Category: Connecticut Travel

Each year, the Sharon Audubon Center located at 325 Cornwall Bridge Rd. invites small groups of birders to venture out for the sole purpose of counting birds. This free event, known as the Trixie Strauss Christmas Bird Count, occurs on Sunday, December 17th from 12:01 am to midnight. Our count area is a 15-mile circle with its center at Hotchkiss School, thus taking in some of the good birding areas in Sharon, Salisbury, Falls Village, Amenia and Northeast. Teams from all over the state and all over the country take part in Christmas Bird Count, and all of the numbers are compiled and reported to help better understand flock formations and migrations.

You don’t have to be a great birder to enjoy Christmas Bird Count. And, if it’s cold outside, you don’t even have to get out of the car! “Feeder watchers” are also always appreciated. If you would like to participate, but would rather not leave the comforts of your home, you can choose to count the birds at your bird feeders, even if only for one hour. Your numbers can then be given to our compiler Zach Adams right after the count and they will be included in the overall Christmas Bird Count report. Forms for the bird feeder count can be picked up at the Sharon Audubon Center on Route 4 in Sharon, CT. You can also call the Audubon Center to find out who the “area captains” are so you can contact them to learn meeting places and times throughout the day.

At approximately 5:00 pm, the teams congregate at the Sharon Audubon Center to turn in their data, enjoy some snacks, and determine who has the best hold on “bragging rights” for the day’s finds. Even if you can’t join us in the field, you are welcome to join us at the Center to hear the results. We ask anyone who lives in the surrounding towns to fill up your bird feeders to help with our counts! Please contact the Center at (860) 364-0520 if you would like more information on the Trixie Strauss Christmas Bird Count.

The Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, 192 Main Street, Torrington, is once again decorated for the Christmas season. During the Christmas season, the house takes on a special ambiance as trees, lights, and various Christmas decorations sparkle against the richly embellished interior of this historic home. During the Christmas season, guided tours of the first floor will be available to visitors. Tours will be available beginning on Saturday, December 9th and ending on Saturday, December 30th. Hours are Thursdays through Sundays, 12-4, last tour is at 3:30. Admission is $10 for adults; FREE to Torrington Historical Society members.
Children 12 and under are free. The house museum will be closed December 25th.

At Christmas, the house takes on a particularly festive look. This year, the woodwork and richly embellished interior will be accented with touches of white, poinsettias, wreaths and several Christmas trees. The rooms on the first floor will be decorated with an array of Christmas trees and greenery. One of the many trees will feature antique ornaments from a private collection while others will be decorated with vintage ornaments from the Society’s collection and antique toys from the Society’s collection will also be on view. In addition, the dining room table will be set for Christmas dinner with the fine china, crystal, silverware, and linens that belonged to Gertrude Fyler Hotchkiss.

One of Connecticut’s best house museums, the Hotchkiss-Fyler House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A tour of this house provides visitors with a rare opportunity to view an historic home as it was when last occupied. Built in 1900, the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum was home to the Hotchkiss and Fyler families for more than half a century until 1956 when it was bequeathed to the Torrington Historical Society by Gertrude Fyler Hotchkiss. The interior features impressive woodwork, painted and stenciled walls, original furnishings and collections of fine and decorative arts.

The Torrington Historical Society always welcomes new members. Join now and your tour is free! For more information, call (860) 482-8260 or visit http://www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org.

On Saturday, December 16 at 2 p.m. the Sharon Historical Society hosts scholar William Hosley in his debut lecture on the history of chairs. This picture show and lecture will delve into chairs as one of the oldest most universal elements of household furnishing in human history.

The history of chairs actually started in ancient Egypt with chairs made of ebony and ivory,they were often carved and the wood was gilded and supported upon representations of the legs of beasts or the figures of captives. Egyptians believed that the chairs need to represent natural forms to avoid creating chaos in the universe, by creating an artificial object. Fast forwarding through time, the oldest dated example of American furniture is a chair. Chairs have use. They have artistic expression. They reflect evolving technology and, especially in the pre-industrial era, they mark the places they come from stylistically, especially here in Connecticut.

Chairs from Norwich or Wethersfield or Woodbury are as distinctive as a thumb print. Chairs were also abundant enough that we have plenty of evidence – thousands of chair – to show the scope and scale of change from the earliest years of settlement to today. This program will provide a fast-paced overview of 350 years of chairs and chair-making in America.

