A Hot Night to Benefit the Library - Feb. 26

Banish the winter and heat up your taste buds!

The Northwest Corner’s hottest winter event is back. The D. M. Hunt Library in Falls Village will be sure to melt snow and ice with their annual fund raiser Chocolate & Chili in the Village on Saturday, February 26th at the Old Town Hall from 5 to 8 pm. This year’s event will be held upstairs in the Senior Center .

This popular event will feature a lineup of competing chili varieties prepared by local community organizations. Each attendee will have the opportunity to taste each chili and cast votes for their favorites. Some of the competitors this year include The Falls Village Inn, the Fire Department, Daycare Center , Historical Society, Great Mountain Forest , Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Toymakers Café, and Crossroads Deli.

Dozens of delectable chocolate creations from sweet to savory will be on hand for tasting and buying. Amazing baked goods, truffles, chocolate mice, chocolate granola, and chicken with mole sauce are just some of the treats that chocolate lovers can sample.

Joshua Stone, Falls Village ’s own Emmy Award-winning composer, will host “Name that Tune” a musical game with prizes which always draws a crowd after the chili awards are announced. A live auction featuring gift certificates for chocolate desserts, books and more will round out the event.

Tickets are $25 per person and include all the chocolate and chili you want, beer and wine, and ten tickets to vote for best chili. All proceeds benefit the library. For information and to reserve tickets call the library at 860-824-7424.

Chocolate & Chili in the Village
To Benefit the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village
5pm to 8pm, Saturday, February 26
The Old Town Hall – 107 Main Street , Falls Village , CT 06031
Tickets $25 / Information: 860-824-7424
Wheelchair accessible
Interest: Adult

“FREE MONEY” FOR Friends of Lee Kellogg School (F.O.L.K.S.)

The ever-creative parents at the Lee H. Kellogg School have come up with a new, easy way to raise funds for school trips and other "extras." Here's their press release:

Without spending anything extra people can now help FOLKS (Friends of Lee Kellogg School) raise funds to go towards fieldtrips, cultural programs and guest artists, special classroom items, playground and afterschool program items, as well as financial assistance to help insure that all students can participate in school programs and trips. Guaranteed contributions from participating retailers go directly to FOLKS, the volunteer parent and teacher group for Lee H. Kellogg School, through the new Scrips Card program.

“I’ve raised over $60 for FOLKS in the last two months alone without even trying and without pleading for anyone to buy a ticket, an ad, a pie, or anything. I just used the Scrip cards at the check-out when I did my grocery shopping and also when I bought office supplies,” explained Amy Wynn, a Kellogg School parent.
“At every turn, we are asked to buy something for a fundraiser in our small community. This program is a great alternative that can ease this burden throughout our region. We are asking that people try it at least once and see how good it feels to know you are helping raise needed funds by simply doing your everyday shopping and paying for it with your Scrips cards,” encouraged Margaret Caiati, FOLKS coordinator for this program. “Our goal is to get at least 80 people paying for $100 of their grocery bill at Stop ‘n Shop with the Scrip cards each month for the next three months. This would meet our initial goal of raising $1,000 this spring for field trip and cultural program funds,” she added.

The Scrips cards are easy to order and use and there is no extra charge. To help FOLKS raise funds, all one has to do is purchase Scrips Cards - which are basically gift cards - through the FOLKS Scrips program. The Scrips card purchaser receives the exact value paid for the cards; there are no added fees. The specific retailer for each type of card donates from 2% to 17% of each purchase directly to FOLKS. The whole community beyond Kellogg School and Falls Village is encouraged to participate.
The Scrips cards can be used for things bought each week such as groceries and drug store items, seasonal items like home improvement/gardening items and clothing, as well as gifts for holidays and special occasions. The Scrips Program has over 250 retailers to choose from, such as Stop ‘n Shop, CVS, K-Mart, Best Buy, Lands End, Applebee’s, Amazon.com, TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Staples, ITunes, Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Home Depot, and many more. A full list of retailers and the order form is available at the FOLKS webpage housed at www.kelloggschool.org.

Questions about the FOLKS Scrips program and ordering cards can be directed to Margaret Caiati at (860) 824-1415 or mcaiati@comcast.com.

