Festival Stories

On Saturday April 30, Festival audiences had the pleasure of listening to the work that poet Kate Rushin created to celebrate Freedom’s Journey at the Marian Anderson Studio. Marian Anderson, who lived in Danbury, CT for more than 50 years, was a world-renowned opera singer and the first African American artist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Her most famous concert took place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. Inspired by the singer’s life, Rushin composed two original pieces of poetry entitled, “My Lord, What a Day” and “Praisesong for the Singer.”...

Freedom's Journey: Poetic Reflections
CT Freedom Trail Site: Marian Anderson Studio Saturday, April 30 at 1pm
Huntington Hall, Danbury Museum

Poet Kate Rushin reads her original poetry based on the Marian Anderson story.

The Danbury Museum will lead docent tours of the Marian Anderson Studio and the Danbury Museum immediately follow the reading.

Mystic Seaport
Saturday, April 30
9am-5pm

Mystic Seaport is hosting a series of events in association with the Freedom's Journey programming on April 30, including special tours related to both Black Hands Blue Seas, and the Village of...

Historian and Scholar Michael Amico reflects on his experience at the recent Freedom's Journey event in Norfolk, Connecticut.

Standing in front of the grave of James Mars on March 30, 2011, I realized that writing history was partly a matter of the speed at which we look at the world and where we decide to rest our eyes. I arrived in Norfolk, Connecticut, for a site visit to Mars' grave after making a wrong turn and getting lost for an hour and a half. When I finally turned around, my first thought was of how much more time it had taken me to get to Norfolk than I had originally planned...

Read Frank Rizzo's blog about bringing Yo-Yo Ma free to the New Haven Green - and the extra support needed to make it happen.

Click here to see how you can help!

Click here to read Donna Doherty's piece on the 2011 Festival announce.

Click here to read Frank Rizzo's blogs about The Cripple of Inishmaan.

Click here to read Frank's announcement for the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma.

Click here to read the New Haven Independent's coverage of the Festival announcement.

Click here to read the New Haven Register article about Governor Malloy's visit to the New Haven Chamber. Executive Director Mary Lou Aleskie is quoted on her thoughts about the Governor's budget move for the arts.

The CT Freedom Trail Website has been launched! To view, visit http://ctfreedomtrail.org/.

Look for more information regarding the CT Freedom Trail on www.artidea.org starting in mid-March.

Read this article from the New Haven Independent's Breaking Arts section about Aaron Jafferis, Festival alum, on the success of his show "Stuck Elevator."

Read this official press release from the office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy on bringing CT back into the tourism spotlight.

To continue our celebration of Errol Morris' films, the Whitney Humanities Center will be screening his most recent work!

What: Errol Morris: A Lightning Sketch (2011)
When: Thursday, January 13 at 6pm
Where: The Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium

Click here to view the event website.

Errol Morris takes on the big questions in his documentaries—not only life and death, but the vicissitudes of chance and moral responsibility. They are about our encounter with the world - how we see it and how we deceive ourselves. In the process, Mr. Morris has developed a penetrating and original style...