The Boro Broads are Back...and this time they've added a Bro!!

Amy, Ann and Frances had so much fun last time that they decided to do a BB Take Two!

Sixteen (16) of you will enjoy a progressive dinner in their three homes, each with a view over the water....one for creative cocktails, another for a delightful dinner and the last for a delectable dessert extravaganza.

All you must do is choose fun friends to ensure the evening is a major success!

As for the Bro (Larry Snoddon), he will be in the kitchen preparing your delicious dinner!

Support the Historical Society and enjoy the event of a lifetime with the Boro Broads!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42kKO7YJe5s&ab_channel=MaddieMott

Date must be mutually agreed upon.

Bahia Beach Puerto Rico three bedroom, three bath condo for one week for up to 6 people.

The apartment, located on the eighth fairway of the golf course, has two bedrooms with king-size beds, and a third with two double beds. Each has its own full bath. A fully-equipped kitchen with a bar opens to the living/dining room. Also included is a laundry room, large outdoor terrace with barbeque, and all the toys needed for a beach vacation -- surfboard, boogie boards, sand toys, and a four-person golf cart. It is a short walk to the beach and Beach Club pool.

Located 25 minutes east of the San Juan airport, the exclusive Bahia Beach Resort features private homes, condominiums and a St. Regis Hotel. Resort amenities include an 18-hold golf course (greens fees apply), 2-mile beach, multiple restaurants and pools, four tennis courts, and a lagoon Water Park with kayaks, paddle boards, and other water sports. The resort is near El Yunque National Rain Forest and a 45 minute drive to Old San Juan.

Available between October 2022 to October 2023, excluding December 15 to January 10. Dates to be mutually agreed upon with owners.

Up to 12 of you will be treated to a priceless 2 hour cruise on the iconic Aphrodite while enjoying wine, beer, and hors d'oeuvres.

Once the pride of the Gold Coast commuter boats that whisked financiers from their Long Island homes to their Wall Street offices in the 1930s, Aphrodite, one of the most easily recognized boats on the water, is now the pride of Watch Hill, having been totally restored back to her former glory.

Even in its original incarnation, Aphrodite was never just another pretty commuter boat. It was commissioned by John Hay "Jock" Whitney in 1937 from the Purdy Boat Company in Port Washington, on the north shore of Long Island. Purdy-built Aphrodite to go fast, with twin 1,500-hp Packard airplane engines. It also was arguably the prettiest commuter boat on the water, with its signature torpedo stern, long, low, black profile, and gleaming mahogany.

During the Second World War, Whitney gave the boat to the Navy, which used it to carry dignitaries (including President Roosevelt) up and down the East Coast. After the war, when Whitney was the publisher of The New York Herald Tribune, he sent Aphrodite every morning from his then summer home on Fishers Island to New London to pick up the morning papers. He also entertained on the boat, with a guest list running from Fred Astaire and Spencer Tracy to Shirley Temple. In the '60s Whitney donated Aphrodite to charity, and it eventually went through several owners and various states of disrepair.

In 2003, Chuck Royce, of Royce Mutual Funds, found Aphrodite languishing in Florida and brought her up to the Brooklin Boatyard in Maine for a total, two-year restoration. The boat now is moored in Watch Hill, near the Ocean House, which Royce also restored.

Dates must be mutually agreeable. Subject to availability.

Paul and Julia Leeming are pleased to welcome up to ten for dinner at their recently finished home in Stonington (designed by the hostess).

Guests will gather in the courtyard for hot and cold mezes before moving to the dining room for a full Turkish feast, inspired by the host's deep family ties to Istanbul.

Turkish wine and - for the brave of heart - Raki will be on the menu!

Dates must be mutually agreeable, subject to availability.

Up to 6 of you will delight in watching a New England sunset over dinner and drinks while cruising the Mystic River aboard the 1950 steel sailing vessel Little Vigilant.

You will depart from Mystic Seaport Museum for a three-hour cruise, returning upriver just as the sun is setting in a remarkable scene.

