Category: Connecticut Travel

There are so many ways to celebrate the 4th of July! The Museum of Tort Law in Winsted on 654 Main Street, has planned two special events on Wednesday, July 4th to commemorate this holiday.

The first takes place at 11 a.m. and is titled, “What to a Slave is the 4th of July” Frederick Douglass Speech presented by noted scholar and professor, Dr. Felton Best. The speech, written and delivered in 1852 by the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass is still studied in schools around the nation, and is still timely, in light of current events and our national dialogue.

The second event takes place at 2 p.m. and is titled Which is worse: Trampling on the Flag, or Trampling on the Constitution? You are invited to participate in this community discussion of our values, and in light of recent events – like the NFL protests, this discussion is more timely than ever. It will be a community forum, moderated by Richard L. Newman, executive director of the American Museum of Tort Law.

For reservations, please call the Museum at 860-379-0505 or email Joan Bowman at joan@tortmuseum.org.

Celebrate an early 4th of July at Music Mountain, America’s longest running summer chamber music festival! The 89th season continues with the music of Beethoven as the Shanghai Quartet performs Beethoven Quartet Cycle Program #4 on Sunday, July 1 (3pm). The festivities begin on Saturday, June 30 (6:30pm) with Michael Berkeley in a salute to the great Broadway and movie tunes that celebrate America! Concerts are scheduled through September 23.

In this spectacular summer event, the Shanghai Quartet comes to Music Mountain for six weekends to perform the complete Beethoven Quartet Cycle, considered by many as the ultimate challenge for a string quartet.

On Sunday afternoon, the Shanghai Quartet performs Beethoven Quartet Cycle Program #4: String Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 74 “Harp” — British composer and writer Robert Simpson praised the coda of the first movement: “the four instruments sound as if the whole world is singing.” Program will also feature String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18 #5; and String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59 #2. Beethoven historian, Wilhem von Lenz wrote in 1853 that the second movement of Opus 59 #2 is “a vision of Paradise where mortal love finds eternal happiness.” An afternoon not to be missed!

Renowned for its passionate musicality, impressive technique and multicultural innovations, the Shanghai Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Its elegant style melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire, allowing it to traverse musical genres including traditional Chinese folk music, masterpieces of Western music and cutting-edge contemporary works. Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, the Quartet has worked with the world’s most distinguished artists and regularly tours the major music centers of Europe, North America and Asia. The Quartet has a long history of championing new music and juxtaposing traditions of Eastern and Western music.

Spend Saturday evening with Michael Berkeley, No Tune Like a Show Tune: Celebrating America! In honor of the 4th of July, join the multi-talented performers Michael Berkeley, Wanda Houston, Maria Hickey, Amy LeBlanc and Frank Fasano as they serve up a patriotic vocal songfest in a musical tribute to the USA. With Michael Berkeley at the piano, it is a heartfelt, patriotic homage to this great country featuring Irving Berlin, George Cohan, George Gershwin, and a myriad of great show tunes and popular American standards. You won’t want to miss this dynamic group of talented musicians singing their hearts out as they embrace the love, humor, sentimentality and majesty of America the beautiful! Michael Berkeley served as Artistic Director at the TriArts Sharon Playhouse for almost two decades. Additionally, Mr. Berkeley has directed and arranged shows for theatres around the country and spent many years as an Equity actor, having appeared on stages across the country.

The Saturday Evening Twilight Series features pre-concert dinners at the charming Falls Village Inn. Experience a piece of history built over 175 years ago that helped shape the history of Falls Village.

Music Mountain is located in Falls Village, Connecticut on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring you to Gordon Hall atop Music Mountain. Free parking and picnic facilities are available. Music Mountain is supported, in part, by the Connecticut Commission On Culture & Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Shanghai Quartet continues the Beethoven Quartet Cycle on Sunday, July 8. The music continues with Escher String Quartet with 2017 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Yekwon Sunwoo, piano (July 15); Penderecki String Quartet with Victoria Schwartzman, piano (July 22); and Harlem String Quartet with Fei-Fei Dong, piano (July 29).

