All Funk'd Up kicks off Ansonia summer concert series

All Funk'd Up performs Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Park in Ansonia.

ANSONIA - The five members of the Higganum-based band, All Funk'd Up, offered an energetic performance Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Park.

They played R&B, Motown, Disco, and Pop tunes and were 
the perfect start to the city's free summer concert series. 

Here's a video of them performing Taste of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie" from 1978.

And here's 1974's "Hollywood Swinging" from Kool and the Gang.

Great concert! 
It was their third appearance at Ansonia's summer series and they will return Aug. 20 when they play at "Rock the Valley" at Nolan Field.

Since my husband, Ralph, is chairman of the Ansonia Cultural Commission I have updated schedule info: the Aug. 3 concert will be a performance by the Cheshire-based Southern Voice.

Valley Shakespeare Festival to present classic comedy at Shelton park

Iris-McQuillan Grace as Kate and Nate Murphy as Petruchio rehearse a scene from Valley Shakespeare Festival's production of 'The Taming of the Shrew.'/ Contributed photo

SHELTON - Valley Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its fourth season in the Valley with four free performances of Shakespeare’s classic comedy,“The Taming of the Shrew.”

Veterans Memorial-Riverwalk Park will again be the site of the festivities July 14-17.  

Audiences are encouraged to arrive early to picnic and socialize before the performances which begin as the sun sets, around 8 p.m.

This comedy has long been recognized in Hollywood as the basis for every screwball “battle of the sexes” comedy created, from the 1940 Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant  classic “The Philadelphia Story” to the 1967 Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film version of the play itself, to 1999’s “10 Things I Hate About You” starring Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger.

As the story goes, Padua’s Signor Baptista Minola, a wealthy gentleman of the city, will not allow his younger daughter, the lovely and well-behaved Bianca, to date until his eldest daughter, the not-so-well-behaved Katharina, is married.  

Several of Bianca’s would-be suitors concoct a plan to find a husband for the challenging Katharina and light upon the bold and courageous Petruchio.  
Part one of the play revolves around the tumultuous courtship and part two deals with life after marriage.

The dialogue is fast and furiously witty, the comedy is vaudevillian in its physicality and the twists and turns will alternately shock, challenge and delight audiences.  
No need for Cliff Notes for this Shakespearean piece as Hollywood has been preparing audiences for this production for decades!

This is a press release from Valley Shakespeare Festival, a nonprofit theater company dedicated to bringing free and low-cost theater to the Lower Naugatuck Valley and surrounding communities.

Soup, art, music on tap this weekend in downtown Shelton

SHELTON - The seventh annual Soupstock, a music and arts fest, will rock downtown from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday at Veterans' Memorial Park, 38 Canal St.

Admission price for adults is $15/day at the gate.

Admission is all inclusive - enjoy the show and the soup/chili for one low price!

Admission is free for children 12 and under.

*Information shared from Facebook event page.

View meteor showers, learn about wildflowers in August at Ansonia Nature Center

ANSONIA - The Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center, 10 Deerfield Road, has scheduled a variety of fun and educational activities in August. 

REGISTER NOW FOR SUMMER NATURE DAYS!!! 

Aug. 1-5, Aug. 8-12, 

Aug. 15–19, 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.               

Choose one or more weeks!

For children from 5 to 11 years old who love the outdoors and wildlife, these popular classes will not only be educational but also a chance to explore the 156 acres the park offers. 
We will visit a variety of habitats such as the park’s wetlands, fields, and woodlands. A great choice for a fun late-summer experience! 

TUITION: $150 priority students (Ansonia residents and current family-level FANCI members), $175 all others.  

CREATURE FEATURE: Snakes of Connecticut – Aug. 6, noon

Meet some of nature’s most important predators up close and personal! Discover how they eat, what’s inside those long, skinny bodies, and how invasive species impact the natives. Come see some of our indigenous snakes. FREE. Please register in advance.

ROCKS IN SPACE: Perseid Meteor Showers – Aug. 12, 8 p.m. 

Come to Ansonia’s darkest location for some unusual night sky viewing with Bob Carruthers and the New Haven Astronomical Society. In addition to a chance to see the annual meteor showers (and touch a real meteor!), lunar rays—glass ejecta from the moon’s meteor craters—and Saturn will be visible if we have clear skies. Telescopes will be available. 
Meet at picnic pavilion #2. Children must be accompanied by an adult. FREE. Please register.

PET LOSS GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP – Aug. 14, 1 p.m.

Losing a beloved animal can be tragic and a very emotional time for humans. There are numerous resources to turn to for the loss of a human loved one; however, there are limited options for when we lose an animal. 

Susan Wilson has created this support group for those who have lost an animal or have one in the process of moving on. Join us for these FREE sessions.

SUMMER AND FALL WILDFLOWERS OF CONNECTICUT – Aug. 19, 7 p.m.

Many colorful summer and fall wildflowers can be found growing in Connecticut’s fields, forests, and wetlands. Compared to the light pastel colors of our spring flowers, summer flowers are bold and vibrant. 

Asters, goldenrods, and milkweed are easily observed, but many others are elusive and require a bit of searching. 
Area naturalists Peter and Barbara Rzasa will provide a Powerpoint presentation highlighting not only our common native wildflowers but also the not so common ones such as pipsissewa, turtlehead, bottle gentian, butterfly weed, rattlesnake plantain, Virgin’s bower, and arrowhead. 
This FREE presentation will also cover the parasitic plants dodder and Indian pipe as well as the carnivorous Northern pitcher-plant and sundew. Stories and flower folklore of our native summer and fall wildflowers will be shared.

THE NAUGATUCK RIVER: THE MOVIE – Aug. 21, 1-3 p.m.

This Naugatuck River Revival Group movie shows our river like never before. You will see it from its beginning in Torrington to its tide waters, where it meets the Housatonic River, and view what it is like in, over and under the river. The Naugatuck River, suitable for both children and adults, is a glimpse into a planned documentary called The Last Refuge and features the wildlife and people who use the river. 
You will see songbirds bathing and get close to eagles, owls, and salmon. 
You will meet two ancient creatures: lamprey and elvers (baby eels). Trapped at the Kinneytown Dam in Seymour, these elvers traveled thousands of miles from the Sargasso Sea to grow to lengths of over three feet. If they survive they will stay in the Naugatuck for the next 20-30 years before returning to the Sargasso to breed. Come close to one of the oldest predators on Earth: the peregrine falcon. 
Watch volunteers struggle to clean the river. See unique views of the new $6.4 million Tingue Dam Bypass. “We want to bring the river to the community,” Sondra Harman, NRRG Executive Director, said. “We want to show people that the river is beautiful.”

For information call the nature center, 203-736-1053.


This is a press release from the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center.