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

The “Greening Up’’ of Byrde + the b
By Clementina Verge

SPONSORED CONTENT

Beauty goes beyond skin deep. Every minute, the cosmetic industry in North America generates some 877 pounds of waste, affecting landfills, water sources, forests, and air quality, according to researchers. Not so at Byrde + the b and BYRDEMAN where allure extends beyond faces and bodies, to community resources and global environmental conservation efforts.

“I am super proud and beyond grateful,” expresses Scott Bond, owner of the award-winning, full service salon in Washington Depot. “My hard work has paid off. We have joined Green Circle and everything we do and use is recycled, from hair clippings and q-tips, to unused color, leaving the salon carbon neutral and sustainable.”

Bond’s commitment to natural beauty dates to 2008 when he developed his Byrde + the b and BYRDEMAN products featuring no synthetic ingredients, silicones, petrochemicals, phthalates, or artificial fragrances. Instead, a hair appointment with Bond, senior stylist Lucy Callaway, or barber James Serra ensures that the shampoos, conditioners, and styling products touching your scalp and hair are infused with natural ingredients—such as organic neroli essential oil.

Beyond the Byrde + the b line and the new Byrde Dog Pet Shampoo (sold in house and at Depot Dog in Washington Depot), all products are sustainable and biodegradable. Davines hair care products, founded in Italy, are “super green” and carbon neutral, explains Bond, and now one of the preferred lines at a salon.

Bond chose Davines for its amazing results, but also for its dedication to carbon neutrality. Food-grade, compact packaging means flowers and vegetables can be grown in empty containers, while effective transport means less fossil fuel usage. Davines partnership with the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity makes it possible to derive the oils of Salina caper buds provided by farmer Salvatore D’Amico and return the seeds to him to replant for the next crop. Caper bud extracts are rich in antioxidants and effective in protecting colored hair.

Environmental awareness and dedication continue head to toe. Unwanted hair removal performed by aesthetician Barbara Tilley uses sugar paste that is 100 percent biodegradable. Manicurist Debbie Dorfman exclusively uses Dazzle Dry nail products that are vegan, nutritious, and free of harsh chemicals.

While personal protective equipment is important, the frequency of its use can adversely affect landfills. Byrde + the b refuses to contribute to that problem.

Ballancer®Pro lymphatic drainage/massage suits hygienic liners are sustainable, spun, woven, and reusable. Gloves are recyclable. Instead of paper towels, clients and staff use washcloths that are sanitized and laundered. Detergent sheets ensure no waste and even the dish soap is biodegradable.

While the salon does its part to keep landfills low and waterways clean, it also proudly passes this status to clientele. Everyone enjoying Byrde + the b and BYRDEMAN services and products is sustainable and carbon neutral in this area of daily life.

“We want to make sure that we use what is good for the body and for the environment with the best result for the client,” Bond notes. “It is important to feel beautiful while also beautifying.”

Byrde + the b
10 Titus Rd
860-619-0422

A Fairy Tale-Like Wedding on the Shores of Lake Waramaug

By John Torsiello

The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to a number of activities we once took for granted, including weddings.

Many marriages were postponed last year and those that were held were simple and small because of state guidelines on crowd sizes and social distancing.

“It was a very tough year,” says Eileen Smith, owner of Eileen Smith Events in Bridgewater. “Mostly all of my weddings from April through August were postponed. A few couples had micro weddings. Now, it is much easier to hold a traditional-sized wedding. We request if people are coming to a wedding that they be vaccinated, or tested negative for COVID-19 72 hours prior to the event.”

Okay, enough of COVID-19. Let’s rewind, shall we, to a happier time, to early October of 2019 which almost seems like halcyon days compared to the last year and a half. That’s when Nikki and Jon Foster were married in what some might call a fairy tale ceremony close by the shore of Lake Waramaug in Washington. The couple were wed on a sprawling estate, formerly the Lakeview Inn, now owned by Nikki’s parents, Lee and Cynthia Vance.

