“Jazz Great” Bucky Pizzarelli at The Silo Hunt Hill Farm

The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm, in Litchfield Hills is “Saluting Jazz” in style on May 24 at 7 p.m. when they will be hosting jazz great Bucky Pizzarelli at the Canterbury School in New Milford. Pizzarelli, a , world-renowned jazz guitarist, will be accompanied by Ed Laub. The duo has been performing for audiences all over the US and Canada in clubs, concert halls and jazz festivals for the past 12 years after a lifetime association as teacher/student.

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Pizzarelli and Laub combine instrumental and vocal arrangements with an emphasis on the Great American Songbook and well as some of the classic 1930’s guitar duos made popular by Carl Kress/ Dick McDonough, Eddie Lang and George Smith. Their great friendship of over 45 years is evident in their sound and the way they interact together.

All proceeds from the concert will benefit The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offering programs and family events that enrich the community, including art gallery exhibitions, cooking classes, live music, literary readings and more.

Tickets begin at $30 for general admission, with reserved seating tickets at $50 and $75 levels. A pre-concert reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m., also at the Canterbury School, with tickets for the reception and concert at $100. Sponsor and Underwriter levels are available as well. For more information and to purchase tickets visit http://www.hunthillfarmtrust.org, or call (860) 355-0300. Tickets are also on sale at The Silo during regular business hours. The Silo Gallery and store are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Ticket prices are: $30 General Admission $50 Reserved Seating, $75 Front and Center, $100 Jazz Lover (includes pre-concert reception and “Front and Center” reserved seating), $250 All Star Patron (includes pre-concert reception, “Front and Center” reserved seating and program credit as a patron), $500 Premier VIP (includes pre-concert reception, “Front and Center” reserved seating, CD and program credit as an underwriter).

About Hunt Hill Farm Trust

Located in New Milford, Conn., the Hunt Hill Farm Trust operates The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm, a non-profit organization and Smithsonian Institution Affiliate dedicated to preserving the unique history of this farm. The Silo is as devoted to protecting this piece of New England agricultural history – its buildings, stone walls, and fields – as it is to the cultural legacy of Ruth and Skitch Henderson, the founders who brought ‘new life to old barns.’™ The Silo continues traditions of education, conservation, artisanry and excellence in the Cooking School, the Skitch Henderson Museum, the Hunt Hill Farm Land Preserve, the Gallery and the Silo Store and is a vibrant and unique regional resource, offering the public opportunities to explore music, art, cuisine, and permanently protected historic open space. For more information, please visit www.hunthillfarmtrust.org, and connect with the bank on Facebook and Twitter (@thesilohunthill).

For information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

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Visit replica’s of Columbus’s ships Nina and Pinta in Bridgeport

The Niña is a replica of the ship on which Columbus sailed across the Atlantic on his three voyages of discovery to the new world beginning in 1492. Columbus sailed the tiny ship over 25,000 miles. That ship was last heard of in 1501, but the new Niña has a different mission. It is a floating museum sponsored by the Columbus Foundation from the British Virgin Islands that visit ports all over the Western Hemisphere.

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On Friday May 23rd, the ‘Pinta’ and the ‘Nina’, replicas of Columbus’ Ships, will open in Bridgeport. The ships will be docked at Captains Cove Seaport, 1 Bostwick Ave., until their departure early Tuesday morning May 27th.

The ‘Nina’ was built completely by hand and without the use of power tools. Archaeology magazine called the ship “the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built.” The “Pinta” was recently built in Brazil to accompany the Nina on all of her travels. She is a larger version of the archetypal caravel. Historians consider the caravel the Space Shuttle of the fifteenth century.

Both ships tour together as a new and enhanced ‘sailing museum’ for the purpose of educating the public and school children on the ‘caravel’, a Portuguese ship used by Columbus and many early explorers to discover the world.

While in port, the general public is invited to visit the ships for a walk-aboard, self-guided tour. Admission charges are $8.00 for adults, $ 7.00 for seniors, and $6.00 for students 5 – 16. Children 4 and under are Free. The ships are open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. No reservations necessary.

