CFC dance, fundraiser Feb. 16

NORTH CANAAN — The annual Canaan Fire Company Dance will be held Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. to midnight at North Canaan Elementary School.Mardi Gras is this year’s theme and, as always, it promises to be a good time for the entire community, with dancing and prizes. Music will be provided by DJ Ryan Long of Jam Shack Entertainment. This is a BYOB (and food) event with setups provided. Tickets are $10, available from CFC members and at the door. Partygoers must be at least 18 years old.The dance kicks off annual fundraising for the Canaan Fire Company (CFC). Its volunteers train regularly to be able to ensure a safe community, from fighting fires to responding to motor vehicle accidents and rescues and natural disasters. CFC is one of the few emergency organizations that manage operating expenses without tax dollars. The cost of maintaining the firehouse and equipment, paying for fuel and utilities, outfitting firefighters — required turnout gear for just one person costs $2,500 — and meeting ever-increasing demands for training and capital upgrades now costs about $80,000 per year.There are all sorts of ways to help, especially when it comes to fundraising. Volunteers do not have to be emergency responders. There is also the Ladies’ Auxiliary and Junior Firefighters. Many members of the community, and beyond, help simply by buying dance tickets, whether they can go or not. CFC officers ask that everyone take a few moments to read their annual appeal letter, and consider what the town’s emergency responders mean to the quality of life here. Or, consider what CFC has adopted as a motto; What if volunteers didn’t?Donations may be sent to PO Box 642, North Canaan, CT 06018 or go to www.canaanfirecompany.org.

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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.

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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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Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

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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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