“I spent my weekends and summers there while growing up so it’s always been a special place to me,” says Nikki of her parents’ home. “Jon and I spent time there together after we began dating so it became meaningful in our relationship. It was a place we associated with bringing together the people we love.” Ironically, Nikki’s parents attended a wedding at the property back in the 1980s when it was still the Lakeview Inn. “I’d heard that story growing up and it definitely planted a seed on having a wedding there.”

Smith played the role of Cecil B. DeMille in making the movie-like dream wedding a reality. “They had a perfect piece of property and we were able to do some special things,” such as having a boatful of flowers drifting just off shore and creating two signature cocktails for the reception that were named after the couple’s cats. “It’s the details that people remember,” says Smith.

The couple currently live in Boston and met as coworkers at a life sciences consulting firm. Jon leads franchise strategy for a biotech firm and Nikki works in market planning for a diagnostics company.

In the days prior to the wedding, Nikki had to keep from biting her nails. “The weather was abysmal, pouring rain and 55 degrees. The forecast cleared up during our welcome drinks on Friday night so we decided to roll the dice and continue with an outdoor ceremony. Despite a misty morning, we ended up having a gorgeous day.” Thanks to Smith, careful planning and a break from the weather gods, Nikki’s and Jon’s magical wedding “was even better than we could have hoped for,” says the bride.

Amid the grandeur of the event, Nikki’s most memorable moment was, “looking around our reception, seeing all of the important people in our lives celebrating our choice to be together provided an overwhelming feeling of love, support, and appreciation I’ll never forget.” “It was all perfect. The greatest day of my life and a perfect place to spend it,” says Jon.

Local Singer/Songwriter Follows Her Dream

By Joseph Montebello

Litchfield native Nicole Zuraitis evokes the days of female vocalists who ruled the world of cabaret. Reminiscent of Margaret Whiting, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, and Anita O’Day she has, as she herself describes it “a big voice.” And she puts it to good use. Since 2008, when she did her first gig at the Litchfield Jazz Festival, Zuraitis has established herself as a talent to be reckoned with and one of the stars of the modern cabaret world. She has gone on to play at staples of the New York City jazz scene like the iconic Birdland and Bar 55, as well as other venues here and abroad.

Although the pandemic changed many of her plans, Zuraitis has been busy thinking of new ways to promote her work and reaching the goals she has set for herself. Alongside her is renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, who she married in 2017. They were both nominated for a Grammy in 2018 for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals. Last year they created the Virtual Piano Lounge to compensate for missed live performances.

“It was really a necessity during COVID,” says Zuraitis. “We lost all of our tour dates and there were no cancellation fees. So we had to figure out a way to get some income. Virtual Piano Lounge is an interactive live-stream concert with me doing the vocals and playing the piano and Dan on the drums. It incorporates live requests from viewers. We then expanded it to provide entertainment for virtual conferences, concerts, and a variety of events.”

Recently Zuraitis won the Gold Medal and Ben Tucker Jazz Award in the 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition. Sponsored by the ATC Corporation, located in Savannah, Georgia, it is the premier competition and the only one of its kind. Its mission is to foster and preserve traditions of musical expression that have become significant in American culture.

There are three rounds and contestants are required to perform diverse songs written by American composers. The winner receives a generous stipend as part of the award. Zuraitis put hers to good use.

“I decided to get my MBA,” explains Zuraitis. “I felt that my brain was shrinking and I wanted to move beyond music. So I am getting my Master’s in entrepreneurship. I’m doing it online and I can double up on classes and should be done in December.”

Meanwhile as life returns to some kind of normality, Zuraitis is booking appearances and writing new songs. She has produced several albums of her original music, including “All Wandering Hearts” and her newest single “Father Figure.” She is working on completing a big band album and hoping to expand her licensing opportunities. Additionally she will be performing with the Savannah Philharmonic in their upcoming season. Never one to rest on her laurels, she is eager for the next challenge as she continues to establish herself as one of the most important female  jazz singers of her generation.

