Category Archives: Old Saybrook

‘Stay & Play’ Hosts Free Day Fundraiser Tomorrow, Benefits Soup Kitchens

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All these slides open tomorrow -- entry by canned good donation for Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries.

All these slides open tomorrow — entry by canned good donation for Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries.

Stay and Play is celebrating the reopening of its popular summer outdoors water slides tomorrow with a Slide into Summer food-raiser for the Shoreline Soup Kitchens and Pantries (SSKP).  Instead of an admission fee, the center is accepting donations of non-perishable food for the regional soup kitchen.

The SSKP provides approximately 900,000 meals worth of food each year to families in the Connecticut shoreline towns of Lyme and Old Lyme along with Essex, Chester, Clinton, Madison, Old Saybrook, East Lyme,  Killingworth, Westbrook and Deep River.

“Being a part of the community is important to us,” says Roger Rose, Stay and Play owner and founder, who started the food-raiser tradition to kick off last year’s water slide season.  “We’re excited that summer is finally here, but warmer weather doesn’t reduce the needs that people in this region have for food.”

girlTomorrow, instead of the standard admission of $9, or one punch per child on Stay and Play’s popular Play Pass, donation of non-perishable food to the Soup Kitchens will give families with children under the age of 13 access to the center’s outdoor waterslides, the Play Room for kids up to age 7 or the Game Room for the older kids.

The Saturday reopening activities include Live Music by BossGuitar featuring Stay and Play Dads Jonathan Kehew of Corner Music and Chris Billeau of Connecticut River Concierge, and hula hooping with Professional Hooper Maia Bingham of Every Body Hoops.  JAMSS restaurant of Old Saybrook will be selling their delicious food, in addition to Stay and Play’s nutritious snacks, beverages and summer ice cream treats.

This is the fourth year for the seasonal water slides, which are available for private birthday parties as well as being open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting.   The four lanes of splashing fun are set up daily in a fenced in area, with a shaded area for kids and adults.  There is no standing water in the slides, a safety factor for children. There are slides for both larger and smaller children, plus a splash area and water tables for tots.

“Since the slides are all about getting wet, we provide indoor bathrooms for changing,” says Rose.   “Or, just show up in your swim wear and remember to bring dry clothes to change into for the inside activities.”

indoorsStay and Play has continued to expand since opening its original Play Room in 2008 for children under 7.  The Play Room, pictured right, features slides, padded flooring and bouncy toys in a clean space to run, jump and play.

Kids can enjoy healthy light snacks in the School Bus Café, a real school bus repurposed for the Play Room.  For adults, Rose stocks Bean and Leaf roasted gourmet coffee and signature wraps from Tissa’s and other Old Saybrook eateries.

In January 2012, Stay and Play launched its Game Room for children under 13, with games ranging from foosball, air hockey and skeeball to bumper pool and shuffleboard tables, as well as Nok-Hockey and basketball hoops.  Younger children also can enjoy the Game Room, with parental supervision.   Parents of older children can take a break on the overstuffed sofas in the Play Room or join in the fun in the Game Room.   A new LEGO pit in the Game Room is proving to be very popular.

More than 800 area residents volunteer to help prepare warm meals and deliver food through the SSKP.  They serve meals seven days a week, rotating daily between eight different locations in the shoreline region.  Grocery distributions to people in need are made at 5 locations on four days of the week.  The SKKP, which relies on donations and food purchased from area wholesalers and food banks, calculates that a pound of food in Connecticut costs $1.50, on average.  See shorelinesoupkitchens.org .  Monetary donations to SSKP also will be accepted.

Stay and Play is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, admission is $9 per child, no charge for adults, Play Passes are available, as are reduced rates on weekdays after 3 pm.  All of the facilities are available for parties, including private, after-hour events for children and adults.

Waterslide status will be posted online at www.stayandplayllc.com or “Like” Stay and Play on Facebook for updates.

For more information, call Stay at Play at 860-395-4446.

Historic Barns of Connecticut Trail Launched at Old Saybrook Gala

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Celebration Continues with Conference, Hoedown, Bike and Bus Tours, June 8.

