Category: Connecticut Travel

The Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum located on 295 West Ave. in Norwalk has a special exhibition, Demolish or Preserve: The 1960s at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion through November 20, 2016. This multimedia exhibit, curated by by Kathleen Motes Bennewitz has photographs, costumes, artifacts, and music that explores the fascinating and tumultuous decade of the 1960s.

It is impossible to remember the 1960s without thinking of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon, the Beatles arriving in the United States, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and—most hauntingly—the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Against this backdrop of turbulent cultural change and social unrest, was the nation’s modern urban planning, which included the demolition of historic neighborhoods and irreplaceable buildings.

This exhibition will explore the fascinating and ground-breaking decade of the 1960s and the Mansion’s connections to the revolutionary preservation battles and new landmark statutes of the era. It will also honor the museum’s 50th Anniversary as it celebrates the bands of locals, led by the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, Inc. and the Common Interest Group, who fought to save the Mansion and secure its status as a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

With Europe’s ongoing legacy of artistic and historic preservation and reuse as a model, in the 1960s concerned citizens brought national attention to the need for saving from demolition historically and architecturally significant structures in America. Jackie Kennedy, using her stature and influence, restored the White House’s historic interiors; and just as the grand mansions of Fifth Avenue and Newport were slated for demolition, here in Norwalk LeGrand Lockwood’s Civil War era palatial residence was faced with a similar fate. Recognizing that the demolition of this structure would be a great loss to the city, state, and nation, concerned citizens galvanized to save the mansion in one the most important and hard fought preservation battles in Connecticut’s history.

General Admission to the Lockwood Mathews Mansion is Wed.-Sun., 12-4 p.m., $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6, 8-18. The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on schedules and programs please visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799. For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Norfolk, Conn., has long been a mecca for those who love music of all kinds, but Weekend in Norfolk, its town-wide open house coming up August 5, 6 and 7, promises to be extra special. From Infinity Hall’s pop, rock, blues and jazz concerts to classical music and other performances at the Music Shed to pop-up musicians all around town, you’ll find music in the air everywhere you go.

Infinity Hall, with its Queen Anne architecture and vivid green paint, is an unmissable presence on Route 44. Built in 1883, the building housed an auditorium for concerts and lectures upstairs and a grocery and a dry goods store on the ground floor. The theater fell into disuse in the 1940s and had subsequent ups and downs, but in 2007 Infinity owner Dan Hincks bought the building and completely redid the interior, adding a state-of-the-art sound system and creating an intimate, friendly setting for live music of all genres. Singer Jane Monheit and the Glenn Miller Orchestra will both appear on Saturday, and bluegrass band Seldom Scene is slated to perform Sunday.

The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival is believed to be the oldest summer music festival in North America. Since the 1940s, it has held its concerts in the Music Shed, hailed as “an acoustic marvel” by the New York Times. The Music Shed, modeled after Steinway Hall in New York City, was built in 1906, and over the decades its beautiful redwood interior has welcomed many world-famous musicians to its stage. During Weekend in Norfolk, the Music Shed will feature concerts by the world-renowned Emerson String Quartet, faculty and students from the Yale Summer School of Music, and the U.S. Coast Guard Band.

And don’t forget those unexpected pop-up musicians, many of them recruited from Norfolk’s talented residents, who will be performing at the farmers market, on the village green, in the library, in the center of town and …well, come and be surprised.

For a full listing of all the Weekend in Norfolk musical events, plus the rest of the more than 60 events scheduled as well as places to eat, sleep or shop, visit weekendinnorfolk.org. If you have questions, send an email to info@weekendinnorfolk.org.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The 19th annual Tea for Two Hundred garden party gala benefit will be held on Saturday, August 13, 2016, from 4:00 to 7:00pm in the beautiful gardens of the Washington Depot home of Mr. Gael Hammer and Mr. Gary Goodwin.

The tea, attracting people from all over New England, is widely considered Litchfield County’s social event of the summer season. This year the Tea for Two Hundred will be honoring Washington resident George Schoellkopf and the Hollister House Garden. Guests will be able to dance in the garden to the music of the legendary “Beehive Queen” Christine Ohlman, shop the fabled and eclectic Silent Auction, and enter the dazzling Crazy Hat contest. The dress code is traditional white or creative vintage.

The proceeds of the Tea for Two Hundred will benefit two local nonprofit organizations; The Gunn Historical Museum of Washington, well known throughout the State of Connecticut for its excellent award winning exhibitions, and the Interfaith AIDS Ministry of Greater Danbury (IAM) a nonprofit agency offering unconditional critical support services to families facing the nutritional and physical challenges of living with HIV/AIDS.

Tickets to the Tea for Two Hundred are $75, and are available online at www.gunnhistoricalmuseum.org, or by calling the Museum at 860-868-7756. The address of the party is 63 River Road, Washington Depot. Parking, however, is encouraged at the Washington Primary School located at 11 School Street in Washington Depot. There will be shuttle buses available to bring guests the short distance to the party.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Accomplished wildlife artist Melody Asbury is offering art classes at Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust with the focus on learning to paint the animal of a person’s choice including pets, wildlife or farm animals. Students will have the opportunity to try sketching live animals using Flanders own animals. There will be instruction and individual guidance on basic structure and gesture as well as how to keep an ongoing sketchbook.

All levels of students are welcome and any medium can be used. Participants are asked to bring a sketchbook, pencils, a good reference photograph and their own art supplies.
A walk to Flanders’ barnyard and/or small live animals brought to the studio will serve as further inspiration.