By Elizabeth Maker

After over a year of lockdown, two friends from Washington were conversing about their experiences with pandemic-induced “insanity” when, encouraged by some good news about vaccines and decreasing Covid cases, they exalted over a spontaneous idea: A party! A vaccination celebration barn party!

So, Olaf Soltau, an investment consultant, and Jessica Masters, a sales director for Roku, planned the perfect panacea for 50 friends, designed to help and celebrate the businesses and people hit so hard by the virus and its many manifestations.

“I went from interacting with literally hundreds of people a day in the city, to two people a day, my husband and our infant,” Masters says of the culture shock that ensued from quarantining at what was normally their weekend home in Washington. “Of course, I love being with my family, but being shut down from the outside world for so long, sometimes you can feel suffocated, like you want to jump out of your own skin.”

Besides asking guests to contribute to the costs of the event, Soltau suggested they donate to the Torrington-based Susan B. Anthony Project, which serves victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. “I learned that since Covid hit, domestic abuse in Connecticut rose 70 percent,” Soltau says.

For the venue, they enlisted brothers Patrick and Quincy Horan, who run Waldingfield Farm in Washington, and threw a “reawakening” party in the 1800 square-foot, post and beam barn that was built from pines planted on the property by the Horans’ ancestors.

“We were just so honored to be a part of it all,” says Patrick Horan. “People were going out of their minds. Restaurants were crushed. So many shops closed. We were finally starting to see the light, like life was coming back.”

The menu was maybe a metaphor for that thought: organic spring greens donated from Waldingfield, and mushrooms, onions, and flowers foraged from around the woods and fields of Litchfield County. Bolivar Hilario, the chef at Swyft in Kent, and his partner, Briana Genarelli, “literally went walking around and found the most amazing gifts from the earth,” Genarelli says. “We had foraged ramp oil for the bread, made from this perfect little patch of ramps under a tree I stumbled upon just walking down the road,” she says. “We made mocktails from foraged lilacs, water, lemon, and vanilla. I happened to find an organic bush of lilacs in Kent, and we cold-steeped the petals in water and preserved them in the freezer. I mean, wow! Delicious!”

The chefs, Hilario from Swyft, and Paul Pearson from the White Hart Inn in Salisbury, created a unique feast that included spiced strawberry shots (strawberries donated by Potter Farm in Washington), vegan tartlets with avocado tofu, turbot with roasted fennel and chimichurri, grilled king oyster mushrooms with pecan sauce, and smoked hay buttermilk ice cream with foraged spruce oil.

Genarelli also made use of the abundantly blooming state flower, mountain laurel, for simple yet sophisticated centerpieces on the dining tables set in the warmly-lit rustic barn. “It really was like a dream,” says guest Kathy McCarver, owner of KMR Arts in Washington. “Everyone there together, no masks, sharing this joyous, almost forgotten freedom.”

Generosity flowed, with wine donated by Spring Hill Vineyards in Washington and Hopkins Vineyard in Warren, and bourbon provided by Litchfield Distillery. The owner of the Warren General Store, John Favreau, covered the cost of the live jazz performance by the Andrew Di Nicola Quartet.

“We are by no means out of the woods yet,” Soltau says, acknowledging that people are still dying from Covid, including his aunt in Germany who passed while he was planning the party. “But we need to move forward, to honor the victims, dead and alive, and know that we are beating this thing.”

Celebrating the Vision of Philanthropist Anne Bass

By Linda Tuccio-Koonz

Rock Cobble Farm is an emerald treasure tucked into the rolling hills of Kent.

But this is no ordinary jewel. What started as the estate of philanthropist Anne Bass, the late arts patron and conservationist, is now a 1,000-acre property known for its greenhouses, dairy creamery, crops, and cattle.

Born of her vision to preserve and create, the farm cultivates heirloom varieties of 350 vegetables, fruit, and flowers. A team of experts makes it happen.

