Monthly Archives: July 2016

Acclaimed Local Contemporary Artist Judy Friday Opens Gallery in Old Lyme

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'February Sunrise' by Judy Friday.

‘February Sunrise’ by Judy Friday.

One of the area’s best known contemporary artists has opened her own gallery in Old Lyme. Judy Friday Gallery, full of Friday’s paintings, photography, weavings and sculptures, can be found at 10 Lyme Street.

Friday, a resident of Old Saybrook, explains that she opened the new gallery for a number of reasons, noting, “The first is that the space is so perfect for a gallery and studio combined.”

She says the second reason for opening her own gallery is, “… that I had too much work accumulating in my studio at home and I love organizing paintings and my hooked rug pillows in a clean, organized way.”

Friday adds, “The third reason is that I wanted to be able to show my work year-round versus one month here and there,” commenting, “I appreciate all the shows I’ve been given over the years.”

Judy Friday Gallery is open Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by chance or appointment. The phone number is 860.581.0116.

Enjoy ‘An Evening of Broadway’ in Old Lyme Tonight; Benefits Old Lyme Democrats

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Lyme-Old Lyme High School alumnus Dan Kurpaska will be the pianist at "An Evening of Broadway."

Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) alumnus Dan Kurpaska will be the pianist at “An Evening of Broadway.”

The Old Lyme Democratic Committee is sponsoring An Evening of Broadway this Saturday, July 16, in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School auditorium at 7 p.m.  The event will showcase an evening of music and song performed by recent graduates of New York City’s Circle in the Square Theater School — a two year musical theatre program — followed by a dessert hour.

Another LOLHS alumna, Cait Kelly, will perform at Saturday's event.

Another LOLHS alumna, Cait Kelly, will perform at Saturday’s event.

The actors are volunteering their independent talents to entertain the community and see Connecticut as they hail from all over the country and Canada. They will be performing and dancing to current or recent Broadway shows like Hamilton, She Loves Me, The Color Purple, Frozen, Fun House and Beautiful.

Two graduates of Regional School District 18 are featured, Cait Kelly — daughter of Old Lyme Selectwoman MaryJo Nosal — and Dan Kurpaska, who will serve as the pianist.

Tickets are $40 per person or $100 per family.  To reserve tickets, call 860.434.5414 or email oldtcevents@gmail.com. Payment can also be made at the door or by check payable to OLDTC and mailed to the OLDTC at PO Box 402, Old Lyme, CT 06371.

All proceeds will benefit the Old Lyme Democratic Committee.

‘Touching Water’ Exhibit by Roxanne Steed on View at Old Lyme Library Through August

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'Looking South on the Connecticut River at Old Lyme' is the signature painting of the 'Touching Water' exhibition opening Friday at the Old Lyme Library.

‘Looking South on the Connecticut River at Old Lyme’ is the signature painting of the ‘Touching Water’ exhibition opening Friday at the Old Lyme Library.

The Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library is currently hosting a new exhibition titled Touching Water featuring artwork by Roxanne Steed.

Steed has lived in some of the most beautiful towns on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as traveled to Hawaii, Singapore, Italy, France, England and Ireland.  Always in pursuit of new challenges, her works explore the local waterways painted en plein air.

Steed pursued her formal art education along the way at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Conn.; The Art League School in Alexandria, Va.; and Watts Atelier in Encinitas, Calif.  Recent studies with colorists Leif Nilsson, and Camille Przewodek, students of renowned teacher Henry Hensche have enabled her to pursue the ever-intriguing study of the effects light on color.

The works of the American Impressionists have had a great influence on her work, particularly those of New England and California. Steed says, “There is nothing quite so satisfying as painting from life in the great outdoors. I find the textural quality of paint an exciting element of painting as much as design, composition, and color. Evoking an emotional response to a ‘sense of place’ is a great thrill; that connection with my viewer is priceless.”

Steed’s professional affiliations include Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, Lyme Art Association, Mystic Art Center, CT Plein Air Painters Society and DailyPainters.com.

Her paintings are in private collections across the United States, as well as Canada, Ireland, UK, Germany, South Korea, Australia, and Dubai. Her most recent corporate collector is Bank of Hampton Roads (Virginia).

The exhibition will run until Aug. 31.

State Troubadour Performs at Lyme Library This Evening

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Connecticut State Troubador Kate Callahan gives a concert at Lyme Public Library Friday evening.

Connecticut State Troubador Kate Callahan gives a concert at Lyme Public Library Friday evening.

Friends of the Lyme Public Library will sponsor a concert presented by Connecticut State Troubadour, Kate Callahan, this evening, Friday, July 15, at 6 p.m., at the Lyme Public Library at 482 Hamburg Rd./Rte. 156, Lyme.

The concert will be outdoors on the lawn area near library patio.  Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets.  This is a family program and all are invited.

In the case of inclement weather, the event will be held at the Lyme Public Hall, 249 Hamburg Rd./Rte. 156, Lyme.  Refreshments will be available for a small fee.

As Connecticut’s 16th State Troubadour, Kate Callahan gives a concert of compelling original music plus songs by the Beatles, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.  Connecticut is one of the only states that honors a singer-songwriter with a formal position.

Callahan serves as an ambassador of music and song and promotes cultural literacy among Connecticut citizens.  She has shared stages with songwriter legends Judy Collins, Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul & Mary) and Aztec Two Step.

Callahan has been  awarded the prestigious United Arts Campaign’s Featured Artist of the year in 2014 and named Connecticut’s Best Singer-Songwriter.  She has also received Hartford’s Woman of Character Award and has five albums including her 2014 release Two Doors, which was featured on WNPR.

The Boston Globe says “Kate has garnered an appreciative audience with her easy going vibe and mystical lyrics.”  She lives in Connecticut where she also leads a vocal improvisation workshop she created, called the Miracle of Melody.

For more information visit:  http://www.kate-callahan.com/#!home/mainPage andhttp://music.lafamos.com/katecallahan.

Blumenthal Presses Amtrak VP to Ditch Any Plans to Build High Speed Train Route Through SE Connecticut, Mentioning Specifically Old Lyme

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Senator Richard Blumenthal (File photo)

Senator Richard Blumenthal (File photo)

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) pressed Amtrak Vice President Stephen Gardner to ditch any plans to build a route through Southeastern Connecticut, such as Old Lyme, at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee hearing yesterday afternoon.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has started a massive, multi-million dollar undertaking called “NEC FUTURE” to develop a vision that will meet the passenger rail needs of the Northeast in 2040. Some of the ideas included in the plan include rerouting Amtrak straight through Old Lyme.

“Unfortunately, some of the ideas the FRA has proposed are frankly half-baked, hare-brained notions that will never come to fruition – including rerouting Amtrak straight through the community of Old Lyme, Connecticut and other shoreline communities where there is strong, understandable, and well merited opposition, ” Blumenthal said.

He continued, “The FRA’s time and money in my view would be better spent improving rail rather than on plans that have no realistic notion. I hope you will agree with me that the tracks of Amtrak would never go through Old Lyme, Connecticut.”

The proposed rail line realignment outlined in Alternative 1 of the NEC FUTURE Plan would shift the main rail line northward ahead of the Old Saybrook Station and run through several Connecticut and Rhode Island shoreline communities before reconnecting to the existing segment in Kenyon, RI. Blumenthal has been a vocal advocate against this idea.

He sent a letter with Senator Murphy and Representative Courtney in February calling on the FRA to meet with Connecticut citizens along the shoreline to hear local concerns about how this proposal would impact their communities.

A clip of the Senator’s remarks are available here, and broadcast-quality video of his remarks can be downloaded here.