Mayors meet for lunch in Ansonia

The First Annual Ansonia Mayors' Luncheon was held Wednesday at The Original Antonio's restaurant in Ansonia. Pictured from left, current Mayor David S. Cassetti, Mayor James DellaVolpe, Mayor Nancy Valentine, Mayor Thomas Hallihan, Mayor Thomas Clifford, Mayor James Finnucan, and Mayor Richard Krueger. Missing from photo is Mayor William Menna.



Photo shared from the City of Ansonia Facebook page.

Osborne Museum in Derby to mark Historic Gardens Day

Osborne Homestead Museum
(Photo from www.cthistoricgardens.org) 

DERBY - The Osborne Homestead Museum along with the other 13 members of the prestigious Connecticut’s Historic Gardens will celebrate the 12th Annual Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day Sunday.

From noon to 4 p.m., visitors can enjoy free tours of the museum’s lovely Colonial Revival gardens and learn about flower and tree legends and Frances Osborne Kellogg’s favorite flowers. The museum is at 500 Hawthorne Ave. 

After strolling through the gardens, visitors can visit the historic house museum and learn about Frances Osborne Kellogg’s passion for gardening and land conservation.
Museum and garden tours will be offered every half hour on the hour.

Connecticut’s Historic Gardens increases awareness of the state’s unique historic sites and gardens and offers visitors an opportunity to explore a variety of garden styles and time periods

More information about Connecticut’s Historic Gardens can be found at www.cthistoricgardens.org.

The Osborne Homestead Museum, a facility of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is open for free guided tours from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

For information about the museum call 203-734-2513.


This information is shared from an online community calendar sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the New Haven Independent.

Market Place in Ansonia offers one-of-a-kind items, live music

Fresh produce will be sold later in season 

Photographer Kristen Whyte of Bethany was one of the vendors at the Valley Market Place Wednesday held at Veterans Park next to Ansonia City Hall. She was selling handmade jewelry and wine charms. 

Former Ansonia Seventh Ward Alderman Daniel Evans entertains at the market place. 


Beautiful, reasonably priced baskets of colorful impatiens were on sale Wednesday. 


Below is the info for the weekly market place. Don't forget to put it on your calendar!

Seymour Library slates summer programs

Photo from Library's Facebook page

SEYMOUR - Summertime at the Seymour Public Library is a non-stop flurry of activities and programs to help you fill in your summertime questions of ‘what to do?’ 

The excellent summer reading club, which helps children continue their reading pleasure and progress, is for children of any age, with separate ones for the Young Adults and the teeny tiny. 
This year's summer reading theme is "Every Hero Has A Story."

Airborne Jugglers will kick off the summer at 11 a.m. July 2 with a show for all ages to enjoy. 
Art and craft programs, live animals like llamas and kangaroos, drama workshops, music shows and many, many more – followed by a big end of summer reading party, mark and incredible summer at the Seymour Public Library. 

All programs are free, fun, and formative! The Library is at 46 Church St.

Consult www.seymourpubliclibrary.org or visit us on Facebook to see all of our schedule! 

For information call 203-888-3903. You won’t want to miss it!


This is a press release from Ann Szaley, head of children's services, Seymour Public Library.

Valley Shakespeare Festival to stage comedy

SHELTON - William Shakespeare’s fantastical comedy about young lovers, royals, fairies and magic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will come alive for four spellbinding nights on stage at Shelton’s Riverwalk-Veterans Memorial Park at 8 p.m. July 9-12.

The performances will be presented free of charge to all by Valley Shakespeare Festival.

This will be the company’s third year of free summer productions in the park.

Devotees of VSF’s previous productions will recognize several returning performers as well as some new faces in this summer’s cast.

Making their VSF debuts are, among others, Broadway veteran Gary Harger (playing the dual roles of Egeus and Peter Quince) and Matt Densky (as Puck), who most recently performed in the Madison Square Garden production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the U.S. Regional premier of Disney’s Little Mermaid.

Also joining the cast for the first time are New York actors Tara Reuter as Hermia, Kelsea Baker as Helena, Matthew Hansen as Demetrius and Erik Bloomquist as Lysander.  Playing the dual roles of Theseus and Oberon, VSF is happy to welcome stage and screen veteran Dave Herigstad. 

Among the returnees are locals Jessica Breda, who has performed in almost every VSF production, as Hippolyta and Titania; Tyler Huntley (Much Ado About Nothing, A Christmas Carol) as Flute, Peseblossom and Thisbe;  Gwendolyn Niles (Much Ado About Nothing, A Christmas Carol) in dual roles, and of course, Tom Simonetti as Bottom. 

Rounding out the cast are Brodey Ott, Ben Kingsley and Ansonia High School Senior Ashley Velleco, all taking on multiple roles.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a fast-paced, fun and “spirited” romp revolving around two sets of young lovers who flee into a forest and stumble onto a merry feud between the King and Queen of the Fairies of the forest.  

It is truly an ensemble effort with many of the actors playing dual roles as the action takes place in two completely different settings.  It begins in Athens where Duke Theseus is preparing to wed Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, but quickly moves into the enchanted forest where all bets are off.  

With the change of scenery comes the change of roles as Duke Theseus becomes Oberon, King of the Fairies and his betrothed, Hippolyta, becomes Titania, Oberon’s wife and Queen of the Fairies.  
And, a burly group of craftsmen who are gathered in the forest to rehearse a play they have prepared to perform at the Duke’s wedding find themselves magically transformed into forest sprites, sparkly wings and all!

Hilarious mishaps and mayhem ensue as Oberon and Titania attempt to clean up the mess the mortals have made, all the while waging a mini-war between themselves using the fairies and mortals as pawns.

Being a true Shakespearean comedy, it’s no spoiler to reveal that all is resolved in the end, but it may be best to take Puck’s parting advice as shared in his epilogue: 

     

                                                                             If we shadows have offended,

                                                                            Think but this and all is mended,

                                                                            That you have but slumbered here,

                                                                            While these visions did appear.

After all, it is a midsummer night’s dream …


This is a press release from Valley Shakespeare Festival. 

Pizza was name of the game in Seymour

SEYMOUR - A fun fundraiser was held at noon today at Zois Pizza to benefit Project Purple.

Stay tuned for a story in the Valley Independent Sentinel.

Beer brewing will be topic of talk at Derby Library

DERBY - The Derby Public Library will host a visit from Will Siss to discuss his new book, 

Connecticut Beer:  A History of Nutmeg State Brewing, at 6:30 p.m. July 13.

The history of the frothy beverage in Connecticut dates back to early colonists who used it to quench their thirst in

the absence of clean drinking water.  

So integral was beer to daily life that government officials and militiamen congregated in taverns to talk laws and business over pints of ale.

Over the next two centuries, the number of breweries rose and then declined, especially after Prohibition.

It was not until the 1980s that home brewers brought this vital Nutmeg State tradition back to life.

More recently, operations with one or two people are changing the landscape again.

Siss has been writing the “Beer Snob” column for the 

Waterbury Republican-American since 2005.  

Copies of his book will be available for purchase.  

Registration is requested.  

For more information, stop by the Library at 313 Elizabeth St. or call

203-736-1482 or visit www.derbypubliclibrary.org. 

This is a press release from Cathy Williams,  Director, Derby Public Library.