Opinion: Board of Education Chair Should Not Be a Mayoral Appointee

From Lisa Loomis, member of the Middletown Board of Education.
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Senator Duff’s bill allowing mayors to appoint the chair of the board of education in municipalities where the education budget comprises more than 50% of the overall municipality’s budget is wrong-headed.

Senator Duff has provided a weak explanation to justify this proposal: “elected officials of a community are the one that put budgets to their residents and ultimately are held accountable.” Duff is suggesting the mayor is held accountable for the board of education budget, so the mayor should have more power over it. Municipalities that have elected boards, as we do in Middletown, already have that accountability in place. Duff’s proposal would put an appointed person, not an elected official, in a position of significant sway over the education budget - this decreases accountability and transparency, rather than increasing it. Duff knows that saying this proposal would increase accountability makes it more palatable to voters, but what it really does is increase the mayor’s power at the expense of the community and the superintendent.

Having an appointed chair unnecessarily complicates the relationships between the board members and potentially with the superintendent. The mayor’s appointee may feel beholden to the mayor and may therefore act in his/her best interests and not in the best interests of the children, and s/he may not be willing to work in good faith with other board members and the superintendent.

Essentially, this bill would require certain municipalities to have a hybrid board, that is a board comprised of both elected and appointed members. There is no clear evidence within education research that a particular board structure is more effective than another, probably because municipalities are so different that what works in one place may not work in another. That is why this is a choice communities should make for themselves, not be foisted upon them by outside lawmakers. Anyone who values community voice in school governance should call on Senator Duff to withdraw this bill.

Cardinal Kids teaches free arts and science classes

Cardinal Kids is a teaching collective run by Wesleyan students from all domains of campus life. They have recently partnered with Wesleyan RJ Julia to bring free arts and science programming to children in grades 1-5. All events are free. See full list of events here: https://www.wesleyanrjjulia.com/events.asp

This Weekend at The Buttonwood Tree Jazz Trio, Stan Sullivan & Friends and More

This weekend at The Buttonwood Tree The TJ Thompson Trio will join us for an evening of jazz, Friday, February 8 at 8-10 pm. Seats may be reserved online here.

Winner of the IMEA Jazz Artist of the Year for their recent album Take Two: The Sound of Playing, this group plays a combination of originals along with the Soul, Blues, and Jazz of New Orleans, Memphis, and beyond. We cover everything from Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, Thelonious Monk, Booker T and the MG’s, Jimi Hendrix, The Dead, and more. Leader T.J. Thompson performed with Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and as a result was a featured artist on Branford Marsalis’ Jazz Set show on NPR. In 1998 he recorded and produced Thompson Trio Take One, an album consisting mostly of original works, which received good reviews from Goldmine and Cadence magazines. A student of both Henry Butler and George Cables, he has opened for and worked with such artists as Henry Butler, Mel Torme, Ed Thigpen, Dave Liebman, and Koko Taylor as well as being a featured soloist on the Morgan Powell Jazz Album.

Reverb Nation: Songs and Info

Aligned with Source:  A Personal Development Workshop & Meditation

 Details here

10:30-12 pm

Topic: NURTURING THE SOUL

How complete within yourself do you feel? Do you see yourself as different, superior or lacking? Give yourself the gift of Acceptance. In times when your personal path seem to conflict with collective path, where do you look or choose & how do you make sense of your role?

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.

Suggested donation: $10 (Give what you can)

Saturday, February 9, 4-6 pm come and meet the artist for this month.

"Be Love Now" Cathy Valley Art Reception

“I borrowed the title for the show from a book by Ram Dass: “Be Love Now”. The paintings represent a Love of Nature; a love between humans, a love of felines, a love of birds, and hopefully they also depict the invisible quality of Love that just Is….”-Cathy Valley

Ms. Valley has a Masters in Marriage & Family Therapy from Central CT State University, studied art at Swain School of Design in New Bedford, MA and attended The Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT. 

Saturday, February 10th at 8-10pm folk/americana artist Don Sineti will be perform with guitar instrumentalist Stan Sullivan along with Steve Roys on concertina/harmonicas and Cece Borjeson on banjo/harmony vocals.

