Summer Sounds on the South Green/Union Park - Elite Syncopation, ragtime/early jazz on Aug. 28

Elite Syncopation tours nationally, presenting the early forms of jazz to audiences everywhere. We're proud of their local roots and we welcome them back to the Summer Sounds stage again this year.

The Middletown Commission on the Arts presents their annual Summer Sounds concert series on the City's South Green (Union Park) on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. (rain location is the sanctuary of South Congregational Church, directly across the street from the Green on the corner of Main & Pleasant Streets).

The concerts are free and you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs/blankets. Food and beverages (no alcohol is permitted on public lawns) are allowed and the United Methodist Church and South Congregational Church adjacent to the Green both sell food/beverage items.

Concerts begin at 7 p.m.

The line-up is:

Aug. 28 : Elite Syncopation (ragtime/early jazz)

Sept. 4 : Middletown Symphonic Band (popular tunes)

For more information, call the City Arts Office at 860.343.6620 x201

Scenes from Buttonwood Open Mic

J-Cherry, host of the Anything Goes! Open Mic. If you're looking to share your talents or enjoy the ones of your neighbors, you can't go wrong to visit The Buttonwood Tree on a Monday night for the open mic. J-Cherry has kept the microphone open at The Buttonwood for over three years, offering a wonderful glimpse of the talent in Middletown. Here are a few more pictures of some of the folks who came down.

Rebecca played a beautiful song from The White Stripes. She was practicing to play it at a wedding this weekend.

Brian played two powerful songs on piano. I could go on describing all the fun at the open mic but you really ought to drop in on a Monday night and check it out for yourself.

Auditions for Oddfellows Teen Repertory Company

Oddfellows Playhouse is pleased to announce its Fall 2012 auditions for William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead: a True Account of the 1599 Zombie Plague by John Heimbuch and A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel, with music by Daryl Waters.

The season will begin with a “historical” piece by John Heimbuch, William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead: A True Account of the Zombie Plague of 1599, takes the stage in November.  This play from the NY Fringe Festival takes place backstage on the opening night of Shakespeare’s Henry V.   Dealing with drama behind the scenes becomes more complicated when an afflicted madman enters the Globe and attacks.  As the affliction spreads through London, the Globe is placed in quarantine and the survivors within must fight for their lives.   This production is being produced by the generous support of Beverley and Tony Bellisio.

“This play is fun.  That is what initially drew me to it.  But the genre of horror is a reflection of our society, and it says a great deal about where our fears are today that we have become recently fixated on zombies and the risk of some pandemic outbreak.  During the Elizabethan era, the term “afflicted” was used synonymously for madness, illness or even demonic possession.  This play is about the fear of others,” said Pugliese.

Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater and Connecticut Heritage Productions are joining creative forces this holiday season with a co-production of A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel.  The play will perform at Oddfellows Playhouse from December 6-15.  A Civil War Christmas received its world premiere at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven in 2008.  The play is by Paula Vogel, with music by Daryl Waters.  Special funding from the CT Humanities Council helps make this production possible.

“One of Paula Vogel’s original sources of inspiration for writing this play was to create a truly, unique American Christmas production.  So many of our standard holiday cultural pieces are imported from other countries – A Christmas Carol, the Nutcracker and so forth,” said Peter Loffredo, artistic director of Connecticut Heritage Productions. 

The play, directed by Loffedo, will feature a multigenerational cast of actors from the community.  The play is set in Washington, D.C., and along the Potomac during a Christmastime near the end of the Civil War. Vogel weaves together notable historical facts and figures with fictional characters and events to explore the celebration of Christmas and the state of our nation during wartime.

Pre-audition workshops, recommended for student actors, to learn more about the Playhouse, the plays and to sharpen audition skills are held from 7-9pm on Tuesday and Wednesday September 11 and 12. Auditions will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday September 18 and 19 from 7-9pm.  There is no charge to audition.  There is a tuition fee for the Teen Repertory Company.

Oddfellows programming is made possible through the generous support of the American Savings Foundation, the CDBG Scholarship Program, the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, the CT Department of Education, Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Fund, Elizabeth Carse Foundation, the Fund for Greater Hartford, the George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, the Irving Kohn Foundation, the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Liberty Bank Foundation, Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Middlesex County Community Foundation, Middlesex United Way, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Middletown YSB, the National Endowment for the Arts, Northern Middlesex Cable Advisory Council, Pratt & Whitney—Middletown, Price Chopper Golub Foundation, the Stare Fund, Stop and Shop Foundation, Thomas J. Atkins Foundation, Triple Frog, LLC and WESU (88.1FM).

