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August / September 2008
All events are FREE unless noted
Visit the web site
for more information and current scheduled events
http://www.elizabethpark.com |
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Volunteer Opportunity!!
Super Saturdays:
August 2
August 16
September 13
Meet at 9 am in the Rose Garden
Bring your garden gloves. |
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AUGUST
8/2 History Walking Tour ~ 10 am -
Information Center.
8/2 Super Saturday ~ Volunteer Day 9 am to
noon - Rose Garden.
8/5 Annual Garden Tour ~ 6:30 pm - Annual
Garden.
8/6 Steppin’ Out Band ~ 6:30 pm - Rose Garden
lawn.
8/13 Pandemonium Band ~ 6:30 pm - Rose Garden
lawn.
8/16 Super Saturday ~ Volunteer Day 9 am to
noon - Rose Garden.
8/20 History Walking Tour ~ 10 am - Information
Center.
8/20 Tracker NV Band ~ 6:30 pm - Rose Garden
lawn.
8/23 CT Dahlia Society Show ~ 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm
- Pond House.
8/24 CT Dahlia Society Show ~ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Pond House.
8/27 MassConn Fusion Band ~ 6:30 pm - Rose
Garden lawn.
SEPTEMBER
9/2 Annual Garden Tour ~ 6:30 pm - Annual
Garden.
9/4 Rose Garden Tour ~ 6:30 pm – Rose Garden
Gazebo.
9/9 History Walking Tour ~ 10am - Information
Center.
9/13 Super Saturday ~ Volunteer Day 9 am to
noon - Rose Garden.
9/14 CT Rose Society Meeting ~ 2:30 pm - Pond
House.
9/16 Full Moon Walking Tour ~ 7:30 pm - Pond
House loop.
9/20 History Walking Tour ~ 10 am - Information
Center.
9/24 WORKSHOP: Closing your Perennial Garden ~
12 noon - Perennial
Garden. (rain location - Information
Center). |
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THANK YOU to the following contributors to the 2008 Garden
BAILEY NURSERIES
BROTHERS
ASSOCIATES
CONARD-PYLE / STAR
ROSES
ENVIROCYCLE
GARDEN SALES
GREENCYCLE
GRIFFIN GREENHOUSE
& NURSERY SUPPLIES
JACKSON & PERKINS
OSMOCOTE
TOWN OF WEST
HARTFORD
WEEKS ROSES |
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2008 Summer Concert
Series
Sponsored by Aetna
& The Evelyn Preston Fund
Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Rose Garden Lawn.
If Rain, Pond House.
Bring a picnic dinner or order take out from the Pond House Café |

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August 6 |
Steppin Out : Summer Sounds: Pop |
August 20 |
Tracker NV: Rock & Roll |
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August 13 |
Pandemonium w/ Theresa Rodriguez: 50’s to today - rock |
August 27 |
Mass Conn Fusion: R&B, Motown |
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It all started on vacation in Ogunquit, Maine many years ago when a
clerk in the local camera shop asked Earle Stone if he was a
professional photographer when he was dropping off some negatives to
have enlargements made. That innocent question was the beginning of
a hobby turning into a business venture. Over the last 20 years,
Earle has been perfecting his craft, primarily shooting nature and
wildlife images. With family living in the South and the West, he
has captured scenes throughout much of the U.S.
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Some of his favorite shots are also
remembrances of trips to various European countries, though the most
photographed subject in his portfolio is Elizabeth Park.
Earle’s photography is sold as note
cards, as well as matted and framed prints. His photos have been
used in travel promotional materials for Tauck World Discovery, the
Greater Hartford Guest Guide, the 100th anniversary
calendar for the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden and the Friends of
Elizabeth Park, and he has exhibited in a number of juried art
shows.

Cards and
framed prints are currently on sale at the Bookworm in West Hartford
Center and the CT Creative Store on 25 Stonington Street in
Hartford. |
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Earle has been
a resident of West Hartford for more than 30 years. He has taught
history, coached high school baseball and basketball, and started
his own consulting business successfully working with numerous
organizations on diversity issues. In all he has done, family
continues to be the most important work he does and his two young
granddaughters have him firmly wrapped around their little fingers. |
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Digital Print Editions by Gene Gort
September 2 – 28, 2008
Reception Sunday, September 7, 4-6
pm
“Cyclamen” will be
auctioned at the reception to benefit the Friends of Elizabeth Park
For more information
on the exhibition, visit
http://www.nocamera.com/newProducts.html
Cyclamen |
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Gene Gort
is a visual artist, video producer, media programmer and educator
who lives in Avon, Connecticut. His artwork and videotapes have been
shown internationally . He holds the position of Associate Professor
of Media Arts at Hartford Art School, University of Hartford.
Artist Statement:
This work represents
a part of my artistic investigation that is somewhat of an
aberration. I have been a media artist primarily interested in
experimental video, installation and sound works for over 25 years.
Digital printmaking is a recent area of investigation that is
stripped down, essential and direct, examining the simple elegance
of natural objects unencumbered by cultural context or
social/political discourse.
I am one who revels in the process of production and as I began to
discover the process of image scanning, it became clear that I was
fascinated with the optics and the unique perspective afforded by
this device. With most photographs one is keenly aware of gravity,
horizon, scale, perspective and light source. With image scanning,
all of those conventions become more obviously malleable to me. It
feels as if one is building the image using objects like props on a
stage; cajoling them into place, balancing them and presenting them
to this fixed glass window for some diagnostic review. The imaging
device demands a different set of principles, techniques and
orientation that allows me to see things from a very different
vantage point and offers a freedom I don’t feel when using a
traditional lens-based device like a camera. |
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I often think of these images as “gifts” when the image appears on
the screen once scanned. They offer themselves up as material to be
inspected, revered and are breathtaking – refreshing and very
surprising. I am hesitant to tinker with them much other than the
usual formal adjustments and rather want the image to just be. These
images are simply beautiful and I often don’t think I have much to
do with them being so, other than to point to them and recognize
them as such. In the end, what one sees is a representational
“photograph” of something in the world. What really matters are not
the tools that produce the image but the image itself and the direct
response we have as viewers. |
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CT Dahlia Society
50th Anniversary Show
Pond House

The
Connecticut Dahlia Society also plants & maintains the dahlia
display garden in Elizabeth Park. Don’t miss it! August &
September are peak blooming months.
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Saturday August
23
1:30 pm to 5:00 pm
&

Sunday August 24
9:00 am to 4:00
pm |
Free Admission

www.connecticutdahlia.com
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Play Croquet
The Elizabeth Park
Croquet Players play on the greens at Asylum Avenue on Wednesdays
beginning around 4 pm and Sundays around 1:30 pm.
Weather and player
availability permitting, we play mid-May thru October.

No fee. Walk-ins
welcome (flat-soled shoes or sneakers).
Contact Bobbi Shorthouse 860-608-1222 or
bobbi@NotaryServicesLLC.com. |
Connecticut Rose Society
Next Meeting is
September 14

Pond House 2:30 p.m.
www.ctrose.org
Photo:John Mattia |
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LAWN BOWLING -
relaxing and fun for all ages!
Thistle Lawn Bowling
Club members are usually at Elizabeth Park at 1:00 Tuesdays,
Thursdays & Saturdays.

We invite you to come
watch and/or stay for free instructions.
Contact Zane Gershman at 233-6860 for information about lawn bowling
in Elizabeth Park. |
Greater Hartford Bonsai Society
Next Club Meeting is September 15
7
pm

Location: Wethersfield Community Center
The public is welcome!
www.GreaterHartfordBonsai.com |
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“LEISURE”
What is
this life if, full of care,
We have
no time to stand and stare?
No time
to stand beneath the boughs
And
stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time
to see, when woods we pass,
Where
squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time
to see, in broad daylight,
Streams
full of stars, like skies at night.
No time
to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And
watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time
to wait till her mouth can
Enrich
that smile her eyes began.
A poor
life this if, full of care
We have
no time to stand and stare
--- William H. Davies ---
Most of
us have “feel good” memories of summertime. I guess that’s
because it’s the most popular time of the year to take a
break from our usual routines. We take vacations from our
jobs and kids leave their school work behind. We may get to
see new places or revisit one of our favorite summer
haunts. Maybe we’ll meet new friends along the way or
reconnect with old friends or relatives we haven’t seen for
awhile. Somehow, we manage to leave our busy lifestyles
behind and find the time to “stand and stare”. Some of us
may stay close to home, but hopefully still be able to
throttle back to a summer-like pace with a few day trips or
just some time in the backyard hammock. |

Photo: Yellow Submarine by John Mattia |
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Summer
is a busy season at Elizabeth Park. It’s a great place to
do exactly what William H. Davies is talking about, i.e.,
leave our cares behind, finding cool shade under an
evergreen bough, seeing the light reflecting off the water,
watching squirrels or just enjoying the scenery. This rather
silly little poem describes to me what summer should be all
about. What better place to appreciate the beautiful
gardens and to relish the smiles and ice cream moustaches of
people having fun than Elizabeth Park? Visitors from all
around the globe will join the many local regulars in the
park this summer. Many will be first time visitors and many
others will be revisiting a place responsible for many happy
childhood memories. Some will return to the place where
they were married or had their yearbook pictures taken. It
is summer and Elizabeth Park is open for business!!!
Whether
you are going to travel this summer or stay close to home,
all of us, with the “Friends”, hope you have a safe,
enjoyable and healthy summer. You have earned your
leisure! Enjoy it! See you in the park!
Dave
Peterson, President |
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The Friends of
Elizabeth Park has helped the City of Hartford to care for the park
since its incorporation in 1977.
Call the Information Center at (860) 231-9443 for announcements,
changes, and updates. Send e-mail to
elizabeth_park@sbcglobal.net |
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