Soup’s on—Chef’s edition!
Join Expressions Pottery Workshop and Friend to Friend for the 24th Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 5, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the East Granby Community/Senior Center, 7 Memorial Drive.
This year they’re serving delicious soup prepared onsite by Chef Stefan Drago, owner of Drago’s Kitchen. The fall fundraiser includes new surprises in addition to favorite traditions:
• Join the pre-event hike on Doreen’s Nature Trail, meeting at the EG Community/Senior Center parking lot at 10:30 a.m.
• Festivities begin indoors at 11:30 a.m. Choose a beautiful, handmade bowl, enjoy delicious soup, purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a fresh holiday turkey, locally made pies or a TV. Enjoy live folk music performed by Allendale Rose.
• Take a stroll (or drive) to Expressions Pottery Workshop to peruse the handmade pottery for early holiday shopping, enter the free raffle to win a $50 Expressions Gift Card, indulge in a sweet treat and pick up a complimentary pumpkin courtesy of Peter L. Brown Company.
• The Friend to Friend Thrift Shop will also be open for your treasure-hunting pleasure from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 32 Spoonville Road in East Granby.
Tickets are $25 in advance (friendtofriendeg.com) or $30 at the door. You may buy a $5 soup-only ticket for children 12 and under, available for purchase only at the door.
All proceeds benefit the Friend to Friend Food Pantry, providing food to pre-qualified East Granby residents and families in need.
Free Quilt Show and Raffle
The Granville Quilt and Needlework Guild (GQNG) will participate in The Granville Harvest Fair with a free Quilt Show and raffle. The fair will be held Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 12 through Oct. 14 in Granville. The guild participates in the fair to promote needlework arts and to raise funds for its charitable works.
Regular meetings of the GQNG are held on the third Tuesday of the month at the Southwick Town office building, 454 College Highway (Route 202) from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The October meeting will be a Halloween-themed trunk show of needlework items. Please join them and see what they have to offer. For more information, visit facebook.com/TheGranvilleQuiltAndNeedleworkGuild or call 413-568-1505.
Pumpkin Patch Trolley and Curse of the Rails
The Connecticut Trolley Museum, at 58 North Road (Route 140) in East Windsor, presents Pumpkin Patch Trolley and Curse of the Rails, two fundraising events extremely important to the museum’s operations.
Step aboard the Curse of the Rails, where haunting echoes of the past and horrifying tales await you on an unforgettable haunted trolley ride! Guided by Deadalus Extreme Paranormal Investigations, journey through haunted landscapes and come face to face with entities that roamed these very rails. With each twist and turn, encounter ghostly apparitions and blood-curdling legends that will leave you questioning what’s real and what’s supernatural. Gather your bravest friends and embark on an immersive paranormal experience that will deliver chilling thrills you’ll never forget. Held on Friday and Saturday nights starting Oct. 4. Rated PG-13, it may be too intense for the squeamish. Hours are 6:30–10 p.m., admission is $45 per person and recommended for ages 16+. Tickets must be purchased in advance at ct-trolley.org
Pumpkin Patch Trolley is family fun, filled with adventure where you ride on a trolley car out to the pumpkin patch field and each child can choose a free sugar-sized pumpkin. After returning to the museum campus, decorate the pumpkins, play in the corn box, enjoy the outside harvest play area, the museum exhibits and displays. Admission also includes the Fire Truck Museum which is located on the Trolley Museum campus. The event will be held on Saturdays and Sundays starting Sept. 28, and Monday, Oct. 14. Visit ct-trolley.org for hours of operation and to purchase tickets. Admission is $15 for adults and seniors, $14 for youth (ages 12-17), $13 for children (ages 2-11) and under 2 is free.
Holly Boutique Craft Fair
The 30th Annual Holly Boutique Craft Fair and Luncheon will be held at the North Canton Community United Methodist Church Hall, Route 179 and 3 Case Street in North Canton.
The fair runs: Thursday, Oct. 17 and Friday, Oct. 18, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Come see a wonderful selection of quality crafts made by 30 local juried artisans. Refreshments available for purchase Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Agatha Christie mystery performed by Suffield Players
The Suffield Players are delighted to introduce the outstanding cast for its highly anticipated fall production of And Then There Were None by the legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie. Bringing this gripping mystery to life on stage are: Matt Bessette, Steven Close, Keith Giard, Kate Maggiore, Kat Marcil, Bailly Morse, Matthew Rafala, Charles Schoenfeld, Dana T. Ring, Christian Tarr, and Daniel Viets. The production is directed by Mary Fernandez-Sierra.
Performances will be at Mapleton Hall, 1305 Mapleton Avenue in Suffield. Evening shows begin at 8 p.m. on Oct. 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26. Matinees are at 2 p.m. on Oct. 13 and 20.
This production is recommended for ages 13 and up. Join us for a captivating journey into mystery and suspense. Tickets will be available soon—stay tuned for updates and prepare for an unforgettable theatrical experience!
Giant tag sale fundraiser returns
Windsor Historical Society’s popular Bounties of Bargains tag sale fundraiser is back! This giant tag sale takes place on the grounds of the historical society museum, 96 Palisado Avenue (Route 159) in Windsor from Thursday, Oct. 10 through Sunday, Oct. 13. This huge community event has something for everyone.
Volunteers are needed. Help receive, sort, and organize donations, and monitor the tag sale event. Volunteers get special perks, including first dibs on sale items and unlimited leftovers after the tag sale. To volunteer, register online at: bit.ly/tagsalevolunteers or email windsorhistorical.tagsale@gmail.com
Simsbury Grange Line Dancing
Line dancing with Mary Root is back at the Simsbury Grange, 236 Farms Village Road, West Simsbury. Join us on Friday, Oct. 11 on the lower level at 6 p.m. for free chili and cornbread and then upstairs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for Root to take us through some fun coordinated moves. Line dancing helps increase flexibility, coordination, cardiovascular health and memory. There’s no experience necessary and it’s a lot of fun.
This event, in partnership with the Simsbury Public Library, was very popular in April so sign up soon. Please register through Simsbury Public Library’s website/calendar of events. Parking is in FarmsVillage Plaza. Donations are welcome.
Jazz Mini-Course
Interested in learning more about Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and other great female jazz musicians? Join Javon Jackson, professor of jazz and director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, and Hartt Professor Matt DeChamplain for a three-session exploration of women in jazz.
Jackson and DeChamplain will use audio, video and some of their own live performances to put jazzy women in the spotlight, center stage. The sessions will be Wednesdays, Oct. 9, 16 and 23, 3:20–4:50 p.m. Details on this and other great lifelong learning courses and lectures are available at hartford.edu/pc Email pcollege@hartford.edu with questions or to be added to the mailing list.