Tag: Greenwich

Frolic at French Farm in Greenwich

French Farm courtesy Greenwich Historical Society
French Farm courtesy Greenwich Historical Society

French Farm on 516 Lake Ave. in Greenwich was the first property in the town to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975; and just recently it was designated as a Local Historic Property that will preserve it for future generations.

Originally, the house was designed by H. VanBuren Magonigle and was built in 1911-1915 for Mary Billings French. Today, this four-acre, 100 year old property has beautifully restored farm buildings and a rare plant collection that creates a series of distinctive gardens designed by late owner, David Wierdsma making this landscape a living work of art. Wierdsma inherited the property in 1972 and endeavored to preserve the original structures on the property and to create beautiful and whimsical gardens.

Cottage-lawn-w2running-kids

The farm is not always open to the public, however on Sunday, September 15, on behalf of the Greenwich Historical Society, the entire family is invited to visit French Farm for an afternoon of art and nature from 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., rain or shine.

This is the perfect place to celebrate the final days of summer and explore this unique private landscape that is part gentleman’s farm and part living work of art. Kids will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the farm’s animal occupants, enjoy a scavenger hunt, press cider, climb the “pterodactyl nest” tower, explore the fossil garden and enjoy nature crafts and activities on the lawn.

Adults have the option of two tours–one led by Florence Boogaerts, focusing on the horticultural aspects of the property; the other by farm manager Jacek Nidzgorski who will talk about the property’s cultural landscape, its collections and its origins and development. Artists are invited to set up their easels during the event, and photographers will be free to snap.

Buffet refreshments, served on the main lawn, will include an artisanal cheese board, seasonal bites and sweet and savory pastries, all created by celebrity chef John Barricelli of Sono Baking Company and Martha Stewart Everyday Cooking fame. Advanced reservations are required no later than September 11 and made be made online at http://www.hstg.org/adult.php#frenchfarm or calling 203-869-6899 for additional information.

Admission to this event is $35 for adults, Children 4 to 12: $10. No charge for children 3 and under.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Summer Photography Exhibit at Greenwich Historical Society

Town Hall from Greenwich Avenue by Mary Waldron
Town Hall from Greenwich Avenue by Mary Waldron

“The Perspective of Time” is a collaboration between the Greenwich Historical Society and the Stamford Photography Club. The show of juried images is the result of an invitation by the Greenwich Historical Society to members of the Photography Club to submit photographs that portray aspects of Greenwich history through the eye of the lens. The images will be on display at the Historical Society’s Storehouse Gallery through September 1, 2013.

Table Shuffleboard at Bruce Park Grill by Mike Harris
Table Shuffleboard at Bruce Park Grill by Mike Harris

The varied and fascinating images represent a visual commentary on the ever-changing face of the community–its structures, landscape and institutions–and how aspects of the town as they are today may not survive the next generation. Since its invention, photography has been an invaluable medium for chronicling historical events. But photography can also raise the understanding of history to another level by evoking a sense of time and place on a more visceral level. This exhibition
exemplifies this.

Glenville Bridge by Jean-Marc Bara
Glenville Bridge by Jean-Marc Bara

The Greenwich Historical Society is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 4:00 pm. Admission is free to members and children under six. $10 for adults; $8 for seniors and students. Admission is free to all the first Wednesday of every month. For more information call 203-869-6899 or www.greenwichhistory.org. FOr area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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Bruce Museum features Durer, Rembrandt and Whistler

Joachim and the Angel ca. 1504 Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) Joachim and the Angel, ca. 1504 Woodcut From The Life of the Virgin Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
Joachim and the Angel ca. 1504
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) Joachim and the Angel, ca. 1504 Woodcut From The Life of the Virgin Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

Located in Fairfield County Connecticut, the Bruce Museum located on One Museum Dr. in Greenwich is featuring prints of old masters and works from the 19th century through August 18th. This is one of the most distinguished local collections of prints that have been painstakingly assembled by Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly. The works include prints of Durer, Rembrandt and Whistler among other notable artists.

