Tag: family fun

FEARSOME OR FRIENDLY, FUN FILLS THE LITCHFIELD HILLS FOR HALLOWEEN


Dracula, Frankenstein and other heroes of the horrors will be on hand, while spooks and spiders, ghouls and goblins will abound in haunted graveyards. The Litchfield Hills of Northwestern Connecticut will be filled with unique ways to celebrate Halloween throughout the month of October. Families can choose from fearsome to friendly, with many chances for younger children to don their costumes and parade in happy small town celebrations.

Scary Scenarios

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 September 30 to October 31, and runs to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, to 10 p.m. on Sundays. The Haunted Graveyard will not be open October 2 and rides will not be open on October 31st. Lake Compounce will also be operating 17 thrill rides including Boulder Dash, Wildcat, Down Time, and Zoomerang. Proceeds will benefit the American Diabetes Associations. (www.lakecompounce.com)

This will be the 45th year for the annual Witches Dungeon Halloween Classic Movies Museum in Bristol. 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. Many Hollywood props are on display and vintage films may be shown outdoors, weather permitting. A special highlight this year is the display of the classic 1966 “Batmobile” for the opening weekend of Sept. 30 to October 2. Hours are Friday through Sunday evenings, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., September 30 to October 31. The Museum is not recommended for children under age 7. A $2.00 donation is suggested for all ages! (www.preservehollywood.com)

Historic Happenings
At the historic Glebe House Museum in Woodbury on Saturday, October 22 costumed spirits will lead the way through the Ancient Burying grounds, where 20 of Woodbury’s most famous and infamous ‘spirits’ await at their gravesites to relate tales from the darker side of 18th and 19th century Woodbury. There will be a spooky candlelit tour in the museum itself and stories and tales from Moll Cramer, the Witch of Woodbury, told in the Museum cottage. Madame Suzolo will be offering Tarot Card readings and there will be free fall refreshments for all. The Hollow will be closed to traffic and the area, including the walk to and through the cemetery will be lit with over 200 luminaries. Hours are 5 pm to 9 p.m. The rain date is October 29. http://www.theglebehouse.org.

The night of October 29 also brings the Halloween Spooktacular at the Tapping Reeve Law School on Rte. 63 South Street in Litchfield beginning at 6:30 PM.. The Litchfield Historical Society has partnered with the White Memorial Conservation Center for a spooktacular that promises candlelight reading of excerpts from the Washington Irving classic, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” interpreted by local thespians, Ilvi Dulac, Jane Coughlin, and Michael Medeiros. Next get ready to take a guided walking tour along Gallows Lane, site of the hanging and death of America’s first mass murderer. The evening ends at White Memorial’s A.B. Ceder Room with spooky treats. Here kids will also meet an owl and a bat and watch out for other things that go bump in the night! Bring a flashlight! Halloween costumes are suggested but not required! (860-567-0857). http://www.whitememorialcc.org

Once again this year, the festively decorated Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston is scheduling Halloween Weekend train rides on its vintage trains on Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30. The Halloween Express will take costumed passengers on a scenic 20-mile round-trip ride that runs along Mattatuck State Forest to the Brass Mills of Waterbury and back to the spectacular Thomaston Dam amid splendid fall foliage. Free pumpkins are given to every child as long as the supply lasts. (860-283-RAIL; http://www.rmne.org).

Hunt Hill Farm on Upland Road in New Milford is hosting “The Silo and the Supernatural” on October 30 from 4pm to 6 pm. Participants will enter the realm of the paranormal with The Northwest Ct Paranormal Society’s professional investigator John Zontok and Bob Mills, a professional photographer who helps the team differentiate true paranormal pictures from forged images. Tools of the trade, the history of paranormal photography, and audio of ghostly voices and videos of what could be a revolutionary soldier will be shared and experienced. Local hauntings, including a Barkhamsted barn investigation featured on the Animal Planet’s “The Haunted” series and “My Ghost Story are highlights of this macabre evening of paranormal fun. Due to the nature of this program, ages 12 and up please. (860-355-0300). http://www.hunthillfarmtrust.org.

