February 4, 2012

Food Festival : 4th Annual Westport Chowdafest

Chowdafest has grown to become the area's biggest and most fun culinary competition. Almost 2,000 people attended last year's competition, casting over 17,000 votes for their favorite soups and chowders. The event is conducted by members of The Unitarian Church in Westport which has raised enough to fund over 30,000 meals over the past 3 years for the CT Food Bank. The event takes place from 11 am to 4 pm at Bedford Middle School in Westport, CT. $6 adults $2 kids twelve and under.

Bedford Middle School
88 North Avenue
Westport, CT 06880
www.chowdafest.org

February 5 through 11, 2012

Darien Restaurant Week and Indoor Sidewalk Sale Days

Saving money can be a delicous bargain during Darien Indoor SideWalk Sales which run Feb 5-11 and Darien Restaurant Week which is Feb 6-10. Darien Restaurant Week will offer consumers great deals, the opportunity to experience some new restaurants, and re-visit a few of their favorites throughout the Darien area. Participating restaurants will offer a special prix-fixe lunch and/or dinner menu during the entire week.

Darien Chamber of Commerce
Phone: (203) 655-3600
www.darienchamberonline.com

February 6, 2012

Greenwich Antiques Society: Lecture

The Greenwich Antiques Society will host a multimedia lecture, Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color, on Monday, February 6th 2012, at 1:00 at The Bruce Museum, located at One Museum Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut. Elena Phipps, author, independent scholar and former Senior Museum Conservator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will present the lecture. Refreshments and an open discussion with Ms. Phipps will follow the presentation. Admission for non-members of the Greenwich Antiques Society is $20.

The Bruce Museum
One Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830
www.GreenwichAntiques.org

February 9, 2012

Benefit: Chocolate, Dessert, & Wine Lover's Evening

The 3rd Annual Chocolate, Dessert, & Wine Lover's Evening to benefit the Shelter for the Homeless will take place on February 9th from 6 pm to 9 pm at The Stamford Marriott Hotel. This delectable evening will feature 75 chocolate, dessert, wine, merchant exhibitors, and door prizes. The evening will also feature music from local student musicians along with a variety of exhibitors and a Valentine Gift Boutique. 20% of every item sold will go directly to the Shelter for the Homeless. The Shelter for the Homeless serves the communities of Greenwich, Stamford, Darien and New Canaan. 100% of each ticket sold will go directly to the Shelter for the Homeless. $45 in advance or $50 after February 8th. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the Shelter Office at (203) 406-0017.

The Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa
243 Tresser Boulevard, Stamford, CT 06901
www.shelterforhomeless.org

Through February 19, 2012

Photography Show: Carriage Barn Arts Center in Waveny Park

The 32nd Annual Photography Show by juror Joan Fitzsimmons will be on exhibit Tuesday to Sunday from 12 to 4 pm through February 19th. Home of the New Canaan Society for the Arts, the Carriage Barn Arts Center is a welcoming, inclusive arts organization which encourages creative expression, celebrates artistic achievement, and enriches the community as a whole. Admission is free.

Carriage Barn Arts Center in Waveny Park
681 South Avenue
New Canaan, CT
Phone: (203) 972-1895
www.carriagebarn.org

February 22, 2012

Winter Braise with Chef Matt Storch

Learn about and taste shanks, ribs, veggies, and even treats from the sea that are immersed in flavorful liquids and simmered all day long. Chef Matt Storch, known for his culinary talents at Match in South Norwalk, will share his true "love" method of cooking used for appetizers, pasta sauces and main courses that is inspired by numerous cultures around the world. This is sure to be a very special evening of food, wine, and fun. Registration required by phone or online. Cost: $100 per person. 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm.

The Clarke Culinary Center
64 South Main Street
South Norwalk, CT
800-842-5275 x 206
www.clarkeculinarycenter.com

Through February 28, 2012

Open Exploration at the Arboretum

Join Todd DuPont and Brad Nagle will explore a variety of topics aimed at connecting you and your children to the botanical and natural world that grows all around us. Children will participate in hands on science, art and gardening activities and story time. Ages 2 to 8 (caregivers encouraged to attend). $5 for Members, $10 for Nonmembers. Open to the public, reservations not required. Tuesdays and Thursdays in February, 10:00am to 11:00am. The 91-acre nature preserve is a living museum of majestic trees, rare plant collections, charming gardens, and varied natural habitats and landscapes traversed by hiking and walking trails. The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens is open to the public all year long.

