Avoiding disease takes care and social distancing, but walks, hiking and biking are still viable options to maintain good health.

Go back to basics and be creative; think outside the box when it comes to figuring out what to cook with the ingredients you have on hand.

FALLS VILLAGE — It is quite remarkable to consider that less than a year after the guns fell silent when World War I ended, Music Mountain in Falls Village began filling the air with sweet sounds for a country longing for a peaceful existence and to forget the horrors of “The War to End all Wars.”

If you travel to different regions of Italy, you learn the recipes are different depending upon the nuances of the province’s agriculture, climate, local culture and traditions.

LITCHFIELD — Wisdom House will host an artist’s talk and reception for “A Place For You,” an exhibition by Watertown photographer Lee Cantelon’s of his Nigerian refugees photos, Saturday, May 2, 3:30 to 5 p.m., at Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center of Litchfield, 229 East Litchfield …

KENT — Peeps, the multi-hued marshmallow bunnies that pop up at Springtime, are not just fluffy candies in an Easter basket. At the Kent Memorial Library, from the beginning of March through to April 8, a competition will feature the iconic sweets.

KENT — Patti LuPone, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Katherine Hepburn, Chita Rivera, Barbra Streisand, Mary Martin — these are but a few of the extraordinary actresses who Bob Avian has danced with or choreographed for Broadway shows. The full list includes practically every major actor who h…

Stop & Shop, for example, has more than 20 plant-based meat substitutes at its stores, and sales are rising.

BURLINGTON — Acting is a tough gig. You’re feeling the rush of being on stage in front of an audience one night and looking for work the next day. But there are always new opportunities in the field and AspenDream Productions is, well, as the company’s name proclaims, making the dreams of ac…

BRIDGEWATER — Jamie Bernstein didn’t really know she had a famous father until she and her siblings as children were watching an episode of “The Flintstones.”

WINSTED — The American Mural Project is hosting an open mill event March 15, allowing visitors to view the mural installation progress. Tours are offered at 1 and 2 p.m., eacih lasting about 45 minutes, at 90 Whiting Street in Winsted.

Did you know that an air fryer really isn’t a fryer? It is actually a convection oven that cooks by circulating hot air with a fan.

SHERMAN — The Sherman Playhouse season opens with a performance of three of Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays under the title of “3 By Tenn.” This production opens March 6. The performances runs March 13, 14, 15* (Matinee), 20, 21, 22 (Matinee), and March 27, 28. Fridays & Saturdays curt…

TORRINGTON – The magic of a story well told will come to life March 14 at Five Points Gallery, 33 Main St., Torrington. Sponsored by Canton’s Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Arts Fund, “Folktales and Myths” features Tom Lee, a professional storyteller with 30 years experience performing traditiona…

One author explores the wide variety of the fruit — zesting, juicing, peeling and drying oranges. It doesn’t stop there, with explanations of using orange liqueurs and extracts.

COLEBROOK — Colebrook’s Jim Flynn wanted to write a book for a long time. Of course, that doesn’t make him special. How many of us want to do the same thing? Well, Flynn has actually done it, coming out with his first work called “Be Sincere Even When You Don’t Mean It” early in 2020. He has…

From a chophouse to a rooftop bar and even a hot dog stand, this Florida city offers plentiful adventures in flavor.

GOSHEN — Goshen Players, Inc, will hold open auditions for its June 2020 production, “Lost In Yonkers” by Neil Simon. The production will be directed by Lea Dmytryck. Auditions will be held at 5 p.m. March 15 and 7 p.m. March 16, with callbacks if needed at 7 p.m. March 18. All auditions wil…

WEST CORNWALL — Many sons follow in their fathers’ footsteps, taking over a business, going into medicine or law that may have been a family tradition for several generations.

WEST HARTFORD — The Scholastic Art awards honored a Silver Key to Kingswood Oxford’s Nick Stolfi ’20 of Burlington for his meticulous artwork according to an email from the school. We catch up with the artist.

One cannot have enough recipes using chocolate, at least I can’t. I know you are out there, too! So, as promised last week, here are more recipes.

Whatever the reason, what better way to show your Valentine how special they are than by giving a gift of chocolate or other confections you made special for them?

WINSTED — Bubbles and Truffles, an annual tasting night hosted by Winsted’s Friends of Main Street , was held at Crystal Peak event facility Feb. 7.

