Garet&Co returns to Norfolk

Emma Brockett, Josalyn Cipkas and Tiffany Oltjenbruns in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”
Elias Olsen


Emma Brockett, Josalyn Cipkas and Tiffany Oltjenbruns in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”
Garet Wierdsma and her northern Connecticut-based dance company, Garet&Co, will return to Norfolk for their third annual appearance with Dance Workshops on the next three Sundays, followed by two performances of “From All Angles” in Battelle Chapel on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m.
In “From All Angles,” audience members will witness Garet&Co translate three of the works presented at their fall show, “Can’t Keep Friends,” danced in the round, where viewers can witness each piece from a new angle.
Additionally, Garet&Co will be premiering two new works, including a site-specific work made for the beautiful Battelle Chapel performance space. Notably, Garet&Co will be reprising an excerpt of their preeminent piece, “and sometimes I wish” for this show.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, audience members will enjoy a post-show reception followed by a Q & A session.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, audience members will enjoy a pre-show performance with dancers performing installation work.
Garet&Co offers several classes in the performance space at Battell Chapel during their residence, including:
Intermediate/Advanced Technique: this Sunday, Feb. 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary Phrase Work: Sunday, Feb. 16, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Beginners’ Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 to 2 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2 to 3 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Garet Wierdsma expressed her excitement: “This year, we are bringing more dancers and more pieces than ever before, plus we are adding special elements that will keep audiences on their toes. We can’t wait to share this show with everyone!”

Simon Markow
Cornwall veterans are recognized May 25.
Although Cornwall officials decided to cancel the town’s annual parade, the rain didn’t stop the community from honoring veterans. Events began with a 9 a.m. ceremony at the North Cornwall Cemetery, followed by the Seamans Memorial, held in West Cornwall at the covered bridge. The main ceremony was moved to Cornwall Consolidated School’s gymnasium.
Attendees were greeted by the CCS Band, which played patriotic music. Eighth graders delivered an informative presentation about Robin Starr, a formerly enslaved Revolutionary War veteran. The students later unveiled a gravestone they were unveiling in the afternoon.
David Cadwell was the master of ceremony. He honored veterans Kenneth “Ken” Conn, Thurlow “Tim” Prentice and Huntington “Hunt” Williams that had passed away in the previous year by telling their story about how they made Cornwall so special.
The VFW Citizenship Award was given to Richard Griggs for his years of service to Cornwall recording town events. Cornwall’s ceremony will be uploaded to YouTube by Richard Griggs.
Afterward the carnival took place at the UCC church with games and a cake walk. Kids won prizes and sugar filled delights with wet but sunny weather conditions.
– Simon Markow
Riley Klein
Gustavo Portillo serves
LAKEVILLE – Berkshire League boys tennis players gathered at The Hotchkiss School Tuesday, May 19, for the opening rounds of the postseason tournament.
The event featured three separate brackets: varsity singles, varsity doubles and junior varsity doubles. Matches began early in the morning and continued until about 2 p.m. with the temperature cranked up to 90 degrees.
Housatonic Valley Regional High School coach Jeff Tripp remarked, "It was a hot day, but with an early 8 a.m. start the tournament moved at a good pace with excellent play all around."
The JV doubles tournament concluded with a final match of two teams from Nonnewaug High School. The championship-winning pair was Jorni Kuqi and Roman Criscione.
The final varsity matches will be played at Thomaston's Nystrom Park Tuesday, May 26, at 1 p.m.
In the doubles championship, Northwestern Regional High School teammates Lincoln Ouellette and Merrick Bannerman will take on Shepaug Valley High School's duo of Liam Denning and Gabe Tammarro.
The two remaining varsity doubles teams were named Berkshire League all stars.
In the singles bracket, the tournament will continue May 26 with the semifinal round.
Nonnewaug High School's Luke Primini will play David Block from Shepaug. On the other side, Lakeview High School's Luca D'Urso will play Shepaug's Ben Churyk.
The two remaining players from Shepaug, Churyk and Block, did not drop a game in their tournament matches on May 19. Primini, of Nonnewaug, lost just one game. D'Urso emerged from a back-and-forth battle (6-2, 2-6, 10-8) against Northwestern's Braiden Kennedy in the quarterfinal round.
All four players remaining in the singles tournament were named BL all stars. Other all stars for the season included Kennedy, Gustavo Portillo (Housatonic), Luca Inglese (Shepaug) and Jameson McTamney (Lakeview).


