Action in Goshen
Goshen saw a lot of action on Saturday with the Goshen Market at the school and the town-wide tag sale featuring over 30 different venues throughout the town coordinated by Dale Ives and the Goshen Recreation Dept.

East Hill Neighborhood Picnic
Spearheaded by Bruce and Sandy Mason, neighbors gathered for the second annual East Hill neighborhood picnic on Saturday afternoon in Litchfield.

New lights on South Street
New light fixtures have been added to the street lights on South Street in Litchfield. The new lights were funded by a grant from the Greater Litchfield Preservation Trust.



Creative Writing Workshop at Community Center
Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick conducted a workshop on Saturday, at the Litchfield Community Center for aspiring writers. Each day-long session provides participants with distinctly different sets of skills needed for success as a published author. The September 11th workshop, called “The Art of Writing Fiction and Creative Nonfiction,” taught writers to unleash their creativity as they acquire skills needed in writing for publication. Participants learned about the elements of fiction writing, nonfiction vs. creative nonfiction writing, and memoir writing.
The September 18th workshop will focus on the “Business of Writing and Publishing.” In this workshop participants will learn how publishing works and how to break into it. They will learn from veteran authors about preparing a manuscript for publication, creating a winning ‘pitch,’ writing a query letter and a synopsis, packaging the submission proposal, preparing nonfiction book proposals. Topics will also include the publishing contract, and agents and editors.



Pig roast at Legion Post #27
American Legion Post 27 Morgan-Weir in Litchfield hosted a pig roast on Saturday which was well-attended.




Stars of the Cemetery
Litchfield.bz 9-6-10
Want to help with an ongoing preservation project? “Stars of the Cemetery” is a project sponsored by the Litchfield Historical Society where participants clean and record information marking the location of headstones and burial sites in a selected portion of the East Cemetery. You can join the effort on Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:00 am until 12:00 Noon. Bring buckets and brushes if possible. Check the “Things to Do” page for more information.






Litchfield market was buzzing on Saturday


The Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market was buzzing on Saturday with a lot of activity on a beautiful sunny and dry day. Laura Dunn and Bailey (her therapy dog) visited with children at the art activity tent. John Baker of Berry Ledges Apiary described how mites can effect a bee colony and how he controls them using natural methods rather than chemical treatments. Niles Golovin of Bantam Bread Company provided a chef demo using bread and tomatoes.
YouTube Video - Managing mites in beehives
YouTube Video - Chef Demo - Tomato Bread Salad

Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market
Saturday, August 7th
The Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market was “abuzz” with music, art activities for children, multiple vendors and perfect weather on Saturday, August 7th. The market is open every Saturday from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Center School parking area in Litchfield. The market is operated by non-for-profit Litchfield Hills Food Systems. More information is available at www.LitchfieldHillsFood.org.
YouTube Video – Smooth Sounds play “Candy”
www.smoothsounds-music.com

Sidewalks in Litchfield near completion
Sidewalk construction in the center of Litchfield on South Street is nearly complete.

Betty (aka "Rec Wreck") makes her debut
Litchfield.bz (8-5-10)

After one month of searching for a name for the "new" 1993 Ford F-150 short bed pick-up truck, which Litchfield Parks and Rec Director Brent Hawkins will use to haul around things for their many events each year, a name has been chosen for the vehicle.
Hawkins ran a nation-wide contest in which there were 93 different names suggested for the truck. Judges in Connecticut, Michigan, Kentucky and West Virginia selected to pick the 16 finalist in the competition, then voting was done to get to the final four and the final pair.
The final vote went to Betty with 647 votes over The Rec Wreck with 517 votes. In typical Possum Queen Contest fashion Hawkins chided bribes for the naming rights of the truck as well seeing $625 dollars raised to date for the Possum Queen Foundation for the annual charity event which Hawkins and Billy Neller put on every New Year's Day. Thanks to the bribes brought in, they now have the official name of the truck "Betty - The Rec Wreck."
Anyone else wanting to send in a "bribe" may still do so by sending a check to: The Possum Queen Foundation, c/o Brent Hawkins, P.O. Box 263, Litchfield, CT 06759. Hawkins says that "'Betty the Rec Wreck' runs on gas, oil, wood alcohol and love!"
It's Betty!!!
The vote was Rec Wreck - 517
Betty - 647
She runs on gas, oil, wood alcohol and love!!!
Thanks to all for playing, bribing and voting!!!
Hawk

Goshen Market
Litchfield.bz (7-19-10)
An outdoor market is held each Saturday at Goshen's Center School from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm to benefit the school's Parent-Teacher Organization.

Icelandic Fair
Litchfield.bz (7-19-10)
White Memorial hosted a day long fair on Saturday, July 17th about Iceland featuring Icelandic chickens, sheep, dogs, and horses. Over 50 people attended the event conducted by Gerri Griswold.

Litchfield Community Center's "Family Fun Fest"
Litchfield.bz (7-19-10)
As part of 10th Anniversary Celebration week, the Litchfield Community Center hosted "Family Fun Fest Day" on Thursday, July 15th. Clowns, magicians, bouncy houses and games were all available free of charge.

Serious risk to bat population


Gerri Griswold spoke at Wisdom House about a recently discovered fungus that is a very serious threat to bats everywhere. Bats are crucial in controlling mosquitoes, eating nearly 1,000 per day. You can only imagine the problems that will develop if the bat population becomes extinct. Gerri can usually be found at the gift shop at the White Memorial Conservation Center and would be glad to tell you more about it.

In the photos, Ann Curtis serves food, Alice McDermott of Bantam checks out the desserts, Samantha Cooper replenishes the dessert table, Kim Casagni and Fire Chief Rick Duffy work behind the food tables, and Katie Kasica, who came all the way from Manchester, gets ready to sample a green cupcake.

A Horrible Bore: Asian Longhorned Beetle, Far East Invader
White Memorial Conservation Center (3-6-10)

YouTube Video
Rose Hiskes, a diagnostician and horticulturist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station discussed the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) , a wood boring beetle that kills maples, birches, horse chestnut and elms among other trees. Maples are the preferred host be it sugar, red, Norway or silver. What would Connecticut look like without maples? What would pancakes be like without maple syrup? What would the effect on air, water and soil quality be if we lost millions of trees in our state? Worcester, MA lost 25,000 trees last winter due to the infestation of this beetle.

Satellite Tracking of Ducks and Geese Around the World
White Memorial Conservation Center (3-6-10)

YouTube Video
Did you know that the movements of geese from Greenland are currently being monitored via satellites at the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, right here in Litchfield? Dr. Sue Sheaffer presented an in-depth look at how satellite transmitters are used to monitor movements, distributions, and migrations of ducks and geese. State-of the-art technology combines tiny GPS receivers with satellite transmitters that are small enough to fit on the back of a duck. These transmitters provide daily locations of birds that can be used to chronicle migrations and identify the critical habitats used by birds anywhere they go. Sue presented slides from recent trips to Greenland and Ireland.

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