Picasso at the Lapin Agile

What happens when Picasso and Einstein walk into a bar? No, this isn't the opening line of a joke!  It is the Intellectual fireworks, verbal gymnastics, amorous intentions, and the arrival of a mysterious man in blue suede shoes. On an October evening in 1904, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso end up at the same small bar in Paris—the Lapin Agile. Einstein will publish his special theory of relativity in 1905 and Picasso will paint Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907. The two young geniuses, joined by an eccentric cast of characters, spar over art and science, their respective libidos, where inspiration comes from, and the promise and dreams of the 20th century.  Steve Martin brings his zany and profoundly intelligent brand of humor back to Long Wharf Theatre. No joke is too lowbrow and no idea too highbrow to be considered in this crowd-pleasing comedy.

Picasso… follows Long Wharf Theatre’s successful run of Steve Martin’s The Underpants during the 2013-14 Season. “The play is a comic celebration of genius and ingenuity at the dawn of the 20th century. With brilliant comic arias and surprises at every turn, it is Steve Martin’s homage to the genius and amazing thought that will be born in the 20th century,” Edelstein said.

In the midst of the all of the fun, the play invites its audience to consider serious questions about the intersection of art and science, the very nature of genius and innovation, and human beings who often seem to be conduits for changing the world. “Focusing on Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and Picasso’s master painting, ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,’ the play attempts to explain, in a light-hearted way, the similarity of the creative process involved in great leaps of imagination in art and science,” Martin said in a published letter.

The play debuted in 1993 at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, featuring Long Wharf Theatre veterans Mark Nelson as Einstein and Tim Hopper as Picasso. Martinwas inspired by a 1904 Pablo Picasso painting, titled “At the Lapin Agile.” Martin saw a photo of the painting hanging unstretched and unframed on a wall – a simple bit of wall decoration. “And that year, whenever it was, 1992, the painting was hanging at the Metropolitan Museum, all stretched out, with a $40,000 frame on it. And I knew it had recently sold for $1 million, and it just sent me back to those days when nothing had any (monetary) value and everything was just about ideas,” Martin said in an interview.
The show runs through December 21.  For tickets click here.

The cast includes Penny Balfour (Germaine), Grayson DeJesus (Picasso), Tom Riis Farrell (Freddy), Ronald Guttman (Sagot), David Margulies (Gaston), Dina Shihabi (Suzanne/Countess/Female Admirer), Jake Silbermann (A Visitor), Jonathan Spivey (Schmendiman), and Robbie Tann (Einstein.)

The creative team includes Michael Yeargan (sets), Jess Goldstein (costumes), Don Holder (lights), and David Budries (sound). Rebecca Monroe is the stage manager. Click here for cast and creative team bios.

The Mystery of the Magi's Gold

It's "CSI: Bethlehem" in this holiday mystery extravaganza Sister takes on the mystery that has intrigued historians throughout the ages - whatever happened to the Magi's gold? ("We know that Mary used the frankincense and myrrh as a sort of potpourri - they were in a barn after all.") Retelling the story of the nativity, as only Sister can, this hilarious holiday production is bound to become a yearly classic. Employing her own scientific tools, assisted by a local choir as well as a gaggle of audience members, Sister creates a living nativity unlike any you've ever seen.With gifts galore and bundles of laughs, Sister's Christmas Catechism is sure to become the newest addition to your holiday traditions.  "A gift-wrapped holiday treat, this Catechism should be opened early!" says the L.A. Times.  This production is presented by Legacy Theatre and show times are December 5 at 7:30pm and December 6 at 2pm and 7pm.  All performances take place at Tabor Stage, 45 Tabor Avenue, Branford.  For tickets click here.

Legacy Theatre is a professional theatre company that enhances the Connecticut Shoreline's economy, educational opportunities and quality of life through live theatre and related programs. The Legacy strives to be a premiere Arts house for local artists, professional companies, and to ensure ongoing seasons of uplifting, inspiring, and challenging professional theatre and theatre training for all.

World Class Opera Voices Headline Master Works Concert

Cappella Cantorum MasterWorks Chorus is indeed most fortunate to have two outstanding operatic female voices headlining the production of Bach Magnificat & Vivaldi Gloria, December 7. Performance takes place at St. Mark The Evangelist Catholic Church in Westbrook at 3pm.

Soprano Patricia Schuman has performed previously with Cappella Cantorum MasterWorks Chorus, most recently with our production of Poulenc Gloria and Bass Christmas Ornaments in 2008.
Recently, Miss Schuman made her role debut as The Duchess in Thomas Ades’ Powder her Face with the Opera Company of Philadelphia to great critical acclaim.  Preceding that, she appeared at the Glimmerglass Festival in a double bill as Estelle Oglethorpe in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening and as Carlotta O’Neill in a world premiere of A Blizzard at Marblehead Neck by Jeanine Tesori.  Miss Schuman made her debut with the Houston Grand Opera in the title role of Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catàn, which she also recorded for Albany Records.  She can be seen on video as Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Donna Elvira(Don Giovanni) from the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) from Madrid Opera.  In the last few years, Miss Schuman has concentrated on recital and chamber music.  In January of 2013, she appeared with husband, David Pittsinger, in recital at the Essex Winter Series.  Following that, she premiered a new oratorio, Letter from Italy, by composer Sarah Meneely-Kyder and Connecticut poet Nancy Meneely, led by Joseph d’Eugenio and the Greater Middletown Chorale.

While this will be the first time contralto Heather Petrie has performed under the Cappella Cantorum MasterWorks Chorus banner, several members of Cappella Cantorum had the pleasure of singing with Ms. Petrie with the collaborative production by Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Connecticut Lyric Opera Chorus, New Britain Chorale and Paderewski-Polonia Choir where she headlined their production of Verdi Requiem last year.

