CONNECTICUT - Litchfield/Northwest

Known by gardeners everywhere as a mail order house offering the best-quality bulbs and flowers, White Flower Farm at 167 Litchfield Road in the town of Litchfield also has a retail store (open from April through October) that welcomes gardeners and browsers. The store is surrounded by five acres of display gardens, open to the public free of charge. Friendly and knowledgeable garden advisers are on hand to assist customers, and other staff members will gladly pause to answer questions if you see them working in the borders. You’ll find a Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure at the visitors’ center to help you find specimen trees, specific borders, and other points of interest. With advance notice, the store can usually accommodate guided tours for large groups. Hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., from April through October. Phone: 800-503-9624.

During the past 21 years, Heron American Craft Gallery at 16 Main Street in Kent has become a destination for people who are searching out the dynamic, ever changing work of American crafts. This shop presents an explosion of color, wit, and whimsy in the form of unusual playthings, ceramics, jewelry, glass work, sculpture, rugs, and clothing. This shop in the foothills of the Berkshires honors the spirit of handmade goods. Come for the best in contemporary crafts, music, and just plain fun. Open daily 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Phone: 860-927-4804.

The pretty fields and towns of the Litchfield region could have been designed for winter sleigh rides, complete with lap robes, harness bells, and a top-hatted driver. Wood Acres Farm in Terryville has 25 acres of wooded trails, sleighs, and teams of draft horses to take you over the river and through the woods. Particularly for Valentine’s season, couples may want to snuggle under a nice warm blanket and enjoy a ride on a private horse-drawn Victorian sleigh. For details and reservations, call 860-583-8670. Also, in the town of Norfolk, Loon Meadow Farm hosts rides on a two-passenger antique surrey sleigh, drawn by a single horse or a larger sleigh drawn by two horses for up to 10 adults. A steaming cup of hot mulled cider awaits you at the end of the ride. Phone: 860-542-6085.

In 2002, thousands of people gathered celebrate the gala reopening of the Warner Theatre at 68 Main Street in Torrington.The lobby’s eye-popping art deco designs, murals, rich mahogany, and vintage etched glass chandeliers are gorgeous, just as when the theater opened in 1931. Highlights of the 2011 season include performances by Leon Russell, Momix, Bill Cosby, Shirley MacLaine, and productions of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “Babes in Hollywood,” "Rent," and more. Phone: 860-489-7180.

Are you for a unique experience with friends or family? It takes only a little bit of advance planning to take advantage of a wonderful offering from the Brookfield Craft Center at 286 Whisconier Road in Brookfield. If you want to dip your toe into a new hobby or art form, Brookfield will set up a class or workshop to your specifications – for a half-day mini-workshop to a five-day adventure. You could study black smithing and blade smithing, ceramics, fiber arts, glassmaking, jewelry making, or wood turning. Contact Brookfield Craft Center to discuss the possibilities. Phone: 203-775-4526.

Set among the Litchfield hills in Goshen, Sunset Meadow Vineyards is one of the newest additions to the Connecticut Wine Trail. Take a visit to the vineyard’s tasting room, where you can sip on Sunset Meadow’s own award-winning Sunset Blush inside a restored 19th Century barn, complete with estate antiques and original hand-cut wooden beams. The vineyards span over 40 acres of picturesque hillside. Relax and enjoy the gorgeous scenery — it isn’t called “Sunset Meadow” for nothing. The Tasting Room is open year-round but days and hours vary by season, so call ahead. Phone: 860-201-4654.

The question we have about snow tubing is, “What took so long?” The sport is simple, and a blast. Just hop onto an inflated tube and slide down the hill. Best of all there are now lifts to take you back up to do it all over again. This is great fun for little ones, as well as the over-grown kid in all of us. Woodbury Ski Area at 785 Washington Road Woodbury has 15 snow tubing runs offering almost a mile of tubing trails, three parks, and four lifts. It is the largest snow tubing destination in Connecticut, and the closest to New York City. Trails are lighted for night use. Phone: 203-263-2203.

Here is a project that can keep you busy year-round: explore the 15 world-class museums and historic sites that comprise the Connecticut Art Trail. The trail meanders among historic sites, bucolic farms, art studios and artists' houses to grand and modern art museums in vibrant downtowns. The trail includes a feature called Trail Getaways that presents recommended itineraries along with helpful suggestions for nearby places to visit and dine. In the Litchfield region, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield and Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center in Waterbury.

