With winter finally behind us, it’s time to spring forward and enjoy the things we love to do. Here, in the Northwest Corner, there’s no shortage of events and workshops to explore.
We had so many great listings to post this month, we decided to highlight some of them. It was tough to choose from the abundance of events, performances, classes, lectures, and workshops taking place in the region—we encourage you to also check our listings in the Goings On and Live & Learn pages. Here is a hand-picked selection of wonderful activities we think are worth considering. Get out of hibernation and dive in!
Become a Bee Keeper
Learn the beginning steps of raising Honeybees from an experienced beekeeper. Topics to be covered include: The Honeybees; the 3 Castes, life cycle, habits and its many functions within the colony; Each part of the beehive, what each part does and accessories; Equipment; Where to locate your hive and why; Feeding and care for your bees; Harvesting the sweet honey. April 18, 9-12 pm. at The Green Spot, 354 Litchfield Road in New Milford. Fee: $40. Reservations are required. 860.799-5102; www.thegreenspotnewmilford.com.
Go to the Market
The Norfolk Farmers Market continues with its indoor market every other Saturday. Vendors will be selling local meats, cheeses, eggs, breads, pastries, and more. The weekly outdoor markets start up again on May 16. April 11 & 25, 10 am to 1 pm. at Town Hall, 19 Maple Avenue, Norfolk. 860.307.3889; manager@norfolkfarmersmarket.org; www.norfolkfarmersmarket.org.
Become a Poet
In celebration of National Library Week and National Poetry Month, on Scoville Memorial Library is having its first annual community poetry reading, Poetry Potpourri. According to Maya Angelou “Poetry is music for human voice”. It is the language of life and made to be read aloud. If poetry is new to you, explore the displays at the library and on their website, www.scovillelibrary.org. You can share your poetic voice by signing up to read a published poem of your choice. Sign up at the library, over the phone, or send an email to scovlibn@biblio.org. Get your choices to the library and include the name of the poem, the author, your name, and contact information. The reading is open to everyone. Sunday, April 12, at 2:00 in the Wardell Room at Scoville Memorial Library, 38 Main Street in Salisbury. Free. 860.435.2838 or 413.229.8316; scovlibn@biblio.org; scovillelibrary.org.
Discover a Local Artist
April 1 – April 24, 2015
The Stairwell Gallery at Gunn Memorial Library has a new show by local painter Hilarie Johnson. The artist’s work has been featured on the cover of the international magazine The Chronicle of the Horse as well as Country and Abroad. She has been featured in articles about her work in The Horse in Art and the Litchfield County Times. For several years she was a record-selling artist in the catalog, In the Company of Dogs, which sold over 6,000 giclée prints of her series “About to be Naughty.” Hilarie has received portrait commissions from coast to coast as well as Europe and the Caribbean. The versatility of her subject matter extends from portrait to still life and landscape. She works in oils and watercolors, but the one commonality is the length of time she spends on a painting. There are at least thirty layers of paint, of which Hilarie says “time consuming but worth it. I love to paint, and I hope it shows.”
The exhibit will be up from April 1 to 24 during normal library hours at Gunn Memorial Library, 5 Wykeham Road in Washington. Free. 860.868.7586; gunncirc@biblio.org; gunnlibrary.org.
Learn to Cook
Tapas, mezze, primi piatti, little plates, hors d’oeuvres—whatever you call them, Chef Cosgrove shows you how to make them easy and elegant. Menu includes Roasted Paella Chilies with Goat Cheese and Avocado, Arancini (Rice Balls), Tuna Carpaccio Tostadas with Cabbage and Peanuts, Mango Slaw plus the national dish of Spain—Paella al Valencia. Served with homemade Sangria. $90 per person. Registration required. Saturday, April 18, 6:30 pm at the Silo Cooking School, 44 Upland Road in New Milford. 860.355.0300; www.hunthillfarmtrust.org/index.php?/silo/cooking.
