Tag: connecticut events

Baby Clothes 1800-1950 and Tool Exhibition at Wilton Historical Society

The Wilton Historical Society’s fall show called White Linen and Lace, Baby Clothing from 1800- 1950 that will be on display through October 4. Pure yet practical, white has been the traditional choice for baby clothing for hundreds of years. In this small exhibition, tiny garments made with love and lavished with fine needlework are on display. There are christening gowns and slips, night gowns, caps, bonnets, bibs, dresses and petite shoes created between 1800 and 1950. The delicate attire is shown with some of the furnishings of childhood – a cradle, blankets, highchair, silver mugs and utensils, baby bottles and rattles.
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A circa 1870 sewing box reminds us of the countless hours women spent laboring over their precious snowy creations, working by the light of candles, oil lamps, or by rays of sunlight through a window. Exquisite clothing with nearly invisible stitches, tiny tucking, tatting, crochet, soutache, cutwork, drawn work and embroidery — their needle skills are remarkable.

Of particular interest are the family connections many of these heirlooms have with Wilton. Do these names sound familiar? Sturgis, Hurlbutt, Ambler, Belden, Davenport, Evans, Nash, Marvin, Parisot, Rounds – many are now memorialized as road names, while others still boast descendants living in town today.

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Another exhibition, Changing Times: Hand Tools Before the Industrial Revolution, features Connecticut Tools of the Trades from the Walter R.T. Smith Collection. Mounted on the walls of the Burt Barn Gallery, the setting compliments the sculptural appearance of the old tools. They have an almost folk-art quality, with their worn wood and rather eccentric shapes. The machines that supplanted them in the Industrial Revolution would never have the soul of these antique implements.

Both exhibitions will continue through October 4, 2014. The Wilton Historical Society is located on 224 Danbury Road and is open Tuesday—Saturday, 10:00-4:00. There are house tours every day at 2:00, and by appointment. For more information http://www.wiltonhistorical.org

The Abbott Blacksmith Shop, also on the property, with a working blacksmith, is open most Saturdays, except in winter.

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ROBERT ANDREW PARKER: BY LAND, SEA & AIR—Paintings, Drawings, Etchings

The David Hunt Library located in the bucolic village of Falls Village in the Litchfield Hills on 63 Main Street is hosting an art exhibition featuring the work of Robert Andrew Parker through October 10. An opening reception with refreshments will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, September 12. This event is free and open to the public.

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The poet Marianne Moore said, “Robert Andrew Parker is one of the most accurate and at the same time most unliteral of painters. He combines the mystical and the actual, working both in an abstract and in a realistic way.” Ms. Moore’s is an apt description of Parker’s recent work in this exhibit including serial images of an Avro Bison aircraft combining print and watercolor and a series of ships in the far distance, possibly warships. These are accompanied by landscapes, images of animals, and water conveying an overall sense of movement and adventure.

Besides being a foremost American artist, illustrator, and printmaker, Parker is also a writer and a working musician. Bob continues to perform with his band mates locally at the Interlaken Inn and other spots.

Parker’s artworks have appeared in the pages of The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Esquire just to name a few. His drawings and paintings have accompanied the writings of Franz Kafka, Vladimir Nabokov, W. H. Auden, and Marianne Moore. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Morgan Library and Museum, and private collections throughout the world. Most recently, Parker was the subject of a Century Masters career retrospective at The Century Association in New York.

David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main Street, Falls Village, CT 06031, 860-824-7424, www.huntlibrary.org

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Troubadour to Entertain at Sweet Treats Social in Easton

The Easton Historical Society Easton’s Parks and Recreation Department, are co-sponsoring a sweet event this September. On September 7 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. event goers are in for a special treat social at the historic Bradley Hubbell Homestead located on 535 Black Rock Road in Easton. The public is invited to enjoy a late summer afternoon overlooking the bountiful Bradley garden and the graceful Hemlock Reservoir while listening to music while kids are entertained with a series of children’s crafts, farm demonstrations and refreshing treats.

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One of the highlights of the afternoon will be the appearance of Connecticut’s first “Official State Troubadour” Tom Callinan who has composed an entertaining song about the Bradley’s family farming history which he plans on debuting at this social event. Tom will regale the crowd with music from yesteryear including popular songs from the colonial and Revolutionary War period.

The 19th Century cider press housed in the barn on the property will be featured in a demonstration showing how apples were pressed for the production of cider, a popular beverage especially during apple picking season. Children can visit the crafts table for hands-on fun creating apple prints, a special memory of their afternoon at the Bradley-Hubbell Homestead. Plus, all can tickle their taste buds with refreshing nutritious and delicious yogurt treats courtesy of Red Mango of Fairfield, CT.

Admission fees are $5 per person, $20 per family, and Children under 5 free. Half-price for Historical Society Members. For more information contact the Historical Society of Easton at 203-261-2090 or visit www.historicalsocietyofeastonct.org.

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Coffeehouse at the Westport Historical Society salutes Peter Seeger

On August 29 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. join -songwriter Suzanne Sheridan and other local musicians for an evening of Civil Rights and Vietnam War protest songs in tribute to the late folk icon Pete Seeger.

