If you could not attend but want to help, check out the suggestions listed on their website.

The Lunchtime Lecture Series

Monday, Oct 6th
Centinel Hill Hall
12noon-1:00pm
By popular demand…
Musings on the Presidential Election
Prof. Derek Maxfield
Capital Community College

Tuesday, Oct. 7th
Old North: Cemetery in Distress
Old North Cemetery, founded in 1807 is the third of Hartford’s early burial grounds; it is the resting place for some of Connecticut’s early politicians, Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans, African-Americans and home to Hartford’s first Catholic burial ground.

Some people resting in this cemetery are: Frederick Law Olmsted, The Reverend Horace Bushnell, Daniel Watkinson, Daniel Wadsworth, John Colt, Mason Fitch and Alice Cogswell, William Wolcott Ellsworth and Samuel Bowles. In addition to the above mentioned, there are veterans from every war from the Revolutionary War to World War II—with many black Civil War soldiers and veterans (most from the 29th Connecticut Volunteers).

Tuesday, Oct. 21st
Animation Careers and the Digital Divide
Prof. Ken Carpenter
Capital Community College

From there, we attempted to visit Sadhna’s, which was closed. Window shopping was still fun. It looked like tables were being set up for a wedding reception in the center of the G. Fox building, outside of the Gershon Fox Room.

Being curious, we took a tour of Hartford 21 to see how the other half lives. There was a fitness center, massage room, library/den with a big screen tv, conference room, pool table, and room for parties. In the lobby, there was a small room full of “emergency” items like Tums, bags of chips, and laundry detergent. We were shown a 2-bedroom apartment on the 23rd floor which offered an amazing view of the city. All of the amenities were nice, but it was the view that got my attention. Generally, I am not an higher than four or five stories up in any given building, so this was a rare perspective for me. The apartment itself was beautiful, as it should be for over $3000/month. Everything in it was shiny and new, and the woman showing us the place was very polite, even though she was told that we were just curious, and not actually interested in moving there. Personally, it seemed more like a place that’d be nice to live for a few weeks, but I could not imagine that kind of lifestyle, plus, I like buildings to have more character. There was one thing that the saleswoman mentioned that I thought did fit my lifestyle very well–residents are able to give the concierge a list of people who are *not* allowed in the building, you know, like ex-boyfriends.

From there, we wandered over to the Hartford Public Library for the main event–Sari Katha: Sari Stories. This was the first fashion show that I have been to in Hartford, and was pleased with it, since it was more about giving the stories about where each sari style might come from, rather than about designer names. They did have pictures of sari couture though! SNEHA, “a support group for women of South Asian origin,” was the organization behind the show. In the program, they write: “Saris are often described as traditional attire by the mainstream media in the United States. Yet for those of us who wear saris–regularly or for special occasions–saris are part of our contemporary apparel. Every time we wear a sari we become a visible symbol of our community. Saris link us to women in our countries of origin and to thousands of years of tradition.”

The models ranged in age from young high schoolers to women of a certain age. Instead of struttin it, the women sort of swayed to the background music. While each woman modeled her sari, we were given background information and referred to a map of India.


From there, I took a little walk down the Riverfront. The Celtic festival was canceled because of the rain, so there were empty tents set up and a few wayward people wandering who looked like they might not have gotten the memo of the cancellation. One of the Lincoln Sculpture Walk statues (the turkey) had been removed for minor repairs.

Later, I met up with friends from out-of-town at The Russell, on the corner of Pratt and Trumbull. I had eaten their pasta at a First Thursday event at the Wadsworth, and I had been into the building back when it was Xando’s, but I had not been into The Russell proper before. It was definitely as romantic a setting as every review claims it to be. Too bad I wasn’t actually on a date for this. The friends I was with were making sad attempts to hit on our waitress, perhaps under the influence of the plush seating and red lights. I had a vegetarian wrap and mango sorbet. They had wild mushroom ravioli. We sat around raving about the food and waitress for a few hours. In fact, my friends were so impressed that they thought the $10 they paid to park was worth it for the experience.

If I wanted to extend the day, I could have then rushed over the see a concert at Real Art Ways. There’s no shortage of things to do here.