Free Family Halloween Event Features a Hay Maze Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 At Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens

The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens at 151 Brookdale Road in Stamford becomes home to a huge hay maze, fun activities for kids and other Halloween happenings on Saturday, October 29, 2011 and Sunday October 30, 2011 from 12 p.m.- 4 p.m.

The event, AMAZEing Halloween, also features free admission to The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens and its new Outdoor Explore Classroom, as well as the “Monster Mash” costume parade at 1pm and 3pm, face-painting, magicians, pumpkin carving, and many other kid-friendly activities.

“We wanted to showcase our grounds at a free Halloween event to let people see how wonderful the property looks in the fall” said Peter Saverine, Bartlett Arboretum’s Executive Director of Operations. “We’re excited about the hay maze and we’ll have lots to do for kids and their families.

With the recent opening of our new Silver Educational Center and its outdoor complement, the new Nature Explore Classroom, we are sure the Bartlett Arboretum will become a must-visit location for families to learn about nature together.”

The event is FREE and open to the public. It is being held in partnership with Stamford Recreation Services and supports the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County. Families are encouraged to bring any non-perishable items they would like to donate to help others in our community.

Register at http://stamfordhalloween.eventbrite.com for your child or children to receive a free Halloween goody bag on the day of the event.

About The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens:

The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens is located at 151 Brookdale Road in Stamford, CT and is a natural preserve like no other in this region. The property features 91 acres of irreplaceable open space highlighting the best of what Connecticut’s

Native landscape has to offer: magnificent award-winning Champion trees, charming gardens, wildflower meadows, red maple wetlands and boardwalks, woodland walking trails, varied wildlife and native habitats. A wonderful getaway from the hustle and bustle of daily life, it serves as a leading recreational and educational resource for area residents and visitors of all ages. For weekend gardeners to budding young botanists, the Bartlett offers a place to relax, learn and play. The mission of the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens is to inspire the community to explore, examine, understand and appreciate the natural history of the botanical world and its place in our lives. It is open to the public 365 days a year. Children under 12 are always free, adult entry is $6. Individual, family, and senior memberships are available for free access year round and discounts to programs, special events and local merchants. Visit www.bartlettarboretum.org or call 203-322-6971 for more information.

Photo Credit: P. Pogo

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A Jezebel Among Us In Washington Connecticut!

The Gunn Memorial Museum is presenting a one woman play based on a historic event that took place in Washington Connecticut one hundred and seventy one years ago. At that time, Abby Kelley Foster, a known Quaker Pacifist, Radical Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Activist from Worcester, Massachusetts spoke publicly in Washington, Connecticut. On Sunday October 30th at 11:30 am in the Congregational Church on Washington Green this fascinating story will be retold.

Abby Kelley Foster was twenty-nine when she broke with social convention dictating that women remain silent, submissive and obedient by claiming her right to speak out against slavery. In doing so, she helped lay the foundation for the women’s rights movement.

Foster was one of the first women to speak publicly against slavery and during her first speech a mob threatened to burn down the hall where she spoke. As a radical abolitionist, Mrs. Foster gained notoriety by traveling around the country as an anti-slavery lecturer and she was never derailed from her belief that all people are created equal.

Sponsored by Sheriff John Gunn and others, Abby spoke to large audiences in Washington, Connecticut in 1840.

The minister of the Congregational Church, Gordon Hayes, denounced Abby Kelley’s presence in town proclaiming her “a jezebel and servant of Satan in the garb of an angel of light with the aim to entice and destroy this church.”

Attend this event one hundred and seventy-one years later as Abby Kelley Foster “returns” to Washington to speak in the very same Congregational Church! The performace overseen by the Gunn Memorial Museum is a one-woman play based on Abby Kelley’s letters and speeches.

This exciting performance will immediately follow the 10:30 am Sunday Worship, which is also open to the public. A closing reception for the exhibit, Letters from the Battlefield: Stories of Washington’s Civil War Soldiers, will follow in the Gunn Museum across the street from the Congregational Church.

