Garden Volunteer Informational Session and Reception
2024-04-07 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Would you like to learn from an expert horticulturist? Are you curious about historic gardens? Do you enjoy giving back to the community in a meaningful way? Then we want to chat with you! The Webb Deane Stevens Museum warmly invites you to attend a free garden volunteer informational session and reception on Sunday, April 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
You will meet our head gardener, Peter Winne, and learn more about the history of the Amy Cogswell Colonial Revival Garden on the campus of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum in the heart of Old Wethersfield. We’ll talk about all the available opportunities to support the garden, which sits on our beautiful 8-acre campus. You will also meet some of our current garden volunteers, and help us celebrate Ann Foley, our retiring garden volunteer coordinator.
You’ll receive a variety of perks as a garden volunteer, including free admission to the museum for yourself and a guest, as well as free admission to most of our community programs.
We hope you will join our team of dedicated garden volunteers! Please RSVP HERE by April 3.

NYC Trip to The Winter Show and More
2024-01-24 11:00 - 2024-01-26 13:00 | CT
TICKET SALES ARE CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT.
This January 24-26, join Executive Director Brenton Grom for a multi-generational experience during Americana Week, New York’s annual celebration of decorative arts and design! Our VIP itinerary includes a lecture by Sarah Coffin (former Senior Curator at Cooper Hewitt), visits with dealers at the 70th Winter Show, and a tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The general itinerary will be followed by a special segment for the upcoming generation, who will join Brenton at the Winter Show’s chic Young Collectors’ Night party, followed by drinks at Chapel Bar, and the Taylor Swift: Storyteller exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design the next morning.
The Winter Show, held at the stunning Park Avenue Armory, is America’s premiere art, antiques, and design fair, and features many of the world’s top experts in the fine and decorative arts. Learn more HERE.
GENERAL ITINERARY (JANUARY 24-25) /
Information continues below for the Young Friends portion of the trip.
Wednesday, January 24, 2024

11:00 AM / Lunch at Inside Park at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church (included in registration fee).
12:45 PM / Lecture by Sarah Coffin (St. Bartholomew’s Chapel), retired Senior Curator and Head of the Product Design and Decorative Arts Department at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum: “Dining and Diplomacy: Tablescapes and Cuisine as Political Messengers in Empire France.”
2:00 PM / Tour of historic St. Bartholomew’s Church with church staff
3:00 PM / The Winter Show (Park Avenue Armory), including special commentary from exhibiting dealers.
Dinner and evening activities on your own.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

10 AM / The Metropolitan Museum of Art with Brenton Grom and Elizabeth Fox, Marcia Brady Tucker Fellow at the Yale University Art Gallery. This exclusive tour through the American Winng and recently-renovated British Galleries will focus on the history of period rooms and antiques-collecting, the future of museums, and what all of this means for our own Webb Deane Stevens Museum. Participants from the Young Friends’ itinerary will join us n this stop.

TICKETS
NSCDA-CT & Museum Members: $300 per person. Non-Members: $350 per person.
Includes admission to The Winter Show, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and lunch on January 24. Prices do not cover transportation, lodging, or meals not included in the itinerary. Click the registration link for information on lodging options.
Please note that tickets are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled by the Webb Deane Stevens Museum. It is understood that participation in this event/tour releases The Webb Deane Stevens Museum, NSCDA, NSCDA-CT, WDS staff and volunteers from any responsibility whatsoever for injury or death, or loss or damage of personal property sustained in connection with an event/tour.
YOUNG FRIENDS ITINERARY (JANUARY 25-26)
Thursday, January 25, 2024

10 AM / The Metropolitan Museum of Art with a multi-generational group led by Brenton Grom and Elizabeth Fox, Marcia Brady Tucker Fellow at the Yale University Art Gallery. This exclusive tour begins in the American Wing and continues through the Afrofuturist Period Room and the British Galleries, which reopened in 2020 following an innovative redesign by Roman and Williams, a firm acclaimed for its work in hotels, restaurants, and retail spaces. We’ll talk about the history of period rooms and antiques collecting, and what all of this means for contemporary design and the future of museums.
Lunch and afternoon activities on your own.
6:30 PM / Young Collectors’ Night at The Winter Show (Park Avenue Armory), where young design enthusiasts, collectors, and philanthropists step out for a night of mingling, perusing, and extraordinary fashion. We’ll chat with some dealers along the way in about objects in their booths and meet young leaders in decorative arts and design.
Drinks at the beautiful Chapel Bar, a Gothic-revival Sunday School chapel designed in 1867 by James Renwick, Jr., and redesigned as a bar in 2018 by Roman and Williams, the firm responsible for the British Galleries at the Met!

Friday, January 26, 2024

10:00 AM / Taylor Swift: Storyteller, an exhibition of the artist’s costumes, props, and ephemera at the Museum of Arts and Design. Our tour will be led by MAD staff, with additional insider commentary from Miranda Head, Events and Rentals Manager at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum, who was a member of the team making magic on Taylor’s global concert tour until she joined our team last fall!
Optional informal lunch and visit to Roman and Williams Guild, the flagship store of the design firm responsible for the Met British Galleries and Chapel Bar.

TICKETS
$300 per person. Includes admission to Young Collectors’ Night (a $250 value), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Arts and Design, as well as a complimentary 1-year Webb Deane Stevens Museum membership. Price does not include transportation, lodging, meals, or drinks. Click registration link for information on lodging options.