Ms. Petrie returned last season to debut the role of Mary in Wagner’s der Fliegende Holländer, and was alto soloist in Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater.  In Manhattan, she performs frequently with Musica Sacra, the choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, and Voices of Ascension, and has also sung with the Holy Trinity Bach Vespers series, and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This past spring Heather made her Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra, as alto soloist in Ernst Bloch’s Israel Symphony.  At Symphony Space, she has given concert performances of Suor Angelica(La Zia Principessa) and Hänsel and Gretel (The Witch).  Other opera roles include Larina in Eugene Onegin, Baba in The Medium, Miss Todd in the Old Maid and the Thief, Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro.  She has also been a member of the chorus at both Bard Summerscape, and the Princeton Festival.

To purchase tickets click here.

Bach’s Magnificat in D major (BWV 243) is a setting of the Magnificat text by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach first composed a version in E flat major (BVW 243a) in 1723 for Christmas Vespers in Leipzig and then reworked that music in D major in 1733 for the Marian Feast of the Visitation which was celebrated on July 2.  This second version had its premiere at the Thomaskirche on July 2, 1733.
The Latin text is the canticle of Mary, mother of Jesus, as told in the Gospel of Luke.

Vivaldi’s Gloria (RV 589) is the most familiar and popular piece of sacred music by Vivaldi; however, he was known to have written at least three Gloria settings.  Only two survive (RV 588 and RV 589) whilst the other (RV 590) is presumably lost and is only mentioned in the Kreuzherren catalogue.  The two surviving settings were written at about the same time (it is disputed which came first) in the early 18th century.  This piece was composed at the same time during Vivaldi’s employment at the Pieta.  The work remained relatively unknown, until its revival by Alfredo Casella during “Vivaldi Week” in Siena (1939).  Vivaldi’s Gloria (RV 589) enjoys well-founded popularity and has been recorded on almost one hundred CDs.

Cappella Cantorum is the lower Connecticut River Valley and Shoreline’s premiere non-auditioned community choral organization whose primary purpose is to learn, perform and enjoy great choral music while striving for excellence and the enrichment of its singers and audience.

Make.Art.Work.

Making Your Life as an Artist with Andrew Simonet
and Make.Art.Work. 2015 – Preview
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Housatonic Community College

Launching the Make.Art.Work. 2015 series in a special event, headlining artist-author Andrew Simonet discusses the importance of developing professional skills to keep your trajectory as an artist going forward.  Following Andrew, hear from Make.Art.Work. alumni about their experiences growing their professional skills and building their networks in a conversation moderated by Make.Art.Work. 2015 instructors Jeannie Thomma and Ryan Odinak. Learn what’s coming up in this next series and join fellow artist attendees for a networking lunch with table topics of your choice.

Make.Art.Work. is a comprehensive career training program for visual artists in Connecticut taking place in Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven counties. Make.Art.Work. addresses essential business and entrepreneurial skills for artists within a supportive peer environment.  From January to June 2015, artists will meet monthly in three-hour evening sessions, combining learning with coaching and peer support.  The program will consist of a workshop series run concurrently in three regions of the state.  As the culmination, artists will collaborate and implement their skills to curate and produce a group exhibition in their region. 

Andrew Simonet, dancer, choreographer, author and Founder and Director of Artists U, created in Philadelphia in 2006.  Artists U is a grassroots planning and professional development program run by and for artists. He is the author of Making Your Life as an Artist, a guide to building a balanced, sustainable artistic life.  In Andrew’s words, “nothing makes you a real artist except your devotion to making.”  Download his book for free here.

To register for the November 22 workshop click here.

A Behind the Scenes LOOK!

The City by Steven Plaziak

Indoor Flowers by Stu Lerner

Many of us have had the experience of visiting art galleries and museums to experience fine art. But rarely is the opportunity available to actually interact with the creator of this work. Shoreline ArtsTrail Open Studios Weekend affords visitors this wonderful experience on November 22 and 23 from 10am - 4pm.  For 13 years Shoreline ArtsTrail has invited the public to view artists work in a wide range of mediums and styles as well as a variety of environments from lofts, to barns, to industrial parks, to cozy studios.  While following the self-guided map to the more than 42 artists' studios in Branford, Guilford and Madison you will learn about each artist's space, their process, influences, and other facts that one would likely not see otherwise. The studio visits allow one to truly appreciate the work and understand the realities of how it gets done.  The passion and creative perspective of the artist are palpable when engulfed in their space.  They are commited to their craft, working hard and taking risks.  So whether you are a collector, an emerging artist, an appreciator or just curious spend some time this coming weekend with some of the Shoreline's outstanding artists. You might even get in some early holiday shopping on this artistic journey.
During Open Studios Weekend, colorful “Open Studio” signs will point you to all of these artists and studios. For specific locations and more information about events, discount offers and participating artists, pick up a copy of the Shoreline ArtsTrail map, available in libraries, town halls and visitors’ centers in Branford, Guilford and Madison, as well as at the Guilford Art Center and the various studios. Contact Martha Link Walsh at (203) 481-3505 or visit www.shorelineartstrail.com.

The Shoreline ArtsTrail was initiated in 2002 by a small group of artists and artisans in the Connecticut shoreline towns of Branford, Guilford and Madison. Their intent was to create an annual Open Studios event as a showcase to allow local residents and weekend visitors to interact with the artists and to experience the creative process first-hand. The seeds were planted and began to grow.

Three years later, grants from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and from the three towns dramatically accelerated this burgeoning venture. The number of artists almost doubled; the media represented followed suit. With the invaluable support of the Guilford Art Center, the vigorous group of Open Studio artists morphed into a year-long Shoreline ArtsTrail. The combined efforts of all parties led to the ArtsTrail receiving the Compass Award for Excellence in Partnership in 2007 from the Greater New Haven Visitors' Bureau. The collaboration of artists, the Arts Center, and the tourism committees of the three towns was recognized as a powerful force for stimulating tourism on the Shoreline.