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The writer of such Sixties anthems as “If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Turn, Turn, Turn,” Seeger was also an environmental activist and co-founder of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater project. He died Jan. 28 at the age of 94.

The evening kicks off with a set by Weston’s Bruce Taylor, a retired teacher and maker of string instruments who was a friend of Seeger’s. Taylor specialized in the “Seeger- style” 12- string guitar and the long-neck five-string banjo that he created just for Seeger. He and Seeger collaborated on a few songs and also performed together, usually in support of the Clearwater project.

Sheridan, who began her music career writing jingles for such companies as Pepsi, Hasbro toys and Texaco and writing music for The Electric Company and PBS television, has been traveling the world the last three years doing tributes to the music of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. In addition to Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer,” she will perform other favorites of the Counterculture era.

Also joining the songfest will be Westport keyboardist Bob Cooper. Cooper played piano in the John Mooney Blues Band from 1978 to 1981, and keyboard for Harvey Robbins’ Doo-Wop Hall of Fame concerts from 2000 to 2009.

So, if you were wondering where all the flowers had gone back in the Sixties, or just love great music, come out to the Westport Historical Society on August 29 for an evening that combines Seeger’s songs with a bit of recent U.S. history.
Admission is $15 and reservations are recommended. Light refreshments will be served. For more information and to reserve, call (203) 222-1424.

For more information on the Westport Historical Society http://westporthistory.org.

JanetLeave a comment

Silvermine Arts Guild Faculty Exhibition and open house

Silvermine School of Art located on 1037 Silvermine Road in New Cannan celebrated its 90th birthday this year and was once again recognized in Moffly Media’s “Best of the Gold Coast” issue for best art classes for the third consecutive year. The Silvermine Galleries were also voted “best gallery” for the fourth consecutive year.

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Liza_Masalimova Silvermine Pond Faculty Exhbition_2014

What distinguishes the Silvermine School of Art is the quality of its faculty. Acclaimed artists, many of whom are Silvermine Guild members, teach a wide range of disciplines and media from painting and drawing to metalwork.There will be an exhibit of their work in Silvermine’s Sara Victoria Hall from August 21st until September 11, 2014 with an opening reception at 6:30 pm on Thursday, August 21st.

To coincide with the Faculty Exhibition, the Silvermine Arts Center will host an open house on Sunday, September 7 from 2 to 4 pm. Visitors can tour the campus and studios, meet with faculty, see demonstrations by Silvermine faculty members, participate in hands-on activities, and register for courses and workshops.

The School of Art offers art students and working artists in-depth courses and workshops in traditional and nontraditional media. Beginners are welcome; in fact the School of Art now offers one-day workshops and evening mini-sessions for those who would like to try a Silvermine course for the first time or explore a new discipline or medium.

Some of the new classes at Silvermine include an anatomy and figure drawing class in which artists learn the structure of the body; a botanical drawing class; and an advanced stained-glass course that involves making the glass and painting onto it with enamels. One-day courses will be offered in pottery, metal sculpture, felting, and precious metal clay jewelry. In the precious metal clay workshop, students create their own crafted metal piece.

Silvermine Galleries are open Wednesday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (203) 966-­9700 ext. 20 or visit the website: www.silvermineart.org.

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Lorikeets will be eating out of your hand!

There is still time to visit the Lorikeets and step into a lush aviary to share a laugh and a squawk with beautiful tropical birds that will sip food right out of your hands. The “Lorikeets” returns is the special summer exhibit at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk through September 1.

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The exhibit will feature more than 50 free-flying lorikeets, which are colorful medium-sized parrots native to the south Pacific (SE Asia, eastern Australia, Polynesia). The birds come in a dazzling rainbow of colors – with feathers that almost radiate an iridescent glow when seen in full sunlight. Lorikeets are naturally found in rainforests and woodlands, but also in wooded urban areas, where they primarily feed on the nectars of various blossoms and fruits.

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Visitors are invited to purchase a cup of nectar for $3 that will attract lorikeets to land on you while drinking creating an unforgettable experience and photo opportunity.

Lorikeets are specially adapted to their sweet nectar diet through their specialized tongue. Tiny hair-like appendages called papillae form a U shape on the end of the tongue. When the tongue is extended, these papillae stand up like bristles on a brush, expanding the tongue’s surface area and allowing the birds to easily soak up nectar. Unique to lorikeets, these papillae have earned the birds the nickname “brush-tongued parrots.”

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Some other important items to note about “Lorikeets”: • It will be handicapped-accessible but no strollers, please. • Guests will be asked to sanitize their hands before entering. • To encourage the birds to rest, the exhibit will close for a half-hour at 1:30 p.m. daily. • The exhibit will close 30 minutes before the rest of the Aquarium: at 5:30 p.m. in July and August.

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Get more details about “Lorikeets” and other summer offerings at The Maritime Aquarium, including the new IMAX movie “Journey to the South Pacific” by calling (203) 852-0700 or logging onto www.maritimeaquarium.org.

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