Tag: CT Travel

Coming Full Circle: Greenwich Art Society Celebrates 100 Years at the Bruce Museum

Neapolitan Fisherboy by Carpeaux

On the occasion of its Centennial this year, the Bruce Museum is mounting an exhibition of recent and promised gifts to the permanent collection.

Featuring paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photographs, the show spans the ages – offering a variety of examples including the Old Masters, American paintings and Contemporary art – and reflects the diversity of taste among local collectors and supporters of the Museum.

According to Executive Director Peter Sutton, the exhibition highlights the remarkable donations received in recent years. “The Museum has benefitted from collectors who are as generous as they are discerning.”

The splendidly tranquil luminist landscape, Sunlight on Newbury Marshes, by the American 19th-century painter Martin Johnson Heade underscores the truth of this observation; as do the 19th-century European works Faun and Bacchante by William-Adolphe Bouguereau and a fine bronze sculpture of a Neapolitan Fisherboy by Jean Baptiste Carpeaux.

Gifts of Modern and Contemporary sculpture have been especially welcome and include the intimately scaled maquette by Henry Moore as well as large-scale works like Robert Rauschenberg’s Greyhound Nightmare sculpture and the promised gift of the exuberantly monumental Keith Haring sculpture Untitled (Three Dancing Figures) Version A. The fastest growing collections at the Bruce are of works on paper, which include recent donations of pieces by Signac and Cuevas, and one of O. Winston Link’s most famous photos, Hotshot Eastbound.

Sutton notes that the permanent art collection of the Bruce Museum includes more than 15,000 objects representing a wide variety of world cultures, with special strengths in American and European art. “These are essential to the many object-based educational programs offered at the Museum and serve to inspire the shows that we organize.”

Installed in the Arcade Gallery, the exhibition will be presented in two successive shows of approximately 50 objects each. The first show will be on view through July 8. The second show opens July 21.

About the Bruce Museum
Explore Art and Science at the Bruce Museum. 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. The Bruce Museum is located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. For additional information, call (203 869-0376) or visit the website www.brucemuseum.org.

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New Canaan Nature Center Announces Annual Secret Gardens Tour

The Annual Secret Gardens Tour benefiting the New Canaan Nature Center will take place on Friday, June 8. The popular tour is a fund-raiser for the New Canaan Nature Center and an opportunity for homeowners, gardeners and anyone who appreciates the beauty of the outdoors to be inspired by several outstanding garden settings. The self-guided tour takes place between 10:00a.m. – 4:00p.m., allowing attendees to visit the gardens at their own pace and on their own schedule.
New Cannan Garden Tour

This year’s tour will feature a variety of spectacular New Canaan gardens representing the past, present and future of landscape design. Gardens will include historic estates with meandering garden “rooms,” newly-designed and transformed landscapes and grounds incorporating the latest sustainable practices and plantings. In addition to hundreds of varieties of annuals and perennials, attendees will see a wide variety of majestic specimen trees, unique water features, and delightful woodland gardens.

New Canaan Nature Center is pleased to welcome Elise Landscapes & Nursery and the Bank of New Canaan as the lead sponsors of the tour. Mark Hicks of Elise says “The Secret Gardens Tour is a New Canaan tradition that we are thrilled to support, and we see this as a terrific opportunity to reach out to those who are passionate about garden design and appreciate spectacular landscaping.”

Tour tickets are $75 including lunch or $50 for the tour only. The tour lunch will be available at the New Canaan Nature Center or to take and enjoy while touring the gardens. The lunch is sponsored by Hobbs, Inc., Austin, Patterson, Disston and Devore Associates. Tour tickets will be $60 on the day of the tour. Tickets can be purchased at the New Canaan Nature Center, by calling (203) 966-9577 x50, or online at www.NewCanaanNature.org starting May 1.

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Study Cruises at Maritime Aquarium Opens Through June 20

Oceanic Research Vessel

Share a memorable boat ride with crabs, fish, lobsters and other creatures brought up right out of Long Island Sound right before your eyes in a new season of hands-on study cruises with The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

The Aquarium’s exciting Marine Life Study Cruises will depart on Saturdays at 1 p.m. through June 30. They’ll push off at 1 p.m. daily in July and August.

The recent ‘FINtastic RefurbFISHment,’at The Maritime Aquarium’s exhibits are devoted to teaching visitors about Long Island Sound. The best exhibits can’t top the immediacy and impact when study-cruise participants see these animals come up onto the boat right in front of them.

During each 21/2-hour Marine Life Study Cruise aboard the research vessel Oceanic, animals are collected from different water levels and bottom habitats of the Sound. A video microscope provides a magnified look at wriggly plankton gathered at the sunlit surface. Tiny crabs and worms emerge from a sampling of the anaerobic muddy bottom. A biodredge reveals a hidden world of sponges, snails and mollusks. And everyone inspects the trawl net’s bounty – varieties of fish and crabs, lobsters, sea stars, squid and always a few surprises.

The outings are much more than a boat ride. Maritime Aquarium educators involve participants in the processes, from sorting through samples to helping to pull in the trawl net and returning animals to the water. These animal encounters have immediate and incredible value in showing participants that the Sound is very much alive and worthy of protection.

Besides being fun and eye-opening, Marine Life Study Cruises also contribute to local scientific research. Water-chemistry and weather readings are taken. And details about the animals brought onboard are entered into the Aquarium’s Long Island Sound Biodiversity Project, a database on the physical and biological features of the Sound. The database, available online for teachers and researchers, will reveal any changes in the Sound over time.

