Arts2Go.org is Back Online

We are happy to report that arts2go is back live. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by our being offline and thank you for your patience.

For the latest in arts and entertainment in Middletown, including storm cancellations, add arts2go.org to your bookmarks.

A service of the City of Middletown Commission on the Arts, Arts & Culture Office.

Middletown loves full service gas stations?

I understand that this is the day before the storm but this gas station on South Main street lines up at least once a week.  I wonder why some people choose this option to wait for service when they could just drive down the street and complete the task themselves.

I asked the opinions from a few folks.  One mother doesn't want to leave her vehicle to go inside and leave her child unattended if she only has cash.  She also doesn't want to touch the gas pump.  I understand that.  That pump is handled by thousands of people and sometimes reeks of gas.

Another reason I believe is the gratification of getting service.  Oh and the cold.  It's worth the tradeoff  to stay in your warm vehicle and tip $2.

What are some other good reasons to choose the full service station over the self serve?

Fearless Physicality at the CFA Theater (Feb. 9)

Director of the Center for the Arts Pamela Tatge discusses choreographer Andrea Miller, and her company Gallim Dance, who will perform the New England premiere of "Mama Call" in the CFA Theater on Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 8pm in this entry from the Center for the Arts blog.

[The performance by Gallim Dance on Friday, February 8, 2013 at 8pm has been canceled due to the impending storm. Ticket holders have the following options: attend the performance on Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 8pm; receive a gift certificate to be used for a Breaking Ground Dance Series performance during the 2013-2014 season; return tickets for a tax deductible donation to the Center for the Arts; or receive a refund. Please call the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for more information. Click here to read the text of the talk about Gallim Dance prepared by dance scholar Debra Cash.]

[The free, 90 minute Master Class with Andrea Miller on Saturday, February 9, 2013 has been moved from 11am in the 
Bessie Schönberg Dance Studio; to 2pm in the CFA Dance Studio. There is limited space, so advanced registration is encouraged. Please call the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 to register.]

Choreographer Andrea Miller,
Artistic Director of Gallim Dance

It’s hard to fathom all that choreographer Andrea Miller has accomplished in the past six years. She has created a highly acclaimed company, Gallim Dance, that this year alone will tour to the Guggenheim Museum, Sadler’s Wells (London), Brooklyn Academy of Music, Théâtre National de Chaillot (Paris), and festivals in Germany and Austria. She’s won awards from the Princess Grace Foundation and USA Artists. She’s been commissioned by Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (The Hague),  Noord Nederlandse Danse, Phantom Limb and Bern Ballet (Switzerland). And a year ago, she established a permanent home in Brooklyn that hosts year-round education and performance programs.

But this week, she comes home to Connecticut, a state where she spent her formative years, attending the Foote School in New Haven and Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford. Andrea’s mother Irena Tocino was a great friend of Mariam McGlone, who together with Center for the Arts staff founded DanceMasters Weekend at Wesleyan. Mariam was an important mentor to Andrea, and the young dancer came to take Master Classes at DanceMasters while she was studying at Juilliard. Mariam always knew she would end up a choreographer! In 2011, Wesleyan awarded her the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award, and her company brought the audience literally to their feet.

What’s distinctive about Andrea’s choreography is its visceral quality: it is fearless movement that is at times poetic, and at other times, quite mad. Her dancers are all individuals – their personalities, their passions are all accessible and immediate.

We always knew we wanted to bring her back for a full evening program, and we were delighted when her schedule opened up to make that possible. Tonight, Andrea will have dinner with Jewish students on campus and discuss the creative path that led her to Mama Call (2011), the work that will open the program and has roots in Andrea Miller’s Sephardic-American heritage. Ms. Miller adapts the Sephardic story into a contemporary and more universal tale of border-crossing investigating the idea of how those who have been displaced rescue the idea of “home.” The second piece on the program is a Gallim masterpiece, Pupil Suite, created in 2010.

Join us as we welcome this extraordinary choreographer and her company of brilliant dancers to Wesleyan.

See the feature from the Sunday, February 3 edition of the Hartford Courant here.

Book Sale Cancelled

The book sale scheduled for this weekend at Russell Library has been cancelled due to the expected storm and the closing of the library for the weekend.  Look for us the same weekend in March, the 8th 9th and 10th for more wonderful bargains.

Arts2Go.org is Offline for A Short Time

The City's arts and entertainment website is temporarily out of service. The webmaster is currently hard at work restoring the site. The site should be back up and in service sometime late this afternoon. We hope for your patience and we are doing all we can to return this vital link to the arts events in Middletown. We strive to be your 'go-to' source on current arts events and ask for your understanding while we resolve the current situation.

Thanks for supporting the Arts, in Middletown, and in general.

Snow Cancellations at Buttonwood Tree

Unfortunately, the Alon Nechushtan Jazz Trio performance this Friday has been cancelled due to the expected snow storm. However, they have been rescheduled to May 4th, so mark your calendars now!

Any further cancellations will be announced on our website, so please check for updates before heading over.

