Free Hartford: December 2 - 6, 2009

That time again: FREE HARTFORD listings by Anne Cubberly! Local artist and friend of the blog sends out these great weekly emails to let us know what free arts events are happening around the city. Get out and support your local arts.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2

Billings Forge: 539 Broad St. jlamotta@billingsforgeworks.org
Artists Residency : Tour the studios of artists Miguel Carter Fisher,
Kimberly Gill, Robert Charles Hudson & Greg Russell
some studios will be open from 6 - 9pm

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3

The Studio at Billings Forge: 563 Broad St. www.hartfordfarmersmarket.org
The Farmer's Market is moving indoors to the the Studio
Thursdays, 3:30 - 6 pm

Hartford Public Library: 500 Main St. www.hplct.org
Zumba Class: aerobic exercise program based on steps from merengue,
samba and other Latin dances.
6 pm - space limited, register online.

La Paloma Sabanera: 405 Capitol Ave www.lapalomacoffeehouse.com
Exhibition: Artist Kimberly Gil will display her work this month.
Opening Reception: 4:30 pm


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4

The Russell: 103 Pratt St. www.therussellct.com
Exhibition: Carnival Transformed, photographs from Trinidad's Carnival 2003
by Zoraida Lopez.
Opening Reception: 6 - 8 pm

Hartford Art School: Silpe Gallery: 200 Bloomfield Ave 860-768-4029
Ceramics Holiday Sale: The Clay Club is selling a wide variety of ceramics
at fabulous prices. Dec. 4 - 10
Opening Reception 7 - 9 pm

ArtSpace Gallery: 555 Asylum Ave
Exhibition: Joan Coderre, A Retrospective of her watercolor and
gouache paintings spanning 30 years. Nov. 30 - Dec. 12
Opening Reception: 6 - 8 pm

Kinsella Magnet School For The Arts: www.hartbeatensemble.org
Performance: Ebeneeza: A Hartford Holiday Carol, Hartbeat Ensemble
tells a local story of the old miser's path to rediscovering humanity.
7:30 pm

La Paloma Sabanera: 405 Capitol Ave www.lapalomacoffeehouse.com
Performance: String Theorie will play their Instrumental folk/jazz/worldbeat/
neoclassical/indie band style music.
7:30 pm

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5

The Connecticut Science Center: 250 Columbus www.ctsciencecenter.org
CT Science Center's Half-Price Community Day ! General admission tickets are half price
off this Saturday only. A special offer just for Free Hartford recipients:
The first 25 people to email info@CTScienceCenter.org get a free
family four pack of tickets good for this Saturday.
10 am - 5 pm

The Studio at Billings Forge: 563 Broad St. 860-548-9877
Peace Market: A holiday market of crafts, artwork, performance and baked goods
presented by the member's of the Billings Forge Community, Artists-in-
Residence, The Kitchen and the Children's Choir.
11 am - 3 pm

Hartford Art School: Silpe Gallery: 200 Bloomfield Ave 860-768-4029
Ceramics Holiday Sale: The Clay Club is selling a wide variety of ceramics
at fabulous prices. Dec. 4 - 10
12 - 5 pm

Real Art Ways: 56 Arbor St. www.realartways.org
WINCE: Participate in an Open Mic Series featuring your relics of embarrassment,
share stories, artifacts & relics of family moments.
Free for readers , 8 pm

Kinsella Magnet School For The Arts: www.hartbeatensemble.org
Performance: Ebeneeza: A Hartford Holiday Carol, Hartbeat Ensemble
tells a local story of the old miser's path to rediscovering humanity.
7:30 pm

Artistic Xpression Theater : 960 Main St. artisticxpression4youth@yahoo.com
Artist's Showcase & Bazaar Weekend: featuring artists specializing in jewelry,
textiles, sculpture, crafts & performance.
11 - 5 pm

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6

Artistic Xpression Theater : 960 Main St. artisticxpression4youth@yahoo.com
Artist's Showcase & Bazaar Weekend: featuring artists specializing in jewelry,
textiles, sculpture, crafts & performance.
12 - 4 pm

Hartford Art School: Silpe Gallery: 200 Bloomfield Ave 860-768-4029
Ceramics Holiday Sale: The Clay Club is selling a wide variety of ceramics
at fabulous prices. December 4 - 10
12 - 5 pm

Trinity College Chapel: 200 Summit St. Jaime.Bradstreet@trincoll.edu
Trinity Chapel Celebrates Service of Lessons & Carols led by the
Chapel Singers and Trinity Choir. ( 2 performances)
4 pm and 7 pm

City Steam Brewery : 942 Main St. www.seateaimprov.com
"Second City Steam": Sea Tea Improv hosts a night of Improv Comedy.
Special Guest is UConn's Horse Lincoln Improv.
7 pm (doors open @6:30 pm)


For More Free Events go to www.letsgoarts.org and look under " Fill your Social Calendar".
The Greater Hartford Arts council has put together this great resource to find events.
You can even do a "free" search !

