Tag: Ct News

Sheldon’s Horse – A Revolutionary Tale

The Danbury Museum & Historical Society located on 43 Main Street will be hosting a fascinating history presentation by Eric Chandler on Saturday, November 23 at 2:00pm in Huntington Hall titled, A History of Sheldon’s Horse: The 2nd Continental Light Dragoons.

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Many people are unaware that one of General Washington’s four Congressional commissioned cavalry regiments was raised largely from Connecticut and operated extensively in Fairfield County and across Long Island Sound. “Sheldon’s Horse” is credited with having played a significant part in the winning of the War of Independence and a key role in revealing Benedict Arnold as a British spy and in the capture of John Andre.

“Sheldon’s Horse” was the first commissioned United States cavalry; executed the first cavalry charge by United States cavalry on American soil; operated the first “pony express” as military couriers; participated in America’s first organized espionage ring; achieved victories on foot, horseback and by boat.

This history presentation will be given by Eric Chandler of Norwalk. He has been a member of the recreated “Sheldon’s Horse” for over 15 years. He has been involved with Revolutionary War Living History since 1974 as a charter member of the 5th Connecticut Regiment, formed in Ridgefield in that year for the Bicentennial. Mr. Chandler has portrayed infantry, light infantry, whaleboat privateer, and both mounted and dismounted dragoons. He may also have been spy. Come and find out.

This program is FREE and Open to the Public. For more information visit www.danburymuseum.org.

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Coffeehouse at The Wheelers – Westport Historical Society

The Westport Historical Society’s Betty and Ralph Sheffer Gallery will sway to the rhythms of music and poetry t0n November 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. when it morphs into a Greenwich Village-style coffee house featuring singer/songwriter Suzanne Sheridan and friends.

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Westporter Sheridan, whose music influences include Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, will appear with Westport poet Ralph Adams. She will be accompanied on keyboards by Bob Cooper of Westport and Chris Brown on bass. The sessions are titled “Coffee House at the Wheeler’s,” a reference to Wheeler House, the society’s headquarters at 25 Avery Place.
A jingle and New York club singer in the 60s, Sheridan says she dropped out in the 70s because she couldn’t relate to disco and decided she was going to do it her way, performing music that made her happy. Her goal has always been to bring “intelligence and heart to the music scene,” she says. In addition to tunes by Mitchell and Cohen, her dates at the WHS will feature Kansas City blues, jazz and such all-time rock faves as “You Send Me,” “New York State of Mind,” “Johnny Be Good” and “Stand By Me.”

Adams, whom Sheridan considers the unofficial poet laureate of Westport, draws on his experiences growing up on the Kansas plains dreaming of buffalo and Indians and his days sailing the world’s seas with the Merchant Marine.
Cooper played piano with the John Mooney Blues Band in the late 1970s, performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He was also the keyboard player for Harvey Robbins’ Doo-Wopp Hall of Fame concerts from 2000 to 2009.
Brown, who has homes in Bethel and on Candlewood Lakes, studied jazz and classical music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A horn player in addition to a bassist, he enjoyed a long collaboration with Paul Winter and the Winter Consort, serving as music editor of Winter’s Grammy-winning 1994 album “Prayer for the Wild Things.”

Though contemporary music programs are something of a departure for the WHS, executive director Sue Gold says they serve the mission of “enriching the community and creating an opportunity for Westporters to gather together. A $10 donation will be requested at the door, and reservations are required. For more information visit www.westporthistory.org, to reserve,call the Westport Historical Society at (203) 222-1424.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Get Real at the Bruce Museum

Martin Lewis (American, 1881-1962) Above the Yards, Weehawken, 1918 Aquatint and etching, 17 ½ x 23 ¼” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly ©Estate of Martin Lewis
Martin Lewis (American, 1881-1962)
Above the Yards, Weehawken, 1918
Aquatint and etching, 17 ½ x 23 ¼”
Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
©Estate of Martin Lewis

Highlighting the work of nine American artists who at the beginning of the twentieth century were inspired by the world around them to realistically depict everyday scenes, the Bruce Museum presents the new exhibition Telling American History: Realism from the Print Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly from August 31 through December 1, 2013.