Painting by Christine Chiocchio

Now in its thirteenth year, the ArtsTrail and its Open Studio Weekend is better than ever. Armed with one of the thousands of maps distributed throughout Connecticut and its neighboring states, visitors get an intimate view of the artists in their natural habitat. Visitors are able to get a real feel for the artists and their work. One-on-one explanations illuminate the how's and why's that go into the design and development of each piece. The processes that artists use to transform raw materials into finished works of art are as different as they are special. No matter what the medium -- wood, glass, precious metal, paint, fiber, ceramics, stone, photography, or steel -- all require focus, an extended time frame, and skilled hands. Open Studios Weekend provides an opportunity to learn the "art" in each art form. What could be better than combining education, refreshments, and an unparalleled, early holiday shopping experience? Many visitors take the opportunity to initiate discussions of special projects or commissions that they have dreamed about.

2nd Annual Soup Fundraiser

Enjoy a warm, soup supper while supporting two great shoreline organizations—Guilford Art Center and the Community Dining Room—at Soup for Good, Sunday, November 16, 4:30-6:30pm at Guilford Art Center.
Guests are invited to the Art Center school to enjoy a bowl of hearty soup, bread, dessert and glass of wine or sparkling water. Each guest gets to choose their own one-of-a-kind soup bowl, handcrafted by Guilford Art Center potters. Bowls will be washed and dried for each guest to take home, “for good.”
After enjoying soup, guests are invited to the Guilford Art Center Shop and Gallery to visit Artistry: American Craft for the Holidays, the Center’s extraordinary annual sale of fine holiday arts and crafts.
Tickets for Soup for Good are $30 in advance, $35 at door. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Community Dining Room, as well as Guilford Art Center.
The Community Dining Room, located in Branford, is committed to serving the shoreline community by feeding the hungry and helping with other basic human needs. Guilford Art Center is a non-profit organization established to nurture and support excellence in the arts through education, communication, and outreach.
CLICK HERE FOR RESERVATIONS or contact Guilford Art Center at (203) 453-5947.

21st Annual Presentation of The Magic Toyshop

For a special holiday treat plan to attend one of the performances of The Magic Toyshop, performed by Starship Dance Theater.  Performances are Friday, December 5 at 7:30pm (following the Guilford Tree Lighting Ceremony); Saturday, December 6 at 2pm and 7pm; and Sunday, December 7 at 3pm.  Tickets are $20 General Admission, $18 Students, $15 Seniors and Children under 12. To purchase tickets call 203-453-2516 or 203-453-8068.  The program is sponsored by Guilford Parks and Recreation.

Based on La Boutique Fantasque, also known as The Magic Toyshop or The Fantastic Toyshop, Joyce DeLauro has adapted this ballet combining the music of Giochino Rossini with the music from Jeux d'Enfants by Georges Bizet. This 21st  annual production continues to promote the mission of Starship Dance Theater since its inception in 1980 and that is family involvement and inclusiveness.  Roles are created for all who audition and this year's cast of almost 50 work together to tell this wonderful holiday tale.

 

A world-famous toymaker has created exquisite dancing dolls in his magic toyshop. When they are wound up the dolls perform dance routines for the prospective customers.  Some perform a tarantella and others a mazurka. Customers come and go, all intrigued by the dancing dolls. An American family is in the shop when a Russian family enters.  Five Cossack dolls come out to entertain them with a traditional dance.  This is followed by two dancing poodles that keep everyone laughing and entertained.  Finally, the shop-keeper brings out his most prized pair of dancing dolls, the Can-Can dancers, male and female.  They are so enchanting in their dance and on eis bought by the American family and one bought by the Russian family.  They are paid for and boxed up with the customers arranging to claim them the following day. The shop keeper and the dolls are so upset that the Can-Can dancers are going to be split up and never dance together again.  How can this be?

Find out what happens on December 5, 6, or 7!  Join Starship Dance Theater at the Guilford Parks & Recreation Center, 32 Church Street, Guilford to learn the fate of the dolls and the secrets of The Magic Toyshop.

Our goal is to provide our students with a firm foundation and a clear understanding of their art form.  We strive to provide superior technical dance training in an atmosphere that fosters creativity, motivation, and a positive self-image.  Our ballet teaching follows the Vagonova system from Russia, which trains a child to develop good body placement and strong muscles with a progression of skills.
Our students benefit from the confidence that comes from learning something new and becoming comfortable with their abilities.  Young students who continue in dance can expect to build self-esteem, self-discipline and an ability to stand up to the pressures of school with more poise and confidence.  Adult students can rediscover the joy of learning new skills or sharpening existing ones in a caring and open environment.

We offer a range of classes for dancers aged two years of age to Adult.   Our offerings include various levels of Ballet, Modern, and Jazz, both child and adult classes.  For the pre-school aged child, we offer Creative Dance and Parent and Child Classes.  Throughout the year various Workshop opportunities are offered including Belly Dance or instruction with visiting professional dancers / choreographers.

Classes run throughout the school year (September till the end of May) for children pre-K through 12th grade, half session classes for those pre-school aged, ten week long adult sessions (September to May), half day workshops (at various times), and one to three week programs  through the summer months.

New Haven Symphony with Yale Opera Perform Suor Angelica

New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) and Yale Opera will present a fully staged performance of Puccini's opera Suor Angelica on Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21 at 7:30pm at St. Mary's Church in New Haven. Tickets are $15 - $74 and may be purchased at www.newhavensymphony.org.

The performance will be led by NHSO Music Director William Boughton and the program will also include the New England premiere of New Haven compose Christopher Theofanidis' Virtue, featuring guest soprano soloist Tony Arnold, narrator Chris Dickerson, and the Elm Cith Girls' Choir. 

Muisc director William Boughton says, "What defines a person's lifeas virtuous or sinful? Who deserves forgiveness? These are the themes that we will explore through music in this dramatic program.  In addition to performing the New England premiere of Theofanidis' newest work, we are very fortunate to be able to present a full opera with the incredible talents of Yale Opera.  From the costumes to the gorgeous setting of St. Mary's Church, this will be a completely unique orchestra concert experience."

Suor Angelica is the second of three one-act operas Puccini composed during World War I, known together as Il trittico (Triptych). Puccini composed his operas to depict situations true to life, never shying away from the earthy and ugly in human nature - as wll as never missing a chance to lace realism with melodrama. The opera takes place in a seventeenth-century convent in Italy and tells the story of a Princess (Angelica) who was forced into the convent after giving birth to a child out of wedlock.  While at the convent, Angelica learns of the death of her son and struggles between this devastating loss and her search for spiritual redemption.

