Author: Janet

With the holiday season approaching, the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) is committed to keeping passengers at Bradley International Airport safe and encourages those traveling this holiday season to come to the airport prepared. 

“While holiday travel is not anticipated to reach the levels of prior years, we have strong safety precautions in place to ensure the continued wellbeing of our passengers and the airport community,” said Kevin A. Dillon, A.A.E., Executive Director of the CAA. “Certainly, traveling through Bradley International Airport this holiday season will not be the same this year. We ask passengers to plan ahead as much as possible and prepare themselves for what will be a different type of journey.” 

Specifically, here is what passengers can expect at Bradley International Airport this holiday season: 

Face Covering Mandate For everyone’s safety, all passengers, employees, and visitors are required to wear face coverings while at the airport. Passengers are reminded to bring a face covering with them when traveling. 

Enhanced Cleaning and Safety Measures A significant emphasis has been placed on added cleaning protocols in high-touchpoint areas of the terminal. Plexiglass shield barriers and physical distancing reminders are also in place. Passengers are asked to maintain a safe physical distance from other individuals as much as possible while in the terminal. 

On-Site COVID-19 Testing Availability On-site COVID-19 testing is available in baggage claim for those wishing to utilize the service. Passengers interested in taking a test after their arrival at the airport, can find more information on the airport’s website and are strongly encouraged to pre-register through the lab administering the testing. 

Adjustments to Parking Operations In response to current demand, parking at the airport has been consolidated, with parking available in the garage at a special, reduced daily rate of $8. Passengers can learn more on this website. 

Dining and Shopping Amenities To ensure everyone’s wellbeing, only a select number of concession and retail locations are currently open and those open are operating with new safety measures in place. Passengers can find more information about the status of certain restaurants/shops on the airport’s website. 
Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the airport’s airline partners have also implemented new safety procedures and passengers are strongly encouraged to review those as well before coming to the airport. 

Finally, as we all work together to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19, passengers should consider following these tips and precautions: 
     
When possible, use a mobile boarding pass. 

Consider traveling with carry-on luggage only to help eliminate further touchpoints. 

Follow CDC-issued guidelines when traveling, such as washing hands frequently – and consider bringing hand sanitizer with you. 

Pay particular attention to overhead announcements and airport signage, as new signage and announcements have been added in response to COVID-19 and can vary from airport to airport. 

Review guidelines issued by authorities at your final destination.

Family and friends who are picking up passengers from Bradley International Airport during the Thanksgiving holiday week are encouraged to use the Cell Phone Waiting Lot located on Light Lane while waiting for passengers to arrive and retrieve any luggage. Parking in the Cell Phone Waiting lot is free.

For information about Connecticut’s travel advisory, and respective guidelines, passengers should visit: https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus/travel Representatives from the Connecticut Department of Public Health are also on-site at Bradley Airport to provide assistance with travel forms and answer related questions.

Information about all of Bradley International Airport’s safety measures in response to COVID-19, is available at www.BDLcares.com.

About Bradley International Airport

Bradley International Airport (BDL) is the second-largest airport in New England. We want our passengers to “Love the Journey” at Bradley International Airport, and we proudly offer nonstop access to many popular destinations. Recent terminal enhancements and new amenities have enhanced the travel experience, and Condé Nast Traveler has recognized BDL within the top ten best U.S. airports for four consecutive years. Bradley International Airport is operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, and its operations are entirely self-funded. The airport contributes nearly $3.6 billion to the regional economy. For more info, visit www.flybdl.org.

About The Connecticut Airport Authority

The CAA was established in 2011 to develop, improve, and operate Bradley International Airport and the state’s five general aviation airports (Danielson, Groton-New London, Hartford-Brainard, Waterbury-Oxford, and Windham).  The CAA Board consists of 11 members with a broad spectrum of experience in aviation-related and other industries, as well as government.  The goal of the CAA is to make Connecticut’s airports more attractive to new airlines, bring in new routes, and support Connecticut’s overall economic development and growth strategy.

The Torrington Historical Society and the YMCA/Torrington Trails Network invite the public to participate in the annual John Brown Memorial Twilight Hike on Sunday, December 6, 2020, from 4pm to 5pm at the John Brown Birthplace on John Brown Road in Torrington Connecticut. The twilight hike is held to commemorate the execution of John Brown on December 2, 1859, in Charles Town West Virginia, and to remember the millions of African Americans who suffered under the institution of slavery. Additionally, this is an opportunity to show your support for racial equality and equal civil rights for all in the United States.

John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia took place October 16, 1859. This raid was one of the events which sparked the American Civil War, a war that ultimately ended slavery in America. In addition to being an abolitionist, Brown was a fierce advocate for civil rights and racial equality for African Americans.

The hike will follow a two-thirds mile loop trail created by the Torrington Trails Network on property owned by the Torrington Historical Society. The twilight hike will be preceded by some brief comments about John Brown.

The John Brown Birthplace Trail is on generally flat and wooded terrain with some wet areas. Dress for the cool weather with proper walking shoes and bring a flashlight, lantern, or headlamp since it will be getting dark toward the end of the hike.

John Brownies from Torrington’s Café 38 will be served following the hike.
Parking is available along John Brown Road.

The Mayor’s “Christmastime in Torrington” committee and the Torrington Historical Society will present a series of eight, 45 minutes long, Holiday Lantern Tours of downtown Torrington on Saturday, December 5, 2020.

