Category: Connecticut Travel

The Naugatuck Railroad and Haigh-Brown Vineyard have teamed up on Sunday, May 24 at 2 p.m. for a scenic ride along the Naugatuck River with a stop at Haight-Brown Vineyard in Litchfield. This unique experience includes a scenic train ride, full wine tasting, food and winery tour. This train ride is for adults only and the cost is $75 per person. For tickets https://www.dynamicticketsolutions.com/rmne/index.cfm

Participants will spend the afternoon in old-time luxury! Meet at the Railroad Museum of New England’s Thomaston train station located on 242 East Main Street just off of Rte. 8, 20 to 30 minutes prior to the 2 pm train time before boarding a 1920s era vintage railroad car.

Guests on the train will enjoy a scenic New England train ride while sipping a glass or two of wine and light appetizers from Haight Brown Vineyard. Upon returning to the train station, ticket holders will return to their vehicles and travel 8 miles to Haight-Brown Vineyard via scenic Route 254, a 10 minute trip.

Upon arrival at the vineyard, participants will continue their wine tasting, paired with generous small plate delights! This special excursion is hosted by staff from the Vineyard and by the volunteers of the Railroad Museum of New England. For more information on the Naugatuck Railroad http://rmne.org.

New at the Vineyard is a new wine that was released on Mothers Day which is called Strawberry Bliss that is a riesling strawberry wine. For more information about Haight-Brown Vineyard http://www.haightvineyards.com.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The Bruce Museum located on One Museum Drive in Greenwich Connecticut has a show through November 8 titled Madagascar: Ghosts of the Past, that only hints at the intrigue waiting for visitors to the Bruce Museum’s science gallery. Isolated for the last 88 million years, Madagascar is populated by hundreds of remarkable species that are found nowhere else on Earth.

Visitors will explore three major phases of Malagasy history and encounter a variety of living and extinct species. The exhibition includes casts of a carnivorous theropod dinosaur suspected of cannibalism and a snub-nosed plant-eating crocodilian.

Visitors will encounter giant lemurs, pygmy hippos and the elephant bird, a giant flightless species with an egg holding the volume of 150 chicken eggs!

The exhibition concludes by touching on the present, following the rapid extinction of many species as humans arrive on Madagascar.

There is a science lecture on June 2 at 7 pm and explores the bizarre and marvelous dinosaurs and other vertebrates of Madagascar. Dr. David Krause is the lecturer. To reserve call 203-413-6757. There is a 6:30 p.m. reception for both events.

On August 16 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. there is a Madagascar Family Day that will feature fun family activities for all ages and a performance by Erik’s Reptile Edventures. See live reptiles and amphibians from Madagascar and learn about their adaptations and the role they play in rainforest ecology and Malagasy culture.

For more information about the Bruce Museum https://brucemuseum.org

Cornwall Bridge Pottery Store located on 415 Sharon Goshen Turnpike in the heart of Cornwall Bridge, just up the street from the historic covered bridge that spans the Housatonic River has once again announced it’s annual lamp sale on May 23 and May 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cornwall Bridge Pottery began making lamps back in 1976 for Bloomingdale’s as they hosted an American Craft Celebration
in honor of the nations 200th Anniversary. Since then, 40 years later, Cornwall Bridge Pottery has become world renown for their elegant and stylish designs. They are are now featured in the Shaker Workshops catalog and have even sold lamps to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters! They have customers using their lamps in the Caribbean,Europe and all across the United States.

So, you might say they are in a celebratory mood and this years selection of high quality lamps demonstrate their continued commitment to function, quality, and price. Some lamps will be discounted as much as 75%. But those go quickly so make sure you get there early.

Additionally, Cornwall Bridge Pottery will be formally introducing our partnership with a company called WaterCheck.Biz. This joint-venture is named Terra Water Pottery. There are few things that share a closer relationship than
clay and water. Put together, they not only produce the magnificence, beauty and practicality of ceramics, they also account for the vast majority of the makeup of the Earth’s surface. But now, the two are coming together in a different manner. See more at: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?CornwallBridgePotter/99a22d7dd1/1fb02e29b1/9228e25854

As an added incentive there will be a discount of 10% on all sales of Shaker furniture transacted during this Memorial Day Weekend period (good for ordered furniture as well as items from showroom floor). The pottery will also have ongoing
demonstrations of wheel-throwing as well as discussions and in-depth videos of the making and firing process.

In addition to this fabulous sale, there is a new Spring Art Exhibition in the gallery on the second floor. This year the Pottery is featuring painter John Thompson and a first-time-ever viewing of his latest series of Central Park paintings. Alongside of John’s work they will exhibit fashion-driven hats designed and handmade by his daughter, milliner Ryan Wilde. There will be an OPENING RECEPTION Sunday, May 24, 2015 from 12 noon thru 3 p.m. Wine and cheese and crackers will be served.

