Come join the fun, rain or shine, at the 30th Annual Ice Cream Social held under the big tent on the grounds of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society, Sunday, June 2nd from 1:00-4:00 pm. Stop by for a variety of refreshing ice cream flavors donated by Baskin-Robbins. Members of the Exchange Club will be on hand to do the scooping. The New Canaan and Canaan Parish Chapters of the National Charity League will provide the delicious homemade cakes…

Donna Gorman, board governor and owner of SeeDesign, Inc., conceived of, and curated, Shoes, an extensive exhibition of men’s, women’s and children’s shoes. Drawn from the Museum’s 400 pairs, she selected 200 based on a number of factors including age, condition, originality, and function. Come see early galoshes, sneakers, beaded heels, dancing shoes, furry sleigh boots, and much more. Learn about the shoe industry in New Canaan that thrived for more than 100 years and helped shape the downtown commercial…

Penny Havard, Clothing and Textile Curator, will give a guided tour of the new exhibition Shoes, which celebrates the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s extensive collection, on Wednesday, June 5th at 2:00 pm. There will be two additional tours on Wednesday, June 26th at 2:00 pm and on Saturday, July 13th at 10:30 am. The tour is free to members, and $10 for non-members. Reservations are required. Please call the Historical Society at (203) 966-1776 ext. 3, or email…

In conjunction with the Shoes exhibition now open at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society, The Mystique of Shoes luncheon with design director and author Linda O’Keeffe will be held June 20th, 12 - 2 pm. O’Keeffe has been championing design for more than three decades, most notable during the sixteen years she spent as creative director for Metropolitan Home. She now writes for a variety of magazines. Her book Shoes is in its 25th edition, and will be…

The inaugural New Canaan History Day celebration will take place on Sunday, September 29, from 2:00- 4:00 pm on the grounds of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. Museum buildings will be open with knowledgeable docents in the Hearth and Craft rooms of the Hanford-Silliman House, the Tool Museum, Rock School and Cody Pharmacy. See the Acorn Printing Press in action and enjoy family friendly activities, including making corn husk dolls, lemonade and butter. Games—hoop rolling, hop scotch and…

Torrance York will talk about her work in conversation with Art Historian and Independent Curator, Arianne Faber Kolb, PhD, on Thursday, October 3rd at 6:00 pm at Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park, New Canaan, CT. The discussion will focus on York’s current solo exhibition, Common Ground: Irwin, that includes twelve landscape photographs created in Irwin Park over the past 4 years. The exhibit will be on display in the Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park until November 3, 2019. A closing…

Mike Tiani, Historian for the New Canaan Fire Company, curates a special exhibition in honor of Fire Prevention Awareness Month at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. The show opens Saturday, October 5. Antique Fire Trucks will be on display from 10 am– 12 pm. Chronicling 140 years of the Fire Company’s history, the exhibition includes photographs, memorabilia, medals, uniforms and other artifacts. It celebrates the volunteers and explores the central role they played, and continue to play, in…

The New Canaan Museum and Historical Society presents Ponus: The Man & the Monument on Sunday, October 27 at 4 pm. Patricia Funt Oxman, who has given tours of local cemeteries in past years, focuses this year on the Ponus Monument, located on the corner of Davenport Ridge Road and Ponus Ridge. The monument is thought to be the tomb of Ponus, Sachem of the Toquam Tribe, and was unveiled in an elaborate ceremony in 1897. Ponus, a Chief, who…

The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society presents an impressive new exhibition, Northeast Waterscapes: Artists Explore Oceans, Rivers, Harbors, with an opening reception on Friday, November 1, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The reception is free to members, and $10 for all others. The display is drawn from the personal collection of New Canaan resident and art collector Tom Davies. It features 62 paintings highlighting oceans, rivers, lakes and harbors of the Northeast. Through these paintings, Davies explores society’s fascination…

Join Dede Bartlett at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society for a luncheon and discussion about the family stories behind the antiques and other objects we have in our homes, on Tuesday, November 12, from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. Perhaps the worth of an item is not its market value but its historic value. Who used it and for what? How many generations passed it down? What significance does it have to the family lore? Dede will share…

In conjunction with their current exhibition, NORTHEAST WATERSCAPES: Artists Explore Oceans, Rivers, Harbors, The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society presents a special evening with noted artist T. M. Nicholas: Painting Water on Tuesday, November 19 at 6:30 pm in The Lindstrom Room. The exhibition features 60 works of art dating from 1838 to 1977 and focuses on New England and New York state. Nicholas will select works from the show to illustrate the complexities of painting water in constant…

The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s new exhibition Hat Madness opens on Sunday, December 8 with a reception from 1:30 – 3:00 pm. The show explores the history of hats, hat design and hat-making with over 65 hats from its extensive clothing and textile collection. From the simple bonnets worn in Colonial times to stunning pieces of art that were popular in the 1920s to the “Pussy Cap” of the 2017 Women’s March, this exhibition spans more than 200…

Singer and actor Dr. Richard Weidlich returns to the New Canaan Museum & Historical to lead holiday caroling on Sunday, December 8 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. Jenna Dosch will accompany on keyboard. The event is sponsored by Amy and Fabio Freyre and is in partnership with Staying Put in New Canaan. Dr. Weidlich has performed in opera, operetta and musical theater, as well as with symphonies and chamber ensembles. He is a professor at Sacred Heart University, teaching music…

The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s new exhibition TALKING SHOP explores New Canaan’s long and rich retail history. It highlights many of the stores in New Canaan from the 19th century to the mid-1970s. The exhibition features the independent and family owned shops that have been the backbone of this community for generations. The show shares the stories of these local shops through photographs, ephemera and artifacts. Stores such as Silliman's Hardware that closed its doors in 1981 after…

The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s new exhibition TALKING SHOP explores New Canaan’s long and rich retail history. It highlights many of the stores in New Canaan from the 19th century to the mid-1970s. The exhibition features the independent and family owned shops that have been the backbone of this community for generations. Curator, antique dealer and former New Canaan shop owner, Patricia Funt Oxman will lead Gallery Discussions on the following dates: Thursday, January 30 - 10:30 am,…

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s tea on Friday, February 14th at 1 pm. Enjoy tea, prosecco, refreshments and a performance by The Town Players of New Canaan. Dressed in costumes from the 1940s, the actors will surround the microphone and perform a nostalgic routine from their Old-Time Radio Theater Live show that promises to bring romance back to life. The New Canaan and Canaan Parish Chapters of the National Charity League will prepare and…

The 3rd annual New Canaan Art, Antique, and Jewelry Show to benefit the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society will be held on March 7th and 8th in the Historical Society’s main building at 13 Oenoke Ridge in New Canaan. An eclectic group of dealers will offer a wide selection of art and antique items. There will be paintings, prints, maps, silver, jewelry, watches, decorative pieces and much more. Among the dealers will be Gil Rodriguez, back again this year…

Lifelong New Canaan resident, Wilma Shaw Deicas, will share memories about growing up on her family’s dairy farm on March 10, at 11 am at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. She will highlight stories from her book Life on a Dairy Farm in New Canaan, Connecticut. The book includes 25 photos beginning in 1902, and may be purchased exclusively at the Historical Society for $5 each. Wilma graduated from New Canaan High School in 1952, and was in…