CALL TO ARTISTS..............................

La Paloma Sabanera Coffee House is looking for artists interested
in displaying their work.
Contact Virginia Iacobucci 956-5003, viacobucci@snet.net


VOLUNTEERING..................................

Foodshare: Volunteer for Foodshare at Hartford Regional Market on Tuesdays, Fridays
or Saturdays. Contact john or Krista @ 860-286-9999

Hands On Hartford: 40 Pratt St. www.handsonhartford.org
Volunteer ! Check out there website and see all the ways you can connect with your community.

Hartford Stage: 50 Church St. www.hartfordstage.org
Ushers see the shows for free, go to the website to find out more.


ONGOING....................................................

Hartford Public Library: 500 Main St. www.hplct.org
ARTWalk: Exhibition, Journey(2): A Renewed Consciousness. Paintings and collage
by Stanwyck Cromwell.
Through January 15, 2010

Trinity College: Widener Gallery 860-297-5232
Exhibition: un/commonsigns featuring paintings by Charlotte Cain, Julie Evears and
Kathryn Myers. through December 14

Real Art Ways: 56 Arbor St. www.realartways.org
Exhibition: Zak Ove, Works from the Transfigura Series : View Ove's photographs
of the Blue Devils in Trinidad's Carnival.
Through December 13

Hartford Public Library: 500 Main St. www.americanmuralproject.org
Exhibition: American Mural Project. Giant sections of the American Mural
Project will be on display. Through November

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art: 600 Main St. www.therussellct.com
Jazz at The Russell
Sundays, 12-3 pm

Red Rock Tavern: 369 Capitol Ave 860-246-4527 www.facebook.com/redrocktavern
Tame the Brain Trivia Night: All Categories, Hosted by Craig B. & Ryan Smart
from 104.1. Prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place team !
Mondays 8 - 10:30 pm

The Russell: 103 Pratt St. www.therussellct.com
Love Jone's Experience: Live poetry and music, don't miss it.
Mondays at 9pm

Black Eyed Sally's: 350 Asylum St. www.hartfordjazzjam.com
Hartford Jazz Society Jam
Mondays, 8-11pm

Firebox: 539 Broad St. www.fireboxrestaurant.com
Sundays, Blue Grass from 5-8pm
Wednesdays, Jazz from 6- 9 pm

McKinnon's Irish Pub: 114 Asylum St. www.mckinnonsirishpub.com
Irish session hosted by P.V. O' Donnell
Wednesdays, 7;30-10 pm

La Casona Restaurant : 681 Wethersfield Ave www.casonarestaurant.com
Latin Music Open Mic: Hosted by Carlos Hernandez Chavez and Jay Borges.
Thursdays 6-9 pm

Spiritus: 220 Asylum St. www.spiritus.com
Wine Tasting
Thursdays from 4:30-7 pm & Saturdays from 1-4 pm

Free Ride.......Hartford Star Shuttle www.hartford.gov/parking
M-F, 7am-11pm, Sat. 3 pm-11pm
See the website for the shuttle route


Finally ! Anne

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The Second Coming of The Colin McEnroe Show!

Colin & Cortlandt Hull by Chion Wolf

As I'm listening to The Colin McEnroe Show in real time (for a change, versus via podcast), I'm reminded that I haven't congratulated our friend Colin for being renewed "for another 13 weeks of radio goodness." If you haven't had the chance, check out the podcasts online or live weekdays at 1pm on WNPR 90.3. It's a great fun show that brings to the airwaves diverse subjects from art in our museums, to prayer and music in worship, to cartooning with Bill Griffith. I've even been a guest on the show to discuss the Hartford International Film Festival. And of course, there's the part of Bill Curry. Colin is joined by a great radio producer in Patrick Skahill who has created some great radio journalism with short pieces, and Chion Wolf as the voice over that everyone has a crush on. Congrats, team!

