Norfolk, Connecticut, population 1600, is not a town that tends to blow its own horn. In fact, many who live in this unspoiled hamlet in the Litchfield Hills rather like having their hometown's New England charm and beautiful surroundings to themselves.

But three residents, Sue Frisch, Holly Gill, and Ruth Melville, think it is high time that their town was recognized. Together with local businesses and organizations, the trio has planned A Weekend in Norfolk to be held on August 5, 6 and 7, a fun-and activity-filled three days to show off what they love.

Among Norfolk's often unheralded assets to be displayed are the Yale Summer School of Music and its annual concerts in the Norfolk Festival Music Shed, three scenic state parks, and miles of forest trails.

On the weekend docket are concerts for every taste from chamber music by the Emerson Quartet to rock groups and the U.S. Coast Guard Band. The scenic surroundings attract many artists who will show their work in an art exhibit by Norfolk Artists and Friends, and there will be readings by novelist Courtney Maum and Poet Susannah Wood.

Walking tours will point out the classic village green, shuttered Colonial homes, white church spires, and exceptional architecture like the 1899 library, the Tiffany windows in Battell Chapel, the Stanford White fountain on the green, and some of the grand local estates. Other walks will include a wildflower walk at Aton Forest and a guided hike in Great Mountain Forest.  

Foodies will enjoy a farmer's market on Saturday, an ice cream social on Sunday, and special deals and menus at the town's restaurant all weekend.

Norfolk's parks beckon this weekend and every weekend. An easy trail to the summit of 240-acre Dennis Hill State Park rewards hikers with panoramic views and the observation tower at Haystack Mountain State Park can be reached by auto or a steep climb. Campbell Falls State Park, a natural reserve area, offers views of the falls tumbling over craggy rock formations.

Norfolk's thousands of acres of woods and fields are laced with trails for everyone to enjoy. Weekend in Norfolk features several outdoor events including a wildflower workshop, a guided hike and a six-peak trail challenge. Photo courtesy Great Mountain Forest.

Visitors who stay overnight will discover some delightful local lodgings like the Blackberry River Inn, a 1761 Colonial; Mountain View Inn, an elegantly restored Victorian; and Manor House, a romantic 1898 Tudor bed and breakfast inn.  

If the romantic spirit of the town inspires, you can make an appointment to be wed or renew your vows on the village green. The town's first selectman will officiate; fresh bouquets will be supplied and ring bearers and witnesses will be standing by.

Take a look at some of the offerings:

More Music Than Ever

Norfolk, Conn., has long been a mecca for those who love music of all kinds, but Weekend in Norfolk promises to be extra special. From Infinity Hall's pop, rock, blues and jazz concerts to classical music and other performances at the Music Shed to pop-up musicians all around town, you'll find music in the air everywhere you go.
Infinity Hall, with its Queen Anne architecture and vivid green paint, is an unmissable presence on Route 44. Built in 1883, the building housed an auditorium for concerts and lectures upstairs and a grocery and a dry goods store on the ground floor. The theater fell into disuse in the 1940s and had subsequent ups and downs, but in 2007 Infinity owner Dan Hincks bought the building and completely redid the interior, adding a state-of-the-art sound system and creating an intimate, friendly setting for live music of all genres. Singer Jane Monheit and the Glenn Miller Orchestra will both appear on Saturday, and bluegrass band Seldom Scene is slated to perform Sunday.

Rubble Bucket performing at Infinity Hall last year to a fully engaged audience...during Weekend in Norfolk, Jane Monheit, the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Seldom Scene will appear. There will also be live music in Infinity Bistro. Photo Todd Gay Photography, courtesy Infinity Hall Live/CPTV.

The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival is believed to be the oldest summer music festival in North America. Since the 1940s, it has held its concerts in the Music Shed, hailed as "an acoustic marvel" by the New York Times. The Music Shed, modeled after Steinway Hall in New York City, was built in 1906, and over the decades its beautiful redwood interior has welcomed many world-famous musicians to its stage. During Weekend in Norfolk, the Music Shed will feature concerts by the world-renowned Emerson String Quartet, faculty and students from the Yale Summer School of Music, and the U.S. Coast Guard Band.

Inside the acoustically acclaimed Music Shed, the walls are lined with redwood. The concert shown here is the last performance anywhere of the Tokyo String Quartet, which came to the Yale Summer School of Music for many years. As one of the special events occuring here during Weekend in Norfolk, the renowned Emerson String Quartet will perform on Saturday night. Photo © Bruce Frisch.

