CONNECTICUT HAPPENINGS
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By Jon Roe and Dory Dzinski BUSINESS MICHAEL SMULDERS closed the Garden of Light Natural Foods Market in Glastonbury at the end of July. The store has been serving the health food market in Glastonbury since 1992 and in 2000 a second store was opened in Avon. At its height, Garden of Light employed 25 full and part time workers. The store is a victim of the economic downturn, but was also hurt by the opening of a nearby Whole Foods in 2008. Also hurting small independents is the trend to carrying healthier foods in most of the large chain supermarkets. Small stores have found it difficult to survive, but the Avon store will remain open. ELIZABETH D. ALEKSINAS has opened Bramasole - A Fitness & Wellness Retreat located high above private rolling meadows and surrounded by a panoramic view of Connecticut's lush Litchfield Hills. Here you can enjoy one of their daily yoga or fitness classes, unwind with a private yoga or workout session, renew with a healing spa treatment, or relax as an overnight guest. Beth has been involved in the fitness and wellness industry since 1981. She is a certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Yoga Teacher, Reflexologist, and a Reiki Master Teacher. Also available are massage, Reiki, Qigong, and reflexology. Bramasole is located in Morris, CT. Beth can be reached at (860) 567-0219 or visit www.bramasolewellness.com. The Enlightened Way Wellness Center has opened in Tariffville by founders AMY and MARK BANNON. Their mission is to provide an environment for the people of their community where they can learn to shed the noise, stress, and rigors of the outside world, giving them the tools and healing principles to nurture their own health, restore balance and create greater joy and fulfillment in their lives. Much of their outlook is based on the teachings of Deepak Chopra; they are both graduates of the Chopra Center. Offered are yoga, massage, Ayurvedic body treatments, meditation, children's relaxation programs, wellness programs, events and more. The center is located at The Mill at 2 Tunxis Road (at the intersection of Rte 315 & Rte 189) in Tariffville (Simsbury). (www.enlightenedway.com) PASSINGS SUSAN MIRABITO CARUSO, 51, of Waterford passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on May 8. After raising her children, Susan became the director at Valley Shore Domestic Violence Services. She then traveled to Africa and India as a volunteer with Cross Cultural Solutions, working both in an orphanage and at a Red Cross Detox Rehabilitation center. In recent years, Susan found her passion in yoga and successfully encouraged her husband, Larry, to join her on that path. Together they trained, becoming instructors and teaching at several yoga studios, locally and internationally, including Blissworks Yoga Studio. Most recently, she founded Amazing Yoga Travel, and together she and Larry created a company whose purpose was to safely lead people to worldwide destinations for yoga exploration. Many more trips were planned which her husband and children will continue to carry on. She volunteered weekly as a yoga instructor at York Correctional Institution. Susan devoted her life to helping others discover this strength within themselves. LINDA L. ZITKA, 65, director of Woodhaven Wellness Center in Salem, died suddenly on July 7, at her home. As a registered nurse since 1981, her career brought her to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam. Linda also used her abilities as a nursing education specialist and went on to work with various nursing, rehabilitation, and medical facilities in eastern Connecticut. She became interested in holistic health practices and established the Woodhaven Wellness Center in 1995, where she helped clients facilitate physical, emotional, or spiritual changes in their lives through various means. Linda was a loving person who put on a strong face to help others, while she was in pain herself. She strongly believed everyone had within them the ability and strength to bring about changes and healing they desired in their lives and viewed herself as a facilitator in that process. She was a member of the Holistic Health Practitioners of Northeast CT, CT Holistic Health Association, the American Holistic Nurses Association, the National Guild of Hypnotists, International Association of Counselors and Therapists, and the International Association of Colon Therapy. Linda was certified by the American Board of Hypnotherapists, National Guild of Hypnotists, National Board of Colon Hydrotherapists, and the Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies. FAIRS & EXPOS The Coventry Farmers' Market is the largest in the state and is like a fair with different activities featured each week. On Sunday, September 12, the market will include its own Wellness Fair, a holistic health fair produced by the Alliance For Holistic Living. The fair will be the first in this venue and is expected to include 20 to 25 tents with continuous demonstrations including Tai Chi, drumming, yoga, bowls, and gongs. Some exhibitors will offer massage, energy, and vibrational healing sessions. The market and fair are held at the Nathan Hale Homestead, 2299 South Street, Coventry from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (www.coventryfarmersmarket.com) On Saturday and Sunday, September 11 - 12, the annual Connecticut Women's Expo will be held at the Connecticut Expo Center. This is a gigantic event for women with attendance at over 16,000 women. While this is not a holistically-oriented event, it is an event focused on women's health, wellness, beauty, and balance. We have included a free ticket in our subscriber packets - enjoy! (www.ctexpos.com) Last year the CT Wiccan & Pagan Network obtained the festival formerly known as the Harvest Home Gathering and is excited