Looking for a distinctive handmade gift that will truly be appreciated by the special people on your shopping list? Decked out in festive style, the historic Van Vleck House at Flanders Nature Center located at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Roads in Woodbury is the setting for their annual “Artisan Marketplace”.

This popular annual event will run through December 17, 2017. At the Artisan Marketplace you will find a wide variety of quality creations handmade by local crafters and artisans including quilts, wreaths and greens, jewelry and pottery, toys, chocolates, ornaments, home décor, hand painted wine glasses, hats and hand dyed scarves, skin care and pet items as well as wool from Flanders own sheep and much more.

Artists and crafters will also be exhibiting their items and also showcasing their talents through demonstrations and workshops as featured artisans of the day. Proceeds benefit local artisans and Flanders land conservation and educational programs.

The Van Vleck house is located at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Roads in Woodbury. The “Artisan Marketplace” will be open Saturdays and Sundays 11-4 through December 17th. This holiday season keep your shopping handmade and local!

Lake Compounce, located on Lake Ave. in Bristol is proud to announce their “Lake Compounce Holiday Lights”, a seasonal holiday-themed family event taking place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings beginning November 24 and running through December 20. The park gates will open at 5:00 P.M. on Fridays, and at 4:00 P.M. on Saturdays and Sundays.

‘Holiday Lights’ will provide full family entertainment for all ages, and include festive activities such as a spectacular light show every half hour at the main gate, which will feature tens of thousands of dancing lights set to holiday music. Kiddieland rides and family-themed rides will be in operation. The Train will be transformed into the North Pole Railway, operated by a very special, uniformed train conductor with a magical holiday story to tell.

There will be indoor activities such as cookie decorating and gingerbread house making. Children will be given the opportunity to customize their very own letter to Santa, and will then receive a personalized letter sent directly to them, from Santa, just a few days later. On the Kiddieland stage children can enjoy Story Time with Mrs. Clause. There will be carolers strolling throughout the park, an ice carver creating unique, frozen sculptures, and lots more festive entertainment including clowns making balloon animals and lots of holiday characters greeting guests. The childhood favorite; photos with Santa is not to be missed in the Winter Wonderland Starlight Theatre.

The park’s gift shops will also be loaded with holiday-themed merchandise for sale, so guests can get their holiday shopping done, and new this year great food will be served hot from unique and festive food trucks. There is also a pet-friendly night on December 17 when guests are invited to bring their well behaved dog or cat to Lake Compounce, if you bring a can of cat or dog food, you will get $5 off admission at the gate.

New for 2017 is dinner with Santa on Dec. 2,9,16, and 23. Enjoy dinner from 2:30-3:30pm, followed by a visit with Santa! After you’re done with pictures, the entire night of Holiday Lights is yours to enjoy with family and friends until 9 pm! Buffet menu: will include lots of child and adult favorites! Adults are $29.99, kids 4-10 $23.99 and children 3 and under are free.

Admission is $11.99 online and $15.99 at Gate per adult, $11.99 for children 4 thru 10, and free for children 3 and under. Senior tickets are $11.99. Platinum Season Pass holders may enter for free with their 2016 season pass. Tickets may be purchased online now, or at the park gate once the event begins. For more information https://www.lakecompounce.com

For a monthly newsletter on events in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.litchfieldhills.com

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking’s new exhibition that runs through Jan. 7, 2018 is called Illumination, which is the theme for CCP’s members show. The accumulation and spread of human knowledge is deeply indebted to the labor of print and paper artists. It is their work, which allows concepts and ideas to be inscribed, transcribed and preserved into a physical manifestation.

Printed materials were cherished objects and the artists who created them not only preserved their illuminating wisdom, but also shed their artistic light on the pages. Illumination originally meant specifically the addition of gold or silver painting but grew to mean any hand addition, marginalia, or embellishment added to the page. For Illumination, members will respond to these traditions and ideas; perhaps through telling a new story, by adding the illuminating light of metal leaf, jewel-bright ink or an exploration of light.

The Gallery is located on 299 West Ave. in Mathews Park in Norwalk and is open Tuesday 9am–9pm · Wednesday–Saturday 9am–5pm · Sunday 12pm–5pm and is closed Mondays.

The image is Frances Ashforth, 2016 Members Exhibit 1st prize winner, will have an exhibition in the Lithography Studio.