Small Town Fun—for Free!!

Everyone is invited to join the 35th Annual Kent Pumpkin Run on October 30th. The festivities begin with a Kids Fun Run at 11:15 AM followed by the 5 mile run / walk at noon. The spectator friendly certified course starts and finishes at Kent Green in front of Town Hall. Festivities include music, refreshments (including Billy’s famous Pumpkin Soup!), face painting, Halloween fun and much more.

The 19th Annual Halloween on the Green in Danbury will take place on Saturday, October 29 from 2 pm to 4pm with a Costume Parade scheduled for 3:30 pm. Prizes will be awarded for Most Original, Scariest, Cutest and Funniest get-ups. Children will have their own costume parade and games and get to decorate a pumpkin. (203-792-1711; http://www.citycenterdanbury.com).

Bristol is hosting the 17th Annual Free Halloween Carnival and Costume Parade for boys and girls up to 5th grade that will take place on October 30, from 11:45 to 3 p.m. at Rockwell Park. The parade begins at noon and Amazing Andy’s Magic Show follows. Carnival games, arts and crafts, Big Daddy’s Racing, an old fashioned photo booth, Twinkles and Jingles the clowns and Train Rides are also on the agenda. Each child will receive a free reflective trick or treat bag. Children participating in the Costume Parade will receive a small bag of treats. There is no charge to participate in the Fall/Halloween Carnival. (860-584-6160)

The Big Day

On October 31, beginning at 4:30 pm, the annual Halloween Costume Party for Children will go on at the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, with the costume contest scheduled for 5 p.m. Ghoulish games and fun are promised, along with a crazy costume contest and what is billed as “frightening foods.” Kids are free, but adults are asked to contribute $1.

Finally, anyone who is in the area on Halloween night is invited to join the Safe Halloween fun at the Terryville Fairgrounds in Terryville from 6pm to 10pm. Sponsored by the Terryville Lion’s Club, it will feature hayrides, games, food and treats. All you need to participate is a non-perishable food item for the Plymouth Food Pantry.

For more information about Halloween happenings and other fall events and a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to lodging, dining and all the attractions in Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com.

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Touch A Shark April 16-24 at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in Fairfield County CT

Visitor response was so positive to “Touch A Shark” in February that the special exhibit will return for an encore April 16-24 to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

As similarly offered in February, “Touch A Shark” will feature live nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum), a comparatively docile species that tolerates having their backs gently touched by human fingers.

“We had a great response to ‘Touch A Shark’ during the winter school break,” said Chris Loynd, the Aquarium’s marketing director. “Visitors were surprised at the feel of the sharks’ tough skin. And, importantly to us, they also learned that sharks aren’t the violent bloodthirsty beasts that they’re portrayed as in the media.”

Aquarium volunteers will be on-hand to make sure the shark-human interactions are safe for both parties.

Interpretative graphics will provide details about nurse sharks and how they hunt and eat their prey, and also about how sharks sense their world.

Plus, be sure to bring your camera to “Touch A Shark” for a shark dive-cage photo opportunity! A real diving cage, used for safe approaches to large sharks, will be positioned next to the Aquarium’s cast model of a 16-foot great white shark caught in the eastern end of Long Island Sound in the 1970s. Step inside the cage and pose to look like you’re having a real underwater encounter with the largest species of predatory shark – a species you don’t want to touch.

“Touch A Shark” will be free with Maritime Aquarium general admission: $12.95 for adults, $11.95 for seniors and $9.95 for children 2-12.

For more details, go online to http://www.maritimeaquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700 or visit http://www.MaritimeAquarium.or

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Feast Of Gingerbread Houses Await in Litchifeld Hills and Fairfield County!

Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without gingerbread houses, those delicious edible creations that add color and fun to the season. Two don’t-miss displays in Connecticut’s Litchfield and Fairfield Counties are guaranteed to delight, and may provide take-home decoration for some lucky families. You may even be able to create your own gingerbread confection.