Playing the banjo in old time and claw hammer styles, Don will sing songs from his CDs A Sailor’s Valentine, Dog Watch and Iron Men and Wool Ships. Co-founder of the CT Cetacean Society and a fine artist, Don promotes awareness of whales and dolphins through his music and superb oil paintings and drawings. Hartford-based Stan Sullivan has competed in Finger style Guitar competitions in 6 states and Canada and has won songwriting award for his multi-topic songs at festivals in Kansas and Arizona. Special guest Cece Borjeson will sit in with Stan on banjo and harmony vocals. Stan will perform songs and tunes from his CDs The Right Road and Do You Like the Rain? plus covers of Richard Thompson’s “Dimming of the Day” and Sting’s “ Fields of Gold.”  

Sea music master and Folk/Americana artist Don Sineti will perform a split-bill concert with award-winning singer- songwriter and guitar instrumentalist Stan Sullivan. Don has entertained audiences from Mystic to Maui and Nantucket to the North Sea.He will be joined by Steve Roys on the concertina and harmonicas. Seats may be reserved online here.

The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center is located at 605 Main Street, Middletown. There is ample, free parking behind It's Only Natural market. Refreshments, viewing of Buttonwood's Art show, the bookstore and refreshments are all open and available. Call for info: (860) 347-4957. If you want to see what events we have lined up for the month check our website's event calendar here.

If you still need to be convinced or would like a sample of what the evening will have in store there are videos down below of Stan's and Don's performances!

It’s Not Too Late to Enroll at MxCC for Spring Classes

Middlesex Community College offers “late-start” classes that begin throughout the Spring 2019 semester in Middletown and online. Students can still take advantage of a broad range of continuing education courses and noncredit certificate programs available during the semester.

For a list of classes that begin on February 19, 2019, please visit the college’s website at https://mxcc.edu/late-start. For more information about late-start courses, please contact the Office of Enrollment Services at 860-343-5719 or email mx-enrollmentservices@mxcc.edu. To register for a course, students can visit the Office of Enrollment Services located in Founders Hall at Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Road in Middletown, Connecticut.

In addition, several accelerated online classes begin on March 3 and April 14. Students can earn three credits in five weeks. Course subjects include criminal justice, communications, history, marketing, sociology, and more.

Since 1966, Middlesex Community College has provided high-quality, affordable, and accessible education to a diverse population, enhancing the strengths of individuals through degree, certificate, and lifelong learning programs that lead to university transfer, employment, and an enriched awareness of our shared responsibilities as global citizens. A part of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, MxCC offers more than 70 degree or certificate programs at the main 38-acre campus in Middletown, MxCC@Platt in Meriden, and online.

Rare Treat of a Gypsy Swing Jazz Band Performing This Weekend at The Buttonwood Tree

 The Buttonwood Tree welcomes Annaita's return this Saturday, February 2nd at 10:30-12 pm!

Aligned with Source:  A Personal Development Workshop & Meditation

 Details here

Topic: EXPRESSION of SELF

Harness your Power, Be your fullest Self

In times when your personal path seem to conflict with collective path, where do you look or choose & how do you make sense of your role?

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.

Suggested donation: $10 (Give what you can)

SATURDAY, February 2nd The Django's Reserve formally known as The Three Buskateers are coming to The Buttonwood Tree! Seats may be reserved online here.

Django's Reserve

(The Three Buskateers) 

Tickets: $15

Django’s Reserve is an all acoustic ensemble that came together because of three guitarist’s mutual admiration of the music of the legendary Django Reinhardt. Luke Hendon, John Florio and Preston Parish weave their way from jazz standards of the 30’s and 40’s up to the present with tasty harmonies and original arrangements. Armed with European style guitars popularized by Reinhardt, the accomplished group creates a sound that mixes contemporary sounds, world music and an infectious swing. An acoustic jazz trio featuring guitarists playing European-style Selmer-Maccaferri guitars. Their repertoire consists of jazz standards popularized by Django Reinhardt in the 30s & 40s, as well as contemporary music ranging from video game themes to arrangements from other genres. An acoustic jazz trio featuring guitarists playing European-style Selmer-Maccaferri guitars. Their repertoire consists of jazz standards popularized by Django Reinhardt in the 30s & 40s, as well as contemporary music ranging from video game themes to arrangements from other genres.

