Tag: CT

Historic House Tour in Kent

A special November tour is taking place in the charming town of Kent that is hosted by the Kent Historical Society on November 9 from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. Houses on the Kent Historical Society’s House tour will feature the architecture of Sherwood Mills and Smith AIA. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 on the day of the tour. For your tickets click here.

This tour features six of Kent’s architectural gems that have been preserved with great care. This house tour will give residents and visitors an inside look at homes and structures built in the first decade of the 18th century through a modernist mid-century and help them understand how people lived and are living in this bucolic community.

There is an interesting variety of home on the tour. Some were grand dwellings in their day, others were much more modest. The highlight is that the variety of homes offer a number of curiosities and beauty that tour-goers will appreciate on this journey into the past.

The tour starts at Seven Hearths Museum on 4 Studio Hill Road in Kent, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ticket holders will get a map and a description of the houses and are free to go on a self-guided tour of the homes. Tickets may also be purchased that day at the Seven Hearths from 11 a.m. through the afternoon. It promises to be a fun event — who doesn’t like peering back in time in old houses?

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Go on a treasure hunt at the Wilton Spring Antiques Show April 16 & 17

The Wilton Historical Society has announced the return of the Wilton Spring Antiques Show, April 16 and 17 at the Wilton High School Field House on Route 7, in Wilton, Connecticut. Plan on a weekend of collecting fun with more than 35 diverse, top-notch dealers from eight states that will be offering early formal and country American and European furniture, historical ceramics, Oriental rugs, fine art, decorative signs, Asian arts, hooked rugs, folk art, fine prints and paper, colorful textiles, French pottery, early treenware, lighting, brass, tall case clocks, weathervanes, nautical objects, and much more.

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This show is noted for the thought, enthusiasm and preparation shown by exhibitors in regard to the selection of objects that they bring to this show. New this year is the boutique floor plan that makes it easier to enjoy the show without being rushed or cramped as you visit with familiar dealers and new ones as well. In a nut shell, Wilton is one stop shopping for those just beginning to collect as well as those that are advanced collectors.

Wilton_Spring_Show_2016_1

The Wilton Spring Antiques Show customers will have a full two days to shop on their weekend schedule, meet up with friends, and enjoy a delectable lunch at the show’s café. Event goers can also take advantage of the unlimited re-entry throughout the show’s run.

Wilton_Spring_Show_Victor_Weinblatt

The show dates are Saturday, April 16, from 10:00 – 5:00 and Sunday, April 19, from 11:00 – 4:00. Admission is $10 per person with unlimited re-entry. Sorry, no pets allowed in the school. The Wilton Spring Antiques Show will be located at the Wilton High School Field House at 395 Danbury Road (Route 7) in Wilton, CT. There is ample free parking, handicap accessibility, show café, courtesy table with complimentary color magazines, popular antiques newspapers and upcoming event announcements. This show is presented by Barn Star Productions and proceeds benefit the Society. For more information www.wiltonhistorical.org or call (845) 876-0616. For more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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Hidden History of Litchfield Hills at Kent Historical Society

The Kent Historical Society and Kent Memorial Library will present local author and prominent educator Peter Vermilyea as he discusses and signs his new book “Hidden History of Litchfield County” on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at the Kent Town Hall. In the event of inclement weather, the snow date is Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

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In his book and presentations, Vermilyea uncovers abundant clues all around us, and shares them with audiences and readers throughout the region. His curiosity takes him all over the local landscape, and he constantly turns up instances of history that still linger, if you open your eyes to see them.

Stonewalls and graveyards summon numerous stories from Vermilyea. He points out weed-choked railroad tracks that crisscross the county, in Kent and beyond, and brings our attention to a ruined cinderblock bunker in Warren that was once a crucial radar station during the Cold War. He reminds us of a catastrophic fire that devastated Winsted in 1908, forcing residents to flee the Odd Fellows boardinghouse in fear of their lives. In Bantam, art deco chairs made by the Warren McArthur Corporation were so appealing and comfortable that the War Department ordered bomber seats from the company during World War II. Vermilyea explores these and other juicy tales from the history of Litchfield County, Connecticut.

