Lime Rock revs up for 2025 season of milestones

Lime Rock Park President and CEO Dicky Riegel inspected progress on the venue’s new car storage facility during a tour of the construction in mid-March.
Debra A. Aleksinas


Lime Rock Park President and CEO Dicky Riegel inspected progress on the venue’s new car storage facility during a tour of the construction in mid-March.
SALISBURY — Bucolic Lime Rock Park was abuzz with activity on a recent weekday morning in early March. With less than three months to go before the historic park’s 2025 Memorial Day season opener, several new construction projects were underway.
Ground has been broken on a new beer garden, steel beams are shaping a garage condo storage facility and a new pit lane designed to accommodate 36 vehicles and enhance driver safety is taking shape along the main track, along with newly installed fencing and guardrails.
The park, nestled in the heart of Lakeville, is also upgrading corporate entertainment this year by unveiling a series of premium hospitality experiences including private gatherings at the Connecticut circuit which will debut at the highly anticipated NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series weekend June 27 and 28 and is expected to lure 12,000 to 15,000 guests.
“We are on the cusp of the 2025 season, and April 1st marks the 4th anniversary of our purchase by the LLP and change in ownership,” said Dicky Riegel, the park’s president and CEO, explained. “I can safety say it’s never been in better condition and better shape to host events.”
The historic venue, in its 68th year, is expected to reach a major milestone this season asthe NASCAR event, which is expected to be one of the largest events in Lime Rock’s history, will be broadcast live on the FOX Network to millions of viewers, a first for the iconic venue and its unique 1.53-mile, seven turn road course, according to Jamie Kistner, the park’s chief marketing officer.
In March, Lime Rock Park named the Laborers’ International Union of North America as the official title sponsor of the NASCAR race weekend.
“With LIUNA’s support,” said Riegel, “We’re not just bringing NASCAR back to Lime Rock Park, we’re making history.”
850-horsepower V8’s
Lime Rock will open its 2025 season with the highly anticipated Trans Am Memorial Day Classic, providing a family-picnic atmosphere on the hillsides. The weekend will kick off summer and include an array of racing, plus a car show and beer fest.
The Trans Am Series presented with Pirelli will feature the thunder of 850-horsepower American V8 engines showcased in the premier TA category. The TA2 class revives the muscle car wars of the late 1960s, featuring Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger in a 100-mile race. Import and domestic sports cars will be highlighted in the XGT, SGT and GT classes.
Park guests are invited to bring their Sunday driver to the popular Royals’ Garage Car Show and see if they can take home bragging rights, and possibly a trophy. Proceeds benefit a local charitable organization. The Connecticut Craft Beer Grand Prix will complete the Memorial Day weekend event.
Not to be missed is the 43rd Historic Festival, once again held over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 28 through Sept. 1, beginning with a 17-mile Vintage Race Car and Sports Car Parade on Thursday and on-track action the rest of the weekend.
The 2025 season will wrap up with Lime Rock Park celebrating every generation of the Mazda MX-5 as MiataCon returns Oct. 24 and 25, following a successful second year with over 500 Miatas. Riegel revealed that he will be among the Miata drivers participating in the event.
“We really celebrate the fact that we are a park and unlike many other racetracks in the world, we don’t have ticketed seating here and we intend to keep it that way.”
Building new traditions with race fans
In addition to offering a season full of high-octane thrills, including the 2025 arrival of the ARCA Menards Series, Riegel said he is thrilled that the park will be hosting one leg of the GRIDLIFE Festival Tour, the fastest-growing, youngest motorsports event paddock in the world. The festival will feature a three-day format at Lime Rock, August 15 through 17.
Beyond the track, GRIDLIFE blends car culture with live music, offering structured racing, showcasing vehicles from the ‘80’s, ‘90’s and 2000’s, and delivering high-energy performances on its musical stages.
Riegel noted that roughly 80 percent of those who attend GRIDLIFE are first-timers to Lime Rock Park.
“It’s really more of a community racing group than it is a championship series,” drawing younger crowds and family fun, he noted. “We are 68 years old and have a lot of fans, but we do need to build new traditions with new fans to ensure our future.
