Connecticut Travel

On September 10 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the Hollister House Garden is hosting a weekend Symposium called “A Passion for Gardens” at the Heritage Inn in Southbury as well as on the grounds of the Hollister House Gardens.
There will be five expert speakers that will be moderated by garden designer and preservation specialist Bill Noble.

The speakers include:

Arne Maynard, celebrated English garden designer, will share his secrets on the creation of his gardens, unique and rich in detail with a particular sense of harmony and belonging, as he introduces his latest book, The Gardens of Arne Maynard.

David Culp, noted plantsman, author, and creator of the gardens at Brandywine Cottage, will tell us what’s new, unusual, and steadfast in the world of perennial plants in the “Best of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”

Page Dickey, beloved garden writer and passionate gardener, will describe how we can enjoy drifts and pools of flowers that give our gardens unexpected charm in “Self-Seeding in the Garden.”

Quill Teal-Sullivan, preservation professional and garden manager, will speak on “Courage, Vision and Manure” and bringing back the beautiful and historically rich gardens of Helena Rutherford Ely at Meadowburn Farm.

Andy Brand and Christopher Koppel of Broken Arrow Nursery will engage in a friendly yet competitive debate as they present and compare a wide range of plants native to both Japan and America in “East vs West.”

The day concludes with cocktails and early buying at the Sale of Rare and Unusual Plants at Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT. from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Admission to the Symposium is: $180 for members of Hollister House Garden and/or the Garden Conservancy, $180 for general admissions purchased by July 15 and $195 for general admissions after July 15. The Cocktail Party and early buying event is open to symposium participants as well as to the general public not attending the symposium.

Admission to Cocktails and Early Buying is included in the registration fee for symposium participants. Admission (Cocktails and Early Buying only) is $40 for Hollister House and Garden Conservancy membersand $45 for general admissions.

On Sept. 11 there is a Rare Plant Sale open to the public from 10 am t0 4 pm and admission is $10.

To register for this event visit http://www.hollisterhousegarden.org/events/garden-study-weekend

Did you know that an average of 20,000 hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures migrate over the Audubon Greenwich Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch every fall? On August 28 Ryan MacLean, the “hawk-counter” of Audubon Greenwich located on 13 Riversville Road in Greenwich is kicking off another hawk-watching season. From 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., bird lovers of all ages are welcome to come to the Greenwich Audubon to learn how the staff of the Audubon identifies and tallies raptors at Audubon Greenwich and other hawk watches across the country.

The session will begin with a presentation in Kiernan Hall at the Kimberlin Nature Education Center building. Following this informative session, participants will go on a short walk to Hawk Watch lawn where they will learn how to use binoculars and, with some luck, see a few raptors up close. Make sure to bring your own binoculars; and, if you don’t have a pair, remember to make arrangements to borrow one of the Audubon’s loaner pairs. Picnic refreshments will be served on the lawn afterward. All ages are welcome and the cost to participate is $5 per person. Please RSVP to Gigi Lombardi at glombardi@audubon.org or 203-930-1351.

For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

– On Friday and Saturday, August 19th and 20th, Schwenke Auctioneers will offer the entire contents of the estate of a long-time clock collector at an unreserved onsite public auction in Roxbury Connecticut. The sale will be held under tents on both days, and bidders must attend to bid as there is no internet bidding for this amazing sale. Absentee and phone bidding will be available for the Saturday session. This sale follows the pattern of previous on-site auctions by Schwenke Auctioneers which include The Estate of James L. Burns, held in Kent CT in June 2010, and The Lifetime Collection of David L. Bronson held in Stone Ridge NY in August 2015.

When interviewed about this upcoming sale, Tom Schwenke said “this is the most unbelievable collection of American clocks I have ever seen or heard of in my forty-five years in the antiques and auction business. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we were not able to begin inventory work on this sale until this past Monday, August 1st. Prior to Monday we had only walked through the house and taken a quick count and some I-phone photographs. We knew there were hundreds of clocks in this classic 18th century Roxbury colonial home, as the many tall clocks were lined up in rows in the first floor rooms, and there were literally stacks of banjo clocks and piles of mantel clocks everywhere. What we did not know is that the dozen or so vehicles on the premises were filled with mantle clocks and that most of the chests and other case pieces in the home were filled with banjo clocks – and good ones.

My long-time friend and fellow auctioneer Jon Lee from Albany signed on to help with the sale, and when he, his wife Nancy and some of our staff started work on the sunporch of the house on Monday, August 1st, the real adventure we had undertaken began to unfold. By the end of the afternoon, we had uncovered almost fifty additional American clocks which were not visible in that room which was being used for storage and was piled high with boxes. We discovered nine American tall clocks – including a rare Jacob Willard – twenty four banjo clocks – including four L. Curtis examples – and fifteen pillar and scroll and Empire mantle clocks by makers such as E. Terry, Silas Hoadley, Eli Terry Jr. and many others, mostly Connecticut makers. A five drawer New England tall chest in the room had five first-rate banjo clocks “filed away” inside, one in each drawer”.

