The Ticking Tent: A one-day treasure hunt at Spring Hill Vineyards

Ticking Tent brocantes-style market from 2024.
Provided
Ticking Tent brocantes-style market from 2024.
Shop the original brocantes-style, or elegant flea market, The Ticking Tent on Saturday, May 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Spring Hill Vineyards (229 Bee Brook Road, New Preston, Connecticut).
Don’t miss this one-day shopping extravaganza featuring decorator treasures, antiques, and artisan objects. The Ticking Tent happens twice a year in different locations. More than 50 vendors will be “under the tent” including talented artisans, makers and bespoke brands from around the globe such as: Arilloom, Cabana, Cherval Studio, Chairish vintage fine jewelry, Dumais Made, Eleish van Breems Home, Philip Gorrivan, RT Facts, The Green Vase, The Barns by Ali Mahon.
According to Modern Luxury media, “The Ticking Tent co-founders Christina Juarez and Benjamin Reynaert have transformed the passion of the hunt into a premier shopping destination rooted in the art of discovery.”
Christina Juarez is a luxury and interior design consultant with 35 years’ experience. She worked with Oscar de la Renta, and as senior VP at Christian Dior for communications and special events for North America. Juarez and her friend Benjamin Reynaert, founder and creative director of Benjamin Reynaert Creative and market director of Elle Décor, created The Ticking Tent together.
Benjamin Reynaert and Christina Juarez,co-founders of The Ticking Tent lena nicholson
Christina wrote of its origins, “We are both consumed with the thrill of the hunt, identifying and shopping for beautiful, unique finds with provenance, or made by hand by artisanal creatives.Anything under a tent is usually an indication that something wonderful can be found.Ticking fabric is reminiscent of the Marches aux Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris — the world’s largest flea market — where it was used as frequently as muslin for upholstering bedding and furniture. Our special ticking cloth was created for us by Schumacher.”
From Elle Décor: “This year I’m definitely planning on heading to the Ticking Tent, an artisan and decor fair that is popping up in New Preston, Connecticut on May 3.” There is early bird shopping and breakfast is available from 9 to 11 a.m. NOTE: The Green Vase paper flower workshop with Livia Cetti at 3 p.m. is limited to 15 people.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, check their website: thetickingtent.com
One of the entries in this year’s Community Day Scarecrow Contest, Ichabod Hiccup, at left, seems to be particularly enjoying the solo performance of Wil Greenstreet, whose strolling pop-up saxophone performances delighted visitors to the village on Saturday, Sept. 20. For more photos, turn to Page A8.
A popular feature of the Millbrook Library lawn area was a carpet of children’s books being given away for free. Appealing to little Julien Gulbrandsen, 3, of Pleasant Valley was the story of a pancake, being read by her mother Lauren Gulbrandsen. It is likely that the little book went home with them.Photo by Leila Hawken
Family fun and community were the order of the long-planned Community Day, on Saturday, Sept. 20, as village turned out to welcome visitors from throughout the region for a day of activities, contests, parades, displays, sales and the joy of being together.Photo by Leila Hawken
Top row, left to right, Caroline Kinsolving, Christopher McLinden, Dana Domenick, Reid Sinclair and Director Hunter Foster. Bottom row, left to right, Will Nash Broyles, Dick Terhune, Sandy York and Ricky Oliver in Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”
Opening on Sept. 26, Agatha Christie’s legendary whodunit “The Mousetrap” brings suspense and intrigue to the Sharon Playhouse stage, as the theater wraps up its 2025 Mainstage Season with a bold new take on the world’s longest-running play.
Running from Sept. 26 to Oct. 5, “The Mousetrap” marks another milestone for the award-winning regional theater, bringing together an ensemble of exceptional local talent under the direction of Broadway’s Hunter Foster, who also directed last season’s production of “Rock of Ages." With a career that spans stage and screen, Foster brings a fresh and suspense-filled staging to Christie’s classic.
The Playhouse’s casting includes Dana Domenick of Falls Village who leads the cast as Mollie Ralston, the newlywed innkeeper with a secret. Reid Sinclair of Norfolk plays Giles, her husband and partner in hospitality — and maybe in something more sinister. Will Nash Broyles from Lakeville plays the eccentric and enigmatic Christopher Wren, and Sandy York of Sharon will play the role of the imperious Mrs. Boyle. Dick Terhune (Litchfield), Caroline Kinsolving (Salisbury), Ricky Oliver (Pawling), and Christopher McLinden (also Lakeville) round out the cast as the play’s increasingly suspicious guests — and one very determined detective.
As always, Sharon Playhouse has gathered a top-tier creative team to match its cast. The Swader brothers (Christopher and Justin) return with their signature scenic designs, while Kathleen DeAngelis’s costumes and Bobbie Zlotnik’s wigs promise to anchor us firmly in postwar England, even as the plot spirals into timeless psychological suspense. Lighting by Wheeler Moon and sound design by Graham Stone will help turn the cozy theater into a stage crackling with tension.
If you’ve never seen “The Mousetrap,” here’s what you need to know: it’s the murder mystery that truly defined the genre. Premiering in London’s West End in 1952 and still running strong over 30,000 performances later, Christie’s ingenious puzzle unfolds in a snowbound manor house where everyone has something to hide, and no one is safe from suspicion. Its final twist is famously kept secret by audiences — a tradition of theatrical discretion that only deepens the sense of shared experience.
“The enduring success of ‘The Mousetrap’ lies in its suspense, yes, but also in its structure,” said the Playhouse’s Artistic Director Carl Andress. “It’s a masterclass in storytelling. And with Hunter Foster leading this incredible cast of local artists, we know our audiences are in for an evening of mystery, laughter, and yes, plenty of gasps.”
Tickets are available now at SharonPlayhouse.org.