For more information visit www.gunnlibrary.org

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Halloween Spooktacular Cooking Class at The Silo Cooking School New Milford CT

For years, The Silo Cooking School has provided chefs of all ages with great learning experiences – combined with fun. The tradition continues on Saturday, October 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a Halloween Spooktacular Class – “It Came From the Kitchen” taught by Silo Cooking School Assistant Director Nancy Stuart Ploch. The class is geared for children ages five to eleven.

Little monsters will go batty conjuring ghoulish delights such as Vampire Blood (Tomato) Soup, Chopped Fingers, Monster Eyeballs, Warlock’s Brew and more! This hands-on full participation class teaches valuable skills in reading, math, and teamwork.

The class fee is $50 per child. For more information and to register visit www.hunthillfarmtrust.org, or call (860) 355-0300. Registration is also available 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. The Silo Cooking School at Hunt Hill Farm, 44 Upland Rd, New Milford, CT. 860.355.0300; www.hunthillfarmtrust.org

The Silo Cooking School at Hunt Hill Farm offers recreational demonstration and hands-on culinary classes taught by local and celebrity chefs for students ages five to 85 in a unique country setting. Upcoming classes include October 23’s Autumn in France with Chef Mary Kravec and a two-part demonstration series featuring Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton on Friday and Saturday November 4th and 5th.

Although not a cooking class, The Silo is hosting a fascinating event– “The Silo and the Supernatural” on October 30 from 4pm to 6 pm. Participants will enter the realm of the paranormal with The Northwest Ct Paranormal Society’s professional investigator John Zontok and Bob Mills, a professional photographer who helps the team differentiate true paranormal pictures from forged images. Tools of the trade, the history of paranormal photography, and audio of ghostly voices and videos of what could be a revolutionary soldier will be shared and experienced. Local hauntings, including a Barkhamsted barn investigation featured on the Animal Planet’s “The Haunted” series and “My Ghost Story are highlights of this macabre evening of paranormal fun. Due to the nature of this program, ages 12 and up please. (860-355-0300). www.hunthillfarmtrust.org

About The Silo Cooking School and Hunt Hill Farm Trust

The Cooking School is part of the Smithsonian Institution affiliated Hunt Hill Farm Trust, a non-profit organization. Hunt Hill Farm Trust is a vibrant and unique regional resource, offering the public the opportunity to explore music, art, cuisine, crafts and literature in a setting of historic farm buildings and permanently protected open space.

Hunt Hill Farm also includes The Silo Gallery, The Skitch Henderson Museum, and The Silo Store, which sells giftware, tabletop, foods and kitchen items.

Drawing on the creative legacy of Skitch and Ruth Henderson, the Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, is a vibrant and unique regional resource, offering the public opportunities to explore music, art, cuisine, and permanently protected historic open space.

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The Lights Are Back On — At Sheffield Island Lighthouse

It has been over one-hundred years since the lighthouse on Sheffield Island off the coast of Norwalk has cast it’s light across the waters of Long Island Sound. Tonight, that will all change thanks to NRG Energy Inc. A low-energy reflective light has been installed in the tower and will be turned on for the first time in over 100 years today. Activated in 1868, the Sheffield Island Lighthouse was in service for 34 years until its retirement in 1902. The lighthouse served as a navigational beacon before the Greens Ledge Lighthouse was built. Today, Greens Ledge Lighthouse is a beacon for pleasure and commercial boaters cruising Long Island Sound.

The Norwalk Seaport Association purchased the lighthouse in 1987 for $700,000 from Thorston O. Stabell, who bought the structure from the U.S. government years prior and used it as a summer residence. Today, the Sheffield Lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained by the Association. Visitors to the island can stroll along the shoreline of the island and explore the lighthouse museum and nature preserve that is home to a number of seabirds and other island wildlife.

The new light on the island will not be used for navigational purposes, rather its intermittent light, visible from the Norwalk side of Long Island Sound is a reminder of the history of this important maritime landmark and a beacon that will welcome visitors to Sheffield Island.

