Category Archives: Community

TOP STORY: Sound View Carousel Celebrates 100 Turns Around the Sun

Posted on by
4
Olivia Lathrop, granddaughter of Jerry and Dee Vowles, grabs a brass ring from the carousel purchased for her mother on what Jerry Vowles called “a crazy whim.” All photos courtesy of the Vowles.

OLD LYME—This carousel is turning 100.

On Saturday, Carousel Shop proprietors Dee and Jerry Vowles will ring in the centennial summer with free rides, 100 cent ice cream and hot dogs, t-shirt raffles and a celebration of the simple pleasures in life. 

“The carousel just brings happiness to a lot of kids and families,” Dee Vowles said. 

The merry-go-round at Sound View Beach has been spinning in its current incarnation since 1976, but the Vowles said the origin of the 20 painted horses goes back about a century. 

The Allan Herschell carousel was outfitted with a Coney Island brass ring dispenser when the horses first came out of the gate around 1925, according to specifications laid out by Jerry Vowles. A diesel engine propelled them while the steam-powered whistle of a calliope provided a soundtrack that would last for generations. 

Those celebrating the carousel’s 100th birthday will have the opportunity to suggest names for 16 of the horses. Monikers have already been bestowed on Rainbow, Magic, Buttercup and Sundae.

While the amusement ride still boasts original parts that helped the couple narrow its date of origin to 1924 or 1925, the circular march of time is evident in a soft-start electric motor, teflon bearings and digital music. 

Jerry Vowles said the couple disassembled and restored the carousel from 2008 to 2009. That’s when they used parts newly manufactured from original molds to replace some elements of the carousel. 

The Vowles bought the carousel operation in 1987 from Paul Bennanato. The merry-go-round had arrived in Old Lyme just over a decade earlier to replace the late 1800s-era model that had been there since 1948, according to Jerry Vowles. 

The couple’s daughter, Jennifer Lathrop, was an infant when they purchased the carousel. 

“It is her carousel,” Jerry Vowles said. “We bought it for her when she was two-months-old, kind of on a crazy whim.”

Dee Vowles said Lathrop and her brother Jay help out their parents while nephew Tommy Logio serves as manager. 

“So it’s definitely been a family affair,” she said. 

A busy evening in 2022 typifies summers in Sound View at the Carousel Shop.

She said other family members and friends who help the couple open and close the shop every year—including sister Ree and honorary sister Roe—will make the trip to Sound View for the carousel’s birthday celebration. 

“We’ve seen in the 37 years we’ve been here a real following,” she said. “People appreciate us being here, and having a good time at the carousel.”

The Carousel at Sound View Beach 100th Birthday Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. at 75 Hartford Avenue.

Witness Stones of Old Lyme, FloGris Museum Celebrate Juneteenth with Jazz & Poetry, June 22

Posted on by

Witness Stones Poets (left to right) Antoinette Brim-Bell, Rhonda Ward, Marilyn Nelson and Kate Rushin will read tributes in verse to enslaved people remembered on Witness Stones plaques. Photo courtesy of Witness Stones Old Lyme.

Free Admission to ‘Their Kindred Earth’ Photography Exhibit on African-American History to Follow

OLD LYME–Witness Stones of Old Lyme will celebrate Juneteenth with jazz music and poetry at the Florence Griswold Museum from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 22. 

The museum will offer free admission from 3 to 5 p.m. to view the closing day of Their Kindred Earth: Photographs by William Earle Williams, an exhibition that seeks to deepen understanding of sites of enslavement in Old Lyme and beyond. 

The museum will be closed on the federal holiday, which falls each June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans. 

Sunday’s event on the museum’s north lawn will feature music by the Avery Sharpe Quartet and readings by Witness Stones Poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, according to the event listing on the museum’s website. The poets will present tributes in verse to those remembered with Witness Stones plaques. 

Witness Stones Old Lyme for five years has been marking local sites of enslavement with brass plaques. The group during that time brought in the four poets and several successive classes of middle school students from Lyme and Old Lyme to help tell the stories behind the plaques.

Three of the markers are located on the Florence Griswold Museum’s front lawn to honor those who labored in a house that once stood where the Griswold House is now located, according to the museum. 

William Earle Williams, the museum’s artist in residence, will be on hand to sign copies of the newly released exhibition catalogue, Their Kindred Earth. Copies will be on sale at the event and in the museum shop. 

Seating for the music performance and poetry readings will be provided under a tent and additional lawn chairs are welcome and encouraged.

The museum is located on 96 Lyme St. In the event of rain, the celebration will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.

CT Early Music Festival 2025 Concludes with Concert in Conn. College Today

Posted on by
Reply


OLD LYME/NEW LONDON – The Connecticut Early Music Festival (CEMF) returns for its 43rd season, presenting six concerts across the first three weekends in June. The festival brings together world-class musicians to perform both familiar and rarely heard works.

The Festival opened Saturday, June 7, at Harkness Chapel, Connecticut College, featuring Handel’s Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline. James Burton, Director of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, led the CEMF Ensemble in Handel’s tribute to his forward-thinking Queen, patron, and friend.

The Festival continued with a concert on Sunday, June 8, at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Old Lyme. Acclaimed flutist Emi Ferguson returned with a program of virtuoso sonatas by J.S. and C.P.E. Bach. Ferguson was joined by Guy Fishman on cello.

“This year’s Festival brings to life remarkable compositions from the 17th and 18th centuries,” said Artistic Director Ian Watson. “These performances, honoring the composers’ intentions, promise to be fresh and revelatory. They still have the power to transport us today!” 

“Our 2025 Festival showcases the rich tapestry of early music, from the brilliance of the three sopranos in Concerto delle donne, to intimate chamber music featuring viola da gamba and theorbo, to the thrilling sound of our Festival Ensemble performing Vivaldi’s beloved Four Seasons,” said Henry Clapp, Board President.