Memorial on Three Year Anniversary Date of Kleen Energy Explosion

Three years ago on February 7^th, 2010, an explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant (under construction at the time)  killed six workers. The explosion also injured dozens of others. Some of those injured were never able to return to work in their trades again. A short service was held at the site of the memorial that was created near the now operating plant.

The memorial is a simple bronze plaque bolted onto a rock surrounded by six plantings. It is on the side of River Road a few feet behind the guard rail. There's a tiny turnout across the street but otherwise no parking close by, and there's nowhere to sit near the plaque. The huge industrial works are just around the corner but cannot be heard or seen from the memorial which is located in between the natural scenery of the river and rock cliffs.

About 50 people, mostly union brothers, attended the short service. A union member gave an eloquent remembrance of his lost coworkers and spoke about his love for them and for the trades. State Representative Linda Orange spoke about how she worked with former Governor Jodi Rell after the explosion to codify an executive order into law that would prohibit gas blows. This was designed to prevent this type of explosion from ever happening again. The law was nicknamed Dylan's Law for a child who lost his father in the explosion. (Click here to read the Middletown Press article about that). Similar legislation was later adopted on a national level in the U.S. and in Canada. 

CCP's Did You Know? Fact #2.

The "Did You Know?" Campaign highlights partnerships, connections, and collaborations between Wesleyan and the greater Middletown community. Every Tuesday and Thursday we will post a fact and send it out to WesLive, Middletown Eye, Facebook, Twitter, and beyond. 

Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education celebrates its 20th anniversary

The MILE (Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education) is celebrating its 20th anniversary year. MILE has programs for adults 50+, they meet at MxCC (Middlesex Community College), 100 Training Hill Road, in Chapman Hall. An orientation program for this spring will be held on Thursday, February 14th from 1 to 3 pm (snow date: Monday, February 18th).

The spring 8-week term will begin on Monday, March 4th and will feature a series of presentations on the geographic origins and diffusion of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well as a series on China and its rulers. There are also several sessions on technology in addition to programs on music, exercise, history, food, health, literature and more. You will have the opportunity to participate in High Tea, travel to the Wadsworth Atheneum and Dinosaur State Park. The ongoing discussion series Great Decisions will continue as well.

MILE is hosting an open house/orientation on Feb 14th (1-3), brief overviews of the programs will be given by the presenters and light refreshments will be served.

It will be possible to sign up for programs at the open house, or by mail. More information is available by phone (860-343-5863) or online .

Republican Response To Reorganization Report

The following is a commentary from the chair of the Middletown Republican Town Committee, on the plans for consolidation and reorganization of the municipal work force. The plans are based on the "Report of Mayor Daniel Drew's Bi-partisan Task Force on Efficiency in Government."
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First, let me credit the Mayor and council for looking for ways to save money and make city government more efficient.

Second: The composition of the commission: Bi-partisan? One Republican doesn’t make a commission bi-partisan. That’s tokenism.

Competence. Of the 9 members there are 3 attorneys. 33% of this commission were attorneys. I would have expected a higher percentage of individuals with management and organizational expertise, and maybe one attorney for legal advice. Where is the management experience? I see one business owner, who is an IT person.

Gerry Daley, Chair/Common Council
Todd Berch, Common Council
Joe Bibisi, Common Council
Dan Ryan, Corporation Counsel
Dennis Murphy, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for the State of Connecticut
Quentin Phipps, City Treasurer
Mike Gaudino, IT Expert/Middletown Business Owner
Jamie Mills, Labor Attorney, Middletown resident
Carl Chisem, Transportation Professional, Middletown resident

Commission first met in January 2012, and completed the report in April. That was quick. Was it thorough?

Recommendations – there were 15 Recommendations contained in this report. Some good, some incomprehensible.

Gun Discussion Tonight, Wednesday Feb. 6, At Wesleyan

Westfield Fire District Election Results

Ross Andrew was re-elected Fire Commissioner last night, along with Ted Bysiewicz and George King. Andrew has served the Westfield Fire District for decades, he was opposed by Daniel Barone, a young firefighter. The vote was 48 for Andrew and 38 for Barone.

The 51st annual meeting started about 20 minutes late, waiting until a crew of volunteers returned from a call on I91. The community room of the fire station was packed with residents, about half were volunteer firefighters and the other half were residents grateful for the excellent service in the district. ID was checked at the door, only resident who are registered to vote were allowed to cast a ballot.

As incumbent Commissioner, Andrew opened the meeting, starting with a report of the WFD activities. WFD responded to 1064 incidents in 2012, a drop of 13% compared to the previous year. Andrew subdivided the various responses: 4% of the responses were to fires, 7% were to auto accidents, and 8% were mutual aid responses in which the WFD assisted a nearby fire district.

The vice-chair of the Commission led the balloting for Commissioner. Each voter was given a folded piece of paper on which to cast a vote, these were collected in one of the station's cook pots.

After the ballots were counted, Andrew returned to the table, thanked those who had voted for him, and proceded with the remainder of the annual meeting. He explained that the station needed a new truck to replace a 23 year old rescue truck and a 26 year old pumper. The Commissioners asked those assembled to vote on whether they should proceed in that direction by investigating bonding or financing $1.5M.

This vote was done in a similar manner, the vote was 78 yes and 10 no.