Passion At The Bee: Big Book Getaway Summer Series Kicks Off With Romance, Erotica Novelists, Today

Bestselling Authors L. Marie Adeline, Charles Dubow and Lauren Willig to discuss their work with Moderator, Nick Hahn, at the historic Bee & Thistle Inn

Summer is right around the corner, and with warm weather comes fun and relaxing days spent at the beach … but, no beach day is complete without a good book.  And, warmer weather isn’t the only thing to look forward to this summer: The Big Book Getaway Blockbuster Summer Reading Series opens on June 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the historic Bee and Thistle Inn in Old Lyme, CT.

The new summer series will feature themed events from June through September, sponsored by The Day.  The first event, titled ‘Passion at the Bee,’ will feature bestselling authors Lauren Willig, Charles Dubow, and L. Marie Adeline, moderated by Nick Hahn.  The beautiful Bee & Thistle Inn provides the perfect setting, and will serve a full luncheon and dessert for all attendees, prepared by Chef Kristofer Rowe.

Lauren Willig.

Lauren Willig.

An expert at keeping her readers riveted, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig uses elements of mystery and romance to immerse readers from around the world in her stories.  With translations into more than a dozen languages, Willig’s books have received the RITA, Booksellers Best and Golden Leaf awards.

Her works have also been selected for the American Library Association’s annual list of the best genre fiction.  Willig is the author of the “Pink Carnation” series, based in Napoleonic times, and her latest work, “That Summer,” will be released on June 3.

Charles Dubow’s life experiences have taken him to many different places, and now he finds himself making a strong debut in the literary world with “Indiscretion,” a moving and multifaceted tale. Before his move into literature, Dubow was Founding Editor at Forbes.com and later became an editor at Businessweek.com.

“Indiscretion” is an irresistibly sexy and sleek story of love, lust, and betrayal retold through the eyes of a close confidant and observer.   This remarkable debut is an exciting, textured novel that smartly explores the boundaries of marriage, friendship, and fidelity, and reminds us that sometimes perspective is everything.  “Indiscretion” is a summer read that is impossible to put down, and you are unlikely to forget.  Intriguing, seductive, alluring—this is a book to take to the beach and devour before sunset.

Lisa Gabriele

Lisa Gabriele

The S.E.C.R.E.T. erotica trilogy is published in more than 30 countries, and is a bestseller in many of them.  They’re written by L. Marie Adeline, a pseudonym for Lisa Gabriele, who has also written Tempting Faith DiNapoli and the Almost Archer Sisters, both bestsellers.  She also writes and produces for television and radio, and was the show runner on the Gemini and Screen award-winning CBC reality program, Dragons’ Den.

Her essays and articles have appeared in several anthologies and in the New York Times Magazine, New York magazine, the Washington Post, Salon, Nerve, Glamour, Flare, Elle and Chatelaine.  She was the original Dear Diary columnist for Vice Magazine. Adeline’s articles on feminism and erotica have been read widely; her most recent piece on the relationship between the two subjects is “Is Feminism Un-erotic?” for XO Jane and for Salon.com.

Nick Hahn.

Nick Hahn.

Nick Hahn’s writing career started during his days as a student at the University of Notre Dame.  He later became President and CEO of Cotton Inc., and eventually went on to form Hahn International, LTD, an agribusiness consulting group primarily focused on third world countries.  Hahn has spent 14 years living abroad working amongst indigenous people from Africa to Latin America, writing down observations of social and political unrest in travel journals.

Hahn’s 14 years abroad inspired his first novel, “Under the Skin.”  In addition to writing his novel, Hahn also writes and narrates audiobooks.  Nick Hahn previously appeared at the Big Book Getaway at Mohegan Sun in February 2014 on the International Thrillers panel.  Hahn also moderated the Avon Romance panel at the same event.

Tickets to “Passion at The Bee” are $55 each, which includes a full luncheon, dessert, author presentations and book signing session.  Visit www.thebigbookclub.org for more information or to purchase tickets.

Tickets are also available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/684004 .

