Your guide to the heart of Litchfield County:
Discover local stories, hidden gems, and must-know events.

Goths, Gargoyles & God: The Building of Europe’s Magnificent Cathedrals; 1000 AD to 1500 AD

Presented by Dr. Richard Benfield
Live, In-Person & on Zoom: Registration required for In-Person.

Wednesday, January 8 : 1:00 – 2:00 PM

In 1000 A.D., European churches were small, thick-walled, dark, and dreary. Under 200 years later, they were breathtaking architectural wonders, rising more than 200 feet and lit by stained glass windows the size of tennis courts. In an illustrated tour from the first Gothic Cathedral in St. Denis, Paris, to the glorious cathedrals of Ely, Durham, Chartres, and, Monet’s favorite, Rouen, Dr. Benfield will explain what happened to make this frenzy of church building so possible, so marked, and so spectacular.

Dr. Richard Benfield is a retired University Professor specializing in European architectural history, environmental Issues, our National Parks and biogeography and particularly snow leopards and botanic gardens.

Oliver Wolcott Library
160 South Street
Litchfield, CT 06759
https://www.owlibrary.org/adult-events.aspx#anchor_goths

Mattatuck Museum is excited to offer its “Home Away from Homeschool” program, designed to provide homeschooling families with a flexible and unique opportunity to experience high-quality, curriculum-based lessons and creative activities while exploring art and history in a creative museum setting. We invite homeschool families to our Open House on Wednesday, January 22 from 1 to 2:30 PM, where we’ll offer a special “Adventure in Art History” preview class, a gallery tour showcasing the museum’s exhibitions, and the opportunity to learn more about the exciting opportunities available through our homeschool programs and see samples of activities we offer.

More Info: https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/homeschoolopenhouse/

Mattatuck Museum
144 West Main Street
Waterbury, CT 06702
https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/homeschoolopenhouse/

The Cornwall Library is excited to begin its 2025 art shows with Hotspot, Kit White’s dramatic and innovative paintings prompted by recent California wildfires. As White worked on the paintings, his daughter in San Francisco was sending home vivid images of the lurid, smoke-
filled air outside her taped-up windows. The paintings were his response to her apocalyptic scenario.

Though at first the paintings can seem wholly abstract, close inspection reveals a black and white. photograph of a wildfire embedded in each, creating a layered space that reveals itself slowly. The result is a startlingly eloquent reaction to the fire, and by extension to climate change.

The embedded image results from a unique process developed by the Eastman Company in Rochester. It begins with a digital photograph White manipulates and then transfers via inkjet printer onto a giant sheet of mylar. After White puts down a base layer of oil paint, he treats his canvas with a solution that lifts the photograph from the mylar onto the painted canvas. He then overlays the “ghost” image embedded in the painting with more oil paint. The effect is more akin to an 1860s-era glass plate photograph, with its imperfections, than to a crisp contemporary image, suggesting the porousness and mutability of memory.

White says “This particular method of working, with a spectral photo embedded in the painting, began with the Iran-Iraq war, when I started thinking that most people get their sense of the world from photographs, not direct experience. It seemed, then, that if I wanted to address the physical world, I had to acknowledge the role of photography in creating our sense of a place.”

Kit White is a New York-based artist and writer who studied Fine Arts at Harvard and was professor of Painting at the Pratt Institute for 21 years. He has had many solo exhibitions and his work is in the collections of museums including The Guggenheim Museum, The M, The Weisman Art Museum, The Johnson Art Museum, the Luther Brady Collection, (formerly, The Corcoran Museum), and others. In 1979, he received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for painting. He is the author of 101 Things to Learn in Art School and his work is the subject of a monograph, Kit White, Line Into Form, by critic Carter Ratcliff.

The show runs from January 11 until February 22. The free Artist’s Reception is from 5 to 7 pm on January 11. Registration on the library website for the reception is requested.

The Cornwall Library
30 Pine Street
Cornwall, CT 07653

Events

Celebrate and join in the holiday good cheer at Ct, Chef Bolivar Hilario has created a festive holiday menu.

First Seating $115 per person – reservations from 5 PM thru 7 PM, Second Seating $155 per person – reservations from 7:30 PM -9:45 PM, David Grausman on piano 8:00 PM- 11:00PM
Champagne toast and NYE party favors

Reserve here

Community Table
223 Litchfield Turnpike, New Preston

Mr. David Grausman on the Steinway Piano.

Sundays, 5:00 – 8:00 PM (this is a weekly engagement).

Since schedules can change, it is suggested to call ahead of time to double check if David is playing. Or/in addition, you can follow him on his Instagram: @david.grausman. He posts his Fife engagements on Saturdays.