With a length overall of 71 feet, Little Vigilant was designed and built for yachtsman Drayton Cochran of New York to be able to sail both sea and the canals of Europe. She spent her first years cruising Europe and in 1959 served as the dive vessel for an underwater archaeological expedition in the Aegean Sea with Peter Throckmorton and the National Geographic Society. The film, "3000 Years Under the Sea," was shot aboard. After four decades in storage, Little Vigilant was restored to her former glory and is now part of the collection at Mystic SeaportMuseum.

Available on a mutually agreeable weekday evening from June through October 2022 or summer of 2023. Minimum two weeks advance notice. Cruise is approximately 3 hours long and is weather-dependent. Meal to be selected from Lancer Catering menu (up to $500). Drinks provided by the Stonington Historical Society.

Up to 20 people will join the esteemed Venture Smith scholar Nancy Steenburg and her colleague Elizabeth Kading for a hike to the Venture Smith homesite at Barn Island on July 24 at 10 am.

The hike will be followed by a picnic luncheon, an intimate presentation and a Q& A session with Professor Steenburg, and a tour of the Lighthouse Museum.

Venture Smith was kidnapped from his African homeland as a child and enslaved here in Stonington for the better part of his life. Under various owners, Venture Smith was both respected and abused. He was allowed to earn an income outside of his bondage and eventually was able to purchase the freedom of his family. In Stonington, Venture Smith was enslaved, purchased his freedom, bought real estate, and built a home. His dictated autobiography was published in 1797 detailing his extraordinary life.

Nancy Steenburg is a professor of history at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point Campus where she also oversees the Bachelor of General Studies Program. She has studied the life of Venture Smith for many years and was instrumental in identifying the original boundaries of Smith's parcel of land and homesite. Steenburg served as the primary researcher for the Venture Smith Project funded by the State of Connecticut. "My Freedom is a Privilege that Nothing Else Can Equal," an exhibit about the life of Venture Smith and enslavement in Stonington opened at the Lighthouse Museum in 2022.

Enjoy an Enders Island Dahlia Tour and brunch for 20 this September!

Gather your guests for a private tour of the magnificent Dahlia gardens of Enders Island. Walk the gardens with master Gardener, Christian Careb, to view over 350 varieties of Dahlia's as well as stunning rose gardens and elaborate rock gardens all surrounded by the shimmering waters of Fisher's Island Sound.

Finish your tour with a garden champagne brunch that is certain to impress your guests!

Available during the month of September 2022.

Host a cocktail party for up to 20 people at a unique location - Stonington's own Lighthouse Museum! Hang out with your friends and learn more about the history of Stonington.

Food and drink will be provided by the Stonington Historical Society.

Date must be mutually agreed upon. Cannot conflict with SHS programming.

8 of you will learn how to observe and photograph a garden and pond for an acrylic color workshop for beginners to experienced painters.

On a mutually agreed Sunday afternoon from 4:00-7:00 pm this summer, we will take photographs with our phones, edit our favorites digitally, and then paint on canvas with acrylics.

We will then then explore the fundamentals of creating successful paintings, focusing on composition, back ground washes, color mixing and scale. You will have (at least) two lovely paintings to take home. A quick study and a more detailed composition.

Paper, pencils, brushes, paints, colored inks, and canvases provided.

To be held at 28 Quanaduck Road, Stonington.

Up to 6 people will join Laura and Tom Moran on their 40' Sabre Sedan, Our Tern, for a 2 hour cruise on the scenic Pawcatuck River. You will be joined by a SHS guide who will point out key historical sights along the way.

Enjoy either lunch before or cocktails after your cruise (depends on tides, weather, etc.) at the site of Thomas Stanton's Trading Post on the river.

Date must be mutually agreed upon. Offer expires September 30, 2023.

4 of you will enjoy a late afternoon cruise and al fresco lunch on Camilla, a 35' West Coast Troller.

Date to be mutually agreed upon.

Grab your snowshoes and get ready for a very special experience.

Six of you will enjoy an afternoon (2 hours) snowshoeing at Manatuck Land Preserve (located off Barnes Road) led by Barbara Dixon. At the end, you will return to the Dixon's home for hot cocoa and cookies.

There isn't a better way to enjoy the beauty of our Stonington surroundings!

