Connecticut Travel

Waterbury’s cultural gem, the Palace Theater, located on 100 East Main Street, is presenting “Weird Al” Yankovic: The Mandatory World Tour on September 18 at 8 pm. Following his wildly successful 2015 tour, four-time Grammy-winning artist “Weird Al” Yankovic has announced the continuation of his Mandatory World Tour in 2016. The tour follows Yankovic’s Grammy-winning album Mandatory Fun, which was the first comedy album in over 50 years to hit #1 on the Billboard charts, and the first comedy album in history to debut at the top spot.

Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history, earning four Grammys and fifteen career nominations. He is best known for his hilariously irreverent parodies of hit songs by the biggest stars in the musical universe, including “Eat It,” “Like A Surgeon,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” “White & Nerdy,” and “Tacky.”

Tickets may be purchased online and range from $25 to the Czar VIP Experience that sells for $269. This experience includes: • One (1) Premium Reserved ticket in the first ten (10) rows • After-show Meet & Greet with Weird Al • Invitation to pre-show party in the Mandatory Lounge with our Minister of Propaganda/DJ and cash bar. Meet fellow comrades. Enlist in entertaining games and contests. Consume snack provisions. Engage in large quantities of Mandatory Fun* • Exclusive Weird Al CZAR Merchandise Gift
• Personally signed Limited-Edition Mandatory World Tour Flag • Special Collector’s Edition of MAD Magazine featuring Al as Guest Editor • Souvenir Tour Laminate and Lanyard • Crowd-free merchandise shopping and • On-site concert host.

The The Mandatory VIP Experience that may be purchased at $139 includes: • One premium reserved ticket in the first 20 rows, • Invitation to pre-show party in the Mandatory Lounge with our Minister of Propaganda/DJ and cash bar. Meet fellow comrades. Enlist in entertaining games and contests. Consume snack provisions. Engage in large quantities of Mandatory Fun.* • Limited-Edition Mandatory World Tour Flag • Special Collector’s Edition of MAD Magazine featuring Al as Guest Editor • Souvenir Tour Laminate and Lanyard • Crowd-free merchandise shopping and • On-site concert host.

For more area event information and where to stay and dine www.litchfieldhills.com

On September 23 something sweet is going on in Thomaston Connecticut at the Railroad Museum of New England located on 242 East Main Street. Haight Brown Vineyard, Fascia’s Chocolates and the Railroad Museum of New England have teamed up and are offering the “Chocolate Decadence Sunset Tour” that is a sure way to indulge in locally made wine and chocolate. This event promises to be an unforgettable experience, because the only other place in the world where you can take a “chocolate” train is in Switzerland.

The event kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Thomaston Station off of Rte. 6 with a reception featuring hor d”oeurves, live music, wine and even wine tastings. The train departs the station at 7:15 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. there will be a bubbly toast on the face of the scenic Thomaston Dam. Don’t forget to bring your camera or cell phone for photo opportunities.

The trip continues as you pass lovely scenery while savoring fine wines from Haight Vineyard, Connecticut’s first farm winery and chocolates from Fascia’s, a chocolate company in Waterbury that has been making delectable chocolates for more than 50 years.
At 8 p.m. guests arrive for a private tour of Fascia’s Chocolate Company. A visit to Fascia’s gives you the chance to see how these delicacies are made, take a tour, taste treats, even try your hand at making your own custom bar of chocolates, and of course, load up on freshly made chocolates at the factory store. A freshly baked chocolate lava cake will also be served.

Guests depart Fascia’s Chocolate Company at 9:15 and arrive back at the Thomaston Station at 9:30 p.m. The ticket price is $75 per person and includes a scenic train ride, wine, hor d’ oeurves, Fascia’s chocolates, your very own custom bar of chocolate, and dessert.

To reserve your ticket visit http://www.rmne.org. For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The award winning museum, Institute for American Indian Studies located in Washington Connecticut is hosting a Earth and Sea Clambake and Drumming fundraiser on September 17 at the River Walk Pavilion, 11a School Street in Washington Depot from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Participants of this event are invited to savor indigenous foods traditionally enjoyed by Native Americans such as: lobster, clams, corn, and potatoes amid a festive atmosphere.