The Saturday Evening Twilight Series continues with Jive By Five (July 7); Helen Sung Quartet (July 14); Peter & Will Anderson Quartet (July 21); and Swingtime Big Band (July 28).

Specially Priced Packages include: the Music Mountain Gold Pass, including admission to all concerts and receptions with the artists, priority reserved seating and one $20 guest ticket available for any regularly priced concert, for $780 individual and $1,500 pair, transferable.

Specially Priced Concerts include: Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception on Sunday, September 2. All tickets $75. Special Concert & Wine Reception to Celebrate the Completion of the Beethoven Quartet Cycle on Sunday, September 9. All tickets: $60.

Regularly scheduled Chamber Music Concerts are $35. Twilight Series Concerts are $30. Concert & Dinner Passes are available for all Twilight Series Concerts for $70; includes Pre-Concert Dinner (5pm) at The Falls Village Inn, a Litchfield County landmark – Classic American comfort fare, seasonal – and 6:30pm Twilight Concert at Music Mountain. Dinner reservations must be made no later than the Friday prior to concert date by calling the Music Mountain box office at 860-824-7126.

Children ages 5-18 are admitted FREE to ALL CONCERTS when accompanied by a ticket holder. Saturday evening Twilight Concerts are at 6:30 pm. Sunday afternoon Chamber Music concerts are at 3 pm. Discounts apply through participating organizations. For a complete summer schedule, special ticket prices, and to download a ticket order form visit musicmountain.org or call (860) 824-7126.

Music Mountain, 225 Music Mountain Road, Falls Village, CT 06031

One of the most valuable tools in the Mount Vernon kitchen was Mrs. Washington’s copy of The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy; Which far exceeds any Thing of the Kind yet published… By a Lady. Martha Washington’s original copy is part of the special collections at Mount Vernon, and includes the marvelous Peach Pir. Peach Pir is a dessert which takes advantage of summer’s bounty of ripe fruit. On Saturday, June 30 from 11:00 – 12:30 the Wilton Historical Society will be holding a Colonial Cookery and Customs Workshop for Kids, in which Museum Educator Lola Chen will be showing the children how to make a delicious modern spin on Peach Pir by preparing a crumb crust, custard and fresh diced peaches.  

The Colonial Cookery and Customs for Kids workshop at the Wilton Historical Society teaches kids a “reciept” (recipe) used in the Connecticut region. While the food is prepared, they hear about Colonial manners, morals and way of life. The monthly workshops feature relatively simple dishes made with local, seasonal ingredients, adapted for modern kitchens. 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, an amulet of green peas, apple tansey, fairy butter, pumpkin bread, cranberry shortbread, New Year’s “cakes”, New England chowder, hand pies, cheese and ramp soufflé, pea and watercress Rappahannock, blackberry maslin, thirded bread, pound cake with “Oranges” juice, maple cup custard and pepper pot soup. Suggested for ages 6 – 12.

Members: $10; Non-members $15. Space is limited — please register by contacting info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257.

The Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road/Rt. 7, Wilton, CT 06897 http://www.wiltonhistorical.org

Did You Know?

“Europeans first introduced peaches to America in the 17th century and the fruit quickly flourished in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic colonies. Although New England farmers sometimes planted peach trees in their orchards, the long harsh winters and the frequent frosts (extending well into the spring) limited the crop’s success farther north. Through innovation and perseverance, however, fruit grower John Howard Hale eventually developed a new type of peach capable of thriving in harsher climates. . . .In South Glastonbury, Hale discovered a few hardy trees on his grandfather’s farm and developed a new type of peach that more capably endured the harsh New England climate and produced large delicious fruit. When Hale first offered his peaches for sale in Hartford, the public hailed them as “a beautiful and rare sight in the state. . . . . The peach that Hale developed, known as the J. H. Hale Peach, continues to remain popular, admired for the same qualities that led to Hale’s commercial success at the turn of the 20th century. Today peaches are still grown commercially in orchards in Glastonbury and in other towns throughout Connecticut. ” – Nancy Finlay, excerpted from her article on Connecticut History.org “John Howard Hale: Glastonbury’s Peach King”

Weekly classes in a wide variety of artistic mediums will be offered for children ages 5 to 12 this summer by the Kent Historical Society in Kent, CT. The classes will begin June 25 and continue through August 3, with sessions offered in both the morning and afternoon each week.