Memorial Day 2009

Has the weather ever been more perfect for a Memorial Day Parade? The highlight of the day was seeing the Fire Department's brand new state-of-the-art truck which will allow our volunteer force to protect us more efficiently and effectively. The Fire Department served up cookies and brownies and lemonade and the Falls Village Community and Cultural Center had fresh popcorn and an art project for the kids. The art show on the walls of the FVCCC was proof that the children who live in Falls Village cherish its special attributes as they demonstrated in works on paper called "My Falls Village."

Pennies from Heaven

Hunt Library booster nonpareil Mary Elling reports:
"The Student Council-sponsored Kellogg Kids Coin Drive for the Hunt and contributed $19.97/per student and they will celebrate with ice cream sundaes. The combined first and second grade class and fifth graders were runners-up and they will get ice cream cups. There was another collection bottle labeled “Help Kellogg Kids Coin Drive” at the Hunt’s circulation desk.
Patrons, especially from Erica Joncyk's beloved story hours, added an extra $53.03 for a grand total of $566.52. Jill Russell and Carol Mroz at the Falls Village Torrington Savings Bank branch deserve kudos for counting the coins."

4th grade winners of ice cream sundae party
Back row: Julie Horowitz, Noah Light, Quiet Thunder, Shelby Parsons
Front row: Brook Dodge, Grace Cohn, Justin Fitch, Olivia Wadsworth, Ciara McElroy


Scott Jasmine and Alex Pecha giving the Kellogg students' contributions to Margo Lewis, President of Hunt Board of Directors

Your Library Wants YOU!

The Saint Valentine's Day Mystery

Mary Elling of Point of Rocks Road was enchanted and mystified by the hearts that were left dangling around town by an anonymous good samaritan on Valentine's Day. And she is dying of curiosity to find out who was behind this charming gesture....

How Sweet It Was!

Maybe it was because everyone was having a simultaneous sugar high, but all the guests seemed giddy at tonight's second annual Chocolate in the Village fundraiser for the David M. Hunt Library. There were all types of chocolate treats to taste and plenty of good things to drink, but the best part was seeing how many smart, funny, generous and interesting people come out on a cold night to support our beloved library.

Celebrating the Inauguration

Falls Villagers Zoe Fedorjaczenko and Mary Elling (and their husbands George and Sergei) were among the 600 ecstatic people who watched the inauguration at the Mahaiwe Theatre in Great Barrington.

A Great Guy

Yes, that is our own Guy Rovezzi featured in Rural Intelligence this week. And, yes, that is our Lanny Mitchell in Rural Intelligence, who is directing The Wiz in Sheffield the first weekend of January, with our very own Dominic Sanchez, Emma Cohn and Rebecca Rovezzi.

Children First!

Christmas is really for children, and the best gift you could give the children of Falls Village is a donation toward the Falls Village Children's Theater spring production of Alice in Wonderland. One of the hallmarks of the FVCT since its founding three years ago has been the spring musical which every child in Falls Village can participate in for free. The "No Child Left Behind" doctrine is the spirit of the spring musical (and though it was conceived for the kindergartners through 8th graders several Kellogg alums who are now in high school plan to participate again this year. Where else do you see five-year-olds and 16-year-olds dancing and singing together in a small-town play with professional production values?)

Making this possible requires that local residents and businesses support this fourth spring musical (continuing in the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella and Annie.) If you can, be an angel and write a check to the FVCT (and mail it to 25 Deer Road, FV CT 06031) to make sure that the show can go on.

The House That Jason Built*

Our elfin town baker, Jason Young (*with a major assist from Santa Sharon Hamilton), has built a spectacular gingerbread house that his Sweet William's Bakery donated to the David M. Hunt Library. You can buy a chance at the Hunt Library ($2 a piece) to win this wonderful and totally edible house. Even if you don't win, the library does.

Tree Lighting & Town Holiday Party, Nov. 30

The annual town Christmas Tree Lighting and community Christmas party takes place this Sunday, November 30, at the Senior Center at 5 PM.

Yes We CANaan!

Yes we did. Falls Village (aka the town of Canaan) overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama with 429 votes (68%), while John McCain got 189.
According to the Hartford Courant, 69% of supported Chris Murphy with 408 votes and 166 voted for Cappiello.

Scenes From A Scarecrow Contest

A highly arbitrary selection of entries in the second annual Scarecrow Contest sponsored by the Falls Village Community & Cultural Center and the Falls Village Children's Theater--especially arbitrary because I accidentally erased two dozen photos from my camera. (And thanks to Ed Herrington for donating the lumber for the crossbars.) If you click on an individual picture, you can see a slightly larger version of it.