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!
OLD LYME — Learn to row Irish … remember, you don’t need to be Irish to row Irish!
Readers are invited to try out the ancient art of Irish Currach Rowing, Saturday, Oct. 16, at Hain’s Park, Rte. 1/Boston Post Rd. in Old Lyme from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
An Irish currach is a traditional vessel made of wood lathe and covered in canvas. Currachs date back several thousand years. They were used for trade among islands, between islands and mainland and along coastal mainland villages. The relatively light (for their size) fishing/trade boats, which could withstand high swells, have been streamlined in design for rowing competitions.
Veteran and newcomer rowers are all welcome. Pre-register before Oct. 15, and sign the waiver. Request the forms from [email protected]. Pre-register and also take an introductory lesson to receive a free team t-shirt.
The organizers suggest that attendees should bring gloves.
There is no obligation to join the group — simply come and try out currach rowing. Free coffee will be available to rowers and newcomers.
For more information, contact [email protected]
This event is sponsored by New London Currach Rowers with support from the Ancient Order of Hibernians of New London County and the Irish Coastal Club.
LYME — Join award-winning photographer Caryn B. Davis for a presentation of her landscapes from the natural world and to celebrate the Lyme Land Trust’s photography program, Imagining Lyme. Davis’s presentation will take place Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Lyme Public Library Community Room.
Davis will show images of gardens and also some from her recent trips to Antarctica and Yellowstone National Park.
She will explain how the natural world influences her creative process with particular attention to composition, learning the rules and then breaking them, the artistry of abstract images verses realistic, and how using different focal lengths within the same scene can yield different compositional results.
To register for the program, email [email protected]
Davis is a Lyme resident, who has specialized in architecture, interiors, garden and travel photography for over 20 years. Her career has spanned the globe taking her to over 50 countries. She is also a prolific writer with articles that have been featured in the New York Times, Town & Country, Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, Fine Art Connoisseur, New Zealand Geographic, and others.
Davis has produced two commissioned photography books, A Connecticut Christmas: Celebrating the Holiday in Classic New England Style, and the newly-published Connecticut Waters: Celebrating Our Coastline and Waterways. She is currently working on her third book due out in 2023.
Editor’s Note: Visit this link to read a review of ‘ Connecticut Waters: Celebrating Our Coastline and Waterways’ by LymeLine.com publisher Olwen Logan.
On Thursday Oct. 28, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., the LOLPC is sponsoring a virtual workshop titled, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story.
Laura Stack, best-selling author and public speaker, will share the story of her son Johnny’s marijuana addiction from a mother’s point of few, a poignant chronicle of shocking descent from innocence to eventual suicide.
This important event is free and registration to obtain the Zoom link for the presentation is available at this link or at www.lysb.org.
OLD LYME — After the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to organize an in-person debate between the candidates for the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen fell through, the Old Lyme Republican and Democratic Town Committees joined by Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau are now working together to try and make it happen.
The tentative date and time for the debate are currently Monday, Nov. 1, at 5 or 5:30 p.m. The location is yet to be confirmed but is likely to be either Old Lyme Town Hall or Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.
Both LymeLine.com and the CT Examiner have been asked to solicit questions from their readers for possible inclusion in the debate. We therefore invite readers to send us their questions as soon as possible. Please send them via email to [email protected] with the subject line “Questions for BOS Debate.” Feel free to submit multiple questions if you wish.
We will update details of the debate as they are finalized, but in the meantime, send us your questions!
OLD LYME — On Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m., the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library will host a virtual presentation via Zoom by Rebecca Crosby, who is co-founder of the Crosby Fund for Haitian Education.
This free presentation titled will start at 6:30 p.m. and are welcome. Registration is required at this link in order to obtain the Zoom link.
During the presentation, Crosby will discuss the complexities of Haiti’s education system and the impact the Crosby Fund’s adult and child literacy programs have had on the region.
Crosby will also touch upon the devastation of recent events and the recovery in progress.
Visit this link to read a story published June 21, 2021, and written by LymeLine.com publisher/editor Olwen Logan about the Crosby Fund for Haitian Education, titled, Old Lyme’s ‘Crosby Fund for Haitian Education’ Changes Lives in One of Poorest Parts of Globe. Note: this story was written prior to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, which took place July 7, 2021 and the magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which occurred Aug. 14, 2021.