Children can explore painting on fabric, creating collages, drawing scenes from nature and transforming paper into art through folding techniques. Other classes will hone a student’s skill with painting by using a palette that emphasizes color mixing or letting nature inspire creativity by constructing a fairy house or an ogre’s cave.

There will be five instructors this year, including Albert Coffill, the retired Kent Center School art teacher; Gabriella Martinez, a current art student at the Hartford Art School, as well as three new teachers Lisa Weinblatt, Wendy Clery and Joy Gaiser.

Paid childcare is being offered over lunch during Week 1 (from noon to 1 p.m.) for those students who want to attend both the morning and afternoon sessions at a cost of $30 per week. This is being provided by a teenage assistant.

The Historical Society offers arts education for young people in the area to honor the memory of George Laurence Nelson, an eminent 20th Century artist known for his portraits, landscapes and florals, who lived at Seven Hearths for many years and bequeathed his 18th century home to the Kent Historical Society to operate as a museum.

Registration is not complete until payment is received, either by check or online at www.kenthistoricalsociety.org. Fees are $130 per session per week and $120 for KHS members at the Family membership level and above. For more information, email summerart@kenthistoricalsociety.org or call 860-927-4587.

“Mr. Roosevelt is the Tom Sawyer of the political world of the twentieth century; always showing off; always hunting for a chance to show off; in his frenzied imagination the Great Republic is a vast Barnum circus with him for a clown and the whole world for the audience.” – Mark Twain, autobiographical dictation, December 1907

On Friday, June 22 at 5 pm the Sharon Historical Society and Museum and the Sharon Town Hall present the next lecture their “History at the Hall” series, entitled “Mark Twain and the American Presidents.”

Mallory Howard and Jason Scappaticci of the Mark Twain House & Museum will explore Twain’s frank observations on American culture in the Gilded Age pointing out how these observations often still ring true today. “Corruption, national identity, the power of big business, and America’s global role” were just as contested then as they are now. Mark Twain’s funny, insightful observations about presidents of his day apply readily to the present political world and make for an entertaining discussion.

The lecture will be held at the Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main St., 2nd floor Chapin Meeting Room and is free and open to the public. For more information call 860-364-5688 or e-mail director@sharonhist.org.

Native Americans have created baskets for centuries. In fact, archeologists believe that baskets making is one of the oldest known crafts in the world. If you have always wanted to learn how to create a Native American bark basket, join the workshop conducted by Jennifer Lee of Pequot and Narragansett ancestry on June 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Institute of American Indian Studies located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut.

About Native American Baskets

Native American baskets range from very simple to very elaborate and the art of basket making was passed down from generation to generation among Native American Indian mothers to their daughters.

The first step in bark basket making was the harvesting of pine, ash or birch bark in the spring. The bark was then folded into the shape of a container and sewn together with spruce root and rimmed with Arrowwood or Red Osier Dogwood. Bark baskets made by Eastern Woodland Indians were used for cooking, gathering berries, hauling water, storing food, as cradleboards and even for burying the dead.

About the Workshop

Jennifer Lee is an 18th-century re-enactor and material culture presenter that offers a variety of programs including bark basket making demonstrations and workshops. She portrays an Algonkian woman of the 1750 era. Lee is also a teller of history and traditional stories. “I want my programs to dispel old stereotypes and increase awareness of present-day Native Americans.”

Participants in this workshop will learn about the lore and tradition of basket making while creating their very own bark basket. Lee will guide participants through the process of creating a bark basket using white pine bark, spruce root, and willow. Participants can choose from three different basket designs and are sure to treasure their creation at the end of the day.

To participate in this workshop, please pre-register by calling (860) 868-0518 or emailing general@iaismuseum.org to reserve your spot. The cost of this workshop ranges from $50 to $60 depending on the basket that you choose to make. Please note that prepayment is required.