Newsletter: May 2018

What’s New?

The month of April has brought some really unpredictable weather patterns to the point where it seems Winter will never lose it’s grip on us and the sporadic mild days are too few and far between to give us hope that Spring is here to stay. Those of us that have been born and raised in New England know that at this time of year anything is possible. Let us take heart that as the calendar moves forward the Winter-like days will be fewer and farther between making room for the glorious days of Spring renewal.

MANSION NEWS

We are happy to announce the grape arbor is up and running and as beautiful as ever thanks to the work of Jim’s Welding and our own grounds crew, George and Cesar. I look forward to the next wedding ceremony to take place under its lush bowers.

April has been a busy month of rentals at the Mansion. We have seen the intimate wedding of Michelle and John, a Celebration of Life for the matriarch of the Viegas family, the wedding celebration of Shanyce & Jacob, as well as Shruti & Aniket, a glamour photo shoot using the Mansion as the backdrop and last but not least the 75th birthday celebration for Dick Wolf.

May is shaping up to be a bit busier with our annual non-profit rentals, one wedding, and a grad party.

We could not have had such a successful month without the dedication of our Event Staff; Zach, Ginny, and Kaitlynn as well as the hard working grounds crew; George and Cesar, and the generous support of our financial partners who continually donate their time and resources to help keep Tarrywile Park & mansion on the map.

Please consider Tarrywile Mansion for your next event. For more information on renting the Mansion visit us at; Mansion Rentals.

PARK NEWS

Challenges are a constant thing here at Tarrywile. The challenge of how to fund the Park, the challenge of day to day maintenance with the smallest staff ever, the challenge of people who don’t have the same love and respect for this beautiful property that many of you do.

The last six weeks have brought many challenges here at Tarrywile. The Grape Arbor collapsed under heavy snow in March and someone felt they could desecrate the Sandy Moy Memorial Labyrinth. Our annual funding appeal is under way and we still have $8,000 to fundraise. Added onto all that is the news that we will be cut another $10,908 by the City of Danbury, for a total cuts over the last 10 years of $107, 755, which is a little over 1/3 of our budget.

So how do we face these challenges, by asking for help. As I type, long time Tarrywile supporter Jim’s Welding has completed the repairs to the Arbor and donated a large chunk of the repair costs. Last Friday during the WCSU Day of Service, we had several students work on the Labyrinth and searched the surrounding woods for bricks. Some were found on Friday and an anonymous volunteer over the weekend found another 10 or so bricks. So instead of having to buy 40 we are now looking at about only 10.

Fast Facts: Tarrywile is home to over 80 species of birds and 30 species of butterflies. Take some time on your next walk to see if you can identify any of them. Check out the bird identification board in the farm area. Check in on Facebook and let us know what you saw!