Lans Christensen
Kent Sexton Brett Kallstrom, master of the ceremony, welcomes all.
Threatening skies and forecasts forced organizers to cancel Kent’s annual Memorial Day parade and move the observance indoors to the Town Hall meeting room Monday morning. But as the 10 a.m. ceremony approached, the rain let up and a large crowd gathered to honor the nation’s fallen service members.
Hosted by American Legion Post 153, the ceremony opened with remarks from Cemetery Sexton Brett Kallstrom, who welcomed residents, veterans and local officials. Reverend Richard J. Clark of St. Andrew’s Church delivered an invocation, offering prayers for peace and saying, “May the day soon come when we are living in peace.”
Though the ceremony was moved inside, traditions continued outdoors with a gun salute. The Kent Center School Band played and the Choir Club sang “America The Beautiful.” Town First Selectman Eric Epstein read the names of Kent veterans killed in wars, while Pastor John of the Kent Congregational Church closed the observance with prayers honoring veterans “for giving their last full measure of devotion to protect and defend us.”


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Alec Linden
Rainy weather proved no match for Falls Village’s patriotic spirit on Memorial Day.
Other than moving the ceremony inside the spacious Center on Main, the event proceeded as planned, kicking off at 10 a.m. sharp with the Lee H. Kellogg School’s marching band playing its first performance in several years, welcoming the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department color guard into the building.
First Selectman Dave Barger then delivered the invocation and offered some opening remarks, appealing to residents to embody the spirit of those who gave their lives protecting the nation. “They did not fight for glory, money or medals,” he said, but “a belief that our nation, and its ideals of liberty and justice, was worth defending.”
Selectmen Judy Jacobs and Chris Kinsella presented the Volunteer of the Year award to Adam Sher, the board chair of Center on Main and vice chair of Falls Village’s Board of Education.
Carol and Louis Timolat, longtime volunteers involved with institutions across Falls Village — including the school, David M. Hunt Library and Town Hall — were recognized for their decades of service with the Community Service Award.
Following the placing of the wreath by Fire Chief Matt Hansen and the President of the Ladies Auxiliary Linda Paviol and the BOS, Barger gave the benediction.
John Coston
A U.S. Marine Corp honor guard leads the North Canaan Memorial Day parade ahead of the elementary school band Monday, May 25.
Residents lined Main Street Monday morning for one of the region’s few Memorial Day parades to proceed as planned. Spectators gathered near the Doughboy monument, Collins Diner and storefront sidewalks as North Canaan honored fallen service members with a parade, patriotic music from the North Canaan Elementary School band and somber speeches.
Rain threatened early in the morning but ended in time for the parade from Town Hall through downtown. Families with children and dogs in tow tailgated in their cars, set up lawn chairs and waved as the entourage passed.
Kirk Harrington, commander of Couch-Pipa Post 6851 in North Canaan, introduced Ken Merrill, who led everyone in prayer before Joan Segalla Baker, Grand Parade Marshal, spoke to the crowd of approximately 150 who circled around the Doughboy statue, a tribute to American infantrymen in World War I.
“We remember those who did not come home,” Baker said. “When I was in high school, we had three graduates from HRVHS who never made it home from the Vietnam War.”
“I would like to honor Staff Sgt. Norman Stoddard from Kent,” she said, “George W. Clark, United States Marine Corps, from Lakeville, and Lt. Michael John Carley of Sharon, a helicopter pilot.”
Baker also pointed to “Hometown Heroes” banners flying from the town’s utility poles, a new initiative to recognize local veterans.

Ruth Epstein
Veterans stand during Monday's Memorial Day observance at Sharon Center School. From left: Ray Aaakjar, Ric Carley, Dave Peterson, Tate Begley and Mark Anderson.
Rain and a gloomy forecast forced officials to cancel the annual Memorial Day parade, though speeches and remembrances were held inside Sharon Center School. The standing-room-only audience honored the town’s veterans, heard the Sharon Center School’s band and choir perform, listened to a three-gun salute held outdoors, held a bike-decorating contest and stood as taps was played.
During Monday’s observance, the town’s only son lost in the Vietnam War was remembered by his sister.
Carol Carley spoke about the night in 1967 when, as a sixth-grader, she heard the knock on the door that brought the devastating news that her brother, Michael John Carley, had been killed.
“It had been an ordinary night that forever changed my family’s and my life along with it,” she said. “I heard my mother’s wail that pierced my soul.”
Carley said she and her mother, Connie Worthington, who attended the ceremony, collaborated on the remarks she delivered.
She said her brother, disturbed by reports of the Viet Cong’s treatment of prisoners, decided to join the Marines. His son who was also in the audience, said his father was a helicopter pilot and received several awards, including the Captain’s Bar, 12 Gold Stars and the Purple Heart posthumously.
He was only two when his father was killed and has no memory of him, though he has since connected with several men who served alongside him.
Carol Carley said she spent years fantasizing that her brother wasn’t really gone and would someday return, but eventually came to accept the reality of his death. The family, she said, has learned how to celebrate his life while moving on with theirs.
She said the best way to carry on his mission is by serving others, “by giving of ourselves – identify the good in ourselves and honor those lost with our lives. Let us remember.”

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