A highlight of this event is the music and dances performed by Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. The troupe was founded in 1963 by a group of ten Native American men and women descended from Mohawk, Hopi, Winnebago and San Blas tribes. They founded the troupe to keep alive the traditions, songs, and dances they had learned from their parents, and added to their repertoire from other Native Americans living in New York and some who passed through.

Don’t forget to bring your own beverages, drums and rattles to join the fun. Reservations and prepayment to attend this event is required by September 13th.

The cost is $50 for adults; $40 IAIS members; and $10 Children 12 & under (hot dogs, chips & lemonade).

For more information about the Institute for American Indian Studies visit their website for a list of ongoing programs and events. For more area information on what to see and do and where to go www.visitlitchfieldhills.com

The Mattatuck Museum located on 144 West Main Street is hosting three different exhibitions highlighting a variety of sculptures from dry wall reliefs and Arabic abstractions to a series of paintings.

The first exhibit that runs from September 9 through October 23 and is called The Geometry of Passio. It is the work of Arthur Carter. Carter’s abstract sculptures allude to human gestures and interactions and often reflect his interest in mathematics, graphic design and minimalism. Newspaper work instigated the shift to art-making. For Carter, the process of laying-out and designing newspaper pages generated an interest in graphics. He moved from the two-dimensional printed page to three-dimensions using stainless steel, a material that had been familiar to him since his days at Officer Candidate School where he learned welding. This exhibition will feature Carter’s sculptures, paintings, and works on paper. There is a reception with the artist on Friday, September 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

A second show, also on display from September 9 – October 23 is called A State of Strain and is the work of Ryan Roa. This exhibition features sculptural installations in multiple locations throughout the museum. In addition to his Space Drawings (created by stretching industrial bungee cords to capacity), the exhibit includes Roa’s steel mesh floor sculptures, dry-wall relief sculptures, charcoal drawings and a light show in the storefront located across the Green from the Museum. There is a reception with the artist on Friday, September 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Rigorous and Surprising, the Art of Steven Naifeh begins on September 15 and runs through November 6 with a reception on September 25 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. In painting and sculpture, Steven Naifeh explores the affinity between the geometric abstraction of Western art and the millennium-old tradition of Arab and Islamic abstraction. The 15 large-scale works in this exhibition reflect the many shared influences between them. Naifeh typically works in series, several of which are represented here. In some, the geometric form remains constant while scale and color change. Colors run a beautiful rainbow of jewel tones – gemstones and precious metals. Sometimes Naifeh translates his paintings into limestone sculptures. All offer rich ideas for exploration: formal beauty, the nature of abstraction and the intersection of mathematics and art.

For more information on the Mattatuck Museum and for a list of programs and events visit the website at http://www.mattatuckmuseum.org

The Ives Concert Park located on 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury Connecticut is hosting a fabulous event, Music Fest America on September 10 featuring Bela Fleck and Chris Thile. Music Fest America will celebrate our nation’s musical traditions, presenting free performances from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on two stages at Ives Concert Park. Appearing will be Six String Soldiers and some of Connecticut’s best bluegrass, jazz, folk, roots, gospel and classical artists. After a brief intermission, the Ives gates will re-open for paid ticket-holders at 6 p.m. for an evening of unforgettable music from Bela Fleck and Chris Thile on the Ives gazebo stage.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with Béla Fleck, there are some who say he’s the premier banjo player in the world. The 15-time Grammy Award winner has been nominated in more categories than any other artist in Grammy history, and remains a powerfully creative force globally in bluegrass, jazz, classical pop, rock and world beat. He performs, in banjo duet with Abigail Washburn, and back to bluegrass with his old friends Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton and – with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, who continue to perform together 25 years after the band’s inception. And now, for the first time… with Chris Thile!

Multiple Grammy Award-winner and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile, a member of Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, is a mandolin virtuoso, composer and vocalist. With his broad outlook that encompasses classical, rock, jazz, and bluegrass, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike. Thile’s talents also shine on the beloved public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” where he will be taking over as host from the legendary Garrison Keillor this October.

For more information and a complete schedule www.ivesconcertpark.com and for more area information www.litchfieldhills.com