Holiday Candlelight Tours
2023-12-09 18:00 - 2023-12-16 21:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD OUT.
Experience three centuries of Christmas in our historic houses, beautifully lit by candlelight, on Saturday, December 9, and Saturday, December 16. Delight in a charming array of holiday decor spanning the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, including Christmas trees, greenery, handmade treasures, antique toys, and enchanting period ornaments, and discover how the roots of modern family traditions have grown over hundreds of years.
This nostalgic journey into holidays past will begin at The Silas Deane House, where New Year’s Day was the primary celebration in the 18th century. At the Joseph Webb House, learn how holiday decor and Christmas festivities began to develop into the 19th century. A cozy, traditional New England family Christmas in the 1840s will be on display in the Isaac Stevens House.
The Museum Gift Shop will also be open both evenings. Shop a wide array of fabulous holiday treasures, including books, ornaments, candles, children’s toys, handcrafted treasures, and hostess gifts.
Tours will be held at 6, 7, and 8 p.m. Groups are limited to 12. Tours include walking and stair climbing. NSCDA-CT and Museum Members: $25 / General Public: $30. Don’t delay, as tickets are sure to sell out! Pre-registration is required. Tickets for this event are non-refundable.

Members Holiday Open House
2023-12-03 13:00 - 15:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. THIS EVENT IS AT CAPACITY.
Join us on Sunday, December 3, for a special FREE members holiday open house from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Be among the first to see our houses decorated for the holiday season, mingle with other museum members, and meet our new Executive Director Brenton Grom. Enjoy beverages and light snacks, shopping for great gift items, and a special presentation at 1:30 p.m. from Brenton unveiling the Museum’s vision for the future. Registration is required. Not a museum member? Become part of our family today!
1:00 p.m. Enjoy holiday shopping, mingling, wine, and savory finger foods
1:30 p.m. Special presentation from Executive Director Brenton Grom on the future vision for the Webb Deane Stevens Museum
2:00 p.m. Silent Toast led by the President of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut
2:30 p.m. Walk through the decorated Joseph Webb and Isaac Stevens houses

Our holiday open house is in collaboration with the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut.

Thanksgiving Dinner
2023-11-12 14:00 - 17:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
The Webb Deane Stevens Museum warmly invites you to join us for the return of our annual Colonial Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, November 12, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Enjoy a sumptuous 18th century holiday feast with all the trimmings, served family style, in the historic Webb Barn. The meal, developed for the Museum by a food historian based upon old New England recipes, will be prepared and served by J. Restaurant of Hartford.
Thanksgiving Dinner tickets are $115 per person for NSCDA-CT and Museum members, $125 per person for the General Public. Purchase tickets here.
The Host Committee also invites you to special pre-meal champagne reception in the Silas Deane House at 1 p.m. at the Patron level. Guests will be able to mingle with Brenton Grom, the Museum’s new Executive Director, and Tita Hyland, President of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Connecticut, and enjoy period music performed by harpist Linda Traue, a member of the 5th Connecticut Regiment Revolutionary War reenactors.
Patron Level tickets are $250 per person (includes champagne reception and dinner). Purchase tickets here.
Reservations are required. Tickets must be purchased by Saturday, November 11, 2023. A portion of the dinner proceeds will benefit the Webb Deane Stevens Museum.
BILL OF FARE:
First Course
Potage of cabbage, leek, and onions / Artisanal bread / Blocks of butter
Main Course, Family Style
Roast turkey with sauce / Chine of pork roast / Succotash / Butternut squash stew / Mashed potatoes / Creamed onions / Cucumber salad/ Cranberry sauce
Beverages
Cider (Hard and alcohol free) / Red and white wine
Dessert, Served at Side Tables
Corn pudding / Apple and pumpkin pie / Coffee and Tea
LEAD SPONSORS
Essex Financial
ARI Accounting & Human Resources
BUSINESS SPONSORS
Assured Partners
The Atlantic Inn
The Blackbird House
Combined Technologies Corporation
D & D Market
Dutch Point Credit Union
Ironwood Landscaping LLC
We Care Computers LLC

HOST COMMITTEE
Charles T. Lyle, Honorary Chair
David W. Dangremond
Alice (Tita) & Douglas Hyland
Lee G. Kuckro
Don & Pam Peterson

Country House Conference
2023-11-04 09:00 - 17:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
The 2023 Country House Conference comes to Webb Deane Stevens the first weekend of November, with a daylong symposium and two days of touring house museums and private homes in Greater Hartford and along the Connecticut shoreline. The Webb, Deane, and Stevens Houses may not look much like country houses at a glance, situated at the center of Old Wethersfield, but the day’s speakers will explore a wider understanding of the “country” as a place of escape and imagination. During the 20th century, thanks to automobile travel and influencers like Wallace Nutting, historic towns and their houses became as much an escape as rural byways. The program includes a lecture by WDS Executive Director Brenton Grom.
This conference is an annual production of the American Country House Foundation and has been underwritten in 2023 by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.
November 3-5, 2023, with a symposium at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum on November 4. Registration cost: $65 per person. Ticket price includes lectures, lunch, a reception, and house tours. Purchase tickets here.
Full Schedule:
Day 1: House tours – Hill-Stead, Chick Austin, Russell House, Wetmore House
Day 2: Conference Day, Webb Deane Stevens
09:00 AM – Doors Open – Attendees register, coffee, and breakfast desserts (muffins, pastry etc.)
09:25 AM – Welcome
09:30 AM – Lecture 1 – Wetmore House and Early Connecticut Houses
10:15 AM – Lecture 2 – Asher Benjamin and Ithiel Town
10:45 AM – Lecture 3 – Lockwood-Mathews Mansion
11:30 PM – Lecture 4 – Hill-Stead
12:15 PM – Lunch Break
01:00 PM – Lecture 5 – Wallace Nutting and the Colonial Revival Movement
01:50 PM – Lecture 6 – Glass House
02:30 PM – Tour of. Webb House, Deane House, Stevens House,Buttolph-Williams House
05:00 PM – Evening reception
Day 3: Pardee-Morris, Florence Griswold, Hempstead Houses

