Tag: New England

Cut Flowers from Paper Roads in Falls Village Connecticut

In the bucolic hamlet of Falls Village, the David M. Hunt Library is presenting an exhibit by Gail Jacobson, Cut Flowers from Paper Roads through May 9.

The artist’s work in this exhibit was created from old books bought at library and tag sales and then cut up, treated, and shaped into natural subjects such as flowers and insects.

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Jacobson, a self-described crafter, recently discussed her source of material and inspiration, “Today atlases and maps pile up at library sales, tag sales and in boxes marked “free” along the sides of the road. These documents of how to get places resulted from hundreds of years of work, adventure, and skill by thousands of explorers, travelers, and artists. Paper artists rejoice at this bounty, knowing that they are saving these relics from landfills. A bath of tea ages and helps to obscure their previous lives. Flowers, leaves and butterflies are cut from their pages and reassembled as Victorian bouquets full of cabbage roses, spiky mums and fantasy flowers that Mother Nature never imagined. No longer hidden away in seat pockets, the maps adorn our walls and remind us of our past and the miles we have traveled to get where we are.”

Gail Jacobson grew up in California where her father owned a printing business and scraps of paper were plentiful. She graduated from college with a BA in art. After her marriage to her husband Jeff they proceeded to move across the country and to England, settling in Cornwall, CT almost 20 years ago when they bought a 100-year-old hay barn and converted it into their home. Creating art has been a constant activity no matter where she is.

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After visiting the exhibit, stop in at the Falls Village Inn for lunch or dinner. This historic inn built more than 175 years ago has shaped the rich history of this quaint village nestled in the Litchfield Hills. For more information visit http://thefallsvillageinn.com

For area information visit www.litchfieldhills.com

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Photographys by Hank Meirowitz at Carole Peck’s Good News Cafe

Hank Meirowitz is proud to bear the title of Portrait Photographer of the Pampered Pet. He has proven himself in group and solo shows in the area and in New York as a lover of animals, using his talent to capture the personality of his subject in his studio in New Milford equipped with animal toys, cookies, bench, backgrounds and floods. He has had no problem with their posing after adjusting themselves to his comfortable set-up. Dealing with pets, much the same as with humans, a one-to-one relationship and trust must be established and then everything works perfectly! However, you must start out with a basic love and interest in both people and animals. And they will respond once they sense your feeling.

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As time has passed, he has grown restless with being confined to a studio space and the lureof travel came on the scene. He now documents far-away lands and indigenous wildlife many people only dream of seeing. Over the last few years he has photographed Russia, Poland, Australia, India, Turkey, China, Korea, Prague, Budapest, Croatia, and ANTARCTICA and has only recently returned from a most exciting riverboat cruise to Viet Nam and Cambodia, which will be on display through March 2015 at the Good News Cafe in Woodbury, Connecticut.The architecture, the people, the faces of happy children and the ambience of each locale are what interests him the most.

The Good News Café is open from 11:30am to 10pm daily; closed Tuesdays and open from 12pm to 10pm Sundays. For more information www.Good-news-café.com

For more event information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

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Curator for a day in Litchfield Hills and more

February is a busy month at the Litchfield History Museum. On February 22 for example, at 3pm a lecture, The Colonial Revival as Collective Memory and Consumer has been scheduled. The lecture will be presented by Thomas Denenberg, director of the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT. The development of a culture of consumption in the decades that bracketed the turn of the twentieth century created unprecedented opportunity for the dissemination of images, objects, and texts that engendered historical consciousness in the United States. Antiquarian activities, the province of social outliers, the wealthy, or the creative such as the painter Edward Lamson Henry (1841-1919), became normative behavior in the new middle-class America.

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Gathering, collecting, and sorting historical material culture, once an end unto itself in the nineteenth century, gave way to the creation of a widespread aesthetic that prized idealized “native” forms. Entrepreneurial individuals, including the minister-turned antimodern colporteur Wallace Nutting (1861-1941), employed the very modern platforms of advertising, publishing, department stores, and mail order merchandising to encourage and fulfill middle-class desires for objects and myths that answered contemporary social needs in an era of rapid economic and geographic change.

Often termed “the” Colonial Revival—an aesthetic assumed to be, monolithic, sui generis, and whole upon arrival, this illustrated lecture will look at the phenomenon as a complex and carefully constructed collective memory that matured over time. This program is free for members and $5 for non members. Register at registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

If you have ever wondered what it’s really like to be a curator at a history museum, you are invited to shadow the curator of the societies collections on February 26 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Participants will study artifacts from the Historical Society’s collections, get a behind-the-scenes peek at object storage, a hands-on experience with some of a curator’s day-to-day work, and assemble a hypothetical exhibit. Please register for this program by Tuesday, February 24. Non-members are required to pay the registration fee in advance of the event. Your registration will not be considered complete until we have received payment and the cost is $10 for members; $15 for non-members. Register at registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

For more ideas about what to do and see in Litchfield Hills visit www.litchfieldhills.com

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Bee Gee’s Legacy stays alive at the Palace Theatre

A celebration of one of the most influential and famous musical groups of all time, the new Australian Bee Gees Show keeps the legendary music of the Gibb brothers “Stayin’ Alive” with a special one night only performance at the Palace Theater in Waterbury on Tuesday, February 3, at 7:30pm. Tickets for the multimedia stage show are $55, $45, and $35 and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online at www.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the box office, 100 East Main Street in Waterbury.

