The holiday season is one of the happiest times of year on the Connecticut Art Trail, as art museums and cultural sites across the state host special events and celebrations. It’s a great time to explore some of the fantastic destinations Connecticut has to offer, and to wrap up your 2024 Passport-Journal if you want to enter our grand prize giveaway! Don’t forget to take advantage of our seasonal buy one, get one deal for next year’s Passport-Journal; it makes a great gift!
Read our latest newsletter to learn about the latest news and upcoming events on the Connecticut Art Trail, including:
- A reopening date at the Yale Center for British Art after a two-year building renovation
- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art being named as one of the top 20 art museums in the United States by the Washington Post
- A special display of Hockey Hall of Fame trophies on display this weekend at the Bruce Museum
- Family activities for the holidays including an Access for All Community Day and Holiday Makers Market at the New Britain Museum of American Art, Winter Wonder Day at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, and a Holiday Linocut Sampler course at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking
- A featured item from a Connecticut Art Trail museum’s permanent collection: The Minutes No. 14 by prominent Surrealist artist Kay Sage at the Mattatuck Museum
The Connecticut Art Trail has brought back its annual buy one, get one deal for its Passport-Journal program, which allows people to experience more than two dozen cultural attractions throughout the state.
This offer began on November 15th, and will continue through December 31st. During this time, anyone can purchase two Passport-Journals for the price of one at $35. This past year saw a boom for the Connecticut Art Trail, which grew roughly 77% in year-over-year sales as many Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York residents sought to get out and explore the arts and culture within a day trip of their homes.
“We’ve been seeing more and more people discover the incredible cultural assets that can be found right in their own backyard,” said Carey Mack Weber, President of the Connecticut Art Trail and the Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director at Fairfield University Art Museum. “This annual Passport-Journal deal from the Connecticut Art Trail is a perfect gift for a loved one, opening them up to a year of exploration across the state.”
The Connecticut Art Trail for 2025 will include 24 art museums and cultural sites, as well as five affiliate members. The Passport-Journal provides free admission during the calendar year to all of these sites, along with hundreds of dollars in additional value from added perks like gift store discounts, guest admissions, and complimentary items.
Passport-Journals are $35 each. People can take advantage of the deal by purchasing two Passport-Journals either online at ctarttrail.org/passport or in-person at any member museum. For online purchases, the cost of the second Passport-Journal will be automatically deducted at checkout.
Delamar Hotels Delamar Hotels is again sponsoring a grand prize giveaway for those who visit all full-member sites on the Connecticut Art Trail during the calendar year. Passport-Journal holders who achieve this goal will be entered into a drawing for an overnight stay and one hour couple’s massage at the Delamar Hotels location of their choice.
Connecticut Art Trail member sites will continue to sell the 2024 Passport-Journals through the end of the year or until their location runs out of copies. Following the expiration of the BOGO deal, the 2025 Passport-Journals can be purchased at any Connecticut Art Trail location or online at ctarttrail.org.
Join us at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 17 in the Bellarmine Hall Great Hall for a very special a cappella performance by the Connecticut Chamber Choir, led by Michael Ciavaglia, DMA! Inspired by the artworks on view in Ink and Time: European Prints from the Wetmore Collection (Bellarmine Hall Galleries, September 12 – December 21, 2024), they will be performing songs and motets from the 16th-18th centuries, as well as more traditional carols from the period to get in the Christmas mood.
Please note that only 2 tickets may be reserved per order. If you have questions, please contact museum@fairfield.edu
Image: Jacques Callot, The Assumption of the Virgin, ca. 1620s, etching. Courtesy of the Wetmore Collection, Connecticut College
Christmas is coming! Cartoonist, writer, and songwriter Sandra Boynton presents a one-time-only event based on her new album/songbook, Cows and Holly.
The seventh Boynton & Ford album of original songs, Cows and Holly boasts performances by Zooey Deschanel, Lyle Lovett, Yo-Yo Ma, Patti LuPone, Raúl Esparza, Linda Eder, and many others. The songs are wildly varied in mood and style, yet all have a Christmas Classics feel.
This special evening at AMP features Cows and Holly music by assorted friends and family, and screenings of the music videos that Boynton & Ford created for the album. AMP’s Ellen Griesedieck will also chat with Boynton about the long evolution of this project.
Signed copies of Cows and Holly
All tickets are general admission. Special General Admission tickets include reserved, signed copies of Sandra Boyton’s Cows and Holly. Copies will also be available for purchase at the event. Just stop by the Curious Cat Bookseller table before or after the show.