The Alchemy of Justice: John Winthrop, Jr., and New England’s Other Witch: Presented by Walt Woodward
2023-10-26 18:30 - 20:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.
Before Salem, Connecticut colony was New England’s most aggressive prosecutor of witches. That was before John Winthrop Jr., renowned alchemist, and himself an occult practitioner, became involved in the colony’s witchcraft cases. His careful – but forceful – intervention in the case of Wethersfield’s Katherine Harrison transformed Connecticut from New England’s most aggressive killer of witches to a colony that ended witchcraft executions a generation before Salem.
Reception: 6 pm / Program: 6:30 – 8:00 pm.
About Walt Woodward
Walt Woodward is the Connecticut State Historian Emeritus and an Associate Professor of Early American History at the University of Connecticut. He teaches American Environmental History, Public History, and an honors American Studies course focused on the Connecticut River, as well as courses in Connecticut history. He is the author of Prospero’s America: John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemy and the Creation of New England Culture, numerous articles on New England history, and is a regular columnist for Connecticut Explored magazine. A former hit country music songwriter and performer, Woodward’s knowledge, sense of humor, and richly illustrated PowerPoint presentations have made him one of New England’s most sought-after public lecturers.

Witches & Tombstones Tour
2023-10-21 10:30 - 2023-10-28 14:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST!
An up close and creepy examination of all things funereal, our popular Witches & Tombstones Tour returns on Saturday, October 21, and Saturday, October 28.
The Witches & Tombstones Tour begins at The Isaac Stevens House with the wake of young Henry Stevens, who died at the age of three. Guests will learn about 19th-century mourning practices, how illnesses were treated, and how the living dealt with fears of being buried alive. Next, guests will visit the Wethersfield Ancient Burying Ground. See the graves and hear stories of those who met their end during Connecticut’s first mass murder and learn how gravestones warned the living of their own impending peril. The final stop on the Tour is The Buttolph-Williams House (c 1711), the setting for the award-winning children’s novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Hear stories about the notorious Wethersfield Witch Trials, which preceded the Salem Witch Trials by 30 years. The Buttolph-Williams House is a Connecticut Landmarks property.
Tour times: 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm.
*Please note: The Witches & Tombstones Tour includes climbing stairs and walking on uneven ground. This tour is not recommended for youth under age 12.

Panic in Connecticut: Accused Witches Have Their Say: A performance by Virginia Wolf of Herstory Theater
2023-10-19 18:30 - 19:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Travel back to the 17th century and hear what five women accused of witchcraft have to say. In this riveting one-woman play, actress Virginia Wolf brings them to life, fully costumed, fully incensed, fully frightened. Painstakingly researched, Panic in Connecticut: Accused Witches Have Their Say sheds light on a Puritan society that condemned so-called witches to their death 30 years before the hysterics of Salem, Massachusetts.
Between 1642 and 1693, at least 40 people in the colony of Connecticut were tried as witches, and at least 10 of them were hanged. Most of them were women.
Who were these women? How did they come to be accused of witchcraft? What was life like for them? Did they truly practice witchcraft? Who were their accusers, and why. How and why did the accusing of witches finally end…or has it? Many records are lost or non-existent, but we can learn enough to begin to understand what life was like back then, and why witchcraft was such an all-encompassing subject.
Reception: 6:00 pm. Performance in Webb Barn: 6:30 – 7:30 pm, Followed by a brief talkback. Tickets available HERE.
About Virginia Wolf
Virginia is founder of Herstory Theater, generally dedicated to bringing to life the unsung heroines of history, as well as producing a host of additional projects that both celebrate women and history, and a simple love of theater and performing (learn more at www.herstorytheater.com).
She has written and currently offers two original plays for performances, Panic in Connecticut: Accused Witches Have Their Say, about the Connecticut witchcraft panics of the 17th century, and Katy Leary and Mark Twain, bringing to life a dedicated maid to the Clemens family. In addition, she can be found onstage anywhere in Connecticut that will cast her! Most recently, she took on the role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment with the Diamond Theater Company, and Winnie in for Playland Productions. Other favorite roles are Barbara in August Osage County, Anna in Night Sky, and Joan in The Guys. She works as a voiceover artist and audio book narrator, and hosts “SpotLight, Radio Reveling in the Arts and Entertainment” on WLIS/WMRD.

