Art, Theater and Live Music for One Winter Weekend in Norfolk

In its seventh year, A Weekend in Norfolk (WIN) is a celebration of the creative community in Norfolk, Conn. In keeping with the historical legacy of Ellen Battell Stoeckel, who helped bring the arts to Norfolk by donating portions of her 78-acre estate to Yale University’s School of Music, A Weekend In Norfolk was first conceived by women.

WIN co-founder, Sue Frisch, explained, “I had worked with a group to put out the Norfolk Map and Guide on paper. It had pictures of places and things to do in Norfolk, and it occurred to me one day as I was going to the post office that we should do something to get people here to sample everything in the guide. I walked into the post office, met Holly Gill, and started talking to her about it. She liked the idea and the two of us walked up to the library, still talking about it. There we met Ruth Melville, who loved the idea, so the three of us went to work, proposing the concept to people and groups, and here we are! Our first WIN was in the summer of 2016. We started the winter version in February 2018.”

This year’s winter Weekend in Norfolk, held on Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26, features guided wildlife tracking in Great Mountain Forest, the Farmers Market in Battell Chapel, art shows by Caryn King, Lilly Woodworth, and Ani Jenkins, tours of the five Tiffany stained glass windows at Battell Chapel which were installed in 1929 as a gift from Ellen Battell Stoeckel, the premiere of two one-act plays by Sara Heller and Marinelle Crippen at the Norfolk Library, a 100-year retrospective of Main Street at the Historical Society, and all-day ice skating capped off with a bonfire and hot chocolate at the town ice rink.

When asked about challenges and successes in producing WIN, Frisch replied, “Everyone supports WIN, both with donations that cover the expenses and by putting on events. Donors have been very generous and so have the event organizers. The town itself has been very helpful; for example, it acts as our fiscal agent, and the Economic Development Committee has helped with money.”

“Perhaps the biggest challenge was Covid, but we came up with the idea of doing a virtual festival to keep WIN and Norfolk in people’s minds. Today we have a YouTube channel with more than 65 videos on it and are adding more. Videos are accessible from the virtual events page on our website or directly on our YouTube channel,” Frisch continues.

What do Frisch and her co-producers on the WIN committee want the public to know? “Norfolk is a friendly place and it likes visitors, so almost all the events are free. Our website address has all the events and descriptions posted, as well as a printable program and other information.”

A Weekend in Norfolk, a two-day winter festival, will host free events on Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26, with a ticketed evening live music featuring Mike Cobb and Trina Hamlin on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Manor House Inn. For a listing of scheduled events go to www.weekendinnorfolk.org.