• Proposed Manor House Expansion Draws Large Crowd

    Many differing views on effect of change in town center By Susan MacEachron Norfolk residents filled the Botelle School Hall of Flags on a very cold evening on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to attend the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) public hearing regarding a modification to the special permit granted in 1996 to the property known as […]

  • From All Angels

    Throughout the month of February, Garet&Co will be returning to Norfolk to present their third annual performance in the Battell Chapel, where each piece will be set in the round.  In this presentation, titled “From All Angles”, the audience will witness the translation of three of the works presented at their fall show.   “Can’t Keep […]

  • Norfolk Then

    Pictured here is the house built in 1898 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Spofford as their summer home. The son of Ainsworth Spofford, Librarian of Congress, Charles Spofford was an electrical engineer, who would be hired in 1902 to manage London’s underground railway system, converting it from steam to electricity. The Spoffords engaged the architect […]

  • Sweets on the Green

    A Decade of Decadent Desserts By Andra Moss How is your naughty versus nice rating? Those needing to influence Santa with an especially impressive treat should grab their stockings and head to the Norfolk Historical Society (NHS) for the 10th Annual Cake Auction on Saturday, Dec. 7.     Now a Norfolk holiday tradition, the event was […]

  • Artist Tom Burr Brings His Torrington Project to an End

    Performances celebrate studio closing By Stephen Melville Norfolk resident and artist Tom Burr organized a day of performances and exhibition at his studio in Torrington on Oct. 26, marking an end to what he has called “The Torrington Project.” For the past three and a half years, Burr has rented a vast—15,000 square foot—former industrial […]

  • New Meanings for a Monument

    Light Shines on the Memorial Green By Joe Kelly On Monday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, a crowd of about 100 gathered for the rededication of Norfolk’s World War 1 memorial, artfully restored under the auspices of the Norfolk Community Association. It was sunny. Temperatures in the low ‘60’s. Another day of no rain. Everyone talked […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This 1920s postcard shows Memorial Green just after the War Memorial, designed by Alfredo Taylor, was built. It was Taylor’s wife Minna who first proposed that a memorial “heroes grove” be planted on the small lot of land known as the Triangle opposite the Catholic Church. The lot had been left empty with the demolition […]

  • Restored war memorial to be celebrated on veterans day

    plaque now honors all who served By Patricia Platt A World War I monument, designed by Alfredo Taylor and erected on Norfolk’s Memorial Green in 1921, bears the inscription, “for those who gave and those who offered their lives for liberty, the people of Norfolk have built this monument and crowned it with the Liberty […]

  • NLT Tail Ablaze with Runners

    More than 120 runners enjoyed perfect fall weather as they wound their way through picturesque Barbour Woods in the 11th Annual Norfolk Land Trust Trail Race. Some chose to add a challenging loop over Haystack Mountain, while the half-marathoners just kept moving on up—topping out at over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. *photo by June […]

  • Can you spot the Real Curler?

    There was movie magic ice to be made, and the pros of the Norfolk Curling Club were the first to get the call. In October, NCC’s Jon Barbagallo, Lou Barbagallo, Rachel Barbagallo, Mark Walsh, Harvey Chalmers and Phill West were hired by a production company to make curling ice at a Rhode Island hockey rink […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    This 1917 photograph is a timely reminder of the long struggle fought by many dedicated women for basic civil liberties, including the right to own property, hold public office, sit on juries, participate in public assemblies and vote. The group of 25 suffragists—20 women and five men—gathered on the porch following their meeting with Congressman […]

  • The chicken who wanted to be a star and other tales from a norfolk movie set

    By Andra Moss Secrets and small towns don’t often pair well, and Norfolk is a small town. Yet, for eight weeks this summer, a crew of nearly 100 people quietly transformed Tim and Paula Webster’s 1908 Norfolk farmhouse into a film set for a feature-length production, all the while staying under the local radar.  It […]

