Category: Litchfield Hills Connecticut Travel

SANTA’S ON BOARD FOR FUN IN LITCHIFELD HILLS

If you want to find Santa in Northwest Connecticut, catch a train. On weekends, you can join Mr. and Mrs. Claus taking a break for a fun ride aboard the Santa Express, a restored 1920s train from the New England Railroad Museum in Thomaston. To see Santa at work, ride a train to visit the great man and his busy elves in the weekend Toyland he sets up in a vintage train car at the Danbury Railroad Museum. Santa works late this time of year, and the special Northern Lights tours from Thomaston let you make a stop to see him at Santa’s Train Workshop. Wherever you find him, you can be sure that Santa has gifts ready for all young children.

Fans of miniature trains also will find irresistible holiday exhibits of whizzing, whirring miniature trains at many spots in this scenic part of the state.

Riding the Rails

The Santa Express leaves the 1881 station in Thomaston on Saturdays and Sundays for an hour and a quarter round-trip scenic ride beside the Naugatuck River in 1920s-vintage coaches. Mr. and Mrs. Claus make sure to visit with each child on board and often they bring elves along. Evening light displays inside and outside the train greet passengers after dark on the very special Northern Express journey to Santa’s Train Workshop.

The gift shop inside the gaily decorated historic station has a host of ideas for train fans young and old, including railroad books, children’s books, Thomas the Tank Engine™ merchandise and lots of train memorabilia. And there is an operating miniature Christmas train layout.

Santa Express trains, $14 adults, $12 children, leave at 2 p.m., Northern Express trains, $22 depart at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on 12/4-5, 12/11-12 and 18/19. Additional Northern Express trains are scheduled for 11/27-28 and 12/3.

Santa’s Rail Yard

At the Danbury Railway Museum, which includes a classic 1903 station and a railroad yard with vintage train cars, visitors can ride a working vintage train through the yard to Santa’s own train. They will find him in his workshop supervising his elves, who are busy making toys. Santa rides begin at noon and run every half hour until 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays, December 11 and 18, and Sundays December 5, 12 and 19 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. The $8 admission includes the ride, a gift from Santa, and exhibits and displays in the yard and indoors. A miniature layout is in action in the station, along with a coloring station.

Once again, there is a tempting Gift Shop, with over 600 different items, including Thomas the Tank™ and Little Engine That Could™ merchandise, books, clothing, puzzles, and other railroad items. The station is at 120 White Street in Danbury. Reserve tickets in advance at http://www.danbury.org/DRM or phone (203) 778-8337.

Mini Magic

Miniature train displays are a traditional holiday favorite for many families. The Wilton Historical Society’s annual Great Trains exhibit features a range of makes, models and gauges of model trains rolling around curves, passing scenic local landscapes and rushing through mountain passes. Each model landscape is intricately designed by the Society’s “Trainmen” and the holiday exhibit includes a vast collection of toys, dolls and miniatures. Dates are December 4 through January 17. Admission is $5; Hours are Tuesdays – Fridays, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sundays 1 – 4 p.m. The Society is located at 224 Danbury Road. Check online or phone for holiday closings: http://www.wiltonhistorical.org or 203-762-7257.

The 23rd Annual Hands On Train Display at New Milford’s restored vintage train station December 18th through 31st offers four big operating train layouts. Each year the waiting room of the station is transformed into a Lilliputian landscape of hills, valleys and villages. The towns, populated by tiny figures dressed in winter finery, are crisscrossed by whizzing layouts of scale model Lionel trains. The setup includes almost 100 feet of track. Visitors can do more than admire the trains. They are invited to take the controls, starting and stopping the action and operating signals and lights. The trains operate daily from noon to 4 p.m. This yearly free event is sponsored by the Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about trains, directions to events and listings of all the holiday doings in the region, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com. They offer a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to the Litchfield Hills and a free Fairfield County Getaway Guide.

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Hunt Hill Farm’s December Holiday Happenings Craft Workshops and Christmas Concert

The Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm invites you to take part in their December Holiday Happenings to help make your season bright!