Potions, Divination, and Protection Practices Through the Ages
2023-10-12 18:30 - 20:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Did you know that Eye of Newt refers to the humble mustard seed? Have you ever worn jewelry you believed would protect you or displayed a cinnamon broom in your home? Maybe placed a horseshoe above your front door. Or that a popular form of countermagic in Colonial New England entailed heating a victim’s urine in a bottle, sometimes with nails and pins to counteract a negative spell?
Learn how ‘potions,” divination, and cleansing/protection practices have evolved through the ages and how they are still being used today. Discover how plants such as those found in the Webb Deane Stevens Colonial Revival Garden could be made into healing elixirs, how the role of folk magic, divination through celestial and earthly events, dream interpretation, and indigenous influences shaped Colonial New England, and the importance of balancing, cleansing and protecting your energy and light essence.
This program is presented by Mystic Reiki Healing, Moonlit Path Healing, and The Replanted Witch in collaboration with The Blackbird House.
Reception: 6 pm / Program: 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Tickets available HERE.
Potions: Rachel Star Koladis, The Replanted Witch
As early as the 15th century, the word “potion” was understood to be a magical consumable liquid. They might be concoctions used to heal, bewitch, or poison people, made by a witch or other magical practitioner. Popular examples included preparations for attracting love or inducing a deep sleep. Witches and potions have become intertwined within the popular imagination, but why did the two become associated? There are hints in historical images of women wearing pointy hats, over a bubbling cauldron dating back to Medieval times, and in Greek mythology we find the story of Circe teaching herself how to use powerful herbs prepared as drinks or stews. Women have enjoyed a long association with potion making through the ages, as healers, alewives, and witches. Learn more about this fascinating history, as well as some of the plants found in the Webb Deane Stevens gardens that could have been used now and then for traditional healing and potions.
The Role of Folk Magic and Divination in Colonial New England: Erin Touponse, Mystic Reiki Healing
In Colonial New England, nothing was certain; at any given time, death could strike, the earth could tremble, and crops could fail. Early settlers depended on ancient folk magic, astrology, divination, and dreams/visions to assist in bringing order and sense to a time when personal and collective security was not prevalent. Learn how the role of folk magic, divination through celestial and earthly events, dream interpretation, and indigenous influences shaped Colonial New England.
Cleansing & Protection Practices: Victoria Selden Moonlit Path Healing
No matter the walk of life you come from, magick can be found in even the smallest mundane aspects of life. Throughout the ages, we have found a variety of ways to relish the magick in our lives, but not without polarity. Light and dark, positive and negative, yin and yang. Learn the importance of balancing, cleansing and protecting your energy and light essence.
THE PRESENTERS
About Rachel Star Koladis
Witchcraft and magic have been dominant forces from an early age and Rachel’s free time was spent practicing spells with her best friends. A natural offshoot of this interest is her passion for history, which was fostered as a homeschooler and attending every available program at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum – including colonial summer camp. During her college years, Rachel haunted the campus shrouded in her handmade woolen cape and took the only class she could find in witchcraft at The University of Hartford. At Trinity College, she worked to research and prepare a working bibliography on witchcraft-related holdings at the Watkinson Library on campus. After getting her certification as a vegan chef at The Natural Gourmet and studying herbalism with Rosemary Gladstar, her path became clearer. She started offering Witchcraft 101 workshops and hosting a book group called Witchy Reads at The Blackbird House in Wethersfield. In the future, she plans to offer a moveable supper club in celebration of The Wheel of the Year. In her free time, you can find Rachel foraging, researching plants and remedies, visiting historic sites, whipping up kitchen magic, and practicing her needlework.
About Erin Touponse
Erin Touponse owns The Blackbird House in Old Wethersfield. She is a Reiki Master/Teacher, Pranic healer, Certified End of Life Specialist, Tarot Scholar, Student of Shamanic Studies, author, and poet. Her book, Soul’s Journey – A Practical Guide to Reading the Tarot, was published in early 2023. Erin teaches Usui Reiki, Tarot, and Intuitive Development classes, and offers guided meditation and sound healing group classes with her husband, Marcel Touponse.
About Victoria Selden
Victoria Selden is a Reiki Master, Oracle Reader, and Intuitive Guide with Moonlit Path Healing. She leads workshops on Spiritual Cleansing & Protection and Moon Magick at The Blackbird House. Victoria is a long-standing student of esoteric and magickal works and loves learning and teaching to help others on their healing path.

The Witch in Old Connecticut: Righting a Troublesome Legacy
2023-10-05 18:30 - 20:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THIS EVENT. IT IS NOW SOLD OUT.
The Witch in Old Connecticut: Righting a Troublesome Legacy will touch upon Dr. Richard S. Ross III’s book Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663. Dr. Ross will also discuss his additional research and the contemporary events affecting the historical legacy of the witch panic in the Connecticut and New Haven colonies.
Reception: 6 p.m./ Program: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
About Dr. Richard S. Ross III
Dr. Richard S. Ross is Professor Emeritus and former College Librarian at Trinity College, Hartford Connecticut. He holds an MA from Northeastern University, an MLS from Simmons College, and a PhD from Boston College. He has taught at Boston College, Northeastern University, the University of New Hampshire, and Trinity College. He has held administrative Librarian positions at Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the University of New Hampshire, and Georgetown University.
Dr. Ross has given talks throughout Connecticut for various organizations, particularly libraries and historical association on Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663, his second published book. His first book was the well-reviewed Contagion in Prussia, 1831 the Cholera Epidemic and the Threat of the Polish Uprising. Dr. Ross recently wrote a brochure based on original research for the Ancient Burying Ground Association in Hartford entitled, Connecticut Colony Seventeenth-Century Witch Panic: A Guide to Connected Persons Interred in Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground 2022. Additionally, he has a third book in press: Body Snatching in Nineteenth Century New England and the Nation’s Capital, a Social History.

Behind the Scenes of Museum Interpretation: An Open Session with Debbie Harper
2023-09-28 17:30 - 20:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Behind the Scenes of Museum Interpretation: An Open Session with Debbie Harper
Here’s your chance to be a fly on the museum wall! We’re inviting our audience to sit in on a staff development workshop entitled “Excellence in Interpretation,” presented by Deborah V.R. Harper as the first step in our commitment to renewing the Webb Deane Stevens Museum visitor experience. During her extensive career at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, Ms. Harper was part of a team that developed and presented this content at museums across the East Coast. Her session at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum includes exercises on analyzing objects from multiple points of view, discussion of museum audience research gathered regionally and internationally, and a primer on the techniques of decorative arts “connoisseurship,” a term with a broader definition than one might expect. Members of the public audience will observe passively during the workshop but are invited to join in an open Q&A dialogue at the end of the evening. Light refreshments will be provided during an intermission.
About Debbie Harper
Debbie Harper dedicated the majority of her career to the Winterthur Museum, beginning as a guide. As Senior Curator of Education, she supervised the guide staff, created the guided tours for the house, garden, and estate, and assisted in planning exhibitions. She co-curated the recent exhibition “Lady of the House: Ruth Wales du Pont.” For more than 25 years she designed and coordinated the museum’s annual holiday spectacle, “Yuletide at Winterthur.” In 2022 she joined the Delaware Historical Society as Curator of Education at the George Read II House & Gardens in New Castle, where she oversees the interpretive staff, leads school programs, and plans public offerings, and currently serves as Interim Director. She is a frequent speaker on a wide range of topics including the Colonial Revival, floral design, servitude in the 19th century, foodways and entertaining in early America, the antiques market in the first half of the 20th century, and especially the history of Christmas in America.

