Are you going to the ball?

WINSTED — Organizers of the annual Laurel Festival are encouraging Winsted residents to get tickets to this year’s celebratory events, which take place June 10, 11 and 12, at locations throughout town.First off and foremost, you can’t have a Laurel Festival without a Laurel Ball. Saturday night’s main event is the gathering in which Laurel Queen hopefuls show their stuff at the Crystal Peak banquet hall on Torrington-Winsted Road. Dressed in evening gowns, this year’s 16 contestants will be formally introduced at dinner, which is followed by music and dancing.Cocktails are available at a cash bar during the ball and hors d’oeuvres will be served prior to the grand buffet dinner. Raffle prizes will be presented to lucky winners. Tickets are $38 per person and are available in advance only.On Friday night, the festivities will be less formal at the Laurel Festival’s annual kickoff party at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Marshall Street. Also known as the Sidewalk Café, the event features food, a DJ, door prizes and a raffle, with a cash bar. Admission is $5, and the party starts at 6:30 p.m.Wrapping up the weekend on Sunday is the annual Laurel Parade. Attendance is free for all Laurel Festival fans, who will be able to see contestants on floats created with laurel themes. The parade starts at 2 p.m. and ends in East End Park, where the crowning of the Laurel Queen will take place.For information on any of these events and to get tickets, call Lynette McCarthy at 860-480-9903.Vendors are also invited to rent space in East End Park for the celebration Sunday. The price is $25 per booth. Call Elaine Williams at 860-379-0063 or Robin Diorio at 860-738-8711 for information.

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Father Joseph Kurnath

LAKEVILLE — Father Joseph G. M. Kurnath, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, passed away peacefully, at the age of 71, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Father Joe was born on May 21, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended kindergarten through high school in Bristol.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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