This will be the 43rd year for the Gingerbread Village, a lavish display at St. George’s Church on Tucker Hill Road in Middlebury beginning December 4. The Village is made up of more than 60 buildings, with horse and sleigh teams, ponds, boats, and sledders, all dressed up in Christmas splendor. This year’s theme is storybooks. Everything is for sale, available to take home when the display ends on December 11. A craft room and raffles of more than 20 goody-laden baskets are an additional highlight of this event. Dates are Dec. 4, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Dec. 5, noon-7 p.m.; Dec. 6-10, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. and 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; Dec. 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is Free. Phone: (203) 758-9557 for information.

The second annual Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center (www.stamfordmuseum.org) through December 5 shows off imaginative confections from some of the area’s best pastry chefs, restaurants, and caterers. DiMare’s Pastry Shop of Stamford, SoNo Baking Company of South Norwalk, Cake Suite of Westport, and Sugar & Olives of Norwalk are among those who are vying for first prize from a panel of official judges. Visitors are invited to vote for the “Fan Favorite” of the year. These one-of-a-kind creations will be available for purchase through a silent auction, with proceeds to benefit the museum’s education programs.

Families who want to learn to make their own gingerbread houses should contact the Silo Cooking School in New Milford. Each year The Silo offers enormously popular classes where parents and their children team up to create wonderful gingerbread fantasies. The classes, open to children ages five and up, are held November 20-21, 26-28 and December 3-5; they sell out every year. The cost is $85 for each parent-child team, up to 3 people. The Silo is part of the Hunt Hill Farm Trust (www.hunthillfarmtrust.org) Check for openings or waiting lists on-line or at (860) 355-0300.

If you can’t create a house, you can at least decorate a gingerbread cookie souvenir on December 4 at the Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. The $10 per family fee includes the Society’s annual Great Trains exhibit. Get details at http://www.wiltonhistorical.org or phone (203) 762-7257.

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, http://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.

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DIRECTIONS-TO-GO MAKE EXPLORING EASY IN CONNECTICUT’S FAIRFIELD COUNTY

Connecticut’s Fairfield County is filled with autumn color and unexpected discoveries—if you know where to look.  New virtual tours on the region’s web site make sure that visitors know exactly where to go and how to find the best routes.  To make it even easier, three scenic routes with exact directions to each tour stop now can be e-mailed or down-loaded directly from the web site to computers or to an I-phone, I-pod or Blackberry, ready to take along on the road.

The recommended routes cover something for every interest–history, scenery, drives, and hikes, gardens and shopping. They can fill a full day or be divided into shorter segments. A sampling of the pleasures in store include:

Route One: Audubon, Architecture and Art

The towns and leafy residential back roads of Greenwich and Stamford are the destinations.  In Greenwich, stops vary from browsing the shops on Greenwich Avenue, known as Connecticut’s Rodeo Drive, to strolling the 285 wooded acres of the Audubon Greenwich.  The art and natural history exhibits at the Bruce Museum vie with the history of 17th century Putnam Cottage and the Bush Holley House, circa 1728.  Stamford offers the chance for cruises on Long Island Sound, prize antiquing, the modernistic architecture and stained glass of the famous “Fish Church,” the Stamford Museum and Nature Center with its picture-perfect Hecksher Farm and 80 acres of wooded nature trails, and the adjoining Bartlett Arboretum with another 91 acres to explore.  More scenery waits in a final back roads drive from Stamford to New Canaan and its nature center.

Route Two: Beaches, Birds And Beauty

Westport, Fairfield and Easton have many attractive stops.  Westport travels include a drive beside the Saugatuck River and stops at beaches on Long Island Sound, along with the Westport Arts Center, Historical Society and the formal and herb gardens at Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens.  Among the sights in historic Fairfield are the town green and its beautiful Colonials, the town museum and history center, the 18th century Ogden House, Walsh Art Gallery at Fairfield University, and the Connecticut Audubon and Birdcraft Museum, with a six- acre bird sanctuary.  Rural Easton leads to more historic homes, a school dating back to 1795 and drives along Route 59, a designated scenic road passing the sparkling Aspetuck Reservoir.  A portion of the Aspetuck Trail in Easton is open for hiking.

