HVRHS students sign on to Irish artist’s project

FALLS VILLAGE — Irish artist Patrick Dunning brought “The Signature Project” to Housatonic Valley Regional High School Friday, March 23.Downing, who combines biography, storytelling, artistic vision and comedy in his multi-media presentation, is 20 years into the project — a mural 76 feet long and 36 feet high, depicting a stylized sun in the center and the earth, moon, stars, the galaxy and birds around it.What is truly unusual about the project is that the basic building blocks are signatures — thousands of them, in different colors.Dunning showed one of the panels, each with room for 7,000 signatures. At the end of the presentation, students had the chance to add their signatures to the work.Dunning specializes in splashy projects. His “Irish Vision,” an image of half an eye on a large piece of fabric suspended under a bridge in Dublin, was only “complete” for 8 minutes, when the tide rose enough (and the water was sufficiently still) to reflect the bridge hanging, providing the image of a giant, complete eye underneath. The bird and the moon sections of “The Signature Project” are complete. Dunning said that 300,000 people have already contributed their signatures.

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Water main cleaning in North Canaan

NORTH CANAAN – Aquarion Water Company today announced a water main cleaning project in the company’s North Canaan system. The project is scheduled to take place from Monday, April 1 through Tuesday, April 16, and is being undertaken to ensure customers in North Canaan continue to receive the highest quality water.

The cleaning for April 1 and April 4 (subject to change) will take place on the following streets:

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Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

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Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

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Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

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