The Curious Case of Silas Deane
2023-09-21 18:00 - 20:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
You’ve heard the story of the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution time and again, but what do you know about Wethersfield’s Silas Deane? For more than two centuries, Deane’s reputation has been clouded by allegations of malfeasance and profiteering at the expense of the Continental Congress. Many called him a traitor. But what if everything you think you know about Silas Deane is wrong? This fascinating discussion, led by Dr. Susan Holly, Senior Historian with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian, will dispel the mystery. Dr. Holly’s presentation will be followed by an open discussion moderated by State Historian Emeritus and Webb Deane Stevens Museum Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Walter W. Woodward.
Reception: 5:30 pm / Program: 6-8 pm. Get tickets here. The program will be held in the Webb Barn, located at the rear of the Museum campus.
The Curious Case of Silas Deane is underwritten by the U.S. Department of State and The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut.
About Dr. Susan Holly
Dr. Susan Holly is a senior historian with the United States Department of State’s Office of the Historian and has been researching the origins of early American diplomacy for a new documentary compilation scheduled for release in 2026. She previously served as executive producer for a DVD and curriculum series on various topics in diplomacy for high school audiences, wrote a short history of U.S.-China relations and other materials for the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Beijing, compiled volumes on Global Issues and a retrospective history on the Eisenhower era coup in Guatemala for the Foreign Relations of the United States. Before joining the office, she served in the Bureau of Public Affairs as an editor, speechwriter, and Department spokesperson for several international delegations.
Dr. Holly earned degrees in history and journalism from Marquette University, followed by a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. Other publications include a book on the Iran-Iraq War for Lloyd’s of London Press, as well as numerous newspaper articles. Her resume also includes participation in an elephant race, where she learned elephants could run fast.

Nature Journaling in the Fall Garden with Amanda Kimball
2023-09-16 10:00 - 12:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD OUT. Thanks for your interest.
When was the last time you let wonder slip into your day?
Join us for a few hours to slow down and deeply see what is present in the Amy Cogswell Colonial Revival Garden this fall, then translate those impressions to paper during this relaxing workshop.
We’ll start with a brief discussion about seeing/drawing and the calming benefits of not just being in nature, but deeply taking it in. Then we will move into the garden, letting our curiosity lead the way, noting what we are seeing with simple line drawing and watercolor. Techniques for sketching and painting will be covered with an emphasis on creative interpretation. The workshop will take place both in the garden (weather permitting) and inside the Waterman Room of the Holcombe Education Center.
Participants will learn the techniques of seeing/drawing, a free form, meditative mode of nature journaling. Demonstrations will include techniques for capturing texture, light, and shadow. Attendees will leave the workshop with a journal, art materials, and plenty of inspiration! All levels are welcome. Recommended for adults and teens ages 15 and older. Space is limited.
Workshop Registration: Members $35 / General Public: $40. Purchase here.
About Amanda
A collector of stones, feathers and all means of natural ephemera, Amanda is an artist and illustrator endlessly inspired by the natural world. She’s currently working on a yearlong project documenting the blooming cycles of the wildflowers, plants, and trees along the Brandywine Creek along with the history of land use in the area. Most recently, her writing and illustrations were featured in Delaware Today Magazine.

Concert in the Webb Barn with Shaded Soul
2023-08-25 18:00 - 20:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Shaded Soul is based in Connecticut and travels across New England to perform at weddings, corporate functions, outdoor concerts, and other events. R&B, Motown, Funk Soul, Jazz, Reggae, Swing, Rock, Pop, Disco, and Top 40 are only a few of the decades represented in their repertoire. The band is comprised of a group of talented musicians who have performed alongside the following artists; Gladys Knight, The 4 Tops, The Temptations, Sister Sledge, The Platters, The Stylistics, The Four Seasons, The Chiffons, Three Dog Night, The Marshal Tucker Band, Shirley Murdock, Jerry Butler, Cuba Gooding Sr., Jagged Edge, Slave, Shi, Millie Jackson, H-Town, SOS Band, Sarah Brightman, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, Andy Williams, Mario, Tony Bennett, Janis Joplin, The Beach Boys, Vic Damone, Steppenwolf, Brian Setzer, and Howie Mandel. Best of Hartford 2023 Winner: First Place / Best Wedding Band.
Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, picnic dinner and drinks, and get ready for a fun night of live music. The concert will be held rain or shine! If it rains, the concert will move inside to the Webb Barn.
Support for this concert comes from the Wethersfield Community Funds/Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
$10 per person / children under 12 FREE. Admission payable in advance or at the door. Your admission will support the Museum’s community programming. Click HERE to purchase.
Special guest vendor: Main Street Creamery & Cafe will be scooping up delicious ice cream treats from 6:30 to 7:30pm.
Don’t feel like packing a picnic dinner? Order a boxed meal from Luna Pizza Wethersfield. Choose from a sandwich or wrap, chips and a 20oz drink, or a salad and 20oz drink for $10. Call ahead (860-785-8948), and let them know you’re attending the Shaded Soul concert at the Webb Barn!
Parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the Museum campus at 211 Main Street in Wethersfield. On-street parking is also available.

Front Courtyard Concert with Kala Farnham
2023-08-11 18:00 - 19:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Join us for a free concert in the Front Courtyard from 6 – 7:30pm. Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic dinners, and enjoy a night of live music with folk singer-songwriter Kala Farnham. In the event of stormy weather, the concert will move to the Webb Barn.
Support for this concert comes from the Wethersfield Community Funds/Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Armed with a voice, an entourage of instruments, and a faith in the power of story, songstress and self-proclaimed “one woman tribe” Kala Farnham has set out into the world with one vision: To inspire and heal through the transformative power of musical storytelling. Farnham has performed at listening rooms across the country, garnering numerous awards and media attention, including 2020 Falcon Ridge Festival Emerging Artist, 2019 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest winner, 2019 Rocky Mountain Folks Fest honorable mention, and alumni of the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project. She has shared the stage with the likes of John Gorka, David Roth, Billy McLaughlin, Christine Ohlman, Don McLean, and more. Drawing from a classical education and a professional career in musical theater, Kala presents hallmark reinvention of the folk tradition. Her passion for fairytales, ancient history, and storytelling draws audiences from around the country into reinvented worlds of alternate times and places.
Kala currently serves as the 18th Connecticut State Troubadour, a role dedicated to promoting cultural literacy, creative arts and wellness in the community. She is the founder of the Quiet Corner Songwriters meetup, a music coach, and musical theater director, accompanist, and composer. In her community work, Kala serves an array of populations such as at-risk youth, those who suffer from mental illness, and survivors of trauma. She has taught, performed for, and worked with youth programs, students with learning disabilities, individuals recovering from addiction, and those who have lost loved ones to suicide.

Front Courtyard Concert with Ysanne
2023-08-04 18:00 - 19:30 | CT
Join us for a free concert in the Front Courtyard from 6 – 7:30pm. Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic dinners, and enjoy a night of live jazz and soul music with Ysanne. In the event of stormy weather, the concert will move to the Webb Barn.
Support for this concert comes from the Wethersfield Community Funds/Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Ysanne has a way of offering an experience to the audience in many different perspectives. From opening up for Juelz Santana to playing “Motormouth Maybelle” in Dean College’s production of Hairspray, there is no stage Ysanne can’t dominate! As a performer at Six Flags New England, Ysanne was cast as the original actress to play “Cleo” in the debut of Graveyard Groove in 2014, where she performed in front of nearly 10,000 people that season alone. In Fall 2021, Ysanne performed a one-woman show about Billie Holiday, Lady Day, at Emerson’s Bar & Grille at The Rep in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Concert in the Webb Barn with Locomotion
2023-07-28 18:00 - 20:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Locomotion has been a regional crowd favorite since June 1987. Over its 35-year history, the band has enjoyed success as one of southern New England’s premier private event, wedding, club, and dance party bands. Featuring two lead singers and a full horn section, Locomotion’s sound is distinctly diverse, with hot dance and party tunes from the 60’s right up to today. Locomotion covers hits from a huge array of artists and easily covers a variety of musical styles: rock, pop, R&B, Motown, disco, swing, jazz, and funk.
Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, picnic dinner and drinks (or take-out from your favorite restaurant) and get ready for a fun night of live music.
$10 per person / children under 12 FREE. Admission payable in advance or at the door. Your admission will support the Museum’s community programming. ALL PETS MUST BE LEASHED. Click HERE to purchase.
Special guest vendor: Main Street Creamery & Cafe will be scooping up delicious ice cream treats from 6:30 to 7:30pm.
Don’t feel like packing a picnic dinner? Order a boxed meal from Luna Pizza Wethersfield. Choose from a sandwich or wrap, chips and a 20oz drink, or a salad and 20oz drink for $10. Call ahead (860-785-8948), and let them know you’re attending the Locomotion Concert at the Webb Barn!
Parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the Museum campus at 211 Main Street in Wethersfield. On-street parking is also available.

Front Courtyard Concert with Harold Walker
2023-07-21 18:00 - 19:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Join us for a free concert in the Front Courtyard from 6 – 7:30pm. Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic dinners and drinks, and enjoy a night of live acoustic music with Harold Walker.
Parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the Museum campus at 211 Main Street in Wethersfield. On-street parking is also available. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held indoors in the Holcombe Education Center’s Waterman Room. All pets must be leashed.
Harold has been playing music for almost 30 years. He studied performance and songwriting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and spent years performing in and around the Boston area with a variety of different acts. His many influences include Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Lyle Lovett, and Prince to name a few. While performing mainly Classic Rock, Folk and Americana, Harold’s deep love of Soul and Funk music have shaped not only the way he approaches his own compositions but also how he interprets other artists’ material. For Harold, the best part about playing live music is being able to share the music he loves, and allowing others to see it through his eyes.

Front Courtyard Concert with Timmy Scott Noise
2023-07-14 18:00 - 19:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Join us for a free concert in the Front Courtyard from 6 – 7:30pm. Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic dinners, and enjoy a night of live acoustic music with Timmy Scott Noise. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved indoors to the Waterman Room in the Holcombe Education Center.
Parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the Museum campus at 211 Main Street in Wethersfield. On-street parking is also available. All pets must be leashed.
Performing for over fifteen years, Timmy Scott is skilled on multiple instruments including drums, bass, and acoustic and electric guitar.

Connecticut Summer at the Museum - Free Admission for Kids
2023-07-01 10:00 - 2023-09-04 16:00 | CT
Plan a family adventure back in time this summer, and bring the kids to the Webb Deane Stevens Museum! From July 1 to September 4, Connecticut children age 18 and under, plus one accompanying resident adult, will enjoy free regular admission to the Museum through the Connecticut Summer at the Museum program.
We’ll be hosting kid-friendly tours each Friday in August at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. These special tours are recommended for youth ages 8-13. Take our fun I-Spy Challenge and bring home a free writing quill (while supplies last).
For museum hours and tour times, please visit here. We are closed on Mondays and major holidays.
Our participation in this program is supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Office of the Arts, in partnership with Connecticut Humanities, with funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act as allocated by the state legislature.

Concert in the Webb Barn with The Savage Brothers
2023-06-30 18:00 - 20:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
The Savage Brothers, a Hartford-based band established in 1984, is a six-piece funkin’, rockin’, and rhythm group featuring a two-piece horn section. The band has performed all over New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and as far as Cancun, Mexico. The Savage Brothers have shared the stage with acts such as Tower of Power, Joan Osborne, James Cotton, Southside Johnny, NRBQ, The Guess Who, Marshall Tucker, Jimmy Vaughn, Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers, John Cafferty, Los Lonely Boys, and more. Best of Hartford 2023 winner: 2nd Runner Up / Best Wedding Band.
Bring your friends and family, lawn chairs, picnic dinner (or take-out from your favorite restaurant) and get ready for a fun night of live music. BYOB!
$10 per person / children under 12 FREE. Admission payable in advance or at the door. Your admission will support the Museum’s community programming. Click HERE to purchase.

