1st Friday
going
'jazzy'
PUTNAM — The 1920s are remembered as a time when jazz music debuted, flappers took to dance floors across the country, and prohibition gave birth to speakeasies and bootlegging. This romanticized era will come alive once again from 6 to 9 p.m. June 5, with Putnam’s First Fridays Festival. The public is invited to enjoy an evening of live music, performances and community art projects.
Continuing the season-long theme, A Century of Art, this second month of the 2015 First Fridays will explore the Jazz Age of the 1920’s and early 1930’s. Using this era as inspiration, the First Fridays committee is eager to engage visitors with period-related performances and art. The featured band for the evening is The Moldy Suitcases, a tribute to the underground music of the 1920’s. Hailing from New Bedford, Mass., The Suitcases combine covers of Jazz age songs with quirky originals – all blending to create a unique sound.
Dancing was a big part of the Jazz Age, with men and women enjoying a newly liberated attitude toward music, dance, and fashion. In the Montgomery Ward Building, there will be a jazz-infused Flapper Dress Party for all to enjoy. On Main Street, The Amazing Taylors will provide family-friendly entertainment with a “Silent Film” skit, followed by a 1920s Dance Party.
The fun continues at the Community Art Table with an art project for all ages. Combining education, art, and whimsy, June’s project includes decorating paddleballs – a toy originally created in the 1920s. Participants are invited to decorate their own paddleball and can even sign up for a paddleball competition. The competition will begin at 7:30 with prizes for the champion.
Above all else, First Fridays remains an art-based festival, and the June 5 event will see a record number of art vendors lining Main Street and Union Square in downtown Putnam. Patrons are invited to peruse the wide variety of artisan wares while enjoying the early summer weather. Coupled with outdoor art vendors, the many galleries of Putnam will also feature openings and exhibitions. Stop by Arts & Framing, The Complex Performing & Creative Arts Centre, The Empty Spaces Project, Sawmill Pottery, and Silver Circle Gallery. Visitors are also encouraged to be on the lookout for Art Attacks during the June event; sponsored by The Putnam Arts Council, Art Attacks are art installations and performances that pop-up, unexpectedly, during each First Fridays event.
Drug arrest after traffic stop
KILLINGLY — A Dayville man was arrested on drug charges after a May 20 traffic stop.
William Caron, 27, of Danielle Way, was charged with a stop sign violation, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics with intent to sell.
Members of the Quality of Life Task Force were conducting motor vehicle enforcement in the area of Ballouville Rd. and Chestnut Hill Rd. in Killingly, when a member observed a green Volkswagen Golf fail to stop for the stop sign.
Officers developed probable cause to search the vehicle and K-9 Dodie, a narcotic detector Labrador retriever alerted to the odor of narcotics outside and inside of the vehicle. Task force members found approximately 50 wax paper folds containing heroin. The heroin was pre-packaged for sale and was hastily hidden under personal effects in the backseat to avoid detection.
Members of the Connecticut State Police are committed to combating drug activity in the “Quiet Corner” and anyone with information regarding the illegal sale of narcotics and /or synthetic marijuana are encouraged to call the Troop D QLTF anonymous Tips Hotline at 860-779-4950 or message the QLTF Facebook page.
What if everyone read the same book and then joined together to talk about it? That’s the idea behind the One Book project. Quiet Corner Reads began a yearly One Book project six years ago, and the collaboration of libraries throughout northeastern CT is still working together to encourage literacy, library support, and community development. Members include libraries in the towns of Ashford, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Eastford, Hampton, Killingly, Mansfield, Plainfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson, Union and Woodstock. The One Book project each year encourages residents of northeast Connecticut to read the same book at the same time, bringing people together to discuss ideas and to broaden their appreciation of reading. Past books include In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, Bill Warrington’s Last Chance by James King, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Tag Man by Archer Mayor, and the Obituary Writer by Anne Hood
The book chosen for 2015 is What Strange Creatures by Emily Arsenault. Arsenault lives in Massachusetts with her family, and has been writing since the fifth grade. What Strange Creatures deals with Theresa and Jeff Battle, siblings who are used to disappointment. Seven years after starting her PhD program—one marriage and divorce, three cats, and a dog later—Theresa still hasn’t finished her dissertation. Instead of a degree, she’s got a houseful of adoring pets and a dead-end copywriting job for a local candle company. Jeff, her so-called genius older brother, doesn’t have it together, either. Creative, and loyal, he’s also aimless in work and love. Theresa finds it hard to save herself, but will do anything to save her brother when he is accused of murder.
Arsenault will speak at an evening event at the Pomfret School in Pomfret at 7 p.m. June 16. A dessert buffet will be served, with a cash bar. Tickets are $15, available at member libraries. The author visit is being sponsored by The Beagary Trust and area Friends of the Libraries.
For more information, visit QCReads on Facebook and at the quietcornerreads.org website.
THOMPSON — Marianapolis students were recently inducted into the National Honor Society and 25 students renewed their memberships. Members are chosen from the sophomore, junior and senior classes.
New Members
Seniors:
Alyssa Jalbert, Oxford, MA
Juniors:
Sarah Cavar, Brooklyn, CT
Kathryn Fontaine, Charlton, MA
Zhangyuan Gao, Hangzhou, China
Reed Hopkins, Putnam, CT
William LaFiandra, Woodstock, CT
Hannah Listerud, Uxbridge, MA
Francesca Lupini, Chepachet, RI
Alex Murphy, N. Grosvenordale, CT
George Murphy, N. Grosvenordale, CT
Megan Tarantino, Millbury, MA
Catherine Villa, Auburn, MA
Sophomores:
Frances Adams, Woodstock, CT
Dalton Bodreau, Oxford, MA
Alessandra Caparso, Worcester, MA
Simone Fournier, Putnam, CT
Delia Hannon, Putnam, CT
Alexandra Kiritsy, Auburn, MA
Erin Miller, Webster, MA
Sarah Uwazany, Woodstock, CT
Emma Willard, East Thompson, CT
Renewing Members:
Seniors:
Christian Adams, Woodstock, CT
Ryan Baronowski, Thompson, CT
Matthew Bellerose, Putnam, CT
Mackenzie Bonner, Charlton, MA
Christopher Bouchard, Charlton, MA
Junhao Cao, Shanghai, China
Yidi Chen, Beijing, China
Jake Collins, Shrewsbury, MA
Nicole Day, North Scituate, RI
Garrett Downs, Brooklyn, CT
Chance Jackson, Dudley, MA
Kayla Kibbe, Douglas, MA
Deanna Kondek, Dudley, MA
Artur Lachcik, Dudley, MA
Troy LaFramboise, Webster, MA
Meghan Lauzé, Rutland, MA
Emily Loftus, North Grafton, MA
Phoebe Reagan, Pomfret Center, CT
Rachel Roach, Danielson, CT
Elizabeth Sisko, Brooklyn, CT
Jialin Yu, Shanghai, China
Jiaxin Zhang, Shenzhen, China
Juniors:
Sage Latour, Webster, MA
Madison Snyder, Charlton, MA
Caitlin Walsh, Thompson, CT