Join the Housatonic Valley Association for a Dine Out for a Cause fundraiser, hosted by Da Capo of Litchfield! A portion of the proceeds from Da Capo's hearty Italian dishes sold that evening will support HVA's conservation work in the Housatonic Valley and beyond.

The only conservation organization dedicated to the entire tri-state Housatonic Watershed, the Housatonic Valley Association acts to protect the natural character and environmental health of the region, from the Berkshires to Long Island Sound, through restoration projects, land protection, and educational programs.

Author of Slither: How Nature's Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World

In-Person & on Zoom:

“Stephen Hall is not just a terrific science writer, he’s a terrific writer, period.” 

- Michael Pollan

Join us as we explore with author Stephen Hall his spellbinding scientific and cultural study of snakes, the fascination and fear they inspire, and how surprising new science is indelibly changing our perception of these stunning and frightening creatures.

For millennia, depictions of snakes as alternatively beautiful and menacing creatures have appeared in religious texts, mythology, poetry, and beyond. But where there is hatred and fear, there is also fascination and reverence. How is it that creatures so despised and sinister, so foreign of movement and ostensibly devoid of sociality and emotion, have fired the imaginations of poets, prophets, and painters across time and cultures? 

Stephen S. Hall has been reporting and writing about the intersection of science and society for more than 40 years. In addition to numerous cover stories in the New York Times Magazine, where he also served as a Story Editor and Contributing Writer, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, National Geographic, New York Magazine, Wired, Science, Nature, Scientific American, Discover, The Sciences, Hip-pocrates, Smithsonian, and more. He is also the author of six critically acclaimed non-fiction books about contemporary science. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of journalism at New York University, and previously taught graduate seminars in science writing and explanatory journalism at Columbia University. 

Registration required only to attend in-person.

Presented by Sam King & Nancy Wright

What does it mean to be descended from the stars? How might awareness of our cosmic origins help us fulfill our role in a living Earth community?

This program will offer an immersion into Journey of the Universe, an Emmy Award-winning film weaving together science and spirituality to tell the epic story of cosmic evolution. We will explore the influence of the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, with special attention to his ideas of matter-spirit, cosmogenesis, and the emerging noosphere. We will also trace the legacy of the great cultural historian Thomas Berry, considering his visions of a New Story, the Universe as “a communion of subjects,” and the Great Work of birthing an Ecozoic Era of human-Earth flourishing.

Participants will be invited to take part in an outdoor Cosmic Walk, an embodied ritual created by Sr. Miriam MacGillis, tracing the 13.8 billion year story of the Universe.

At a time of ecological crisis, we will explore the implications of a Journey worldview for issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental justice.  

The program will conclude with discussion of how our “shared dream experience” can unleash the vision and creativity needed to restore the well being of the Earth community.

Lunch is included.

Author of Hiking Ruins of Southern New England

Live, In-Person & on Zoom:

Don’t miss this fascinating presentation! 

Hiking Ruins Southern New England is a guide to hiking archaeological sites in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Many people have no idea that there are archaeological sites in the area, on public lands where they are allowed to hike. 

There are numerous hikes featuring historic ruins in Connecticut to explore such as: A hike through Revolutionary War history on the Putnam Memorial State Park Trail; the legendary and significant archeological ruins on the Lighthouse Village and Jessie Gerard Trails in Barkhamsted; the ruins of an old amusement park on the Suburban Park Trail in Unionville; the Farmington Canal Trail, and so much more! 

Dr. Nicholas F. Bellantoni is emeritus Connecticut State Archaeologist and an associate research professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut. He served as the state archaeologist with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Center in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Connecticut.

The Curious Cat Bookshop will have books for sale the night of the event.

Registration required for in-person attendance only.