Friday, February 28, 2020

Godfrey Memorial Library - Genealogy Club 03/07/2020


Genealogy Club
Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown
Saturday, March 7, 2020
9:30 - 11:00 am
“How to Research Early American Ancestors (17th and 18th Century)” with Al Fiacre, Chair of the Godfrey Board of Trustees

We all know the story.  You’re researching your family line, proceeding backwards through time.  You’re going along great guns, using the U.S. Census, vital records, maybe Civil War records, wills – but as you approach the early 1800s these resources seem to thin out and become less helpful.  You’re thinking:  “What, no family members listed in the pre-1850 census!?  Now what?”

Don’t despair!  Resources do exist, but you may not be as familiar with them.  Al Fiacre will share some of the most useful 17th and early 18th century resources to help you track your ancestors from that time period.  Brick walls be gone!  We hope you can join us, and we think you’ll be glad you did.

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 for more information (860) 346-4375.

Monday, February 24, 2020

Auditions for Romeo and Juliet


Young people ages 14 - 20 are invited to audition for Oddfellows Playhouse 's Teen Repertory Company production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Please register for one of the two audition evenings - March 2 and 5, 6:30 - 9 pm. No preparation is required, but we ask auditioners to arrive on time, dress to move,  and plan to stay for the entire 2 1/2 hours. 
The production  will be directed by ARTFARM Artistic Director Marcella Trowbridge. Rehearsals will be Monday and Thursday evenings starting March 23, and performances will be May 14 - 16 and 21 - 23. 
There is a $250 tuition fee for the Teen Rep Company, but financial aid and work-study options are available for all who need it. 
For more info, or to register, email info@oddfellows.org or call (860) 347-6143.

Youth Poetry Tryouts at The Buttonwood Tree

Calling all youth poets interested in joining a National Slam Team - and audience members who wish to judge the poets. The Buttonwood Tree is located at 605 Main St. For more info call (860) 347-4957. Refreshments are available.


Friday, February 21, 2020

New Plays Festival Saturday at 7 pm

The original work of three local young playwrights will be showcased at Oddfellows' New Plays Festival on Saturday, February 22 at 7 pm. The event will be held at Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street in Middletown, and is free and open to the public.
The Festival is the culmination of a seven week "Writing Plays" class taught by nationally-produced playwright Kristen Palmer. The festival will feature two new plays by Ash Taber, age 20, of Durham -- Lost, and Just Another Fairy, both directed by Peter Loffredo.  Rebecca Kutcher, 17, of Middletown, has written Cut the Headlights, which will be directed by Jeanie Kanaley. The final play of the evening is Romeo and Juliet, written by Zoe Geyser, 14, of Durham, and directed by Marcella Trowbridge.
The 13 actors performing in the plays represent a mix of adults, college students and teenagers from around central Connecticut.
All are invited to share this evening of exciting new work by local young writers.
For more information, email info@oddfellows.org or call (860) 347-6143,

Oddfellows Playhouse 2019 production of
"The Seagull". Photo: Bill De Kine.

Monday, February 17, 2020

The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center is proud and honored to host two fabulous concerts this weekend, both at 8 pm and a diverse array of other programs.

Centennial Cole - The Music of Nat "King" Cole 

 Orice Jenkins latest project along with the Cuatros Puntas String Quartet. 

On Friday, Feb 21 from 8-10pm


This will be a night to remember, not to miss! Reservations are suggested and can be purchased here, $20 per person.



Cuatro Puntos String Quartet
Aaron Packard – violin
Annie Trepanier – violin
Kevin Bishop – viola
Allan Ballinger – cello

Orice Jenkins is a vocalist, arranger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist signed to independent imprint Truth Revolution Recording Collective. After three remarkably diverse projects, his newest album, ‘Centennial Cole’, is a celebration of a great voice from the past: Nat ‘King’ Cole. The legendary singer was most famous for songs like Unforgettable and The Christmas Song, but Jenkins performs his own soulful arrangements of less popular and nevertheless timeless tunes, similar to his work on his 2016 release, ‘Soar’, which reached #11 on the iTunes jazz chart. Jenkins became notorious for his hip-hop laden covers of jazz standards like Bye Bye Blackbird and Body & Soul, as well as his swinging treatments to songs by Drake and Rihanna. Centennial Cole offers much tamer sounds, accented by the presence of a string quartet.

