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Early Admission to the Poetry Festival!
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Hill-Stead will open to the public at 12 pm on May 25
Hill-Stead Museum will open to the public at 12 pm on Wednesday May 25 to accommodate the taping of a television interview with The Countess of Carnarvon.
- From 12pm to 2:00 pm Hill-Stead will be open for self-guided tours only.
- Guided tours will resume at 2 pm.
Downton Abbey Event Ticket Giveaway!
Win Tickets to The Countess of Carnarvon: Entertaining at HIll-Stead
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram between May 11 and May 18 and you could win tickets to The Countess of Carnarvon: Entertaining at Highclere on May 27th. Hill-Stead Museum will give away a total of ten tickets and all winners will be contacted shortly after May 18th.*
*Hill-Stead Museum will collect all “Likes” and “Follows” during the week of May 11- May 18 and randomly select ten winners. All winners will be messaged over Facebook shortly after May 18 and tickets will be e-mailed immediately. This is a Hill-Stead Museum contest. Facebook, Twitter or Instagram are in no way involved or associated with this contest or its results.
Thank you for participating and good luck!
#OnlyatHillStead #DowntonAbbey #Giveaway #LoveFreeTickets
Photo: c. Highclere Castle 2015
Light Control Measures at Hill-Stead
May is Preservation month!
In timely recognition, Hill-Stead Museum announces significant funding from a local private foundation to implement light control measures in the historic house. In the coming weeks, new sheer weave, light-mitigating window shades will be installed at all windows in the period rooms. The shades will significantly lower the light levels that have streamed in since the house was built in 1901, thereby better protecting the priceless treasures collected by Alfred Pope with minimal change to the visitor experience.
Since the early 1980s Hill-Stead has had UV-filtering storm windows but “visible light” is also damaging to paintings, works-on-paper, natural wood and painted finishes, textiles, and other objects. Theodate Pope was an early preservationist and we think she would agree that filtering the views to the outdoors for the long-term well-being of the artworks and objects on the inside that both she and her father so loved is a fitting trade. The “views” on the inside of Hill-Stead remain as beautiful and inspiring as ever.
#ThisPlaceMatters
CT Humanities Awards $50K for a Second Consecutive Year!
A $50,000 grant awarded by Connecticut Humanities to Hill-Stead Museum’s Sunken Garden Poetry Festival will connect the public to current United States Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera and a showcase of Latino poetry and music. The Latino Poetry weekend will include a Poets and Authors Community Conversation with local writers and is open to all Festival attendees. This year’s Festival also provides exposure to and awareness of Veteran’s poetry and art which will include a 2-hour art workshop by a Veteran “iPhonographer,” and an art show of Veteran’s art in Hill-Stead’s Stone Garage gallery. All event dates will include poetry-writing workshops and interactive Prelude Interviews with headlining poets.
Hill-Stead Museum is thrilled to receive this grant to present the 2016 Sunken Garden Poetry Festival. With the support of CT Humanities for this acclaimed public program, the museum anticipates its best Sunken Garden Poetry Festival season yet!
Susan Ballek, Executive Director and CEO, Hill-Stead Museum
Connecticut Humanities, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, supports cultural and historic organizations that tell the state’s stories, build community and enrich lives.
Fresh Voices WINNERS Announced!
Hill-Stead is proud to announce the 2016 Fresh Voices WINNERS:
- Owen Elphick
- Chloe Ezzo
- Leah Nashel
- Jossary Padilla
- Abbey Rose Popolizio
Hill-Stead is proud to announce the 2016 Fresh Voices Finalists:
- Jenna Baig
- Kaitlyn Carr
- Olivia Coleman
- Rachel Currie
- Sarah Ferrigno
- Selena Muniz
- Winona Scheffn
- Owen Elphick
- Chloe Ezzo
- Rachel Horowitz-Benoit
- Jacob Lowell
- Leah Nashel
- Jossary Padilla
- Abbey Rose Popolizio
- Curtis Scheffel
Summer on the Hill: Vacation Workshops
Play • Paint • Explore • Write • Sculpt • Discover
Hill-Stead is offering summer vacation workshops for children ages 7 to 14.
- Week 1: July 11 – 15, ages 7 to 8
- Week 2: July 18 – 22, ages 9 to 11
- Week 3: July 25 – 29, ages 12to 14
Each week concludes with a special exhibition of the children’s artwork INSIDE Hill-Stead Museum. View your child’s creations in the same spaces as other masterpieces of the collection! Light refreshments and snacks will be served.
Museum Members, $175/week. Not yet a Member? $225 includes Family Membership plus one week of Summer on the Hill!
Registration
Space is extremely limited. Register by contacting Kate Ebner at (860) 677-4787 ext. 142, or ebnerk@hillstead.org.
Free Poetry Writing Workshops with Hartford Public Library
In celebration of National Poetry Month, Hill-Stead Museum and Hartford Public Library announce a partnership to present poetry writing workshops on April 30, May 14 and June 4.
All workshops are located at Hartford Public Library’s Hartford History Center, 500 Main Street, on the 3rd Floor.
Admission is FREE and limited to the first 15 registrants. However, we respectfully request that you register for only one writing workshop. If you wish to attend more than one, we would be happy to put you on a standby list and contact you within 24 hours of the start of your second choice.
For more information or to register, please see these events in our calendar or contact Lisa Lappe, lappel@hillstead.org.
- April 30 – Being Alive Twice, with Clare Rossini
- May 14 – Sharing Our Heritage or Other Multicultural Experiences through Poetry, with Luisa Caycedo-Kimur
- June 4 – Art on a Mission: Creating Poems for Social Change, with Dr. Joyce Ashuntantang
Museum Shop Grand Re-Opening!
Discover unique gifts and delightful treasures at Hill-Stead’s gorgeous new Museum Shop
The museum recently unveiled a complete renovation of the Museum Shop and welcomed Interior Designer Paula Perlini as the new Buyer and Merchandiser.
The new shop offers a lovely assortment of ceramics, figurines, books, toys, candles, jewelry, prints, local artwork and many more surprises.
Theodate’s Suffrage Journey on Grating the Nutmeg
Listen to Hill-Stead’s curator, Melanie Anderson Bourbeau, discuss Theodate Pope Riddle’s suffrage journey on Grating the Nutmeg – The Podcast of Connecticut History.
Theodate’s story begins at 32:15
Grating the Nutmeg offers stories about Connecticut history that you can listen to on your phone, tablet, or computer whenever you want. Brought to you by Connecticut Explored and the Office of the State Historian.