Suor will feature performers from Yale Opera, costumes by John Carver Sullivan and direction by Marc Verzatt. St. Mary’s Church, the founding church of the Knights of Columbus, will serve as the opera’s set.

Opening the program will be the New England premiere performances of Theofanidis’ Virtue, a
commission by a consortium led by the New Haven Symphony. Theofanidis based the story on texts by
the medieval mystic, herbalist, playwright, theologian and composer, Saint Hildegard of Bingen. The
narrative of Virtue depicts a dramatic encounter between a human soul (portrayed by soprano Tony
Arnold) and its temptation and confrontation with the Devil (narrated by Chris Dickerson).

In addition to the two concerts at St. Mary’s, the NHSO and Yale Opera will perform a concert version of Suor Angelica on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford, CT. This performance will not include costumes or staging. For information about this performance, visit www.cathedralofsaintjoseph.com/music-sacredsounds.

Yale Opera is the graduate opera program at the Yale School of Music. This highly selective program is led by Artistic Director Doris Yarick Cross. Over the years, Yale Opera has been very effective at
launching successful careers for its graduates. This season alone, Yale Opera alumni are performing at
virtually all of the major opera houses in the world including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera
House—Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and San Francisco Opera.

Founded in 1993, The Elm City Girls' Choir has received national recognition, and has appeared at
Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Walt Disney World. The Choir has performed with many outstanding choral groups, including The American Boychoir, CONCORA, New York Virtuoso Singers, and Yale Schola Cantorum, and with professional orchestras including the Boston Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony, and Moscow State Orchestra. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, ECGC has toured
extensively throughout North America and Europe, and has appeared on national television performing
with Diana Ross at the women's finals match of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.

Hailed by the New York Times as “a bold, powerful interpreter,” Tony Arnold is recognized internationally as a leading proponent of new music in concert and recording. Since becoming the first-prize laureate of the both the 2001 Gaudeamus International Competition and the 2001 Louise D. McMahon Competition, Ms. Arnold has collaborated with the most cutting-edge composers and instrumentalists on the world stage, receiving consistent critical accolades for a voice of beauty and warmth, an uncanny technical facility, sterling musicianship, and her riveting stage presence. Ms. Arnold is the soprano of the intrepid International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and is one of the most recorded singers of contemporary music, with more than two dozen CDs to her credit.

Christopher Dickerson is an alumnus of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Center for American Artists, and
has performed with Connecticut Opera, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Minnesota Opera, and the
Caramoor Festival. Dickerson studied at Texas Tech University before joining the professional Resident Artist Program of Opera San José. Born in Dallas, TX and a graduate of Yale, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Houston, Christopher Theofanidis has been the recipient of the Masterprize, the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Charles Ives Fellowship, among others. He is a former member of the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School, and currently teaches at Yale. For the 2006-07 season

he was composer-of-the-year of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Internationally Renowned painter Nelson H. White Presents at Lyme Academy College, Nov. 7

Bagno la Salute

Internationally renowned painter Nelson Holbrook White is the second speaker in the 2014-15 lecture series, “Inside My Studio: The Artist Revealed,” hosted by the Alumni Association of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts of the University of New Haven on Friday, Nov. 7. The evening begins with a reception in the Sill House Gallery at 6 p.m. before White’s presentation at 7 p.m.  


White received his earliest art instruction from his father and grandfather who were both prominent American artists.  Nelson White’s grandfather was an early member of the famed Lyme Art Colony of impressionist artists, many of whom lived at Florence Griswold’s boarding house in Old Lyme. Nelson White’s father also lived with his parents at the Florence Griswold house, where he met some of the most influential artists of the day, including Childe Hassam, Will Howe Fotte and Harry Hoffman.  


Nelson H. White was born in New London in 1932. After graduating from Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., he enrolled at Mitchell College in New London, but left to pursue music theory and composition.  At that time, he began to spend more time studying with his father and grandfather and by 1955, had decided to commit himself to a career in painting.  
White’s studies led him to Florence, Italy, where he became an apprentice to the world-renowned Florentine painter Pietro Annigoni and studied with the acclaimed Italian teacher Nerina Simi.  Although he received instruction from a number of major artists, White’s work is highly individual.  His ability to use color, coupled with rich brushwork and graduations of light, air and atmosphere, richly conveys both mood and intimacy.

Collections of White’s work are held by many organizations including the Wadsworth Atheneum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Florence Griswold Museum and Pfizer Inc.  He has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally and received the Biennale Internazionale Career Award in 2003.  Today, White divides his time between the USA and Florence, Italy.

Reservations are required at $10 per person and should be made by contacting Ann de Selding at 860.434.3571 ext. 117 or adeselding@lymeacademy.edu.  Early reservations are recommended since seating is limited and a capacity audience is expected.

For more information about this event or Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts of the University of New Haven, contact Olwen Logan, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at 860-434-3571, ext. 135
or ologan@lymeacademy.edu


The mission of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts of the University of New Haven is to educate aspiring artists through a rigorous studio curriculum rooted in figurative and representational art. The college offers a comprehensive liberal arts education essential for advanced critical and creative thought. For more information call 860-434-5232 or visit www.lymeacademy.edu.

The University of New Haven is a private, top-tier comprehensive institution recognized as a national leader in experiential education. Founded in 1920 the university enrolls approximately 1,800 graduate students and more than 4,600 undergraduates.

 

Dear Eva: A WWII Story, Told in Letters November 8

Your emotions will be stirred when you hear a reading of highlights from “Dear Eva,” a captivating non-fiction play based on World War II letters that were written by ordinary men and women in an extraordinary time. The 50-minute reading on November 8 at 1pm will be by the play’s co-authors, Catherine Ladnier of Greenwich and Paul Janensch of Bridgeport. They will welcome your questions and comments immediately afterwards.