Around The Piano, his 2014 debut, featured original orchestral soul songs written during Jenkins’ teenage years. More of his early songs were released on Tertiary, a 2017 mixtape that featured entirely self-produced music. Both projects were released several years after their inception, partially because of Jenkins pursuing higher education at prestigious arts conservatory, The Hartt School, as well as his work as a music educator in his hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. He also tours nationally with The Afro-Semitic Experience, and has served as musical director and arranger for legendary soul singers Betty Harris and Kenny Hamber, as well as Grammy-award winning artist Charmagne Tripp. He has collaborated with rapper Klokwize, Grammy-nominated producer Chris Davis, and shared the stage with jazz legends such as Dr. Eddie Henderson and Stanley Jordan.

For more about Orice visit his website 


HOUSE OF MOSES LIVE!! 

Saturday night, February 22, 2020 

This beloved Middletown group has been awarded the Middletown Commission on the Arts' award of the Middletown Music Ambassador 2020. Mayor Ben Florsheim will present them with this award and a Proclamation at this event. Reservations are highly suggested and may be purchased here. Seats are only $10 and this event is expected to sell out.




House Of Moses is:
Randy Moses, vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard Freddie Moses, vocals, percussion
Scott Kessel, vocals, drums
Eben Ross, harmonica
Tim Rankin, bass guitar
Matt Solak, electric guitar
Michael Arafeh, electric guitar

“Randy Moses & House Of Moses 2020”
Randy Moses is the founder, singer and songwriter for his band House Of Moses. Randy is the composer of dozens of original songs dating from the 1970s to today. Established in Middletown, CT in the 1970s with his brothers Freddie Moses and Thomas “Jakula” Moses, House Of Moses has been a Middletown mainstay, performing dozens of times and employing generations of local musicians from around the Middletown music scene.

Randy Moses is a Veteran of Foreign Wars, a cancer survivor and a public figure. Following the Moses family’s long tradition of civic engagement setforth by his parents James A. and Lillian Reba Moses, House Of Moses music appeals to the mind, body and soul of audiences. Buoyant rhythms and love lorn ballads share the message that Love is the answer to whatever vexes us—and you can dance to it.
House Of Moses music reflects a life of emerging social consciousness, but also a life of light, hope and joy amidst the struggle.
House Of Moses music captures the characters and moments in life that are both familiar and unfamiliar to audiences, setting these stories into a relaxed and deeply funky soundtrack.
House Of Moses music expresses the soulful ease of a summer vacation and the emerging social consciousness of youth.
House Of Moses is currently working on its third album and will be returning to the Middletown Music Festival in 2020.

 Also on Saturday:

Aligned With Source: Empowering Workshop for Self Awareness

February 22 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm  $10.

Explore simple concepts of living in awareness that: open you up to the wonders of life; discover who you are; let go of fear and all that keeps you stuck. You create your reality and as co-creator of this world, find out how you can bring to it and you, peace, harmony, health and abundance. Each session ends in a powerful guided meditation.

For more info see 

All The Write Ways: A Workshop for Self-Expression

February 22 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm $10/session

Join published writer and instructor Briana Una McGuckin for this eight-week workshop. Each week, you’ll explore a fresh form of writing (from found poetry and lyric essays to memoir and genre fiction). After reading an example piece of a type of writing, you’ll participate in a group discussion about the defining features and strengths of the work before writing something of your own.
This workshop is meant to expose you to many different types of writing, to give you new tools for self-expression. Writers aiming to publish are welcome, but the primary goal of this workshop is for participants to know themselves better, as writers and as human beings, through the art of the written word.  For more info / reserve your space, click here.

REIKI SHARE

February 23 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

$20
Join us for a Buttonwood  Reiki Share – For those who are at Reiki 1 level or above.
Cost $20.   /    TBT Members $15. (Members please call or email to sign up)
Reiki share. Reiki share, also known as Reiki circle or exchange, is a gathering of Reiki believers who participate in group Reiki treatments on each other. The main purpose for the Reiki share is to give and receive Reiki in a casual atmosphere of friendship, honor, positive energy and devotion.
To reserve your space and see more click here.

TBT is located at 605 Main Street with free, ample parking next door behind It's Only Natural market on weekends and after 6 pm during the week. Refreshments, free wifi and local artwork are available.
Currently, the bookstore and art gallery are open M-T-R-F from 10-2 and during events, subject to change. See more at Buttonwood.org, on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Put On Your Tap Shoes - Feb 13th

Free Community Tap Jam tonight, Thursday, February 13th, from 7 to 8:30 pm, with Boston-based tap company Subject: Matter.  

At Vinnie's Jump & Jive, 424 Main Street, Middletown, and sponsored by Wesleyan's Center for the Arts!


Wednesday, February 12, 2020

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".


Sunday, February 9, 2020

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

Friday, February 7, 2020

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.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Consider this Experiment in Living

An Inventive Approach to Affordable Housing

                     csm masthead

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