About Sandra Boynton
Beginning in 1975 with her offbeat upbeat greeting cards (e.g., “Hippo Birdie Two Ewes”), Boynton has been a continuously bestselling artist/writer for adults (e.g., the book CHOCOLATE: The Consuming Passion) and children (e.g., Barnyard Dance!).
Grammy-nominated for her platinum-certified Philadelphia Chickens, Boynton’s six previous albums—created alongside her long-time music collaborator, Michael Ford—have two gold records and one platinum, and have sold over three million copies. Boynton & Ford have worked with B.B. King, Meryl Streep, Brian Wilson, Kacey Musgraves, Neil Sedaka, Dwight Yoakam, Mark Lanegan, Stanley Tucci, Blues Traveler, Laura Linney, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Paisley, Kristen Bell, (and even “Weird Al” Yankovic in a duet with Kate Winslet), and many others.
Sales of Boynton’s beloved books are nearing 90 million copies. She lives happily in the Berkshires and has been great friends with AMP’s founder/creator Ellen Griesedieck for four wild decades.
As we move closer to the holiday season, there’s still plenty of great exhibitions and events to discover on the Connecticut Art Trail — and just a couple of months left to complete your Passport-Journal! If you’re looking to get a head start on your holiday shopping, our popular buy one, get one deal on Passport-Journals will return on November 15th. Member museums will continue to sell 2024 Passports until they run out, or until the start of the new year.
Read our latest newsletter to learn about the latest news and upcoming events on the Connecticut Art Trail, including:
- The reopening of a sculpture garden at The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art
- Museum honors for the Housatonic Museum of Art and Mattatuck Museum
- A combined Giving Tuesday effort among the Hill-Stead Museum, New Britain Museum of American Art, and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
- Featured family activities including Colonial Toys and Crafts at the Greenwich Historical Society, Fun with Printmaking at the Fairfield University Art Museum, and A Sandra Boynton Christmas at the American Mural Project
- A featured permanent collection item at a Connecticut Art Trail site: Childe Hassam’s The Mill Pond, Cos Cob at the Bruce Museum
In our latest newsletter, we’re encouraging you to include the member museums of the Connecticut Art Trail in your holiday shopping. You can gift a one-of-a-kind experience to a loved one with our buy one, get one deal on the Connecticut Art Trail’s Passport-Journal. This $35 purchase gets you free admission and other perks to all member museums, and the BOGO offer is sure to unlock a season of exploration and enrichment!
The December 2023 newsletter also features information on upcoming exhibitions and events, news from the Connecticut Art Trail, and features on two members museums: the Silvermine Arts Center and Yale University Art Gallery.
Read the NewsletterThe Connecticut Art Trail is offering a special promotion for the holiday season, inviting anyone who purchases a Connecticut Art Trail Passport-Journal to receive a second at no charge.
The Passport-Journal is a signature offering of the Connecticut Art Trail, granting the holder free admission to all 24 member museums and cultural sites on the Trail for one year. It also provides a variety of other perks, including discounts, free admission for guests, and complimentary gifts.
“The Passport-Journal is the best way to experience the Connecticut Art Trail, offering a great incentive to explore our state’s rich artistic offerings,” said Carey Mack Weber, President of the Connecticut Art Trail and the Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director at Fairfield University Art Museum. “The buy one, get one offer invites people to take full advantage of the Passport-Journal’s benefits, giving them an opportunity to experience the Trail as a family.”
Delamar Hotels will again sponsor a grand prize giveaway in 2024, offering an overnight stay and 60-minute couple’s massage at a Delamar Hotel location chosen by the winner. Anyone who visits all Connecticut Art Trail sites and returns a completed Passport-Journal is eligible for a drawing for this prize.
The Passport-Journal includes information on each member of the Connecticut Art Trail as well as sections for holders to take notes, record their favorite places and best moments, and sketch a favorite location or piece of art. It can be purchased online or in person at any member location for $35.
The buy one, get one deal is available from November 15th through December 30th. Anyone can redeem this offer by setting the quantity of Passport-Journals they would like to purchase at two; they will only be charged for one Passport-Journal at checkout.
In our latest newsletter, we’re encouraging you to take advantage of an upcoming deal to buy one Connecticut Art Trail Passport-Journal and get a second one free! This option will become available from November 15th, 2023 through December 30th, 2023.
The November 2023 newsletter also includes information on upcoming exhibitions and events, news from the Connecticut Art Trail, and profiles of two member museums — the Florence Griswold Museum and the Stamford Museum & Nature Center — and featured exhibitions at these sites.