The show features more than 40 original fine art prints including lithographs and etchings that chronicle daily life – the bustle of urban streets, boisterous moments of leisure, modern modes of transportation, and bucolic rural images – by leading artists who approached their subject matter through the lens of realism: George Bellows (1882-1925), Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), Edward Hopper (1882-1967), Martin Lewis (1881-1962), Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), John Sloan (1871-1951), Benton Murdoch Spruance (1904-1967), Stow Wengenroth (1906-1978), and Grant Wood (1891-1942).

The artworks present visitors with a snapshot of America from 1905 through 1967. Each print featured in the exhibition was chosen for its subject matter and artistic merit and placed together they present windows into scenes of America’s past. Set amid a backdrop of events such as World War I, the Great Depression, New Deal programs, and World War II, the country was experiencing changes in its cultural, geographic, and demographic nature. The nation experienced a great upheaval as citizens and immigrants alike flocked to urban areas in hopes of greater economic prospects. At the same time, advances in technology and transportation were transforming rural regions.

Wengenroth_Grand Central Stow Wengenroth (American, 1906-1978) Grand Central, 1949 Lithograph, 8 ½ x 15 ¾” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
Wengenroth_Grand Central
Stow Wengenroth (American, 1906-1978)
Grand Central, 1949
Lithograph, 8 ½ x 15 ¾”
Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

Drawn from different areas of the country, the artists shared a similar goal of creating artwork that was available to all. They embraced realism, using it to capture images of modern American society as it quickly changed around them. This distinguished their work from the traditional, idealized and romanticized work of European art. By illustrating everyday scenes, the artists featured in this show created connections for the average American and invited them to become part of the artistic dialog,because their images appealed through accessible subject matter and to the pocketbook of the everyday person.

A fully illustrated catalogue of the show will be available in the Bruce Museum Store. A series of public programs will be offered to complement the show, including Monday morning lectures, hands-on printmaking workshops for adults and students, a program for families with toddlers and one for seniors suffering from memory loss, as well as school tours.

Lewis_Misty Night Martin Lewis (American, 1881-1962) Misty Night, Danbury, 1947 Lithograph,11 x 15 ¼” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly ©Estate of Martin Lewis
Lewis_Misty Night
Martin Lewis (American, 1881-1962)
Misty Night, Danbury, 1947
Lithograph,11 x 15 ¼”
Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
©Estate of Martin Lewis

About the Bruce Museum
Explore Art and Science at the Bruce Museum, located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and free for members and children under 5 years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at www.brucemuseum.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Halloween Thrills and Chills in Litchfield Hills CT

It is that spooky time of year again and Bristol Connecticut in the Litchfield Hills is “spook central”.

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For chills, make haste to the Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce Family Theme Park in Bristol, which has been called “The granddaddy of the horrifically good time.” An unholy order of monks keep watch over the graves in the dark caverns of the Catacombs here and a dark and misty fog envelops the graveyard where zombies and night stalkers have wakened from the dead. Some are real, others are amazing animatronic creations made by The Haunted Graveyard’s crazed staff. Recommended for adults, teens and very brave children, the park opens at dusk weekends from from October 4-27, and runs to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

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If you go to www.hauntedgraveyard.com you can download a $3 off adult combo admission that is valid on 10/18, 20, 25, and 27 that is good for up to 4 people. Lake Compounce will also be operating 17 thrill rides including Boulder Dash, Ghost Hunt, Down Time, and Zoomerang. Proceeds will benefit the American Diabetes Associations. For information about Lake Compounce visit www.lakecompounce.com.

