Connecticut Travel

There is nothing as delicious as a summer peach and the Oxford Historical Society has organized a festival to celebrate this delicious fruit on Saturday, August 26 from 4-7 pm at the Great Hill United Methodist Church, located beside the Route 188 rotary at 225 Great Hill Road in Seymour.

Thi star of this event is scrumptious homemade peach shortcake with fresh Market 32 peaches and Rich Farm handmade peach ice cream plus a choice of beverages. Admission to the festival is $1.

Each year the Peach Festival has a theme and this year’s is “Oxford 100 Years Ago”. Highlights of this theme showcase life in this small New England farming town from 1915 -1920, as residents served abroad in World War I and worked at home to support the troops. One soldier who enlisted and was wounded in France was Clarence Roberts from Quaker Farms. His letters, uniform, and a number of artifacts from his years of service will be on display.

The festival also features displays on the Hale-Coleman Peach Farm, once located on Great Hill and Peach Farm Roads. Raising peaches was once a major enterprise in Seymour and Oxford.

This summer in Salisbury every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the beautifully manicured lawn of the Scoville Memorial Library (38 Main Street) there will be a farmers market. The lawn bordered by towering maple trees is the perfect backdrop for the market that will feature a large variety of vegetables, meats, cheeses, eggs, rustic breads and more. There is plenty of on and off the street free parking making visiting this market a pleasure. The market was organized by the library to further its community mission beyond the borrowing of books and movies.

Among participants, Crooked Oak farm from Lakeville and Mountain Falls Farm from Sheffield will be bringing an large variety of vegetables. Meats including chicken, beef, pork and sausage will be provided by Skipp Hobbs of Mountain Falls in Sheffield, MA and the Cockerlines from Whipporwill Farm in Lakeville. Savory baked goods are featured by Carol Bonci including breads, focaccia, sesame salt rolls, savory turnovers, plus vegetarian pate.

Jams and jellies will be provided by Adamah Farm from Falls Village and Averill Farm of Washington Depot, who will also feature apple butter, apple cider syrup, and honey in addition to apples and pears in season. The Adamah will offer their wonderful pickles and a variety of cheeses will available from Sprout Creek Farm from Poughkeepsie and vinegars from Brother Victor.

Additionally there will be maple syrup, eggs, seedlings and eventually cut flowers and other plants. On occasion there will be special guests and chef demonstrations.

The Washington Art Association & Gallery in collaboration with The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens is pleased to present, The Nordic Tapestry Group: Weaving Knowledge into Personal Expression through September 9, 2017.

The Nordic Tapestry Group consists of weavers from Sweden, Iceland, and the United States who formed a decade ago when Swedish-born tapestry artist, Helena Hernmarck http://www.hernmarck.com returned to Sweden to offer workshops in
her weaving technique.

The craft of interweaving natural materials to create functional ware and decorative objects has been practiced for centuries. Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The method in which the warp, the longitudinal threads, and the weft, lateral threads are interwoven affects the characteristics of the cloth.

Hernmarck is an internationally acclaimed artist and weaver recognized for revolutionizing weaving tapestry as a medium suited to modern architectural environments. Her technique is a play on traditional Swedish weaving techniques, which she has evolved to achieve powerful photorealistic effects. A close look at her tapestries reveals bundles of variously hued yarns that combine at a distance to create a remarkable illusion of depth.

This exhibition features tapestries from the Nordic Tapestry weavers’ most recent exploration, Face to Face. It reveals their shared passion and ongoing exchange, and celebrates the transfer and evolution of weaving knowledge into personal expression. Their works display their expertise in using light, color, and the different qualities of yarn to weave images, create space and depth, and to depict three-dimensional forms. Their skillful mastery of the loom truly elevates the craft of weaving to a sophisticated and elegant style of painting with threads.

The Stamford Art Association will present “Far Away Places” at its Townhouse Gallery through August 24, 2017. This show highlights the work of 40 artists that will present their multimedia representations of far away places, which may be real or imagined.

