Education foundation, historical society to host houe tour

Tickets available now for house tour

The Northwest CT Chamber Education Foundation and the Torrington Historical Society are proud to present the 2017 Torrington House Tour.

The Torrington House Tour will be held on Saturday, Sept. 23 with a Preview Party on Friday, Sept. 22.

This year’s tour includes six homes and one garden ranging in age from 1845 to 1974. The homes offer an array of style, size and personal décor. The hour tour homes have been lovingly cared for and are literally a tour through Torrington’s history. Some of the featured homes will have music and refreshments. The tour starts at the Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce office, 333 Kennedy Drive, Torrington and there are optional shuttle buses available that will run throughout the day.

Kick off the House Tour in style with a fabulous preview party! The Preview Party will be held on Friday, September 22nd from 5-9 PM at the Gerald Incandela Studio in Torrington. From 5-7 p.m., you’ll take the bus on a tour of the featured home and then return to the Studio for the party from 7-9 PM. The Preview Party includes: food, drinks, music and great ambiance. Preview Party attendees also receive free admission to the Saturday tour.

The Torrington Historical Society and the Northwest CT Chamber Education Foundation have organized the Torrington House Tour to showcase some of the many attractive homes in Torrington in order to celebrate Torrington’s history and to raise funds for educational programs.

The presenting sponsor of the Torrington House Tour is Eastside Electric, Inc.

Tickets for the Preview Party are $75, Tour tickets are $30 in advance, $35 the day of. Tickets are available at the Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce and the Torrington Historical Society and online at torringtonhousetour.org.

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Phyllis Webb

In 1999, Phyllis Webb and her husband Dale joined the ranks of entrepreneurs. The couple launched a unique business, The Magic Fluke, redesigning and manufacturing ukuleles. Friends and family shook their heads as the ukulele had fallen out of favor years before and it was a gamble. Looking back, they were at the forefront of the current ukulele craze, now popular worldwide. Proud and passionate to be manufacturing here in the USA, their journey has been fulfilling, and exciting, but not without challenges.

The first 10,000 Fluke and Flea Ukuleles were built in the basement of the couple’s home in New Hartford. They moved out of the house and into a historic service station down the street to build the next 30,000. In 2010, with the need to expand once again, they looked to the north, and found a wonderful post and beam building in Sheffield, Massachusetts, the gateway to the magical Berkshires and the place Phyllis and Dale now call home.

They have diversified their product line to include the Firefly Banjo Ukulele, the Timber Bass, and Cricket Violin. The Magic Fluke sources material and parts as locally as possible from small vendors, mostly in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

Phyllis is very involved in her community and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.