A Video from Catales!

Catales a happy tale!

View the video above or click on the link below to see the same thing directly in YouTube-

http://www.youtube.com/user/CATALESINC/videos

VIDEO - Music on a Saturday Night

Here's a video snapshot of just some of the music and activities happening in Middletown on a Saturday night. Mike playing solo guitar on the Main Street sidewalk. Drum Talk having a drum circle outside of Klekolo World Coffee. Political Animals performing at an art gallery showing at MAC650 Artist Cooperative. Support the local arts!

Klekolo's "Take Back the Park" Festival This Weekend

"Everyone else is having festivals. Why not here?" So says Val Chapman. The Klekolo barista is the guiding force behind the coffeehouse's "Take Back the Park Festival" this weekend.

"The Park" is the privately owned strip of land that runs along the side of Klekolo's "Center for World Domination" on Court Street, then past the parking garage and behind the Tuscany Grill to College Street. The former city street is now a grass-and-sidewalk pedestrian way, but Chapman and others believe it is underutilized.

"It used to be the big social spot", said Andy Therrien. "We want people to play here again." Val Chapman said she'd like to see the festival become an annual event.

The normally quiet walkway certainly saw some use Friday night.  The festival kicked off with outdoor laughs from members of the improv comedy troupes BenTopher and Tick! Tick! Boom! Once the sun went down, anyone and everyone was invited to play the video game "Rock Band", projected on a giant screen.

The festival runs all weekend:  Saturday from 10am to 10pm, and Sunday from 10am to 7pm.
Saturday will feature music from two popular WESU-FM deejays: Rick from "The Psychedelicatessen" and DJ Cheshire Cat.  There'll also be a Parkour demonstration and a wandering juggler.
Sunday includes live music from J-Cherry at 1pm, and a 10am Tai Chi class. On both days, photos, jewelry, and art will be available from a variety of vendors.

Stop on down this weekend and explore a special little space in Middletown.

Actors with disabilities to perform in Middletown

The cast of A Friend is Who You Make It!

MARC: Community Resources is proud and excited to present Expressions: A Friend Is Who You Make It!, an original theatrical performance starring our consumers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This one-night-only engagement at Oddfellows Playhouse will highlight the significance of music, work and friendship – the keys to a wonderful life.

Rodney Moore, an artist from Young Audiences of CT in New Haven, co-wrote the play with consumer Kaitlyne McNamara, who also stars.

“It’s going to be very inspirational,” said Tiffany Keleman, a consumer practicing her interview skills in the scene about work.

The event takes place on Tuesday, August 28 at Oddfellows Playhouse. Doors are at 5:30 pm and the play begins at 6 pm. A brief reception will follow the performance. The event is free, but seating is limited.

Help us pack the theater! RSVP today by calling 860.342.0700 or email admin@marc-cr.org.

ABOUT MARC: COMMUNITY RESOURCES
MARC: Community Resources empowers adults and children with disabilities to realize their dreams. To honor and help fulfill these dreams, MARC provides people with choices for housing, employment, and social/recreational life.

Is a Bagworm Munching on Your Arborvitaes?

The common bagworm, also known as the Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, is a voracious leaf-feeding caterpillar that eventually becomes a clear-winged moth. If you are one of the millions of property-owners who have planted a living fence of Arborvitaes, you should be on the alert right now for these destructive little pests.

The astonishing mimicry that this insect has accomplished makes it practically invulnerable and, to most people, invisible. The feeding caterpillar produces a silken cocoon that is covered with chewed-up bits of plant material – from two feet away, you would swear the cocoon was a naturally occurring cone, a part of the plant itself.

Instead, this cocoon contains the feeding caterpillars, it is home to the adult female who mates while in it, and it provides protection for up to 1,000 eggs per female.

Unfortunately for those who have tall Arborvitaes, the insect often starts at the top of the trees and chews its way down, often denuding the plant as it goes.

At this time of year, the only defense is to hand-pick the cocoons off the trees and destroy them. Late spring is the time to spray for them; both organic and chemical controls exist, but the cocoons make it fairly difficult to reach the females.

And a last word about “living fences.”  If you really want privacy, consider installing a fence. No tree or shrub benefits from being planted in massed quantities. The more of one species you plant – what’s known as a monoculture – the happier some insect or disease will be when it locates the all-you-can-eat buffet on your property.