The 4 class series will begin on Wednesday August 3 with classes also held on the following Wednesdays of August 10, 17, and 24. All classes will be held from 7 to 9 PM in the historic Van Vleck Studio on the corner of Flanders Road and Church Hill Road in Woodbury.

The cost for the series is $100 for members or $150 for non-members. Preregistration is required. Those interested may register online at www.flandersnaturecenter.org or call 203-263-3711, ext. 10, for more information. For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Set in the picturesque, rolling Litchfield Hills, the Litchfield Jazz Festival was launched in 1996 with a line-up any well-established festival would have been proud of. Once again this year, this highly anticipated popular event is taking place on Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7 at the Goshen Fairgrounds located on Rt3. 63, 116 Old Middle Street in Goshen. Tickets are a bargain and range from $25- $500.

The themed program, Generations Of Jazz, pairs young stars-in-the-making who came out of the Fest’s teaching arm, Litchfield Jazz Camp, with iconic players. Two decades of top jazz instruction by the best clinicians in the world at Litchfield Jazz Camp have produced the stars of today and tomorrow. We have selected a roster of ultra-talented, young musicians, players who have been a part of Litchfield Jazz Camp, to grace our Main stage alongside established jazz musicians who have served as their mentors and helped them grow as musicians.

Some of these pairings will surprise you. All will delight you. Young lions like saxophonist Albert Rivera and pianist Emmet Cohen will be joined by guitarist Paul Bollenback and saxophonist Jimmy Heath. Other well-known artists includes Steve Johns, Orrin Evans, Dave Stryker, Donald Harrison, Avery Sharpe. Matt Wilson and many more.

This year the Festival sports a new look with its Sunday kickoff, Scat & Scramble- A Jazz Brunch with a New Orleans flair in food and music led by saxophonist Donald Harrison and an all-star band. Brunch tickets are included with all Best Friends and Sunday VIP
Tickets. Delicious food Southern style by festival favorite O’Deens BBQ and music to match. Donald Harrison will head up a big band of our top jazz campers and instructors in music from the Big Easy. Get ready for a swinging good time and bring those second line umbrellas. We’ll bring the beads!! Brunch tickets are included in all Sunday VIP passes.

Tickets are on sale now online. Visit the website www.litchfieldjazzfest.com or call 860-361-6285 for assistance and information. For more area information about where to stay and dine www.litchfieldhills.com
The line up*:

Saturday 8/6
Adrew Hadro w/ Tony Malaby
Richie Barshay w/ Jimmy Greene
Albert Rivera w/ Paul Bollenback “Back At It”
Nicole Zuraitis w/ Dave Stryker
Daryl Johns w/ Orrin Evans “Saluting Errol Garner’s Concert by the Sea”

Sunday 8/7
Friends of the Festival Scat & Scramble Brunch w/ Donald Harrison
Big Bass Blowout w/ Avery Sharpe & Matt Wilson
Emmet Cohen w/ Jimmy Heath
Litchfield Jazz Orchestra “Earth Wind & Wonder”
The Curtis Brothers w/ Donald Harrison

*line up is subject to change

Norfolk, Connecticut, population 1600, is not a town that tends to blow its own horn. In fact, many who live in this unspoiled hamlet in the Litchfield Hills rather like having their hometown’s New England charm and beautiful surroundings to themselves.

But, three -residents. Sue Frisch, Holly Gill and Ruth Melville, think it is high time that their town was recognized. Together with local businesses and organizations, the trio has planned “A Weekend in Norfolk” to be held on August 5, 6 and 7, a fun-and activity-filled three days to show off what they love.
Among Norfolk’s often unheralded assets to be displayed are the Yale Summer School of Music and its annual concerts in the Norfolk Festival Music Shed, three scenic state parks and miles of forest trails.

On the weekend docket are concerts for every taste from chamber music by the Emerson Quartet to rock groups and the U.S. Coast Guard Band. The scenic surroundings attract many artists who will show their work in an art exhibit by Norfolk Artists and Friends, and there will be readings by novelist Courtney Maum and Poet Susannah Wood.

Walking tours will point out the classic village green, shuttered Colonial homes, white church spires and exceptional architecture like the 1899 library, the Tiffany windows in Battell Chapel, the Stanford White fountain on the green, and some of the grand local estates. Other walks will include a wildflower walk at Aton Forest and a guided hike in Great Mountain Forest.

Foodies will enjoy a farmer’s market on Saturday, an ice cream social on Sunday and special deals and menus at the town’s restaurant all weekend.

Norfolk’s parks beckon this weekend and every weekend. An easy trail to the summit of 240-acre Dennis Hill State Park rewards hikers with panoramic views and the observation tower at Haystack Mountain State Park can be reached by auto or a steep climb. Campbell Falls State Park, a natural reserve area, offers views of the falls tumbling over craggy rock formations.

Visitors who stay overnight will discover some delightful local lodgings like the Blackberry River Inn, a 1761 Colonial; Mountain View Inn, an elegantly restored Victorian; and Manor House, a romantic 1898 Tudor bed and breakfast inn.

If the romantic spirit of the town inspires, you can make an appointment to be wed or renew your vows on the village green. The town’s first selectman will officiate; fresh bouquets will be supplied and ring bearers and witnesses will be standing by. For more information, see Weekend in Norfolk on Facebook or visit the website www.weekendinnorfolk.org.

For more information about the area and a free copy of Unwind, a full-color, 170-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in the Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County in Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759 or visit their website at www.visitwesternct.com. A colorful visitors map and guide to Norfolk is also available.