The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens
151 Brookdale Road
Stamford, CT 06903
Phone: (203) 322-6971
www.bartlettarboretum.org

Through February 29, 2012

Art Exhibit: Greenwich Garden Education Center

A graduate of Yale University, exhibiting artist Julie Satinover lived in New York, Los Angeles, and London before settling in Connecticut. Julie has studied art at Yale and the Silvermine Guild. She began painting professionally in 2001 and won her first art show, sponsored by the Weston Commission for the Arts, two years later. She has shown her work in numerous solo and group shows. Her artwork is held in private collections in the US, Europe and Asia and is exhibited at Yale University's Child Study Center. Julie's art will be on exhibit January 28th through February 29th with an opening reception on Saturday, January 28th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Garden Education Center of Greenwich
130 Bible Street, Cos Cob, CT 06807
(203) 869-9242
www.gecgreenwich.org

Guggenheim Museum: Exhibitions

Maurizio Cattelan: ALL. This exhibition brings together virtually everything the artist has produced since 1989 and presents the works en masse, strung seemingly haphazardly from the oculus of the Guggenheim’s rotunda. Hailed simultaneously as a provocateur, prankster, and tragic poet of our times, Maurizio Cattelan has created some of the most unforgettable images in recent contemporary art. His source materials range widely, from popular culture, history, and organized religion to a meditation on the self that is at once humorous and profound. Through January 22, 2012

For details, click here.

Maurizio Cattelan: All, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, November 4, 2011–January 22, 2012. Photo: David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

Kandinsky's Painting with White Border. This focused exhibition, co-organized with the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., brings the Guggenheim’s final version of the painting from May 1913 together with twelve related drawings and watercolors and one major oil sketch, and features the results of an extensive conservation study of the Guggenheim and Phillips paintings. (Pictured below.) Through January 15, 2012

For details, click here.

Vasily Kandinsky, Painting with White Border (Bild mit weissem Rand), May 1913. Oil on canvas, 140.3 x 200.3 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift 37.245 © 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Through February 8, 2012 — Surface, Support, Process: The 1960s Monochrome in the Guggenheim Collection. (Pictured below.) This focused selection of monochrome works reveals how an apparently simple formal device served for many artists as the point of departure for a complex re-evaluation of painting and sculpture. For details, click here.

Robert Mangold, 1/3 Gray-Green Curved Area, 1966. Oil on Masonite, two panels, 121.9 x 212.7 cm overall. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Panza Collection 91.3781. © 2011 Robert Mangold/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Through February 12, 2012 — Pop Objects and Icons from the Guggenheim Collection. (Pictured below.) This focused exhibition demonstrates various artists’ engagement with Pop Art and the Guggenheim's ongoing interest in the legacy of the style. For details, click here.

Roy Lichtenstein, Preparedness, 1968. Oil and Magna on three joined canvases, 304.8 x 548.6 cm overall. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York 69.1885. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

Through July 16, 2012 — Guggenheim: From the Archives: Artist Awards and Acquisitions, 1956–1987. This focused presentation provides a compelling historical overview of three award series—the Guggenheim Internationals, the Theodoron Awards, and the Exxon Nationals and Internationals—exhibited at the Guggenheim between 1956 and 1987. The participating artists and resulting acquisitions are highlighted, with accompanying photographs, catalogues, audio and video clips, and ephemeral materials that illuminate the institution’s longstanding support of emerging artists. For details, click here.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street)
New York, NY 10128-0173
(212) 423-3618
www.guggenheim.org

February 23rd - March 31, 2012

Greenwich Garden Education Center: Introduction to Bonsai Course

This course will be taught by Michael Pollock and follow the general outline of the American Bonsai Society’s Introduction to Bonsai course. Students will explore Bonsai history, style and tools, pruning, wiring and styling of bonsais, container selection, soil, potting and maintenance. At the end of the course, students will have a good working knowledge of the practice of bonsai and will have created 2-3 bonsai trees to keep and develop. Thursdays, February 23rd; March 1st, 8th, 15th,- 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Saturdays, March 24th & 31st - 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Members: $200., Non-members: $250. Note: March 24th & 31st bring your lunch. Separate materials fee of approximately $125 - $150 paid to instructor. To register, click here.