At present, the firm anticipates that the auction will include over 50 American tall clocks, including fine examples by Simon Willard, Aaron Willard, Elnathan Taber, at least 100 pillar and scroll and Empire mantle clocks, and possibly another 100 shelf, bracket and mantle clocks. The massive collection of Lionel trains found in the attic will be sold on the first day, along with selected furniture, clocks and general estate items. The second day Schwenke will focus on the core collection of clocks.

Interested bidders are encouraged to watch the Schwenke Auctioneers website www.woodburyauction.com for photos and updates, as the inventory process is ongoing and only two rooms have been undertaken as of the date of this press release. The remaining rooms will undoubtedly yield many surprises and work will likely not be completed until shortly before the Friday sale session.

There is no internet or online bidding for this sale. Absentee and phone bidding will be available for the Saturday session, and that second session may be previewed on Friday from 8am until 4pm and again from 8am to sale time on Saturday. Both sale sessions begin at 10:00 AM. All items are being sold unreserved and must be paid for and removed on the day of sale and no later than Monday, August 22nd. The exact location of the sale, as well as information regarding parking and transportation, will be available on the Schwenke Auctioneers website beginning one week prior to the auction. To register or arrange for absentee or phone bidding, please visit the firm’s website, and for additional information please call 203-266-0323.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The Gallery @the SHS of the Sharon Historical Society & Museum presents a new show of art works in The Gallery @the SHS, “She Said, He Said”, an invitational exhibition and sale running through September 2, 2016.

The show features work by local artist couples who are married or otherwise partnered. Participating artists are Ellen Moon and Dave Colbert, Joel Schapira and Diane Schapira, Greg Lock and Sarah Lock, Carl D’Alvia and Jackie Saccoccio, Ingrid Freidenbergs and Jack Feder and Alistair Jones and Shaari Horowitz.Artists were invited to submit works in any medium (e.g. Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Photography, Pastel, Ink, Graphite, Drawing, Print, Mixed Media, Sculpture, Assemblage, Fabric, Stone, Clay, Metal).

The Gallery @the SHS is located at the Sharon Historical Society & Museum, 18 Main Street, Route 41, Sharon, CT. The gallery and museum are open Wednesday through Friday from 12-4, Saturday from 1-5 and by appointment.For more information and directions to The Gallery @the SHS, call (860) 364-5688. For additional information about the Sharon Historical Society & Museum, visit www.sharonhist.org.

Peppa Pig is back by popular demand to the Palace Theatre in Waterbury located on 100 E. Main Street on September 23 at 6 p.m. Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is an action-packed live show featuring your favorite characters as life size puppets and costume characters!

Kids will love joining Peppa, George, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and more in an all singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and muddy puddles! Learn more about this exciting musical theatre performance here: www.peppapigliveUS.com.

There is even a special Peppa Big Party Pass that gives kids a real VIP experience! The Pig Party Passes include: – One premium seat in the first fifteen rows of the venue
– Exclusive access to the Peppa Pig Party after the show – Light catering including lemonade, water and cookies – Meet and greet photo opportunity with Peppa Pig cast on the pink carpet – One exclusive Peppa Pig party gift and an- On-site party concierge.

For more area information on fun things to do with kids visit www.litchfieldhills.com

​The quiet hamlet of Norfolk is hosting a town-wide festival this weekend. As part of the festivities both sides of Station Place, just off the charming Village Green will be filled with artisans demonstrating their work during “Weekend in Norfolk”,on August 5, 6 and 7. On one of the corners with Route 44, the Norfolk Boatworks is setting up shop for all three days, prepared to take a wooden canoe through all its stages, from steaming and bending the framework to covering it with fabric to doing all the finishing touches to prepare it for launch. Other boats will be in various stages of building and restoration, too.

Across the street in front of the Artisans Guild, more artisans will be showing how they do things. Friday evening Carol Vinick will be demonstrating the art of fabric collage. On Saturday, Allan Czellecz is setting up his lathe to demonstrate wood turning and Sumi Nakazato is coming to explain the Art of the Bead. On top of all that, shop owners Vee Kausel and Kathy Williams will be demonstrating rug hooking and knitting throughout the entire weekend.

Stop in at Norfolk Boatworks and the Artisans Guild any time throughout Weekend in Norfolk—something will always be going on!

Weekend in Norfolk, August 5, 6 and 7, is a three-day, town-wide art, music and nature festival. Events run the gamut from art exhibits to nature walks, world-class music to a watermelon-eating contest, a quilt show and boat-building demonstrations to the opportunity to get married on the Village Green, and new events are being added all the time. Visit weekendinnorfolk.org for details.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com​