Supporting local causes is a priority
Lime Rock Park is dedicated to strengthening its local communities through charitable work and community partners, said its CEO, who had met earlier in the morning at the infield chalet with representatives from Women’s Support Services, a nonprofit domestic violence agency serving the Northwest Corner, to discuss plans for this year’s Trade Secrets Rare Plans and Garden Antiques Sale at the park.
Among the community groups with planned events at the park in 2025 are the Little Guild’s Great Country Mutt Show, the Salisbury Rotary Club’s Lighting Up Lime Rock Park fireworks display and the Litchfield Hills Highland Games.
Riegel said an estimated 225,000 people visit the park annually to drive, spectate and attend community events.
“We are not just a racetrack. We want to be a venue that is most welcoming, most beautiful and has all the amenities so that people will be comfortable here, have a great time and want to come back.”
New garage condos, beer garden
The prior night’s downpour caused huge puddles around the worksite where construction on a 20-unit car storage facility is expected to be completed in June, just in time for the big NASCAR event, Riegel explained as he navigated the mud to check on progress.
The garage condos offer secure storage, direct track access and premium owner amenities, overlooking the track’s West Bend.
“The drivers can park cars on site instead of trailering them to and from Lime Rock Park on rural roads,” said Riegel, who noted that park officials worked closely with the town’s Land Use Office on the project.
Another new project in the works merges craftsmanship and camaraderie: a 26-foot by 52-foot beer garden crafted by the Connecticut-based Country Carpenters, which specializes in post and beam construction.
A ceremonial groundbreaking took place in late February, with a ribbon-cutting planned in May.
Ruth Epstein
Business is brisk at the opening day of the Kent Memorial Library's used book sale May 22
KENT – The Kent Memorial Library’s popular used book sale drew eager shoppers on opening day Friday, May 22despite being held in a new location this year.
With the library’s North Main Street building undergoing a major renovation, the sale has temporarily moved to the library’s quarters on Landmark Lane in the Kent Shopping Center, thanks to property owner John Casey.
Shoppers began lining up well before the 1 p.m. opening. Many were book dealers, loading bags and boxes with their finds.
“Dealers are frequent customers,” said Perry Smith, chair of the book sale committee. “Our prices are very reasonable and we have a large selection.”
Smith watched as several patrons made a beeline for the art books, quickly snapping up much of the inventory. The sale offers genres for nearly every interest, with fiction remaining especially popular. Hardcover books sell for $3, and all titles are donated.
“Book sale committee members spent 244 hours organizing and putting out the books,” Smith said.
The books are arranged by category, making it easy for shoppers to browse specific subjects.
Brett Busang of Gaylordsville stumbled upon the sale by chance while visiting town. After noticing the crowd, he stopped to take a look and left with several purchases.
“Poetry found me,” he said. “They have an excellent selection and great prices.”
Denise and Hans Ribbeck of New Milford were also pleased with their discoveries. Denise found three Stephen King novels to add to her collection, while Hans succeeded in his search for graphic novels.
“This is really a great sale,” he said. “I appreciate how organized you are.”
The sale runs from May through October and is open Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is staffed entirely by volunteers, who sort and price books, work as cashiers and help set up and cover the inventory each day.
Ruth Epstein
Andrew Rowand, curator and site administrator at the Eric Sloane Museum, gives a talk at recent 'People and Places of Kent' event.
KENT – Visitors to the latest “People and Places in Kent” program got a behind-the-scenes look at one of the town’s most notable attractions when Eric Sloane Museum curator and site administrator Andrew Rowand spoke about the museum’s history, collections and namesake.
The presentation, sponsored by the Kent Senior Center and Kent Historical Society, explored the legacy of Eric Sloane, the artist, author and collector whose passion for preserving early American tools and traditions led to the creation of Connecticut’s first state-funded museum. Located on Route 7 north of the village, the museum has welcomed visitors since 1969 and is now designated a National Historic Landmark.
Last year, approximately 7,000 visitors toured the site, which is open from May through October.
Sloane, who was born Everard Hinrichs in Queens, New York, in 1905, reinvented himself early in life. He adopted the name Eric Sloane, taking Eric from the middle letters of “American” and Sloane from painter John Sloan.
After spending time in New Mexico, where he became captivated by the skies and weather of the Southwest, Sloane returned to the East Coast and built a reputation as an aviation artist and writer despite having no formal artistic training. During World War II, he was commissioned to create flight manuals for military pilots.
