African art featured in gala for Northwest Center

LAKEVILLE — CMHA’s Northwest Center for Family Services’ annual benefit always offers something out of the ordinary: a night in the Caribbean, a classic 1950s-style school dance, even last year’s performance of a Gail Sheehy play with the late Jill Clayburgh in one of her last appearances on stage. On June 4, the Northwest Center fundraiser will take guests to Africa at An Evening Under the Stars On Safari, in what Priscilla McCord, who is in charge of events at the center, says will be the largest and most unusual gala yet.Under a huge tent — the largest she has ever had to rent, according to McCord — African crafts, textiles and sculptures from New York City’s Hemmingway Gallery will be displayed amid flowers from Kamilla Najdek (of Kamilla’s Floral Boutique, on Main Street in Millerton), who will feature the proteus (national flower of South Africa) and tall savanna grasses from Old Farm Nursery in Salisbury. Brian Gaisford, owner of Hemmingway Gallery, is both a businessman and a philanthropist. He organizes photography safaris to animal parks and sanctuaries, funds a school in Zululand and imports and sells art and sculpture from the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the latest African art to enter museums and private collections in the United States. All the work he brings will be for sale in a “duty free” shop and again on Sunday in a first-ever follow-up estate sale. Forty percent of Gaisford’s proceeds will go to the Northwest Center, because Gaisford thinks it’s “a terrific cause.”The gala will be held at John and Lisa Steinmetz’s Black Flag Farm on Dugway Road in Salisbury. Tim Cocheo of Number 9 Restaurant in Millerton will offer a menu of masala-encrusted beef, fish wrapped in banana leaves and chakala salad, a spicy South African dish. Salisbury Wines will furnish liquor and wine.Of course there will be a live auction, with top items including a Hemmingway safari, some African art, even a stay in a house in the south of France. And there will be dancing, with music from Swamp Yankee, the band led by Darren Winston when he’s not selling rare books at his eponymous shop in Sharon.On Safari will be at the Steinmetz’s Black Flag Farm on Saturday, June 4, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person. McCord says more than 225 have already been sold. Call her at 860 435-2529, ext. 114, to reserve. Event and auction updates are at www.cmhacc.org.Community Mental Health Affiliates owns and operates the Northwest Center for Family Services, which has offices in Winsted and Lakeville. The Lakeville office just completed a move from its longtime office at 315 Main St. (Route 41/44) to a new location just down the road, at 350 Main St. (Route 41/44).

Latest News

Kent Town Hall, where the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved the draft settlement.

Kent Town Hall, where the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved the draft settlement.

Leila Hawken

KENT– A year-and-a-half-long legal dispute over an unpermitted roadway and dock built through wetlands on North Spectacle Pond is approaching a resolution. The KenMont and KenWood summer camp and the town’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission are close to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

The conflict began after the IWWC denied the camp’s retroactive application in March 2024 for the road and dock, which were constructed without town approval sometime last decade. The Commission found both structures violated town regulations, leading the camp to file a legal appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
GNH blanks St. Paul 34-0 in Turkey Bowl

Wes Allyn breaks away from the St. Paul defense for a reception touchdown Wednesday, Nov. 26.

Photo by Riley Klein

BRISTOL — The Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football team ended the season with a 34-0 shutout victory over St. Paul Catholic High School Wednesday, Nov. 26.

It was GNH’s fourth consecutive Turkey Bowl win against St. Paul and the final game for 19 GNH seniors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Students curate Katro Storm portraits at HVRHS

“Once Upon a Time in America” features ten portraits by artist Katro Storm.

Natalia Zukerman

The Kearcher-Monsell Gallery at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village is once again host to a wonderful student-curated exhibition. “Once Upon a Time in America,” ten portraits by New Haven artist Katro Storm, opened on Nov. 20 and will run through the end of the year.

“This is our first show of the year,” said senior student Alex Wilbur, the current head intern who oversees the student-run gallery. “I inherited the position last year from Elinor Wolgemuth. It’s been really amazing to take charge and see this through.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Mini horses, big impact: animal learning center opens in Sheffield

Le Petit Ranch offers animal-assisted therapy and learning programs for children and seniors in Sheffield.

Marjorie Borreda

Le Petit Ranch, a nonprofit offering animal-assisted therapy and learning programs, opened in April at 147 Bears Den Road in Sheffield. Founded by Marjorie Borreda, the center provides programs for children, families and seniors using miniature horses, rescued greyhounds, guinea pigs and chickens.

Borreda, who moved to Sheffield with her husband, Mitch Moulton, and their two children to be closer to his family, has transformed her longtime love of animals into her career. She completed certifications in animal-assisted therapy and coaching in 2023, along with coursework in psychiatry, psychology, literacy and veterinary skills.

Keep ReadingShow less