Connecticut Travel

Election Day is around the corner. The Woodcock Nature Center in Wilton is offering an Election Day Camp on November 6 for kids ages 3-4 from 9 am to 12 pm for $40 and another camp for kids ages 5-8 from 9 am to 3 pm for $65. Be sure to pack a snack and reusable water bottle. Campers will meet resident animals, explore trails, look for signs of animals getting ready for winter and end the day with a vote for their favorite animal! For information and to register click here.

Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury is offering students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade on a Nature Adventure at the Center when they are out of school. Two sessions will be offered. Choose the morning session from 9AM to 1PM, the afternoon session from 1-5PM or a full day session which goes from 9AM -5PM. The cost per child for either the morning or afternoon session is $30 members and $40 for nonmembers. Full day cost is $60 for members and $80 for nonmembers. Early care is also available at $8 per hour. Pre-registration is required. To register, call Flanders at (203) 263-3711, extension 10. For a full listing of all the programs for kids and adults coming up at Flanders.

Children will be hiking the trails and stopping by the Botany Pond and Hidden Brook to discover the amazing wildlife at Flanders learning facts, stories and the history of animals getting ready for the long winter months. Are the geese getting ready to migrate? What animals are growing thick winter coats? They will visit the Flanders’ North Barn to meet and learn about the farm animals and then choose and decorate their own pumpkins to bring home.
The day will be packed with exploring the great outdoors, and age-appropriate stories, games and art projects!

On Thursday, November 8 at 7 pm join the American Museum of Tort Law in welcoming the renowned Attorney Thomas Fortune Fay, at the Leaders In Law presentation series

Working with Congress, the State Department and victim’s families, Thomas Fortune Fay pioneered the use of US Civil litigation to recover billions of dollars for victims of state-sponsored terrorism; from soldiers in the Beirut barracks bombing to the 9/11 families.

Fay was also instrumental in developing legislation which has been upheld by the Supreme Court, allowing plaintiffs to be compensated by countries who sponsor terrorism, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The mission of the American Museum of Tort Law is to educate the public about the importance of trial by jury and benefits of tort law; and to celebrate the important work trial lawyers do every day, for their clients, the profession and our country.

With the Leaders In Law series, we are committed to providing a thought-provoking platform for culturally, politically and legally relevant discourse with the most provocative and inspiring voices in law today. Part Interview, part Master Class, part Town Hall meeting, the series encourages thoughtful and lively interaction between our speakers and individuals from all walks of life.

Please join them and be part of the conversation. SPECIAL GROUP OFFER: A VIP Pass, good for one individual to attend a private reception with attorney Fay, will be provided for every group of four friends, colleagues or members who purchase tickets.

Seating is limited. For additional details on the Leaders In Law presentation series, and to reserve your tickets to see Thomas Fortune Fay, please visit http://www.tortmuseum.org or call 860-379-0505 today. Suggested donation is $20.00, which includes a free tour of the Museum. Doors open at 6:00pm.

Quince is an ancient fruit, found in Roman cooking and grown across Turkey and southeast Asia. It grows on small trees and is closely related to apples and pears, but it lacks their immediate edibility and appeal.  The fruit is knobbly and ugly, with an irregular shape and often a gray fuzz — especially when the fruit has been picked underripe. The ripest, nicest quince will have a golden tone and smooth skin like pictured directly above. But even ripe quince doesn’t taste very good raw.

Quince was popular in 18th century New England.  Nearly every home had a quince tree in the yard because quince provided a natural and plentiful source of pectin that was necessary for home canners to ensure that preserves they were putting up for the winter were properly set and preserved.  After powdered pectins were invented, quince fell out of favor. 

The first clue that quince hides something special is its aroma. If you leave a quince on a sunny windowsill it will slowly release a delicate fragrance of vanilla, citrus, and apple into your kitchen. It’s a heady, perfumed scent that is completely at odds with its appearance. Maybe this is why the quince is slowly making a comeback and is celebrated at White Silo Farm in Sherman on November 3 at the 5th annual Quince Festival from 12 noon to 4 p.m. They will be serving 6 dishes made with quince. Their menu includes poached quince with honey ricotta and pistachios, homemade pretzels with quince mustard, quince pannacotta, quince panini, quince butternut squash soup, and the NY Times featured White Silo Thanksgiving recipe with quince, onion, and bacon.