Teachers or organizations wishing to schedule a 30 minute guided tour with a crew member should call 1 787 672 2152 or email columfnd1492@gmail.com . Minimum of 15. $5.00 per person. No Maximum. For more information visit www.thenina.com

For information about Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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A Lecture on Victorian Era Jewelry to Launches the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s Lecture Series

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On Wednesday, May 21, at 11 a.m., the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum located at 295 West Avenue in Norwalk, CT will launch its 2014 Lecture Series. CT Historic New England’s Associate Curator Laura Johnson will present the illustrated talk, Mottos, Messages and Gem Lore in Victorian Jewelry and introduce the messages, both hidden and overt, in Victorian gems. From the many meanings of turquoise to “fide” rings and the language of flowers, men and women alike in the nineteenth century used gems and ornaments to whisper sweet nothings or softly spell out their devotion. Lecture attendees are invited to bring their own Victorian jewelry for expert identification (please note- not for appraisal).

Laura Johnson is a specialist in American material life, focusing on identity construction and consumption. She is particularly interested in the intersections of memory and identity in American adornment. Ms. Johnson is currently working on an exhibition for Historic New England entitled Mementos: Jewelry of Life and Love, scheduled to open in 2016 but also works on needlework, children’s clothing, revival textiles, basketry, and Native American material culture. She received her Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from the University of Delaware and an M.A. in Early American Culture from the Winterthur Program.

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This is the first in a series of lectures entitled, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion: Seventy-four years of Culture – Art, Life, and Love, 1864-1938 by curators and experts in the field of Victorian era material life. The lectures are $25 for members, $30 for non-members per session. A discount package for all seven lectures can be purchased in advance for $150 for members/ $180 for non-members. The price includes lecture, lunch and a Mansion tour. Lunch is courtesy of Michael Gilmartin’s Outdoor Cookers. The chair of the Lecture Committee is Mimi Findlay of New Canaan. Photo credits: Collection of Historic New England and photography by Andrew Davis.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on schedules and programs please visit: www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.

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For the love of Trees in Norwalk – the annual Tree Festival

The Connecticut Tree Festival, Norwalk’s annual spring tribute to leafy greenery is set for Cranbury Park, located on Grumman Ave. on Saturday, May 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine.

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This family fun festival will be both entertaining and educational for the whole family with up to 40 exhibition booths on a U-shaped midway making it easy to explore. Best of all, this event is free, everything in the park is free to the public–admission, parking, door prizes, even a picnic-style lunch.

There are demonstrations of how trees are planted, trimmed and moved as well as information on how to care for trees. Bring a twig and leaf from home and look for the “Ask the Arborist” signs, certified arborists are on-site to help identify trees, foliage or unusual conditions. In a mid-day ceremony, an eastern redbud tree is to be planted to honor the late Dick Aime who died last year at age 93 after many years as secretary of the Norwalk Tree Alliance.

For kids there is face painting, scavenger hunts, and arts and crafts activities. A highlight of the event are the cherry-pickers located around the midway that offers kids rides to the tree tops and tells them about the importance of tree care.

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Popular exhibitors include: the Wolf Conservation Center from South Salem New York, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, CT, Earthplace of Westport and Connecticut’s Search and Rescue dog team.

Appearing for the first time is the Art Academy of Weir Farm in Wilton with a booth on the midway and a display of arboreal art called “A Celebration of Trees” in the neighboring Gallaher Mansion.

For additional information about this event visit https://www.ioby.org/project/2014-connecticut-tree-festival. For information on Fairfield County visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

About Cranbury Park

This is an expansive parkland of 227 acres that has a series of wooded trails, and a challenging 18- hold disc golf course. Also on the grounds is the Gallager Mansion built in 1913 by industrialist/inventor Edward Beach Gallaher. This limestone Tudor Revival mansion is styled with carvings, stained-glass windows and Walnut paneled rooms. It includes a large terrace and adjacent garden that make it perfect venue for outdoor entertaining. It’s available to rent for meetings, events, luncheons and weddings. The Carriage House Arts Center is located adjacent to the mansion. Contact Recreation and Parks for details. (203) 854-7806 or http://www.norwalkct.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/1

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BLACK • WHITE • COLOR • LIGHT: The Art of Rick Shaefer & The Sun As Art: NASA Photographs

The art and science behind the perception of light and color is explored in a new two-part exhibition entitled BLACK • WHITE • COLOR • LIGHT: The Art of Rick Shaefer & The Sun As Art: NASA Photographs, that is open to the public at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center through May 26.