Django’s Reserve is an acoustic jazz trio featuring guitarists playing European-style Selmer-Maccaferri guitars. Our repertoire consists of jazz standards popularized by Django Reinhardt in the 30s & 40s, as well as contemporary music ranging from video game themes to arrangements from other genres. Our group features NYC transplant Luke Hendon, Norwalk native John Florio, and Preston Parish, out of Torrington.

Soundcloud:https://soundcloud.com/user-681652401-861332850/sets/djangos-reserve-repertoire-selections

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djangosreserve/

The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center is located at 605 Main Street, Middletown. There is ample, free parking behind It's Only Natural market. Refreshments, viewing of Buttonwood's Art show, the bookstore and refreshments are all open and available. Call for info: (860) 347-4957. If you want to see what events we have lined up for the month check our website's event calendar here.

Meet Your Greens with State Senator Matt Lesser

The Rockfall Foundation is holding its monthly February Green Drinks environmental networking event on Thursday, February 21st at BaciGrill, 134 Berlin Road, Cromwell. All are welcome to join for drinks and conversation 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Our guest speaker will be State Senator Matt Lesser who will talk about the state’s budget and issues facing Connecticut, from insurance to environment.

Senator Matt Lesser is serving his first term representing the 9th State Senate District: Middletown, Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Newington and Wethersfield after serving five terms in the House. He's chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Vice Chair of the Public Health Committee, and serves on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Energy & Technology, Labor & Public Employees and Education Committees. Matt is an active member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.

Join us for socializing and to hear the guest speaker!

For those of you not familiar with Meet Your Greens: Middletown Green Drinks, this monthly event provides 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 and growing. 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 our website.

New Circus for a Fragile Planet show premieres Saturday!

ARTFARM's Circus for a Fragile Planet is back with a brand new show which delivers a powerful package of climate science in a circus format. Professor Offli Varminhere and the Fossil Fools use comedy, acrobatics, juggling, stilting and other circus artistry to engage the audience around pressing issues facing us all today, asking questions like "what can I do to lessen the inevitable impacts of climate change on my community and the planet?" 

The 70 minute performance appeals to all ages, and the show is available to tour to schools, theaters and festivals. While the show is designed to help upper elementary and middle school students understand the causes and impacts of climate change, and what we as individuals, families, schools, communities, corporations and government can do to adapt to and mitigate these impacts, it really speaks to all of us. It is a deeply relevant performance for anyone planning to live on our planet over the next 50 years.

Performances are at 2 pm & 7 pm on Saturday, February 2 at Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids, or $25 per family and may be purchased at oddfellowsplayhouse.ticketleap.com 

Educators or PTO members interested in bringing the new Circus for a Fragile Planet  to your school should contact info@art-farm.org -- we are happy to offer you a free ticket for one of the Saturday shows.

Teen Leader Stipend applications due Monday!

Creative young people ages 14 – 20

EARN MONEY

BE HEARD             

MAKE ART

Become a part of This Is Important!, An Ensemble-Creation Experience

We are looking for young leaders, artists and visionaries to join us in the creation of a new play with music. This will be built from the ground up by members of the company, working with Oddfellows Playhouse Artistic Director Dic Wheeler and Connecticut State Troubadour Nekita Waller.

During five Creation Workshops this winter, the Company will start by identifying the current issues (personal, social, political, societal) that have the most urgency for members of the group.  We will use writing, interviewing, improvisation, role plays, movement, song-writing and composition to develop material around these issues. This raw material will be shaped into an original play which will be performed in May on the main stage by the Oddfellows Teen Repertory Company.

10 Teen Leader Awards of $125 are available to individuals ages 15 – 20 who actively participate in all 5 Creation Workshops.

