Summer Concert Series in July!

Once again the Friends of Long Hill present their annual summer concert series on the south lawn of the Wadsworth Mansion. We welcome guests to bring a picnic dinner and enjoy an evening with family, friends and great musicians. Grounds open at 5:30 p.m. and the concerts begin at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and you can find free parking at the Mansion, at the Wilbert Snow School: 299 Wadsworth Street, and at Mercy High School: 1740 Randolph Road.

Schedule of Bands:

July 6 - Prelude

Opening the 2011 Series on July 6th will be Prelude playing music from the '80s to the present. Prelude covers all of the great songs, including classic pop and rock, funk, disco, swing, country and Motown. Prelude has been together for over twenty years and has performed throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont.

July 13 - The Hartford Jazz Orchestra

The July 13th concert will feature the Hartford Jazz Orchestra. The Harford Jazz Orchestra has been entertaining people for over 45 years. Lead saxophonist Seb Giacco has been with the orchestra since its formation in 1965 and looks forward to performing in his hometown. A favorite with the audience this is the sixth time the orchestra has performed at the Mansion.

July 20 - The Michael Cleary Band

Making their second appearance at the Mansion on July 22st is The Michael Cleary Band. The Michael Cleary Band is a Hartford institution. They are celebrating their 19th year of making original Groove/Funk/Rock music with a twist and have been called Hartford's answer to the Allman Brothers. Their shows are filled with great songs, monstrous solos, epic jams, funky grooves and wacky humor. All in all, a diverse, joyous musical stew played and sung by talented musicians who love what they do.

July 27 - Glamour Girls

The concert series will conclude on July 27th with The Glamour Girls. With a show highlighted by costume changes and eye-catching choreography, The Glamour Girls present a song selection ranging from the swing of the 40's to the early 60's Sock Hop to the Motown/Soul era, to the disco dance hits of the 70's, to the pop/rock chart-toppers of the 80's and 90's.

Concerts will be held in light rain, or the threat of showers. Concerts will be cancelled in electrical storms or threat to the wellbeing of the musicians or their instruments. We hope to see you there!

Royal Wedding Viewing Party Recap!

This morning over thirty people gathered at the Wadsworth Mansion to watch the Royal Wedding ceremony between Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton. Ten of the guests were Wadsworth Mansion brides anxiously awaiting their own wedding day. The doors opened at 5:30 a.m. and enthusiastic guests arrived wearing festive hats and fascinators. Those that weren't adorned were given bejeweled [albeit plastic] tiaras. The Wedding ceremony was live-streamed on to flat screen televisions and guests sat at tables decorated with blue linens and red, white, and blue flowers. Everyone was most anxious to see Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, one of the details kept secret until she appeared outside the Goring Hotel. Guests stood to the national anthem of Great Britain and as the newlyweds rode to Buckingham Palace in a horse drawn carriage Executive Director Deborah Moore raised her champagne mimosa to toast not the royal newlyweds, but the Wadsworth Mansion brides. She wished them a fairytale wedding and hoped they would live happily ever after. Breakfast was served and each person had their own ‘wedding cupcake’ designed by Kim Terrell from Kim’s Cottage Confections.

Here are some photos from the day by Parsons Photography!

Guests anxiously awaited the reveal of Kate's dress:

Everyone stood for the national anthem:

We packed the photo booth with our Wadsworth Mansion Brides-to-be!

Here they lined up by date order waiting for our raffle!

Shelley Wehrly, Brides.com Rep and Executive Director Deborah Moore:

Royal Cupcakes!

We even had Royal Wedding Themed Trivia Questions

NBC and Fox broad casted live from the Mansion. Some lucky guests were interviewed, which aired on the news.

Deborah and Kristy handed out mimosas!

Catering by: Jordan Caterers

Cake and cupcakes by: Kim's Cottage Confections

Photo booth and photos by: Parsons Photography

Flowers by: Maria Holzberg

The Stamford Advocate also had a great write-up of our event which can be found here. Thanks to everyone who attended our party! We had lots of fun!

Countdown to the Royal Wedding Celebration at the Wadsworth Mansion!

Tomorrow is the big day and final preparations are underway!

We are ready to celebrate, complete with Kate and William Trivia Questions!

