Docent led house tours of Miss Edith's Cottage at Topsmead run the second & fourth weekends of the month through October 12th, 2025. First Come, first served. Tours start at noon and run for approximately 30 minutes; last tour at 4:30 p.m. Free but donations are appreciated to support maintenance of cottage interior/exterior including gardens, the scholarship fund, and educational programming. Meet at the front door of the cottage. For GPS directions, designate Buell Road as your destination. We look forward to seeing you!

Mondays in August: 4, 11,18 at 10:30 am

For ages 4 - 8 & their caregivers

Parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers. Ensuring that your child learns to read to their highest potential is one of the greatest gifts that you can give them. Using Letters are Characters and Letters are Builders trademarked play-based methods, we will laugh and play our way to literacy and deep reading and empower you to be a confident and competent literacy guide for your child!

Visit our website or call to register.

This program is funded by the generous support of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation. 

In-Person & on Zoom: with Historian Peter Vermilyea

Join us each month for one year as we explore 12 influential Presidents through selected biographies spanning from George Washington through John F. Kennedy.

August Selection: 

In August, we will be exploring John Adams by David McCullough - A Pulitzer Prize winning book. 

In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution and his love and dedication to fairness and American democracy.

About the Presenter:

Peter Vermilyea teaches history at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT and at Western Connecticut State University. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he serves as the scholarship director of his alma mater’s Civil War Institute. He is the author or editor of five books and fifteen articles, most on aspects of Civil War history.

Registration required only to attend in-person. Zoom link is at owlibrary.org

Take a scenic summer ride through the Berkshires where you’ll enjoy many exciting contemporary art exhibitions. Enjoy a convenient catered box lunch at Lickety Split Cafe right on campus (menu options below) so you can get the most out of your time exploring the museum along with a Guided Group Tour. For additional info and ehibitions, visit www.massmoca.org.

Cost includes lunch & Guided Tour

* Pre-registration & pre-payment required.

REGISTER

Book to be discussed:

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

Weaving personal narrative and scientific insights, the book explains that trees evolve and learn behaviors to compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication.

Books are available to borrow at the library

Book to be discussed:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

America becomes a place of chaos, where violence rules and only the powerful are safe. Societal collapse, religion, race, and survival are addressed by a young woman.

Books are available to borrow at the library

Wrap up a fun summer with your friends and family.

Join us for a fun evening and exciting entertainment.

Come early to for food trucks and ice cream.

Trampoline Show starts at 6pm

Co-hosed by Litchfield Park & Rec and the Litchfield Prevention Council

Sponsored by: Thurston Funeral Home, John Scheepers Bulbs and The Litchfield Inn

Join us for a joyful exploration of nature & art!

Fridays at 1 PM - August 1, 8 & 15

For ages 8 & up

Registration is Required at OWL website

Did you ever want to explore true magic in the universe? This program series is an invitation into an artistic movement that focuses on the magic of the natural world. All are welcome, bring your individual talents and interests. All supplies will be provided. 

Ms. Ammirati is an artist, wildlife intuitive/naturalist/activist, and master gardener. 

Come join us for a Saturday on the Arethusa Farm. Enjoy the animals, be creative with a farm related craft/game, and story time with author & illustrator Ms. Parmelee! 

Saturday's starting 7/19

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Ages 5 & under

$35 per family

For questions, email: erikae@arethusafarmfoundation.org

To register and pay, please visit: www.arethasatarmcoamdation.org

The Litchfield Farmers Market is one of the few year-round markets in the Connecticut. The weekly Saturday market offers fresh seasonal produce, fruit, berries, herbs, sustainably sourced fish; artisanal cheeses, breads and baked goods, local honey, maple syrup and gifts - all raised, grown or crafted by 15+ local vendors. 

The market occasionally hosts live music and supports non-profits from throughout the Litchfield area.

INDOOR MARKET - November through mid-June (intermittent Saturdays through the winter months -- check the website for dates.) Open Saturdays 10am - 1pm at the Litchfield Community Center located at 421 Litchfield Road, Litchfield, CT.

OUTDOOR MARKET - mid- June through October located at Center School, Litchfield.

Weekly starting June 7 through August 16

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum

Cost: Free for Members, $10 for non-Members

Registration Requested

The Litchfield Historical Society’s weekly walking tours are the perfect way to discover Litchfield’s vibrant history and explore the town’s celebrated Historic District. The history and stories of old Litchfield are preserved in the architecture of the town. Each tour provides visitors with an overview of Litchfield’s history - from the stories behind famous landmarks to anecdotes about past residents to appreciation of prominent buildings. 

The walk will begin at the Litchfield Historical Society (7 South Street) and lasts approximately 1 hour. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water. Walking tours are free for members and $10 for non-members.

Walking Tours are sponsored by Berkshire Alarm

Mondays at 10:30 AM - June 23 - August 18*

For ages 4 - 8

*No class July 7

Using Letters are Characters® Parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers. Ensuring that your child learns to read to their highest potential is one of the greatest gifts that you can give them. Using Letters are Characters and Letters are Builders trademarked play-based methods, we will laugh and play our way to literacy and deep reading and empower you to be a confident and competent literacy guide for your child!

This program is funded by the generous support of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation. Register and receive a Letters are Characters or Letters are Builders kit while supplies last. In addition to the in-person program, you will also receive weekly guidance delivered right to your inbox.

Does your child need to learn to recognize the letters and know the sounds that they make?

Visit the Oliver Wolcott Library Website for more details and links to receive Letters are Characters Kits.

Mondays in August: 4, 11,18 at 10:30 am

For ages 4 - 8 & their caregivers

Parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers. Ensuring that your child learns to read to their highest potential is one of the greatest gifts that you can give them. Using Letters are Characters and Letters are Builders trademarked play-based methods, we will laugh and play our way to literacy and deep reading and empower you to be a confident and competent literacy guide for your child!

Visit our website or call to register.

This program is funded by the generous support of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation. 

Join Us for Summer LEGO Club!

Drop your child off at the Litchfield Community Center for a fun-filled day of LEGO building and games with our Program Coordinator, Noah! Each session is a separate sign-up, so you can choose the dates that work best for you.

Open to kids who love to build and create (Ages 7-12)

Fun games, challenges, and plenty of LEGO time

Please send your child with a bagged lunch

Bring your acoustic instrument and join us for a casual circle of song sharing and playing.

Free, Donations Welcome

* Pre-registration encouraged.

Enjoy a summer's day dining & shopping at 18th century Bowen’s Wharf and then we will meet back up to venture to Rough Point for a scenic ocean bluff view and self guided tour of Doris Duke’s estate.

Purchase your museum ticket ($20) online or upon arrival. Rest stop purchases are on your own.

* Pre-registration & pre-payment required.

Join Us for Summer LEGO Club!

Drop your child off at the Litchfield Community Center for a fun-filled day of LEGO building and games with our Program Coordinator, Noah! Each session is a separate sign-up, so you can choose the dates that work best for you.

Open to kids who love to build and create (Ages 7-12)

Fun games, challenges, and plenty of LEGO time

Please send your child with a bagged lunch

Join the NWCT Arts Council and the Litchfield Arts Council for Arts Night Out! @ the Litchfield Historical Society.

Network with local artists and arts and cultural professionals, spark collaborations, while you enjoy light refreshments.

This event is 21+!

When: Thursday, August 21, from 6 - 8 pm

Location: Tapping Reeves Meadow, 82 South Street, Litchfield, CT 06759

Rain Location: Litchfield History Museum, 7 South Street, Litchfield, CT 06759

Register to join us!

This event is sponsored by the Northwest Community Bank Foundation.

