Conversational Italian, 13-sessions, is not a beginner class. It will be held on Fridays, April 25 to August 1, 9:15 to 11:15 a.m., with no class on May 30 or July 4. It is designed for those with a knowledge of basic Italian grammar and good vocabulary.  The required text is Conversational Italian: In 20 Lessons (Cortina Method) by Michael Cagno,  available online at abebooks.com.  

Live, In-Person & on Zoom:

Mark Scarbrough returns to OWL this Spring; leading us through 8 weeks of some of his favorite Flannery O’Connor works.

Flannery O'Connor is considered one of America's greatest fiction writers and her writing often reflects her Catholic faith, and frequently examined questions of morality and ethics. When she died in August of 1964, The New York Times called her “one of the nation’s most promising writers.” 

O’Connor is now as canonical as Faulkner and Welty. More than a great writer, she’s a cultural figure: a funny lady in a straw hat, puttering among peacocks, on crutches she likened to “flying buttresses.”

Discussion Schedule:

March 14: A Good Man is Hard to Find; A Circle of Fire; and Good Country People

March 21: The Artificial N----r and The Displaced Person

March 28: Wise Blood: chapters 1 - 7

April 4: Wise Blood: chapters 8 - 14

April 18: The Violent Bear It Away: chapters 1 - 5

April 25: The Violent Bear It Away: chapters 6 - 12

May 2: Greenleaf; The Enduring Chill; and The Comforts of Home

May 9: Everything That Rises Must Converge; The Lame Shall Enter First; and Revelation

MARK SCARBROUGH is a former English Professor and author who teaches seminars on Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner and Toni Morrison. He also hosts three literary podcasts.

The library will have copies of Flannery O'Connor's works to borrow and titles are also available to download as e-books or e-audios to OWL library card holders.

Registration required for in-person attendance.

August 15, 2024 – September 21, 2025

Celebrating the year-long loan of three Georgia O’Keeffe paintings, this exhibition unites the Mattatuck Museum’s collection with O’Keeffe’s life and work through common themes.

 These unique spotlight exhibitions celebrate the year-long loan of three Georgia O’Keeffe paintings and will unite the Mattatuck Museum’s collection with O’Keeffe’s life and work through common themes, creating a unique dialogue between her work and other celebrated artists. Each unique pairing will be curated and narrated by a different member of the Museum’s curatorial department and offer a distinctive perspective on the Mattatuck Collection in relation to the works and story of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is honored to present an exhibition featuring hand-painted cyanotypes by Julia Whitney Barnes and drawings by Sarah Morejohn.

Julia Whitney Barnes is well known for her innovations in Cyanotype (camera-less photographic printing process) paintings. Whitney Barnes’ multi-step process includes harvesting flora (flowers and weeds being equally important) and combining several species into a single composition on photo sensitive cotton paper. After exposing the work to UV light, the resulting blue and white image is carefully hand-painted in many layers of watercolor, gouache, and ink, reanimating the vitality to the ghost of the objects. The artist is most interested in creating work that feels both beautiful and mysterious. Her artwork symbolizes resilience and are the records of the historical moment in which they were made, the process, and the artist’s will and interest in reasserting the presence of the image.

Whitney Barnes recently completed permanent public installations in The Botanist’s Mural, Vassar College/Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, Brooklyn Botanical: PS 253 (glass commission), Public Art in Public Schools/Percent for Art, Brooklyn, NY, Planting Utopia (interior installation), Albany International Airport, Albany, NY, Planting Utopia (interior and exterior installation), Shaker Heritage Society, Albany, NY. The artist has received the following honors and awards; Maker-Creator Research Fellowship, Winterthur Museum, Library & Garden (2024-25), Individual Artist Grant, (partnering with Shaker Heritage Society), New York State Council on the Arts (2018), Individual Artist Commission, NY State Decentralization Grant, Arts Mid-Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY (2015), Gowanus Public Arts Initiative Grant (ArtsGowanus, The Old Stone House & District 39), Brooklyn, NY, Residency with Site-Specific Installation & Fellowship, Fjellerup I Bund I Grund, Fjellerup, Denmark, to name a few. Her work has been featured in Architectural Record, Times Union, The B Magazine, The Jealous Curator, Create Magazine, American Art Collector Magazine and many other publications and podcasts. Julia Whitney Barnes earned her BFA Fine Arts, Painting, Parsons the New School for Design, New York, NY and her MFA Fine Arts, Painting & Combined Media, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, NY. The artist lives and works in NY.

Sarah Morejohn’s fascination with non-linear patterns in nature drives her work. Through drawing, she considers how the relationship to nature is mediated both by objective understanding and subjective imagining of it. Considering the symbolic connections between nature, the body, and climate change Morejohn draws partial six-fold symmetries. By building a drawing line by line, sharp angles soften and wiggle, cell-like shapes minnow along while branches and flowers become a part of the flotsam disconnected from the earth. Figurative snow crystals become interlaced with one another and their environment, jumbling towards their own future transformations. Morejohn’s drawing process is intuitive and organic, artifacts of the process, drips, spills, flaws and mistakes are embraced. By collaging the imperfect pieces of her drawings together the work becomes a metaphor for the ever-changing uncertainties of life.

Sarah Morejohn’s work in in the collections of Heustis Hall, 1% for Art Oregon Arts Commission, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, Echo Laboratory, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, Ursell Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, Project Art & Medical Museum, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Iowa City, IA. She was awarded residencies at Jentel Artist Residency, Banner, WY and Playa Art and Science Residency, Summer Lake, OR. Morejohn earned her BFA in Painting and Drawing, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. The artist lives and works in CA.

Please contact Lani Ming Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Join us for Cris Caivano's program where she will blend her joy of dance, movement, research and teaching with the practice of Qigong.