He adds, “Whether you are a seasoned early music enthusiast or discovering these treasures for the first time, we look forward to sharing these extraordinary performances with you!” 

After the first weekend, the festival continues with a series of four additional concerts as follows:

  • Saturday, June 14:
    St. John’s Episcopal Church, Niantic – Artistic Director Ian Watson performs a special concert of Baroque organ masterworks in memory of John P. Anthony, longtime President of the Connecticut Early Music Society.
  • Sunday, June 15:
    Chester Meeting House – In a program titled Concerto delle donne, three exceptional sopranos perform a stunning program of late 16th-century music composed specifically for professional female voices.
  • Saturday, June 21:
    La Grua Center, Stonington – An intimate evening of French Baroque chamber music, featuring viola da gamba and theorbo, perfectly suited to the acoustics of La Grua’s historic setting.
  • Sunday, June 22:
    Harkness Chapel, Connecticut College – The festival concludes with a celebration of the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, performed by Susanna Ogata (violin) and the Festival Ensemble.

All concerts are at 5 pm. To encourage wider access, CEMF is offering half-price tickets for individuals under 40, along with complimentary admission for students of all ages. Special series and mini-series ticket packages are also available.

For tickets and full festival details, visit ctearlymusic.org.

Salt Marsh Opera Brings Back ‘Music at the Lighthouse’ in Stonington Tonight, 6pm

Posted on by
Audience members at a previous Music at the Lighthouse performance enjoy operatic sounds from the Long Island Sound. Photo courtesy of Salt Marsh Opera.

STONINGTON–Salt Marsh Opera invites you to an evening of beloved opera arias and timeless Broadway melodies with the return of Music at the Lighthouse. 

The performance will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 22 at the Old Lighthouse Museum in Stonington Borough, 7 Water St. The lawn opens at 5 p.m. 

The Salt Marsh Opera will welcome mezzo-soprano Sarah Nordin and and bass-baritone Tyler Putnam. 

This is an open-air concert by the sea on the lawn of the lighthouse museum. Families are welcome to bring their blankets and lawn chairs. 

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the concert. Tickets will be available at the Salt Marsh Opera box office at (860) 535-0753 or at Tom’s Newstand in the borough.

Jane Fonda to Receive 10th Annual ‘Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award’ at ‘the Kate’ Gala in Old Saybrook, Sept. 14

Posted on by
Jane Fonda. Photo credit: James Franklin

OLD SAYBROOK, CT – The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (the Kate) has announced that global icon Jane Fonda will receive the 10th annual Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award at the Kate’s Gala presented by The RiverLane on Sunday, Sept.14.

The award is presented each year to an individual, who embodies the spirit, independence, and character of the legendary actress.

The Gala is the non-profit arts organization’s largest fundraiser with proceeds supporting performing arts events, the official Katharine Hepburn Museum, and arts education programs that serve more than 3,000 students each year.

The event celebrates two women – Katharine Hepburn and Jane Fonda – who guided their careers to their own standards and worked on behalf of human rights, the environment and other important social justice causes.

The two co-starred in the critically acclaimed and beloved film On Golden Pond along with Henry Fonda.

Jane Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home), producer, author, activist, and fitness guru. Her career has spanned over 50 years, accumulating a body of film work that includes more than 50 films and significant contributions to political causes such as women’s rights, Native Americans’ rights, and environmental protection.

She is a seven-time Golden Globe® winner and was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2021. She accepted The Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

In April of 2024, Fonda accepted the TIME Magazine Earth Award. She also received the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in February 2025. 

2023 was a banner year for Fonda, with four films released. Most recently, she lent her voice to ‘Grandmama’ in DreamWorks’ animated film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Before that, Fonda reunited with Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen, and Candice Bergen for Focus Features’ Book Club 2.

She also starred in the highly anticipated 80 For Brady opposite Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno, released by Paramount Pictures.

There was also Moving On by Paul Weitz for Roadside Attractions, in which Fonda starred opposite her longtime friend and colleague, Lily Tomlin. Other notable credits include Grace & Frankie, Netflix’s longest-running original series. For her work on the series, she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017. She also released Jane Fonda in Five Acts, a documentary for HBO chronicling her life and activism.

Fonda continues to lead the charge on the climate emergency via Fire Drill Fridays, the national movement to protest government inaction on climate change, which she started in October 2019 in partnership with Greenpeace USA. In 2022, she launched the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, focused on defeating political allies of the fossil fuel industry.

Her latest book, “What Can I Do? My Path From Climate Despair to Action,” details her personal journey with the movement and provides solutions for communities to combat the climate crisis. Notably, Fonda celebrated her 85th birthday by raising $1 million for her nonprofit, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP).

Past recipients of the award include Dick Cavett, Glenn Close, Ann Nyberg, Christine Baranski, Cher, Sam Waterston, Martina Navratilova, Candice Bergen, and Laura Linney.

Tickets on sale soon at www.thekate.org.  For information on the Gala and sponsorship opportunities, call 860-510-0473.

Editor’s Note: i) This article is based on a press release issued June 5 by Intersect Public Solutions.

ii) The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (the Kate) is a not-for-profit performing arts organization located in the historic theatre/town hall on Main Street in Old Saybrook. Originally opened in 1911, and reopened as the Kate in 2009, the building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   The Kate includes a state-of-the-art 285-seat theatre and presents work in several genres including music, theater, opera, dance, comedy, film, and a variety of children’s programing.  The theater lobby boasts the official Katharine Hepburn Museum, celebrating Old Saybrook’s most celebrated resident, with exhibits featuring personal affects and memorabilia, costumes, letters and home movies.