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The exhibition invites the viewer to consider the different ways in which our world is awash in color and light, highlighted by the nuances of shadow, contrast and darkness. Through works of contemporary art and scientific documentation, BLACK • WHITE • COLOR • LIGHT explores questions concerning how the light from the sun influences the way we perceive color, and how our imagination is exercised and challenged by black and white imagery.

The exhibition features recent works by artist Rick Shaefer that are part of an ongoing series of large-scale, black and white, charcoal-on-vellum drawings, whose subjects range from the endangered American bison to massive trees and other flora found in close proximity to the artist’s home in Connecticut. The intricate markings that comprise his meticulously rendered, monumental drawings are part of a technique that Shaefer has cultivated within his artistic practice, one that aims to introduce the viewer to new ways of perceiving the drawn line and, ultimately, of considering the greater significance of the subjects of the work.

The Sun as Art is a collection of twenty colorful, high-definition images of the sun featured in a unique way that demonstrates the color spectrum of light. The engaging and educational collection is the brainchild of Dr. Steele Hill, media specialist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, MD.

The Galleries are open, Monday – Saturday 9 am – 5 pm; Sundays 11am – 5 pm. Members: Free/Non-Members: Free with gate admission. Admission Fees*: Adults $10; Seniors (65+) $8; Students (18+ with valid ID) $6; Children (4-17) $5; Children (3 and under) Free *excludes festival days & special events.

Stamford Museum & Nature Center is located at 39 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford, CT (3/4 mile North of Merritt Parkway Exit 35.) For more information call 203.322.1646 or visit www.stamfordmuseum.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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May Events at the Beardsley Zoo

The Beardsley Zoo has a series of exciting events planned for the lovely month of May that promises fun for the entire family.

The Beardsley Zoo is offering two special deals in May one for Moms to celebrate Mother’s Day on May 11 and the other for Veterans to commemorate Armed Services Day on May 17. To thank all moms on Mothers Day, bring your mom to the zoo and her ticket is on the Zoo! On Armed Services Day, Veterans and active service people are free and their family (up to 6 individuals) receives a 15% discount on admission.

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On May 13 and 14, the Zoo is hosting Zoo tots at 10:30 a.m. for children accompanied by an adult that are 22 months old to four years old. This popular monthly program may include: stories, games, crafts, and a live animal presentation. A special highlight is the “Garden Critters” session that will focus on animals that like gardens. The admission is $10 for Zoo members and one child; and $15 for non-members and one child. Participants may sign up for either day. To reserve a space in the program, pre-register by calling the Zoo’s Education Department at 203-394-6563.

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To commemorate the Endangered Species Week, the Beardsley Zoo is holding a series of endangered species awareness events from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. from May 16- May 18. The events will encourage people of all ages to learn about the importance of protecting endangered animals and plants and what actions can be taken to help preserve their future. A highlight of this event is for children and families to take part in a scavenger hunt featuring exotic and domestic endangered animals!

If you have been thinking about adopting a pet, head to the Zoo on May 17 for Pet Awareness and Adoption Day that takes place from noon to 3 p.m. Together with regional animal adoption and rescue organizations, you’ll learn about the wonderful animals we live with every day – our pets! The Zoo is hosting experts on pet care and safety, and a series of special craft programs for kids will be part of the fun along with other surprises.

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The month of May ends with an evening lecture on May 21 at 7 p.m. in the Hanson Exploration Station. The lecture series engages audiences of all ages, especially lifelong learners, who have an appetite for delving deeper into the wonders of wildlife. Attending these programs allows visitors to live vicariously through the Zoo’s experts, who often have had incredible close encounters with creatures across the globe. There is a suggested $5 donation for the lecture. Refreshments will be served.

About Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
Connecticut’s only zoo features 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Visitors won’t want to miss the Amur (Siberian) tigers and leopard, Brazilian ocelot, Mexican wolves, and Golden Lion tamarins. Other highlights include: the South American rainforest with free-flight aviary, the prairie dog exhibit with “pop-up” viewing areas, the New England Farmyard with goats, cows, pigs, sheep, and other barnyard critters, plus the hoofstock trail featuring bison, pronghorn, deer, and more. Visitors can grab a bite at the Peacock Café, eat in the Picnic Grove, and enjoy a ride on a colorful carousel. For more information, visit www.beardsleyzoo.org.

For area information on Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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