4:00 in the afternoon

Treasure Books: Selections from the Caroline M. Hewins Collection of Children’s Literature, is an exhibition developed by guest curator Leonard Marcus, leading historian on American children’s books.  His highly acclaimed books include Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children’s Hearts; Minders of Make-Believe; Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon; Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom; and The Wand in the Word.  Caroline Hewins came to Hartford in 1875 as librarian of the Hartford Young Men’s Institute, the predecessor to Hartford Public Library.  She held this position for 50 years and earned a national reputation as an imaginative, spirited, and dedicated leader, especially well regarded for her library work with children.

Hartford History Center, 3rd Floor

December through May, Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Opening Reception

Hartford History Center, 3rd Floor

Sunday, December 6, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Time and motion... how are they understood?  How are they expressed in art?  Where do our ideas of time and motion come from?  Can photography, sculpture and painting be experienced as music, as movies, as touch and taste?  David will lead a discussion on these questions as well as how past artists conveyed the sensation of time and how will future artists present it in light of new discoveries in neuroscience and philosophy.

Free tax assistance to households with annual incomes of $50,000.00 or less.  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) assistance also is available.

2^nd Floor

Tuesdays, January 19 through April 13

Wednesdays, January 20 through April 14

Thursdays, January 21 through April 15

4:00-7:00 p.m. and

Saturdays, January 23 through April 10

10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Call 211 Infoline or 860-695-6295 to make an appointment, or walk-in – first come, first served.

Appointments recommended.

Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center present

Winter Escapes & Adventures

The Natural History of Health, Mummy Dearest, Stem Cell Research, Special Tours, Ancient Technologies, The Anthropology of Drug Use, Behind the Scenes with MysteryQuest, Eighteenth Century Medicine, Stories in Stone, Scientific Illustration, Forensic DNA Analysis, and the Mysterious World of Lichens and Mosses are just a few of the program topics being offered this winter and spring by the Museum and Archaeology Center. Don’t miss out on exciting fieldtrips, workshops, family activities, field learning, and notable presentations this season.

For a full listing of programs and registration information, visit http://www.cac.uconn.edu/mnhcurrentcalendar.html or call 860.486.4460

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center are part the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn

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Connecticut State Museum of Natural History & Connecticut Archaeology Ctr

March 13, 19, 20, 26 & 27, 2010 at 8:00pm
March 14, 21 & 28, 2010 at 2:00pm

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart

“Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!” Broadway’s greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent and one of the funniest musicals ever written - the perfect escape from life’s troubles. FORUM takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000 year old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. 

The result is a non-stop laugh-fest in which a crafty slave (Pseudolus) struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan (Philia) for his young master (Hero), in exchange for freedom. The title derives from the line that vaudeville comedians often used to begin a story: "A funny thing happened on the way to the theatre..."

This is an original Yale Peabody Museum exhibition that investigates West Nile virus and Lyme Disease. These two diseases are "vector-borne" -- that is, the pathogen is transmitted to humans by an arthropod, and in both cases a blood-sucking one! Giant models of a mosquito and a tick help explain the puzzle that is the transmission, detection and treatment of these diseases. The exhibition explores the differences between the viral and bacterial pathogens, when they arrived in Connecticut, and how our changing environment is increasing the incidence of both diseases. The exhibition is on view through April 25.

14th Annual Mandell JCC Hartford Jewish Film Festival The world comes to Hartford March 13-23, 2010 when the Mandell JCC’s 14th Annual Hartford Jewish Film Festival raises the curtain on a week on international romance, comedy, history, sports and fun for everyone…plus live concerts, parties, guest filmmakers and more. Thirty Hartford or Connecticut premiere films from eight countries over ten days in seven venues are presented with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies and The Hartt School, University of Hartford. Get the hottest tickets in town, visit the festival website www.hjff.org or call the Box Office for a brochure or to order tickets: 860-231-6316.

Dawn Holder: The Idea of This Perfect Edenic Place

“The Idea of This Perfect Edenic Place” is a site-specific installation created for the ArtWalk Gallery by Dawn Holder. The upcoming exhibition will be a dynamic and fantastical garden set against the backdrop of the Hartford city-scape. The setting of the ArtWalk Gallery, with its expansive windows, hints at the complex relationship between the natural world and humanity's desire to cultivate it. The show will at first be installed with a minimal collection of porcelain and mixed-media plants and flowers. Throughout the course of the exhibition, the landscape will grow and change as the artist adds and constructs additional pieces, “planting” them in the garden.