The letters were saved by Eva Lee Brown of Easley, S.C. The men are in uniform. Some see action. The women are lonely and dealing with shortages. The letters are candid, sad and funny. The common theme is a longing for a return to normal life. The letters were discovered by Eva’s daughter, Catherine, who is a theater buff and compliance consultant in the securities industry.   She invited Paul, a former newspaper editor and professor emeritus of journalism at Quinnipiac University, to collaborate with her. Together, they selected the most dramatic letters, arranged them into story lines and edited them down to their essentials. The letters tell several compelling inter-twined stories. Something terrible happens to the battalion in which Eva’s brother Bill is serving, but it’s a military secret. Cousin Clifton flies against his mother’s wishes and is shot down over France. Eva is pursued by servicemen who write her ardent letters; one correspondent is Harry Ladnier, who receives love letters from other women. At the end, we learn what happened to Bill’s battalion and who won Eva’s heart.

The time seems right for hearing the highlights from “Dear Eva.” Interest in World War II is high. During the discussion period that follows a reading, audience members of all ages are eager to talk about World War II. Maybe they were involved in the war. Or they heard about it from parents or grandparents. Many draw comparisons between World War II and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They note that back then all Americans made sacrifices, not just members of the armed forces and their families.

Symposium on Arts & Aging

ARTFARM and Middlesex Community College are co-sponsoring a “Symposium on the Arts and Aging” on Friday, November 7 at the Community College. The event, which will run 2:30 – 6:30 pm, is free and open to the public.

The keynote speaker at the Symposium is Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of the best-selling book “Love, Medicine and Miracles”. He is globally influential on the use of painting and visualization in the treatment of cancer patients. In 2011 he was honored by the Watkins Review of London as one of the top twenty Spiritually Influential Living People on the Planet.  Bernie is an iconoclast who will be certain to challenge the assumptions of everyone in the room about how the arts can play a role in the lives of aging people and their caregivers.

The afternoon will continue with a session of workshops, followed by a Panel Discussion with artists and scientists on the effects of aging on artists and the benefits of the arts to the aging.

Workshops will include “Memoir Writing” with MxCC Professor of English Dale Griffith, and “Sharpening the Aging Brain” with actor, storyteller and teacher John Basinger. Symposium participants will have the choice of attending one of the two workshops.

Dale teaches memoir writing at the College and has also worked extensively with women in the State Correctional System. She specializes in helping people tell their life stories through writing.

John, who is eighty years old, played the title role in ARTFARM’s production of King Lear this summer. He is Professor Emeritus of Theater and Sign Language at Three Rivers Community College, has appeared in many films and was a long-time performer with the National Theater of the Deaf.  John has memorized and performs Milton’s Paradise Lost in its entirety, and uses physical and mental memorization techniques to keep his aging brain sharp.

The Panel, which will be moderated by Judith Felton, MxCC Professor and Coordinator of the Human Services Program at the College, will bring together artists, scholars and scientists to investigate the Arts and Aging. The audience will be invited to engage in an active dialog with the panelists, and the Symposium will culminate in a wide-ranging community discussion on how aging effects artistic people, how creativity and artistic expression can serve as antidotes to depression, loneliness, memory loss and other challenges of aging, and how the arts can serve as tools for persons working with aging populations.

Panelists include Neely Bruce, composer, pianist and Wesleyan University Music Professor; Donna Fedus, Gerontologist and Coordinator of Elder Programs at The Consultation Center, Yale University School of Medicine; Carolyn Kirsch, actor, director and former Broadway performer; Carlos Hernandez-Chavez, a painter, musician, and Arts and Humanities Policy Development Consultant; and Wendy Black-Nasta, director of Artists for World Peace.

The afternoon will end with light refreshments and an opportunity to network informally with panelists, presenters and other attendees.

The Symposium will be held in Room 808 in Chapman Hall at Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Road, Middletown. The event is free and open to the public, but participants are asked to pre-register by emailing info@art-farm.org.
 This Symposium is intended for artists, students, caregivers and anyone coping with the challenges of getting older. For more information, write info@art-farm.org, visit www.art-farm.org, or call (860) 346-4390.

ARTFARM is a Middletown-based non-profit which cultivates high-quality theater with a commitment to simple living, environmental sustainability and social justice. Since 2006 ARTFARM has been presenting professional Shakespeare in the Grove on the MxCC campus each summer. The “Symposium on the Arts and Aging” is the culminating event of “The Lear Project”, a series of public talks and events around Aging held in association with this summer’s production of King Lear.

Tiffany Window at Lyman Allyn Museum

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London has announced its acquisition of a magnificent stained-glass window created by the renowned Tiffany Studios in New York. The window titled Come Unto Me was installed in the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in New London in 1924. It was dedicated to the memory of Anna Chaplin Rumrill, a member of that congregation. The window completely made of Favrile Glass and signed by Louis Comfort Tiffany measures 72 inches by 76 inches.

Come Unto Me depicts a beatific Jesus standing with outstretched arms in the foreground of a lustrous landscape of mountains, a lake, and cypress trees.  Earlier this month the Board of All Sould Church agreed to sell the window to the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, thereby insuring that it will continue to be able to be viewed by the public.  D. Samuel Quigley, Director of the Lyman Allyn notes, "The acquisition of this glorious work of art by one of America's most treasured designer/artists is a major event in our institution's history and one that will make a dramatic impact on our collection." He goes on to say, "We are honored to be working with the All Souls Congregation to keep this treasure here in New London, ensuring that it remains available for all in our community to enjoy for generations to come."

By stepping forward to purchase the window, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum has committed to providing gallery space and special care for the window. Come Unto Me will be an extremely important new addition to the Museum's collection, complementing the dozens of small vessels and wares by Tiffany that are already housed in the Lyman Allyn.  The Museum plans to install the Tiffany window in a special gallery celebrating the art of Louis Comfort Tiffany and his connection to New London. "We look forward to creating a beautiful gallery which will present the compelling story of Tiffany's artistry and his place in New London's history. Envision a darkened gallery with the brilliant rear-illuminated stained glass window as its centerpiece.  With other works and text panels for context, the learning possibilities are nearly boundless," said Quigley.

