CORNWALL — Area locavores in search of goods and food produced right here in the Northwest Corner have found The Local at 415 Sharon-Goshen Turnpike in West Cornwall, just past the covered bridge.
Libby Mitchell, who oversees The Local, said, “In the beginning we had three farmers and one bread maker.” Now it has more than 124 vendors in the shop.
She explained that The Local began on Dec. 5, 2020, during the pandemic. “The Hughes Memorial Library had made many attempts at community programming at its location at 35 Lower River Road but the lack of water into the building made a two day a week indoor farmer’s market impossible, so the board voted to rent the space at 415 Sharon Goshen Turnpike and The Local was born.” She added, “The library has since bought the building.”
Mitchell went on to say, “I never say no” to someone who wants to sell at the shop. “I don’t curate. The public decides.”
A smattering of items for sale range from pottery by Jane Herold, Pam Church, and the Cornwall Bridge Pottery, to jewelry by Marci Vincitorio, handsewn stuffed animals and book marks by Lauren Kendrick Creations, honey from the local hives of Sharon Valley Honey, maple syrup from Ridgway Farm, herbal teas and herbal remedies from Treasa Pattison, handmade jewelry and felting from Jennifer Hurlburt Markow, two kinds of quiche, one from Pebbles Bakery and one from Amy From Church Farm who also makes organic kabocha pie, original Kentucky Bourbon balls from Eama’s House, greeting cards by various artists, jam from Tea Jams, wooden cutting boards by Brian Saccardi, horses made from corks by Jodi Bogus, and kale salad from Frank Food Company. Vendors come from all over the northwest corner of Connecticut and neighboring regions.
A selection of work from local potters at The Local in West Cornwall.Robin Roraback
Mitchell pointed out Undermountain Weavers of Salisbury who make their products with wool from Birdseye and Tanner Brook Farms, another vendor, as a product that is by a local business from local materials.
The long wooden table in the center of the shop is filled every Friday with pies, salads, raspberry apple oat bars, focaccia bread, quiches, homemade breads, and other edibles and “by the end of the day Saturday, all the food is gone.” She notes this is mostly due to locals, “Tourists who come to see the covered bridge buy different things than the locals. The locals go for the foods.”
When items sell, 90% of the sales go back to the vendors while 10% goes to the running of the building.
Mitchell also oversees The Union next door to The Local. The Union has high-speed internet access, which people can reserve a time to use for free. Upstairs is The Wellness Collective with Yoga classes six days a week in the mornings and evenings.
The Local is open on Fridays from 12 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. when Mitchell is joined by assistant, Joseph Villa Arpi, both ready to help customers.
Wes Allyn breaks away from the St. Paul defense for a reception touchdown Wednesday, Nov. 26.
The Yellowjacket defense played lights out, holding St. Paul’s offense to 73 total yards and forcing three turnovers. Owen Riemer and Tyler Roberts each caught an interception and Jacob Robles recovered a fumble.
GNH congratulates Tyler Roberts on an interception late in the Turkey Bowl.Photo by Riley Klein
QB Trevor Campbell threw for three touchdowns: one to Wes Allyn, one to Cole Linnen and one to Esten Ryan. GNH scored twice on the ground with rushing touchdowns from Linnen and Riemer.
The game concluded in some confusion. A late run by Linnen ended when he was tackled near the end zone. The ball was spotted at the one-yard line and GNH took a knee to end the fourth quarter with the scoreboard reading 28-0. After the game, Linnen’s run was reassessed as a touchdown, and the final score was adjusted to 34-0.
Esten Ryan runs into the end zone for a GNH touchdown Wednesday, Nov. 26.Photo by Riley Klein
Coach Scott Salius was thankful that his team went out on a high note. “We’re one of the few teams in the state that will finish with a win.” He commented on the “chippiness” of this year’s Thanksgiving matchup. “We have started a true rivalry.”
GNH won four of the last five games and ended with a record of 5-5.
“Battling back from 1-4, huge turnaround. I couldn’t be happier,” said GNH captain Wes Allyn after the win. “Out of the four years I’ve been playing, undefeated on Thanksgiving. No one will ever take that away from me.”
The GNH defense held St. Paul to 73 total yards in the 2025 Turkey Bowl.
Looking back on his final varsity season, Nick Crodelle said he will remember “practice, complaining about practice, and getting ready for the games. Game day was a lot of fun.”
Hunter Conklin said ending on a win “feels great” and appreciated his time on the field with his teammates. “There’s no one else I’d rather do it with.”
“I’m so thankful to have these guys in my life,” said Riemer. “It’s emotional.”
It was the last varsity football game for eight Housatonic Valley Regional High School seniors.Photo by Riley Klein
“Once Upon a Time in America” features ten portraits by artist Katro Storm.
Part of what became a capstone project for Wolgemuth, she left behind a comprehensive guide to help future student interns manage the gallery effectively. “Everything from who we should contact, the steps to take for everything, our donors,” Wilbur said. “It’s really extensive and it’s been a huge help.”
Art teacher Lilly Rand Barnett first met Storm a few years ago through his ICEHOUSE Project Space exhibition in Sharon, “Will It Grow in Sharon?” in which he planted cotton and tobacco as part of an exploration of ancestral heritage.
