Actors sought for New Plays Festival

Oddfellows Playhouse is looking for actors -- teens, college students, and adults - to perform in its New Plays Festival on Saturday, February 22. Three young playwrights have been working with nationally-produced playwright and Jerome Fellowship Honoree Kristen Palmer this winter, developing new work for the stage. At the New Plays Festival we will need approximately 16 actors to take on the roles in these new plays. Each play will be directed by a locally-based professional theater director and performed in a script-in-hand format at 7 PM, followed by a talkback with the writers, directors and cast. The talkback will be moderated by instructor Kristen Palmer.

The New Plays Festival is a one day commitment for actors.  Rehearsals will be held from 1-5 PM on February 22 (snow date March 7). Dinner will be served for all participants at 5 PM and a Public Performance will take place at 7 PM, all taking place at Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater, 128 Washington St, Middletown, CT 06457. 

Acting opportunities are open to teens, college students and adult actors, and there is no charge to participate. The public performance is open to all and admission is FREE.
For more info, or to register as an actor, contact Oddfellows at info@oddfellows.org, or call (860) 347-6143. Photo by Bill De Kine of 2019 production of "The Seagull".

Lifestyle Medicine Presentation Saturday

Submitted by Joan Hedrick.
-----------------
Lifestyle Medicine 2020
Saturday, February 15:  1-3pm
Hubbard Room, Russell Library in Middletown, CT

Learn from physicians, plant-based chefs, martial artists and other health professionals how to prevent and reverse chronic diseases by using lifestyle medicine practices.  These practices transform patients’ lives through food, movement, relaxation techniques, behavior modification, sleep and community building.  They are now recognized as the leading causes of health in hundreds of important international scientific studies that include millions of patients.

Our 12 monthly lectures include demonstrations and extended Q&A,  covering the full range of practices and introducing a new innovative leader each month.

Our February 15th speaker (#2) is Jeff Hush, founder of Food & Movement Therapy

The numbers of Americans who suffer from obesity, diabetes and heart disease has been skyrocketing for the past 40 years.  It’s time to find new solutions to these chronic conditions.
Go to famtusa.org.

Jeff Hush was trained as a cultural and medical historian (UC Berkeley Ph.D. studies:  1985-1991).  Dr. Mike Kalinowski and Rev. Robyn Anderson are the Co-leads of Middletown’s Health Enhancement Community Initiative, in alliance with the Ministerial Health Fellowship, the NAACP Health Committee of Middlesex County, and the Middletown Public Schools.

Sponsored by the Middletown Green Community Center, in association with CT Lifestyle Medicine
Organized by Jeff Hush and Dr. Mike Kalinowski

Meet Your Greens: Ungardening

Thursday, February 20, 5:30 - 7:30

The Rockfall Foundation’s February Meet Your Greens will be on Thursday, February 20 at Perk on Main, 386 Main Street, Middletown. Join us for drinks, food, and conversation 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Guest speaker Aubree Keurajian will be talking about ungardening - going beyond planting native plants to live in deeper harmony with nature.

Aubree Keurajian graduated from Cornell University in 2015, with a bachelor's degree in the Science of Natural and Environmental Systems. After dabbling in academia and the public sector, she started Ungardening Native Plants to bring the tools and ideas of ecological restoration to the homeowner. Her talk will discuss nuances around the definitions of "native", "invasive", and "weed", as well as why gardening for nature means more than just switching plants. We'll discuss some of the darker origins of our garden-industrial complex, and how community-based ecological change can be incredibly effective!

Admission is free. Guests pay for their own food and drink.  Please join us!

Meet Your Greens: Middletown Green Drinks is a monthly event providing networking opportunities for anyone who is interested in making connections and exchanging news about emerging environmental issues to help keep Lower Connecticut River Valley communities green. An official location of Green Drinks International, this informal monthly gathering of people drawn from the community, nonprofit groups and the business world offers time to brainstorm ideas and plant seeds for collaboration. All are welcome and there is no admission fee, unless otherwise noted. For more information, please visit The Rockfall Foundation’s website.

Consider this Experiment in Living

An Inventive Approach to Affordable Housing

                    

Cover Story By MarkTrumbull Staff writer @MarkTCSM

Beyond the picket fence: How one city is creating more affordable housing

The single-family home has been the American ideal. But to address the affordability crisis, Minneapolis is embracing an aggressive plan that other cities are watching.  Minneapolis is giving homeowners the option to recharacterize their single-family homes.


https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2020/0203/Beyond-the-picket-fence-How-one-city-is-creating-more-affordable-housing

Another Roadside Editorial by David Schulz. A Black Day in the Republic. A Black Eye for Republicans.