The Silo Gallery at Hunt Hill Farm begins 2010 with an evocative and diverse range of themes for its Winter Exhibition.  The show’s opening reception will take place on Saturday, February 20th from 3 to 5 p.m. at 44 Upland Rd., New Milford, CT.  Abstract acrylic paintings by Frederick Velardi and Joyce Conlon willbe on display in The Silo’s main gallery.  Velardi, a specialist in color-field painting, will show his Jazz Series, while Conlon will exhibit her Fence Series, inspired by nature and the passing of time.  In the same gallery, figurative sculptor Anthony Antonios will put on view his series of classically executed plaster portraits.  In The New Talent Gallery the works of New Milford High School Art Studentswill be featured.  Gallery Talks by each of the displaying artists will take place on Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.  The entire exhibit will be on display through March 28.  The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public. 

The Trumbull Library presents Richard Harvey, bestselling blackjack book author. Mr. Harvey demystifies the game of blackjack, and is recognized as one of the foremost innovators and authorities in field. All playing levels, including beginners, are welcome.
      The author studied theoretical math and statistics in college, which led to the publication of his first book, "Blackjack: The Smart Way". Players of all levels fly hundreds of miles to take his seminars, but Mr. Harvey will demonstrate his method for free and autograph copies of his books. Books will be available for purchase.
      This is a free event with limited seating. Doors will open at 1:45 pm. For more information, please call the Library at 452-5197 or visit on-line at www.trumbullct-library.org.

An event for those in search of meaning in their lives.  Singer/songwriter Jana Stanfield sees herself as a musician with the mission of giving audiences a faith-lift. “If people are willing to spend four minutes listening to one of my songs, I want to give them music with meaning. I want to give them strength, courage and hope."  For more details on Jana, go to www.jana2010.org. 

Brother Kojo and his Sounds of Afrika drumming troupe will energize the afternoon with their traditional African drumming.                                                     

Finally, the Moving In Grace dancers will bring Jana's words alive with their interpretive movements. 

Mission Fair from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.  Seating for concert begins at 3 p.m.  Concert starts at 3:30 p.m. 

Performance of an original childrens musical BUTTERFLIES 'R ME on Sunday, March 21, 3 p.m. at the Cutchogue United Methodist Church, Main Road (Rte. 25), Cutchogue, NY 11935.  The performance is the culmination of a Youth Drama Workshop attended by children from the North Fork of LI in which they polished their acting, singing and stage craft skills.  The Musical's theme is that greed is bad and we must work together to save our planet.  Admission is free; donations accepted.  For more information, contact Mary Crump, (631) 734-6033, mhcrump@yahoo.com.

Visitors to the Museum from February 27 through April 25, 2010, will have the rare opportunity to witness the creation of a major museum diorama, one day at a time. It is an evolving exhibition featuring the work of Peabody and New Haven area scientists and artists in addition to that of the master Wilson. Dioramas combine three-dimensional foreground material with a curved background wall and domed ceiling to tell the story of an ecosystem. They are brought to life by the artists who create them. James Perry Wilson was a master of this unique art as this exhibition will reveal.

Norooz, celebrated in Iran and Afghanistan, marks the New Year and centers around the Haftsinn table.  This table setting usually features seven key items, each beginning with the letter "s", that represent the seven creations.  Learn more when you visit the Haftsinn table on display at the Downtown library.

Sundays at the Library never sounded so good!

March 7-Taino Pacheco

March 14-David Eberly

March 21-Gregg Kallor

March 28-Jen Allen

In need of a faith-lift?  Looking for meaning in your life?  Come to The Calling: A Celebration in Music and Dance, featuring singer/songwriter Jana Stanfield, the Moving In Grace dancers and the Sounds Of Afrika drumming troupe.  Mission Fair begins at 2 p.m. and follows the concert.  Concert seating begins at 3 p.m.  Concert starts at 3:30 p.m.  To hear Jana's music, go to www.jana2010.org.

Elektra Ensemble celebrates the birth of Frederic Chopin with piano trios by Chopin and Smetena. 2pm

Featuring 40 works ranging from landscapes of Southwest China's countryside to strong and intense self portraits from China´s densely ethnic Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, Connecticut College, Shain Library, Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, free and open to the public during library hours, visit http://www.conncoll.edu/Libraries/hours.html for hours, (860) 439-2581

The Windham Textile and History Museum hosts "Dollhouses: A Miniature World" through June 13th. 

Museum Hours: Fri., Sat., Sun. 10:00 - 4:00

All-Star Driver, Connecticut's leader in driver education, is offering hands-on demonstrations on the dangers of impaired driving to schools, parent groups and local prevention organizations. These presentations are FREE of charge, in an effort to raise awareness on the dangers of underage drinking during the month of April, Alcohol Awareness Month.