By a fortuitous set of circumstances, there is a long history of the Tiffany family in the City of New London, and an accompanying large concentration of Tiffany stained-glass windows.  Annie Olivia Tiffany Mitchell, sister of Louis Comfort Tiffany, married Alfred Mitchell and made their summer home overlooking the Thames River in New London.  Their estate is now the site of Mitchell College.  Mitchell and Tiffany became acquainted with members of the local community, and many commissions for stained-glass windows consequently came their way.  Louis Comfort Tiffany designed five large windows for St. James Episcopal Church and other impressive windows for the Palmer Mausoleum in Cedar Grove Cemetery, the Pequot Chapel, and the Lighthouse Inn.

Lyman Allyn's acquisition of Louis Comfort Tiffany's Come Unto Me keeps this cherished treasure in New London, and furthers the Museum's commitment to serve as a cultural, educational and community resource for the people of Southeastern Connecticut. The Tiffany window will stand as a unique source of inspiration and learning about the decorative arts for the Museum's visitors and will strengthen their sense of history, aesthetics, and civic pride by forever connecting Tiffany's artistic legacy with the story of New London.

Lyman Allyn Art Museum is a distinguished art museum located in New London, CT. Founded in 1932 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, the museum serves the people of and visitors to Southeastern CT and general admission is always free to New London residents. Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 objects from ancient times to the present: artworks from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, with particularly strong collections of American paintings, decorative arts, and Victorian toys and doll houses.

The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, CT-Exit 83 off I-95.  Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm and Sundays 1 to 5pm.  It is closed Mondays and major holidays.

Life, Laughter & Love

Does just hearing the words, "Say, goodnight, Gracie" conjure up nostalgic feelings and make you smile? For those  old enought to remember the Burns and Allen Show we will never foget this closing line at the end of each show.

George Burns (January 20, 1896 - March 9, 1996), born Nathan Birnbaum, was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television.  His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century.  At the age of 79,  Burns' career was resurrected as an amiable, beloved and unusually active old comedian in the 1975 film The Sunshine Boys, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  He continued to work until shortly before his death in 1996 at the age of 100.
On Wednesday, October 29 Ivoryton Playhouse favorite, Bruce Connelly, returns to the Playhouse stage in the hit Broadway show, Say Goodnight Gracie.  This stunning tour de force invites you to spend an hilarious, heart-warming evening in the uplifting company of the world's favorite and funniest centenarian, George Burns.  Say Goodnight Gracie was Broadway's third longest running solo performance show and was nominated for a 2003 Tony Award for Best Play and won the 2003-2004 National Broadway Theatre Award for Best Play.

In Say Goodnight Gracie, George Burns looks back upon his impoverished, plucky youth on the lower East Side of New York, his disastrous but tenacious career in Vaudeville, the momentous day when he met the fabulously talented young Irish girl named Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen.  They had instant chemistry, with his flawless timing to her dizzy delivery.  The play tells about his wooing her, their marriage and their rise to the pinnacles of vaudeville, movies, radio and television.  Gracie's demise forced George to start from square one in life and in his career, eventually achieving an equal level of success as a solo raconteur and Academy Award-winning actor, portraying everything from a Sunshine Boy to Oh, God.

Bruce Connelly appeared last at the Ivoryton Playhouse as Jim in the summer production All Shook Up.  Other notable roles include Barney Cashman in Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Max Bialystock in The Producers, Felix Unger in The Odd Couple, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Finian in Finian's Rainbow.  Since 1993, Bruce has played Barkley, Jim Henson's Muppet dog on Sesame STreet for which he has been honored fifteen times by the National Academy of Television and Radio at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
 
Say Goodnight Gracie, written by multiple Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes,  is a tender, funny, life-affirming love story...a personal guided tour through an American century in the company of George Burns, a man who laughingly lived and loved each day for all it had to offer, until he finally went "gently in that good night" to forever reunite with his beloved Gracie.
Say Goodnight Gracie runs October 29 through November 16, 2014.  Performances are Wendesday through Sundays (matinee performances on Wednesdays and Sundays).Tickets can be purchase by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.

Ballet Spooktacular!

Eastern Connecticut Ballet presents Ballet Spooktacular!
& Elsa, Live and in Person at Ballet Spooktacular

Eastern Connecticut Ballet has revealed yet another surprise for its "Ballet Spooktacular." A popular Snow Queen, known to all as simply "Elsa", has heard about the regal extravaganza and has proclaimed her desire to join the festivities. She has graciously agreed to pose for photographs after the performance with all of our costumed guests. Don’t miss out on this fun-filled family event, which also includes the premiere of three new Halloween ballets, trick or treating throughout the theater, and a costume parade on stage.
Treat children of all ages to family-friendly Halloween fun with Eastern CT Ballet's "Ballet Spooktacular." Special effects and bewitching costumes set the stage for spirited performances of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", "Dancing Bones", and "Halloween Waltz". Children are invited to wear their costumes to parade on stage, trick-or-treat throughout the decorated theater and pose for spellbinding photos with the dancers. Combining classical ballet and the “spirit” of Halloween, this special program will be held at the Katharine Hepburn Arts Cultural Center in Old Saybrook on October 18th and 19th. Shows will be held at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 pm. on both Saturday and Sunday. Family-friendly tickets are $16 for adults, and $10 for children (ages 12 and under). Tickets are available from The Kate box office at 860-510-0453.

Morris Pleasure with Special Guest Roberta Flack

Guilford's A Better Chance program is celebrating 40 years dedicated to helping close the opportunity gap for talented minority women. This special event will bring international music star Morris "Mo" Pleasure to perform with Connecticut's own Rohn Lawrence (guitar) and David Lovolsi (bass) and a special performance by Roberta Flack on Saturday, October 25 at 7:30pm at Guilford High School. The talented Guilford High School Jazz Ensemble will open the concert. Tickets are $25 for open seating. VIP tickets are $125. Event sponsorship opportunities which include tickets are available for $1,000, $500, or $250. Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.guilfordabc.com. For sponsorships contact Jim Schaffer at jim@charity-spring.org or 203-912-2802. Purchase your tickets today. This event is going to be a sell-out!

