Monthly Archives: September 2019

Lyme Public Hall Tag & Bake Sale Takes Place Today

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Lyme Public Hall. Photo submitted.

LYME — A Tag Sale and Bake Sale will be held at the Lyme Public Hall on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The sale will feature housewares, furniture, jewelry and unexpected treasures, as well as a bake sale with home-made pies and other tasty treats.

Furniture, tools, small appliances, jewelry, housewares, linens, toys, sporting goods and gift items will all be on sale for bargain prices.  There will also be an extensive selection of produce available for purchase.

Proceeds will benefit the maintenance of the Lyme Public Hall building, the Lyme Local History Archives, and programs for the public.

The Lyme Public Hall is located at 249 Hamburg Road (Route 156) in Lyme, Connecticut.

For more information, call (860)574-4143 or email wdenow@comcast.net.

Enjoy ‘Cruise Blues & Brews’ Festival Today in Chester

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Jake Kulak (center) and the Lowdown (Jason LaPierre at left and Jeremy Peck at right) will be performing at the ‘Cruise Blues & Brews’ Festival at Chester Fairgrounds, Sept. 21. The band recently won the $10,000 grand prize in Foxwood’s ‘Battle of the Bands.’

CHESTER — The blues-rock power trio, Jake Kulak and the LowDown just won the “Battle of the Bands” $10,000 grand prize, sponsored by the Foxwood Resort Casino. The band has been wowing audiences all over the state. They have also won the CT Blues Society Band Challenge, they were voted Best Blues Band in the CTNOW’s Best of Hartford Reader’s Poll and they were nominated as Best New Act of the Year at the New England Music Awards.

Jake Kulak and the LowDown will be one of the seven top CT Blues Bands performing at the 5th Annual Cruise Blues & Brews Festival, Sept. 21, at the Chester Fairgrounds. Other bands that will be appearing include: Ninety Nine Degrees, Clayton Allen Blues Band, Ramblin’ Dan and the Other Cats, Cobalt Rhythm Kings, Blues on the Rocks, and Vitamin B-3.

Ramblin’ Dan Stevens is another of the featured blues musicians at the ‘Cruise, Blues & Brews ‘Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Chester Fairgrounds.

The Cruise Blues & Brews Festival will also feature hundreds of antique and unique cars on display, a food court with a variety of food trucks, locally brewed craft beer on tap, a marketplace of vendors, a kid’s play area full of activities, trophies, games and prizes.

All proceeds from Cruise Blues & Brews Festival support the At-Risk Boys Fund at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. Established in 2013, The At-Risk Boys fund has awarded over $80,000 in grants to organizations throughout Middlesex County. These grants have helped hundreds of boys and young men achieve success and a better life.

The 5th Annual Cruise Blues & Brews Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rain or shine), at the Chester Fair Grounds.  Admission is a $10 suggested donation, and kids are free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate during the Festival.

To learn more about this fun-filled festival, visit www.cruisebluesandbrews.com

Old Lyme Library’s BookCellar Opens in New Location to Make Space for Library Renovation Project to Begin

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The Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library’s BookCellar opened in their temporary location at 44 Lyme St. (across the street from the Library) Wednesday, Sept. 18.  Over the past three months, a 10,000 volume bookstore of gently used books and media housed in the basement of the Old Lyme Library has been condensed into this temporary space across the street. The rest of the contents went into storage.

The space is still an art gallery so customers can peruse the art while purchasing books.

BookCellar Co-Manager Joan Overfield notes, “We expect to move back to our renovated space after the New Year. Our 60+ dedicated volunteers staff the BookCellar Wednesdays and Saturdays. Visit us if you are in the area.  Stop by to browse a hand-picked selection of books or drop off your donations during their regular business hours.”

Overfield’s fellow co-manager Claudia Condon adds, “Wednesday was a great day for Phoebe’s!  We are excited to be in our temporary space.  It is very bright and cozy–feels like a little book shop!  Our volunteers are thrilled with the space.  We had steady traffic all day with those bringing donations and shoppers.  Some of the shoppers were Library  patrons, who have been awaiting our reopening–we were closed for a month–and others were new customers strolling down Lyme Street and stopping in to see what we were all about.”