John’s works for this show FIFTH AVENUE are from a series he calls CENTRAL PARK. Oils, and giclee prints from watercolor sketchbooks will be on display reflecting the northeast corner of the park, specifically the sites of the Conservatory Garden and the Harlem Meer. Examples can be seen at his website: http://cts.vresp.com/c/CornwallBridgePotter/99a22d7dd1/1fb02e29b1/6c39fc37d8.

Ryan Wilde is presently employed as the millinery director of JJ Hat Center on Fifth Avenue in New York City,which at 104 years is the oldest hat store in New York. Thru JJ Hat, Ryan crafts for all heads. In particular celebrities such as Donald Trump, Lady Gaga, LL Cool J, Spike Lee and the Metropolitan Opera have sought her counsel, fashion sense and old-world
skills to create head adornment. More of this story can be found at Ryan’s website:
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?CornwallBridgePotter/99a22d7dd1/1fb02e29b1/bd25d0a14f.

Families can help feed breakfast to the animals, while budding biologists dive into the worlds of turtles and sharks, through fun new public program on Sunday May 31 at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

In the “Feeding Time” program, families enjoy a buffet breakfast at the Aquarium and then – prior to the Aquarium’s opening for the day – join the marine biologists on key stops of their morning rounds. Feeding time takes place from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Participants take a turn feeding the diamondback terrapins, horseshoe crabs and rays, and attend a private feeding of the seals. Best of all, they go behind-the-scenes to watch the feeding of the Aquarium’s large sharks.

Cost is $45 per adult and $25 per child 12 & under ($40 & $20 for Aquarium members). Advance registration is required for public programs. Call (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206, or register online at www.maritimeaquarium.org under the “Fun & Learning” tab.

Lime Rock’s traditional Memorial Day Weekend is featuring the Trans Am Series & the Sunday Royals Car Show Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 22-24, 2015 that promises to be one of the highlights of the season.

Trans Am cars are big, bad and brutal – and really fast at Lime Rock. With Dodge coming on board to Trans Am, the real “Pony Car Wars” are back: Mustang versus Camaro versus Challenger.

The Lime Rock Trans Am field is going to be nearly 60 cars, so Trans Am will split the field and give Lime Rock two big Trans Am races! Plus, spectators will see round 2 (Friday) and round 3 (Saturday) of the exciting LRDC Spec Miata Series, and two VSCCA vintage races.

Sunday is the sixth annual Sunday Royals Car Show, Connecticut’s best “workingman’s” show, the anti-concours concours; great cars of every kind, from hot rods to sports cars and everything in between. If it’s cool, it’s at Lime Rock Park located on Rte. 112 in Lime Rock Connecticut. For more information, tickets and a complete schedule of events visit http://www.limerock.com.

Kent is called the “Cultural Heart of the Litchfield Hills” by the Kent Chamber of Commerce, and its residents and visitors have long-cherished the town’s cultural abundance.

As a center of learning with three private schools, many nonprofits with a wide variety of interesting programming and a large number of art galleries, there are a lot of things that make the town unique and draw people to visit. The Kent Historical Society is one of the groups that prides itself on the town’s cultural riches. The May 17 Sunday Series presentation will explore what Kent and the other towns in Litchfield Hills offer to its residents and visitors.

William Hosley, a cultural resource development consultant and frequent lecturer, will speak on “Discovering the Litchfield Hills’ Cultural Treasures” May 17 at 2 p.m. in Kent Town Hall as part of the Society’s ongoing Sunday Series programs.
Hosley is a strong promoter of cultural tourism and he specializes in presenting lively regional cultural histories. As a Connecticut-based consultant, he serves local communities, museums, historical organizations, and businesses,. He has more than 30 years in the business, serving as an historian, writer, photographer, marketing and communications consultant, and social media expert.

Hosley was formerly director of the New Haven Museum and Connecticut Landmarks, where he cared for a chain of historic attractions throughout Connecticut. Prior to that, he was a curator and exhibition developer at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford.
Hosley’s presentation on Kent and the Litchfield Hills will explore the history, art history and cultural attractions that are located in New England’s most cherished places.

The Kent Historical Society sponsors the Sunday Series every other month September through May. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.
The Kent Historical Society’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret and present the rich history of Kent as well as to provide educational and research material to enrich the public understanding of Kent’s artistic and cultural heritage. For more information, see www.kenthistoricalsociety.org or call 860-927-4587.