A Holiday Knitting Workshop takes place on December 4th with Bruce Weinstein, the author of Knits Men Want: The Ten Rules Every Woman Should Know Before Knitting For A Man from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants will learn to make reversible cables for a scarf either for a man or a woman. The cost is $75 per student (materials not included) and it includes a copy of Weinstein’s book and a light lunch from the Silo Cooking School prepared by Silo Cooking School Director, Chef Mary Kravec. Participants will receive a materials list with their registration receipt.

On December 8th from 10 a.m. to Noon Loretta Stagen is teaching a Fresh Holiday Wreath Decorating Workshop that uses a 28-inch double-sided balsam wreath at Hunt Hilll Farm. Students will learn to decorate the wreath with pomegranates, pinecones, cinnamon sticks, acorns and ribbons. In her Fresh Boxwood Topiary Workshop, students will create an 8-inch ball on top of a 24-inch stem and braid it festively with ribbons. The fresh topiary that you create will last two months. Class sizes are limited to 12 and last one hour. The cost for each workshop is $55 and materials are included.

On Dec. 11 in The Skitch Henderson Museum at 6 p.m., there will be a “Christmas Concert in the Country” with Alecia Evans, lyric coloratura soprano. Alecia Adams Evans has performed regionally and nationally throughout the United States. Her second performance at the farm will be a rich presentation of joyful holiday music from a repertoire of traditional Christmas standards and carols. Adding a spark to some of these holiday tunes will be an “Andrew Sisters” style sound, featuring the musical trio, Nobody’s Business which includes Evans, along with Cadden Jones and Linda Sue Moshier. Joining her on the museum’s famous Steinway piano once housed at NBC’s Tonight Show and signed by all four Steinway brothers, will be legendary Broadway Conductor Phil Hall. A reception will immediately follow the concert. Reservations Required. Ticket prices are $25 for members, $35 for non-members and $5 for students/children.

While you are at the farm this holiday season, visit The Silo Gallery to see the 38th Annual Christmas Tree and Holiday Exhibition on display through January 2nd, 2011 and don’t forget to browse The Silo Store, overflowing with special gifts and culinary items.

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Annual Christmas Luncheons & Holiday Boutique at Ridgefield’s Keeler Tavern

On of the most popular holiday traditions in Connecticut is the Annual Christmas Luncheons and Holiday Boutique at the historic Keeler Tavern Museum located on Main Street in the heart of Ridgefield Connecticut. This year’s luncheon and boutique are scheduled for Tuesday, December 7th through Saturday, December 11th.

The highlight of this event is the lavish lunch that will be served in the festively decorated Garden House that overlooks the sunken garden. There will be two seatings each day the first at 11:30 AM and the second at 1:00 PM. To make your reservation please call the Museum Office at 203-438-5485 from Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, or download a reservation form by going to the events page on the museum web site http://www. keelertavernmuseum.org.

Prepaid reservations are $23 per person. This event is a major fund raiser that helps support the Keeler Tavern Museum and has become a seasonal pleasure for many.

The Holiday Boutique will be open each day from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM and Sunday, December 12 from 1:00-4:00 PM. A wide variety of seasonal ornaments, gift items and crafts will be on display in the Cass Gilbert Dining Room in the Museum building. Gifts for family, friends and some especially to please you are there to purchase.

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Feast Of Gingerbread Houses Await in Litchifeld Hills and Fairfield County!

Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without gingerbread houses, those delicious edible creations that add color and fun to the season. Two don’t-miss displays in Connecticut’s Litchfield and Fairfield Counties are guaranteed to delight, and may provide take-home decoration for some lucky families. You may even be able to create your own gingerbread confection.

This will be the 43rd year for the Gingerbread Village, a lavish display at St. George’s Church on Tucker Hill Road in Middlebury beginning December 4. The Village is made up of more than 60 buildings, with horse and sleigh teams, ponds, boats, and sledders, all dressed up in Christmas splendor. This year’s theme is storybooks. Everything is for sale, available to take home when the display ends on December 11. A craft room and raffles of more than 20 goody-laden baskets are an additional highlight of this event. Dates are Dec. 4, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Dec. 5, noon-7 p.m.; Dec. 6-10, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. and 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; Dec. 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is Free. Phone: (203) 758-9557 for information.