While Dr. Kelly’s collection has been comprised primarily of American 20th-century prints and prints by John James Audubon, in recent years he has also collected Old Master and 19th-century works extensively.

The Triumph of Mordecai Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) The Triumph of Mordecai, ca. 1641 Etching and drypoint Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
The Triumph of Mordecai
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) The Triumph of Mordecai, ca. 1641 Etching and drypoint Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

These encompass splendid sheets by the great German printmaker Albrecht Dürer, including a rare etching, woodcuts, and engravings of such iconic images as his Nemesis of 1502.

Dr. Kelly’s Dutch prints include several of the rare engravings after the influential Adam Elsheimer by Hendrik Goudt and no less than 28 images by the highly experimental printmaker Rembrandt van Rijn, ranging from early works of the 1630s to mature impressions from the 1650s.

Limehouse James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903) Limehouse, 1859 Etching, printed in black on laid paper From “The Thames Set” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
Limehouse
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903) Limehouse, 1859 Etching, printed in black on laid paper From “The Thames Set” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

Dr. Kelly’s 18th-century holdings include sheets by the great Italian artists Canaletto and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo and several fine sheets from Los Caprichos by the renowned Spanish artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes.

Completing the collection is a group of etched cityscapes and figure studies by the American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Together the collection attests to the quality of some of the greatest printmakers in Western Art.

The exhibition – on view through August 18, 2013 and is accompanied by a scholarly catalog and a series of educational and public programs.

The Bruce Museum is grateful to Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly for sharing this extraordinary collection with the public.

About the Bruce Museum: Explore Art and Science at the Bruce Museum, located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. 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. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at www.brucemuseum.org. For area information on Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

JanetLeave a comment

Greenwich Concours d’Elegance: Classic Cars, Aircraft and America’s Cup 12-M Yacht

This year’s Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, 1 and 2 June at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park will feature an interesting car that defies identification at first – or second or third – glance, baffling even knowledgeable collectors. Its smooth lines, lustrous red paint and Carrozzeria Ghia crest confirm its Italian heritage, but what, exactly, is it?

Selected as the Poster Car for the 2013 Greenwich Concours it is a 1955 Jaguar XK140MC, with a custom aluminum body by Ghia of Turin, Italy. The MC suffix signifies that the engine was upgraded to produce 20 more horsepower, for a total of 220 hp. It was built for Marge and Gower Champion, the Hollywood musical stars, who later sold it to fellow actor, Ricardo Montalban; it is currently owned by Greenwich-collector Michael Schudroff. Thanks to its hand-made aluminum body, the coupe is substantially lighter than a stock XK140. Its greenhouse has slender roof pillars and greater glass area for a bright and airy interior. The greatest owner satisfaction though, comes from the exclusivity and the stir it creates wherever it appears at a gathering of car enthusiasts.

The poster car of the 2013 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance is a 1955 Jaguar XK140MC, with a custom aluminum body by Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin, Italy. Photo by Bruce Wennerstrom
The poster car of the 2013 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance is a 1955 Jaguar XK140MC, with a custom aluminum body by Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin, Italy. Photo by Bruce Wennerstrom

Also making an appearance at the Greenwich Concours this year is Andy Rooney’s 1966 Sunbeam Tiger. The outspoken “60 Minutes” television commentator was a passionate “car guy.” He lived in Rowayton, Connecticut, and his station car, the 1966 Sunbeam Tiger, was a class of car known at the time as a “hybrid.” Not the politically correct electric/gasoline hybrids of today; Rooney’s Sunbeam was Brit-built but was powered by a hot 289-hp American Ford V8. Such cars were called hybrids because they combined European coach work with American power trains, an amalgam of Yankee horsepower and sleek European curves. His Sunbeam was a light-weight two-seat sports car, painted, of course, in British Racing Green.America II and Lionheart, the Greenwich-based ex-America’s Cup yachts will again be berthed by the Greenwich Concours and will offer two days of match racing. The association of classic cars and America’s Cup yachts is appropriate, for the yachts are truly classic, in the same sense that the cars are, being the finest craft that yacht designers, builders and sail makers could create, and conceived for the sole purpose of defending the America’s Cup during a series of challenges from sailors of other nations over a period of decades.