Genealogy Club

Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown

Saturday, February 01, 2020

9:30 - 11:00 am

“Channeling Your Inner Columbo:  Going Beyond Vital Records to Expand Your Family Tree”

with Dorena Wasik

What does Columbo have to do with genealogy?  On the series, he always found a small detail – overlooked by everyone else – that solved the case.  In this presentation, we will learn to look for those small details to find unknown family and bring our family trees to life.  There are many useful documents to be found beyond birth, marriage, or death certificates (BMD).  They include ship arrival records, naturalization papers, and obituaries, among many other items.  Just because you think you know all the information you need, take another look to find some valuable clues.

Dorena Wasik has been doing Polish genealogy research for over 10 years.  She has spoken at several genealogy conferences in Poland, helping Polish genealogists to find their American family.  She is member of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, heading the program “Welcome Home” that reconnects Americans with their Polish roots.

Free to Godfrey Premium members.  $10 per session for all others.  Open to the general public.  Attendees will have time after the meeting to do research at the library.  Call the library at (86) 346-4375  if you have any questions.

Ongoing Environmental Film Series to Feature Free Screening of Artifishal February 3

Artifishal will be the next film in The Elements: An Annual Environmental Film Series. The film will be shown on Monday, February 3, 2020 at 7pm, at the Wesleyan University Center for the Arts Ring Family Performing Arts Hall, 271 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT (next to the Zilkha Gallery).  As always, the film is open to the public and free of charge.  

Artifishal is about people, rivers, and the fight for the future of wild fish and the environment that supports them.  It explores wild salmon’s slide toward extinction, threats posed by fish hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature (www.patagonia.com/artifishal.html)  Following the film, we welcome you to stay for an informal discussion.  

We hope you can join us for our third film of the 2019-2020 season, as well as our final film in April (see below).  Please phone the Conservation District office for more information at 860-346-3282.

The remaining film in the 2019-2020 series is:

A Concerned Citizen: Civics in Action, April 6, 2020, Middlesex Community College, Chapman Hall, highlights the work of Dr. Riki Ott, a citizen activist who came to the aid of her Alaskan community after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in their battle to get fair compensation for their loss of health and income, and has been organizing the Gulf coast communities as they recover from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. Taking her lessons learned as an activist, she is spearheading a campaign called Ultimate Civics, a civics curriculum that empowers students to participate in their democracy. (www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/ccit.html)

The Elements: An Annual Environmental Film Series is co-sponsored by the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, Middlesex Community College, Middletown Garden Club, The Rockfall Foundation, and Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts, College of the Environment, and College of Film and the Moving Image. 

NEAT To Host Community Meeting On Goals and Plans For North End

Submitted by Emily McEvoy
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On Wednesday, January 29th, the North End Action Team (N.E.A.T.) will be holding a community meeting to discuss planning and zoning and community design in Middletown.

At Mayor Ben Florsheim’s town hall meeting on December 7th, 2019, issues raised included pedestrian safety in the city’s downtown area, garbage bin and recycling access, and the locations of various social services in the city, including St. Vincent De Paul’s soup kitchen. Many of these issues, which lie at the intersection of sustainable city planning and support for vulnerable communities in the city, are inherently connected to issues of urban and community design, which sparked interest in the topic for the community meeting.

The community meeting’s mission is to involve North End residents in particular in conversations about the city of Middletown’s updated Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) for 2020. Items in the POCD that effect the North End, including the downtown trolley proposal and the redevelopment of Route 9 and the riverfront, will be discussed. 

Commenting on the larger goals of the city, Mayor Ben Florsheim has said that we must “[make] sure we have an economic development plan that serves the North End — not at the expense of North End residents.” NEAT intends for the community meeting to work towards this goal.

The community meeting’s agenda is being created in collaboration with Shanay Fulton, Planning and Zoning Committee Alternate and N.E.A.T community organizing veteran; Marek Kozikowski, Middletown City Planner; the Complete Streets Committee; Jeff Hush, President of the Middletown Green Community Center; and Kim O’Rourke, Middletown Recycling Coordinator. However, we are welcoming all conversation starters, and topics related to planning and zoning and community design in the city!

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at the Mac650 Gallery & Artist Co-op, 650 Main Street. Refreshments and childcare will be provided. We hope to see you there! RSVP here on Facebook. 

Buttonwood Tree Friday Night: On the WWUH Radar

The Andrew
Wilcox Trio

         at

The Buttonwood
Tree

605 Main St.
Middletown
860-347-4957


WWUH broadcast an hour of special jazz this morning--featuring the music of John Coltrain, and talking with Andrew Wilcox, whose group, The Andrew Wilcox Trio, will be performing live tonight at The Buttonwood Tree, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm. They treated us to a sample of the sounds of the Trio's tunes. 

