Category: Connecticut Travel

PJ Party and Story Time at Stepping Stones Museum for Children… with the Bears!

The life size Berenstain Bears will be the highlight at the Pajama Party hosted on Friday, Sept. 12 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk located on 303 West Ave. So put on your most furry or comfy pajamas, perfect for hibernating like a bear (!), and head over to the Museum!

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Stepping Stones is excited to bring this classic, lovable Bear Family who recently celebrated their 50th anniversary to their museum. Participants will hear the tale “The Berenstain Bears Go To School.” In the story, Sister Bear, nervous about entering kindergarten, overcomes her fears when she discovers that school is really fun.

After the story, kids will have the opportunity to meet Brother and Sister Bear! The museum’s friends at Berenstain Bears describes these two lovable characters:

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Sister Bear is a highly-competitive, born-to-win, self-reliant third-grader, who is often braver than she imagines. She loves acting, her Bearbie dolls and the color pink. Sister is very outdoorsy and sports-minded, but she also loves fairytales, writing and jump rope

Brother Bear is 10-years old and a stand-up guy. He is very sports- minded, with his favorite being soccer. He is also a big fan of T. Rex dinosaurs, model airplane building, and “wheels” of all kinds. Brother is computer literate and into video games. He often acts as protector and stands up for Sister and the smaller cubs at school.

In addition to listening to the story and meeting Sister Bear and Brother Bear, pajama party guests can participate in a variety of school-related activities throughout the evening. Practice packing a backpack with school supplies and have fun with apple stamping – stamp real apples with paint! Make a 3-D bus model out of paper and “Be the Teacher” using white boards and markers to draw and write like a teacher.

Kids can even create their own text book cover by tracing an illustration of the Berenstain Bears using a light table. In the bedtime story corner, kids can enjoy a quiet family snuggle time reading other Berenstain books while relaxing on beanbags.

At the end of the evening, kids are invited to hold their 3-D bus model high as they march and sing along with the Wheels on the Bus Parade. Then, it’s time to go home for a little hibernation, like bears do in the winter, but only for the night – and maybe some extra sleep because it’s the weekend!

Tickets for this event cost $10 per person for museum members and $15 per person for non-members. Children under the age of one will be admitted for free. Storybook Pajama Party tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. Registration is required. Space is limited and tickets are selling briskly, so register early. Call 203 899 0606, ext. 264 or http://www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/ to register.

Stepping Stones is located at 303 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT, exit 14 North and 15 South off I-95. Museum hours are: Labor Day through Memorial Day, Tuesday—Sunday and select holiday Mondays from 10 am-5pm; and Memorial Day through Labor Day, Monday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm. Admission is $15 for adults and children and $10 for seniors. Children under 1 are free. To learn more, visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org.

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Baby Clothes 1800-1950 and Tool Exhibition at Wilton Historical Society

The Wilton Historical Society’s fall show called White Linen and Lace, Baby Clothing from 1800- 1950 that will be on display through October 4. Pure yet practical, white has been the traditional choice for baby clothing for hundreds of years. In this small exhibition, tiny garments made with love and lavished with fine needlework are on display. There are christening gowns and slips, night gowns, caps, bonnets, bibs, dresses and petite shoes created between 1800 and 1950. The delicate attire is shown with some of the furnishings of childhood – a cradle, blankets, highchair, silver mugs and utensils, baby bottles and rattles.
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A circa 1870 sewing box reminds us of the countless hours women spent laboring over their precious snowy creations, working by the light of candles, oil lamps, or by rays of sunlight through a window. Exquisite clothing with nearly invisible stitches, tiny tucking, tatting, crochet, soutache, cutwork, drawn work and embroidery — their needle skills are remarkable.

Of particular interest are the family connections many of these heirlooms have with Wilton. Do these names sound familiar? Sturgis, Hurlbutt, Ambler, Belden, Davenport, Evans, Nash, Marvin, Parisot, Rounds – many are now memorialized as road names, while others still boast descendants living in town today.