Date to be mutually agreed upon and snow dependent. If there is no snow, a hike in the woods will be substituted.

Place your bids with feather ado!

Up to 15 of you will join Bill Hobbs, nature writer for Estuary Magazine and The Day newspaper, on a private "birding walk" this fall in Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, a beautiful, 800-acre preserve in South Kingstown, RI.

See and learn how to identify fall migratory songbirds and shorebirds on this priceless tour - it's sure to be a real tweet!

A free copy of the Peterson Field Guide on Eastern Birds is included with the tour.

Date must be mutually agreed upon.

Perfect for your next book club meeting!

Lisa Brownell, author of the historical fiction novel Gallows Road will join your book group to talk more about her debut novel. 6 copies of the novel are included.

Meeting time to be mutually agreed upon. Can be redeemed starting in September 2022.

About the Book
A beautiful young woman is condemned to death for a crime that she swears that she didn't commit. Inspired by true events in New London, Connecticut in the 1750s, the novel GALLOWS ROAD is told through the voice of a servant, Mercy Bramble. Sent to live in a remote farmhouse, the 17-year-old finds herself in a destructive relationship with her 27-year-old master. The mysterious death of her newborn puts Mercy's life in the hands of a jury while three ministers - and a group known as Children of God - all fight to save her soul. Indentured servants - white or Native American men and women who often worked alongside black slaves - were forbidden to marry during the seven years they were bonded to service. Illegitimate births were common, and unwed mothers faced heavy fines and extended servitude. This setting of multi-racial households in colonial New England sheds light on an important chapter in our American past. The story builds to a climax that Kirkus Reviews has called "a nail- biter all the way."

About Lisa Brownell
LISA HALL BROWNELL, a fiction writer and editor, believes that stories have the power to connect one person to another, and past to present. GALLOWS ROAD is her first novel. She also has written screenplays and short stories and is working on a second novel. A former media director for Mystic Seaport Museum and director of publications for Connecticut College, Brownell was editor of the award-winning CC: Magazine. She graduated from Brown University, and earned an M.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She now lives in Ledyard, Connecticut.

Enjoy an intimate picnic with a view! 2 of you will share meal in the tower of the Lighthouse Museum, all while taking in the panoramic view.

Picnic meal will be provided by the Historical Society.

Date must be agreed upon with the Historical Society and cannot conflict with SHS programming.

Join Woolworth Library Director and Collections Manager Chelsea Mitchell for a private showing of objects from our collections chosen specifically for you and your interests.

You and up to 10 of your friends will be hosted in the Woolworth Library to interact with and learn about textiles, artworks, objects and manuscripts that relate to a topic of your choosing - or leave it a mystery and let us share our most mysterious, ornate or oldest pieces with you.

Offer expires 6/30/2023. Advance reservation required; date must be mutually agreed upon.

Up to 10 of you will join Librarian and Collections Manager Chelsea Mitchell for a curated tour through the Historical Society's collections of American folk art.

Enjoy a glass of wine with the group at the conclusion of your tour.

Offer expires 6/30/2023. Advance reservation required; date must be mutually agreed upon.

Get a group of up to 10 friends together and enjoy an evening at the Captain Palmer House with Librarian and resident cocktail historian, Chelsea Mitchell.

Sample drinks from American history with a simple charcuterie spread. A fun and casual evening!

Date must be mutually agreed upon. Offer expires June 30, 2023.. Date cannot conflict with other SHS programming,

Up to 10 of you will join an experienced SHS guide for a private walking tour of Stonington! Choose from one of the following tours:

• Historic Stonington Borough - Learn more about our own seaside village and those who lived here.
• Battle of Stonington - Step back into time and learn more about the Battle of Stonington.
• Queer if By Sea - Learn more about the queer history of Stonington's residents.
• Stonington's Literary Legacy - Learn about the literary giants who called Stonington home.

Advance reservation required; date must be mutually agreed upon.

Gain insight and clarity into your life with this intimate tarot experience. Nancy Desjarlais, a certified tarot reader, will spend up to 2.5 hours with you, conducting a group reading for up to 6 guests. Perfect for a casual party!

Dates must be mutually agreed upon.