Monthly Archives: March 2019

‘The Bowerbird’ Donates Over $4,000 to RTPEC From 2018 Gift-Wrap Program, Announces New Recipient for 2019

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The Bowerbird owner, Chris Kitchings (right) presents a donation check from their 2018 gift-wrap program to Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center Founding Director, Eleanor Robinson.

The Bowerbird of Old Lyme has selected as the recipient of the proceeds from their 2019 gift-wrap program East Street Arts. This non-profit arts organization (www.eaststreetartsnh.org) offers art-based employment opportunities for people of all abilities. The Bowerbird donation program runs from Nov. 1, 2018 through Oct. 31, 2019.

The Bowerbird in Old Lyme recently wrapped up their 2018 gift-wrapping campaign to raise funds for the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center located in Old Lyme. A check in the amount of $4044.00 representing 2,894 packages wrapped was presented to RTPEC Founding Director Eleanor Robinson. The Bowerbird charges a nominal fee for gift-wrapping purchases and donates 50 percent to local non-profit organizations.

The Bowerbird pioneered ‘cause’ marketing when they created their gift wrap donation program in 1992. In the past 25 years, The Bowerbird has donated over $91,000 to 31 statewide and local non- profits proving that small businesses can make a difference.

For a complete listing of past recipients, visit www.thebowerbird.com.

The Bowerbird is located at 46 Halls Rd., Old Lyme, CT.

Old Lyme Library Hosts Sold-out Luncheon Today with NY Times Best-Selling Author Luanne Rice

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Luanne Rice

The Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library hosts New York Times best-selling author and Old Lyme resident Luanne Rice at a luncheon today from 1 to 3 p.m. at the library.  All tickets for this event were sold out within days of its announcement, so Lyme Street residents can expect plenty of activity at the start and end of the luncheon in the area of the library.

The lunch will be catered by Olive Oyl’s and the menu includes:

  • a selection of specialty sandwiches
  • soggy dollar pasta salad
  • kale and arugula salad
  • assorted cookies and Rocky Road Brownies
  • coffee and assorted beverages

Luanne will talk about books, writing, life and inspiration in Old Lyme—everything that makes it so special here. She is the author of 34 novels that have been translated into 24 languages. The author of The Lemon Orchard, Dream Country, The Secret Language of Sisters and others, Rice’s books often center on love, family, nature and the sea. 

In 2002, Connecticut College awarded Rice an honorary degree and invited her to donate her papers to the college’s Special Collections Library. She has also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn. In June 2014, she received the 2014 Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award in the Literary Arts category for excellence and lifetime achievement as a literary artist. Christoper Plummer, actor, and Tim Prentice, sculptor, were also celebrated, and Rice was delighted to share the moment with them.

Several of Rice’s novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells for the Hallmark Hall of Fame, and Beach Girls for a mini-series on Lifetime.  Rice contributed a monologue to Motherhood Out Loud ,a play that premiered at Hartford Stage Company and was performed Off-Broadway and at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Rice, an avid environmentalist, is thrilled to be a creative affiliate of The Safina Center.

Copies of the her latest book, Pretend She’s Here, and other select titles will be available for purchase and signing.

Tickets at $30 per person are on sale at this link.  Copies of Pretend She’s Here can be pre-ordered at this link.

For further information, call the library at 860.434.1684 or visit this link.

Musical Masterworks Presents Classical Guitarist Colin Davin, Music by Bach, de Falla, Piazzolla and More, This Afternoon

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Violinist Tessa Lark will perform in this weekend’s Musical Masterworks concerts.

Musical Masterworks will resonate with sounds of the classical guitar in the acoustically perfect First Congregational Church of Old Lyme this afternoon when  guitarist Colin Davin makes his Old Lyme debut.

Davin will play in collaboration with perennial Musical Masterworks favorite, violinist Tessa Lark, Sunday, March 31, at 3 p.m. Hailed for his “virtuoso’s technique [and] deeply expressive musicianship,” to quote the American Record Guide, Davin has emerged as one of today’s most dynamic young artists.

Join him, along with Lark and Musical Masterworks Artistic Director Edward Arron on cello, in a program that explores the breadth of the guitar-violin-cello repertoire from Bach to the 20th century works of Spanish and South American composers.

Musical Masterworks’ season runs through May 2019.  Tickets are $40 for adults and $5 for students.

Visit Musical Masterworks at www.musicalmasterworks.org or call 860.434.2252.

Friends of Whalebone Cove Hosts Annual Meeting Today; Speakers on Bald Eagles, Migratory Fish; All Welcome

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A majestic bald-headed eagle stands on a bough above the Connecticut River.. Photo courtesy of RiverQuest Eagle Cruise Tours

“Eagles Over Whalebone Cove” and “Migratory Fish of the Connecticut River” will be the featured topics of guest speakers at the Annual Meeting of Friends of Whalebone Cove (FOWC) on Sunday, March 31, in Hadlyme.

The lower Connecticut River Valley has the largest concentration of eagles in the Northeast.

Andrew Griswold, Director of EcoTravel for Connecticut Audubon Society, will talk about why bald eagles in particular are literally flocking to the Connecticut River estuary to make it home. He will also discuss eagle biology and ecology, and other birds living along the River.

In addition, Connecticut River Conservancy Executive Director Andrew Fisk will provide a presentation on the many migratory fish (and other marine species) that migrate up and down the 410-mile Connecticut River and travel throughout its 11,000 square mile watershed. Fisk will talk about efforts hundreds of miles north of Whalebone Cove to protect and restore the many fish species of New England’s longest river.

Friends of Whalebone Cove was formed in 2016 by area residents to help government and private conservation agencies protect the fragile eco-systems in Hadlyme’s Whalebone Cove, which is listed as one of North America’s important freshwater tidal marshes in international treaties that cite the Connecticut River estuary as a wetland complex of global importance.

The FOWC Annual Meeting is open to the public, both members and non-members. It will be held at Hadlyme Public Hall, 63 Ferry Rd., Lyme. The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. Refreshments will be served.