Also during the study cruises, as part of a Horseshoe Crab Census conducted by Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, The Maritime Aquarium tags and records data about all horseshoe crabs collected.

Cost of a Marine Life Study Cruise is $20.50 per person ($18.50 for Maritime Aquarium members). All passengers must be at least 42 inches tall.

Reservations are strongly recommended; walk-up tickets will be sold space permitting. The Oceanic can accommodate 29 passengers.

Marine Life Study Cruises also are available for private weekday charters for schools, summer camps, Scouts and other groups at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Cruises depart from the dock near the Aquarium’s IMAX Theater entrance.

To reserve your spot on a Maritime Aquarium Marine Life Study Cruise, or for more details, call (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206.

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GARDENERS CAN GARNER PRIZE PLANTS AT THE 12th ANNUAL TRADE SECRETS SHOW IN THE LITCHFIELD HILLS MAY 19 & 20

Trade Secrets - Gardens to Explore
Trade Secrets – Gardens to Explore

Gardeners in the know mark their calendars a year in advance. The Trade Secrets sale in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills is a rare chance to shop for treasures from nearly 60 important growers and vendors of unique plants and garden antiques. The sale, scheduled for Saturday, May 19th at LionRock Farm in Sharon, is followed on Sunday with a tour of four exquisite private gardens.

Many celebrities are among the shoppers seeking the unique from specialized growers and some of the nation’s best known small nurseries, as well as furniture, antiques, and garden statuary from the finest dealers in garden antiques, wrought-iron fencing and other exceptional decorations for the garden.

Visitors to the show will enjoy a presentation by owner, Marina Marchese of Red Bee Honey, a boutique farm known for a spectacular edible garden as well as its honeybees.

The Sunday tour will feature two perennial favorites, the spectacular gardens of Bunny Williams and John Rosselli and the 41-acre futuristic estate of Jack Hyland and Larry Wente. Two new gardens this year are the Linden Hill Farm owned by Richard deBart and Debra Blair, owner of Debra Blair Associates in New York City, and Hawk Hill Farm owned by Robert & Jane Keiter.

For the 12th year, all proceeds from the annual event go directly to Women’s Support Services, an organization aiding victims of domestic violence.
Tickets for the rare plant and garden antique sale on Saturday are $35 for regular admission from 10am to 3pm and $100 for “early buying” tickets. Tickets for Sunday’s garden tours are $70 ($60 in advance). Advance tickets will be available for order beginning April 1st from the event web site, www.tradesecretsct.com.

For more information on the event and other spring activities and a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to lodging, dining and all the attractions in the Litchfield Hills, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.litchfieldhills.com

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Beardsley Zoo Invites Public to Share 90 Years of Photo Memories!


To help kick off its 90th birthday, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo launched “Picture Yourself at the Zoo,” a new program that invites the public to share favorite photos, both new and old. Both amateur and professional photographers are invited to participate and photos of people, animals, and scenery are welcome. Throughout the year, the Zoo will select photos to feature on its Web site, http://www.beardsleyzoo.com and on their Facebook page, and winners will receive a Family Four Pack of tickets to the Zoo.

“It never ceases to amaze me what fond memories folks have of the Zoo, from generation to generation, and these memories are often captured in cherished family photo albums that only a handful of people ever see,” stated Gregg Dancho, Zoo director. “What better way for us to showcase these special moments than by creating a community photo album for all to participate in and enjoy?”

Anyone may enter by e-mailing photos with the photographer’s name, e-mail address, and any details about the photo he/she would like to share publicly to PictureYourself@BeardsleyZoo.org. By submitting photo(s), the photographer retains ownership but gives Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo permission to use and publish the pictures without restriction in the future.

About Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo celebrates its 90th birthday in 2012 and is closer than you think! Connecticut’s only zoo features 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Visitors won’t want to miss the Amur (Siberian) tigers, Brazilian ocelots, Red wolves, and Golden Lion tamarins. Other highlights include 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.

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Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum Hosts Victorian Tea May 6

Lookwood Mathews Mansion

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum at 295 West Avenue will host its fourth Annual Victorian Tea, May 6, 2012 at 2 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Mansion. The event will feature English tea ceremony expert and celebrity caterer Carol Timpanelli, owner of the Royal Tea Company of Trumbull, CT. She has catered for Martha Stewart and Tommy Hilfiger among others. Ms. Timpanelli’s English tea will include a wide selection of desserts, sandwiches, traditional scones and cream and her signature chocolate toffee trifle.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is one of the most significant Gilded Age mansions in the U.S. and a very elegant venue for a formal tea,” said Publisher of Cottages & Gardens Publications, Marianne Howatson, event chair. “LMMM’s annual Victorian tea is also a delightful event where families and friends get together to enjoy a cherished tradition while supporting a National Historic Landmark.”

The event will also feature harpist Katie Critelli. Katie has received two prestigious Gold Cup awards for excellence from the American Harp Society at Fairfield University’s Young Musicians Festival. Before leaving Darien to attend University of Pennsylvania, she was a harpist with the Norwalk Youth Symphony Concert Orchestra for three and a half years, played in the Western Regional Orchestra in 2009 and was a member of the Darien High School Orchestra.

For reservations contact: info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or call 203-838-9799 ext. 4. Admission: $45 non-members $35 members.

About Lockwood-Mathews Mansion

During the season, full tours at the mansion are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children and young adults ages 8-18. Children under 8 are admitted free. Tour hours are 12- 4 p.m., Wed.-Sun. Tours are on the hour, and the last tour starts at 3 pm. For additional information visit: www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com.

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