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CELBRATE THE FALL HARVEST AT STAMFORD MUSEUM AND NATURE CENTER OCT. 15 AND 16

The crisp days of fall are a glorious time of year in Connecticut and part of our New England Heritage. What better way to celebrate the fall than to visit the Stamford Museum and Nature Center www.stamfordmuseum.org this weekend for the Harvest Festival. The fair is located on 39 Scofieldtown Rd. in Stamford and takes place on October 15 and 16 from 11 am to 3 pm.

Kids will enjoy hayrides, apple cider demonstrations, a scarecrow contest, pumpkin carving, llama trekking, farm animal demonstrations and many other fun activities.

As Halloween is just around the corner, children are encouraged to wear a costume and participate in the Harvest Festival parade led by a special guest! Many other activities will keep families busy including an apple slingshot, corn husk dolls, live music, face painting, farm tool demonstrations, cauldron-cooked corn, storytelling, and children’s crafts.

A special highlight of this year’s harvest festival includes the chance to meet the newest members of Heckscher Farm – two female guinea hogs. Families are invited to help name these two new residents during Harvest Festival Weekend. Visitors can make suggestions for the piglets’ names as part of Stamford Museum and Nature Center’s “Name Our Pigs” Challenge. The people who suggest the winning names will receive free admission for four to the Maple Sugar Weekend (in March 2012) and Spring on the Farm Weekend (in May 2012) at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.

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Last Chance to Win A Harley

Have you ever wanted to win a Harley — and to cruise the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut amid the beautiful firecolors of fall? If this is a dream of yours then take a chance with the clever raffle offered by the New England Carousel Museum (http://www.thecarouselmuseum.org) in Bristol.

There are only three weeks left until the New England Carousel Museum draws the winning ticket for the lucky winner of its annual raffle! The 2500 tickets that benefit the Carousel Museum are running out, fast — to avoid disappointment buy your tickets today…it might be your lucky day!

For only $20.00 per ticket, you have a chance at this year’s first prize, a fabulous 2011 Harley Davidson Fat Boy! The second prize is a 5′ x 8′ trailer, and the third prize is a $100.00 gift certificate redeemable at Yankee Harley Davidson in Bristol.

Tickets can be purchased on line by visiting their homepage (http://www.thecarouselmuseum.org), just scroll down the page and look for the “fat boy” and download the raffle form. Fill out the form and send it along with your check for $20 to: The New England Carousel Museum, 95 Riverside Avenue, Bristol, CT 06010 to receive your ticket and a chance to win a classic Harley Fat Boy! Make sure to make your check payable to the Carousel Museum!

The Fourteenth Annual Raffle ends on Saturday, October 29th. There will be a public drawing at 7 P.M at the New England Carousel Museum when the three winners will be revealed! Everyone is welcome to attend the drawing, but the winner need not be present. The winner will be contacted immediately upon completion of the drawing.

Tickets may be purchased at the Carousel Museum at 95 Riverside Ave in Bristol and are also availabe at Andy’s Hair Studio, Hamelin & Sons Garage, Pine Street Package Store, Martino’s Market, Farmington Bank in Farmington, Webster Bank on Pine Street, Mikes Hair Design, the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, Burlington Wine & Spirits, Yankee Harley Davidson, Greer’s Chicken, South Side Market, Harvest Bakery, Bristol Glass, Trim Unlimited. Chute Gates in Terryville, the Bushnell Park Carousel in Hartford, Jerzie Joe’s in Southington and Sam the Clams in Plantsville also sell raffle tickets on behalf of the museum.

The Museum is located at 95 Riverside Avenue, Route 72 in Bristol. For more information, call the Carousel Museum at (860) 585-5411. Fax: 860-314-0483, E-mail: info@thecarouselmuseum.org, Web site: www.thecarouselmuseum.org.

About the New England Carousel Museum

The New England Carousel Museum was founded as a nonprofit educational organization in 1990, in Bristol, Connecticut. Visitors to the Museum will tour two floors of fascinating displays, exhibits and galleries including: The New England Carousel Museum, The Museum of Fire History, The Fine Art Gallery and The Greek Museum of Art and History. In season the New England Carousel Museum also manages the historic Bushnell Park Carousel in Hartford CT.

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