“Mrs. Bass enjoyed growing sweet peas, dahlias, roses, orchids, and lilies. Specifically, the Casablanca and Muscadet lilies,” says Michalagh Stoddard, the farm’s small fruit and flower grower. “She enjoyed a unique color palette of whites, purples, blues, and soft pinks.”

Rock Cobble grows more than 50 kinds of dahlias. “The Café au Lait, Gitts Perfection, and KA’s Cloud are particularly beautiful varieties,” Stoddard says. They’re “a labor-intensive flower” but it’s “worth every moment as they are so uniquely vibrant.”

Bass, who died in 2020, was intensely passionate about preserving the land. Winding fieldstone walls, the kind you’d find in a fairy tale, border much of the estate like a majestic crown. The grounds include historic barns, private gardens, and a sprawling apple orchard.

Rock Cobble is also a vital part of the community, offering produce from its fertile fields and quality beef from its Randall Lineback cattle. Daniel George, the farm’s cheesemaker, uses the rich milk from this rare breed to create such specialties including the Everett, a craggy-textured cheddar with piquant notes of horseradish.

While this isn’t the kind of farm with a rustic roadside stand, there’s several ways to experience its offerings. One is by visiting the Community Farmers Market at Kent Barns, Saturdays through early September. There’s also a pre-order/pick-up option through their website. “Customers can select everything from plants and herbs to cut flowers, vegetables, fruit, honey and maple syrup.”

In addition, throughout the year you can purchase Rock Cobble items such as cheese, yogurt, eggs, and preserves (as well as syrup and honey) at Swyft, the popular Kent restaurant, or via its website, orehillandswyft.com.

Samuel Purrier, executive chef at Swyft, is among Rock Cobble’s fans. The restaurant changes its menu with the seasons and works closely with the farm in developing many of its dishes.

The farm’s Everett cheese is “remarkable,” he adds, but the creamy, sharp, and nutty Tomme is his favorite. “We use it on our burgers paired with the Rock Cobble Farm beef, and it’s perfect for finishing pasta dishes. We also use the Tomme in our basil pesto, which is available at the farmers market.”

As summer fades to fall, the farm’s focus pivots. September is prime for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and beans. October brings broccoli, cabbage, peas, beets, and carrots. Of course, there’s pumpkins and squash, too, including Robin’s Koginut Winter Squash, especially excellent for stuffing.

“The thing I like most about Rock Cobble Farm is the variety of crops that we grow in the garden and the unique nature of the crops,” says Joshua Graves, production manager. “It’s a boutique growing experience where the integration of the growing area is designed for each crop to support the other.”

No doubt Bass would be grateful to see how her labor of love continues to thrive.

By John Torsiello

When Joanne Nurse and Gerald Tuchman married on July 10 at The Mayflower Inn in Washington there was a similar feel to the proceedings. That’s because it was déjà vu all over again for them…sort of.

Nurse and Tuchman were married in August of last year at the Washington home of Tuchman’s dad, Bruce. “The wedding at The Mayflower had always been planned for 2021, but we were staying at Gerald’s dad’s home during the pandemic and we just didn’t want to wait,” says Nurse. “The only people there were myself and Gerald, my sister, Leila, Gerald’s dad and the officiator.”

So there was unfinished business; like a real wedding with a knockout wedding dress, lots of guests, a welcome party, dancing, food and the bubbly, well, you know, all the trappings.

“We had settled on having our wedding at The Mayflower Inn because we had been there often when visiting and staying at Gerald’s dad’s home and we love it,” explains Nurse, a teacher in New York City. Gerald Tuchman is a director at a credit hedge fund dual based in New York and Tel Aviv. “I wanted that experience of a formal wedding.”

As for her emotions during what she termed the “re-wedding,” Nurse says, “It felt different than the first. It was like,`Wow, we were planning this for a year and a half and it finally happened.’ It was like a dream with all our family and friends there, and it was kind of like it was the end of COVID, although it still continues. It was a relief and a celebration.”