Many insects, and almost all fungi, are species-specific. So if the tree they land on is one of a kind, that insect or fungus will spread slowly, if at all. Our newest insect threat, the Emerald ash borer, gathered tremendous momentum in Michigan because ash trees were planted there in huge quantities to replace elms lost in the 1950s and 60s. And the elms were a monoculture, too! Will we ever learn?

Save the date: Rockfall Program in Honor of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring & Women in Conservation

The Rockfall Foundation (www.rockfallfoundation.org) is hosting an evening talk and reception with award-winning Colorado reporter and author, Dyana Furmansky, featuring her most recent book, Rosalie Edge – Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature from the Conservationists. Furmansky will speak September 20, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the deKoven House Community Center.

Rosalie Edge (1877-1962) was the first American woman to achieve national renown as a conservationist. An early voice against the indiscriminate use of toxins and pesticides, Edge reported evidence about the dangers of DDT 14 years before Carson's Silent Spring was published. Today, Edge is most widely remembered for establishing Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world's first refuge for birds of prey, in 1934. Hawk Mountain was cited in Silent Spring as an "especially significant" source of data.

Dyana Furmansky's articles on environmental subjects and the culture of the American West have appeared in the New York Times, Audubon Magazine, American Heritage, High Country News, Wilderness and many other publications. In 1986 she was part of the High Country News reporting team that won the George Polk award for Environmental Reporting. She is co-author of These American Lands: Parks, Wilderness and the Public Land with T.H. Watkins. Rosalie Edge received a 2009  Wormsloe Foundation Nature Award and the 2010 Colorado Book Award.

Seating is limited and advanced registration is required. Suggested donation: $20 per guest. For reservations: Call Tony at (860) 347-0340; or email tmarino@rockfallfoundation.org.

The deKoven House Community Center is located at 27 Washington Street in Middletown. There is some limited parking in the Center’s small lot, as well as parking in the city lot next door. For directions, click here and again on the deKoven House page.

The Rockfall Foundation supports environmental education, conservation programs and planning initiatives in Middlesex County. Established in 1935, it is one of Connecticut’s oldest environmental organizations whose mission is to be a catalyst – bringing people together and supporting organizations to
conserve and enhance the county’s natural environment. Rockfall awards grants each year to organizations, schools and municipalities, and continues to hold and manage open space property in the county.

New Programs at The Buttonwood Tree - Pilot Session Tonight

The Buttonwood Tree, Middletown's own community arts space/bookstore, will be offering several new programs this fall, some of which will start with a pilot session before the cool Fall air even sets in. Tonight, Tuesday, August 21, Daniela Pugh leads a guided class to help folks awaken to their higher, inner Self and release their creativity. Many of us walk through life so busy, focused on work and children and our endless responsibilities that we forget to take care of ourselves and nurture our own soul. On an airplane they teach you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first - you are then better equipped to help others, this applies to life as well. How often we neglect ourselves! Some of the programs at TBT, including this one, offer ways for you to get in touch with your highest Self, equipping you with techniques to reduce stress, rejuvenate and rebalance yourself, allowing you to handle life in a peaceful way, benefitting your family and yourself. Times are changing in a big way, and we all need some extra help on how to cope with change. Adaptability is one key to success - but how do you learn that? Try some of these classes:

Tuesday, Aug. 21:
Laughter Yoga "Playshop"- Laughter IS the best medicine, but how often do you do it? This class helps you release stress and laugh easier, two things to make your life better and you healthier! 7-8pm (Free)

NEW CLASS: Go with the FLOW - Freedom, Love, Oneness and Wellness;  A class combining simple body awakening/dance movements, guided meditation and the opportunity for creative expression through music, writing, dance or drawing for the purpose of reducing stress and rebalancing ourselves for a healthier, happier life. Pilot session 8:15-9:15 pm (Free)

Saturdays:
"Aligned with Source" - Workshop for Empowerment with Annaita Gandhy. Ongoing workshop, drop in any week 10:30-12 noon ($5 sug. donation)  Topic this week, Aug. 25, is Living in Abundance.

