Connecticut Travel

Beth Carlson is a life-long resident of Litchfield Hills and has been drawing and painting since childhood. A lover of nature and the scenery of the northwest corner of Connecticut, she strives to celebrate the beauty of the local landscape using oils on canvas. Her favorite subject is Lake Waramaug. Beth has been fascinated by the ever-changing, vibrant colors and patterns created during sunsets as seen from Tanner Hill Road in Warren. Yearly trips to Cape Cod also provide inspiration.

Decades of painting for her own enjoyment have led to a body of work that she now wants to share with the hope that others will enjoy her visions and journey. Beth studied illustration at Paier College of Art in Hamden and attended workshops and classes taught by fine artists at the Washington Art Association in Washington Depot and The Wooster Community Art Center in Danbury. She also studied graphic design at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted and made a living in that field at The Litchfield County Times where she was involved with the production of many award-winning publications. In the gallery: March 1- April 24.

In the gallery: March 1- April 24. Reception- Thursday, March 5, from 5:00- 7:00 p.m. at the Oliver Wolcott Library, 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030.
www.owlibrary.org.

After Hours at the Bruce Museum, a special program hosted by the Museum on Thursday, March 5, will offer evening gallery hours and a variety of activities – including a chance to take a “selfie” with an American Black Bear — with free admission from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Museum normally closes at 5.

“After Hours is a program inspired by the spirit of philanthropy,” says Peter C. Sutton, Executive Director of the Bruce Museum. “We cannot exist without the generous support of the community. Since March 5 is Fairfield County Giving Day, like most other local non-profits, we will be asking for the community’s support. We wanted to also give back to the community, and make accessible the treasure that is the Bruce.”

In addition to free admission and open galleries, the Museum will be offering special tours and other activities designed for families and accessible to all. Several experts will be on hand and available for discussion and questions, including Executive Director Peter Sutton; Jack A. Somer, the owner and collector of the antique maps currently on display in the Museum’s Lecture Gallery; Tara Contractor, the Museum’s Samuel H. Kress Interpretive Fellow and an expert on the Hohenbuchau Collection paintings currently on view; and Daniel Ksepka, the Museum’s Curator of Science. Special marine tank animal feedings will be held, and visitors will have an opportunity to take a “selfie” with an imposing figure, the Museum’s specimen of an American Black Bear.

To give to your favorite local non-profit on Fairfield County Giving Day, you must donate during the March 5th 24-hour period, from midnight to 11:59 p.m., and must do so on the Fairfield County Giving Day website, fcgives.org. Participating non-profits each have a dedicated page on the specially-created site. To donate to the Bruce Museum, visit their page at https://www.fcgives.org/#npo/bruce-museum-inc11.

For more area event information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

The Institute for American Indian Studies will present its Annual Maple Sugaring Festival on Saturday, March 7, 2015 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. What makes this Festival unique is Jim Dinafor who will present a full Native American Sugar-making demonstration in the Institute’s outdoor Algonkian Village.

Inside the Museum and Institute, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, staff members will serve pancakes with delicious local maple syrup. Fun activities for the children will run from 1:00 – 3:00 pm.

The Native American lore of sweet maple syrup is fascinating. The Mohegans believed that the melting snow caused the spring sap to run in the maples. They considered the sap to be the dripping oil of the Great Celestial Bear, who had been wounded by the winter sky hunters – according to their own Pleiades story. The bear, sometimes becoming the celestial bear and embodying the Big Dipper, repeats itself through many Indian origin stories.

Native People discovered in their woodlands the sources of seasoning and sweetening medicines and foods. Long before recorded history, their investigations unlocked the secrets of extracting many dietary substances from their natural environments. Lost in pre-history are the earliest experiences that led to “sugaring”.
It was usual for whole families to participate in the labor of sugaring, although in some tribes the women went first to the maple forests to make any necessary repairs to the camp and sugaring utensils. Among the Iroquois and the Ojibwa Indians, the women owned the maple groves, which they inherited through their maternal line. Seensibaukwut is the Ojibwa word for maple sugar, which means, “drawn from the wood.”

Tree sap is essentially water absorbed by the roots and mixed with some of the stored tree sugars. Sap will begin to run upwards from the roots on warm late-winter days followed by freezing nights. These conditions usually begin in late February in southern New England.

Once the sap had been collected, it needed to be boiled down (reduced). The sap was then put into a hollowed out log where fiery hot stones were placed into it. The purpose of the hot stones was to cause the sap to boil. This may have needed to be done several times to obtain the correct consistency.

This was the traditional “Native” way.

Please call for tickets 860-868-0518. Advance tickets $15 Adults/ $10 Children. For more information visit http://www.iaismuseum.org/. for area information www.litchifeldhills.com

Explore nine decades of Palace Theater history and backstage mystique during the Waterbury performing art center’s upcoming guided tour on Saturday, Feb. 28 from 11 a.m. to 12:15pm.

Each Palace Theater tour is approximately one hour and fifteen minutes and is led by a team of Palace Theater Ambassadors, a specially trained group of engaging volunteers well-versed in the theater’s rich history, architectural design and entertaining anecdotal information. In addition to exploring the theater, Poli Club and lobby spaces, patrons will also have the opportunity to walk across the stage, visit the star dressing rooms, and view the venue’s hidden, backstage murals — artwork painted and signed on the theater walls by past performers and Broadway touring companies.

Due to the tours’ increasing popularity, reservations are required in advance. Each tour is $5.00 per person and single tickets for individuals or groups of 10 or less can be purchased online at www.palacetheaterct.org. Larger groups are asked to contact the Box Office at 203-346-2000 to book their reservations. A special boxed lunch and tour package prepared by Riverhouse Catering is also available for groups of 15 or more and cost $17 per person. Reservations for the lunch package need to be made at least three days in advance of the desired tour date.

Built in 1920 and recorded in the National Register of Historic Places, the Palace Theater is known for its grand architectural design. Designed in a Renaissance Revival style, the building features an eclectic mix of Greek, Roman, Arabic and Federal motifs along with marble staircases, gilded domed ceilings, cut glass chandeliers and intricate plaster relief details that make the Palace one of the most striking performing arts spaces in the state.

About the Palace Theater
The Palace’s primary purpose is to revitalize the Greater Waterbury community through the presentation of the performing arts and educational initiatives in collaboration with area cultural and educational institutions. Its mission is to preserve and operate the historic Palace Theater as a performing arts center and community gathering place that provides a focal point of cultural activity and educational outreach for diverse audiences. For Bank, Comcast, Ion Bank, Shaker Automotive Group, Crystal Rock, St. Mary’s Hospital, Bank of America, City of Waterbury, Waterbury Hospital, Powerstation Events, and Worx.

For more area event information www.litchfieldhills.com