His interest in early American life grew alongside a collection of Farmers’ Almanacs and antique tools.
“He liked to reach back in time and connect to people of the past,” Rowand said.
That fascination eventually led Sloane to assemble one of the nation’s most significant collections of early American hand tools. He chronicled that passion in his 1964 book, Museum of Early American Tools, which later served as the blueprint for the museum itself.
Sloane’s collection caught the attention of Stanley Works, which owned a large tract of land along the Housatonic River in Kent. In the 1960s, the company proposed building a museum if
Sloane agreed to contribute his collection. He did, and the museum opened in 1969. Stanley Works later donated the facility to the state. Originally known as the Sloane-Stanley Museum, it was eventually renamed the Eric Sloane Museum.
Kent was viewed as an ideal location for the museum because Sloane had lived in nearby Cornwall and Warren, the town was already a destination for visitors and the project would help reclaim land that had previously been excavated.
The museum’s collection includes hundreds of tools used by early Americans, including augers, drills, shovels and other implements. Visitors are encouraged to handle many of the replicas and gain a firsthand understanding of how earlier generations worked and lived.
A replica of Sloane’s studio is also on display, including several paintings he was working on at the time of his death in 1985.
Rowand, who has led the museum for six years, acknowledged that he is one of many self-described “Eric Sloane nerds.” He noted that some admirers have tattoos inspired by Sloane’s illustrations and tool drawings, while one enthusiast even decorated a bathroom wall with the designs.
The museum hosts a variety of seasonal programs, including an artist-in-residence program and activities for children.
The grounds are also home to the Kent Furnace, which produced pig iron from 1826 until 1892, and the Noah Blake cabin, a pioneer structure built in 1974 and restored in 2020 by the Friends of Eric Sloane.
Rowand said he is honored to help preserve Sloane’s legacy and make it accessible to future generations.
“It’s a privilege to be part of preserving his life and career and making it accessible for future generations,” he said.
Alec Linden
A blue SUV remains in a ditch after an early-morning crash along Segar Mountain Road in Kent May 27.
KENT – A driver escaped with minor injuries after an SUV crashed into a utility pole and water line before rolling into a ditch along Segar Mountain Road early Wednesday morning, May 27, disrupting traffic for much of the day and affecting water service to a nearby residence.
The single-vehicle crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. near 36 Segar Mountain Road, just under half a mile east of the intersection with South Kent Road. State police said the blue SUV struck the pole, went over a guardrail and came to stop in a roadside ditch.
The driver was transported to Danbury Hospital with minor injuries, according to police.
The damage to a utility pole forced crews to shut down parts of the road and reduce traffic to a single lane throughout the day. First Selectman Eric Epstein announced that traffic would be impacted as utility companies make repairs. Motorists were advised to avoid the area until the work is complete.
As of 2 p.m., traffic at the scene was reduced to alternating single lane travel. Employees from Eversource Energy, Aquarion Water Company and the state Department of Transportation were at the site making repairs to the utility pole and wiring. They have yet to provide an estimate for when the repairs will finish.
The car was still in the ditch as of mid-afternoon, officials on the scene said.
In an email to Kent residents, which was sent at approximately 12:40 p.m., Epstein reported that a water line connected to one residence in the area was also damaged, but clarified that it was not the line supplying the town.


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Lakeville Journal
EAST CANAAN — Pauline K. (King) Garfield, 94 of 77 South Canaan Rd. formerly of East Canaan, died Sunday May 24, 2026, at Geer Village.She was the wife of the late Duane Garfield who passed August 14, 2017. Pauline was born April 3, 1932 in North Canaan, CT in the former Geer Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Rose (Van Vlack) King.
Pauline spent her career at Becton Dickinson in Canaan, after being a stay-at-home mother for many years.She was employed at Becton Dickinson for 23 years. She enjoyed bus trips with her late husband Duane to the Casinos, spending time with her family watching the grandchildren grow up. Recently she made a comment to care givers that was “wait until I see that husband of mine for leaving me here, I am going to read him the riot act.” Over the years she enjoyed many crafts, but her favorite was crocheting gifts for everyone.