Rev Your Engines for Reading Pictures

This past Saturday the Mansion hosted a special ‘One Book One Middletown’ event promoting the Middletown 2011 selection “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. Despite the chilly day, we did still have a crowd of people come to check out these great cars! Below are some of the photos we captured from the event.

Friends Tea - Photos

On Sunday, March 20th the Friends of Long Hill Estate hosted their annual Tea at the Mansion. More than 26 unique tablescapes were presented for this annual fundraiser.

Below are some of the photos from the day:

Wadsworth Mansion's Executive Director, Deborah Moore, hosted three tables this year!

Tea was served with three courses of sandwiches, biscuits and assorted desserts. Kim's Cottage Confections of Middletown provided the treats.

Vendors sold clothes, hats, and jewelry.

Thanks to those who participated! We hope to see you again next year!

For additional photos and a write-up in the Middletown Patch, click here.

Rev Your Engines for Reading

On Saturday March 26^th between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. the Wadsworth Mansion will host a special ‘One Book One Middletown’ event promoting the Middletown 2011 selection “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. Don King of King Racing Enterprises located in Middletown, Connecticut will bring a Nascar Whelen Modified Tour Car to add some horsepower to this literary event. Also revving up interest for reading will be Stanley Cohen’s Ferrari Enzo and Peter Lombardo’s Ferrari 360 Challenge car.

Middletown Rotary is the sponsor of the One Book, One Middletown literacy project with support of the City of the Middletown. The goal of One Book is simple...to get a lot of people in the area to read the same book at the same time and then encourage them to talk about it. By doing so, they hope more people, especially more young people, will be motivated to spend more time reading. The "One Book" movement began in 1998 when Nancy Pearl, executive director of the Washington Center for the Book in the Seattle Public Library, initiated "If All Seattle Read the Same Book." In recent years, the "One Book" concept has been supported by a number of organizations and today “One Book” projects have proliferated throughout cities and towns in the United States.

The 2011 Middletown selection “The Art of Racing in the Rain” is a heart-wrenching, but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope written from the perspective of an aging dog. The novel follows the story of Denny Swift, a race car driver and his dog Enzo. Enzo spends his days watching and learning from television, gleaning what he can about his owner's greatest passion, race car driving and relating it to life. Enzo hopes his journey through life will prepare him for reincarnation as a human being as promised by Mongolian legend. The ‘Art of Racing in the Rain” is currently # 6 on the New York Times best seller list for Trade Paperback fiction having spent 92 weeks on the list.

These spectacular automoibles will be on display:

Friends Host Tea at the Mansion - This Sunday!

The Friends of Long Hill are holding their annual tea this Sunday at 1:00. There will be 24 unique and beautiful tablescapes where guests can enjoy a lovely three course tea prepared by Kim's Cottage Confections. I am preparing two tables-one formal in blue and gold to match the window treatments in the ballroom and the second is created from Mustardseed and Moonshine tableware which is manufactured in South Africa. Each pattern represents a different flower. I love this event because all the tables are beautiful. The event also provides me with the opportunity to buy a beautiful tablecloth!! There a few tickets left so call us to reserve a seat. [860 347 1064]

2011 Wedding Show Recap!

Thanks so much to our wonderful vendors for another fabulous wedding show! We had over 300 guests and got to meet lots of great couples! Here are some highlights from the show:

Executive Director, Deborah Moore, with our lovely past brides Amanda and Nina!

Our October 8th and 9th couples connected at the show!

Pat and Lorraine checking in guests:

Cloud Nine Catering's floral display!

Kim's Cottage Confections and her yummy Cakes

John and Bob of Two Pour Guys chatting with Debbie, our Event Supervisor:

The Wedding Dress of Portland and their beautiful dresses:

Jordan Caterers delicious snacks and drinks!

Enjoying some drinks. Cheers!

A Floral Affair designed a beautiful arch for the show:

Nina and Deb talking to guests at the Wadsworth booth:

Jeanette and Gourmet Galley Catering created a beautiful setting in the bar this year!

The Loggia and some vendors:

Action shot of Tony from Datura setting up his booth:

Amanda, our October 1, 2010 bride brought her dress and shoes and served as our "expert bride" for couples with questions about planning their wedding at the Mansion.

AquaTurf Catering and their samples are always a crowd pleaser!

Diane Parsons of Parsons Photography and her photobooth in the coat room!

Thanks again to everyone who attended the show!