Internationally hailed as one of the greatest songstresses of our time, GRAMMY Award winning Roberta Flack remains unparalleled in her ability to tell a story through her music. Her songs bring insight into our lives, loves, culture and politics, while effortlessly traversing a broad musical landscape from pop to soul to folk to jazz. She was the first American singer and musician to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year two consecutive times - in 1973 for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and in 1974 for Killing Me Softly with His Song. She remains the only solo artist to have ever accomplished this.

Classically trained on the piano from an early age, Ms. Flack received a music scholarship at age 15 to attend Howard University. Discovered while singing at the Washington, DC nightclub Mr. Henry's by jazz musician Les McCann, she was promptly signed to Atlantic With a string of hits, including, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Where Is the Love (a duet with former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway), Killing Me Softly With His Song, Feel Like Makin' Love, The Closer I Get to You, Tonight I Celebrate My Love, and Set the Night to Music, Ms. Flack has built a musical legacy. In 1999, she aptly received a Star on Hollywood's legendary Walk of Fame.

Roberta is currently involved with a very exciting studio venture — an interpretive album of Beatles' classics.

She regularly plays to appreciative audiences around the world, and had the pleasure of appearing recently with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. In February 2009, Ms. Flack performed with critically acclaimed orchestras in Australia, including the Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide, Tasmanian, West Australian and Sydney Symphonies.

Very active as a humanitarian and mentor, Ms. Flack founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, providing an innovative and inspiring music education program to underprivileged students free of charge.

Known affectionately as "Mo", Morris Pleasure is a renowned multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer. He began playing acoustic piano at the age of four and by his early teens already mastered several instruments including bass, trumpet, guitar, drums and violin.

Mo began his professional music career playing bass with Ray Charles. He then began working as a session musician, backing some of the most accomplished talents in Jazz ,R&B and pop including George Duke, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Christina Aguilera, Jonathan Butler, Rachelle Ferrell, Brian Culbertson, Michael McDonald, Oleta Adams, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Marcus Miller, Mary J. Blige, and Frankie Beverly and Maze, to name a few.

From 1989 through 1992, Mo was both keyboardist and musical director with saxophonist Najee, pianist Alex Bugnon, and vocalists Philip Bailey, Patti Austin and Jon Lucien. In 1993, he became a member of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire, and ascended to become the band’s musical director from 1994-2001. Mo was featured playing keyboards, trumpet and guitar with Janet Jackson’s 2001 All For You tour and played keyboards and trumpet with Boney James’ 2004 Pure tour. As a principal member of the group Devoted Spirits he was featured playing keyboards for Jimi Hendrix’s 60th Birthday Celebration and the 2004 Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix tour.

Mo was a keyboardist in Michael Jackson’s final touring band that was scheduled to perform in the late superstar’s historic 2009, comeback tour at London’s O2 Arena. Most recently he has toured with David Foster, Average White Band and Peter Cetera.
Rohn Lawrence has been widely acclaimed for his work with New Haven Funk bands such as Good News and The Lift, including saxophonist Marion Meadows. Lawrence continues to work with Meadows, George Duke, Diane Reeves, Jonathan Butler, Alex Bugñon, Freddie Jackson, Najee and many others.

David Livolsi, also from Connecticut, is an accomplished bass player whose diversity led him to work with many world renowned artists such as John Scofield, Bill Evans, Jazz Is Dead, T Lavitz & Rod Morgenstein (from The Dixie Dregs), Jerry Goodman, Chuck Loeb, Sam Rivers, John Tropea, and David Spinozza.

Guilford High School's Jazz Ensemble is a Level 1 class that meets daily. Students in grades 9 - 12 are selected through an audition process. The Ensemble performs music from the libraryries of such great bands as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Gordon Goodwin, and Bob Mintzer. A four-time finalist at the Essentially Ellington Competition at Lincoln Center, the GHS Jazz Ensemble also competes at the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival.

Guilford's A Better Chance has for forty years been dedicated to helping to close the opportunity gap for talented minority women.  Guilford ABC prepares its scholars to succeed academically and to take a leadership role in their future endeavors.  Founded in 1963, A Better Chance is a national program that refers academically talented inner-city students to elite private and public schools.  In 1974, Guilford became on of ABC's earliest public school programs.  Its six female students reside in a house staffed with a resident director and tutor who live in attached residences.  The Guilford community in many ways serves as an extended family.

Music of the French Baroque

Enjoy an extraordinary ensemble of Baroque musicians, performing music from 18th century Paris.  Joining the New York-based period instrument group, Circle of Friends, will be the brilliant, Grammy-nominated sporano, Nell Snaidas on Sunday, October 5 at 4pm at First Congregational Church in Madison.

Paris, during the reign of Louis XV, was a world center of art and culture, where people gathered in sumptuous salons to enjoy chamber music, poetry, song, and clever discussion.  Our concert features works by French composers of the period: Conversations galantes et amusants, no.1 in G, by Guillemain, Rameau's Pièces de clavecin en concert, no. 3 in A, Deuxième recréation de musique in G minor by Leclair, whose 250th anniversary is commemorated this year, and a selection of songs from Rameau to Lully.  Also featured are a Paris qurtet by Telemann, and a keyboard and violin sonata penned by the young Mozart during his visit to Paris in the winter of 1764.

Nell Snaidas has been praised by the New York Times for her "beautiful soprano voice, melting passion and vocally ravishing performances.

Eric Milnes, harpsichord, Anne Briggs, flute, Lisa Terry, viola da gamba, and Judson Griffin, violin and artistic director, are luminaries in the early music field, having won great acclaim nationally and internationally for their period instrument performances.

The Roslyn Young Memorial is a non-profit organization established by the family of professional violist Roslyn Young to honor her memory by presenting an annual classical music concert near Guilford, CT, her home town.
Tickets are $20, under 18 free, and are available at the door.

Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers

One of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most popular operettas, The Gondoliers follows the hilarious search for the lost King of Barataria, accompanied by the lilting melodies and colorful costumes of Venetian boatsmen and Italian dancers. Even Queen Victoria succumbed to its delights when the Savoy company gave a command performance of Gondoliers at Windsor Castle, and it was reported that she laughed heartily at the author’s jesting description of what a ruler’s life was really like. Performances by CT Gilbert and Sullivan are October 4th and 5th at Valley Regional High School, Deep River.  For tickets click here. For plot summary click here.

The Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society was organized in 1980 with the encouragement of then-Gov. Ella Grasso, a noted admirer of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Since then, the group has produced a Savoy opera every year. CG&SS is dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the rich heritage of satire and melody that emerged from the unique partnership of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (between 1870 and 1900). The art form they created together, which was nurtured by impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte at The Savoy Theatre, established the underpinnings which sustain the modern-day musical. CG&SS provides a showcase for talented singers, directors, designers, instrumentalists and stage technicians of professional expertise who make a living at other professions. This is family-oriented historical entertainment for the widest possible audience in the English language.

The organization offers an outlet for creativity as people help with productions on stage, behind stage, or as a sponsoring member of the audience. It adds to the quality of life in the Middletown area through performing arts, provides for study and performances of these 14 masterpieces with professional guidance; enriches the historical offerings to area audiences; encourages and supports area youth by including students from Middletown schools. We also have sponsored many benefit performances consisting of excerpts from G&S and occasionally other creators at a variety of venues in the area, along with Sullivan’s cantata “The Golden Legend” with organ and percussion, and a concert of Sullivan songs.

The Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society has received grants from the Middletown Commission on the Arts, the Connecticut Commission of the Arts, and the Middletown Foundation for the Arts. We have also received support through many employer-sponsored donation programs through members of the cast and crew.
CG&SS provides a showcase for talented singers, directors, designers, instrumentalists and stage technicians of professional expertise who make a living at other professions. This is family-oriented historical entertainment for the widest possible audience in the English language.

Wee Faerie Village at the Florence Griswold

The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT presents Wee Faerie Village in a Steampunk’d Wonderland on the grounds of museum’s campus from October 3 through November 2. Twenty-five hand-crafted faerie houses and scenes recount Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” in a steampunk setting. “Imagine a miniature Victorian world viewed through a steam-powered futuristic lens,” explains David Rau, the Museum’s Director of Education and Outreach. “With guide in hand visitors will travel the Museum’s 11 acres to discover Alice’s adventures, including, keeping up with the tardy White Rabbit, surviving the Mad Tea Party, and playing croquet with the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts.”

This year’s Wee Faerie Village is the sixth of the Museum’s annual outdoor creative installations. Last year a record-breaking 17,212 people attended the 2013 Wee Faerie Village during its four-week run. The annual event has come to signify an enriching, not to be missed outing for visitors of all ages.

Alice Among the Fairies was one of Lewis Carroll’s original titles for his story before it was published as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865—the middle of the Victorian Era. An immediate hit, the book has never gone out of print.

In keeping with the time period of Alice, this year’s Wee Faerie Village combines natural materials with vintage found elements to create installations inspired by the popular Steampunk movement. The term “steampunk” was coined in the early 1980s, and refers to a fanciful art and design subculture that combines history, fantasy, and the Victorian era. The term describes an imaginary world where iconic images from our steam-powered past (think cogs, gears, and flywheels) are married to the technologies of today.

The Museum’s namesake, Florence Griswold was a contemporary of Alice Liddell, the child that inspired the stories. Although an ocean apart, both Florence and the real Alice would have experience growing up in a rapidly changing Victorian world.

Nearly 50 artists and designers have been working since early spring to create their mini masterpieces, which collectively transform the Museum’s eleven acres into Wonderland. Children delight in the fun and whimsical creations while adults marvel at the creatively conceived and handcrafted works of art. Graphic and sculpture artist Bill Vollers of Chester, Connecticut chose the White Knight's encounter with Alice for the basis of his faerie house installation. Vollers used an empty box for his faerie house, which sits on a steampunk inspired assemblage constructed primarily from late 19th century Victorian-era wooden and cast iron gears and wheels. "These types of items and other found objects are of special interest to me," explains Vollers. "I appreciate their past and authenticity and have used them to create sculptures and assemblage pieces for years." A keepsake brochure, the Wander Guide, leads visitors through the Museum’s campus to each installation while telling the story of Alice’s adventures. Visitors to Wee Faerie Village are encouraged to dress up as their favorite faerie or Alice in Wonderland character.

The Museum commissioned six original faerie illustrations of iconic “Alice” characters by artist Aaron B. Miller based in Chicago. Miller’s original art cleverly re-imagines Carroll’s beloved characters for the faerie world.

“Beyond Wonderland,” a collaboration with the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce, encourages visitors of the Museum’s Wee Faerie Village to take advantage of special offers by local merchants and restaurants. See www.VisitOldLyme.com for details.

As part of its Wee Faerie Village exhibition, adults and families with children can enjoy a month of fun faerie and Wonderland-themed activities. Events include a visit from Alice, baking and faerie house-making contests, croquet lessons, a magic show, parties, book discussions, and craft activities. Many events are included in Museum admission. Visit www.FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org for a complete list.

The Museum will open on Columbus Day, Monday, October 13 from 10am to 5pm. At noon, an artist from the TEN31 living statues troupe will lead visitors in the “Mad-as-a-Hatter’s Steampunk’d Parade.” Wings, over-the-top top hats, and Steampunk’d attire encouraged. Hands-on crafts 11am-4pm.

The Museum is located at 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, exit 70 off I-95. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm with extended hours on Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Admission during the exhibition is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors, $13 for students, $5 for members. Children 12 and under are free thanks to the support of an anonymous donor. Admission includes the outdoor walking tour of the faerie village as well as the Florence Griswold House, Chadwick Studio, Rafal Landscape Center and Krieble Gallery featuring Life Stories in Art, a series of concurrent exhibitions highlighting the contributions of three important women artists in Connecticut in three different media over the course of three centuries.