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Another exhibition, Changing Times: Hand Tools Before the Industrial Revolution, features Connecticut Tools of the Trades from the Walter R.T. Smith Collection. Mounted on the walls of the Burt Barn Gallery, the setting compliments the sculptural appearance of the old tools. They have an almost folk-art quality, with their worn wood and rather eccentric shapes. The machines that supplanted them in the Industrial Revolution would never have the soul of these antique implements.

Both exhibitions will continue through October 4, 2014. The Wilton Historical Society is located on 224 Danbury Road and is open Tuesday—Saturday, 10:00-4:00. There are house tours every day at 2:00, and by appointment. For more information http://www.wiltonhistorical.org

The Abbott Blacksmith Shop, also on the property, with a working blacksmith, is open most Saturdays, except in winter.

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37 Annual Members Show at Carriage Barn Arts Center

On Saturday, September 13 – Sunday, October 5, the Carriage Barn Arts Center located on 681 South Ave., New Canaan will celebrate the diverse work of its strong contingency of current artist members in its annual Members’ Show. There will be over 150 artists participating mainly from Connecticut and New York and the work will represent all subjects, styles and media. A highlight of this show are the outdoor sculptures of renowned sculptor Carole Eisner.

Marianne Rothballer, Weir Farm
Marianne Rothballer, Weir Farm

At the opening reception on Saturday, September 13th, the Carriage Barn Arts Center will also celebrate winning and receiving the Editor’s Pick of Moffly Media’s Best of the Gold Coast. It is a great honor for the Carriage Barn to be recognized as one of the leading arts venues in Fairfield County.

Gathering Nancy Woodward
Gathering Nancy Woodward

The opening reception is Sept 13 from 4 pm – 6 pm. There will be a talk with the artists on Saturday, September 27 from 4- 6 p.m. and children’s art workshops led by exhibiting member artist and teacher Nancy Scranton on Sunday, September 21st, 2-3:30 pm and Sunday, September, 28th, 2-3:30 pm. for kids ages 8-12.On the closing day of the show, Sunday, October 5th, Madera Winds will perform a free concert from 3-4 pm.

The gallery hours are Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. For more information visit www.carriagebarn.org. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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ROBERT ANDREW PARKER: BY LAND, SEA & AIR—Paintings, Drawings, Etchings

The David Hunt Library located in the bucolic village of Falls Village in the Litchfield Hills on 63 Main Street is hosting an art exhibition featuring the work of Robert Andrew Parker through October 10. An opening reception with refreshments will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, September 12. This event is free and open to the public.

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The poet Marianne Moore said, “Robert Andrew Parker is one of the most accurate and at the same time most unliteral of painters. He combines the mystical and the actual, working both in an abstract and in a realistic way.” Ms. Moore’s is an apt description of Parker’s recent work in this exhibit including serial images of an Avro Bison aircraft combining print and watercolor and a series of ships in the far distance, possibly warships. These are accompanied by landscapes, images of animals, and water conveying an overall sense of movement and adventure.

Besides being a foremost American artist, illustrator, and printmaker, Parker is also a writer and a working musician. Bob continues to perform with his band mates locally at the Interlaken Inn and other spots.

Parker’s artworks have appeared in the pages of The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Esquire just to name a few. His drawings and paintings have accompanied the writings of Franz Kafka, Vladimir Nabokov, W. H. Auden, and Marianne Moore. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Morgan Library and Museum, and private collections throughout the world. Most recently, Parker was the subject of a Century Masters career retrospective at The Century Association in New York.

David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main Street, Falls Village, CT 06031, 860-824-7424, www.huntlibrary.org

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Troubadour to Entertain at Sweet Treats Social in Easton

The Easton Historical Society Easton’s Parks and Recreation Department, are co-sponsoring a sweet event this September. On September 7 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. event goers are in for a special treat social at the historic Bradley Hubbell Homestead located on 535 Black Rock Road in Easton. The public is invited to enjoy a late summer afternoon overlooking the bountiful Bradley garden and the graceful Hemlock Reservoir while listening to music while kids are entertained with a series of children’s crafts, farm demonstrations and refreshing treats.