Anyone participating in the workshops is encouraged (but not required) to audition for the Spring production. 14 year olds and those not able to commit to all 5 workshops are welcome to participate, but are not eligible for stipends. Anyone ages 14 – 20 is welcome to one or all Creation Workshops and is encouraged to audition for the show!

CREATION WORKHOPS: Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, January 31, February 7, 14, 21, & 28

Auditions: March 25 or 28, 6:30 – 8:30

Rehearsals: Mondays & Thursdays, 6:30 – 9 pm, starting April 1.

Performance dates: May 16 – 18 & 23 – 25

All events take place at Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street, Middletown

Applications for Teen Leaders are due January 28 & available at www.oddfellows.org.

For more info call (860) 347-6143 or email info@oddfellows.org.

Made possible by a generous grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts

Loggins and Messina's Violinist Performs at The Buttonwood Tree This Weekend

The Buttonwood Tree is proud to host the acclaimed violinist, Gary Oleyar in a smooth jazz concert, Friday, January 25 at 8 pm. Seats may be reserved online here.

GARY OLEYAR has been making music since he was a young child. Inspired to pick up a guitar by Duane Allman, OLEYAR can now play “anything with strings.”

A veteran of many musical adventures, OLEYAR has toured the world playing and making music. I had the pleasure of first meeting him this past December. He was performing with the great singer/songwriter LAURA CRISCI in Asbury Park, NJ and with Bob Seger and many others.

A multi-instrumentalist, OLEYAR had just come off of a tour with Loggins and Messina. When asked about how he got that gig, he replied with a chuckle, “because I play many instruments really badly.” He then went on to explain that he was living in Nashville when he answered an open audition for a fiddle player. “There were seventy-five native fiddle players from Nashville. I was a Jersey guy. I passed the audition and, much to my surprise, I’ve been playing with them ever since.”
OLEYAR has also played with many other well-known acts. He told us the story of how he was once a player in country music star Kenny Chesney’s band. After two albums, he decided to pursue other avenues. He jokingly stated that this was a regrettable decision. “Many times I’ve kicked myself for leaving.”

Have you ever watched The Weather Channel? Well, there’s a good chance that the background music you’re hearing was done by GARY OLEYAR. OLEYAR has done an entire CD of music for the channel that is still in use today.

The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center is located at 605 Main Street, Middletown. There is ample, free parking behind It's Only Natural market. Refreshments, viewing of Buttonwood's Art show, the bookstore and refreshments are all open and available. Call for info: (860) 347-4957.

SATURDAY, January 26th local musician, Carolyn Brodginski offers a workshop and concert featuring handmade dulcimers. Instruments are provided for this hour-long class. Register and find out more HERE. 

Carolyn discovered the dulcimer in 1980 when she saw Sally Rogers in concert at The Sounding Board in West Hartford. An accomplished folk guitarist at the time, she just couldn’t figure out what to do with this beautiful, sweet sounding instrument with so few strings.

More than 30 years later, she found The Ct. Mountain Dulcimer Gathering in Colchester, and was shocked at how easy the instrument is to play. She has been playing ever since, and loves the many voices of the dulcimer, playing roots, blues, classical, ethnic music, lullabies, as well as the music of contemporary musicians.

Two of her own songs have been featured in Dulcimer Players News, a magazine and CD for and about dulcimer enthusiasts with an international distribution. As a performer, songwriter, teacher, and therapeutic musician, she is passionate about “spreading the dulcimer gospel”, taking great joy in introducing this beautiful original American folk instrument to others.

Beginners are welcome!
The workshop and concert are each $15, together the fee is $25.
Please register here.

Urban Farming Film Growing Cities Next in Environmental Series

The next film in The Elements: An Annual Environmental Film Series will be Growing Cities.  The screening will be held Monday, February 4, 2019 at 7pm at Wesleyan's Center for Film Studies, 301 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT.  Parking information and directions can be found here.  As always, the film is open to the public and free of charge.  

Growing Cities is about urban farming in America and how much power it has to revitalize our cities and change the way we eat. 

