OLD LYME — On Wednesday, Sept. 22, the Florence Griswold Museum hosts a virtual lecture titled, Promise, Witness Remembrance: A Contemporary Response, starting at 3 p.m.
This virtual event is free but registration is required at this link.
The presentation will be given by Allison Glenn, Senior Curator and Director of Public Art, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and followed by a Q & A facilitated by Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator, Florence Griswold Museum and Jac Lahav, Secretary, PARJE (Public Art for Racial Justice Education)
Glenn will discuss her celebrated 2021 art exhibition Promise, Witness, Remembrance, developed around Amy Sherald’s portrait of Breonna Taylor, at the Speed Museum in Louisville, Ky. She will reflect on the portrait of Taylor and her unique approach to curating this exhibition, and how artists can help us understand larger systemic issues of gun violence and inequity in policing.
Audience members will learn how a diverse range of artists addresses memory, hope, and racial justice through their work.
This lecture is part of a series Arts & Advocacy: Methods to Spark Positive Change Through Art and made possible by the State of Connecticut and the National Endowment for the Humanities, both of which provide significant support to Connecticut Humanities.
Register for this free lecture and conversation at this link.
OLD LYME — In March 2021, a group of interested residents of Lyme and Old Lyme met on Zoom to plan the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden (LOLFSG), a garden dedicated to growing and donating all produce to local food pantries. As the end of summer draws near, the group is delighted to share their progress and invite readers to visit the site.
The LOLFSG will be holding two Open House/Work Sessions on two upcoming Saturdays, Sept. 18 and Sept. 25 from 8 to 11 a.m. at the garden, which is located behind the field house and playground at Town Woods Park. All are welcome.
Jim Ward, who conceived the original idea for the garden and has been the driving force behind its development, explained, “Board members are anxious and excited to share the progress we have made in establishing the garden and look forward to answering any questions concerning our vision.”
In the months following the inaugural meeting, the LOLGSF participated in a crowdsourcing fundraiser sponsored by Sustainable CT in which 82 donors helped raise $8350. With $7500 of those funds being matched, the LOLFSG was able to purchase fencing materials and broke ground at Town Woods Park in June.
Ward commented enthusiastically, “Through the dedicated efforts of volunteers, an eight-foot deer fence has been erected, the installation of an irrigation system is in progress, three raised beds have been built and additional in-ground beds have been prepared. We are on track to plant and harvest our first crops in Spring 2022!”
As the number of LOLFSG members increases, volunteers of all ages are invited to join the organization. Ward invites readers to consider volunteering, visiting the garden, or continuing to support the LOLFSG financially.
He notes, “Our next steps are to complete the installation of the irrigation system, install electricity, erect a storage shed and garden (plant, weed, water, harvest). Updates and additional photos are available through Facebook, Instagram or at the LOLFSG website.”
OLD LYME — The Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts Roya Hakakian, author and founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, speaking on, ‘A Beginner’s Guide to America,’ Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. She will discuss the immigrant experience in America and the importance of immigrants to this country.
With people’s comfort and safety in mind, this program and many following will be offered as hybrid events – both in-person and available by Zoom.
This event offers limited in-person attendance at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. Registration is required; in-person attendance is first-come-first-served.
Masks will be required during the in-person event, and there will be no pre-meeting hors d’oeuvres.
If you plan to attend via Zoom, click here to register as a virtual attendee. If you are new to Zoom virtual meetings and would like to learn more about how to join the event, visit zoom.us for more information. Also, feel free to call 860-912-5718 for technical advice prior to the event. It will not be possible to resolve issues during the meeting. A link to the recording will be shared via email following the meeting.
Hakakian’s topic, “A Beginner’s Guide to America,” is based on her book of the same name. Her book will be available from Bank Square Books at the meeting or is sold online (free shipping).
She will speak to the significance of the US’s
Hakakian is the author of two books of poetry in Persian and numerous essays and articles in leading publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post and NPR.
She is a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and has been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.
She is the recipient of the Guggenheim fellowship for non-fiction for her book, Assassins of the Turquoise Palace.
Her memoir, Journey from the Land of No, about coming of age as a Jewish girl in post-revolutionary Iran received Elle Magazine’s Readers Choice Award. Her latest book is called A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious.