Creative Writing Workshop - A Novel Writing Workshop hosted with award-winning writer and former ABC and NPR journalist Eileen Albrizio. What “Show Don’t Tell”  Means in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction. One of the most frustrating phrases we’ve heard as writers will frustrate you no more! This workshop will not only make sense out of “show don’t tell,” but will make the craft of showing your story enjoyable and exciting! August 25th, 1-3 pm ($25. registration required)


NEW CLASS: Community Yoga - 6 week session starts September 8. Start your weekend on the right foot by invigorating yourself! Terri Johnson, RYT of Lex Gillan’s The Yoga Institute, will be teaching a unique and varied Vinyasa Flow style for folks new to yoga and intermediates.  8:30 - 9:45 am (Free)

NEW CLASS: Chinese Bamboo Brush Painting - Chinese Brush painting is meant to be more than a representation of an object; it is also a symbolic expression. Painting the leaves and stem, but never the whole plant, bamboo painting is all about the beauty of line. You will be amazed at all the different qualities of line you can achieve with just one brush, simply by changing the angle and pressure with which you hold it. Lessons include brush stroke techniques, brushes used, making Chinese ink, using rice paper composition and space.

You should be able to use the skills you learn to design your own shirts, create cards, and decorate your home. Chinese bamboo brush painting is relaxing and fun. You are guaranteed to go home with a beautiful painting that you’ve created using the skills learned in this workshop!

This class is ideal for beginners, no experience is needed. Instructor is 

artist and author Jason Mark Alster MSc.  Adult class -Sept. 22,  Children over 14 and adults - Oct 6. Both classes held 1-5 pm ($45 registration required, includes supplies)

Later in September:
NEW PROGRAM: Open Improv Jam / Performance - Join host and facilitator, Topher, for an evening of improvised theater games. Come either to perform or to watch as players engage in improvised scenes and sketches. Pilot sessions Tuesdays, Sept 4th and 11th,  7-9pm ($5 suggested donation)

NEW PROGRAM: Karaoke with Deni. Singing is another way to improve the quality of life and have fun - all are welcome. Fourth Wednesdays, starts September 26,  7-9pm (Free)   


All programs and classes are held at The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center - located in Middletown's Arts District at 605 Main Street, next to It's Only Natural market.  www.buttonwood.org.  TBT is open 7 days a week and is accepting volunteers. Call 860-347-4957 or email  thebuttonwoodtree@gmail.com for more information.

Summer Sounds on the South Green/Union Park - Sambeleza - Brazilian jazz tonight Aug. 21

Sambeleza is a Brazilian jazz group formed by renowned CT-based bass player, Jeff Fuller and including vocalist Isabella Mendes and guitarist Joe Carter.

The Middletown Commission on the Arts presents their annual Summer Sounds concert series on the City's South Green (Union Park) on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. (rain location is the sanctuary of South Congregational Church, directly across the street from the Green on the corner of Main & Pleasant Streets).

The concerts are free and you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs/blankets. Food and beverages (no alcohol is permitted on public lawns) are allowed and the United Methodist Church and South Congregational Church adjacent to the Green both sell food/beverage items.

Concerts begin at 7 p.m.

The line-up is:

Aug. 21 : Sambeleza (Brazilian jazz)

Aug. 28 : Elite Syncopation (ragtime/early jazz)

Sept. 4 : Middletown Symphonic Band (popular tunes)

For more information, call the City Arts Office at 860.343.6620 x201

Meet Your Greens -- Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Plan to sail and Meet Your Greens! Aboard the Schooner SoundWaters        launching from Saybrook Point Marina, Old Saybrook August 21, 2012 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm During the 2012 sailing season, SoundWaters is conducting public sails from selected ports of Long Island Sound to raise awareness of  and stewardship for the Sound in local communities.  During this sail, passengers will have the opportunity to  participate in hands-on learning stations that highlight the impact of human activity on the health of the Sound. Participants will sample and test water quality, analyze groundwater filtration, work together to raise the sails, haul nets and examine the rich diverstity of life that exists beneath the waves.    Schooner SoundWaters is an 80-foot replica of a Chesapeake bay sharpie schooner, and is US Coast Guard certified, fully insured.   Participation is limited to 35 passengers; children must be at least 7 years of age. Advanced registration is required. Price: $20 per person. Registration is through SoundWaters only. To register, click here .  SoundWaters, based in Stamford, has been offering educational programs to children and adults about the Long Island Sound for more than 21 years. Click  here for more information.   Participants will be working on board-- please bring only limited drinks and snacks you may need. No alcohol will be allowed on the ship.

Meet Your Greens meets every third Tuesday of the month (usually). Venues and times, and sometimes days,  change-- join our e-list for updates and invites by contacting Claire Rusowicz, crusowicz@rockfallfoundation.org; or Jennifer Weymouth,jaweymouth@yahoo.com. You can also join us on Facebook ("Meet Your Greens"). Schedule updates are also provided on The Rockfall Foundation website,www.rockfallfoundation.org. Questions? Please e-mail or call Claire Rusowicz (860)347-0340.