Connecticut Travel

The Webster Bank Arena located on 600 Main Street in Bridgeport is presenting Disney on Ice Dream Big on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, @ 7 pm, Jan. 7 at 11 am, 3 pm, and 7 pm. and on Jan. 8 shows at 1 pm and 5 pm. Tickets sold online.

Enter a world where adventure is awaiting and courage leads the way at Disney On Ice presents Dream Big. Through enchanted pixie-dust, Tinker Bell takes you on a journey of beloved Disney tales LIVE ON ICE.

Audiences make a splash with the fearless dreamer Ariel as she yearns to explore life above the waves and watch Rapunzel, Cinderella and Belle as they learn about the power to make their own magic.

Travel to the wintry world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa, and the hilarious Olaf from Disney’s Frozen as they learn that true love is the greatest magic of all.

Be there to discover a whole new world with the daring Jasmine, and join Snow White, Aurora and Tiana as they remind you to always be strong, kind and fearless.

High-flying jumps, daring acrobatics, breathtaking skating and lovable Disney friends make this an experience your family will never forget. Believing is just the beginning when Disney On Ice presents Dream Big.

A long awaited tradition in Fairfield County, the Holiday Express is now open through January 8, 2017 at the Fairfield Museum and History Center located on 370 Beach Road in Fairfield. This year features even more tracks and set-ups where the trains can zip around and weave their magical spell. Kids and adults alike will delight in the magic of the train show.

A Fairfield Museum holiday tradition! Kids and adults alike will delight in the magic of this wondrous display of model trains winding around a spectacularly decorated tree and through beautiful holiday scenery.

Holiday Express Schedule is Weekends: Sat. & Sun. through January 8: 10am – 4pm and Weekdays: Monday, December 26 – Monday, January 2: 10am – 4pm. (including Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve) Thursday, December 29 & Friday, December 30: 10am – 7pm Closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Thursday, December 29 & Friday, December 30: 10am – 7pm Closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

A special build a train workshop for kids ages 6 to 10 is taking place on Dec. 27-30 from 11 am to 12 pm. Kids will put together wooden parts with glue to construct a mini model train. They will finish their toy by painting it with colorful and creative designs. It is recommended that participants bring a smock for painting.

To sign up for a monthly newsletter on travel tips and events for Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

The Mattatuck Museum is delighted to present four new art exhibitions that will remain on view through March 12, 2017. From abstract to representational painting and experimental ceramics, there is something for everyone this winter @ The MATT.
Components: The Art of Robert Cottingham features subjects derived from cameras, typewriters and machine parts. The “components” are isolated against boldly colored backgrounds in contrasting light and shadow that highlight these manufacturing details in depth, celebrating them as symbols of American industry.

In her lifetime, self-taught artist Linda Nelson produced folksy scenes of simple life inspired by her childhood days on a farm in Illinois. Small towns and country settings provided imagery for the calendars and cards that has made her work familiar. Her estate of original paintings is administrated by the Connecticut Community Foundation which has lent more than 25 works for this exhibit at the Museum, Winter Scenes: Linda Nelson, focusing on Nelson’s winter and holiday scenes.
Line and Volume: Mindy Horn and Ann Mallory features work by two contemporary artists who contribute to the rich tradition of ceramic art with vibrant and original expressions in clay. Their works vary in size: some are delicately small, inviting close-up inspection, while others are imposing in scale. These technically and aesthetically ambitious works are experimental in shape and dazzle in an array of glazes.

In the 1970s, James Biederman created minimalist drawings and wall sculptures that examined two-and three-dimensional ways of seeing. In recent years he has moved to painting boldly colored gestural abstractions. This exhibition, Zing! Recent Works by James Biederman, consists of works completed since 2010 that show the current state of the artistic journey, the legacy of both abstract expressionism and minimalism, and the manner in which Biederman has taken these movements and reshaped them in new ways.

For more information on all of the museum’s programs, events, and exhibits visit the website http://www.mattmuseum.org or call (203) 753-0381. Located on the green in Waterbury, CT at 144 West Main Street, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Convenient, free parking is located behind the museum in the lots on Park Place.

Looking for that unique gift idea for a child who loves animals? Or need a fun activity for out-of-town guests during the holiday week?

Send them behind the scenes – and let them feed some of the marine life – of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk!

The Aquarium’s “Feeding Time” program on Wed., Dec. 28 goes “backstage” before the popular family attraction opens for the day. This fun experience gives participants exclusive access to some of their favorite marine animals by letting them join educators and the animal-husbandry staff during morning rounds. Opportunities include:
• Feeling the vacuuming power of rays on your palm as you offer morsels in the Shark & Ray Touch Pool.
• Hand-feeding a horseshoe crab and diamondback terrapin.
• Going above the Aquarium’s 110,000-gallon Ocean Beyond the Sound exhibit to watch as Aquarium staff feed the 7-foot sharks prowling just below your feet. Toss in some bonus food for the sharks and the exhibit’s rays and other fish.
• Attending a private seal feeding open only to “Feeding Time” participants.

“Feeding Time” participants get fed too: the program starts at 8 a.m. with a hot breakfast in the Aquarium’s Cascade Café.

“ ‘Feeding Time’ is perfect for anyone who is curious about a career in marine biology or animal husbandry,” said Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth. “But it’s also just plain fun for anyone who wants to enhance their experiences here at The Maritime Aquarium beyond a typical visit.”

Children must be at least 5 years old.