Garden Education Center of Greenwich
130 Bible Street, Cos Cob, CT 06807
(203) 869-9242
www.gecgreenwich.org

April 17 — 20, 2012

The New York Tabletop Show

See the finest names and newest trends in Tabletop Giftware at Forty One Madison. Giftware, Dinnerware, Flatware and Housewares brands of exceptional design and quality. Pre-Registration is open exclusively to the trade, including Wholesale Buyers, Designers, Chefs and the Hospitality Industry. Pre-registration will expedite your check-in process, and automatically subscribe you to our mailing list for occasional updates. Please note that your photo identification and appropriate business identification will be required to enter the building.
Click here to Pre-Register.

The New York Merchandise Mart
Forty One Madison Avenue
New York, NY

Varoius Dates

Culinary Classes

Join Clarke, Connecticut's kitchen resource center as they celebrate their recently opened cooking school, The Clarke Culinary Center. Learn to cook with some serious techniques and culinary secrets from your favorite restaurants. Classes range from $50 to $85 per person and include all food, equipment and tastings. Reservations are required. Please check web site to confirm dates and times: www.clarkecorp.com/ChefSeries

The Clarke Culinary Center
64 South Main Street
South Norwalk, CT
(800) 842-5275 Ext. 206
www.clarkeculinarycenter.com

On-Going: Exhibit: New Canaan Architects — 1953-1983

Exhibited on the second floor of the New Canaan Historical Society's Town House is an overview of thirty years of work by New Canaan architects. Most of the works selected for this exhibit are located out of New Canaan, for as their fame spread, commissions took the architects far and wide, and their styles developed in a variety of architectural expressions. Included among the works in the exhibit are personal interpretations of the International Style, restorations, eclecticisms, and Post-Modern allusions to our past.

The New Canaan Historical Society, 13 Oenoke Ridge, is open Tuesday through Saturday: 9:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. On Saturdays, the gallery is closed between 12:30 and 2 p.m. For further information, call (203) 966-1776 or visit www.nchistory.org

On-Going:

The vision of the Stamford Center for the Arts is to be the regional arts center for exciting entertainment that enhances and enriches the cultural, educational, economic, and social life of the community. The SCA strives to achieve this vision by demonstrating integrity in all work and relationships, providing service and quality in all activities, fostering and promoting diversity of thought, ideas and culture, providing stewardship for the Stamford Arts community, emphasizing outreach in our community, and offering creativity in all endeavors. Major funding provided by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. Click here to view the upcoming show schedules.

Stamford Center for the Arts
61 Atlantic Street
Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 325-4466 www.stamfordcenterforthearts.org

On-Going:

Exhibition: Reframing American Art: The Roy R. Neuberger Collection

The works of art included in this exhibition are selections from Roy R. Neuberger’s (American, born 1903) generous gift to Purchase College, State University of New York, which helped to establish the Neuberger Museum of Art. In addition to the many iconic paintings and sculptures for which the collection is known is a presentation of photographs, drawings, and prints never before exhibited. Bold groupings and expanded texts shed new light on the aesthetic and social commitments of leading American artists in the middle of the twentieth century.

Neuberger Museum of Art
735 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577
Phone: (914) 251-6117  www.neuberger.org

On-Going:

Exhibition: The African Collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art

The African Collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art provides an introduction to the richness and complexity of the artistic traditions of Africa.

Focusing on central Africa, the collection spans a broad geographic range from Mali to Mozambique, offering artistic insight into more than thirty cultures.

Of the major works on display, many come from the collection of the late Lawrence Gussman, a notable collector and resident of Scarsdale, New York. Among them are a very rare harp, indeed the only anthropomorphic harp of the Tsogo peoples of Gabon known to be in an American museum, and two forceful Fang reliquary guardian figures.