OLD LYME — On Friday, Oct. 8, at 9 a.m., the Old Lyme Open Space Commission will offer the public an opportunity during their in-person meeting at Old Lyme Town Hall to call with questions or comments about the Town’s proposed acquisition of 41-1 and 41-4 Whippoorwill Road.
This purchase will add 35 acres to the existing Ames Open Space, with improved access to its trail system.
While the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance have approved this transaction, it still needs to go before the Planning Commission and a Town Meeting before the sale can take place.
It should be noted that the land being purchased and the roadway leading to it are still private property and not open to the public.
Readers can call into the Open Space Commission’s meeting by dialing 1-605-472-5727 and entering access code 3819718.
The full agenda for the meeting is as follows:
Hybrid Meeting, Open to the Public
- Call to Order
- Approval of Minutes from September 10, 2021
- Welcome to the Public: Open Discussion on the proposed acquisition of the Ames Open Space 35 acres
- Land Steward Report: Peter Norris
- Existing Business
- Open Space Property Updates
- Ames Open Space: Amanda Blair
- Bartholomew Open Space: Amanda Blair
- Champlain North: Steven Calcagni
- McCulloch Family Open Space: Amanda Blair
- Eklund Pond Open Space: Anne Welles
- Grant Activity
- Rockfall Foundation & Hartford Audubon Society Grants: Andrea Fenton
- Future Applications
- Community Outreach
Hikers Happy Hour - Inland Wetlands Commission Report: Evan Griswold
- Conservation Commission Report: Gary Gregory
- New Business
- 2022 Schedule of Commission Meetings
- Additional New Business?
- Public Comment
- Executive Session – As Necessary
- Adjourn
Editor’s Note: For more on this story, visit this link.
OLD LYME — Phoebe’s BookCellar at the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library will be hosting a special Fall Book Sale on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Outside on the welcoming patio, refreshments will be offered along with specially-selected books and puzzles.
Live music presented by the MusicNow Foundation, Inc. will played by Braiden Sunshine, Ned Reute and Colin Hallahan.
Inside the BookCellar, all books, DVD’s and CD’s will be half-price.
Every dollar earned at the BookCellar goes directly to support the Library.
The BookCellar is open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Phoebe’s BookCellar is a highly successful, volunteer-run used bookstore managed by the Friends of the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library. Besides the special editions, there is a wide range of gently-used books in what is now the only remaining general interest bookstore in Old Lyme.
If you have not yet visited, readers are invited to stop by and shop, drop off book donations, or complete a volunteer application. Choose from thousands of books available on such topics as art, business, classics, computers, cooking, language, literature, medicine, music, parenting, pets, reference, religion, sports, world history as well as books for children, young adults, modern fiction and non-fiction.
There is also a large collection of DVDs, CDs and Audiobooks. The BookCellar gratefully accepts “gently used” books, but respectfully requests no damaged, mildewed, moldy or musty books (these should be recycled.)
The BookCellar also features a large collection of Rare Books at very reasonable prices. Click here to see catalogs.
For further information, contact the BookCellar at [email protected], call 860.434.1684 or visit www.oldlyme.lioninc.org
The Library is located at 2 Library Lane, Old Lyme CT 06371. Opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 9am to 7pm; Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. The Library is closed on Sunday.
LYME — The Lyme Garden Club holds a meeting and program, Tuesday, Oct. 12, starting at 9:30 a.m. with refreshments, then the business meeting will be held at 10 a.m., which, in turn, is followed by the program at 11 a.m.
The meeting will be held at the Lyme Fire Company on Hamburg Rd.
The program will be, “Ceremonial Stonework, The Enduring Native American Presence on the Land,” and given by Markham Starr, a documentary photographer and author, who will speak on the stonework left behind by the indigenous population of New England.
Guests and potential members are welcome.
Contact Sue Hessel at 860-434-3035 for more information.
Hikers should wear comfortable walking shoes and bring insect repellent.
In the event of rain, meet at the Old Lyme Inn for Happy Hour instead of the trailhead.
LYME/OLD LYME — On Saturday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association will offer free flu shots to Lyme and Old Lyme residents at a drive-through clinic at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.
No insurance paperwork is required.
Those attending this clinic are requested to wear face masks.
11am to 4pm
Pirate Day
Free with Museum Admission
Come meet the Free Men of the Sea, arrr-fully good re-enactors who bring the myths and history of pirates and privateers to life. Visiting FOLLY WOODS for one special day only. Ask questions, pose for photos, and learn something new!