to be sponsoring the event for the first time this year. To be held on the weekend of Thursday through Sunday, September 16 - 19, CWPN's Harvest Gathering will be held at the 4H Camp in Marlborough. The gathering is to celebrate and give thanks for the harvest that will sustain us through the dark months ahead; celebrating community, family, home and the harvest. It will be an indoor/outdoor event promoting celebration, knowledge, spirituality, enlightenment, family and fellowship. The weekend will consist of over 30 classes and workshops with world renowned authors, a dance featuring D.J. music, a concert, and a Renaissance Feast. See www.cwpn.org/hg or call (860) 350-8649 for details, contact information and speakers. Taste! Organic CT, to be held on Sunday, September 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is an annual celebration of local organic agriculture. Sponsored by the Northeast Organic Food Assoc. (NOFA), this event offers the opportunity to purchase fresh vegetables and fruits, honey, maple syrup, organically grown plants and items from local crafters and herbalists. There are hourly workshops, delicious grilled vegetables for lunch, information tables, music and children's events which all add to the charm of the day. The event will be held at Manchester Community College near the band shell. (www.ctnofa.org/events/Taste/2010_Taste.html) On Saturday and Sunday, September 25 - 26, Spirit of Change will host their fourth Natural Living Expo in Sturbridge, MA. There will be 135 vendors and over 75 workshops, concerts and activities. It will be held at the Sturbridge Host Hotel, 366 Main Street (Rt 20 West). Admission is $10 for both days including lectures. (www.spiritofchange.org/expo) The fourth Simsbury Holistic Healthfest sponsored by the Farmington Valley Holistic Alliance will be held Saturday, October 23 at Eno Memorial Hall on Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Experience 70 exhibitors with a variety of complementary and alternative workshops, lectures, seminars, demonstrations, sampling and mini-sessions throughout the day. Admission is a $5 donation to Gifts of Love. For information contact PAMELA CARIGNAN at (860) 306-3722, pamcarignan@comcast.net. (www.fvholisticalliance.com) The Second Annual Blue Waters New Age Wellness Fair will be held again at the beautiful Marinelli's Supper Club in Burlington on Sunday, November 7. This Fair has been a big hit, even though it is just in its second year. Not only does it feature a wonderful selection of practitioners, readers, retail, and bodywork, but you can also enjoy Marinelli's award winning Sunday brunch. A double win! (www.marinellis supperclub.com) Welcome to the newest Expo! On Friday through Sunday, November 12 - 14, Changing Times, Changing Worlds will be hosted at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton, MA. This is the first annual conference which will feature both introductory and in-depth lectures on alternative health, divination, energywork, spirituality, and other esoteric topics. The speakers have chosen how long their talks will be, with a total of 125 hours. This Expo's goal is to bring together individuals from all kinds of background to find common ground, understanding, and nurture continued education on all topics holistic, spiritual, paranormal, metaphysical, and beyond. (www.changingtimeschangingworlds.org) PUBLICATIONS/MEDIA H. ROBERT SILVERSTEIN's 2007 book, Maximum Healing: Optimize Your Natural Ability to Heal is now in paperback and available on Amazon.com. If you suffer from allergies, asthma, high blood pressure or cholesterol, cancer, chronic fatigue, headaches, heart disease, joint pain, skin disorder, or rheumatoid arthritis, then this may be the most important book you will ever read. The book includes inspiring case histories that demonstrate successful treatment and prevention of these and many other illnesses. H. Robert Silverstein, MD, FACC, is a Hartford physician board certified in Cardiology and Internal Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine. His approach to medicine is holistic, patient empowering and inclusive of Complementary Alternative Integrative Medicine (CAIM). (www.thepmc.org) CATHY EWING-RINKER of Spirit Matters in Ellington is a co-author of the just released book, Incredible Life. The book contains comprehensive resources from twenty of the country's top experts to provide readers with guidance, how-to skills, strategies and insights on everything needed to be who you most want to be and cultivate the life you want to lead. Incredible Life is a key tool in planning, clarifying and pursuing a life of your deepest desires and highest aspirations. (www.incrediblelifebook.com) ART FOR SHELTER ANIMALS Astrologer, CAROL LAVOIE, is still offering her astrological counseling sessions and has branched into a new field as a professional artist. Her works have been shown in juried shows, including the CT +5 at the West Hartford Art League. She was a contributor to the New Britain Museum of American Art's recent Spring fund raiser in which her painting was sold. She is also an avid supporter and active participant for the unique organization called, Art for Shelter Animals, which allows artists to paint pet portraits for donation to any animal shelter to help raise funds. Carol donated a dozen paintings of shelter pets in desperate need of adoption to good homes. The paintings are then displayed on the AFSA website while the paintings are donated to the shelter. Her donations of paintings as well as a percentage of sales go to aide the no kill shelter, Protectors of Animals, in East Hartford. If you are an artist and wish to participate in this wonderful cause to help an animal shelter of your choice, please contact Carol at (860) 232-6521. (www.artforshelteranimals.blogspot.com) (plus the annual 2011 Holistic Health Practitioner Directory) |