th. ‘Illuminate the Night”, will feature a 50-foot water wall veiling the lake with simultaneous synchronized music, projections and lasers. It will light up the sky at Lake Compounce every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through August 24th

Lake Compounce is also introducing the first East Coast branch of Hollywood’s legendary Pink’s Hot Dogs, a favorite of show business celebrities. Park visitors will be able to sample and see why Pink’s was number one in a Fox News Top Ten list of America’s best hot dog stands.

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The new Bear Creek Campground will have its grand opening July 1, beckoning visitors with the chance to sleep in a traditional tipi. The tipis are equipped with electricity and mini refrigerators and can sleep four to 6. The campground also offers 20 fully-furnished cabins, 56 RV sites equipped with water and electricity, and 30 tent sites.

Lake Compounce, established in 1846, is now part of the Palace Entertainment family of parks. Millions have been spent in the last few years to equip the park with state of the art roller coasters and thrill rides and Connecticut’s largest water park. See the full line-up at lakecompounce.com

EXPANDED WATER PARK, ENTERTAINMENT BECKON AT QUASSY

“The Beat is On” at Quassy Amusement Park and Waterpark, guaranteeing family fun when the Bucket Brigade takes the stage with its unique show “at the Carousel Theater July 4 to 27. These drummers extraordinaire use buckets, oil drums, tubes and all manner of wacky instruments to produce an irresistible beat, and they get the audience into the act, as well.

Quassy also plans its third popular Summer Idol singing talent competition for teens and pre-teens. Auditions are set for July 7 with shows scheduled on July 20, 27 and August 3.

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The Wooden Warrior roller coaster and the Crazy Cups ride are among many recent additions that bring the venerable park up to date while maintaining its old-fashioned charm.

Last year Quassy almost doubled the size of its Splash Away Bay water park, adding thrill features like BulletBOWL, a two-person tunneled tube ride that drops more than 30 feet and travels more than 210 feet. The tube emerges from the tunnel by spinning into a gigantic bowl where speed and centrifugal force keep riders glued to the outside of the bowl. For a full list of rides, see Quassy.com

For more information 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 in 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.litchfieldhills.com.

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