Hillstead Barn is on the soon-to-be-launched Historic Connecticut Barns Trail.

Hillstead Barn is on the soon-to-be-launched Connecticut Barn Trail.

The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, located in Hamden, Conn., will launch a trail of historic barns in the state at its Celebration of Barns event on June 7 and 8, at the historic Bushnell Farm in Old Saybrook.

This evening at 7 p.m., there will be a glittering gala hosted by honorary chair and WTNH news anchor Ann Nyberg with contra dance caller Bill Fischer.  Tickets are $75 per person.

A conference will be held Saturday morning and early afternoon, followed by a Hoedown.  The conference will include demonstrations, food, seminars, tours, entertainment and more.

WTNH news anchor Ann Nyberg is the Honorary Chair of the gala.

WTNH news anchor Ann Nyberg is the Honorary Chair of the gala.

The Hoedown will be a  family event that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.  There are also bike and bus tour options on Friday afternoon.  A variety of ticket options, including multiple combinations of all the events, is available.

The Barns Trail will consist of seven drivable/bikable trails across the state.  Each trail will feature barns that are open to the public; routes from one of these barns to the next are designed to bring the traveler along scenic roads filled with privately owned barns, not open to the public but visible from the road.  Starting points can occur at any point on a tour.

Barns that are open to the public include those with local produce farm stands, cider mills, tree farms, wineries, and also blacksmith shops, tool collections and dairy farms.  The barns along the route from one agri-business or historic site to the next are private.  Some of these are active farms, others are examples of the iconic barns structure that defines the rural Connecticut landscape.

The seven trails are:

  • The Northwest Hills
  • Fairfield County
  • New Haven and the Central Valley north and east of it
  • the Connecticut River Valley South to Glastonbury
  • the Connecticut River Valley North to Enfield
  • Southeast Connecticut

The scenic drives will be available using a map from a print brochure or downloading a free iPhone app.  From each, one can learn not only that perhaps a particular site sells pumpkins, but that it has been a part of the community for 200 years.  Either through the use of the iPhone app or reading the colorful brochure, travelers learn that maybe the original farmer was once also the town sheriff and had his prisoners build the stone walls by which you are now driving.

On the Southeast trail is B.F. Clydes Cider Mill in North Stonington (www.bfclydescidermill.com).  This is reportedly the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the country, (1881).  It operates out of a decorative Victorian-era barn that features a shingled cupola and cross gables typical of its period.

Along the Connecticut River Valley South trail, one can visit the Deep River Historical Society’s Stone house and barn (www.deepriverhistoricalsociety.org).  The c. 1899 cross-gable carriage barn was erected by descendants of Ezra Southworth, builder of the elegant 1840 stone house on the same site.  Antique vehicles, including a mule-drawn school bus, are on display.  Another barn on the property was once used for bleaching ivory.

The Trust’s Historic Barns of Connecticut is a nationally respected project that puts recognition of endangered historic barns front and center.  It is a complete compilation of barns, providing a significant basis to make the case for protection for these historic resources.

The Connecticut Trust, along with the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, has identified more than 8,400 historic barns throughout the state.  These barns are available for viewing at www.connecticutbarns.org.

At least 2,000 of the barns in the database have detailed information on their type, building techniques, agricultural use and current use.  The Trust is currently nominating 200 of these historic barns to the State Register of Historic Places giving them an added layer of historic significance.

For information and tickets to the Celebration of Barns event, contact barns@cttrust.org.

Funding for Historic Barns of Connecticut and the Barns Trail comes from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

Hadlyme Public Hall Annual Meeting Votes to Oppose Doubling Ferry Fares, Launches Petition Drive

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The Hadlyme Public Hall Association has started a petition drive against the Connecticut River ferries fare increase.

On Saturday May 4, members attending the annual meeting of the Hadlyme Public Hall Association voted unanimously to oppose the proposal by Connecticut  Department of Transportation (DOT) to double the Connecticut River ferry fares to $6 and agreed to launch a petition drive opposing the fare increase.

The Association immediately initiated the petition drive by creating an on-line petition at SignOn.org.  Click here to add your name to the petition.