The Andrew Wilcox Trio is a modern jazz group led by Hartford-based pianist Andrew Wilcox. Hailing from Worcester, MA, Andrew formed with Akron, OH, native, drummer Joshua Leslie and Worcester bassist Conway Campbell, Jr. during their time as students at the Hartt School of Music. Andrew is a senior there and will graduate this spring. Their selections include Andrew's own compositions as well as a variety of tunes from 70's and 80's jazz musicians. Andrew's originals are home grown, inspired by his time spent in nature and from his life experience.

Looking at the photo (above), you may think that Andrew, at right, looks a tad geeky. (We don't think he'd deny it.) But we assure you, in the humble opinion of our ears, the Trio's music sounds really good!  Come and listen for yourself--tonight, 8-10 pm, at The Buttonwood Tree. Hey, it's home grown.
  And there's plenty of free parking after 6 pm on the street and in back of ION MARKET.  

Middletown Chosen as 1 of 3 Cities in Northeast - Coalition of Local Animal Organizations

Participate at The Buttonwood Tree -  Thursday Evening January 23 – Free Beverages to Survey Takers for 10 Minutes of Your Time!

PetSmart Charities has awarded a grant to a coalition of New England animal organizations, such as humane societies and animal shelters, to learn more about the needs of people, pets, and access to animal services. 

Middletown was chosen as one of three communities in which the research team would like to learn more about, and they are looking for about 50 more people to complete a short survey. It only takes 5 minutes if you don’t have pets, or about 10 minutes if you do own pets. They will be at The Buttonwood Tree on Thursday evening, January 23 from 7 – 9 p.m. during the evening DRUM CIRCLE.  Everyone that completes a survey will be given one free beverage of their choice as a thank you for participating and free entrance to the drum circle. You do not have to participate in the drum circle to take part in the survey.

If you are unable to swing by and participate, you can take the survey by following this link and you will receive a small Amazon gift card within 2-3 business days as a thank you for your time. Visit www.tinyurl.com/petsurvey2019 to complete the survey. Your participation will help local organizations better understand the needs of the community and how we can better support those needs in the future.

For more information, you can email Lauren Watkins at lauren@impactbydesigninc.org or call 904.299.9234.           

Lauren Watkins, PhDc Director, Behavior Change Strategies IMPACT BY DESIGN www.impactbydesigninc.org P: 904.377.6778

Saturday - Party & Silent Auction with The Rockfall Foundation

Join The Rockfall Foundation this Saturday January 25th to celebrate ring in the New Year with friends in the environmental community. From 2 to 4:30pm at the deKoven House Community Center, 27 Washington Street, we’ll be serving a variety of snacks and sweets, mulled wine, beer, cider and more. We’ll also have a silent auction. See a sampling of auction items below. All funds raised directly support Rockfall’s mission for environmental conservation and education in the lower Connecticut River valley. Free for members of The Rockfall Foundation and their families or +1 guest. Non-members: $10 adult, $5 kids 3-12. We hope you will join us for the festivities!

More info at https://www.rockfallfoundation.org/event/11706/

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Opportunity

Submitted by Lynda MacPherson, Middletown Community Development Specialist
------------
Pursuant to the City of Middletown’s Citizens' Participation Plan, and the regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Citizens' Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing to provide citizens, and citizen organizations, with an opportunity to comment on the use of an estimated $400,000 in anticipated Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement funds, and any additional program income and re-programmed funding for the 2020 grant year.

The city is interested in proposals that meet the goals and strategies outlined in the City's 5-year Consolidated Plan of Housing & Community Development, a summary of which will be included in the grant application. The City of Middletown will accept applications for any project which demonstrates a public benefit and fulfills an objective of the Consolidated Plan.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 245 deKoven Drive. Each applicant will be granted a five-minute time slot to present their proposal. The Citizens' Advisory Committee of the City of Middletown has established certain requirements for organizations who would like to receive program funds. Therefore, persons and organizations interested in submitting funding requests and/or commenting on the use of funds should obtain applications which are available in the Department of Planning, Conservation and Development, Room 202 of the Municipal Building or electronically.

There will be a voluntary CDBG application training session for grantees to learn about the application process on Wednesday, February 5th, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 208.

Completed funding requests should be submitted online or returned to the Community Development
Division of the Department of Planning, Conservation and Development no later than 3:00 p.m. on
Friday, February 14th, 2020.

For more information please contact the Community Development Specialist Lynda.MacPherson@middletownct.gov or call 860-638-4837.