This program is made possible by a generous grant from the Northwest CT Community Foundation Khurshed Bhumgara Fund.

Yarn Bomb Drop-in Sessions are taking place at Five Points Gallery throughout the spring - free and open to the public of all ages, skills and techniques welcome!

MORE INFO HERE

Fridays (weekly):

1 - 2:30 PM

April 11, 18, 25

May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

This month, the Friday Afternoon Book Club invites readers to immerse themselves in the rich and unforgettable world of A Prayer for Owen Meany by bestselling author John Irving. Known for its emotional depth, sharp wit, and profound themes, the novel promises to spark meaningful conversation and reflection among book lovers.

Set in 1950s New Hampshire, the story follows the lifelong friendship between John Wheelwright and the remarkable Owen Meany—a boy with a strange voice and an unshakable belief that he is destined for a divine purpose. Through Owen’s extraordinary faith and the twists of fate that shape their lives, Irving explores powerful themes of religion, destiny, grief, and identity.

Book club members will explore questions like: What does it mean to believe in something greater than yourself? How does friendship shape our sense of self and purpose? And how can one small person leave an outsized impact on the world?

All are welcome—whether you're reading it for the first time or revisiting this unforgettable classic. Join us for a thoughtful and engaging discussion!

Registration required: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/gml-friday-book-club-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-by-john-irving/

Looking for something to do with your unpaired socks? Join us for a Lost Sock Party at the David M. Hunt Library on May 9th at 3:30pm on Lost Sock Memorial Day! We will gather together to give new purpose to our unpaired socks with multiple craft stations set up with new ways to repurpose your mismatched, lonely socks. Snacks and laughs aplenty.

*BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!*

Learn dance fundamentals and the basic steps plus even more for several of the most popular Ballroom Dances. Each of the 3 evenings we will choose from among these – BACHATA, CHA CHA-SALSA, HUSTLE, JITTERBUG SWING, MERENGUE, WALTZ and WEST COAST SWING. We have instruction sheets to help you remember what you learn and a possible “field trip” to get some real world experience.

ALL AGES welcome and NO partner or previous dance experience necessary. Have fun dancing to impress at your next dance party !

Instructor: Jim Zaccaria has taught dance since 1985. He helped found the Philadelphia Swing Dance Society and Swing On ! to teach new dancers the joys of boogieing to the beat !

This three - week session begins on Friday, May 9 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm and meets at Community Hall at the Morris Town Hall.

Please CARRY IN smooth soled shoes for our lessons (Shoes that would allow you to pivot on the ball of your foot.). And wear comfortable clothes that are easy to move (and dance!) in.

SESSIONS:

Friday, May 9 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Friday, May 16 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Friday, May 23 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

COST FOR THE THREE WEEK SERIES:

Morris residents - $30 couple / $20 single

Non residents - $35 couple / $25 single

Please email us at Activities@morrisct.gov to register!

Friday, May 9th, at 7 PM, 2nd Home welcomes back Brian Mattiello. It's always a great night with Brian here, and this time will be no different. Great music, food, drinks, and fun. Come down and enjoy!

For reservations (encouraged but not required) call 860-238-4500 or email us at momanddad@2ndhomelounge.com

See our complete event list - https://2ndhomelounge.com/events/

Google Street View

https://goo.gl/maps/eC7A4ZDEjenNqzpb6

https://goo.gl/maps/NWGK4NRyk6MNfmWZ6

2nd Home Lounge

524 Main Street, Winsted

2ndhomelounge.com

Join our mailing list - https://2ndhomelounge.com/email-sign-up/

Paint and sip located above Toothpick on Water Street in Torrington!

BYOB! Painting new types of still life's every week.

All materials included in price

RSVP online

Looking for the perfect night out? Whether it’s a girls' night, date night, or just a fun evening to unwind, our Sip & Paint class is the ultimate way to get creative while enjoying great company. No experience? No problem! I’ll guide you through the painting process step by step, making it easy, stress-free, and fun.

Each registered participant will get to create two stunning pour paintings. Our experienced instructor, Christy B will guide you through the process, ensuring that everyone has a blast while expressing their creativity.

With a glass of wine in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, you’ll create two unique masterpieces to take home. Laugh, sip, and paint the night away in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere!

Includes: One 8x8 canvas, one 10x10 canvas, wine, and delicious snacks! (Non-alcoholic options available.)

Instructor: Christy Bonaiuto

It’s best to allow the paintings to dry for a day before moving them too much, but if the participants want to take them with them, they can.

Caroline and Nancy sing as the duo "The Girls from Away", and have been working and singing together for years. They love to explore the rich musical heritage and connections between the British Isles and Americas through their songs and rich harmonies. They perform locally and really enjoy researching and sharing traditional songs as well as writing their own. They have produced and performed programs such as "From Maritimes to Mountains - The Songs of the Eastern Seaboard from Newfoundland to the Carolinas" and the upcoming "Songs for the Women".

Caroline has loved to sing since before she could speak. She is an award-winning, published poet who writes in Scottish Gaelic and has been featured in programs on the BBC Radio for her original songwriting. She also loves to spin, weave, celebrate nature, and travel. Her songs can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-tYC3-HEgufl445tmzm4QQ.

Nancy began playing guitar and singing in church at the age of 13. It was the music of

John Denver that inspired her to branch out from Christian worship songs to folk music. She has also written songs about family and the New England coast. Nancy’s other interests include walks in the country, kayaking, visiting Maine, and being creative (painting, drawing, decorating). You can find a few of her songs on reverbnation. https://www.reverbnation.com/nancywalsh

CCB will present "Paddington in Peru" at 8 p.m. Registration required.

https://MovieNight-Paddington.eventbrite.com