Shiver me timbers! Mystic Aquarium's pirate-themed school vacation week activities, April 19-20, will kidnap kids, meaning the house stays unplundered and parents can forgo walking the plank. "Pirate Days" takes our fascination with the menacing men of the high seas as a jumping off point for two days of stimulating, problem solving and creative hands on projects appealing to young and old salts. The entertaining rundown includes a planetarium program that shows how pirates navigated their ships while searching for loot, and lets visitors give it a try, as well as craft projects for

Read More

"The Memory Palace," Mira Bartok's poignant memoir of disconnecting and then reuniting with her schizophrenic, homeless mother, is depicted in dream-like illustrations as well as words. Author-artist Bartok visits Fairfield Library on April 14, to talk about the creation of her book which the NY TImes says contains, "some rare, distinctive and genuinely imaginative treasures.”

Bartok's break with her mother, Norma Kurap Herr, a former pianist, came after many failed attempts by Bartok and her sister, Natalia, to find help for her. Herr's behavior had deteriorated into threats

Read More

As CEO of the Humane Society of the US, Wayne Pacelle led the non-profit animal welfare organization in its fight for the passage of more than 500 new state laws since 2005, and over the past decade, helped bring about more than 25 federal statutes to protect animals. On April 17, he visits New Canaan Library to talk about his new book, "The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them," which distills his experiences in these efforts.

As he travels around the country on his book tour, Pacelle hopes to generate community conversations to galvanize us to look more closely

Read More

Eighty plus year old Bill Cunningham, riding around New York on his Schwinn bike, has chronicled street fashion and chic parties for the New York Times since the 1970s. The documentary "Bill Cunningham New York," screening at The Avon Theatre on April 13, follows him as he trains his uniquely artistic eye on the selection of his subjects. The film also demonstrates the admiration this modest, talented man engenders among the many celebrities and fashion stalwarts he's covered. Following its showing, the film's director, Richard Press and editor, Ryan Denmark, take part in a Q&A

Read More