Pauline is survived by her daughter Paula Ducharme and husband Tom of York, Pennsylvania. Her son Michael Garfield and wife Joann of Winchester Center, Connecticut. Her granddaughter Koren Garfield and her great grandchildren, Alyssa Jade, Addison Jacob and Brennden Leo of Colebrook, Connecticut.
Pauline is also survived by her sister, Althea Marshall and her husband Corky of North Canaan, Connecticut. She was predeceased by her brothers, Everett and Alan King.
A Celebration of Pauline’s life will be held on Monday June 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the North Canaan Congregational Church 172 Lower Road East Canaan, CT 06024.Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery in East Canaan, CT. Memorial Donation can be sent to the North Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps P.O. Box 178 North Canaan, CT 06018. Arrangements are under the care of the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home 118 Main St. Canaan, CT 06018.
Natalia Zukerman
For many pet owners, animals are family. On Saturday, May 30, that bond will be celebrated in a uniquely practical and heartfelt way when the Blessing of the Animals returns to Third Lutheran Evangelical Church in Rhinebeck alongside a free rabies vaccination clinic hosted by Hudson Valley Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.
The event, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., is free for Dutchess County residents and open to dogs, cats and domestic ferrets three months and older. While the clinic itself provides an important public health service, organizers say the day has become about much more than vaccinations.
“It’s a very simple afternoon of kindness,” said event curator Rosemary Joyce. “I think of it like a gardener — you go someplace, you learn how to plant seeds and then you take those seeds home and grow them in your own community. Except these are the seeds of kindness.”
The annual blessing is now entering its fourth year, with each event honoring a different theme. This year’s celebration pays tribute to renowned primatologist and animal behaviorist Jane Goodall.
“Most people know her from her work with primates,” Joyce said, “but she also taught us to understand that animals are sentient creatures — they feel like we feel.”
Joyce pointed to recent scientific studies that scanned dogs’ brains using MRI technology.
“When dogs are presented with the scent of the people they love, the part of their brain that lights up is the exact same part of our brain that responds to love,” she said. “So not only do they love us — dogs love the way we love.”
Unlike larger ceremonial blessings often held around the feast of St. Francis, Rhinebeck’s blessing is much more personalized.
“This is not where everyone gathers and gets blessed all at once,” Joyce said. “This is individual and hands-on. You walk up to Pastor Jim Miller, and he talks to you and your animal.”
Past participants have brought everything from dogs and cats to chickens, parrots, reptiles and even an iguana “draped around someone like a scarf,” Joyce recalled.
The event also features more than a dozen rescue and animal welfare groups, each bringing “ambassador animals” for visitors to meet.
Among the most anticipated returning guests is Lazarus, a 9-year-old Eurasian eagle owl with a six-foot wingspan.
“He’s the wow factor,” Joyce said. “I watched a father hustling his two boys to leave last year because they had another appointment. I told him, ‘If you haven’t seen what’s over there, you haven’t seen this event.’ He walked over, looked at Lazarus, and his mouth just dropped open. The little boy came out in him.”
Other participants include rescue horses from the Southlands Foundation, adoptable dogs from Animal Farm Foundation, reptiles from Two by Two Animal Haven, small animals from 4-H and rescued farm animals from Hope Farm Animal Sanctuary, including Rosie, a 200-pound potbellied pig.
Joyce said one of her favorite aspects of the event is watching it create unexpected connections.
“I’m always amazed that people who would never talk to each other on the street are suddenly sitting on the lawn talking like old friends,” she said. “Animals are great catalysts for human connection.”
This year’s rabies clinic, provided by HVARS, adds a critical public service component.
Rabies vaccinations are required by New York state law for all dogs, cats and domestic ferrets by four months of age. Owners who fail to comply can face fines of up to $200.
“A lot of people don’t realize that,” Joyce said. “And they also don’t realize how affordable this clinic makes it.”
Vaccinations are free for Dutchess County residents with proof of residency and $15 per pet for non-residents. Vaccines are valid for three years with proof of prior vaccination, or one year without it.
Microchipping will also be available for $45, and one-year distemper vaccines for $25.
“It’s the size of a grain of rice,” Joyce said of the microchips. “It’s tiny, safe, affordable and permanent. If your pet is lost or stolen, all someone has to do is scan it.”
She noted that the service can be especially important as pet thefts have risen in recent years.
