PUTNAM — The recent Savor the Flavor food event raised $1,500 for Daily Bread.

Empanadas & Rice, Corn Chowder, Corn & Crab Cake Sliders, General Tso’s Corn-enhanced Chicken, Arepas, Thai Corn Salad, Mexican Crab & Sweet Corn Bisque, and Custard Corn Pudding were some of the taste temptations, offered by local restaurant talents: Avah’s Diner & Deli, the Courthouse Bar & Grille, The Stomping Ground, The Crossings Restaurant & Brew Pub, CT National Golf Course, Sugar & Smoke, The Mansion at Bald Hill, and China Star. A separate judging committee, made up of local foodie celebs; Richard Naumann from the Inn at Woodstock Hill, Trevor Dieffenwierth proprietor of Bistro Eighty Ates, Meghan Lizee of Salon Evo and Scott Otero of J Polep- both local “foodies” tasted and voted, too.  The close judging came down to this: Judge’s choice: Courthouse Bar & Grille; Judge’s runner up: CT National Golf Course; People’s choice: Avah’s Diner & Deli; People’s runner up: The Stomping Ground.

 

 

Walktober begins Sept. 21

Twenty-seven years strong, and bigger and better than ever, Walktober kicks off Sept. 21 to celebrate the autumnal equinox.

Brought to you by The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV), the 2017 Walktober offers an array of adventures, with more than 220 unique experiences and more than 250 opportunities to enjoy autumn in the region. The 24-page Walktober brochure is free and details the guided walks, hikes, bike rides, paddles, tastes and events featured during Walktober. TLGV’s website and social media will be regularly updated with additions and changes.

“We have an amazing group of volunteer walk leaders who help make this event bigger and better, year after year,” said Lois Bruinooge, executive director of The Last Green Valley. “This 35-town region is an extraordinary place, and nothing shows it off better than Walktober, thanks to the community organizations and volunteers who put their hearts into this program every year.”

Members of TLGV also have the chance to win a specially-designed Walktober Challenge T-Shirt. To win, all a member needs to do is participate in a Walktober experience, sign the attendance sheet, take a photo and post it to TLGV’s Facebook page with their location. TLGV will pick two winners every week of Walktober.

Here’s a sampling of the first week of Walktober events:

Sept. 21,  explore The Three Bridges of Downtown Willimantic - and More!  in Willimantic. 

Sept. 23, learn how farmers keep The Last Green Valley Green during  Celebrating Agriculture in Woodstock; join Laurelei’s Letterboxing Adventure in Lebanon; take a  Knowlton Hill Preserve Plant Walk in Mansfield; Visit the Huguenot Steamer No. 1 Fire Station Museum in N. Oxford, Mass.; go Walking in a Traitor’s Footsteps  as Benedict Arnold Returns at the Leffingwell House Museum in  Norwich; fall in love with Last Green Valley towns during the Brooklyn Fall Festival, Positively Pomfret Day, and Southbridge Walktober Focus on Fun; explore The River, Rail, Mills & Trails in Willimantic; and take a Hale Homestead Landscape Tour: Reading an 18th Century Farm in Coventry, or a Cemetery Tour of Brooklyn’s South Cemetery. 

Enjoy the Brooklyn Fall Festival and Thompson Community Day Sept. 24. 

Find the Next Stop: Hampton Station on the Air Line Trail or visit the Shetucket River Powering Norwich and Lifting Fish Sept. 27.  Sept. 28 offers Dale Monett’s Presentation, Book Launch & Book Signing in Southbridge. Close out the week with Deep Sky Observing  on Sprague Land Trust Property in Franklin.

These  are just the beginning of Walktober! Adventures continue throughout the month of October and conclude Nov. 4.

To plan Walktober adventures, grab a 24-page, free brochure at any town hall, library or information kiosk within the region, or visit http://thelastgreenvalley.org to download a brochure. All updates, additions and cancellations will be posted on the Walktober page on TLGV’s website and Facebook page. 

 

 

Best Bank

Putnam Bank was voted Best Bank for the second year in a row in Norwich Magazine’s Best of Northeastern CT Awards. Pictured: Thomas A. Borner, president and CEO, and Lynn K. Bourque, SVP and branch administrator. Courtesy photo.

 

 

Then

This 1888 photo shows downtown Putnam. The original steeple of the Congregational Church of Putnam is shown and the round water tank on Prospect Street is also in the photo. Putnam Town Crier photos.

 

& Now

The church steeple was replaced after a hurricane in the 1930s and the water tank was removed in the '90s.