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.
The gardens of the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme are ablaze with color at this time of year. Enjoy them for free on Sunday, June 22.
OLD LYME — Connecticut Historic Gardens Day is being held this Sunday, June 22, from 12 to 4 p.m. and the Florence Griswold Museum is one of the 16 participating sites throughout the state.
Enjoy free admission to the Museum’s grounds in full bloom during this special state-wide celebration of historic gardens.
Members of the dedicated ‘Garden Gang,’ who tend the gardens, will be on site to answer garden-related questions and give impromptu garden tours..
Enjoy the beauty of the Florence Griswold Museum’s historic gardens this Sunday.
It’s a full day at the FloGris on Sunday!
Museum is open from 10am to 5pm. Admission is waived from 3 to 5pm to coincide with a Juneteenth Jazz & Poetry celebration 2-4 pm. This is the last day to view the special exhibition Their Kindred Earth: Photographs by William Earle Williams.
From 11am to 4pm drop into the Hartman Education Center to enjoy several hands-on craft projects. Plein-air painting available, weather permitting. Fun for the whole family.
Café Flo is open 11:30am to 2:30pm. Reservations are highly recommended, 860.434.5542 x126.
From noon to 4pm members of our dedicated Garden Gang will be on hand to answer questions and give impromptu garden tours.
At 2pm enjoy a Celebration of Juneteenth with Jazz, Poetry, and a Book Signing
Between 1670 and 1826 upwards of 300 enslaved African-descended and indentured Indigenous people labored in the historic town of Lyme. Today, Witness Stones mark 60 former sites of enslavement and indentured servitude. Join us for a Juneteenth celebration on the Museum’s north grounds featuring music by the Avery Sharpe Quartet and readings by the Witness Stones Poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, who will present their moving tributes in verse to those remembered with Witness Stones plaques. Seating will be provided under a tent and additional lawn chairs are welcome and encouraged.
Concluding the event, Artist-in-Residence William Williams, who created the 120 photographs of Old Lyme and greater Connecticut, will be signing copies of the newly released exhibition catalogue, Their Kindred Earth. Copies will be on sale at the event and in the FloGris Shop.
In the event of rain, the Juneteenth celebration will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.The Connecticut’s Historic Gardens’ website offers some background to the gardens at the Museum, explaining, “Florence Griswold opened her timeworn family home to artists searching for a quiet country retreat where they could rejuvenate their spirits and find sources of inspiration. The group was known as the Lyme Art Colony and Miss Florence’s boardinghouse became the center of Impressionism in America.”
About Florence Griswold’s Garden: The Connecticut’s Historic Gardens’ website offers some background to the gardens at the Museum, explaining, “Florence Griswold opened her timeworn family home to artists searching for a quiet country retreat where they could rejuvenate their spirits and find sources of inspiration. The group was known as the Lyme Art Colony and Miss Florence’s boardinghouse became the center of Impressionism in America.
The text continues, “Miss Florence was a keen gardener, and had what is characterized today as a “grandmother’s garden,” in which masses of flowers were informally arranged in bordered beds close to home. From seed catalogues and references to garden books among her correspondence, it is clear she was constantly in search of new and unusual plants.”
Noting, “She helped others establish their own gardens, and filled her home with small, informally arranged bouquets of fresh flowers,” the text adds, “Many of the Lyme Art Colony artists painted the gardens and landscape around her home. This information, along with archaeology that helped the Museum identify the physical boundaries of the garden beds and walkways, guided the garden restoration.”
The text concludes, “Varieties of hollyhocks, iris, foxglove, heliotrope, phlox, cranesbill and day lilies are among the many perennials that make up the garden.”
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.
OLD LYME–There’s a sale going on in the BookCellar at the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library this Saturday.
All items will be sold at half price from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on June 21. Can’t make it? The sale continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25.
Every dollar earned at the BookCellar directly supports the library.
The BookCellar, on the library’s lower level, is managed by the volunteer Friends of the Library. The inventory includes thousands of fiction and nonfiction books as well as DVDs, CDs and audiobooks.
The BookCellar accepts gently used books, but respectfully requests no damaged, mildewed, moldy or musty books.
Artistic Director and Director of Painting, Jordan Sokol and Painting -Drawing Instructor, Hollis Dunlap working in the Southwick-Keller Studio at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. File photo courtesy of Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.
OLD LYME–Students at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts can once again earn college credit for their coursework.
The Academy last week announced it has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the only accrediting agency for higher education programs in art and design that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Academy Artistic Director Jordan Sokol in an email said the development marks a significant milestone for the school.
“It validates the strength of our curriculum, faculty, and facilities, and further establishes the Academy as the premier destination for figurative art education in the United States,” he said.
The Academy was first accredited when it became a college in 1996. It lost its accreditation after the University of New Haven, which took over the program in 2014, withdrew five years later.
The Academy opened its doors again in 2021, promoting comparisons to its early years when sculptor Elisabeth Gordon Chandler in 1976 founded the academy to teach the fundamentals of drawing, painting and sculpture rather than to grant academic degrees.
Now, Sokol said accreditation affirms “the integrity and excellence of the Academy’s program on a national level.”
Credits are transferable to more than 300 NASAD-accredited institutions for students pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies elsewhere.