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Holiday Happy Hour tonight for World Affairs Council

We just got a lovely invite to a holiday party tonight! Care to join the the World Affairs Council of Connecticut as they meet for drinks? Just head over to Agave Grill on the corner of Allyn and Anne Uccello Streets at 5pm for awesome $4 Margaritas!

World Affairs Council Young Professionals present
Holiday Happy Hour
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
at
Agave Grill
100 Allyn Street, Hartford, CT
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Walk-ins are welcome!
Stop by to mingle, learn about our YP program, and enjoy fabulous $4 Margaritas.

Thanks to Nick Fulco of the WAC of CT for the email. Here's a little about it from his email:

The WAC is a small non-profit based in Hartford that organizes educational programming for mainly Hartford area professionals. We have a young professionals group and are attempting to grow our numbers and become more active.

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PHH: Decadent December Descends on us.

That's right folks, it's baaaaaaaack. But really, even though it's the last month of the year, does December ever really leave us?

Let's think about this now,

Why only scant moments after the Thanksgiving dinner was consumed, we're off to do our midnight holiday chopping at the big bargain bins of business.

And no sooner is December is over, than we're in January and celebrating a whole new year, and thinking to ourselves (and anyone who stands to close) "Well, a new year to get not screw up as badly as next year. Only 11 more months til next year!"

In February we're cursing the cold, saying, damn, why is a short month so frakking cold? Thanks a lot, December for bringing in the Winter Solstice and having us freeze our tuchas off! (Note: this curse only applies in northern states and countries; those in the south and temperate climates could give a rat's arse about us up here)

In March, we thank mother nature for finally bringing about the lovely spring weather and skies that was brought on by the winter months in December.

April we are reminded of why December is such a great shopping month for gift giving with Passover and Easter where we're all like, Where's the presents, dudes? and you're parents and priests and rabbis would be like, dude, this is about celebrating life and death, not about presents, that's what December's for. And you're like, Bogus, man. This sucks. I wanna be back in December.

Then May comes in all sweet and mild and you really don't think about December, except that its still 7 months away, which is good, cause now the summer is coming, so you're just grateful it's not December.

June brings the summer and it's great until some old tosser says, Yup, it'll be a great summer, that means December will bring a nasty winter. Seriously, dude, you had to start getting all Year Half over on us? You couldn't be like, "Year Half started"? Douche.

July: We're so dreading december that some arsehole came up with the term, 'Christmas in July' so that everyone can feel like they're getting a great deal, but in fact, they're just getting prepared to have all their hopes dashed to pieces. There's no snow in July!! (Note: this does not apply to northern regions of Canada or Antartica)

August gives us those classic heat waves, where you're sweltering and melting and really wanting the wintery coolness of December. In fact, it's so desired that Hollywood tends to release Christmas movies in the summer so that we psychologically already feel cooler! (both Die Hard christmas movies, Batman Returns (Winter themed), Jingle All the Way, etc., etc.,)

September is so boring as school started up again, that all every one wants, from kindergarten to grad school: is the anticipation of Winter Break in December. Marketing has decided that October is now the official start of Christmas season. Halloween just isn't selling anymore so now we must make the Christmas season start in October. Hey, Mary was pregnant for nine months, so let's celebrate all of it. C'mon! Where's your Octoberfest Christmas Spirit?

Crap, we're back to November. Where did the year go? Now all the holiday movies start coming. Turkey's prepare for their last meal. You start making a list of all the things you intended to do this year that didn't get done and how you can do more. If you're insane enough, you decide, now would be the perfect time to write a 50,000 page novel. Sure, that way you can say you at least did that this year before the year is over.

BOOM! Santas everywhere; all the bells are jingling, sleighs magically appear. this is a winter horrorland. We're back in Christmas. Now what, Poindexter? Get them credit cards ready to save the American economy by spending spending spending. People who haven't called you all year are now inviting you to all their winter holiday parties, with the stale invitation of: "We haven't seen you all year!" or "Another year has passed". Really, Einstein? If you really wanted to see me, maybe you'd pick up the phone a few times a year.

Bah frickin' humbug.

Get the party season started tonight at Rudolph's Red-nosed Rockin' Tavern at 369 Capitol Avenue., our fair city, Hartford, CT. Party starts at 9:30pm. Just look for the building with a star shining down on it. There'll be plenty of room in the manger for all of us.

-Krispy Kringled

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