Take a Swing Dance Class
Enjoy an hour long swing dance lesson every Friday evening upstairs in the community room at New Morning Market. Then practice your moves in the second hour of social dancing. No experience or partner necessary. Lessons will be on east coast swing (jitterbug), Lindy Hop, and the Charleston. Cash at the door, no registration required. Class and social dance are $8; $5 for social dance only. Class is from 7 to 8 pm and the social dance is from 8 to 9 pm. Fridays, 7 to 9 pm at New Morning Market, 129 Main Street North, Woodbury. 203.263.4868; www.newmorn.com/general/classes.php
Meet an Author
The Hickory Stick Bookshop will host a Meet an Author at 5 event with author Jan-Philipp Sendker who will discuss his latest book Whispering Shadows. The first in a suspenseful new trilogy by the internationally bestselling author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, this gripping story follows a retired expat journalist in contemporary China who tries to crack a murder case as he battles his own personal demons. Whispering Shadows is a novel of modern China showcasing how the legacy of the Cultural Revolution continues to affect those who survived its cruelty. Part love story, part crime thriller, Whispering Shadows is the captivating tale of one man’s desperate search for redemption within the vice of a world superpower, a place where secrets from the past threaten to upend the country’s unchecked drive towards modernization.
Your ticket to the event includes a book, catered refreshments and discussion time with Jan-Philipp Sendker—all for the price of the book. A book signing will follow the discussion. Space at this author event is limited. If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve a signed copy of Whispering Shadows by calling the bookshop. Saturday, April 18, 5 pm at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Road, Washington Depot. 860.868.0525; www.hickorystickbookshop.com.
Learn to Paint
Take a landscape painting class with artist Edward Spaulding DeVoe at the Washington Art Association. Studying light and atmosphere en plein air gives the student an understanding of nature which helps her understand how to bring any subject to life. Students will observe how atmosphere affects color and sunlight, and learn how to express their individual vision of the spectacular, ever-changing New England landscape. The various methods of sketching and painting will be reviewed. Oil, pastel and watercolor can be used while drawing and painting a landscape will be taught.
Beginners are welcome and will find the learning process enhanced by the presence of more accomplished students. Class meets at various locations in our beautiful county. This class is open to all levels of experience from beginner to intermediate to advanced students, and it is open to all mediums. The only requirements for this course are a willingness to learn and an openness to new ideas. All are welcome. Fridays, April 17 to June 5, 1 – 4 pm at the Washington Art Association, 4 Bryan Hall Plaza, Washington Depot; 8 weeks; $180 for members, $225 for non-members; materials are extra; limit to 14 per class. 860.868.2878; washingtonart@snet.net; www.washingtonartassociation.org.
Take a Hike, Eat Healthy
Spend this evening taking a brisk walk with Gerri Griswold, then settle into a delicious and simple to prepare vegetable-based meal. The objective is to share recipes, learn how to use herbs and spices to create wonderfully delicious meals that will keep you focused on your goal and to use this beautiful property to help you become the very best you can be. Wednesday, April 1, 6 pm at the A.B. Ceder Room, White Memorial Conservation Center, 80 Whitehall Road in Litchfield. Dress for the weather and bring your own place setting. Members: $15.00 Non-members: $25.00. Registration is required. 860-567-0857; www.whitememorialcc.org.
Meet a Filmmaker
Attend a film screening and talk-back with Pamela Hogan, filmmaker, who presents her new film, “Looks Like Laury Sounds Like Laury” with co-producer Connie Shulman. What would you do if you started to disappear? At the age of 45, Laury Sacks, an ebullient actress and the doting mother of two small children, had a reputation as the quickest wit in the room. At the age of 46, she began forgetting words. Soon she could barely speak. For one year, Hogan and co-producer Connie Shulman follow Laury in her long, inexorable descent to fronto-temporal dementia, a little-understood disease that strikes people in the prime of life. It is the profoundly personal portrait of a woman who is facing the unthinkable and the impact her progressive disease has on loved ones. It’s a film about the power of friendship, resilience, and the essence of what it is to be human. About what remains when everything else is stripped away.