The Greenwich Concours – considered one of the premier concours in the country – is unique. Since its founding in 1996 it has comprised two separate concours, back-to-back; Saturday’s Greenwich Concours Americana features American cars from the 1900’s to the present, while Sunday’s Greenwich Concours International is exclusively for imported sports, competition and touring cars, again from the 1900’s to the present. From the beginning there has been a Best-of-Show trophy for the American cars, and a Best-of-Show for imported cars, with over a hundred classic cars and motorcycles on display each day.

This 1966 Sunbeam Tiger, with a hot 289-hp Ford V8 engine, was the favorite ride of Andy Rooney, the famous "60 Minutes" TV commentator will be shown at the Greenwich Concours. Photo by Russ Rocknak
This 1966 Sunbeam Tiger, with a hot 289-hp Ford V8 engine, was the favorite ride of Andy Rooney, the famous “60 Minutes” TV commentator will be shown at the Greenwich Concours.
Photo by Russ Rocknak

Additionally, Bonhams auction company will hold an auction of rare and important collector cars and automobilia on Sunday, 2 June. The cars offered will be on display for the day prior to the sale and open to prospective bidders and the public.

Automobile Magazine is the Title Sponsor of the Greenwich Concours. Renowned radio host Bob Long, will be broadcasting live from the Concours for two hours each day. AmeriCares, the respected international relief organization, ranked best by Money magazine, is the charitable beneficiary.

In addition to classic Duesenbergs, Pierce-Arrows, Packards, Auburn Speedsters, 16-cylinder Cadillacs, Mercedes 300SL gullwings, and the popular post-war American muscle cars, spectators can also check out the very latest offerings from the Concours’ sponsor companies in a relaxed no-pressure setting. The new-car offerings of BMW, Cadillac, Corvette, Hyundai, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and other sponsor companies will be on display for viewing by show attendees,
plus Chubb Personal Insurance has all the answers for insuring collector cars.

Greenwich Concours Basics
A great attraction of the Greenwich Concours is the stunning beauty of its waterfront site, Roger Sherman Baldwin Park – a verdant peninsula at the head of Greenwich Harbor – which affords cooling sea breezes and a delightful water-side setting for alfresco lunches.

The Greenwich Concours Americana and the Concours International are open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. The admission is $30 per day, or $45 for a two-day pass, and children 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. Parking is free, and food service is available on site. The dates for 2013 are 1 and 2 June, rain or shine.

The ease of getting to the Concours also contributes to its popularity, for it’s immediately off Exit 3 of I-95, and within a block of the Metro North train station with express service from New York and Boston. And, within walking distance, is Greenwich Avenue – the Rodeo Drive of the East – with all of its many restaurants, antique shops, luxury stores, and numerous boutiques. Hotels, ranging from the modest to ultra-luxe, are also close by, with the Delamar, the host hotel, right at the Concours site.
The Concours web site, www.greenwichconcours.com includes a map, driving directions, and contact information. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Creating Habitat Oases for Migrating Songbirds

Join Audubon’s Patrick Comins and Michelle Frankelon April 28 at the Garden Education Center of Greenwich on 1 Bible Street in Cos Cob for a special presentation and walk through Greenwich’s Montgomery Pinetum to learn about simple ways to enhance backyards, school grounds and public parks to provide quality habitat for migrating songbirds. This event is co-sponsored by Audubon Connecticut, Greenwich Tree Conservancy, Bruce Museum and Garden Education Center. An RSVP is suggested to the Greenwich Tree Conservancy at 203- 869-1464. The program takes place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Garden Education Center of Greenwich
Garden Education Center of Greenwich

The Audubon’s Habitat Oases program identifies, improves and conserves important stop-over habitat for migrating songbirds all along the Atlantic migratory flyway, focusing on urban and suburban areas and other landscapes where there is limited quality habitat. The program, performed in collaboration with Audubon chapters, state and municipal parks departments, and other groups, engages volunteer birdwatchers – citizen scientists – in migratory songbird surveys of urban/suburban green spaces. The surveys help to determine the characteristics of high quality stop-over habitat and which species of plants are most beneficial as food sources for migrating songbirds.

