Archive for February, 2012

Chefs to grab for the sweet stuff in cooking challenge

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 by:Christina Hennessy

Above: Will Kies, left, director of education at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, shows Dino Psichopaidas a hydrometer, which is used to measure the thickness of syrup, during last year’s maple sugar festival. This year’s event will run Saturday to Sunday, March 3 to 4. Staff file photo

Although maple syrup might be best known as the sweet stuff that gets drizzled on to fluffy pancakes, it also can be used as an ingredient in myriad dishes from soups to stews, and most other offerings in between.

Four chefs plan to take full advantage of maple syrup’s culinary flexibility this weekend, when they complete in the First County Bank Chefs Challenge event at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center’s Maple Sugar Festival Weekend. The contest is actually expected to take place on Saturday, March 3 (the festival runs March 3-4), and is open to the public for voting.

The tastings will occur from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and will bring together Nikki Glekas, owner and chef at Eos Greek Cuisine in Stamford, Susan Kane, of Susan Kane Catering in Stamford, Jonathan Mathias, owner of A Dash of Salt in Norwalk, and David Cingari, owner of David’s Soundview Catering. By 2 p.m., the winner is expected to be announced.

And, just to whet those appetites, one of last year’s winning entries was maple-glazed popcorn with prosciutto.

The festival will run Saturday to Sunday, March 3 to 4, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. In addition to the food challenge, there will be maple sugar production and demonstrations, tree tapping, tastings, crafts and a scavenger hunt. On Sunday, the pancake brunch (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) returns for an extra fee of $5. The daily admission is $10 nonmembers, $5 for members and free for family plus and above members and those 3 and younger.

The center is located at 39 Scofieldtown Road. For more information, 203-322-1646, Ext. 6521, or visit here.

In new exhibition, Stamford gallery explores trends in video art

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 by:Scott Gargan

Above: A clip from Grant Worth’s “Unbirthday Alice for Philip,” on view in the new Franklin Street Works exhibition, “Heavy Rotation.”

Franklin Street Works in Stamford will celebrate the opening of it’s latest exhibition, a three-week showcase of emerging trends in contemporary video art, with a public reception on Thursday, March 1, 5-7 p.m.

On view through March 16, “Heavy Rotation” features four mini exhibitions, each lasting four days, and each reflecting different themes — from nature to love to psychological landscapes. New York-based curator Anthony Thornton rounds out the schedule with a selection of videos that “explore the public inevitability of private performance within our increasingly connected world,” according to the gallery.

Participating artists/curators include: Robert Chirila, Petra Cortright, Keith Edmier, Lindsey Eskind, Don Evans, Jesse Fleming, T. Foley, Alexa Gerrity, Matteo Giordano, Ilana Halperin, Seth Kelly, Karsten Krejcarek, Camille Laurelli, Jillian Mayer, David O’Reilly, Ariana Page-Russell, John Pilson, Cheryl Pope, Joshua Seidner, Rbt. Sps., Brent Stewart, Anthony Thornton and Grant Worth.

“Through multiple, short-lived shows, Heavy Rotation aims to provide an adrenaline rush of shifting contexts, fresh curatorial perspectives, and highly varied technologies,” according to the gallery. “The show’s fluctuating structure also asks us to imagine the exhibition as a series of changing visual events, rather than a static installation.”

Mel Brooks’ ‘Young Frankenstein’ coming to Waterbury Palace

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 by:Linda Tuccio-Koonz

Walk this way. The national Broadway tour of the classic Mel Brooks’ musical comedy “Young Frankenstein” is coming to the Palace Theater in Waterbury for three performances on April 13 and 14.

Tickets can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000 or online.

Based on the Oscar-nominated 1974 film, “Young Frankenstein” is the wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Mary Shelley classic, from the comic genius of Brooks.

The story centers on Frederick Frankenstein, an esteemed New York brain surgeon and professor who inherits a castle and laboratory from his grandfather. Despite this good fortune, he faces a dilemma: Does he continue to run from his family’s tortured past, or does he stay in Transylvania to carry on his grandfather’s mad experiments, and in the process, fall in love with his sexy lab assistant Inga?

Unfolding in the forbidding Castle Frankenstein and the foggy moors of Transylvania Heights, the show’s raucous score includes “The Transylvania Mania,” “He Vas My Boyfriend” and the laugh-out-loud treatment of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On the Ritz.”

Released in 1974 to critical acclaim, the film version received two Academy Award nominations, including one for Brooks’ and Gene Wilder’s script. Since its release, the film has become part of the national consciousness, and in 2000, was selected as number 13 on AFI’s 100 Funniest American Movies of All Time.

Opening on Broadway in 2007 to rave reviews, “Young Frankenstein” was named “Best Broadway Musical” in 2008 by the Outer Critics Circle Award and won five Broadway.com Audience Awards, including Favorite New Broadway Musical.

Free art & music events in Bridgeport, Fairfield this week

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by:Phyllis Boros

Right: “Queen 3,” by Stephanie Rocknack, is featured in the New York Sculptors Guild exhibit at the Housatonic Museum of Art through March 10.

Who says the arts have to be expensive?
There are a number of wonderful free events going on this week, including the following.

The first “Alumni Art Show,” featuring 16 University of Bridgeport alumni, will be on view March 1-23 at the Arnold Bernhard Center Gallery, at the corner of Iranistan and University avenues. On view are oil paintings, large format photography, sculpture, murals and cartoons. It opens with a public reception Thursday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m. RSVP at 203-576-4133.