The clinic was made possible through a donation from the Estate of Charles Svatek, whom Joyce described as someone “known for true acts of kindness and a loving desire to make the world better for all living creatures.”
For Joyce, the event reflects a larger message about compassion — for animals and for each other.
“If this event does anything,” she said, “I hope it reminds people that kindness ripples outward.”
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged at hvars.org, though walk-ins will be accepted as space permits. Dogs must be leashed; cats and ferrets must be in carriers. The event will be held rain or shine.
Robin Roraback
Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh on a shoot last year in New York City.
When I was around 12, a family friend showed me how to use my family’s computer...from that point on, it was pretty much all movies. — Yonah Sadeh
Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh of Falls Village left May 8 for China, where he will shoot a short documentary.
“I got into a documentary film intensive program where we have two weeks to shoot, edit and screen a 10-minute documentary about a topic of our choosing,” he said.“I’ll be in Changsha, Hunan, making a film about a fifth-generation shadow puppet master.”
It is an exciting opportunity for Sadeh, who has built his own business, Sadeh Studios, by working with small area businesses and nonprofits, “helping to tell their stories through film,” he said.
Some of his projects have included projects for local affordable housing organizations and area nonprofits such as Berkshire Busk, Berkshares, Naturalis Healing, local after-school programs and the Falls Village Fire Department. Current projects are for Berkshire Mountain Bakery and a documentary about Great Barrington’s revitalization in the 1990s.
Sadeh discovered early in life that he wanted to make films and began to develop his process and distinct style.
“It started with puppet shows and musical performances, and then, when I was around 12, a family friend showed me how to use my family’s computer to record and edit short homemade videos using iMovie. From that point on, it was pretty much all movies. I would set up my mom’s computer on a stack of books and record with the webcam.”
An early influence was Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which, “inspired my Claymation videos when I was 10 and remains one of my favorite films.”
He said getting his first camera made a big difference in his filmmaking.
“I was no longer stuck filming wherever I could set up the laptop. I could move with the camera and be more intentional about how things looked.”
Finding some of the technical aspects challenging, he watched YouTube to learn.
“I would imagine these big scenes, like fight sequences with lighting and effects, and then have to figure out how to actually make them. That process pushed me to learn. I spent a lot of time watching people like Casey Neistat, Film Riot and Corridor Digital, and just trying things out.”
Knowing the path he wanted to take, he pursued his high school education at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA. The school has since relocated to Barrytown, New York.
“Simon’s Rock was not a film school in a traditional sense, but it had incredible faculty that I was able to work with one-on-one throughout my years there,” he said. “It gave me the flexibility and time to make films both in and outside of class, and to start my production business while still in school.”
He was able to take college-level film courses while still in high school.
“It seemed like the perfect opportunity. I loved it so much that I stayed at Simon’s Rock after graduating from the academy for my bachelor’s degree.”

After graduating, he focused full time on his freelance business.
“Most of my professional work is in documentary, where I am a one-man crew overseeing every aspect of the process, from meeting with clients to develop the idea to planning, filming and editing it all together. I love working in this way, with my hands in every part of the project.”
In addition to documentaries, he also works on narrative films.
“The script I am working on now is set over the summer solstice and follows two kids over a short but formative period of time. I feel like this idea of land and place, and the passing of time, is a pretty consistent theme in all of my work, both narrative and documentary.”
Narrative films involve working with a crew, and he said writing and directing have presented different challenges.
“By the time I get to production, I’ve usually been sitting with the story for a while and have a pretty clear picture of how I want each scene to feel. So a lot of directing is about communicating that vision to the actors and crew. It can definitely be stressful, especially with the pressure of being on set. But I’ve been lucky to work with people I really trust and enjoy collaborating with, which makes a big difference.”
The finished film, Sadeh said, “becomes something built by everyone involved.”
Eager to share his love of filmmaking, Sadeh recently took on the role of curator of the VideoWall at the Hunt Library in Falls Village.
“I would love the VideoWall to become a place that showcases the work of local filmmakers, and I hope that other creatives in the area will submit their work to be shown.”
Reflecting on his chosen path, Sadeh said, “I feel really excited and creatively fulfilled to be doing the work I love in the place I grew up.”
Learn more at sadehstudios.com

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