SALISBURY — Teams are welcome to sign up for JumpFest’s Human Dogsled Race, an unusual winter event that is part of the 94th annual Ski Jumping Championships in Salisbury on Feb. 7-9.

TORRINGTON – The Warner Stage Company will present the musical, “Dogfight” by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, March 28-April 5.

Hear direct from some of the best in the local restaurant scene, including a recipe or two.

NEW MILFORD — Acclaimed author Nan Rossiter was born and lived during her youth in Pelham, N. Y. Her novels have, until now, taken place on Cape Cod, a favorite family vacation destination. But it is Litchfield County that the New Hartford resident feels most comfortable.

KENT — The Kent Memorial Library, which has moved to a temporary location until mid-February, recently hosted renowned sculptor Peter Woytuk for a special appearance in the Kent town hall on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The standing room only crowd was obviously not fazed by the chilly weather.

Food, wine and chocolate will be in plentiful supply at the annual event, sponsored by the Friends of Main Street.

WINSTED — Andrew Jack’s handmade Windsor chairs can be seen in the gallery at Northwestern Connecticut Community College’s Founders Hall, through Feb. 17.

TORRINGTON — For Susan Matz there is always a new door to open and a new artistic discovery to be made. She is vibrant and positive and the magenta streak in her gray hair indicates that she is very much her own person. That is how she came to create Water Street Potters, an affordable studi…

TORRINGTON — The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital (CHH) Auxiliary is featuring the artwork of Claudia Lefcheck now through early February in the hospital’s main lobby hallway, 540 Litchfield St.

Even more recipes for savory, hearty soups that are sure to bowl you over.

ROXBURY — The state has seen a surge of wildly popular farm-based craft breweries crop up in recent years, thanks in part to the Connecticut Farm Brewery Bill which was signed into law in 2017.

The holidays are over and winter has set in. My cold-winter night, quick dinner-go-to is a piping hot and steamy bowl of soup.

Jaxx, whose full name was Jumping Jack Flash, was a popular animal act for the Met, and appeared in a number of Met productions including Doster’s favorite opera, Robert Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.”

SHARON — Steeples of Litchfield County, a new exhibition of sketches by Steven M. Goldberg, FAIA, at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum will open Saturday, Jan. 25 and remain on view through Saturday, April 25. This unique exhibition explores the beauty and variations of historical ecc…

As an attendee at several food trade shows each year, I observe the innovative products that I feel will be trending in the coming year.

NEW PRESTON — Join the Loft Gallery as it hosts works by Newtown watercolorist, Grace Scharr McEnaney. The Loft Gallery will highlight a wide range of her work, mixing traditional detailed images from her travels both near and far, with more vivid, imaginative abstract pieces, as the two sty…

KENT — The Kent Memorial Library announces that Gaylordsville artist Susan Grisell will have her paintings displayed in the Library’s temporary gallery, beginning Jan. 15 in an exhibit titled People, Places and Things.

FALLS VILLAGE — The David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main Street, in Falls Village, will host a reception with refreshments on Saturday, Jan. 18 from 4 to 6 p.m., for “A Walk Through Time,” an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Rena Fine Art. The exhibition will be on display from January 14 t…

ROXBURY — Roxbury artist and teacher Peter Frisbie will present his beautiful, imaginative watercolor paintings in “The Artist’s Dance,” an exhibit at the Minor Memorial Library, 23 South Street, Roxbury, beginning with an opening reception for the public on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 2 to 4 p.m…

KENT — The Kent Memorial Library is pleased to announce a sculptor talk by Peter Woytuk on Saturday, Jan. 18 immediately following the KLA Annual Meeting at 2 p.m. at the Kent Town Hall, 41 Kent Green Boulevard, Kent. (snow date for annual meeting and sculptor talk is Saturday, Jan. 25.)

LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss Concert Series welcomes pianist Leonel Morales in concert on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in Katherine M. Elfers Hall, Esther Eastman Music Center, at the Hotchkiss School. Morales is a frequent guest of the Hotchkiss stage, and an audience favorite.

Recently, I attended the 11th Annual Latke Festival at the Brooklyn Museum. It was on the itinerary of the first New York City Culinary tour I led. Many of you know I have hosted “Worth Tasting,” the culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven for over a decade. Many on the New Haven tour as…