The June 7 event will be the first of four events to be held this summer and fall.  The Day Publishing Company is the title sponsor for the series; The Day is an award-winning multi-media company and daily newspaper that covers a 20 town region in eastern Connecticut.  LymLine.com and ValleyNewsNow.com are also media partners.

The historic Bee and Thistle Innis an important stop within Old Lyme, Connecticut’s art colony, arguably one of the most famous Impressionist-oriented art communities in America.   While retaining the integrity of the historic landmark built in 1756, the transformed Bee and Thistle Inn provides a link to the past while nurturing artists of the present.  Innkeepers Linnea and David Rufo are building an inspirational environment which serves as a gathering place for artists and authors to collaborate, display and sell their work.  Visit the Inn’s website at www.beeandthistleinn.com.

The official bookseller for the event is Bank Square Books of Mystic.  Locally owned and independently operated, Bank Square Books has been a staple of the downtown Mystic community for 25 years.

Lyme Academy College Hosts ArtsBall in Bloom Tonight

Guests danced the night away at last year's ArtsBall.

Guests danced the night away at last year’s ArtsBall.

A few tickets remain for the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts signature fundraiser, which is being held this Saturday, June 7, at the College. Contact Ann de Selding at 860.434.3571 ext. 117 oradeselding@lymeacademy.edu to reserve your tickets today.

This year’s annual gala is titled, “ArtsBall in Bloom: A Night in the Garden of Art,” and all proceeds raised will fund student scholarships. The co-chairs of this year’s event are Dini Mallory and Allison McCall.

artball_in_bloom_logoUnder lavishly decorated tents, guests will experience a tantalizing cross-pollination of gardens and art, both ancient and modern, with an exciting auction, cocktails, dinner, and dancing into the night.  The décor for ArtsBall in Bloom: A Night in the Garden of Art promises to delight guests with its highly artistic and one-of-a-kind “garden” of sight and sound, thanks to the inventive expertise of master landscape designer, Louis Raymond of Renaissance Gardening.

The gala begins at 5:30 p.m. in the cocktail tent with a full open bar, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and diverse silent auctions featuring high-quality art, vacation opportunities, event tickets, vintage collectibles, and more.  Diane Kaslow is the guru behind the auctions and this year she has incorporated a new feature, which is the opportunity to bid online for select auction items in advance of the event — bidding is open now at www.BiddingOwl.com.  Also, bidding during the event has been extended to 9 p.m.

A live auction featuring a week in Miss Lena’s Cottage in the Bahamas, a year’s membership to the exclusive Hermitage resort on Haystack Mountain in Vermont and a fabulous, hand knotted Afghan rug will be held during the evening.

Guests enthusiastically applaud auction winners at last year's ArtsBall.

Guests enthusiastically applaud auction winners at last year’s ArtsBall.

Patricia Spratt of Patricia Spratt for the Home is again organizing the popular feature, “A Community Paints,” in which members of the community take a standard size canvas from the College and create a piece of artwork in the ArtsBall theme.  These pieces are sold in a separate silent auction and always draw a flurry of bids.

Known for inventive, farm-fresh cuisine, Jonathan Rapp’s River Tavern of Chester will be serving a delicious dinner.

Corporate sponsors for this year’s event include Outthink; Venü Magazine; Essex Savings Bank andEssex Financial Services, Inc.; Middlesex Hospital/Shoreline Medical Center; Sennheiser Electronic Corporation; Essex Meadows Lifecare Retirement Community, Ironwood Capital, Mohegan Sun, Patricia Spratt for the Home, Seaside Wine & Spirits, Centerbrook Architects, and Smith Insurance, Inc.

The College greatly appreciates their generosity and that of numerous additional sponsors and patrons who have donated in-kind goods or services, auction items or financial contributions.  Contact the College’s Vice-President of Development Fritz Jellinghaus at 860.434.3571 ext. 125 to discuss additional sponsorship opportunities.

Founded in 1976 and accredited for the BFA degree in 1996, the College has not had a long history to build its endowment and therefore looks to the community for support, especially with regard to its scholarship funds.  More than 90 percent of the College’s degree-seeking students receive financial assistance and this need is the driving force behind the College’s annual ArtsBall.

Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts continues the tradition of fine art in southeastern Connecticut begun by the Lyme Art Colony at the start of the twentieth century.  The fully- accredited College provides students with a solid foundation in figurative and representational fine art while preparing them for a lifetime of creative practice in the contemporary world.

The College offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degree programs in drawing, illustration, painting, and sculpture and Post-Baccalaureate and three-year Certificate programs.  The small student body allows for a more personal education and an intimate artistic community.

The ArtsBall in Bloom: A Night in the Garden of Art fundraising gala for students of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, will take place on Saturday, June 7, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. on the College campus at 84 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Conn.  Tickets for the full evening are $150 per person. A range of additional ticket options is also available.  One hundred percent of the net proceeds benefit student scholarships.

 Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts continues the academic tradition of figurative and representational fine art while preparing students for a lifetime of contemporary creative practice.  The College offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing, Illustration, Painting, and Sculpture (full- and part-time study); Certificates in Painting and Sculpture, a Post-Baccalaureate program; Continuing Education for adults; and a Pre-College Program for students aged 15-18.  The College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the National Association of the Schools of Art and Design, and the Connecticut Department of Higher Education.  The College is located at 84 Lyme Street, Old Lyme CT 06371.

For more information about the College, call 860-434-5232 or visit www.lymeacademy.edu.

Talking Transportation: “Traffic Calming”

You’ve seen the bumper stickers:  “Slow down in town”.  They’re an often futile attempt to encourage speeding motorists to be more respectful of the neighborhoods they are zooming through, especially of the pedestrians.  I wouldn’t exactly call it road rage, but why is it that when we’re behind the wheel, our goal is to get on down the road as fast as traffic will allow, the speed limit be damned?

Of course in our own neighborhoods our interests are reversed.  We curse “those idiots” who speed down our local streets ignoring the signs (“Drive Like Your Kids Lived Here”).

Increasingly, local neighborhoods are serving as short-cuts around clogged arterial streets, spreading out the traffic into our sleepy, bucolic ‘burbs.  But there is a way to enforce the speed limit without radar traps.  It’s what traffic engineers call “traffic calming”.

You might not know that the first US city to develop a master plan for neighborhood traffic calming was Hartford.  And the second city will be Stamford.  Work is also underway in New Canaan and New Haven.  More than just “speed bumps”, engineers have a slew of street re-designs in their repertoire that can force us to reduce our speed.  Among them …

Speed Tables:  Think of these as extended speed bumps with a six-foot-long ramp up, a ten-foot-long flat table and a six-foot-long ramp down.

Roundabouts:  Small traffic circles with landscaping in the center make us slow down as we go around them, eventually taking a right turn to continue our journey.

Chicanes:  These are the stubby, picket-fence-like, mini-roadblocks seen on some private streets, alternating their placement on the right and left sides of the road, forcing drivers to make a zigzag maneuver down the street.  The same effect can be achieved by placing parking spaces alternately on the right and left sides.

Bulb-Outs or Neck-Downs:  These are extensions of the sidewalk into car parking areas at corner crossings.  Again, you gotta slow down.

Sidewalks:  It’s amazing how many of our communities lack these pedestrian amenities, forcing hoofers to compete for space on the asphalt with cars.  Sidewalks get pedestrians out of the traffic and encourage us to walk and leave the car at home.

Crosswalks:  What a concept!  A place where pedestrians have the right-of-way over cars, sometimes even mid-block and without the need for stop signs or red lights.

Roadblocks and Mazes:  These were inspired by anti-crime efforts in drug dealing neighborhoods (“crime calming”), making it hard for drive-through drug buyers to find their way in and out of a neighborhood.  Local residents know how to maneuver the maze, but casual short-cutters won’t try it again.

Of course, all of these traffic calming techniques assume that the major traffic arterials, where the cars belong, can be kept flowing with their own traffic tricks.  Otherwise, we’re just spreading the gridlock into the neighborhoods.

