Connecticut Travel

The Greenwich Historical Society is hosting a film on Thursday, January 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Vanderbilt Education Center on 39 Strickland Ave. in Cos Cob. Imagine that it is the fourth year of the American Revolution, and conflict is raging. Not only are Americans at war with the English, but they are at odds amongst themselves. Mary Silliman’s town of Fairfield, Connecticut, and her own family are no exception. Her neighbors are divided between those still loyal to the King of England and those fighting for independence.

Mary is in conflict with her husband Selleck, a fierce patriot and prominent state’s attorney, for prosecuting old friends and neighbors and harshly applying revolutionary justice. She struggles through the war to manage a farm and its finances, entertain officers, and house refugees, but when Selleck is kidnapped and held for ransom, she is also required to set a dangerous plot in motion to win his freedom.

Mary Silliman’s War offers a seldom-depicted female, civilian perspective on the day-to-day hardships wrought by the American Revolution. The award-winning film directed by Stephen Surjik, is based on Joy Day Buel and Rich Buel Jr.’s book The Way of Duty, with materials taken from Mary’s diary and letters exchanged with Selleck during his imprisonment, many now archived with the Silliman family papers at Yale University.

For more information on what to do and see in Fairfield County http://www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Five Points Gallery, located at 33 Main Street in Downtown Torrington, will open a new show on January 7, 2016 which will run through February 6, 2016 and is titled In and Of the Land, Part II.

The show will feature the work of thirteen artists working in various media including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, pastel and print. Ann Finholt is the guest curator for this exhibition. Featured artists are: Martha Armstrong, Andrew Buck, Joseph Byrne, Henry Finkelstein, Susan Bogle Finnegan, Bryan Nash Gill, Margaret Grimes, Jilaine Jones, Ruth Miller, Sondra Peron, Marjorie Portnow, Peter Ramon and Matt Weber.

The opening reception for In and Of the Land, Part II will be held on Friday, January 8th from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. On Friday, January 22nd at 6 pm, there will be a curatorial conversation between Ann Finholt, the exhibit’s Guest Curator and Judith McElhone, Executive Director of Five Points Gallery. The public is invited to attend both events, which are free. Regular gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

For more information on Litchfield Hills visit www.litchfieldhills.com

Debuting new telescopic lens viewing equipment and building updates, FirstLight Power Resources, the operator of the Shepaug Hydroelectric Power Station in Southbury, will open the Shepaug Bald Eagle Observatory December 19. The observatory will be open on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. through March 13, 2016.

Over 30 years in operation, the Shepaug Bald Eagle Observatory has hosted more than 150,000 visitors from all over the U.S. and the world. This observatory provides families, bird enthusiasts, and nature lovers a unique opportunity to see the eagles in their natural habitat.

“This is a great place to watch these raptors fish and hunt alongside other birds and water fowl such as red-tailed hawks,” said Howie Person, Plant Manager for the Shepaug Station. “We’ve made some significant improvements to the observatory and invested in all new equipment this year, so we hope to see many people come out.”

Specialists will be on-site with high-powered telescopes to help visitors see the eagles in action and to answer questions about America’s national symbol. Visitors are encouraged to dress warmly and to bring binoculars if possible to augment use of onsite telescopes.

All are welcome and admission is free of charge, but advance reservations are required. To make reservations individuals, families, and groups can go online at http://www.gdfsuezna.com/shepaug/ and click “Book Now”. FirstLight will be hosting a celebration in early-January to rededicate the facility and showcase its newest improvements.

FirstLight is a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ Energy North America, which manages a range of energy businesses in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, including electricity generation and cogeneration, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) distribution and sales, and retail energy sales and related services to commercial and industrial customers. GDF SUEZ Energy North America is a part of the international energy group ENGIE. For more information, please visit www.gdfsuezna.com.

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

On Saturday, January 9, 2016 and Sunday, January 10, 2016 the Warner Theatre will once again welcome the irrepressible Moses Pendelton and the internationally acclaimed dancer-illusionists troupe, MOMIX, as they present Opus Cactus on the Main Stage.

In this mesmerizing production, Opus Cactus brings the landscape of the American Southwest to life with Pendelton’s signature illusionistic style to create dynamic images of cacti, slithering lizards and fire dancers which one reviewer describes as, “exploding with a sense of magic, danger, sensuality, quirkiness, humour and beauty that can be found in that often hidden world.” This show is sure to captivate audiences of all ages!

MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists based out of Washington, CT and under the direction of Moses Pendelton. Known internationally, MOMIX performs on stages world-wide and has appeared in nationally-televised commercials. With nothing more than light, shadow, props and the human body, MOMIX has astonished audiences on five continents for over 35 years.

For tickets, call the Warner Box Office at (860) 489-7180 or visit www.warnertheatre.org

For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The Mattatuck Museum located in downtown Waterbury on 144 West Main Street is hosting a special lecture on January 8 at 6 p.m. featuring Dr. Charles F. Stuckey. This gallery talk has been planned in conjunction with the current exhibition, Yves Tanguy: Surrealist Painter/Country Gentlemen. The lecture is free with museum admission.

Dr. Stuckey is the Head of Research for the Yves Tanguy catalogue raisonné for the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation in New York. Dr. Stuckey has held positions with the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was a Senior Curator, with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as the Patrick and Aimee Butler Curator of Paintings and Sculpture after 1800, with the National Gallery of Art where he served as the Curator of Modern Painting, and has served as the Frances and Thomas Dittmer Curator of Twentieth-Century Painting and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dr. Stuckey has co-curated exhibitions including The Art of Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, 1840-1926, and Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings. Dr. Stuckey specializes in twentieth-century art and has taught art history at Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was a special curatorial consultant for the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The French Ministry of Culture awarded him the title “Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters”. Dr. Stuckey holds his BA magna cum laude from Yale University and his MA and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

For more information on all of the museum’s programs, events, and exhibits visit the website at www.mattatuckmuseum.org or call (203) 753-0381. For more area information www.litchfieldhills.com.

In conjunction with the amazing new LEGO® universe, the Stamford Museum and Nature Center is hosting several interactive family workshops in January.

On January 9 from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. there will be a Space Race activity where kids 6 and up will build and race a LEGO brick spaceship or car.

On January 10, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m, another activity, Rebel Alliance Battle for kids 6 and up is planned. Kids will build and fly a LEGO X-Wing fighter or design your own spaceship.

On January 23 and 24, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m, there will be a session to teach kids how to film LEGO animation with I LUG NY facilitators. Led by Alex Kobbs, of KooberzStudios, learn and film stop-action animation with LEGO creations and mini figures. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Members: $40 (one adult & one child), $25 for each additional adult/child | Non-Members: $55 (one adult & one child), $25 for each additional adult/child (includes Museum admission). Pre-registration and pre-payment are required for all workshops. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited. Call 203.977.6521 to register.

The Stamford Museum Galleries are open, Monday – Saturday 9 am – 5 pm; Sundays 11 am – 5 pm. Members: Free | Non-Members: Free with gate admission. A Billion Bricks 3: Galactic Travels runs through February 7. For more information visit stamfordmuseum.org or call 203.977.6521. For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com