Articles

International Quartets to Perform in Norfolk This Summer

One of them will be the new in-resident artists By John Funchion The quest for a new recognizable group to replace the venerable Tokyo String Quartet as the in-resident artist/teachers for the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival continues in earnest this season. Glacial patience on the part of Director Paul Hawkshaw and Festival Manager, James Nelson […]

New Forum To Meet Needs of Older Area Residents

Northwest Corner Triad to address crime prevention and safety concerns By Kurt Steele Although it seems like there is little crime risk for older residents in Norfolk, the reality is that everyone is just a few steps away from a fraudulent banking transaction, identity theft or other type of scam. Although less common, older residents […]

Norfolk Artists & Friends to Stage Exhibit

Annual arts show is sponsored by the Chamber Music Festival By Karen Linden Twenty-three artists will show their work in the Norfolk Artists & Friends Art Show, sponsored by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, between August 9 and 11. The Battell Stoeckel Gallery, known locally as the Art Barn, will again host painters, sculptors, a […]

Farmers Market Plans First Agricultural Fair

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo The ever evolving Norfolk Farmers Market has a new brainstorm. Their first agricultural fair will be held on Saturday, August 24 in conjunction with the regular farmers market. The event will take place on the lawn of Town Hall as usual, but with extended hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. […]

Funkware Pottery Opens Studio and Workshop in Canaan

An Arty Place with Classes and More By Bob Bumcrot Joey Sage Jablonski marked the twentieth anniversary of her career as a potter at a gala July 6 reception celebrating the opening of Funkware Pottery in Canaan. The large and entirely refreshed building across Route 44 from Stop & Shop in Canaan now contains studio […]

Local Family Starts Goat Cheese Production

The Guindons of Lost Ruby Farm By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Adair Mali and Antonio Guindon bought their first goat shortly after returning from a year-long trip to Guindon’s homeland of Costa Rica in 2009. Goats were everywhere during Guindon’s youth, and he swore to never own the “loud, stinky animals”, but one of his daughters […]

Colebrook Store Nears Reopening

By Bob Bumcrot “Even if everything isn’t in place, we will open in July,” said Miriam Briggs, the new proprietor of the Colebrook Store. Some refreshments will certainly be available for the Independence Day long weekend. Briggs and her sons, Quentin,14, and Francis,12, frequently drove from their former home in Saint Johnsbury, Vt., to her […]

Colebrook Wind Farm in Legal Limbo

State Supreme Court decision may come in the fall By Veronica Burns BNE Energy, Inc.’s plans to build three 492-ft tall turbines on Flagg Hill Road and another three on nearby Rock Hall Road in Colebrook, Conn., are currently in an appeals holding pattern. Nicholas Harding, attorney for the plaintiffs, says he expects oral argument […]

Fundraising Underway for Restoration of the Music Shed

Norfolk Chamber Music Festival teams up with Norfolk Artists and Friends By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo Concert goers at Yale Summer School of Music and Art this summer will have the unique opportunity to purchase a chair in the music shed. A $250 donation ensures your name engraved on a metal plaque affixed to an actual […]

NORFOLK 2023! to Explore Town’s Future in Fall

Anniversary of Norfolk Now to focus on next decade  By Lloyd Garrison The editors of Norfolk Now will mark the paper’s tenth anniversary in October by inviting the town to attend NORFOLK 2023!, an event that will begin with entertaining presentations followed by a serious exploration  of  how residents would like the town to develop […]

Village Hall to Infinity

Community Landmark Celebrates 130 Years By Michael Kelly On Sunday, June 30 at 2 p.m., New York’s renowned Blue Hill Troupe will present a concert version of their highly acclaimed rendering of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, “The Mikado”, at Infinity Hall. The concert has two purposes. One is to benefit the Norfolk Historical Society. The […]

Eye on Town Government

Marginally Higher Budget and Mill Rate Approved at Annual Town Meeting By Wiley Wood The citizens of Norfolk approved a budget at the annual town meeting on May 13. Total spending on education and general government is to rise by 1.2 percent. The mill rate is rising four hundredths of a mill to 20.22, adding […]