“And the plants did grow,” said Barnett. She asked Storm if her students could use them, and the resulting work became a project for that year’s Troutbeck Symposium, the annual student-led event in Amenia that uncovers little-known or under-told histories of marginalized communities, particularly BIPOC histories.
Last spring, Rand emailed to ask if Storm would consider a solo show at HVRHS. He agreed.
And just a few weeks ago, he arrived — paints, brushes and canvases in tow.
“When Katro came to start hanging everything, he took up a mini art residency in Ms. Rand’s room,” Wilbur said. “All her students were able to see his process and talk to him. It was great working with him.”
Perhaps more unexpected was his openness. “He really trusted us as curators and visionaries,” Wilbur said. “He said, ‘Do with it what you will.’”
Artist Katro StormNatalia Zukerman
Storm’s artistic training began at New Haven’s Educational Center for the Arts. His talent earned him a full scholarship to the Arts Institute of Boston, then Boston’s Museum School, where he painted seven oversized portraits of influential Black figures — in seven days — for his final project. Those works became the backbone of his early exhibitions, including at Howard University’s National Council for the Arts.
Storm has created several community murals like the 2009 READ Mural featuring local heroes, and several literacy and wellness murals at the Stetson Branch Library in New Haven. Today, he teaches and works, he said, “wherever I set up shop. Sometimes I go outside. Sometimes I’m on top of roofs. Wherever it is, I get the job done.”
His deep ties to education made a high school gallery an especially meaningful stop. “No one really knew who these people were except maybe John Lennon,” Storm said of the portraits in the show. “It’s really important for them to know James Baldwin and Shirley Chisholm. And now they do.”
The exhibition includes a wide list of subjects: James Baldwin, Shirley Chisholm, Redd Foxx, Jasper Johns, Marilyn Manson, William F. Buckley, Harold Hunter, John Lennon, as well as two deeply personal works — a portrait of Tracy Sherrod (“She’s a friend of mine… She had an interesting hairdo”) and a tribute to his late friend Nes Rivera. “Most of the time I choose my subjects because there are things I want to see,” Storm said.
Storm’s paintings, which he describes as “full frontal figuratism,” rely on drips, tonal shifts, and what feels like emerging depth. His process moves quickly. “It depends on how fast it needs to get done,” he said. “Sometimes I like to take the long way up the mountain. Instead of doing an outline, I just start coloring, blocking things off with light and dark until it starts to take shape.”
He’s currently in a black-and-white phase. “Right now, I’m inspired by black and white, the way I can really get contrast and depth.”
Work happens on multiple canvases at once. “Sometimes I’ll have five paintings going on at one time because I go through different moods, and then there’s the way the light hits,” he said. “It’s kind of like cooking. You’ve got a couple things going at once, a couple things cooking, and you just try to reach that deadline.”
For Wilbur, who has studied studio arts “ever since I was really young” and recently applied early decision to Vassar, the experience has been transformative. For Storm — an artist who built an early career painting seven portraits in seven days and has turned New York’s subway corridors into a makeshift museum — it has been another chance to merge artmaking with education, and to pass a torch to a new generation of curators.
Le Petit Ranch offers animal-assisted therapy and learning programs for children and seniors in Sheffield.
Le Petit Ranch operates out of two small structures next to the family’s home: a one-room schoolhouse for animal-assisted learning sessions and a compact stable for the three miniature horses, Mini Mac, Rocket and Miso. Other partner animals include two rescued Spanish greyhounds, Yayi and Ronya; four guinea pigs and a flock of chickens.
Borreda offers programs at the Scoville Library in Salisbury, at Salisbury Central School and surrounding towns to support those who benefit from non-traditional learning environments.
“Animal-assisted education partners with animals to support learning in math, reading, writing, language and physical education,” she said. One activity, equimotricité, has children lead miniature horses through obstacle courses to build autonomy, confidence and motor skills.
Child working with a miniature horse at Le Petit RanchMarjorie Borreda
She also brings her greyhounds into schools for a “min vet clinic,” a workshop that turns lessons on dog biology and measuring skills into hands-on, movement-based learning. A separate dog-bite prevention workshop teaches children how to read canine body language and respond calmly.
Parents and teachers report strong results. More than 90% of parents observed greater empathy, reduced anxiety, increased self-confidence and improved communication and cooperation in their children, and every parent said animal-assisted education made school more enjoyable — with many calling it “the highlight of their week.”
Weekly small-group sessions with seniors at Le Petit Ranch stimulates cognitive function and improves motor skills.Marjorie Borreda
Le Petit Ranch also serves seniors, including nursing home residents experiencing depression, social withdrawal or reduced physical activity. Weekly small-group sessions with animals can stimulate cognitive function and improve motor skills, balance and mobility.
Families can visit Le Petit Ranch for animal- assisted afterschool sessions, Frech immersion or family walks. She also offers programs for schools, libraries, community centers, churches, senior centers and nursing homes.
For more information, email info@lepetitranch.com, visit lepetitranch.com, follow @le.petit.ranch on Instagram or call 413-200-8081.