Admission is free. Pay for wine and food. Quince mustard and Quince jam will be available to take home. Live music Saturday (1-4 PM) with the Hummingbirds and Sunday (1-4 PM) with Guy Tino. Free outdoor tours weather permitting.

Tickets for the 4th Annual Great Mac & Chili Challenge at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport CT for Sunday November 4, 2018 are now on sale online at http://www.MacAndChiliChallenge.com. The Great Mac and Chili Challenge is the little sister culinary competition to Chowdafest. “We started this event years ago because so many people who enjoy Chowdafest asked about chili. Chili is another popular comfort food but it deserves a separate event” said Jim Keenan, event director. “We realized that’s it’s very difficult to hold a chili-only event as after a few samples, they start tasting the same so it was natural to pair it with mac ‘n cheese. So if you alternate sampling a chili with a mac ‘n cheese, you can determine who has the best of both”.

Like Chowdafest, everyone gets a spoon, pencil and a ballot when they check in. They enjoy unlimited sampling of up to 20 different chili and mac n’ cheese entries from great local restaurants. Admission is just $15 for adults and $5 for kids (6-12), parking is FREE. The event will benefit Food Rescue US in the ongoing fight against food insecurity. The Great Mac & Chili Challenge is rain or shine and will be under the pavilion if the weather is inclement.

Restaurants compete in one of four categories: Classic chili, classic mac, creative chili and creative mac. This year’s competition roster includes: Burger Bar & Bistro* (Norwalk), Cask Republic* (Stamford), Clubhouse Grille (Norwalk), Dinosaur BBQ (Stamford), Fleisher’s Craft Butchery (Westport), Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill* (Fairfield), Hub & Spoke* (Black Rock), I’m the Mac (Stamford), Little Pub (Fairfield, Greenwich, Ridgefield, Wilton), Old Post Tavern (Fairfield), Planet Pizza (Norwalk), Senor Salsa (Westport), Simply Delicious* (Westport), Tacos Mexicon (Norwalk) and Tarry Lodge (Westport) *defending category champion.

The event has origins as Chilifest but when Keenan added the mac ‘n cheese component, they needed to change the name and wanted to stay away from the word fest. “When we started Chowdafest, there were no other fests around but now everyone calls their event a fest. We wanted this event to stand out plus personally, we wanted to pay homage to one of the best things about this time of year – “The Great Pumpkin” by Charles Schultz. Who doesn’t love Linus staying up all night to catch the Great Pumpkin? Maybe you’ll find him at the Great Mac & Chili Challenge” he laughed.

Tickets are also available at the door. For additional information about The Great Mac & Chili Challenge, please visit them online at http://www.MacAndChiliChallenge.com or contact Jim Keenan at chowdafest@gmail.com. The Great Mac & Chili Challenge, is sponsored by: Cabot Creamery, WEBE 108, Harney & Son Teas and City Carting & Recycling

This fall, an epic new four-part series will premiere on CPTV: Native America. Made with the active participation of Native American communities and filmed in some of the most spectacular locations in the hemisphere, Native America illuminates the splendor of a past whose story has for too long remained untold.

Native America will be premiered on CPTV on Tuesday, October 23 at 9 p.m. Subsequent episodes will air Tuesday, October 30 at 9 p.m., and Tuesday, November 13 at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Get ready for the premiere of Native America with a new series of video shorts from CPTV showcasing the history of Native American tribes and culture in Connecticut. Featured points of interest include The Institute for American Indian Studies and Research Center in Washington Connecticut, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center located in Mashantucket, Connecticut. There will also be a segment about the life of Dr. Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon, Mohegan Medicine Woman.

To check out the video short click here on the Institute for American Indian Studies and Research Center. For a video about the Mashantucket Pequot Museum click here.