Paper petitions will also be circulated throughout the communities served by the two Connecticut River ferries — the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry and the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry.

All the petitions will be presented to the state DOT officials who will be making the decision on whether to raise the fares and by how much.

The position adopted by the members at the meeting states that the Association opposes the state’s proposal to double the fares and instead urges the state to give serious consider to other alternatives that could increase revenues, including:

— Increasing posted fare prices but provide a discount for cars with Connecticut license plates.

— Institute a system of On-peak & Off-peak pricing (similar to that used by commuter railroads) that would charge higher fares on weekends and holidays when there are usually long lines of cars waiting to ride the ferries.

— Increase hours of operation on weekends and holidays to take advantage of generating more fares when ridership demand is the highest.

— In addition to the current discount ticket books, offer a flat “annual pass” fare with a sticker to place on cars to identify those who have purchased the pass.

— Working with state tourism and parks agencies, aggressively promote both Connecticut River ferries to tourists and visitors.

Connecticut DOT will be holding public hearings on the proposed fare increases on May 20 and 22.

Hadlyme Hall Association President Curt Michael urged all those conerned about or affected by the proposed fare increase to sign the petition and to attend the public hearings.

Click here for more info on the fare increase proposal and the public hearings

Hadlyme Public Hall Association is a century-old not-for-profit community organization whose membership is open to all. Its current membership represents more 140 households in Hadlyme and the surrounding area.
For more information about the Association and its historic public hall, visit www.hadlymehall. com

Former Lyme-Old Lyme High School Principal Takes Top Job in Old Saybrook

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Jan Guarino, the newly-appointed Old Saybrook Public Schools Superintendent.

Jan Guarino, who served as principal at Lyme-Old Lyme High School for six years from 2003 to 2009, has been appointed superintendent of Old Saybrook Public Schools.  Guarino is currently assistant school superintendent for personnel at Wallingford Public Schools, the position to which she moved when she left Region 18.

Guarino, who was known as Guarino-Rhone during her tenure at Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools, will start her job in Old Saybrook on July 1 of this year.

Click to read a more detailed story on Guarino’s appointment written by Eric Vo and published in MyRecordJournal.com on April 24.

DOT Plans to Double CT River Ferry Fares, Announces Meetings to Discuss Proposals

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ferry 2The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) announced yesterday (April 5) that it will be holding two public meetings regarding plans to raise the fares on the two Connecticut River Ferries starting July 1, 2013.  The ferries affected are the Chester-Hadlyme and Rocky Hill-Glastonbury routes.
DOT says in a press release that the increases are necessary to offset the rising operating costs that have occurred over the years.  Fares have not been raised since 2003.
Under the proposal, effective July 1, vehicle fares will be increased from the current $3 per crossing to $6.   Fares for walk-on passengers and bicyclists will be increased from $1 per crossing to $2.  The price of the Discount Coupon Book that now costs $40 for a book of 20 coupon tickets (a 33 percent savings) will be increased to $80 (also a 33 percent savings).

“We are committed to maintaining the ferry operations serving tourists, commuters, pedestrians and bicyclists alike,” stated Commissioner James P. Redeker.  “Raising the fares has been carefully considered.  Fare increases are never popular, but costs for operating the ferries have consistently been significantly greater than passenger revenues, resulting in a state subsidy of $651,000 in the most recent fiscal year.”

The two public meetings on the fare increases will be held:

  • May 20, 6:30 pm – 9:00 p.m., Rocky Hill Community Center, Room 1
  • May 22, 6:30 pm – 9:00 p.m., Chester Meeting House

Commissioner Redeker noted that a Strategic Business Plan was developed in consultation with the Connecticut River Ferry Task Force, a group of concerned citizens.  Several of the recommendations from that effort have been implemented.  The Department is installing new road signs that will direct the public to the “Historic Connecticut River Ferry.”  Significantly, new environmentally compliant engines were installed in both the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry and the -Hadlyme Ferry during the 2012-2013 winter maintenance period.

The Chester-Hadlyme Ferry began its season on Monday, April 1, and will run through Nov. 30.  The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry season is from May 1 to Oct. 31.