Condon also said enthusiastically, “We think the space will give us excellent retail exposure and maybe some new customers will follow us when we move back to the Library.”

All proceeds from the BookCellar benefit the Library.  The BookCellar is open Wednesdays 10am-6pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm. Parking is on the street or behind Town Hall or the Library. New volunteers are always welcome at the BookCellar — drop in to discuss options with the current volunteers or call the library to find out more at 860-434-1684.

The move has taken place to allow the renovation project at the library to begin.

Yesterday, movers began work on the main floor of the Library.  The room adjacent to the historic Reading Room (housing fiction and biography collections) has been cleared to make way for construction to begin soon.  The attic spaces have been cleared, and most of the artwork has been removed from the Library to keep it safe during the duration of the project.

Phase I of the project will address the spaces listed above, as well as the lower level BookCellar.  The precise start date of the project is yet to be finalized but is expected shortly.

The Library will remain open for the duration of the project, but it is anticipated that some services will have to be reduced or adjusted as the project proceeds. The Library’s website will always have the most current news.
Library Director Katie Huffman, who is eagerly anticipating the start … and end … of the project, comments, “We appreciate your patience as we work to renew our Library.”

I-Park Hosts Site-Responsive Art Biennale + Illuminations Gala This Weekend

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Site-responsive Art Piece by Cornelia Konrads. Photo Steve Blazo.

Artists from Five Countries and Three Continents Premiere New Works at I-Park

During a three-week onsite residency, nine artists will creatively engage I-Park’s natural and built environments, culminating in a multi-disciplinary, multi-sensory outdoor weekend exhibition. This year’s artists are Jeremiah Barber (California), Sally Kidall (Australia), Chelsea Leventhal (Germany), Anthony Heinz May (New York/Oregon), John Melvin (Washington/France), John R. Neeson (Australia), Sasha Petrenko (Washington), Elena Redaelli (Norway/Italy) and Moira Williams (New York).

Saturday, Sept. 21 | 6 to 10 p.m.  I-Park’s annual Illuminations Gala, will feature a VIP preview walk unveiling the nine new artworks in the company of the participating artists – as well a sit down dinner by Gourmet Galley, dessert by Creative Cakes by Donna, live music by Goza Latin Band and silent and live auctions. Bid on artwork, vintage wines and cultural and culinary experiences.  All proceeds will help provide 60 fully-funded artists’ residencies in 2020.  Tickets are $100 and can be purchased on-line at i-park.org or by calling 860-873-2468.

Sunday, Sept. 22 | 1 to 6 p.m.  The 2019 Site-Responsive Art Biennale – a free community event. Guests will receive a map so they can create their own self-guided tour of the new installations, all set along I-Park’s system of scenic art/nature trails.  Tickets can be reserved on-line at i-park.org

I-Park, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has, since its inception in 2001, provided almost 1,000 fully-funded residencies to artists from around the world.   To learn more about artists’ residencies and other opportunities, public programming and ways to support I-Park, visit i-park.org. I-Park is deeply appreciative of the support provided by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County/Mary Janvrin and Natalie Janvrin Wiggins Fund for Birds, Other Animals and Nature.

 

Listen Anytime on the Web to ‘CT Outdoors’ Radio Show About the I-Park Foundation

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Suzanne Thompson (center) stands with her guests from I-Park Joann Paradis and Claudia Dinep.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to experience an unveiling of outdoor site-inspired artist creations, come to I-Park Foundation in East Haddam this Sunday for one of its free seasonal open houses. Learn about this fascinating preserve and visiting artists’ enclave on this week’s CT Outdoors with Old Lyme’s Suzanne Thompson.

Guests Joanne Paradis, I-Park Foundation executive director and Claudia Dinep, landscape architect and ecological design specialist also talk about plans underway for an accessible nature trail that winds through parts of the 400+ acre nature preserve.

You can listen to a recording of the show anytime on your PC or Mac anytime from the website, click the On Demand icon, look for pop-up screen from https://radio.securenetsystems.net and scroll to CT-Outdoors-91719—I-Park-Open-House.
For more information, visit i-park.org