Tag: Danbury

2013 Taste of Greater Danbury

The Taste of Greater Danbury is one of the area’s most anticipated family fun annual events that offers a world map of cuisines and music.

NEW ZEALAND 2011

The Taste provides an affordable family outing that provides for every taste and is scheduled for Saturday, September 14 from noon to 10:00pm and Sunday, September 15 from noon to 7:00pm on the CityCenter Danbury Green.

THE FOOD:
A diversity of state, regional, and international cuisines awaits: Italian. Indian, Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Thai, BBQ, South American, and of course, American. Top your tastings off with Ice Cream, Italian Ice, and Dessert. Newcomers include Green Brook Sugar House, Mimi’s Meatballs, The Pretzel Princess, Olive Oil Factory, and Tom Reid Rippin’ Hot Sauce.

THE MUSIC:
On the Bandshell Main Stage

Saturday, September 14

12:00pm – 1:00pm Opening Ceremony -Welcome-Bantam Band

1:00pm – 1:45pm Marc Huberman & Deborah Gillespie

2:00pm – 4:00pm Back to the Garden 1969

4:15pm – 5:15pm Easy Street wth Ethan James

5:30pm – 7:00pm Pete Herger

8:00pm – 10:00pm Edwin McCain

Long time touring friends with Hootie and the Blowfish, Edwin McCain has been recording music since 1991, winning fans with such signature songs as “I’ll Be” and “3 a.m.” His latest – and tenth album, “Mercy Bound,” is a first full-album collaboration with Maia Sharp. This pop-rock troubadour has morphed, over two decades, into a road warrior playing throughout North America most of each year. (McCain will also appear on the Bandshell Main Stage on Sunday, September 15 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.)

Sunday, September 15

12:30pm – 1:30pm The Traveling Danburys

2:00pm – 3:30pm Edwin McCain

5:00pm – 7:00pm Philly LoPresti the Clark Eno Big Band

THE COOKING DEMOS:

On the Fairfield County Bank Ives Street Stage

Saturday, September 14

2:00pm – 5:00pm -An afternoon block party with guest chef and food bloggers cooking up awesome demos, fantastic “penny” beer tastings by Saranac brewery, and “food challenges.” Pro Player Insiders will be on hand with great giveaways, a fun “touchdown dance competition” and surprise current and former pro athletes. Williams Sonoma of Danbury will also be on hand helping out. Your host, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and featured on Food Network, ABC’s “The Taste,” and Jamie Oliver’s “Food Tube” is Chef Plum from Plum Luv Foods, who will be joined by Sarah Caron, Alicia Ghio, Chef Jeanette Chen, and Melissa Mahler. Presented by Fairfield County Bank, Plum Luv Foods and Pro Player Insiders.

THE KIDS’ ACTIVITIES

Balloon Bouncers, Sand Art, and the return of Curious Creatures with their host of alligators, turtles, rabbits, chinchillas, ferrets, and geckos are sure to occupy the kids while Mom and Dad share Thai spring rolls, shish kabobs, cannoli, or fajita wraps.

Parking
Parking is readily available at the Patriot Garage (behind the Bandshell), the Bardo Garage (off Main Street on Library Place), and throughout CityCenter. For more information, call CityCenter Danbury at (203) 792 1711.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

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Ives Concert Park announces first five shows of Summer Concert Series

After much anticipation, Ives Concert Park has announced the first five artists slated to perform in its 2013 Summer Concert Series. The venue, located on the Western Connecticut State University Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury, has featured a wide variety of performers representing all eras and genres of music for nearly 40 years. Now, thanks to a new partnership with New York-based promoter The Bowery Presents, the summer line-up is starting to take shape.

All shows are rain or shine and tickets for the five shows announced are on sale at at ticketmaster.com. Additional shows and ticket sale dates will be announced soon.

Scheduled to perform are:

moe
moe

• moe. with the Wood Brothers at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 1
Reserved tickets are $35; lawn tickets are $20.

Gov't_Mule
Gov’t_Mule

• Gov’t Mule at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 2
Reserved tickets are $35; lawn tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on day of show.

Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett

• Tony Bennett at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 13
Reserved tickets are $86; lawn tickets are $36.

Gov't_Mule

• Summerland Tour 2013 Alternative Guitars starring Everclear, Live, Filter and Sponge at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 19
Reserved tickets are $35; lawn tickets are $20.

Brandi
Brandi

• Brandi Carlile at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 20
Reserved tickets are $39.50; lawn tickets are $25.

A special two-show ticket has been created for the back-to-back moe. and Gov’t Mule shows on June 1 and 2. A reserved ticket for both nights will be $50 and a lawn ticket will be $30.

Music-lovers who subscribe to the Ives “Backstage Buzz” e-newsletter will have the opportunity to purchase tickets one day before they go on sale to the general public. To sign up, visit the Ives Concert Park website at http://www.ivesconcertpark.com. For contests and announcements, follow Ives on Facebook at facebook.com/ivesconcertpark and Twitter at @IvesConcertPark.

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Ride a Vintage Train to Visit the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny will once again pay a visit to the Danbury Railway Museum located in downtown Danbury in Litchfield Hills and you can take a ride in a vintage train through the historic rail yard to visit him. This popular annual family event will take place on Saturday & Sunday, March 23 & 24, and Friday & Saturday, March 29 & 30.

Bunny_with_Conductor

Museum hours are 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; noon – 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Trains leave every 30 minutes from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m..
Admission is $9.00 (age 2 and up); each child will receive a small gift from the Bunny. Reservations are suggested and may be made by visiting the museums Web site at www.danburyrail.org. The short train ride in a fully-restored 1953 New Haven RR Rail Diesel Car (Budd RDC), will take visitors past the fully operational turntable, over 70 vintage railroad cars and locomotives, and many unique pieces of railroad history, including a Boston & Maine steam locomotive built in 1907 The highlight of the trip is when the train stops at the Easter Bunny’s special railroad car.

The museum’s beautifully restored circa-1910 Railway Post Office (RPO) car is open for tours. The exhibits inside the restored 1903 Danbury station will be open, along with a coloring station, temporary tattoos, Thomas® play table, and the operating model train layouts. Don’t miss a visit to the fully-stocked gift shop chock full of affordable items.

The Danbury Railway Museum is a non-profit organization, staffed solely by volunteers, and is dedicated to the preservation of, and education about, railroad history. The museum is located in the restored 1903 Danbury Station and rail yard at 120 White Street, Danbury, CT. For further information, visit the Web site at www.danburyrail.org email info@danburyrail.org, or call the museum at 203-778-8337.

For area information visit www.litchifeldhills.com.

JanetLeave a comment

Ride a Vintage Train to Visit the Easter Bunny !

The Danbury Railway Museum is planning to greet the Easter Bunny once again this spring. The Easter Bunny will make his home in a authentically restored train car where he will greet young and old alike on special weekends this April!

To reach the Easter Bunny you will first enter the historic Danbury Railroad Station where you will board a vintage train that will take you on a fun filled ride through the historic railyard to the Easter Bunny. The short train ride in a fully-restored 1953 New Haven RR Rail Diesel Car (Budd RDC), will take visitors past the fully operational turntable, over 70 vintage railroad cars and locomotives, and many unique pieces of railroad history, including a Boston & Maine steam locomotive built in 1907. Of special note is the museum’s beautifully restored circa-1910 Railway Post Office (RPO) car that will also be open.

The train ride will stop at the Easter Bunny’s special railroad car. Each child will receive a small gift from the Bunny making this a great time for memorable photos that will be cherished though out the years.

An extra treat for those visiting the Easter Bunny are the exhibits inside the restored 1903 Danbury Station that include a coloring station, temporary tattoos, Thomas® play table, and operating model train layouts. A fully-stocked gift shop will also be open.

This popular annual family event will take place on Sunday, March 25; Saturday & Sunday, March 31 & April 1; and Friday & Saturday, April 6 & 7. Museum hours are 10:00-4:30 on Friday and Saturday; noon-4:30 on Sunday. Reservations are suggested and may be made by visiting the museum’s Web site at www.danburyrail.org.

The Danbury Railway Museum is a non-profit organization, staffed solely by volunteers, and is dedicated to the preservation of, and education about, railroad history. The museum is located in the restored 1903 Danbury Station and rail yard at 120 White Street, Danbury, CT. For further information, visit the Web site at www.danburyrail.org, email info@danburyrail.org, or call the museum at 203-778-8337.

JanetLeave a comment

Danbury CT’s Ives Concert Park Gets Ready to Rock, Roll … and Reminisce All Summer Long !

Award-winning artists with decades of influential music-making will perform this summer in the Union Savings Bank Summer Concert Series at Ives Concert Park in Danbury.

Multi-platinum recording artists Michael Franti & Spearhead and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals will perform at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 27, at the outdoor venue on the Westside campus of Western Connecticut State University, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. Gates will open at 5 p.m. Tickets, which range from $26 to $37, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events.

According to his website, “The Sound Of Sunshine” — the inspired and inspiring new album by Michael Franti & Spearhead — is a kind of musical sun shower, a bright, beautiful and often buoyant song cycle created to bring all kinds of listeners a sense of hope during rough and rainy times for so many in our world. Potter’s bio proclaims: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are like a modern-day version of Tina Turner stroking the microphone in a spangled mini-dress while fronting the Rolling Stones circa Sticky Fingers. The proof is there for all to hear on the band’s third album for Hollywood Records, hitting this spring, and marks an artistic breakthrough for a vital young band caught in the act of fulfilling its immense promise.

At 8 p.m. on Friday, July 1, Grammy Award winner Peter Frampton will take the Ives Concert Park stage to perform “Frampton Comes Alive!” in its entirety for his 35th Anniversary Tour. Gates will open at 7 p.m. Tickets, which range from $27 to $77, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. The three-hour show will feature a complete performance of “Frampton Comes Alive!” along with highlights from Frampton’s catalog, including his Grammy Award-winning 2006 instrumental album, “Fingerprints.”


Popular Ives artists Earth,Wind & Fire will perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 2. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, which range from $32 to $97, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. The Earth, Wind & Fire 40th Anniversary Tour will launch April 30 and continue to July 3, taking the legendary group to more than 30 cities. A celebrated legacy of four decades has produced 20 Grammy nominations with eight wins, an induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and bountiful musical and cultural achievements.

Legendary duo Steely Dan will perform at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 25. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events and range from $37 to $152, plus service charges. Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Steely Dan dazzled both the public and the critics in 2009 with their classic-albums-in-full Rent Party Tour. Responding to overwhelming popular demand, Steely Dan masterminds Walter Becker and Donald Fagen bring on more action with the Shuffle Diplomacy Twenty Eleven summer tour. The tour, which kicks off in Seattle on July 2 and concludes in Boston on Sept. 30, will showcase greatest hits and deep cuts alike.

Alison Kraus and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas will take the stage at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets, which range from $30 to $75, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. According to Krauss’ publicity, her most recent triumph, the certified-platinum “Raising Sand,” a 2007 collaboration with Robert Plant and producer T Bone Burnett, notched a total of six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year, bringing her unsurpassed total to 26. That mesmerizing modern-day masterpiece sets the stage for another stunner: “Paper Airplane,” the artist’s first album of all-new recordings in partnership with her remarkably skillful and renowned band Union Station since 2004’s “Lonely Runs Both Ways.”

Alternative rockers from Boston, Mass., Guster, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 3. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, which range from $25 to $35, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. Formed in 1991 at Tufts University, Guster is known for its live performances and humor. Opening will be Ra Ra Riot, an American indie rock band from Syracuse, N.Y.

The J. Geils Band and special guests The Chris Robinson Brotherhood will perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets, which range from $37 to $77, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. The J. Geils Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Worcester, Mass., best known for its 1981 single, “Centerfold,” which charted No. 1 in the U.S. in early 1982. The band played R&B-influenced blues-rock in the 1970s before moving towards a more pop-influenced sound in the 1980s. Since its initial break-up in 1985, the band has reunited several times. Special guest Robinson tells fans on his website, “We’ll be playing a bunch of new songs I have been working on and will be digging deep into what is happening at that musical moment. There will be old stuff that I’ve done and a handful of covers that just feel right.”


It wouldn’t be summer without a live performance by The Beach Boys. They will perform at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets, which range from $27 to $57, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. You can summarize most pop music acts by reciting how many hits they’ve had and how many millions of albums they’ve sold. But, according to the band’s website, these conventional measurements fall short when you’re assessing the impact of The Beach Boys. To be sure, this band has birthed a torrent of hit singles and sold albums by the tens of millions. But its greater significance lies in the fact that it changed the musical landscape so profoundly … that every pop act since has been in its debt.

Closing out this summer’s Celebrity Concert Series are Texas rockers ZZ Top, who will perform at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets, which range from $37 to $67, plus service charges, are on sale at http://www.premierboxoffice.com/events. The band lays undisputed claim to being the longest running major rock band with original personnel intact and in 2004 the Texas trio was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

For more information, visit the Ives Concert Park website at http://www.ivesconcertpark.com,
the Ives Concert Park Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ivesconcertpark or follow the venue on Twitter at http://twitter.com/IvesConcertPark.

JanetLeave a comment

Magnificent Millinery: Three Centuries of Women’s Hats in Danbury CT

Join First Lady of Danbury, Phyllis Boughton at the Danbury Museum & Historical Society Authority on Saturday, June 4, 2011 for the opening of the Society’s newest exhibit, “Magnificent Millinery: Three Centuries of Women’s Hats in Danbury.” The ribbon cutting will take place at 10 a.m. and will be followed by refreshments.

Twenty display cases, filled to the brim, will feature over 300 ladies hats from the museum collection – caps, bonnets, felts, furs whimsies, pillboxes and more. The exhibit showcases hat design from the colonial period through the mid-20th century along with hat related accessories. Visitors to the exhibit will be amazed by the artistry of the hats on view.

An entire wall in Huntington Hall will be dedicated to articles of ephemera including historic newspaper advertisements and city directory listings related to the millinery trade in Danbury. Vintage photos and antique postcards from the archives of the Society illustrate styles and trends.

The exhibit was inspired by the work of Catherine Vanaria, Western CT State University photography professor and Danbury small business owner, who spent time during the summer of 2010 photographing the hat collection. Erika Askin, guest curator and museum volunteer, spent countless hours cataloging each hat, writing the scripts and staging the exhibit.

Joretta Kilcourse, museum docent and volunteer crafted a special ‘Magnificent Millinery Quilt’ featuring Vanaria’s photos of some of the finest hats in the collection. The winning ticket for this fundraising raffle will be drawn at the close of the exhibit on October 15, 2011.

The Magnificent Millinery: Three Centuries of Women’s Hats in Danbury’ exhibit will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m from June 4, 2011 through October 15, 2011. Suggested donation for viewing the exhibit is $5.00.

Danbury was once known as the “hatting capital” of the country. An abundance of water and marshes that attracted beavers were the key elements essential to hat making and at that time Danbury had both. The industry has been traced back to Zadoc Benedict who began a shop in Danbury in 1780. By the early 19th century there were over 40 shops making hats in Danbury.

By 1909 Danbury was making 36 million hats a year from cowboy hats to fedoras to top hats and became known as Hatting Capital of the World. The decline of the “hat culture” is attributed to the automobile industry because hats became cumbersome to wear in cars. In 1987, Stetson was the last hat factory to leave Danbury marking the end of an era.

Special Note: June 4th is also National Trails Day. The DMHSA is happy be joining in by distributing maps for our “Museum In the Streets” walk that winds through CityCenter Danbury. Park your car, put on your hat, refill your water bottle and take a stroll downtown. Stop along the way at each of twenty-one history panels and learn about our wonderful city!

About the DMHSA:The Danbury Museum & Historical Society was formed in 1947 to acquire, preserve, exhibit and interpret New England’s past; focusing particularly on the heritage of Danbury. Situated in downtown Danbury, the museum preserves the John and Mary Rider House (c.1785), the Dodd Hat Shop (c. 1790), the Marian Anderson Studio and the Charles Ives Birthplace. Huntington Hall, a modern exhibit building houses the museum offices and research library.

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