The summer of 2011 will be the first summer of operations for the new Bridge Street Live, an art deco style club and restaurant at 41 Bridge Street in Collinsville. The club’s bar room, lounge, and huge wrap-around decks overlook the Farmington River and Sweetheart Mountain. Lots of cool, live entertainment is scheduled for the months ahead at this concert venue and comedy club. Collinsville is an antiquated turn-of-the-century industrial village that has been revitalized and now supports many activities and artists. In 2009, Arthur Frommer named it “one of the top 10 coolest towns in America.” Phone: 860-693-9762.

Hunt Hill Farm , at 44 Upland Road in New Milford is the unique result of a life-long collaboration between the late Skitch Henderson, an artist, and his wife Ruth. The heart of two historic farms, Hunt Hill Farm has seen activity for almost 300 years, but it has been the home of Ruth & Skitch Henderson since 1968. Now, the property is the Henderson Cultural Center, which comprises an art museum, a gallery, a land preserve of more than 130 acres of farmland and woodland, ten historic buildings associated with these classic New England farms, and the Silo Store and Cooking School. It is a beautiful place to visit, explore, take classes, and breath in the loveliness of a historic farm property. Phone: 860-355-0300.

The Litchfield Hills Farm Fresh Market – a winter farmer’s market -- got up and running just before Halloween in 2011 and it will continue to operate indoors into May 2012 at Litchfield Community Center, 421 Bantam Road, Litchfield on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. You don’t need to wait ‘til spring or summer to enjoy farm-fresh food. Products range from dairy to bee products and from grass-fed beef to lip balm. Live music, guest artists and/or demonstrations complimentary to the market atmosphere and the mission are presented.

The potter Guy Wolff is highly respected by people who love fine craftsmanship. Wolff says he is inspired by at 18th and 19th century English flowerpots and centuries old Asian vases. His pottery for use in the garden is sold and collected widely. He works and operates a showroom at a renovated 1740 house at 1249 Bantam Road, 1.1 miles west of Bantam on Route 202. Phone: 860-567-5577.

The New England Carousel Museum at 95 Riverside Avenue (Route 72) in Bristol, acquires, restores and preserves carousels, that wonderful work of folk art and public entertainment that reached its creative peak in the early part of the 20th century. The museum hosts exhibits and special events, particularly for children, and invites the public to visit the studio of its master restorer. Open daily, year-round, except the months of January and February and except for major holidays. Open during local school holidays. Phone: 860-585-5411.

Volunteers from the John J. McCarthy Observatory on Danbury Road in New Milford have built a scale model solar system that spans six miles. Each bronze planet is on a base accompanied by an informational sign and brass symbol. Children may pick up a passport at the New Milford Library that contains directions for locating the planets, pages for rubbings of the symbols, and more information about the planets. After completing the 13 rubbings, explorers can return to the library for a solar system explorer stamp. It’s a great family activity that takes about two hours to complete. Phone: 860-354-1595.

The Litchfield region is a magnet for antiques and the people who cherish them. Here is just a sampling of places to visit on an antique hunt through Litchfield: Gardenalia in Falls Village, offering outdoor fountains, birdbaths, statuary, and sundials (860-824-0020); EuroSource Antiques & Fine Leather in Bantam, selling European and Asian antique and reproduction furniture and accessories (860-567-4714); Jennings & Rohn Antiques in Woodbury, with English, Continental and American furniture of the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries (203-263-3775; Toll House Antiques in Bantam, selling furniture, stoneware, kitchenware, clocks, primitives (860-567-3130; and many more.

Do you drink wine only in the summer? Then why should you taste wine only in the summer? Come see what the local vineyards have to offer in the winter, and they will heat up the afternoon for you. Visit the six participating wineries on the Litchfield Hills Winter Wine Trail between January 1 and March 30, 2012, and be entered into a grand prize drawing. Pick up a registration card at a participating winery and use is as your guide through the trail. Participating vineyards and wineries include DiGrazia Vineyards (Brookfield), Jerram Winery (New Hartford), Haight-Brown Vineyard (Litchfield), Hopkins Vineyard (New Preston), Miranda Vineyard (Goshen) and Sunset Meadow Vineyards (Goshen). Information: 860-201-4654.