"From rooftop farmers to backyard beekeepers, Americans are growing food like never before. GROWING CITIES tells the inspiring stories of these intrepid urban farmers, innovators, and everyday city-dwellers who are challenging the way this country grows and distributes its food. From those growing food in backyards to make ends meet to educators teaching kids to eat healthier, urban farmers are harvesting a whole lot more than simply good food."
 

More information and a Growing Cities trailer can be found at www.collectiveeye.org/products/growing-cities-educational.  

Following the film, we welcome you to stay for an informal discussion led by Gabe Russo of Forest City Farms in Middletown.  

The final film in the 2018-2019 series will be: 

Anthropocene, April 1, 2019 at Middlesex Community College, Chapman Hall, about the potential of a new geological epoch coined the Anthropocene, describing a planet shaped more by mankind than by nature (www.anthropocenethemovie.com) 

We hope you can join us for one or both of our upcoming films!  Please phone the Conservation District office for more information at 860-346-3282. 

The Elements: An Annual Environmental Film Series, begun in 2015, is sponsored by the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, Middlesex Community College Environmental Science Program, The Rockfall Foundation, and Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts, College of the Environment, and College of Film and the Moving Image. 

Le Petit Studio with Toto Kisaku

Oddfellows Playhouse announces “Le Petit Studio”, a series of three theater workshops for ages 8 – 14 and their family members. The first workshop is Saturday, January 26, 10am to noon at Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street in Middletown.

Each week will be a new theater experience, a new story, a new creation. Work with Congolese theater artist Toto Kisaku to create instant theater on three Saturday mornings this winter -- January 26, February 9 & February 23, 10 am to noon. Attend one Saturday, or all three. Tuition is $30 per session, or $75 for all three sessions. Financial aid is available. A unique opportunity to work together as a family on a creative project, and to join other kids and families in the process.

Toto Kisaku is a Congolese theater artist who is now a Middletown resident. His one-person show, "Requiem for an Electric Chair", was a highlight of last summer's International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven. Le Petit Studio is an exciting kid and family theater event that Toto has devised and implemented all over the country. Here is a description in his words:

What is it? Le Petit Studio is a workshop space for dramatic readings by and for children and adolescents, with optional participation by adults, including teachers, parents, and grandparents! The Petit Studio promotes a shared space where young people can experience and create around books, words, and sounds. A place to dramatize and recreate a universe that comes from writers from every part of the globe.

Why do this? Creativity is exciting, it’s exhilarating. And creating with other people brings them into our lives in a way that is empowering--the opposite of violence, which keeps others on the outside. Creating safe spaces for young people to be creators of their own lives and experiences is vital to developing the neighborhoods, the communities, the cities we dream of.

How will it happen? Imagine in 2 hours that a group of young people can recreate an entire world on stage. Imagine that they take responsibility for making artistic decisions to realize their vision and make their story come alive. First, the children choose a book or fable to dramatize. Next, they decide who will play each character, who will make sounds that will create the environment, and who will design the costumes and the set. Then the activity begins! For one hour, the young people cut, sew, paint, staple, and draw; they sing, whistle, blow, snap, stomp, and make unearthly sounds to recreate the world they’re creating; they practice voices for characters, look up how to pronounce unfamiliar words, try out various postures that fit their characters, and dig deeply into their characters—how they feel about themselves, how they feel about the other characters.

Each workshop culminates with a performance: the costume group dresses their characters, who now read their individual parts with the sound effects group adding the appropriate accompaniment. There is much laughter and enthusiastic participation as the young people experience the joy of creating together.

Toto has led more than 40 Le Petit Studio workshops for schools, nonprofit organizations and governments.

To register, or for more information, contact Oddfellows Playhouse at (860) 347-6143, email info@oddfellows.org, or go to www.oddfellows.org.

Dr. Bettina Love to Speak At Wesleyan Wednesday

click to enlarge

On Wednesday, January 23, 2019, community members will be gathering in Crowell Concert Hall for the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration ceremony. 

The event will take place from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall. This will be followed by a reception in Beckham Hall!

All members of the Middletown community are invited to attend! No RSVP is needed. Dr. Love is an amazing speaker and being; you can watch her TedxTalk on the relationship between hip-hop and academic success here. 

The official event page is here.