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From the producers that brought the world RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles, London’s West End production of Let It Be, and PFX: The Pink Floyd Experience, Annerin Productions and co-producer SPI Entertainment present The Australian Bee Gees Show, a multimedia theatrical concert experience that takes a nostalgic trip through the legacy the Bee Gees left behind while celebrating over 40 years of infectious music written by the Gibb brothers.

Together for more than 17 years, The Australian Bee Gees Show has mastered the look, sound and personality of the adored trio, while cementing their reputation as the world’s leading Bee Gees show. The band’s record breaking music is captivated live on stage with mesmerizing resemblance in sound and mannerisms and features live camera images, vivid graphics and state-of-the-art sound that will get audience members dancin’ on their feet. From early hits (“Massachusetts,” “New York Mining Disaster 1941,” “To Love Somebody”) to later classics (“Stayin’ Alive” and “You Should Be Dancin'”) this show will have music fans reliving all of their favorite Bee Gees moments.

The Bee Gees are one of the top five of the most successful recording artists of all time alongside the Beatles, McCartney, Elvis and Michael Jackson. Having sold more than 220 million records worldwide, the group is still proving that their music is Stayin’ Alive and have had at least 2,500 artists record their songs.

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MOMIX: The 35th Anniversary A Celebration of Company Favorites at the Warner Theatre

On Saturday, January 17, 2015 and Sunday, January 18, 2015 the Warner Theatre will once again welcome the irrepressible Moses Pendelton and the internationally acclaimed dancer-illusionists troupe, MOMIX, as they celebrate 35 years of presenting works of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty.

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In this performance, the MOMIX 35th Anniversary Celebration features a collection of company and audience favorites, creating a show that breaks the bounds of the conventional and enters an aesthetic orbit all its own.
MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists based out of Washington, CT and under the direction of Moses Pendelton. Known internationally, MOMIX performs on stage world-wide and recently appears in nationally-televised commercials. With nothing more than light, shadow, props and the human body, MOMIX has astonished audiences on five continents for over 30 years.

Warner Theater
Warner Theater

Performances are Saturday, January 17 at 8 pm and Sunday, January 18 at 2 pm. Tickets start at $43 and are available by calling the Warner Theatre Box Office at (860) 489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org

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“Downton Abbey cooking classes” at The Silo

With the premiere of Season 5 of PBS’ enthralling Masterpiece miniseries, Downton Abbey, fans will be glued to their televisions for their next dose of crisis and intrigue. To celebrate the season kick-off, The Silo Cooking School at Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford is offering a “live” chance to experience some of the fun, culinary tastes and tradition of the post-Edwardian era depicted in the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants.

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On Saturday, January 10 at 6 p.m., and again on Sunday, January 11 at 11 a.m., the Silo is inviting both novice and experienced chefs to join Chef Catherine Felix for “Downton Abbey Dinner and Brunch.” The demonstration classes will feature an “Upstairs/Downstairs” menu based on the Downton Abbey series. Participants will dine on all the prepared courses.

Catherine is a Principal Chef for Unilever Foods, NA, with 25 years of experience in consumer product development. She has contributed to the success of numerous products such as Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip CookieDough Ice Cream, Wishbone Raspberry Hazelnut Vinaigrette, and the P.F. Chang line of frozen entrees. A former Food Editor of “Victorian Homes” magazine and 1980 graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, London, she has worked as a pastry chef, consultant, culinary educator and writer. She contributed the chapter on “The Wedding Breakfast” to Romantic Victorian Weddings, Then and Now and has appeared on numerous television food programs, including HGTV’s “A Christmas in Cape May with Kitty Bartholomew.”

Join Catherine as she discusses early 20th century table etiquette, and shares some of her collection of late 19th and early 20th century table-top antiques.

Saturday’s Downton Abbey Dinner includes: Cheese Straws; Oysters A La Russe; Ethel’s Salmon Mousse with Greens; Downstairs’ Lamb Stew; English Peas; Semolina Pudding; Lady Sybil’s Cake; and Crepes Suzettes.

Sunday’s Breakfast or Brunch menu consists of: Vichyssoise; Alfred’s Bouchees au Fromage – (Gougere with Cheese Filling); Lady Mary’s Post-Pig Rescue Scrambled Eggs; Mrs. Patmore’s Kedgeree; Shepherd’s Pie; Raspberry Meringue; and Creamy Rice Pudding.

The Silo Cooking School named Best Cooking School in Connecticut by Connecticut Magazine is located at Hunt Hill Farm, 44 Upland Road in New Milford. The school is part of the Smithsonian Institution affiliated Hunt Hill Farm Trust, a non-profit organization, which provides the public with diverse opportunities to explore the arts amid historic farm buildings and protected open space in the heart of Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills. The cost of the class is $90 per person. For more information and to register for the class, call (860) 355-0300 or visit http://www.hunthillfarmtrust.org. Registration is also available at The Silo during regular business hours. The Silo gallery and store are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m.

For more event information on Litchfield Hills visit http://www.litchfieldhills.com/events/index.jsp

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