Special guest vendor: Main Street Creamery & Cafe will be scooping up delicious ice cream treats from 6:30 to 7:30pm.

Don’t feel like packing a picnic dinner? Order a boxed meal from Luna Pizza Wethersfield. Choose from a sandwich or wrap, chips and a 20oz drink, or a salad and 20oz drink for $10. Call ahead (860-785-8948), and let them know you’re attending the Savage Brothers Concert at the Webb Barn!

Parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the Museum campus at 211 Main Street in Wethersfield. On-street parking is also available.

Connecticut's Historic Gardens Day
2023-06-25 12:00 - 16:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Enjoy complimentary refreshments, guided tours of the Amy Cogswell Colonial Revival Garden, and a free garden talk with the Museum’s Head Gardener Peter Winne. Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day guests will save $1 off the price of regular museum admission for our guided historic house tours and exhibitions in the Holcombe Education Center.
At 1 p.m. Head Gardener Peter Winne will talk about garden maintenance using examples from the Webb Deane Stevens Museum grounds. He will discuss tasks such as site preparation, dividing perennials, pruning, deadheading, and mulching, presented in a month-by-month framework. During his talk, Peter will provide homeowners with many useful tips on how they can make their own gardens look as beautiful as the Museum’s!
After finishing a degree in urban planning, Peter Winne spent his twenties pursuing a career in music while working gardening jobs on the side to support himself. In his thirties, music became a hobby and gardening a vocation when he took a job as Head Gardener at Elizabeth Park in Hartford. After five seasons in the nation’s oldest public rose garden, he started his own garden design business based in Greater Hartford.
Our garden is one of 16 distinctive historic gardens in Connecticut! Learn more about Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day here.

Enslaved for Life: A Research Update on the Life of Prince Mortimer with John Mills
2023-06-15 18:00 - 19:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
***WE HAVE REACHED FULL CAPACITY FOR THIS PROGRAM. Thank you for your interest.*** Community Historian John Mills returns with a detailed update on his extensive research into the life of Connecticut’s Prince Mortimer, a slave from Guinea who was brought to New England in 1730 when he was six years old and died at the age of 110 in 1834 while serving a life sentence at the Wethersfield prison. John will also talk about several upcoming projects surrounding individuals with similar untold stories. FREE.
6-6:30pm Wine and Cheese Reception (A suggested donation of $5 is welcomed.)
6:30-7:30pm Presentation
About John
Originally from San Diego, John Mills is a technologist by trade, but a genealogist and equity advocate by passion. The descendant of both southern and northern slaves, as well as the descendant of slave holders due to their relationships with female slaves, John focuses on unearthing little known people and stories of this country’s history in slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. John’s goal is honor the forgotten, as well as to apply critical thinking to our history as a means to find solutions to the many ripple effects today.

Revolutionary War Encampment
2023-05-27 10:00 - 16:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Our annual Revolutionary War Encampment will be held on Saturday, May 27, from 10 am to 4 pm on the Museum grounds. Join us for a day of free family fun – including reenactments from the 5th Connecticut Regiment, cooking and marching demonstrations, period music, vendors, and more. Plus, General George Washington will make an appearance, accompanied by a very special guest!
Event Schedule (Rain or shine!)
10:00am-4:00pm Demonstrations throughout the day will include:
• Surgeon’s table
• Various flag displays
• Weaving and sewing
• Soldier’s tent and display of equipment
• Colonial clothing
• Open hearth cooking and food
• Butter churning
• Colonial music
• Camp tours and information about the 5th Connecticut regiment and its history
10:30am Musket and drill demonstration
11:00am Children’s march with wooden muskets
1:00pm Battle skirmish with invading British Marines
2:00pm Cannon firing demonstration
Big Bear Trading Company will be on site throughout the day selling jewelry, gear and goods inspired by the 17th – 19th centuries.
George Washington and his horse, Nelson, will make a special guest appearance!
PLEASE NOTE: All scheduled activities subject to change.
Regular Museum admission applies for guided house tours and access to exhibitions in the Holcombe Education Center and Kuckro Gallery.

Quilts That Make My Heart Sing
2023-05-18 18:00 - 20:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
When she lectures, Ed Johnetta Miller talks about how she gets up the next morning to look at her work, and she says, “If it doesn’t make my heart sing, I take my scissors and cut up the quilt and rearrange it until I feel like my heart is zooming along.”
Enjoy this intimate journey through internationally recognized quilt/fiber artist Ed Johnetta’s work as she shares her influences and stories behind her stunning soulful creations. The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a wine and cheese reception at 6:00 p.m.
NSCDA-CT & Museum Members: $15 / General Public: $20. Purchase tickets HERE.
About Ed Johnetta Miller:
Ed Johnetta Miller is an internationally recognized quilt/fiber artist working with color, pattern, and textures of fabric. She enjoys the freedom, movement and power given to creating the sculpture of cloth. Combining the various colors, patterns and weaves of fabric is very exciting to her, and she tries to make each quilt as simple, essential, and direct as she can. She wants viewers to be able to visually enter her quilts and walk through fields of color to the still, contemplative space within.
Ed Johnetta’s work is like a spiritual journey that allows her to return to the dye table, sewing machine, quilting studiously after day with renewed anticipation of what beauty will evolve. At times, she is surprised with the results of a work that seems to have a life of its own, in spite of her intent. This reminds her of the truth that she is not in control of the process, she simply guides it. Ed Johnetta wants her quilts to reflect her positive view of life, as well as her love of fabric. For her, life is enriched with diverse experience and amazing opportunities that should be embraced and shared.
Widely exhibited in the United States and internationally, Ed Johnetta’s quilts can be found in numerous important museums, and private collections such as the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington DC, The Contemporary Quilt Museum, Golden Colorado, The Wadsworth Museum of Art, Hartford Ct., Nelson’s Mandela’s National Museum, Cape Town, South Africa, Safeco Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, Hartford Hospital, Michigan State University, Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, US Embassy in Cotonou, Benin, WestAfrica; and in 2019, she was commissioned by theWest Hartford Art League to design five quilts for a mural project on the grounds of the Art League.

Book Creations with Gay Ayers
2023-05-16 11:00 - 14:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Want to have some fun with folding and stitching your own small books using beautiful papers? Join artist Gay Ayers to make accordion books. You will learn how to fold them, make covers, stitch inserts, and have these creative endeavors for yourself, journals, or gifts. You can later put in photos, poems, recipes, or watercolors. Bring home at least two handmade books! Materials provided. Bring lunch and a good pair of scissors. Space is limited to 10 participants.
Ancient accordion-folded books have been around for centuries, having found them in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, and Burma. Book artists in this country often use this form for their art. The second style of book that also has Asian roots is the Japanese Stab Stitch Binding. It is a simple non-adhesive binding that is an excellent introduction to book binding. It’s a good place to start and can be used in numerous ways, such as travel journals. The stitching patterns on the cover can add ornamentation, as well as beads that we will incorporate. The uses are varied: gifts, journals, and objects of beauty.
NSCDA-CT & Museum Members: $40 / General Public: $50. Purchase workshop HERE.
About Gay Ayers
As a visual artist of a variety of things, such as book artist, paper artist, calligraphy, photography, miniature book collector and more, Gay is constantly creating and thinking up new structures or figuring out how others might have made something. She enjoys sharing ideas with others so that they, too, can find their own creativity, having taught in schools, art workshops, libraries, small and large groups.
Gay’s background consists of studying with many well-known artists, calligraphers, and photographers. She has, at times, taken yearlong classes with these people. For years she has attended International Calligraphy Conferences, which brought together teachers from the U.S.A., Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. This led Gay to study in Wales with Donald Jackson, O.B.E., the calligrapher to Queen Elizabeth II, and the incredible artist who, with 23 scribes, led the way for 14 years to create the complete handwritten St. John’s Bible, finished in 2014.
Gay’s photography world consisted of studying at the Santa Fe Workshops and the Maine Photo Workshop, along with individual photographers. It helped that she is a traveler who led an adventurous life on 5 of the 7 continents, freelancing and selling her work through a licensing agent, stock photography, and on her own. Much earlier on, Gay was active in The Embroiderers’ Guild of America, having achieved her master’s certification. Later she turned to textiles again, but in another form. She began a successful business of restoring and cleaning linens, vintage and contemporary.

Digging Deeper: Stories Told Through Needle and Thread
2023-05-06 10:30 - 15:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Join us for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes exploration of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum’s 18th and 19th century textile collection, including many never on public display. A companion to our Threaded Voices exhibition, Museum educators and guides Elizabeth O’Brien and Linda Pagliuco will share the histories behind the schoolgirls’ samplers, quilted and embroidered bedcovers, chair seats, hooked rugs, clothes, and accessories. These hand-stitched items were not only made to be useful, but they were skillfully and artistically created. In a time when educational opportunities for women and girls were limited, needle and thread became the primary way for their voices to be heard. These examples of functional art ask you to look beyond the surface to understand the visual stories told by these young girls and women.
Digging Deeper: Stories Told Through Needle and Thread will be offered at 10:30am and 1:30pm. Space is limited to 20 people for each time slot. The two-hour program includes the Threaded Voices exhibition and textile display in the Holcombe Education Center, the Silas Deane House, and the Isaac Stevens House. Some periods of prolonged standing and stair-walking will be required, with seating available before and after the house tours.
NSCDA-CT & Museum Members: $20 / General Public: $25. Purchase tickets HERE.

Spring Flower Workshop - Dahlia Three Ways: Tuber, Seed & Cutting
2023-04-20 10:30 - 12:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Dahlia Three Ways: Tuber, Seed & Cutting
Why pay for expensive plants? Katherine Holden and Jeanne Goodwin of the NSCDA-CT will show you how to grow and care for dahlias and how to inexpensively propagate them.
All equipment and materials are provided. Participants will take home up to five dahlias they have potted, as well as potted seeds and cuttings. This workshop will be held in the Webb Barn on the Museum campus.
NSCDA-CT & Museum Members: $50 / General Public: $60. Purchase workshop HERE.

Sarah Margu – A Child of the Amistad
2023-03-30 18:00 - 19:30 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
In honor of Women’s History Month, we share the story of Sarah Margu, performed by Museum Guide and Educator Tammy Denease. One of six children stolen from the shores of Africa, Margu – along with 52 others – would be held captive on the schooner Amistad. During the voyage into captivity, Margu would miss the rite of passage (Sande Society) into adulthood in her native Mendeland (now Sierre Leone). The nightmarish voyage through the middle passage would change Margu forever. After gaining her freedom, Margu went on to become the first African to graduate from college in America (Oberlin College, Ohio). Experience with Tammy Denease this poignant voyage from childhood denial to adult autonomy. The performance will be preceded by a wine and cheese reception from 6-6:30 PM.
NSCDA-CT and Museum Members: $10 / General Public: $15. Purchase tickets HERE.
About Tammy Denease
Tammy Denease was born in Columbus, Mississippi, where she spent countless hours with her great-grandmother and grandmother. Her great-grandmother was a former enslaved person and lived to be 125, and her grandmother lived to be a 100. Both were known storytellers and passed this gift along to their granddaughter. Tammy is the Executive Artistic Director of the Hidden Women Stage Company, where she writes, directs, and produces plays about Black women hidden in history. In her position as Museum Educator, Tammy instructs children through stories of Colonial History, Health, Medicine, Slavery, and Native History. When Tammy is not teaching, she is the Outreach Director for the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
