Italian classes begin in September

TORRINGTON » The Sullivan Senior Center, 88 E. Albert St., will offer two Italian classes beginning in September.

Advanced Italian, Fridays, Sept. 8-Dec. 1; 9:15 a.m.11:15 a.m.; 12 sessions. Grammar, culture, reading, conversation, for those with a strong vocabulary and good grammar skills. Fee: $85 seniors/$100 others. Textbook and reader to be announced.

Intermediate Italian, Tuesdays, Sept. 12-Dec. 5; 2:304:30 p.m.; 12 sessions; Grammar, culture, reading, conversation, for those with a verb skills and a good vocabulary. Fee: $85 seniors/$100 others. Textbook: Italian Two and Three Years Workbook by Tursi and Cincinnato, second edition, available online (out of print). Reader to be announced.

The instructor for both classes is Dona Frauenhofer. For more information, call 860- 489-2211.

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, South St., Litchfield, will be offering two Italian classes beginning in September.

Basic Italian II, Thursdays, Sept. 14-Nov. 16; 2:454:45 p.m.; 10 sessions; grammar, culture, conversation; a beginner class for those who have had an introduction to Italian. Fee: $90 seniors/$105 others. Textbook: Learn Italian the Fast and Fun Way by Marcel Danesi, available at Barnes and Noble and online.

Advanced Beginner Italian, Fridays, Sept. 8-Dec. 1; 12 sessions; Fee: $90 seniors/$105 others. For those with basic grammar skills and a basic vocabulary. Textbook: Prego! An Invitation to Italian, 3rd edition (out of print), available online.

The instructor for both classes is Dona Frauenhofer. For more information, call 860- 496-8041.

Nature center program focuses on fungi

WOODBURY » The autumn months bring with them a bounty of nuts, ripe fruit, thickening roots and tubers, and an astounding array of edible mushrooms and fungi. On Saturday, Aug. 26 at 10 a.m., Flanders Nature Center presents a program on these plants and mushrooms, led by The 3 Foragers, a family from southeastern Connecticut who have been foraging wild foods and fungi, and blogging about their adventures, for over ten years. They are authors of “Adventures in Edible Plant Foraging: Finding, Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Native and Invasive Wild Plants”, and were featured in Yankee Magazine, discussing family-friendly and sustainable foraging.

They will share their knowledge on the edible plants and fungi of autumn with a slideshow of original photos and recipe ideas. Participants will learn how to identify, sustainably harvest, and prepare the wild foods of the fall season.

This will be followed by a short walk around the nature center where the group will hunt, identify, and determine the edibility of some of the plants and mushrooms found there.

The program will be held at the Flanders Sugar House which is located a quarter mile up from the intersection of Flanders and Church Hill Road in Woodbury. Children are welcome.

The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Those interested may register online at www.flandersnaturecenter.org or call 203-263-3711, ext. 10, for more information.

Taste of Litchfield is for ‘foodies’

MORRIS » Litchfield is home to so many terrific restaurants and talented chefs. TownVibe and Litchfield Magazine have announced plans to celebrate Litchfield’s food scene by organizing what’s sure to be the food-lover’s party of the year—Taste of Litchfield—on Sunday, Sept. 10, 1- 4 p.m. at South Farms in Morris.

Foodies and other fun-loving folk can enjoy tastes and sips from more than fifteen restaurants and specialty markets from the Litchfield area, all in the beautiful surroundings of South Farms in Morris. In addition to fine cuisine, craft cocktails, artisanal wine, craft beer, and sweets, there will be live music and roving entertainment. “Good things happen when people connect over good food,” says TownVibe publisher Geoffrey Morris.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit local area food banks.

Pre-purchased general admission is $50, which includes food, drink, and entertainment all afternoon. A VIP pass is $100 and provides food, drink, entertainment, private parking, and access to a lounge with TV and food service. Children 15 and under are $20. Day-of-the event tickets are $60 for general admission and $110 for the VIP lounge. Tickets can be purchased at tasteoflitchfield.com.

For more information contact TownVibe at 203- 4311708 or Mary Beth Lawlor at mblawlor@townvibe.com.