And don't forget those unexpected pop-up musicians, many of them recruited from Norfolk's talented residents, who will be performing at the farmers market, on the village green, in the library, in the center of town and ...well, come and be surprised.

Go Global with Brazilian Dance and Music 

Oh, wow, did you know? The two principal artists of the dance troupe Ginga Brasileira will perform at the library during Weekend in Norfolk! Dancer Thelma Ladeira and drummer/dancer Efraim Silva will be presenting a colorful, crowd-pleasing repertoire of Afro-Brazilian dances that will have families dancing with them in the aisles. 

Ginga Brasileira's principals, Thelma Ladeira and Efraim Silva, bring color and rhythm wherever they appear. See them on Friday evening, August 5, at the library during Weekend in Norfolk. (Free) reservations suggested but not required.

Feast Your Eyes 

A thriving population of artists and artisans of every kind has long called Norfolk home. Weekend in Norfolk will give everyone a chance to feast their eyes on the work of these talented individuals. Painters, photographers, ceramists, fiber artists and quilters, sculptors, boat builders, jewelers, wood turners, print makers—not to mention dancers, novelists, and poets—will all be displaying their finest efforts.

Colorful leaf and vegetable prints hang to dry at the Norfolk Farmers Market last year. This August will see this kids' art activity return during Weekend in Norfolk, but to the Village Green. Photo courtesy Great Mountain Forest.

One special highlight of the weekend will be the Norfolk Artists & Friends eighth annual exhibition, sponsored by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. This large group show opens at the Art Barn with a reception on Friday evening. The Norfolk Library is hosting "Shedding Light on the Working Forest" with paintings by Kathleen Kolb and text by poet Verandah Porche. A reception for the show is being held Sunday afternoon. And at the Historical Society Museum the exhibition is "Hidden in Plain Sight," spotlighting architectural treasures from around town. Three related one-hour guided tours are slated to start from the museum on Saturday afternoon. 

Norfolk Artists & Friends, a group of painters, photographers, sculptors, printmakers and artisans, will be holding its annual exhibition (sponsored by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival) in the Art Barn on the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate on all three days of Weekend in Norfolk. Photo © Bruce Frisch.

Infinity Bistro is featuring works by Jean Parks in its gallery space, with a reception set for Sunday afternoon. And for those who want to try their own hand at watercolor painting, classes and demonstrations, including a special Saturday morning session for kids, will be held all weekend by artist Leslie Watkins of WaterWorks. Everyone is invited to take part; materials and instruction are free.

A three-day show of quilts by the Haystack Quilters will adorn the Congregational church starting Friday afternoon, and fiber artist Carol Vinick will be explaining and demonstrating her fabric collage techniques in front of the Artisans Guild on Station Place on Friday afternoon and evening. More artisans will demonstrate knitting, rug hooking, wood turning and beadwork in front of the Guild throughout the weekend.

Shirley Metcalf (left) demonstrates long arm quilting on a quilt destined to hang in the Congregational church during Weekend in Norfolk. The WIN Twins, Margaret (center) Alexson and Mary Bazzano-Reeve, look on with interest. Photo © Bruce Frisch.

At the Norfolk Farmers Market, wood turner Gary Travers (aka the Wooden Peg) is among the artisans to be showing their wares in front of Town Hall. Also on Saturday, kids will be able to try their hands at leaf printing on the village green. And for all three days Schuyler Thomson, founder of Norfolk Boatworks, will be on Station Place demonstrating techniques for building and restoring wooden boats and canoes.

Schuyler Thomson (foreground) and Frank Christinat will be setting up their Norfolk Boatworks on Station Place during Weekend in Norfolk, August 5, 6 and 7. They will be demonstrating their wooden boatmaking and restoration techiques to all comers. Photo © Bruce Frisch.

Literature has not been forgotten. Novelist Courtney Maum and poet Susannah Lawrence Wood will be reading from their works at the library on Sunday afternoon. 

For a full listing of all the Weekend in Norfolk musical events, plus the rest of the more than 60 events scheduled as well as places to eat, sleep or shop, visit weekendinnorfolk.org. If you have questions, send an email to info[at]weekendinnorfolk.org or call 860-542-5829.

Learn more:

http://weekendinnorfolk.org

The town's site: norfolkct.org

Sue Frisch was born in Ohio, grew up in Virginia and moved to New York City. In 1970, she and her husband discovered Norfolk, Conn., as the ideal place to visit; 30 years later they retired and moved there permanently. Sue now gardens, volunteers for town projects and never misses a chance to say nice things about the place she lives. As a former editor, she considers herself an educator, and claims to have taught several things to herself and at least one thing to her grandson.