Jim Cameron

Jim Cameron

Editor’s Note: Jim Cameron has been a Darien resident for 23 years.  He is the founder of the Commuter Action Group and also serves on the Darien RTM.  The opinions expressed in this column are only his own.  You can reach him at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com

‘Cats Face Weston in Class S Girl’s Lacrosse Quarterfinal This Afternoon

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Action from Tuesday’s second round game, which the Wildcats won handily (15-6) against St. Bernard.  Photo by L. Buckley.

Old Lyme, seeded third, meet sixth-seeded Weston this afternoon in the Class S quarterfinals.  Face-off is scheduled at 5 p.m. at Lyme-Old Lyme High School. The Wildcats advanced to the quarter final after a 15-6 victory over St. Bernard in the second round on Tuesday. Sloane Sweitzer had five goals and two assists for the Wildcats (14-3), while Sydney Cowell added four goals and one assist.  Alston Rountree added three goals and Liz Scott two. Go Wildcats!

Local Artists Cantrell, Christiano, Friday Featured in Rowayton Art Show This Weekend

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Local artists Helen Cantrell, Catherine Christiano, and Judy Friday will be featured from June 5 – 8, in the 52nd Annual Art Show, hosted by the Community Cooperative Nursery School (CCNS), in Rowayton, Conn.  The featured artists will be present at the opening reception this evening, June 5, from 7 to 10 p.m.  Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be offered, admission is $40 and valet parking is available.

This show, which includes work by an additional 70 artists, is a great opportunity to view numerous works in a wide range of styles and price points.  Many of the paintings can be viewed on the show’s website www.ccnsartshow.org. Forty percent of your art purchases are tax deductible.

Additional show hours are Friday, June 6, 6 – 10 p.m., June 7, from 2 – 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 8, from 12 – 4 p.m. with admission of $15.  On Saturday, June 7 from 3 – 4 p.m., Helen Cantrell will be demonstrating her palette knife painting technique, and on Sunday, June 8, from 2 – 3 p.m., Judy Friday will be demonstrating her painting technique using etching ink on paper.

"Summer People" by Helen Cantrell.

“Summer People” by Helen Cantrell.

Helen Cantrell is a painter and printmaker from Old Lyme.  Born in Chicago, Illinois, she moved to New York City in 1968, after majoring in painting at the Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, and has lived along the Northeast coast for the past 40 years.  Cantrell was inspired early on by a Horizon magazine article on Richard Diebenkorn and the Bay Area figurative painters.  She retired from working as a typesetter in NYC about 15 years ago to pursue painting and printmaking full-time.

Cantrell has intensively studied and worked with printmaking techniques at workshops in Connecticut, at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and at Crown Point Press in San Francisco.  She is an elected artist member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists, exhibits extensively in the Northeast, and recently co-founded gallery19 in Essex with Judy Friday.

"Precursors" by Catherine Christiano.

“Precursors” by Catherine Christiano.

Catherine Christiano is a representational artist from Old Lyme, who works primarily with painting and drawing media.  Her unlikely path to studio art began with a bachelor’s in engineering and an MBA in finance followed by some years of work combined with part-time study in drawing and painting at the National Academy of Design’s School of Fine Arts in New York.

A move to Connecticut prompted her to fully focus on her artwork and additional study at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, where she completed a BFA in 2001.  Christiano’s artwork often focuses on subjects that are close to her own life and environment.  She exhibits in the Northeast, is included in numerous private collections, and has been published in several journals. Christiano also designed the seal for the Town of Old Lyme.

Judy Friday was born in Columbus, Ohio, and lived there until she graduated from Ohio State University in 1980 with a degree in Business Administration.  Having worked off and on in artistic and decorative painting for several years, she began to study art seriously when she and her husband moved to Lyme in 1985.  Friday studied at Lyme Academy of College of Fine Arts from 1987 to 1993.

Her primary focus recently has been on landscapes, particularly bodies of water with an interest in the haze and light that bounce off the water.  She finds inspiration in the Connecticut River and the Long Island Sound.  Recurring subjects also include Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island.  Friday exhibits in Ohio and the Northeast and recently co-founded gallery19 in Essex with Helen Cantrell.