Established in 1971, the Stamford Art Association is a nonprofit 501(3)c organization whose members include painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers and multimedia artists. Beginning its 47th year, our mission as an arts organization is to provide a forum where emerging and professional artists can exhibit their work to the community and compete in juried shows. We host an international exhibit yearly, the Faber Birren Color Award Show, and a High School Student Show for Fairfield County students.

The Association’s Townhouse Gallery holds eight consecutive shows each year, two of which are solo exhibits and six are juried exhibits with prominent jurors from art schools, galleries and institutions in New York and surrounding areas, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, Bruce Museum, and Museum of Modern Art. All artists, not just members, are welcome to submit their work for exhibits. Annual competitions draw submissions from local, regional, and national artists. The SAA also curates the 4 “Art at the Ferguson” exhibits a year at the Ferguson Library.

The Stamford Art Association is supported by grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the City of Stamford and the Kuriansky Foundation and generous donations from individual artists and friends.

The SAA Townhouse Gallery is open every Thursday/Friday from 11 am to 3 pm and Saturday/Sunday from Noon to 3 pm. Admission is free and there is ample parking.

The Friends of the Eric Sloane Museum will sponsor a program Ye Olde Tyme Outhouse on Saturday, August 19th at 10:00 AM. Historian Georg Papp will bring outhouse models representing separate eras in addition to display boards, photos and articles. This talk will be informative as well as entertaining with some American history mixed in. The lecture is free but donations on behalf of the Friends of the Eric Sloane Museum are welcome.

Papp says he became an OBPA (Outhouse, Backhouse and Privy Authority) when his daughter bought a 100-year old home in New Hampshire. She wanted an authentic outhouse to go with the home so dad felt obligated to help. Since building the first outhouse people started placing orders for outhouses and a new business was developed.

Papp says old abandoned outhouses are a treasure trove for those who love history and digging. Muskets, knives, coins, and wallets are among the valuable items found in colonial pits, but the most common items are whiskey bottles.

The Eric Sloane Museum was built as a collaborative effort between Eric Sloane and Stanley Works of New Britain to commemorate the tool company’s 125th anniversary. Sloane is known to lovers of Americana as an artist and author who brought to life many forgotten customs and skills of past generations. In all, Sloane authored and illustrated over 38 books.

The Eric Sloane Museum is located in Kent, Connecticut on Route 7 (31 Kent-Cornwall Rd.) just north of the village of Kent and the intersections of Route 7 and 341. The museum is open Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 4 pm. Regular admission: Adults $8.00, Senior Citizens, $6.00, Children 6 to 17 $5.00.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center has spearheaded the revitalization of Fairfield’s historic Town Green campus to create a dynamic destination that will connect art, performance, history and visitors to the community.

The new center for cultural activity – The Museum Commons – has launched this summer and will offer live theater, festivals, concerts and more! Two public buildings on the Museum Commons the Victorian Cottage and Barn (1888) and Sun Tavern (c.1780) will have new exhibitions.

More than 400 years of diverse stories are embedded in this intimate campus, which also serves as the Town of Fairfield’s civic center and the home of the Fairfield Museum and History Center. The exhibits will be interactive and hands-on experiences for adults, children and families and will interweave topics such as society, the environment, family life, politics and agriculture. These exhibits are linked to the Fairfield Museum’s exhibition, Creating Community: Exploring 375 Years of Our Past.

The properties will be open Friday – Sundays from 10am – 2pm beginning on June 10 through Labor Day. Tickets are available at the Fairfield Museum. There will also be a special guided tour every Saturday at 1 p.m. of the Sun Tavern that is free with admission to the Fairfield Museum and History Center. On Fridays at 11 a.m. on June 16, 30, July 14, 28 and August 11 & 25 there will be story time at the Victorian Cottage for children ages 3+. This program is also free with admission to the museum.

If you prefer to explore Fairfield’s historic town Green on your own, download a copy of their walking tour and set off on a stroll of this historic neighborhood. This trail is well signed and very informative making it easy to navigate as well as interesting.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center is located in Fairfield on 370 Beach Street.