Cost is $50 for adults and $25 for ages 5-12 ($45 and $20 for members). Aquarium admission at 10 a.m. is included.

Advance registration is required. Call (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206, or register online at www.maritimeaquarium.org (under Public Programs).

The Sherman Chamber Ensemble is ringing in the new year with its annual “Best of Baroque” concerts on Saturday, January 7 at 4 p.m. at Christ Church on Quaker Hill in Pawling, NY and on Sunday, January 8 at 4 p,m. at St. Andrew’s Church in Kent, CT. Audiences will be treated to works by masters of the Baroque era played by the best of today’s chamber music artists.

The program will include music for harpsichord, flute and strings by Bach, Zelenka, Telemann and Vivaldi. Special Guest Dylan Sauerwald, international prize winning harpsichordist will be joined by SCE Artistic Director and cellist Eliot Bailen, Susan Rotholz (flute), Gerard Reuter (oboe), and Doori Na (violin).
The Ensemble’s “Best of Baroque” concerts have been praised by The Millbrook Independent as “stunning performances…inspiring and uplifting.”

Harpsichordist Sauerwald is a distinctive continuo player, soloist and music director, and is active across the US and Canada. He won the first place title in chamber music at the Concours de Musique du Canada 2009 and was a finalist at the Montréal Baroque CBC / Galaxie chamber music competition 2007, both with Ensemble la Félicité. He has performed in halls from Montréal’s Musée de Beaux Arts to Taipei’s National Recital Hall to Boston’s Goodlife bar.

He has music directed staged productions for Ensemble la Félicité and Ensemble Musica Humana, and is a regular repetiteur for the Amherst Early Music Festival, Venice Opera Project, Tafelmusik Summer Baroque Institute, and others.

Sauerwald has performed with the Handel & Haydn Society, TENET, Emmanuel Music, the Cambridge Concentus, Lorelei Ensemble, Sonnambula, Tramontana, The Weckmann Project, Ensemble Musica Humana, Ensemble ad Libitum and many others.

Doori Na began violin studies at the age of four and made his solo debut with orchestra at the age of seven with the Peninsula Youth Symphony. A winner of numerous competitions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, he has performed with the Palisades Symphony, Brentwood Symphony, Freemont Symphony, and the Torrance Symphony.

An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists including Itzhak Perlman, Roger Tapping, Carol Wincenc, Cynthia Phelps, and Nancy Allen.

Currently living in New York City, Na has performed with many different ensembles around the city ranging from Classical and New Music to Jazz. He has been regularly performing with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and recent highlights include tours in Europe, Japan, and the US. In 2011, Doori participated in Chick Corea’s album, The Continents, released by Deutsche Grammophon.

Na holds a Bachelors of Music from The Juilliard School where he studied with Itzhak Perlman, Catherine Cho, and Donald Weilerstein. He was concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra, and was chosen to travel to Sào Paulo, Brazil in 2012 where he gave masterclasses and performed for students.

General Admission tickets are $30; Senior and Student tickets are $25, and children ages 15 and under are admitted free with the purchase of a paid ticket. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ShermanChamberEnsemble.org or at the door on the afternoon of the performance. For information or reservations call 860-355-5930.

Both concerts will be followed by an informal reception where audience members will have an opportunity to meet the musicians. Performances at St. Andrew’s Church are presented in conjunction with the church’s Music in the Nave series.

For information and reservations, contact the Sherman Chamber Ensemble at 860-355-5930 or info@shermanchamberensemble.org. To sign up for a monthly newsletter on events and travel tips of Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.litchfieldhills.com

The Westport Arts Center announces the MORE Than Words/#iammore exhibition, a juried show featuring selected works by the community at large. The works were designed in support of the theme of the Arts Center’s previous exhibition MORE Than Words – courage, resilience and empowerment in the face of bullying – featuring pieces by some of the most important contemporary artists of our time.

The exhibition, that runs through January 7, 2017 features a diverse range of thought-provoking and conversation-starting works, including videos, three-dimensional works, paintings, drawings, photography, multi-media installations and more.

Over 160 works were submitted for consideration, including entries by young artists ages 10-17 in a separate new Junior Category. Submissions came from Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York. Students affiliated with the Norwalk Housing were granted scholarships to participate, and their works are included in the exhibition as part of the Junior Category.

In the Call For Entries, Westport Arts Center invited artists to submit work that examines the idea of bullying within a broad cultural context that considers how the imbalance of social, physical, or political power can marginalize those who are perceived as weaker. Artists have long responded to these inequities through their work, able to speak truth to power in a way not available to others.

Jurors for MORE Than Words/#iammore were Gerry Snyder, Dean of The Pratt Institute School of Art; Pamela Hovland, Designer and Senior Critic in Design, Yale University School of Art; and Ward Shelley, Sculptor and Performance Artist (Pierogi Gallery).

The jurors together stated, “As a panel of jurors, we found an abundance of thoughtful and highly skilled work from which to choose. Artists both young and mature addressed their strongly felt emotions and ideologies in work that spanned all genres. There was great diversity in the artists’ formal strategies and in their interpretations and points of view; we wished we could’ve included more of the work that was submitted.”

“The show’s variety will offer visitors a rich experience around deeply felt, universally human concerns — the desire for equality, acceptance and compassion — as well as an expanded view of the ways artists address those concerns,” they added.

The Westport Art Center is located on 51 Riverside Ave. in Westport. Gallery hours are: Mon. – Sat. 10 am – 5 pm and closed Sun. To sign up for a monthly newsletter on what to see and do in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com