“I was very excited that we were making it official, and very nervous about the ceremony. But I actually never got that real `fright feeling.’ It meant a lot to have it in a place that brings us comfort and feels like a home away from home,” says her husband.

Tuchman said the wedding went exactly as planned, “even better” in many ways. “The staff and the wedding team were remarkable throughout. Everyone was extra attentive, detail-focused, high energy, and genuinely sweet. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The couple hired a wedding planner, New York City-based Sara Landon. “Sara and her team did an amazing job and when they arrived Friday for the welcoming party, I relaxed. The staff at The Mayflower was also very helpful during the initial stages of planning and leading up to the event.”

In a moment of poignancy, the couple placed photos of several of their departed loved ones on empty chairs set near them during the outdoor ceremony. “We wished they could have been there but we had photos of my mother, Elena Lee, and Gerald’s grandfather and grandmother, Eli and Estelle Tuchman, on chairs near us, so it was like they were there in spirit.”

For Gerald Tuchman, a “wow” moment was, “Seeing my amazing wife in her dress in the Shakespeare Garden.” But there were others like “hanging out with my groomsmen in our suite, grabbing drinks before the ceremony at the bar with close friends and family, dancing, drinking—really everything. But nothing topped how amazing my wife looked.”

And this was after marrying her once before!

Kurt Andersen Presents a Solution in His Latest Book

By Joseph Montebello

First and foremost Kurt Andersen is a writer, although he has successfully done a myriad of other things: co-founder of Spy magazine, editor in chief of New York magazine, cultural columnist and critic for Time and The New Yorker; and host and co-creator of the public radio show and podcast Studio 360, which ran for 20 years. During his impressive career, he has also written several novels and nonfiction books as well, the most recent being Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. Recently Andersen appeared at House of Books in Kent, in conversation with author Kerri Arsenault, to celebrate the release of the paperback edition.

Evil Geniuses is a follow-up to his previous book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History. Published to rave reviews, critics unequivocally called it “an important book—the indispensable book—for understanding America in the age of Trump.”

“Ironically I started writing Fantasyland in 2014 and turned it in before Trump was nominated,” explains Andersen. “I had been writing a novel, then Trump came along and became the poster boy for this book I had been working on for years.”

But Fantasyland only told half the story and Andersen had much more to say. He writes in the introduction to Evil Geniuses: “In Fantasyland I explained the deep, centuries-long history of this American knack for creating and believing the excitingly untrue. As soon as I finished writing that book we elected a president who was its single most florid and consequential expression ever, a poster boy embodying all of its themes.”

Taken together, Andersen’s two volumes are companion pieces, tracing the changes that began with the 1960s revolutions through to the recent years where the American economy was totally reengineered to favor Wall Street and big business. Now, with a new regime in place, Andersen is hopeful that positive changes will occur.

“The hardcover edition of Evil Geniuses was published before the election and we avoided stepping into the abyss,” says Andersen. “I am semi-hopeful. Build Back Better. But you don’t do it overnight.”

Having produced two nonfiction books in a row, Andersen, the author of the bestselling novels True Believers, Heyday, and Turn of the Century, is planning to return to writing fiction. He already has a couple of different ideas formulating. But that’s not surprising since here is the man who started one of the great magazines of the later 20th century, started a website during the dot.com boom, hosted a successful radio show and podcast, and written television and screenplays as well.

Andersen and his wife have had a weekend home in Cornwall Bridge since 2014.

“We missed communicating with nature,” he explains, “so we started looking for a country house. We found one we fell in love with not far from some childhood friends. Cornwall Bridge has that rural, low-key, old-shoe quality that we love about our home in Brooklyn where we have lived for 30 years.”

The popular Farmer’s Table is held every August at a different Litchfield County farm. Farmers and residents enjoy a celebration of seasonal bounty that raises funds to support the growth of local agriculture.