Each tour is limited to eight persons and the tours will start every 15 minutes from 5 pm to 6:45 pm. Registration is required and admission is $3 per person. To register for a tour, visit www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org/lanterntour.

Tours will begin at the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, and will end on lower East Main Street. Join in the holiday spirit by bringing your own lantern or flashlight to carry on the tour. Face masks and social distancing are required.

Holiday tours will include information about the historical buildings on Main Street and the fascinating story of Torrington’s first Christmas tree.

Under the Warner marquee, Dick Terhune will present Marley’s ghost scene from his one-man show “A Christmas Carol.”
Several featured storefronts will have displays of vintage toys, clothing, and household goods from the 1950s that would have been available for purchase at that time in Main Street department stores.

All proceeds from the tours will support the city’s “Christmastime in Torrington” celebration. In case of inclement weather, the lantern tours will be rescheduled for Sunday, December 6th at the same time.

For more information contact Mayor Elinor Carbone at 860- 489-2228 or
Mark McEachern at Torrington Historical Society, 860-482-8260.

The Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury is offering a special winter escape room experience on December 8,10, and 15 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.It is easy to get started and you have everything that you need at home. All you have to do is to invite your friends and create a team, or let us place you with a group of sleuths and make new friends. You will get the chance to jump inside various winter wonderland themed paintings from Mattatuck’s collection, but be careful… you only have 45 minutes to escape before the clock runs out!

How to play:

You will receive a Zoom link for the experience the morning of your selected date. Once all participants arrive, you will be broken into pre-determined groups of up to 6 players. If you are registering as a team, let us know at registration who you wish to play alongside.

What you’ll need:

– Pencil and paper for taking notes and solving clues

– Computer with a built-in microphone and the Zoom app

Note: Clues will be on the screen and will be difficult to read on a phone. You may participate on a tablet or Chromebook, but we recommend that at least one player on your team be able to join from a PC or Mac computer.

The cost to participate is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. To sign up click here.

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is pleased to announce that the award-winning spoken-word performer, poet, playwright, author, writing teacher, and former journalist, Patricia Smith will conduct virtual poetry reading at 7 pm on November 19 of selected works followed by a Q&A. Her dazzling performances earned her the individual championship at the National Poetry Slam a record four times. Signed copies of Smith’s latest poetry collection, Incendiary Art, will be available at Books on the Common in downtown Ridgefield, CT.

Patricia Smith is the award-winning author of eight books of poetry, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Incendiary Art, winner of the 2018 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, the 2018 NAACP Image Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her work has appeared in Poetry magazine, the Paris Review, The New York Times, TriQuarterly, Tin House, the Washington Post, and in both Best American Poetry and Best American Essays. Smith is a professor at the College of Staten Island and the MFA program at Sierra Nevada College, as well as a frequent instructor at prestigious writing conferences.

Registration is required at www.thealdrich.org.

​The origin of Veterans Day goes back to Nov. 11, 1918, and is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I hostilities between the Allied Nations and Germany. As many of us remember and honor those who have served the United States in the military, many of us remain unaware of the major contributions Native Americans have made to our armed forces. Native Americans served in the U.S. military in greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group and have served with distinction in every major conflict in our history. Each year IAIS honors local Native Americans who have served our country in a special ceremony in keeping with the mission of the Institute and in honor of Veterans Day. The Native American Honoree for 2020 is John Q Mitchell.

John Q Mitchell is on the rolls of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe. John’s family has a long history of service, one that dates back prior to the founding of the United States. John’s tribe has documented his direct lineage from Paugussett people who served in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I, and many of the actions between these major wars. In World War Two, John’s dad, John Q. Mitchell was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Silver Star Medal.

Like his father and namesake, John has an impressive and long record of military service. John is a Vietnam Veteran who enlisted in the United States Air Force in August 1969 and retired as a TSgt. after 22 years, in 1991. Following Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base, John was assigned to Myrtle Beach AFB, from 1970-1971. He was then sent to Thailand in 1972 in support of F4E Phantom Fighter/Bomber Jet Aircraft and the heavily armed AC-130 Spectre ground attack and close air support gunships. John’s involvement in Vietnam includes Operation Freedom Train and Operation Linebacker II, air campaigns over North Vietnam.

John’s service to the United States didn’t end after the Vietnam Air Campaigns. He went on to serve at Ellington AFB, Texas, as an instructor for Air National Guard personnel. John’s military career took him all over the United States as well as to the United Kingdom and the Philippines. John conducted Intelligence Operations out of King Salmon Air Force Station, Alaska. His next assignment was at Peterson Field in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, where he was on staff for General Chappie James. John also spent four years at Royal Air Force Base, Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, as well as at McGuire AFB in New Jersey, George AFB in California, and Clark AFB in the Philippines. John’s last assignment was at Lackland AFB in Texas, the place where his career began.

John’s career has also included some interesting and high profile assignments. He was the Operations Logistics Manager, deployed to bring the Shah of Iran to exile on Panama’s Contadora Island. He was also the Operations Logistic Manager that brought Ferdinand Marcos and his family from the Philippines to exile in Hawaii. One of John’s most solemn duties was to support numerous operations that return the remains of America’s KIA’s.​

The ceremony at the Institute for American Indian Studies was held on November 8, 2020. The ceremony included drumming and a smudging ceremony and was conducted in the outdoor village.