Route Three: Lighthouses, Oysters And Landscapes

Nautical Norwalk and Rowayton and wooded Weston and Wilton make up this tour. Norwalk, once known for its oysters, has newer lures such as the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, the Maritime Aquarium, cruises to Sheffield Island with its historic lighthouse for picnics and walks, the shops of SoNo (South Norwalk) and the buildings of the Mill Hill Historic District.  The riverside village of Rowayton with the look of a typical New England coastal town offers atmosphere, historic houses and an art center. Devil’s Den in Weston is Fairfield County’s largest nature preserve providing 21 miles of hiking trails through diverse habitats and the Great Ledge with spectacular views.  Weir Farm in Wilton, the summer home of the late impressionist painter J.Alden Weir is the only US National Park devoted to American painting, with a setting worthy of a painting.

For detailed routes and further information about the many attractions of Fairfield County, see www.visitwesternct.com.  For a free brochure contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506.

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Amazing Mazes Beckon Autumn Visitors to Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County

The mazes are amazing. Imagine acres of tall corn cut into twisting paths in whimsical shapes from crossword puzzles to bumblebees. Finding your way amidst these mazes of maize is a fun-filled adventure for all ages at four beautiful family farms in western Connecticut. Located in Litchfield and Fairfield Counties, the farms also offer hayrides, animals for petting, and apples and pumpkins ripe for picking to make for a perfect fall weekend outing.

Ellsworth Hill Farm in Sharon may take the prize for originality this season with a crossword puzzle maze covering four acres. Pick-your-own apples is another favorite activity at this berry farm and orchard. On hayrides at Ellsworth Hill “Farmer Mike” shows off the glowing foliage-covered hills of northwestern Connecticut and tells about the fruit varieties he grows on the farm.

One of the most elaborate maze designs is the bumblebee at Plaskos Farm in Trumbull. Plaskos is known for the imaginative designs cut each year through four acres of ten-foot-high corn. Crazy Cows, Spider Webs, and Lady Liberty are among the past creations. The twisty mazes provide some 15 miles of trails, but frequent escape hatches mean everyone can choose their own distance. Once again, hayrides are a scenic way to the fields.

Littlest guests will find a new treat this year at March Farm in Bethlehem, where a new Sunflower Maze designed for children is ready for action along with the traditional five-acre corn maze. This year’s main maze theme is designed to teach the value of composting. Along with the chance to pick your own apples, treats at this family-friendly farm include hayrides, and an animal farm where pygmy goats, lambs and llamas can be visited. An expanded Hayloft Playscape invites youngsters to enjoy a mini-hay loft, school and farmhouse, slides, a climbing wall and a tractor-themed sand play area.

Families also enjoy the six-acre corn maze in a unique triangle shape and the four-acre pumpkin patch awaiting visitors to Castle Hill Farm in Newtown. As an added treat, hayrides at Castle Hill bring visitors through a stream to the corn and pumpkin fields. Farm animals for petting and pony rides provide more treats for youngsters.

All of the mazes are open weekends through October, some into November. For exact hours and admission fees, check with each farm listed below or contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, http://www.visitwesternct.com.

Information:
Castle Hill Farm 40 Sugar Lane, Newtown, 203-426-5487, http://www.castlehillfarm.biz
Ellsworth Hill Farm, 461 Cornwall Bridge Road (Route 4), Sharon, http://www.ellsworthfarm.com
March Farm, 160 Munger Lane, Bethlehem, 203-266-7721, http://www.marchfarms.com
Plaskos Farm, 670 Daniels Farm Road, Trumbull, 203-268-2716, http://www.plaskosfarm.com

Hills, Fall Foliage, and Family Fun in Litchfield Hills Connecticut

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