Publication: In Your Northwest Corner
Originally Published August 30, 2019
Video: A Capoeira demonstration during the 2019 Five Senses Festival
Five Senses Festival - the Arts for All
For the second year, Pilobolus has created the Five Senses Festival in Washington, Conn. The immersive three week outside festival held in July and August brings world-class artists to Northwest Connecticut offering low-cost and free performances and workshops.
Festival events included musical and dance performances, film screenings, meditation and exercise sessions, and talks with artists and writers for attendees of all ages and skill-levels.
The 2019 Five Senses Festival was made possible in part by a grant from the Lucia Tuttle Fritz Fund, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation.
“After only one year, The Five Senses Festival has become an essential way for Pilobolus to connect with local community in Washington Depot and the surrounding towns,” said Hannah Firestone of Pilobolus.
“We are so proud of our partnership with the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation.”
A Prescription for Healthful Veggies
The Northwest Building Healthier Communities Fund, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, recently was established through an agreement between Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and Hartford Health Care Corporation. The focus of the Fund is to enhance the economic and community well-being of the Greater Torrington Region by improving social determinants of health.
In June, the Northwest Hills Council of Governments was awarded a grant from the Fund to support a produce prescription pilot program in Torrington and Winsted. The program helps to lessen negative diet-related health conditions by providing those suffering from or at-risk of developing diet-related health conditions with a prescription for fresh produce, and a box of fresh produce weekly.
“Doctors and dietitians have found that access to affordable fresh produce is a barrier to the health of their clients leading to diet-related health conditions that require medical intervention,” said Jocelyn Ayer of Northwest Hills Council of Governments.
Teaching at-risk Campers Positive Coping Skills
The McCall Center for Behavioral Health provides comprehensive substance abuse and mental health treatment to more than 1,000 clients a year. The organization helps alleviate the pain and suffering caused by substance abuse through integrated in-patient and out-patient recovery support.
Through a recent grant from the Carlton D. Fyler and Jenny R. Fyler Fund, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, the McCall Center for Behaviorial Health provided its SuperKids program to campers aged 6-14 at Northwestern Connecticut YMCA’s Rising Star Camp.
The 8-week SuperKids program teaches coping skills to children who have experienced poverty, trauma, family substance abuse and other challenges.
“SuperKids is part of the overall goal of the Rising Star Camp, building on a child’s strength, encouraging them to look at the parts of their lives, their behaviors, and their choices that they have some control over and providing skills for them to navigate those aspects in healthy, happy and productive ways,” said Sara Osborne of McCall Center for Behavioral Health.