The second annual Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center (www.stamfordmuseum.org) through December 5 shows off imaginative confections from some of the area’s best pastry chefs, restaurants, and caterers. DiMare’s Pastry Shop of Stamford, SoNo Baking Company of South Norwalk, Cake Suite of Westport, and Sugar & Olives of Norwalk are among those who are vying for first prize from a panel of official judges. Visitors are invited to vote for the “Fan Favorite” of the year. These one-of-a-kind creations will be available for purchase through a silent auction, with proceeds to benefit the museum’s education programs.

Families who want to learn to make their own gingerbread houses should contact the Silo Cooking School in New Milford. Each year The Silo offers enormously popular classes where parents and their children team up to create wonderful gingerbread fantasies. The classes, open to children ages five and up, are held November 20-21, 26-28 and December 3-5; they sell out every year. The cost is $85 for each parent-child team, up to 3 people. The Silo is part of the Hunt Hill Farm Trust (www.hunthillfarmtrust.org) Check for openings or waiting lists on-line or at (860) 355-0300.

If you can’t create a house, you can at least decorate a gingerbread cookie souvenir on December 4 at the Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. The $10 per family fee includes the Society’s annual Great Trains exhibit. Get details at http://www.wiltonhistorical.org or phone (203) 762-7257.

For more information about gingerbread adventures, directions to events and listings of all the holiday doings in the region, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com. They offer a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to the attractions in the Litchfield Hills and a free color Fairfield County Getaway Guide.

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Warner Theatre’s 9th Annual Holiday Wine & Food Tasting

On Friday, November 5 from 6-9pm, wine lovers from throughout CT will once again descend on Torrington’s Warner Theatre for their 9th Annual Holiday Wine & Food Tasting to benefit the historic performing arts center. Last year, nearly 800 people attended the wine and food event that included vintages from 32 distributors.

I am anticipating experiencing a wide variety of wines, along with delectable samplings from 15 of the area’s finest restaurants throughout the historic Warner Theatre’s art deco lobby, as well as in the Carole and Ray Neag Performing Arts Center. A $50 VIP ticket will allow me to sample the very best in wines, enjoy premium hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment and advance admission to the entire event — a perfect way to enjoy this event. Tickets to this event are available starting at $20 by calling the Warner box office at 860-489-7180 or online at http://www.warnertheatre.org.

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Belgique Opens Second Store in New Canaan, CT

Belgique Patisserie & Chocolatier, best known for its delicious handmade Belgian chocolates, has opened a second location and is changing its name to Belgique Chocolatier to reflect a new primary focus on chocolate.

The new store opened on September 16 and is located at 88 Elm Street in the middle of downtown New Canaan. It is open Wednesdays through Sundays. The Gilissens have taken great pains to make the façade look as much like the Kent store as possible, with the familiar yellow clapboards, rounded red awning, and Belgian cobblestone front.

Connecticut Magazine has named Belgique chocolates as the best in the state 3 years in a row (2008, 2009, 2010). Belgique also had the prestige of providing its chocolates to royalty such as Queen Elizabeth II at a state dinner in Washington, DC in 2007, and over the years Belgique has been featured in such notable publications as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Chocolatier Magazine, and Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. Its authentic Belgian hot chocolate was named as “one of the best 7 hot chocolates in the world” by Vivre Catalog in 2004.

Before opening Belgique in the year 2000, Chef Gilissen served as Executive Chef & Manager at The Residence of The Netherlands Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he worked in Washington as Sous Chef for the British Ambassador to the U.S. Gilissen’s job was to prepare all meals, receptions, teas, etc. for these Ambassadors, their families and up to 1,000 guests. Working for embassies gave him the opportunity to cook for such notables as Queen Elizabeth II, President George H.W. Bush, Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, King Hussein of Jordan, and violinist Isaac Stern. His particular passion for chocolates began during his time in Washington, D.C. He received his culinary education at Belgium’s École Hôtelière de Libramont after four years of study emphasizing gourmet cooking, restaurant/hotel management, pastries and wine. While in Belgium, Gilissen worked at Michelin 2-star hotel/restaurant Le Moulin Hideux in Noirefontaine, Belgium and Auberge de Lavacherie in Lavacherie, Belgium.

Belgique Chocolatier is located at 1 Bridge Street in Kent (860) 927-3681. The phone number for the New Canaan store is (203) 801-0538.

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