Fife n’ Drum Restaurant
52 Main Street
Kent, Connecticut. 06757

LIVE MUSIC AT THE FIFE ‘n DRUM

Lunch and Learn: The Quinnipiac: First People of the Shoreline
January 8, 2025 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Join us for a delightful afternoon of good food and engaging conversations about local art and history!
Order ahead from Sweet Bella @ The MATT or bring your own lunch to enjoy. First Wednesday of Every Month | 12–1 PM

Historian and archaeologist, James T. Powers will share the story of more than 14,000 years of Quinnipiac and Indigenous life in Connecticut. Powers will illustrate the story of the Quinnipiac people and their ancestors from the end of the Ice Age through the arrival of the Dutch and English colonists.

COST
$10.00 per Adult
$5.00 per Member
Pre-registration is suggested due to limited spots.

Sponsored by Christine and Eugene Shugrue

Mattatuck Museum
144 West Main Street
Waterbury, CT
https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/lunch-quinnipiac/

History, Hops, and Honey
January 11, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
This program will be joy for your senses as we see, smell, and taste a selection of locally made honey and beer! Hear from Cathy Wolko of Humble Bee Honey Co. on how her honeys pair with selections of brews from Brass Works Brewing Company, and learn about what makes a perfect pair!

Sponsored by Linford & Mildred White Charitable Fund

Brass Works Brewery
2066 Thomaston Avenue
Waterbury, CT

https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/history-hops-and-honey/

Kids Art Workshop: Shrinky Dinks
January 11, 2025 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
shrinky dinks art workshop January 11 11am to 12 pmJoin us for a reading of our story of the month at 11 AM which relates to the Kid’s Art Workshop that follows each story time. This month’s story is Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer.

Make miniature works of art in this science and art fusion! Participants will have the opportunity to make keychains or ornaments out of their creations.

FREE – Free admission day thanks to Art Bridges ACCESS FOR ALL Initiative. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Mattatuck Museum
144 West Main Street
Waterbury, CT 06702

Free parking is available behind the museum in the lots on Park Place.

https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/kids-art-workshop-shrinky-dinks-2/

Adult Art Workshop: Group Gallery Sketching
January 25, 2025 from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

To the galleries we go! For this art class, join a group as we sketch our way around the galleries. All experience levels are welcome to take part in this practice. We will begin by warming up with quick sketches of art in the galleries, and spend the rest of the session working on a close-up study of an art piece of your choice. All materials will be provided.

Sponsored by Linford & Mildred White Charitable Fund

Mattatuck Museum
144 West Main Street
Waterbury, CT 06702

Free parking is available in the lots behind the museum located on Park Place.

https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/adult-art-workshop-group-gallery-sketching/

Reflections on Gordon Parks showcases the creative responses of middle and high school students at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Waterbury inspired by the powerful photography and storytelling of Gordon Parks. Through their own photography and writings, students reflect on the themes of identity, resilience, and belonging explored in Parks’ work. This collaborative exhibition invites the community to engage with the students’ perspectives while honoring Parks’ legacy of capturing the human experience. This exhibition will be opening in the Monteiro Family Community Gallery.

Homeward to the Prairie I Come, an exceptional exhibition celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy of Gordon Parks (1912–2006), one of America’s most influential photographers, filmmakers, poets, and composers. This exhibition will showcase Parks’ diverse and groundbreaking contributions to art and culture, offering a deeper understanding of his vast creative range beyond his celebrated work in documentary photography. This major exhibition, organized with the generous support of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the Art Bridges Foundation, highlights the profound impact of Parks’ work. Visitors will experience a wide range of his powerful photographic images, many of which became iconic during his tenure as the first Black staff photographer for Life magazine. Parks’ work, known for its persistent exploration of racial injustice, poverty, and urban life, is paired with lesser-known poetic writings that reveal the full depth of his creativity and ability to articulate the human experience in both visual and literary forms. On view through March 30, 2025.

The Mattatuck Museum’s annual MIXMASTER is an exhibition that seeks to discover and recognize the talents of the Museum’s artists members working in New England and the Tri-state region. Initiated to support and recognize contemporary art, MIXMASTER provides an opportunity for established and emerging artists to debut their most recent work, done in the last three years. Through this exhibition, artists gain the visibility and recognition they deserve, while art enthusiasts have the chance to experience a wide array of fresh, innovative pieces. The exhibition not only highlights the vibrant art scene in these regions but also fosters a sense of community and appreciation for contemporary artistic expressions. MIXMASTER is open to all Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont resident artists 18 years and over. A record-breaking 153 artists applied to be part of the Mixmaster 2025 Juried Member Exhibition and 353 pieces were submitted in total. Submissions closed on Monday, November 18, 2024. The exhibition will be open to the public between January 12, 2025 and February 6, 2025. Submissions will be judged this year by Kalia Brooks, Ph.D., Director of Programs and Exhibitions at NXTHVN.

The reception and opening celebration for our new exhibitions will take place on Sunday, January 19, 2025. Opening remarks will take place at 1 pm

The Museum will offer a reduced admission rate of $5 for the day.

Mattatuck Museum
144 West Main Street
Waterbury, CT 06702

Free parking is available in the lots behind the museum located on Park Place.

https://www.mattmuseum.org/calendar/opening-ceremony-january/