This will be the 47th year for the annual Witches Dungeon Halloween Classic Movies Museum in Bristol located on Battle Street.

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The Graveyard Of Classic Ghouls sets the atmosphere as you enter the dungeon where accurate life-size figures of Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and others are featured in 13 scenes or dioramas based on the vintage movie chillers. Many of the figures are made from the actual life casts of the actor’s faces, plus some original costumes or props, in a wax museum style setting with special voice tracks by Vincent Price, Mark Hamill, and John Agar.

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Special highlights this year include a display of original movie props and weather permitting showing of silent horror classics on an outdoor screen. Hours are Friday through Sunday evenings, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Oct. 25-27 and Oct. 31 – Nov. 3. The Museum is not recommended for children under age 7. For more information www.preservehollywood.org

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Sharon Audubon Enchanted Forest and Kids’ Day in Litchfield Hills

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Family fun is in the works at the Sharon Audubon Center the last two weekends in October. Both events are “non scary” and geared toward families with children pre-K through 2nd grade.

The Audubon’s popular Enchanted Forest will be held on Saturday, October 19. Guided groups will meet friendly costumed animal characters along a candlelit trail and hear how the animals live their lives on the Audubon grounds. After the tour, which lasts approximately 45 minutes, participants can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate inside the Center building before taking a hayride back to the parking area. This non-scary program is ideal for children up to 8 years old and their families. Tours begin every 10-15 minutes between the hours of 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.. Participants should bring an extra flashlight. Admission is $4 per person. Children under 2 are free.

enchanted forest

Audubon Kids’ Day is taking place on Sunday, October 27 from 12-3 p.m. This is a fun, autumn afternoon for young children and their families that features carnival-type games, kids’ crafts, a hay bale maze, hay wagon shuttles, and food to name a few of the fun activities. Children are encouraged to come in costume and join in the costume parade that will be lead by a real life marching band around the Center grounds at 2:30. The event is held rain or shine. Admission is $7.00 per carload.

The Sharon Audubon Center is located on Route 4 in Sharon, for more information, contact the Audubon Center at (860) 364-0520 or visit http://sharon.audubon.org.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

JanetLeave a comment

Bee Aware at Fairfield Museum and History Center

The Fairfield Museum Shop located on 370 Beach Street in Fairfield is all abuzz with a new selection of bee-related items including honey produced by their own honeybees!

Skeps at the Ogden House
Skeps at the Ogden House

This year, for the first time, the Museum raised bees near the 1750 Ogden House in keeping with their mission to explore the past and to imagine the future. The museum has used bees to pollinate the colonial garden and has harvested the honey in much the same way as our ancestors did.

The Ogden House located on 1520 Bronson Rd., is an authentic saltbox home with a colonial kitchen garden containing plantings dating back to the home’s origin. Visitors to the garden can see replica straw bee skeps that represent the importance of beekeeping in the colonies in terms of pollination and wax production, as well as the medicinal, culinary, and household uses of honey. In fact, apple trees and honeybees used to pollinate trees were brought across the Atlantic in the early 1600s so settlers could make cider because water was not considered portable. Honey was used to preserve food, weatherproof leather and medicinally to help prevent infection.

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Today, visitors to the gift shop at the Fairfield Museum will find the museum’s newly harvested honey along with bee-themed tea towels, coasters, and pure beeswax candles. In addition to these “sweet” products, the museum shop offers an interesting selection of locally made items such as art by Michael Michaud and beach inspired jewelry.
In conjunction with the Museum’s current maps exhibit, There’s a Map for That! the Museum Shop offers map themed pieces such as passport covers, journals, and flasks. Specialty jewelry items from CHART metalworks, including pendants, earrings and key chains, exclusively designed for the Museum, feature maps of Fairfield Beach and Southport Harbor.

The Fairfield Museum Gift Shop is open daily from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and weekends from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. For more information visit www.fairfieldhistory.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment