Tag: Fairfield County

Get Funky at Stage One Jan. 27!

The Fairfield Theater Company has featured more funk bands recently and is proud to present a new, young band on the rise. The buzz-worthy Brooklyn-based nine-piece powerhouse Sister Sparrow delivers a refreshingly cool blend of gut-busting soul, horns, earthy rock, and new school funk.

The band is led by singer Arleigh Kincheloe who is backed up by her brother Jackson on harmonica, Bram Kincheloe on drums, Aidan Carroll on bass, Sasha Brown on guitar, Ryan Snow on trombone, JJ Byars on alto saxophone, Johnny Butler on baritone saxophone, and Phil Rodriguez on trumpet. While Kincheloe is the main lyricist, the entire ensemble works together to produce the the musical arrangements.

As the New York Daily News puts it “Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds has been tearing up local clubs since 2008 with its rollicking blend of soul, funk and backwoods Americana rock ’n’ roll, which draws even indifferent hipsters onto the dance floor. The pint-sized singer packs a voice that shakes the rafters, while her brother shreds the harmonica — which they’ve dubbed “the Mississippi saxophone.”

If you’re down with a solid group of talented young artists reviving one of the most timeless musical genres, inspired by Parliament Funkadelic, James Brown, The Meters, Deep Banana Blackout and Phish, Sister Sparrow is the show to see. One Facebook fan describes them as “a cross between Amy Winehouse and Tina Turner with Mick Jagger and a dose of the Squirrel Nut Zippers?”

Glide Magazine gushes, “The lead off track “Untie my Shoelaces” carries a swank strut and smooth guitar swing from Sasha Brown. Kincheloe’s voice immediately jumps out front with a sexy, smoky vibe that belies her young age and will bring the boys up front all night long. Horn accents provide faultless fits and starts of melody both propelling the music forward and offering precise counterpoint to the bass and vocals. When backup vocals swerve in at the end, the bootays will shake and the lips will smile. This is just fun.”

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds

Date: Friday, Jan. 27
Doors: 7:00 PM
Show: 7:30 PM
Venue: StageOne 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, CT 06824
Tickets: $12 Buy tickets: Box Office: 203.259.1036 or buy online: www.fairfieldtheatre.org

FTC on the Horizon: Upcoming Shows to Watch Out For

Thu., Jan. 26 @ StageOne: The Malone Brothers – A collaboration of artists from The Radiators and The Subdudes
Sat., Jan. 28 @ StageOne: The English Beat – Punk reggae/ska masters
Sat., Feb. 4 @ StageOne: Christopher Robin Band – Fairfield’s southern rocker with tales of pain, love and truth

JanetLeave a comment

OLD-FASHIONED BOOK BROWSING IS FAVORITE WINTER SPORT IN WESTERN CONNECTICUT

Hickory Stick Book Shop

When the weather outside is frightful, indoor browsing is delightful in the inviting independent bookstores that are still alive and well in Connecticut’s Fairfield County and Litchfield Hills.

Personal and comfortable shops like these are an endangered species in the wake of giant stores and on-line shopping, yet these very special spots continue to survive and thrive, providing the kind of experience book lovers crave. Browsers will find a warm welcome, staffs that know books and owners who are often around to chat and recommend. Best sellers are on view, but so are treasures selected by knowledgeable owners, titles that might have escaped notice in a superstore. While they are old-fashioned in many ways, these stores do keep up with the times and offer a full array of e-books.

A bookstore tour makes for a wonderful afternoon, plus a stack of reading pleasure to take home. Along with books, visitors will be discovering charming towns with other unique shops. Bring the kids along—they will make discoveries, too.

Litchfield Hills

The Hickory Stick Book Shop in Washington Depot is exactly the kind of shop book lovers appreciate. A community fixture for over 60 years, the store has owners and staff with over 100 years (collectively) in the book business. They are ready to help answer questions, find a particular title or suggest something unexpected. Like many of these independent bookstores, the Hickory Stick promotes “indie next” choices culled from many independent booksellers, aimed at adults as well as children and reading groups.

In historic quarters on a street lined with intriguing shops, Kent’s House of Books features quality literature and a vault filled with children’s books. Befitting a town on the Appalachian Trail, they carry a good stock of maps; trail guides and books on the out-of-doors. Bank Street Book Nook in New Milford is another small gem; full of finds and with a train set to keep kids happy while parents shop.

Fairfield County

Barrett Bookstore

The Barnett Book Store has had many reincarnations since it opened for business in Stamford in 1939. The attractive present location in the Noroton Heights section of Darien stocks all manner of interesting books, fiction and non-fiction, and excellent children’s books, as well. Books on the Common in Ridgefield is another survivor. A fixture since 1984 in various locations, the store was reborn in 2009 in a 100-year old building right on the town’s charming Main Street, maintaining the atmosphere and interesting stock that has kept customers loyal since the start. Elm Street Books in New Canaan is another example of the kind of store avid readers crave, small, personal and packed with treasures. The store features many readings and autograph sessions with authors.

One of the most unusual stores is Diane’s Books in Greenwich. When Diane Garrett opened 1990, some said she was crazy, given the negative trends and competition. But Garrett proved them wrong with her concept, a “family bookstore ” where she knows her customers and serves them from childhood to adulthood. All ages enjoy the informal atmosphere of the store where stacks of books are piled on shelves, tables and the floor and notes and signatures from authors cover the walls.

Old and rare

Johnnycake Books

Western Connecticut also has treasure troves for those who love the finds hiding among stacks of used books, and collectors will find prizes among the region’s rare book dealers. At the Tattered Pages Book Shop in Monroe in Fairfield County, two big floors are chock-a-block with used books, some 30,000 of them. A 1783 schoolhouse in Litchfield County is home to Lavender Path Antiques and Books in Harwinton, another large dealer with a stock of 20,000 used and out-of-print titles. Litchfield Hills offerings for collectors includes Barbara Farnsworth Booksellers in West Cornwall that offers more than 45,000 books with large selections in a wide variety of categories and Salisbury’s Johnnycake Books that sells rare and collectible titles in appropriately vintage quarters a nineteenth century cottage.

Lavender Path Antiques and Books

For more information on area shops and free color guides to nearby attractions, lodging and dining in the Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, www.visitwesternct.com.

Information:

Bank Street Book Nook, 50 Bank Street, New Milford, 860-354-3865, www.bankstbooknook.com

Barbara Farnsworth Bookseller, 407 Route 128, West Cornwall, 860-672-6571, www.farnsworthbooks.com

Barrett Bookstore, 314 Heights Road, Darien, 203-655-2712, www.barrettbookstore.com

Books on the Common, 404 Main Street, Ridgefield, 203-431-9100, www.booksonthecommon.com

Diane’s Books, 8 Grigg Street, #A, Greenwich, 203-869-1515, www.dianesbooks.com

Elm Street Books, 35 Elm Street, New Canaan, 203-966-4545, www.elmstreetbooks.com

Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Greenhill Road, Washington Depot, 860-868-0525, www.hickorystickbookshop.com

House of Books, 10 North Main Street, Kent, 860-927-4104, www.hobooks.com

Johnnycake Books, 12 Academy Street, Salisbury, 860-435-6677, www.johnnycakebooks.com

Lavender Path Antiques and Books, 50 South Street, Harwinton, 860-689-8081,www.lavenderpathantiques.com

Tattered Pages Book Shop, 150 Main Street, Monroe, 203-261-6755, www.tatteredpagesbookshop.com.

For more information on area shops and free color guides to nearby attractions, lodging and dining in the Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com.

JanetLeave a comment

Start the New Year at Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre!

What better way to begin the New Year than with the wildly popular comedy, Defending the Caveman written by Rob Becker? The place to be in the New Year is Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre where audiences will have every reason to laugh at themselves about all the different ways men and women fight, laugh and love. Couples throughout America and around the world are enamored of Caveman, described as an hilariously insightful play about the ways men and women relate and always has both sexes roaring with laughter and recognition as well as serving as a peacemaker in the ongoing misunderstandings between men and women.

Defending the Caveman is scheduled: Friday, January 13 at 7:30pm; Saturday, January 14 at 5pm and 8pm; Sunday, January 15 at 5pm.; Friday, January 20 at 7:30pm; Saturday, January 21 at 5pm and 8pmand Sunday, January 22 at 5pm at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre located at 263 Golden Hill Street in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut.


Defending the Caveman” has been performed in 45 countries and translated into 18 languages making it popular with audiences around the globe! It has won the hearts of millions and has become a peacemaker in the ongoing misunderstandings between men and women. It originally opened in San Francisco and soon moved across the country as an unqualified hit. Caveman entered the record books as the longest running solo play in Broadway history.

The Downtown Cabaret Theatre is located at 263 Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Reserved tickets for performances: $19 – $39 Tickets can be reserved: By Phone: Box Office: 203.576.1636 In Person: at box office located 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut Online at downtowncabaret.org (24/7) By US Mail: Defending the Caveman, c/o Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport, Ct. 06604. Box Office Hours: 11am to 5pm – Tuesdays thru Fridays. Box Office open 90 minutes prior to performance times. Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays, closed.
The Downtown Cabaret has a busy winter season planned. Future performances planned include: The Amazing Kreskinon Feb. 18-19; SCARAB – A Tribute to Journey on Feb. 25; Face to Face – A Tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John on March 3 and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap on March 31.

For more information and up-to-date news about the Cabaret, the performances, the actors, seating chart, parking and reserving tickets visit http://www.downtowncabaret.org

JanetLeave a comment

Ring in the New Year with Local Funk Heroes Deep Banana Blackout at StageOne

Deep Banana Blackout is one of the most powerful musical forces on the current East Coast underground funk, jazz, and jam scenes. In Connecticut they are at the top.

Get ready for the best two-night New Year’s Eve show in the area. Led by the incredible funk singer Jen “Pipes” Durkin, Deep Banana includes Jen’s brother Johnny Durkin on wild percussion and Fuzz Sangiovanni, the amazingly energetic lead guitarist known for his Flea-like onstage acrobatics. The ever-funky band members have spawned numerous other CT bands including the Latin powerhouse the Cosmic Jibaros, The Durkins and the dazzling Caravan of Thieves.

Deep Banana Blackout has performed their show to sold-out audiences at national music festivals and venues around the country including NYC’s Irving Plaza, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans. Their non-stop touring and marathon shows prove that this is a band that loves what they do. They are followed by a core audience of DBB fans, known as “the Funk Mob”. These dedicated fans — like deadheads and phishheads — will travel wherever the band is to help spread the energy that the band conveys.

Aside from their canon of highly acclaimed material, this eight-piece musical outfit is notorious for performing songs by of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Parliament Funkadelic, Tower of Power, Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, and The Meters. The band is a favorite at summer festivals, a mainstay at The Vibes, and brings a hardcore dance party to every show. Deep Banana Blackout is on a mission to create and perform music that makes the band and audience collapse in an exhausted heap of ecstatic bliss.

The best way to experience this New Year’s Eve is to start the party the night before and just not stop. Spend it with DBB and you’ll never forget it.

Deep Banana Blackout

Date: Friday and Saturday, December 30 & 31
Doors: Fri., 7:00 PM; Sat., 8 PM
Show: Fri., 7:30 PM; Sat., 9 PM
Venue: StageOne 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, CT 06824
Tickets: Fri., $55; Sat., $75, including champagne toast and first drink.

Member Discount: Fri., $5; no discount Sat. Buy tickets: Box Office: 203.259.1036 or buy online: http://www.fairfieldtheatre.org

FTC on the Horizon: Upcoming Shows to Watch Out For

Thu., Jan. 5 @ StageOne: Sam’s Big Funky Nation: Urban funk from ex-Dirty Dozen Brass Band trombonist
Sat., Jan. 7 @ StageOne: Darian Cunning: Local soul singer with serious guitar chops
Sun., Jan. 8 @ StageOne: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Original swing-inspired music Sat., Feb. 18 @ The Klein: Foreigner: Notorious arena and classic rockers

JanetLeave a comment

Tiger Returns to Connecticut to Celebrate ‘Happy Zoo Year!

Vicktor the Siberian Tiger

In an attempt to beat the holiday traffic, Viktor, an Amur (Siberian) tiger, has arrived at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. He has returned home for the holidays and the Zoo is inviting visitors to help welcome him back to Bridgeport and celebrate “Happy Zoo Year” with half price admission from December 26-30, 2011. Also new on exhibit are two Maned wolves, the Zoo’s rare Chacoan peccary piglet, and a baby Pronghorn. Viktor was one of three cubs born in 2004 at Connecticut’s only Zoo and was transferred to the Detroit Zoo in 2008. He will be ready to greet his East coast fans after Christmas.

“We are thrilled to have Viktor back home and just in time for the holidays,” Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo Director Gregg Dancho said. “The song says, “Baby, it’s cold out there” but with the beautiful weather we’re having and a mild winter forecast, there’s no better time to come out and meet the newest additions to our Zoo family.”

Amur tigers range from nine to12 feet long and grow to be 400-500 pounds. These enormous animals have pale, yellow-orange fur that shades to a creamy white and pale blackish stripes with a distinctive pattern on the face as unique as a fingerprint. These big cats may be found in a variety of habitats including grasslands and evergreen forests and their diet consists mostly of deer, wild boar, elk, lynx, bear, fish, hares, and birds. Their long fur coat, about one to three inches long, protects them in temperatures to 50 degrees below zero. Booskin, the most recent male tiger at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, was moved to Racine Zoo in Wisconsin to make room for Viktor. The Zoo hopes Viktor will successfully mate with Naka, their female Amur tiger.

Maned Wolf at the Beardsley Zoo

Also new to the Zoo this winter are two Maned wolves. The two female wolves are sisters, born last spring in North Carolina. TheManed wolves have access to a heated enclosure, as they are not fans of Connecticut’s cold winters. Often mistaken for foxes, the Maned wolf ranges from four to four and a half feet in length, weighing in around 44-50 pounds. They like to eat rodents and other small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and will go for the occasional fruit and vegetables at times.

Zoo’s Holiday 2011 Schedule:

The Zoo will be open for half days on the day BEFORE Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Sat, 12/24/2011 – 9:00am – 1:00pm Tue, 12/27/2011 – 12:00pm – Thu, 12/29/2011 – 3:00pm

The last visitor will be admitted at Noon and the doors will close at 1:00 pm.

Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day – CLOSED

Holiday & Winter Carousel, Café, and Gift Shop Hours:

Monday and Tuesday – Café and Carousel closed Wednesday thru Friday – Café and Carousel open at 10:00 am and close at 3:00 pm Monday thru Friday – Gift Shop opens at 10:00 am and closes at 3:00 pm Saturday and Sunday – Café, Carousel and Gift Shop open at 9:00 am and close at 4:00 pm

About the Beardsley Zoo

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is closer than you think and is open daily from 9 am – 4 pm. Adult admission (ages 12 & older) is $12.00, children (ages 3 -11) and senior admission (62 and older) is just $10.00, and children under 3 years old are free. Zoo members are also admitted free. Parking at the Zoo is free of charge. For information, call: (203) 394-6565. Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is located at 1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut. For additional information www.beardsleyzoo.org.

JanetLeave a comment

TAKE A GINGERBREAD BREAK IN LITCHFIELD HILLS AND FAIRFIELD COUNTY CONNECTICUT

Lots of places feature colorful gingerbread houses for the holidays, but Kent, Connecticut goes a step further.
The whole town will take part in the second annual Kent Gingerbread Festival from November 25 to December 30. Everyone is invited to follow the Gingerbread Walk through town to view imaginative and ingenious gingerbread delights in over 50 shop windows. Visitors can enjoy the displays as they stroll, then vote for their favorite creations at the Gingerbread Station, 1 Kent Green Boulevard. The station will have its own displays of entries from the local gingerbread baking contest and will also offer baking and craft classes Phone (860) 927-1463 for schedules. Besides gingerbread displays, Kent will have special events every weekend, from pancakes with Santa to caroler and a Messiah sing-along.

MORE SWEET TREATS

Kent has the biggest show, but Connecticut’s Litchfield and Fairfield Counties offer several other impressive gingerbread displays guaranteed to delight, as well as the chance to take home some of the prize creations or make your own gingerbread confection.


More than 60 buildings, with horse and sleigh teams, ponds, boats, and sledders, all dressed up in Christmas splendor will be featured at the 44th annual Gingerbread Village, a lavish display from December 3 to 10 at St. George’s Church on Tucker Hill Road in Middlebury. Everything is for sale, available to take home when the display ends. Admission is Free. Hours are Saturday, December 3rd 10 a.m. to 7 p.m, Sunday, December 4th, Noon to 8 p.m., Monday, December 5th to Friday, December 9th 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, December 10th, 10a.m.to 4 p.m. Call (203) 758-9557 for information.

The third annual Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center November 12 through December 18 shows off imaginative confections made by some of the area’s best pastry chefs, restaurants, and caterers. DiMare’s Pastry Shop of Stamford, SoNo Baking Company of South Norwalk and Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes of Greenwich are among those who are vying for first prize from a panel of special judges. These are far from ordinary houses; one of the past displays was a perfect miniature of the Duomo Cathedral in Florence, Italy. Visitors are invited to vote for the “Fan Favorite” of the year. Learn more at www.stamfordmuseum.org.


MAKE YOUR OWN

Those who are inspired to make their own gingerbread houses should contact the Silo Cooking School in New Milford. Each year The Silo offers classes for parents and children (ages 5 and up). There are classes also for adults, who enjoy appetizers and mulled wine as they assemble their architectural masterpieces.

Classes are held several times on November 25-27, December 2-4 and December 9-10. The cost is $85 for each adult team or each parent-child team, up to 3 people. The classes sell out every year but would-be bakers can check for openings or waiting lists at (860) 355-0300. The Silo is part of the Hunt Hill Farm Trust so they are found on-line at www.hunthillfarmtrust.org

For more information about gingerbread adventures, directions to events and listings of all the holiday doings in the region, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, www.visitwesternct.com. They offer a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to the attractions in the Litchfield Hills and a free color Fairfield County Getaway Guide.

JanetLeave a comment