Visit the AFRICAN ART WEBSITE www.neuberger.org/africanArt, which showcases many outstanding examples from the collection, including 360 degree views of several objects.

Neuberger Museum of Art
735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577
Open: Tuesday - Sunday, 12 - 5 pm
Phone: 914.251.6100 (Mon. - Fri., 8:30 am - 5:30 pm)
Phone: 914.251.6117 (Sat. - Sun., 12 noon - 5 pm)
www.neuberger.org

Various Dates:

IMAX Films: Maritime Aquarium

It’s been circling the earth – and advancing our understanding of the universe – for nearly 20 years. The Hubble Space Telescope returns to Fairfield County and shares its celestial wonders in this incredible new IMAX® movie. Through the power of the immersive IMAX format, audiences will almost feel the weightlessness of space and the weighty task facing the space-walking astronauts assigned to carry out the final mission to update the telescope. “Hubble” also offers an incredible never-before-seen “flight” through Hubble imagery, providing a first-person journey from the Orion Nebula to the far reaches of our universe. The 43-minute film is rated G, and is suitable for all ages. 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. /daily.

"Mysteries of the Great Lakes", a new IMAX® movie at Norwalk's Maritime Aquarium, lets you bask in the beauty of America's "inland seas" and join scientists working to reintroduce an ancient species. The film celebrates one of Earth's greatest freshwater ecosystems, and is a rallying cry for the lakes' continued protection. The Maritime Aquarium features an 2-D IMAX® Theater with a six story high screen. Huge, crisp images make you feel like you’re inside the action; and the 10,000-watt digital propietary surround-sound audio system completes a total immersion movie experience. Noon and 2 p.m. /daily.

Maritime Aquarium
10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT
To confirm show times, call (203) 852-0700
www.maritimeaquarium.org

On-Going Exhibit:

New Exhibit: Maritime Aquarium

Explore our important relationship with fish – past, present and future – in “Go Fish! Long Island Sound & Beyond,” a permanent new exhibit featuring live local species and interactive displays, at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. Centerpiece of the exhibit is a new 30,000-gallon tank stocked with cod, striped bass, Atlantic salmon, tautogs, wolffish and spiny dogfish sharks. Soon to be added to the tank is an enormous 7-foot Atlantic halibut, the largest species of flatfish on our coast.

Maritime Aquarium
10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT
To confirm show times, call (203) 852-0700
www.maritimeaquarium.org

On-Going:

The world’s leading performing arts center, Lincoln Center is the home to twelve different independent resident arts companies. From the grandeur of The Metropolitan Opera to the jubilant spirit of Jazz at Lincoln Center, there is something for everyone. Discover the wide array of programming presented by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (entitled "Lincoln Center Presents”) through the American Songbook series; Great Performers; Lincoln Center Festival; Lincoln Center Out of Doors; Midsummer Night Swing; the Mostly Mozart, Tully Scope, and White Light Festivals; family events; and the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts.

Lincoln Center
20 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY
(212) 875-5000
www.new.lincolncenter.org

Philip Johnson Glass House Tours

The the Glass House introduces three new tours and launches a new program, third Thursdays, in addition to its existing tour options. Three new two-hour tours ($45 each) offer visitors the opportunity to dive deeper into the essential elements of the 47-acre site - architecture, art and landscape – by focusing on the unique details surrounding the fourteen structures and the world-class private art and design collection.The architecture tour offers guests the opportunity to learn how the Glass House campus serves as a 50-year Diary of architectural history by exploring the architects, theories and history; buildings, materials and technologies; and preservation challenges of Modern architecture.

Third Thursdays: Conversations in Context: Leading minds in the fields of architecture, art, design, history, landscape and preservation will serve as hosts of this special curated tour. They will provide narrative, interpretation, and personal inspiration while walking the Glass House site with an intimate group of visitors. Following the tour, guests will gather for a reception on the site. ($150 per person, per evening.)

Philip Johnson Glass House
199 Elm Street
New Canaan, CT
www.philipjohnsonglasshouse.org