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One of the highlights of the afternoon will be the appearance of Connecticut’s first “Official State Troubadour” Tom Callinan who has composed an entertaining song about the Bradley’s family farming history which he plans on debuting at this social event. Tom will regale the crowd with music from yesteryear including popular songs from the colonial and Revolutionary War period.

The 19th Century cider press housed in the barn on the property will be featured in a demonstration showing how apples were pressed for the production of cider, a popular beverage especially during apple picking season. Children can visit the crafts table for hands-on fun creating apple prints, a special memory of their afternoon at the Bradley-Hubbell Homestead. Plus, all can tickle their taste buds with refreshing nutritious and delicious yogurt treats courtesy of Red Mango of Fairfield, CT.

Admission fees are $5 per person, $20 per family, and Children under 5 free. Half-price for Historical Society Members. For more information contact the Historical Society of Easton at 203-261-2090 or visit www.historicalsocietyofeastonct.org.

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Hollister House Garden Rare Plant Sale Sept. 6-7

The Garden Conservancy and Hollister House Garden located in the Litchfield Hills has announced the fourth biennial Hollister House Garden Study Weekend, to be held the weekend of September 6 – 7.

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On Saturday, September 6, New Plants/New Gardens, a symposium at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT, will provide an opportunity to hear some of the most interesting voices in landscape architecture, ecological design, and horticulture at work today. The symposium will be moderated by garden writer Stephen Orr, and will begin with breakfast on Saturday at the Heritage Hotel. Speakers include: Dan Hinkley, plant explorer, founder of Heronswood Nursery, and winner of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Veitch’s Medal, presenting “Shade, Shadows, Sun: Life and Living in Two Gardens” Margie Ruddick, Cooper-Hewitt National Design award-winning landscape architect, sharing her pioneering approach to landscape design in a talk entitled “Wild by Design” Darrel Morrison, native plant expert and landscape architect, whose work includes Storm King Art Center, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the Native Flora Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, exploring the idea of landscape design as ecological art Ed Bowen, proprietor of Opus Nursery and working gardener, introducing new plants that will serve as the garden archetypes of the 21st century

The day will continue with a Plant Show-and-Tell with noted plant connoisseur Marco Polo Stufano, garden writer Page Dickey, and nurseryman Adam Wheeler showing favorite plants and discussing the special merits of each. Hickory Stick Bookshop will be at the Saturday symposium selling garden-related gifts and books. After the symposium, participants are invited to a cocktail reception at Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT, with early access to the Rare and Unusual Plant Sale that will be open to the public the following morning. A silent auction of a few choice plants will also take place that evening.

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Admission to the reception and early buying is included in admission to the symposium. Admission to just the cocktail party and plant sale preview is also available to those not participating in the symposium. Registrations for Saturday– for the symposium and cocktail party, including early buying at the sale of Rare and Unusual Plants, is $175 per person for registrations purchased by August 1 and for members of Hollister House Garden and the Garden Conservancy. After August 1, registrations for non-members are $190 apiece. A special rate at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury is available for symposium participants by contacting the hotel directly at 800.932.3466 and mentioning “Garden Study Weekend.” Tickets for cocktails and early buying for Rare and Unusual Plant Sale (held at Hollister House Garden, Washington, CT) are $40 for Hollister House Garden members, $45 for all others. For more information about the Hollister House Garden www.hollisterhousegarden.org.

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On Sunday, September 7, the Litchfield County Open Day Sale of Rare and Unusual Plants brings on the public portion of the plant sale at Hollister House Garden and the opening of five exceptional gardens (Hollister House Garden, Greyledge Farm, Maywood, Lagniappe Garden, and the Pearsall garden) in Washington, Bridgewater, and Roxbury as part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. For more information on the Litchfield County Open Day, including hours, maps, and descriptions of each garden, visit the Open Days schedule on www.gardenconservancy.org No pre-registration is necessary for Sunday programs. Open Days admission is $5 per person, per garden. Children 12 and under free.

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