18-member band performing best of big band jazz & swing

Food Truck: Bill's Mobile Pizza

BYOB & lawn chairs, blanket

Rain (Indoors) or Shine

Full Summer Sunset Concert Series:

Friday June 13: Scott Hopkins Band

Thursday June 19: Nekita Waller & Band

Friday July 25: Caribbean Vibe Steel Drum Band

Friday August 22: Al Fenton Big Band

Friday September 12: Potter's Field

Come join us for a Saturday on the Arethusa Farm. Enjoy the animals, be creative with a farm related craft/game, and story time with author & illustrator Ms. Parmelee! 

Saturday's starting 7/19

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Ages 5 & under

$35 per family

For questions, email: erikae@arethusafarmfoundation.org

To register and pay, please visit: www.arethasatarmcoamdation.org

Presented by Rt. Rev. Br. Mark D’Alessio

Mary Oliver is a favorite of poetry lovers of all ages for her lyrical, intimate, and sensitive poems, many of which use nature as a lens for exploring a wide spiritual spectrum of human emotions, from love and joy to sorrow and despair. The best Mary Oliver poems remind us to pause and take a breath, revel in our surroundings, and encourage us not to take anything for granted. 

Join us this August for our annual Mary Oliver Retreat Day, led by Br. Mark, one of Wisdom House’s most popular facilitators. Through reflection, discussion, and contemplative practice, we’ll explore the ways in which Oliver’s poetry teaches us to see the world with greater simplicity, and deeper wonder and gratitude. Together, we’ll support each other awaken to life’s everyday miracles and embrace poetry as a spiritual practice. 

Whether you’re familiar with her poetry or encountering her work for the first time, we hope that this year’s theme. The Beauty of the World, will move you with some of her best poems, including her own favorites — and perhaps inspire you to write some poems of your own. 

Though, sadly, Mary Oliver passed away in 2019, her poems serve as a poignant reminder to be present in every moment, whether it be a joyous occasion or a quiet, somber one. Join Br, Mark for an in-person retreat day poetry, reflection, and spiritual discovery as we, too, can learn what it means to be "saved by the beauty of the world.”

Guests are welcome to come overnight Friday, August 22 through Saturday, August 23. See the room options using the registration button below.

Lunch is included. Opportunities to stay overnight are also available.

The Litchfield Farmers Market is one of the few year-round markets in the Connecticut. The weekly Saturday market offers fresh seasonal produce, fruit, berries, herbs, sustainably sourced fish; artisanal cheeses, breads and baked goods, local honey, maple syrup and gifts - all raised, grown or crafted by 15+ local vendors. 

The market occasionally hosts live music and supports non-profits from throughout the Litchfield area.

INDOOR MARKET - November through mid-June (intermittent Saturdays through the winter months -- check the website for dates.) Open Saturdays 10am - 1pm at the Litchfield Community Center located at 421 Litchfield Road, Litchfield, CT.

OUTDOOR MARKET - mid- June through October located at Center School, Litchfield.

The Hickory Stick Bookshop is delighted to welcome author Richard Babcock, who will be signing copies of his new book A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon on Sunday, August 24th at 2 pm.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the stark Nevada landscape of the 1950s, A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon explores the aftermath of a murder through the intertwined lives of three individuals. Tom Lang, a deputy sheriff, finds solace in a secret affair with Ettie Calvert, the wife of his overbearing partner, Ronnie. Their lives unravel when Adam Ott, a troubled teenager, impulsively murders Ronnie, setting off a harrowing chain of events that culminates in a deadly pursuit through the rugged mountains. Against the backdrop of the country’s nuclear bomb tests, which ominously shadow the narrative, Tom, Ettie, and Adam each wrestle with their choices and seek redemption from the haunting consequences that relentlessly pursue them.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native of the Midwest, Richard Babcock trained as a lawyer but has spent a career as a writer and editor moving between fiction and nonfiction. He was a top editor at New York magazine, then longtime editor in chief at Chicago. He has taught writing at Northwestern University, among other schools. A resident of Litchfield County, Babcock has published three novels, including Are You Happy Now?, a finalist for adult fiction from The Society of Midland Authors.

 PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

“A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon is so well written, so well crafted, and so deeply moving that it climbs beyond most novels of its genre and into the realm of true art. Dick Babcock is one of the best in the business.”

-Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize winning author of King: A Life

 "If John Updike had gotten together with Cormac McCarthy to write a novel called No Country for Young Men Either, they might have come up with a book as urgent and finely-wrought as Richard Babcock’s A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon. This is a page-turner for the thoughtful reader: sensitive, suspenseful and deeply forgiving of its all-too-human characters. Babcock shoots for the heart and his aim is true."

-- Peter Blauner, New York Times bestselling author of Picture in the Sand and Slow Motion Riot

 “The starkly genuine western landscape of A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon is likely to make you think of Cormac McCarthy, but the moral universe of this novel is unique and true unto itself. And, as in all of Babcock’s work, the pages are suffused with a knowing tenderness. He writes with a very smart heart and in his latest book he takes you on a suspenseful, soul stirring ride through a realm whose barrenness makes his characters seem all the more vibrantly alive. Babcock is all hat and all saddle.”

--Michael Daly, author of New York’s Finest and The Book of Mychal

 This event is free and open to the public.  If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve signed copies of “A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon” by calling The Hickory Stick Bookshop at (860) 868 0525, or shop our website 24/7 at www.hickorystickbookshop.com.  

Beyond Blue and White: the Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic

In-Person & on Zoom:

An absorbing work of cultural history that reveals the stories behind one of the world's most coveted and beloved ceramicists.

When over seventy-five pieces of rare and intriguing 17th and 18th century Delftware are rediscovered in an historic Manhattan townhouse, decorative art advisor and writer Genevieve Wheeler Brown quickly recognized that, together, these pieces tell an amazing story. What begins as a curatorial exercise quickly evolves not only into an exploration of this colorful, expressive, and sometimes even humorous decorative art, coveted for hundreds of years, but also an unexpected uncovering of forceful female lives yet untold.

With illustrations of period objects, documents, maps, paintings, prints and drawings, Beyond Blue and White is a colorful celebration of an iconic decorative art and dynamic women living in extraordinary times. 

As a decorative art advisor and writer with over thirty years in the art world, including a decade with Christie’s in New York and London, Genevieve Wheeler Brown has been actively involved in the community of Delftware. She has also participated on the Antiques Roadshow as an appraiser with an eye out for overlooked “treasure.” In her role, she has held innumerable objects, from fake Stradivari violins to gold-mounted Faberge eggs, considering their value but also the stories they can tell.

Registration required only to attend in-person. Zoom link at owlibrary.org

Come join us for a Saturday on the Arethusa Farm. Enjoy the animals, be creative with a farm related craft/game, and story time with author & illustrator Ms. Parmelee! 

Saturday's starting 7/19

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Ages 5 & under

$35 per family

For questions, email: erikae@arethusafarmfoundation.org

To register and pay, please visit: www.arethasatarmcoamdation.org

The Litchfield Farmers Market is one of the few year-round markets in the Connecticut. The weekly Saturday market offers fresh seasonal produce, fruit, berries, herbs, sustainably sourced fish; artisanal cheeses, breads and baked goods, local honey, maple syrup and gifts - all raised, grown or crafted by 15+ local vendors. 

The market occasionally hosts live music and supports non-profits from throughout the Litchfield area.

INDOOR MARKET - November through mid-June (intermittent Saturdays through the winter months -- check the website for dates.) Open Saturdays 10am - 1pm at the Litchfield Community Center located at 421 Litchfield Road, Litchfield, CT.

OUTDOOR MARKET - mid- June through October located at Center School, Litchfield.

Come join us for a Saturday on the Arethusa Farm. Enjoy the animals, be creative with a farm related craft/game, and story time with author & illustrator Ms. Parmelee! 

Saturday's starting 7/19

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Ages 5 & under

$35 per family

For questions, email: erikae@arethusafarmfoundation.org

To register and pay, please visit: www.arethasatarmcoamdation.org