Audubon and its partners are using the results of this study to promote the protection of critical stop-over habitats by helping government agencies, corporations, land trusts, and other landowners make informed land use and land protection decisions
They also work to improve the quality of public and private lands as stop-over habitat for migrating birds by guiding the management and landscaping practices of natural resource managers, private landowners and professional landscapers
and strive to develop regionally-specific lists of “bird-friendly” native plants that may be used to guide landscaping practices in parks, gardens and backyards.

Patrick Comins is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, and has worked in the bird conservation arena for the last 15 years. Patrick began his career with the Connecticut Audubon Society, doing bird surveys on the coast at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and then worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a biological technician at the refuge. He has been with Audubon Connecticut as the Director of Bird Conservation for Connecticut since 2000, overseeing Connecticut’s Important Bird Areas and other conservation programs. He is the principal author of Protecting Connecticut’s Grassland Heritage. Patrick is a past resident of the Connecticut Ornithological Association and was the 2007 recipient of their Mabel Osgood Wright Award. He has written several articles on bird conservation and identification for the Connecticut Warbler and is currently chairman and vice president of the Friends of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

Michelle Frankel, Ph.D., is a Conservation Biologist with Audubon Connecticut and is coordinating the Habitat Oases program in CT, and facilitating the implementation of the program in a number of other states along the Atlantic migratory flyway. Michelle previously worked with Audubon of Florida, where she originally piloted the Habitat Oases program. Prior to her work with Audubon, she was Education Director for Earthspan, a nonprofit that develops and applies advanced technologies for wildlife conservation. Michelle received her Ph.D. in behavioral ecology from Boston University, focusing on forest fragmentation effects on migratory songbirds. She subsequently pursued a post-doctoral fellowship with Tel Aviv University and the International Center for the Study of Bird Migration in Israel, where she studied the impacts of urbanization on the globally-threatened Lesser Kestrel.

JanetLeave a comment

Audubon Greenwich celebrates spring

If you are looking for signs of spring, don’t miss the April events at Audubon Greenwich, http://greenwich.audubon.org located on 613 Riversville Rd. in Greenwich.

Go on a bird walk this spring
Go on a bird walk this spring

On Wednesday, April 17 from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. visitors are invited on a morning bird walk at the Fairchild Wildflower Garden area on North Porchuck Rd.

Benjamin T. Fairchild developed the Fairchild Garden as a wildflower sanctuary on abandoned farmland he purchased in 1890. After his death in 1939, Mrs. Elon Huntington Hooker, with the help of local garden clubs, raised the money to purchase the sanctuary. It was donated to the National Audubon Society in 1945. It is not a formal garden, but a natural area, with introduced wildflower species and some interesting rocks into the landscape. The unique feature of this 135-acre sanctuary is its variety of wetland habitats. These include a stream, pond, wetland meadow, red maple swamp, hillside wetland, emergent freshwater marsh and a wetland scrub thicket. The sanctuary also boasts eight miles of trails winding through deep shady gorges under cover of mature deciduous forest, and a grove of white pines. The Fairchild Wildflower Garden becomes a birding hot spot in the late spring and early summer seasons.

To continue the spring birding tradition, the Audubon is offering a Bird Walk on the trails at their main sanctuary located on Riversville Road from 7 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Later in the day, the Audubon will host a spring flower walk lead by a naturalist that will explain the histories, ecological niches and insect pollination partners
Of the various spring flowers found here. This walk is good for ages 5 and up.

Rounding out a month of walks, on April 24 the Audubon will host a springtime sunset and moonlight walk from 7:45 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. Participants will seek out the sights, sounds, and smells of a spring evening visiting field, pond, forest, and lake in search of wildlife. Hikers will also listen overhead and look up at the moon in search of silhouettes of night-flying springtime bird migrants. This event is good for ages 7 & up. Please note that space limited & RSVP required.

For questions and reservations to the events sponsored by the Audubon Greenwich call Ted Gilman at 203-869-5272 x230. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment