• GoodWorks Shares Plans for Infinity Hall

    Restaurant, more concerts coming to historic venue By Avice Meehan When Dave Rosenfeld walked onto the starlit stage at Infinity Hall, many of the more than 200 people gathered to hear what he had to say, were unsure about what to expect. The co-founder of GoodWorks Entertainment, which acquired the green Victorian gem of a […]

  • A New Tradition Begins for Litchfield County Choral Union

    Generations come together to refresh a century-long legacy By Jude Mead Music from singers young and old filled Battell Chapel on May 22 as the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) joined the Torrington High School choir for a collaborative concert aimed at connecting generations of choral musicians. Organizers hope the successful event will become an […]

  • Hanging Up the Whistle

    Coach Sebach is retiring from Regional 7 By Rex Crippen Doug Sebach, Boys’ Varsity Head Basketball Coach at Northwestern Regional 7 High School (NW7), announced his retirement earlier this season. Sebach, who had served Northwestern as a coach for 22 years, ended his tenure with 332 career wins, six regular season Berkshire League championships and […]

  • Botelle Student Receives Student Leadership Award

    By Kevin D. Case The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents’ Student Leadership Award is an annual honor presented by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS). It recognizes outstanding middle school students who demonstrate exemplary leadership, academic prowess, and a strong commitment to community service. Each local school district’s Superintendent selects a student […]

  • A Centennial Celebration of Long-Term Forest Research

    Aton Forest has a long history in Norfolk By Carol Goodstein Along with a growing population of moose, black bear and red fox, Norfolk’s roughly 1,500 residents have plenty of room to roam. Great Mountain Forest, The Norfolk Land Trust, state-owned lands and public parks welcome hikers, bikers, skiers, strollers and even, to a limited […]

  • Norfolk Comes Together to Remember Those Who Gave All

  • NORFOLK REMEMBERS

    Peter Brown Peter Brown, 70 years old, of East Canaan passed away Sunday, May 17, 2026, in his home. He was the loving husband of Sandra Brown. Peter was born on December 27, 1955, at Sharon Hospital to Abraham “Bucky” Brown and Rosalie Freund Brown. He graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Northwestern […]

  • NOTES FROM A FRENCH KITCHEN

    Rhubarb Heralds the Spring By Marie-Christine Perry The first edible in my garden is usually rhubarb, followed quickly by asparagus, both valued in my kitchen—fresh and preserved! Beyond the celebrated strawberry rhubarb pie, I like rhubarb in many guises: in compote, jam, chutney and cake, but also in unexpected savory dishes, where its acidity is […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    Designed by architect Alfredo Taylor and still standing at the end of Golf Drive, this pavilion was built on the nine-hole Norfolk Downs as a gathering place for golfers. The large central room with cobblestone walls and a massive stone fireplace once had glazed windows on the north side, while the terrace on the south […]

  • Inside the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art

    A season of student and community activity By Patricia Platt For over 80 years, the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Trust has endowed Yale University’s summer music and art programs in Norfolk. The renowned Yale Norfolk School of Art opens the 2026 summer season on May 23, before the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival begins, and shares its […]

  • Trio Revives Local Farmers Market

    Northwest Farm to Fork launches at Norbrook By Andra Moss When Devin Grosso and her husband moved to Norfolk in 2024, she was disappointed to learn that the town’s farmers market had permanently closed just the year before. However, a chance meeting at the Botelle School garden with Lisa Auclair, who had managed the Norfolk […]

  • Tracing the Dudley Legacy

    Family history and the truth behind Dudleytown By Jude Mead The Dudley name, with roots stretching back to 14th-century England, carries with it a long and often dramatic history. For Susan Dudley of Winchester, that legacy has been a lifelong source of curiosity—particularly her family’s connection to Dudleytown, the long-abandoned settlement hidden within Cornwall’s Dark […]

Articles

Mapping the Future of Norfolk’s Public Trails

Project will consolidate data on every hiking path in one online site Text by Andra MossPhoto by Dawn Whalen Looking for a great public trail in Norfolk? Hikers are definitely spoiled for choice, with dozens of miles of wooded paths, former carriage roads, logging trails and railway beds silently beckoning. Whatever one’s perambulatory mood, be […]

Freund’s Farm Offers Stroll & Graze for Enjoyment and Education

by Colleen Gundlach Combining the beauty of 200 contiguous acres of cropland with an understanding of how this land can be part of the climate change solution, Freund’s Farm in East Canaan is an example of how local farmers work for farmland preservation while protecting the environment. To share both the beauty and the science, […]

New Gateways Welcome Visitors to Town

By Doreen Kelly “Village Improvement Together!” is the motto of the Norfolk Community Association (NCA), and there couldn’t be a more fitting description of its most recently completed undertaking—the Welcome to Norfolk beautification project, made possible by a grant from The Evan Hughes Charitable Trust and in partnership with the Norfolk Economic Development Commission (EDC). […]

Winchester Youth Services Bureau Assists Young People in Area Towns

Health and Welfare in Town Budget by Colleen Gundlach Through the town budget, Norfolk residents support several nonprofit social service organizations, some of which have been featured in past issues of Norfolk Now. With pandemic-related lockdowns and social isolation, these agencies have proved to be more important than ever before in maintaining the mental and […]

Suffragists Hit the Road to Norfolk

by Andra Moss Something special was in the air in August 1911. It was the sound of women’s voices rising, once again, to demand their right to vote. Decades of unsuccessful advocacy for women’s suffrage in Connecticut had left many discouraged at the turn of the 20th century, but by 1911 fresh winds were blowing. […]

Combating the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

by Mattie Vandiver The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is an insect native to Japan that was first noted in Connecticut in 1985 when a foliage sample was brought to the research station in New Haven. Since then it has been an ongoing issue in Connecticut as well as many other states, although Norfolk has barely […]

Tom Hlas Has Signed, Sealed, and Delivered with Mail Art

Text by Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto by Tom Hlas Tom Hlas always knew he wanted to be an artist. Born and raised in Elberon, Iowa (population at the time about 100 people), Hlas remembers being four years old and playing with cars on his parents’ chenille bedspread. When his oldest sister, home from college, asked him […]

The Healing Nest Is a New Center for Wellness and Community

By Ruth Melville When Dianna Hofer was young, she was fascinated with the placebo effect and startled to learn that people normally use only 5 percent of their brains. In college, as she studied more about the mind, she began to think of it as “the greatest new frontier.” Four decades of continuing investigation into […]

Helping Hands Are Everywhere If You Know Where to Look

By Doug McDevitt Norfolk is a community, much like any other, where some neighbors are in great need but may not know where to go or whom to reach out to for help. The good news is that Norfolk has many avenues for people to discreetly receive help.  One such avenue is Norfolk NET, short […]

Conservation Commission Serves to Protect Norfolk’s Natural Resources

Town Boards, Commissions, & Committees by Ruth Melville Every town in Connecticut is empowered by the state to have a conservation commission, whose duties are to care “for the development, conservation, supervision and regulation of natural resources, including water resources.” To fulfill this mission, the Norfolk Conservation Commission (NCC) is active on several fronts, from […]

Growing Up Black in Norfolk

The Rev. Dr. Shelley Best Text by Kelly Kandra Hughes The Rev. Dr. Shelley Best has achieved a lot in her 59 years of life. She is currently the pastor of A.M.E. Zion Church in Plainville, Conn. She has raised over $10 million dollars for her uplifting and empowering ministries. She created The 224 Ecospace, […]

“A World Without Insects is a World Without People.” E.O. Wilson

Pollinators Imperiled by Susannah Wood The declining population of monarch butterflies, those champions of migration, has been well-documented over recent years, but has only become more dire. Between 1996 and 2020, 88 percent of the eastern population of monarchs has disappeared. In the western group the situation is even worse; only a few thousand remain. […]