Jazz Tomorrow Night: Trevor Davis And Friends

Countdown to Holiday Kickoff

An employee of Bish Electric was working hard stringing holiday lights in the trees on the South Green today. He told me that he'd be there working on the lighting all week. The tree-lighting will be in the Veteran's Memorial Gazebo on the day after Thanksgiving, Friday November 25th as part of the HOLIDAY ON MAIN STREET event which will feature entertainment, hot pretzels & popcorn, and family fun on Main Street!

From 9a to 5p there will be a Festival of Wreaths at Liberty Bank, wreaths were decorated by area businesses and will be auctioned at a later date.

From 1 to 4 pm the Middlesex County Historical Society will be open for visitors to view the exhibits and activities for children including stories, ornament making and refreshments.

Free Hayrides & Carriage Rides 4pm until 8pm!

At 5pm, 2 Tree Lightings on the South Green / Union Park– the City Tree & Middlesex Hospital “Tree of Lights” (in the Gazebo) with holiday carols led by the Middletown High School Band & Chorus & the Woodrow Wilson Middle School Chorus. Special guests include the Mayor, Santa & Wild Thing.

At 6pm, Parade from Union Park to light the tree on top of the Chamber of Commerce. Hayrides, Horse & Carriage Rides, Free Pictures with Santa and Music.

At 8:15p Tree Lighting in front of Eli Cannon’s Tap Room. Join Santa & his Elves for hot chocolate, cider and cookies!

The festivities start at 9am. Call 347.6924 or visit the Chamber website for more information.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO WESU 88.1 FM for keeping this information easy to find on the "Jive at Five" section of their website, available here: http://www.wesufm.org/jive

This is always a wonderful place to look for events and happenings around town. Apologies to anyone who was confused by the incorrect date I had listed which has since been changed, as well as the link to the Press article which turned out to be from last year, and has been removed.

Gazebo To Be Erected Despite Objections

Boy Scout Andrew Avalone is working toward merit badges for his Eagle Scout designation, and he's trying to do a good deed for Middletown, but he's learning another life lesson in the process.

Avalone approached the town about raising money to build a gazebo to honor veterans. The gazebo would be built on the South Green.

There is a very specific ordinance about building structures, or monuments, in the park and in Veteran's Memorial Park on Washington Street.

And that's where the trouble began.

The decision as to what monument will be placed on Union Park or Veterans Memorial Green shall be made by the City of Middletown Parks and Recreation Commission upon the advice and recommendation of the City's Memorials Restoration Committee, the Middletown Council of Veterans, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, and the Middletown Design and Review and Preservation Board.

The Middletown Design Review and Preservation Board applauded Avalone and the project, but suggested that the pre-fab gazebo kit proposed by Avalone, and the Parks and Rec Department, needed some modification in size and design. The Board said that the gazebo, as presented, would not be able to accommodate staged activities of the kind currently held in the park.

The Arts Commission concurred, suggesting that any gazebo should be of a size and location that it could replace the use of the town's showmobile and portable stages currently used for events in the park. The Arts Commission asked Avalone to present his plans, considering the recommendations, at the September meeting of that Commission.

In the meantime, The Parks and Recreation department had a concrete footing which would accommodate the originally-planned gazebo, poured near the Eastern border of the park.

According to Common Council members Ron Klattenberg, and Earle Roberts (who is also a member of the Arts Commission), the construction of the footings was premature since all the appropriate boards had not approved the gazebo.

While Klattenberg and Roberts both support Avalone's efforts, they suggest that the Parks and Recreation Department began the work before all alternatives were considered.

"It's very unfortunate that the spirit of the ordinance has not been followed in any sense," Klattenberg, who is, himself, an eagle scout, said. "If there ever was an opportunity, and Park and Recreation would consider Veteran's Memorial Park, it would create a wonderful gateway into downtown."

Parks and Recreations department director Ray Santestefano said that as far as he was concerned all boards had given their approval and that the gazebo would be erected Saturday morning September 19 as scheduled.

The Arts Commission, for their part, disagree with Santestefano, and at their meeting Thursday (a meeting held a week earlier than usual to accommodate a review of the proposed gazebo), voted unanimous support for Avalone and his efforts, but also agreed, unanimously that the gazebo, as proposed, should not be built on the South Green because it is proposed for the wrong location, it is inadequate in size to host staged functions in the park, and that it was inadequate for many of the events held in the park.

Construction of the gazebo is scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.

Around Middletown in 80 Days: Day 17

South Green Historic District

In just two short weeks we've switched from "following" to "finding" Phileas Fogg. The explorer departed Oddfellow's company and embarked on an unscheduled itinerary with guides unknown. If you see Phileas Fogg - or a 6' tall, flat, Victorian cartooned gentleman Around Middletown - please report his whereabouts to Oddfellows Playhouse at 860-347-6143. Oddfellows hopes that Phileas can still complete his journey around our great city. Meanwhile, you can continue follow his planned itinerary at www.oddfellows.org or on the Middletown Eye.

Today is a great day to visit the South Green, located at the intersection of Main Street and South Main Street/Rt 17. In the center of the Green is a monument to soldiers from Middletown who served in the American Civil War. Until 1pm today there is a Farmer's market with fresh, local vegatables for sale.

The South Green also serves as a starting point to explore the South Green Historic District. Added to the register of National Historic Places in 1975, the South Green Historic District encompasses South Main Street, Crescent Street, Pleasant Street and Church Street. Architectural styles range between Colonial, Gothic Revival, Federal and Italianate. Houses date from as early as the 1700s and up to the early 1900s. It is a wonderful example of the range of architectural styles and preservation in Middletown. Today is a beautiful day for a lunch time or afternoon walk before tomorrow's rain. A good listing of the homes and buildings in the district can be found at wikipedia using the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown_South_Green_Historic_District

Unity Day on South Green Saturday

From Tawana M. Bourne

This event is FREE and open to the public.

WHEN: Saturday, August 1, 2009

TIME: 11:00 am –6:00 pm

WHERE: South Green-Union Park 14 Old Church Street Middletown, CT 06457

The vision of Unity Day is to embrace our diversity and celebrate togetherness within our community and share a day full of information sharing and messages of peace. Unity Day is intended to be a time of celebration for every member of the community, with fun filled family festivities, educational and reflective moments and performances that will focus on themes of unity and peace and renew our community’s passion to work together.

Food, Speakers, Performances, Family Friendly Entertainment and Much Much More.

For more information, please contact Tawana Bourne @ 860-834-1220 or tawanabourne@yahoo.com

Relax Your Mind (for one night)

Don't worry - the picture is not one of a new weapon, it's a flute. If you head over to Middletown's South Green for the Summer Sounds concert this Tuesday evening (8/26), you'll hear one of this area's finest practitioners of the instrument performing alongside 4 of his good friends. Peter Standaart, who's been teaching students at Wesleyan for several decades, is that flautist and he's quite an impressive musicians. The ensemble, known as Five In Time, also features Libby Van Cleve (oboe), Thomas Labadorf (clarinet), Rebecca Noreen (bassoon) and Robert Hoyle (French horn), will play contemporary classical music and more from 7 p.m. until (approximately) 8:30 p.m.

It's a bit of a departure from the usual Summer Sounds fare and that's okay. Stephan Allison, coordinator for the Middletown Commission of the Arts, has expanded the offerings this summer and reaction has been quite positive. The concert is free so bring your family and friends, your beach chairs and blankets, because the weather is supposed to be sparkling. And the music should sparkle too.

For one night, let the Army Base fiasco and the Democratic Convention take a back seat to the joy of artistic collaboration.