Director, Pamela Hogan, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, was recently co-creator and executive producer of PBS’s 5-part “Women, War & Peace” series on the strategic role of women in conflict, and director of the film about Bosnia which kicks off the series – I Came to Testify. Previously, she was a founding producer and Executive Producer of PBS’s Emmy-winning, international documentary series Wide Angle. Producer Constance Shulman is an actress who has worked in films such “Fried Green Tomatoes”, “Men Don’t Leave” (with Jessica Lange), “Reversal of Fortune” (with Jeremy Irons), and “Sweet and Lowdown” (with Sean Penn). She was the voice of Patti Mayonnaise in the hit Nickelodeon/Disney animated series “Doug”, and currently appears as Yoga Jones in the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black”. Free. Friday, April 24 from 7 to 8 pm at the Scoville Memorial Library, 38 Main Street in Salisbury. 860.435.2838 or 413.229.8316; scovillelibrary.org.
Go to a Musical
Based on the Clifford Odet’s play, The Flowering Peach, Two by Two The Musical is the hilarious rendering of the story of Noah with book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Martin Charnin and music by Richard Rogers. On his 600th birthday, Noah receives a message from God which changes not only his life but those of his family and the world, forever. The story of Noah’s relationship with God, his family’s conviction that he is crazy and the small miracle which changes everything will charm and delight audiences. April 10 to 25: April 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 & 25, 2015 at 8 pm, April 12 & 19, 2015 at 4 pm; Tickets: $22. at Old Goshen Town Hall, 2 North Street, Goshen. 860.491.9988; goshenplayers@yahoo.com; www.goshenplayers.org.
Listen to Live Music
Eliza Gilkyson is a two-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and activist who is one of the most respected musicians in Folk, Roots and Americana circles. Her songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash and have appeared in films, PBS specials and on prime-time TV. She was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame and over the years has won countless Austin Music and Folk Alliance awards. She will perform with Kerri Powers. Tickets are $24 and $34. Sunday, April 19 at 7:30 pm at Infinity Hall, 20 Greenwoods Road, Norfolk. 866.666.6306; www.infinityhall.com.
See a Play
The Thomaston Opera House Arts Center presents Belleville By Amy Herzog. Young Americans Zack and Abby have the perfect ex-pat life in Paris: a funky bohemian apartment in up-and-coming Belleville; a stable marriage; and Zack’s noble mission to fight pediatric AIDS. But when Abby finds Zack at home one afternoon when he’s supposed to be at work, the questions and answers that follow shake the foundation of their seemingly beautiful life.
“A portrait of a marriage sliding ineluctably into crisis, Ms. Herzog’s delicately constructed drama simmers along coolly until, almost unnoticeably, the small secrets and larger lies that have become woven into the fabric of a young couple’s life begin to tear them apart.” -Charles Isherwood, NY Times. April 2-4, 9-11, 8 pm; April 12, 2 pm, at the Thomaston Opera House, Arts Center Black Box Theater, 158 Main Street in Thomaston. Tickets: $20, $17 for Students and Seniors. Landmark Community Theatre Box Office https://tickets.landmarkcommunitytheatre.org.
Meet the Dog Listener
Spend the evening with Dog Listener Pat Wright and learn how to bring your dog to peace and solve the problems of unwanted behaviors. Pat will offer insight into why our dogs do what they do. She will share some entertaining experiences from her many years of dog listening and will cover a variety of topics including: pulling on the lead, jumping, aggression, separation anxiety and excessive barking. A question and answer period will follow.
Ms. Wright has owned and operated Baywood Kennels in Willington, Connecticut since 1990 and has worked with dogs for more than thirty years. After reading Jan Fennell’s The Dog Listener, Pat signed up for Jan’s canine communication courses in Scotter, England. When she returned home, she applied what she learned to help dogs and has become the highest ranking member Dog Listener in America as well as a mentor to Dog Listeners around the world. Visit her website, www.doglisteneroftheeast.com. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed at the program. Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m. at the Gunn Library, 5 Wykeham Road in Washington. 860-868-7586; gunnprograms@biblio.org.