A resident of Litchfield, Mr. Vermilyea teaches history at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Connecticut, and at Western Connecticut State University. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he is the director of the student scholarship program at his alma mater’s Civil War Institute. He is a member of the Litchfield Historical Society Board of Directors. He is the author or editor of three books and more than a dozen articles and maintains the Hidden in Plain Sight blog. In fact, the book grew from Vermilyea’s fascinating blog, which can be found at http://www.hiddeninplainsightblog.com. “Hidden History of Litchfield County” boasts five-star reviews on Amazon, with such comments as, “extremely well-written and impressively researched,” and “it is amazing how many remnants of the nation’s past the author has uncovered…”

Vermilyea’s lecture will be particularly geared to Kent and its citizens, but everyone will want to attend. A long-time friend of both the Kent Historical Society and Kent Memorial Library, Vermilyea made ample use of the society’s archives in researching this book. Readers will find a handsome acknowledgement to the Kent Historical Society’s Curator, Marge Smith, on page 8.

His book, “Hidden History of Litchfield County” will be available for purchase at the lecture by local bookstore House of Books. There will be a reception following the presentation. The program is free and open to the public. Donations are suggested and welcome. To register, please call 860-927-4587 or 860-927-3761, email assistant@kenthistoricalsociety.org or kmlinfo@biblio.org or register at the Library at www.kentmemoriallibrary.org and click on the events calendar.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

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Alex Schweder: Rehearsal Space at The Philip Johnson Glass House

AlexSchwederweb

Now through October 12, New York-based artist Alex Schweder will participate in the cultural life of the Glass House campus while occupying a mobile living unit temporarily situated alongside the Brick House. Speculating that architecture is enacted as well as built, Rehearsal Space comprises a portable accommodation (combining a van, a scissor lift, and an inflatable room) that anticipates the Glass House’s potential artist residency program.

Connected to the Brick House by a power cord, Schweder’s van contains an inflatable room that can be raised twenty-two feet in the air by a hydraulic system. An interior control panel allows the artist to toggle the furniture between a sofa and a bed. The entrance, which is also a private shower and bathroom, serves as an air hatch that balances the interior air pressure. While in residence, Schweder will live in the inflatable room and work on a manuscript about “performance architecture” in Philip Johnson’s library.

The Brick House and the Glass House, designed by Johnson and completed in 1949, form a two-part composition that challenged ideas about domesticity in midcentury America. Connected by a gravel path across a landscaped courtyard, the Glass House and Brick House counterpose transparency and opacity. Although the Glass House and its grounds opened to the public in 2007, the Brick House was closed shortly thereafter because of water infiltration.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation continues to raise funds to restore the structure. It is anticipated that successful preservation efforts can reactivate the Brick House as a guest house for artists, writers, and other creative individuals engaged in short-term residencies at the Glass House.
Schweder’ project was originally commissioned as the hotel rehearsal © by the 2013 Biennial of the Americas in Denver for the exhibition “Draft Urbanism,” curated by Paul Anderson, Carson Chan, Gaspar Libidinsky, and Abaseh Mivali. This will be the project’s first presentation outside of Denver.

EV Day exterior for web

Also on view through November 30 is SNAP, a site-specific installation by E.V. Day Conceived for the building known as Da Monsta – designed by Philip Johnson in 1995 as a visitor center and now a gallery – SNAP! interprets the pavilion’s peculiar geometry and atmosphere both inside and out. Day has roped the exterior of Da Monsta with massive climbing webs and populated the interior with an ensemble of recent sculpture that tease out the noir qualities of Johnson’s late work.

About the artist
Alex Schweder works with architecture and performance art to question the separation of occupying subjects and occupied objects. His projects have been exhibited at Tate Britain; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;,Sculpture Center, New York; Magnus Müller, Berlin; the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum; the Biennial of the Americas; the Lisbon Architectural Triennial; the Moscow Biennial; and the Marrakech Biennial. He has been artist-in-residence at the Kohler Company, the Chinati Foundation, and the American Academy in Rome, and has taught at SCI-ARC, the Architectural Association, and the Institute for Art and Architecture, Vienna. Schweder is a doctoral candidate in architecture at the University of Cambridge, England, and teaches at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. For more information, visit http://www.alexschweder.com.