The First Church Congregational, 148 Beach Road, Fairfield, is sponsoring a Lenten Organ Recital Series on the five Wednesdays during Lent, beginning Feb. 29. Each will run 30 minutes, and feature a noted local performer. Opening the series will be Galen Tate, a faculty member at the Hartt School in Hartford and Sacred Heart University. Concerts will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Housatonic Museum of Art, 900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport is hosting the New York Sculptors Guild exhibition, “Sculpture in the 21st Century,” through March 10 in its Burt Chernow Galleries. Featured are works by current guild members.

Barrett Bookstore to host authors Haley Tanner, Ruta Sepetys

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by:Scott Gargan

Barrett Bookstore in Darien is hosting a pair of best-selling authors who appeal to adults and teens alike.

Haley Tanner (above, left), author of the whimsical love story “Vaclav & Lena”; and Ruta Sepetys (above, right), author of the harrowing historical novel “Between Shades of Gray,” will discuss their books on Thursday, March 1 and Wednesday, April 4, respectively. Both events start at 7 p.m.

“What a great opportunity to connect with your teenager over two thought provoking books,” Libby Stowell, of Barrett Bookstore, said.

For information on “Vaclav & Lena” and “Between Shades of Gray” from Barrett Bookstore, read below:

“Vaclav & Lena” centers on the title characters — Russian immigrants who meet at age six in the English as a second language class at their Brooklyn, N.Y. school.

Vaclav’s passion is magic and his dream of becoming “Vaclav the Magificant” is intrinsically tied to Lena’s role as his Lovely Assistant. The two become soul-mates, aligned in their struggle to assimilate into American culture.

What begins as a light-hearted tale moves into deeper waters, but through all the twists and turns, the most enduring theme of the novel is the power of love, according to the bookstore

“This was a staff favorite when it first came out, and we think it will reach the audience it deserves when the paper edition arrives on February 7th,” Sheila Daley, owner of Barrett Bookstore, said.

“Between Shades of Gray” yells of the atrocities that take place in war-torn Lithuania through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl.

In 1941, Lina’s school-girl life is suddenly upended when she, her mother and her younger brother are taken from their home, shoved into a cattle car and sent on a journey though the Russian wilderness ending in a labor camp north of the Arctic Circle.

As Lina struggles to survive amid horrific living conditions, she finds solace in her art, meticulously and at great risk documenting events hoping that somehow the messages will reach her father to let him know they are alive.

The book is partly based on the experiences of the author’s grandfather, a Lithuanian immigrant.

Academy Award-winner ‘A Separation’ at the Avon

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by:Scott Gargan

Above: Leila Hatami and Peyman Moadi star in “A Separation,” winner for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. (Photo/Habib Majidi).

Fresh on the heels of its recent win for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, “A Separation” will get a special screening at the Avon Theatre in Stamford on Friday, March 2.

The 7:15 p.m. showing will be followed by a Q-and-A/panel discussion with  Dr. Sheyda Ardalan, professor of art and art education at Columbia University and an art teacher at Greenwich High School. Born in London to Iranian parents, Ardalan will talk about the film and her experiences in Iran, where she conducts free art workshops in villages.

Set in contemporary Iran, “A Separation” centers on an Iranian middle-class couple who split up, and the intrigues that follow when the husband hires a lower-class caretaker for his Alzheimer’s-suffering father.

“A Separation” was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay , and won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.

For additional movie times (note: the Q-and-A/panel discussion with  Dr. Sheyda Ardalan is a one-night event), visit the Avon Theatre online.

Emerging artist to get feted by some famous friends

Monday, February 27, 2012 by:Christina Hennessy

Above: Artist Asa Jackson, center, with Allan and Tamara Houston on their private, in-home basketball court. The Houstons are co-presenting an exhibition of Jackson’s work at the Samuel Owen Gallery in Greenwich March 1 through 22.

Allan and Tamara Houston may be well acquainted with the work of Newport, Va.-based artist Asa Jackson, but this week, they are hoping many others come to appreciate his talent.

Jackson, who is the couple’s nephew, will be bringing about 40 of his pieces to the walls of the Samuel Owen Gallery for the show “New Works” which begins Thursday, March 1, with an opening reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m..

The Houstons, who are Greenwich residents, are expected to attend the reception. Organizers also indicated there may be some other VIP guests, such as film directors and producers Spike Lee and Ron Howard.

This marks Jackson’s Fairfield County debut, though Houston, former New York Knicks player and the team’s current assistant general manager, and his wife already have been collecting Jackson’s work.

Jackson, who comes from a family of artists, according to publicity material for the show, is often influenced by his experiences.

He described his inspiration in a recent news release:

“Often times when I am painting, almost in a shamanistic way does the subject matter appear to me; usually being something I am going through in everyday life, or even historical events or people who may have significance to me. I am an avid reader of spiritual and historical texts so at times, my will reflect spiritual truths and historical scenes.”

There will be more than 40 works on display, including oil, acrylic and oil pastel paintings.

The exhibition will run through March 22. Admission to the reception and gallery, located at 378 Greenwich Ave., will be free. Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

John Mayer to hit the road, make homestate stop

Monday, February 27, 2012 by:Sean Spillane

Singer/songwriter John Mayer has recovered from his recent throat troubles, paving the way for his first tour in almost two years.

The 18-stop North American tour takes the Bridgeport native to Toyota presents the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford on Sunday, April 22. Tickets ($64-$99) go on sale Saturday, March 3 at 10 a.m. through Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Mayer is hitting the road in support of his fifth studio album, “Born and Raised.” Produced by Don Was and featuring contributions from David Crosby and Graham Nash, it is slated for a spring release.

In September 2011, Mayer was forced to cancel several planned shows after he was diagnosed with a granuloma in his throat, which had to be treated surgically, Rolling Stone reported.

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