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Creative Festival

by KATHRYN BOUGHTON

Phew! It’s hot outside. So hot, it’s hard to think of fun in the sun. But relief is on the way and the weatherman promises that the heat and humidity will slide on out of town by the weekend, opening the way again for outdoor pleasures.

Chief among those pleasures will be the second annual Litchfield Hills Creative Festival in downtown Torrington, slated for Saturday August 20th.

The event, previously known as the Open your Eyes Studio Tour, opens at 10 AM and invites visitors to browse through an Artists Fair, visit open studios, stop by a beer garden sponsored by Two Roads, attend live performances, community activities and more.

Torrington has worked hard over the decades to brand its town center as a hotbed for creativity with the growth of the Warner Theatre as a performance venue, additions to the Nutmeg Conservatory’s program and the opening of art galleries and arts-related businesses. Ellen Frauenhofer, manager of membership and outreach for the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, said the shift in focus from the Open your Eyes Studio Tours to the Torrington-centric festival was to expand beyond visual arts and to allow the inclusion of different kinds of artistic endeavors such as artisans, music and theatre.

Toward that goal, the Artist Fair is a street and craft fair that runs from 11AM to 4PM. Artists will have booths on Franklin Plaza with original handmade products or artwork for sale. All artists chosen for the fair are from Litchfield County. Complementing the Artist Fair will be a downtown Open Studios tour, giving city artists the chance to show people the spaces where they create their works.

In addition the day’s schedule includes an art opening of works by Sophia DeJesus-Sabella at Howard’s Bookstore, an old-fashioned candy-making workshop at the Nutmeg Fudge Company, a Make-and-Take event at Five Points Gallery, a free drop-in class at the Nutmeg Ballet; a Kids Giant Coloring Workshop at Artroom Atelier; a performance by Jacques Williams of Culture 4 a Cause; an African drum circle hosted by Our Culture is Beautiful, activities at KidsPlay Children’s Museum; stained glass tours at Trinity Church and much more.

In the afternoon, Warner Theatre will hold a performance of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical performed by the teens of the Warner Theatre’s Summer Arts Program. The performance is free and open to the public and will be shown in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre.

Adapted from the best-selling book, The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, featuring a thrilling original rock score, an action-packed mythical adventure “worthy of the gods,” according to Time Out New York). It follows Percy Jackson, a teenager who finds out he is actually a demigod and must find Zeus’ missing lightning bolt to prevent a war amongst the gods.

Throughout the day, buskers organized by Rock yer Block, will perform along the streets. As Frauenhofer explained, Rock yer Block is on a mission to raise awareness for brain injury survivors using music. “They are organizing buskers to have free music around town during the festival,” she said.

As the day wanes the Warner Theatre, in collaboration with Red Room, will stage its second event, an evening block party on Main Street with a beer garden in Franklin Plaza. There will be games, refreshments and musical performances, as well as stilt walkers, fire spinners and other street performers.

The Block Party opens at 5PM on Main Street with emcee and national performing artist, Lucinda Rowe, co-owner of the Red Room Sound Studio. The live music lineup for the evening includes Lee Totten 5PM., Frank Viele, 6PM, Audio Jane 7PM and the show’s headline act, Jason Ingriselli and the Miles North Band at 8PM.

Those attending are encouraged to bring a chair or a blanket to sit and enjoy the live music.

The Two Roads Beer Garden in Franklin Plaza is a fundraiser to benefit the Arts Council. Drink tickets will be $6 each. You must be 21 or older to enter the beer garden. Drink options will include Two Roads beers and a canned cocktails list.

The full schedule for the Creative Festival is found on the Arts Council website linked below and is printed in an event guide book available at the Arts Council's information booth during the event. The guides will also be distributed around Litchfield County at various locations.

The Creative Festival is sponsored by Housatonic Heritage, Torrington Savings Bank, Northwest Community Bank, Thomaston Savings Bank, Matthews Group, Torrington Downtown Partners, Eversource, WSHU Radio, WAPJ Radio, the Republican American and O&G Industries.

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