The Glass House, built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson, is a National Trust Historic Site located in New Canaan, CT. The pastoral 49-acre landscape comprises fourteen structures, including the Glass House (1949), and features a permanent collection of 20th-century painting and sculpture, along with temporary exhibitions. The tour season runs from May to November and advance reservations are required. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit www.theglasshouse.org.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. For more information, visit www.PreservationNation.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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EXCITING HANDS-ON ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS ON LONG ISLAND SOUND THIS SUMMER

Oceanic Research Vessel
Oceanic Research Vessel

Go aboard The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s research vessel this summer to journey out onto Long Island Sound and discover first-hand “what’s down there?”

The Aquarium’s hands-on Marine Life Study Cruises offers exciting introductions to fish, crabs, skates and other animals brought up right out of the water and onto the research vessel Oceanic for examination.

The study cruises will depart on Saturdays at 1 p.m. through June 29 and will push off at 1 p.m. daily in July and August.

“Before people can be inspired to take actions to preserve and protect Long Island Sound, they first must understand what animals are in the Sound and how complex, diverse and alive this marine environment is,” said Jamie Alonzo, the Aquarium’s director of education. “Our best exhibits within the Aquarium can’t top the immediacy and impact of seeing dozens of animals come up out of the water right in front of your eyes.”

During each 21/2-hour Marine Life Study Cruise, animals are brought onboard 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, skates, lobsters, sea stars, squid and always a few surprises.

Study Cruise aboard the Oceanic
Study Cruise aboard the Oceanic

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.

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 of physical and biological features available online to teachers and researchers.

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.

“Boat rides are always great for some family fun, but the animal encounters and learning opportunities make our study cruises even more memorable,” Alonzo said.

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 weekday charters for schools on field trips, 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, go to www.maritimeaquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Open Your Eyes Studio Tour & Showcase in Litchfield Hills

L. Petrocine - Wetlands
L. Petrocine – Wetlands

Artists in the Litchfield Hills are opening their doors to the public this summer on June 22 and 23 free of charge. In the Open your eyes Studio Tour sponsored by the Northwest CT Arts Council, twenty-nine artists and eight performers in New Milford and Kent will open their studios to the public.

Artists will open their creative spaces to the public on Saturday and Sunday along the tour route to show their work and discuss their creative processes. The artists’ media represented on the tour include painting, printmaking, sculpting, photography, metal sculpture, woodworking, wool spinning, dying & weaving, installation work, bookmaking, digital art, drawing, ceramics, and jewelry. The artists are Terri Tibbatts, Bill Merklein, Silver Sun Studio, Michael Everett, Linda Petrocine, Peter Kirkiles, Alison Palmer, Peter Kukresh, Lauri Zarin, Scott Bricher, Naya Bricher, Mary Terrizzi, Ed Martinez, Deborah Chabrian, Jill Scholsohn, Richard Stalter, Susan Grisell, Barbara Dull, Stephen Dull, Elizabeth Mullins, Susan Millins, Kathleen L’Hommedieu, Peter Catchpole, Patrick Purcell, Chris Osborne, Joel Spector, Anda Styler, Lynn WEllings, and Diane Dubreuil.

Tibbatts
Tibbatts

Performers for the Showcase on Saturday, June 22 from 5 – 9 pm on the New Milford Green will include TheatreWorks New Milford, musician Tom Hooker Hanford, Artists in Motion (dance), composer/pianist Sharon Ruchman, Larry Hunt from Masque Theatre, Buzz Turner on acoustic guitar, Rebecca Moore Dance, and True Jensen who perform rock and R & B cover music.

Jill Scholsohn
Jill Scholsohn

For more information about Open Your Eyes Studio Tour & Showcase go to OpenYourEyesTour.org or contact the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council at (860) 618-0075 or mcartsnwct@gmail.com.

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