The Farmer’s Table launched in 2010 when a group of ‘locavore’ friends hosted a harvest dinner bringing together farmers and residents in dialogue. The goal was to increase awareness of Litchfield County farms and their abundant offerings.

“Over ten years ago, Howard Rosenfeld and I were talking about the importance of sourcing our food locally. Howard was prescient in his concern that our system might break down and that we would need our small farms on which to rely. Separate from eating organic, healthy food, I cannot imagine Litchfield County without its farms, and the first Farmer’s Table dinner was created to bring this diverse community together, to eat local food made by local chefs and to honor the farmers,” says founding member, Helen Bartlett.

This informal conversation over delicious local produce evolved into a deeper dialogue between farmers and their neighbors. Recognizing the potential broader impact of this unique exchange, Partners for Sustainable Healthy Communities, Inc invited The Farmer’s Table to become an initiative in PSHC’s support of area farmers. Litchfield County farms have a long history of providing nourishment to our communities. Many family farms have operated continuously across several generations while others are just beginning their farming journey.

Each year, the event moves to a different Litchfield County farm. Past Farmer’s Table dinners were held at Arbutus and Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Back 40 Farm in Washington, Hopkins Vineyard in Warren, South Farms in Morris, Sullivan Farm in New Milford, Sunny Meadow Farm in Bridgewater and Toplands Farm in Roxbury.

Sourcing ingredients from a changing array of the over 250 farms throughout Litchfield County, local chefs prepare a special menu that allows guests to sample the broad range of offerings available from these farms. The festive dinner and drinks are served as attendees enjoy an evening at the farm in appreciation of our farmers.

This year’s sold-out event takes place on Saturday, August 7. It will honor Washington’s Averill Farm 275th year in continuous operation. It will feature an elegant outdoor picnic-style venue amidst the farm’s apple orchards under the stars. Chef Gianna Coletti and her Verbena Catering Company team will prepare locally-sourced food from 16 area farms including Anderson Acres Farm in Kent, Averill Farm in Washington Depot, Berry Ledges Apiary in Milton, Calf and Clover Creamery in Cornwall Bridge, Chanticleer Acres in Litchfield, Earth’s Palate Farm in Warren, Evergreen Berry Farm in Watertown, Helmstead Farm in Washington Depot, Marble Valley Farm in Kent, March Farms in Bethlehem, Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Ridgeway Farm in Cornwall, Riverbank Farm in Roxbury, Starberry Farm in Washington, Vibrant Farm in Bantam, and Wild Carrot Farm in Torrington.

A new short documentary film, Seed and Faith, by Larry Milburn, featuring Litchfield County farmers and their creativity in finding safe ways to continue providing residents with their seasonal offerings during the pandemic will be premiered at the dinner.

The Farmer’s Table Committee consists of nine committee members and countless volunteers. Present committee members include: Helen Bartlett, Julie Bailey, Kay Carroll, Sunday Fisher, Ronnie Maddalena, Philippa Feigen Malkin, Susan Markert, Kate McGarr, and Helen Waldron.

“Through association with this group, I have learned the profound dedication of these small local farmers, the process of farming and the nurturing of truly healthy produce nourishes the local community,” says Susan Markert, Farmer’s Table Committee.

To support farming in Litchfield County, funds raised by the annual dinner provide grants for farmers to attend valuable agricultural conferences and to gather together to discuss common challenges. Funds also support the annual purchase of fresh produce from area farmers to feed our food-insecure neighbors. Funds also go to the biennial agro-educational Litchfield Hills Farmers Forum free to Litchfield County farmers as well as summer farm internships for high school and college students interested in careers in agriculture.

Sponsorships are available and donations are always welcome to support the important work of our local farms.

“To grow up on a dairy farm, or any farm is just awesome—it teaches you so much about respect, hard work, responsibility and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” says Bill Davenport, Educator, UCONN 4H Litchfield County. 

The Farmer’s Table is a 501(c)3 organization. For more information about this year’s and past events, please go to: shc-ct.org/farmers-table