• 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 […]

  • Cultivars, Nativars and Natives: The Lowdown

    by Susannah Wood It’s May and gardening is in full swing. At nurseries and on gardening sites, beginners and enthusiasts often encounter plants labelled “cultivar” or “nativar,” as well as “native.” What is the difference between a cultivar and a nativar? If someone wants to support local ecosystems and biological diversity, are nativars a good […]

  • Noteworthy Natives: Arrowwood Viburnum

    By Jill Chase For some, a mass of viburnums in bloom on the woodlands edge rivals the beauty of any formal garden around. The fresh white flowers on green foliage let you know that the spring garden season is well and truly on. There are several good varieties of viburnum—some produce blooms like snowballs, while […]

  • A Town Hall Treat for Pollinators

    The Norfolk Nature Alliance sponsored a student native plant garden project at Town Hall. The Northwestern Regional 7 Agricultural Education Program/FFA arrived on a sunny Sunday to install the donated native shrubs and perennials.

  • Birds Now

    A view on the prose and poetry of spring By Cheryl Heller As I write, the red-winged blackbirds are partying outside my window. Goldfinches, in their bright almost-summer feathers, make yellow polkadots in the dogwood that will flower any day. The phoebe (or her daughter) who has nested on our hanging porch light for the […]

  • Happiness Is …

    Smiles and squeals greeted “Farmer John” Coston as he surprised the Merrymakers group of kindergarten and first-graders with a lamb visit at the Norfolk Library’s after-school program on March 23. Cuties and lambs—need we say more?

  • Greenwoods Puppet Festival Returns to Norfolk Library

    By Bina ThomsonThe Greenwoods Puppet Festival returns to Norfolk for a third exciting showcase of puppet magic. Children’s Librarian and Event Coordinator Eileen Fitzgibbons, who has coordinated the previous two festivals, is busy fine-tuning this year’s offerings. In addition to a full day of performances, a puppetry workshop for adults will also be offered. Festivities […]

  • Botelle Beat

    Power Goals and WIN Time Personalize Learning at Botelle By Lauren Valentino One of Botelle School’s SOAR expectations is to Achieve Your Goals. We believe that when students know their goals—what they are learning, why and what success looks like—they are more engaged and motivated. They are partners in the learning process and own their […]

  • Courtney Maum’s Comedic Take on Capitalism

    On June 2nd, Norfolk author Courtney Maum launches her new novel, “ALAN OPTS OUT” (Little Brown) at the Norfolk Library in conversation with WAMC radio’s Sarah LaDuke. The book is a comedy about an ad exec who bombs the biggest pitch of his career and decides to move into a backyard playhouse, opt out of […]

  • “You Shall Not Pass!”

    Gandalf and the state Department of Transportation have spoken. Mountain Road at Westside Road is now closed through November for the Spaulding Brook bridge replacement project. Traffic is being detoured off Route 44 via Westside Road. Cars can still reach the ball fields along the short stretch of Mountain Road.

Articles

Community Talent Provides After-School Program for Botelle Students

By Janet Gokay Life in Norfolk is greatly enriched by the work of volunteers—and the Norfolk After School Program (NASP) is no exception. Coordinated by two parent volunteers, Kim Crone and Kathy Yelsits, the program offers a potpourri of classes to any grade-school-aged child in Norfolk, not just those attending Botelle. Many of those classes […]

Norfolk Fire Department Awards Memorial Day Race Scholarships

The traditional kick-off to Norfolk’s summer season, the five-mile Memorial Day Road Race is won by the fleet of foot. But the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department, which organizes the race, also dedicates all proceeds from entrance fees, advertising and donations to its NVFD Scholarship Fund. This year, the fund distributed $3,500 to five Norfolk students. […]

Norfolk Lions Club Scholarships Announced

The Norfolk Lions Club recently awarded scholarships to four Norfolk students who will be attending college this fall. The recipients include: Taylor Allyn, daughter of John and Lisa Allyn, enrolled at New College of Sarasota, Florida with a major in English; Shannon Bollard, daughter of Alfred and Angela Bollard and also an English major, attending […]

Fiber Optics Would Improve Cell Phone Service in Norfolk

EDC welcomes call for strong community involvement By Kurt Steele Following Kim Maxwell’s May briefing of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) about the benefits of installing a fiber optic network in Norfolk, Maxwell now believes that a significant dividend would be a vast improvement in the town’s cell phone coverage. Maxwell, who has a distinguished […]

Bears Invade North Norfolk Homes

One even drained a pitcher of Sangria By Bob Bumcrot Between Memorial Day and mid-July bears have invaded at least seven homes on or near North Street, Doolittle Drive, Lovers Lane and adjacent areas. As usual, the bears came in search of food, often with considerable success. In some cases their gustatory visits were discovered […]

A Passionate Swan Song

A packed hall enthralled by the Tokyo’s last-ever Norfolk concert By Lloyd Garrison Over 700 Tokyo String Quartet loyalists paid over $350 a ticket at the Yale Music Shed on July 6 for one last chance to hear the quartet in Norfolk. Before they played a note, the four were greeted with a standing ovation. […]

Analysis of Norfolk’s Population Changes Reveals Surprises

Periodic increases and decreases evident By Joshua DeCerbo Much of the talk leading up to “Norfolk 2023!,” when, on October 12, the town takes stock of the future, presumes that the town is losing population, along with much of Litchfield County and the rest of the state. But an analysis of several population databases from […]

Glen Chalder to Join Line Up For Norfolk 2023! Event

Helped shape Norfolk’s town plan By Lloyd Garrison Glen Chalder, an authority on the challenges facing small town America, will join National Public Radio’s John Dankosky in leading Norfolk 2013! in Infinity Hall on October 5. Chalder was previously retained by Norfolk to help shape its 2009 Town Plan. He went on to do same […]

Bringing Townspeople Together

Community meal socials to begin in September By David Beers A new committee has been formed in town to provide opportunities for fellowship, conversation and a diverse culinary experience. The Norfolk Community Meal Committee had its first meeting on June 10 and voted to offer monthly potluck community meals to bring the townspeople closer together. […]

Woodlands Creatures Visit Norfolk Library

Karen Rossi’s ethereal work inspires children’s workshop By Matthew Papanek The fun did not stop after the classic car show in Norfolk on July 14. Later that day, up at the Norfolk Library, a parade of woodland creatures made their way through the art reception for Karen Rossi’s show “Woodlands Magic!” Rossi’s art works in […]

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 […]