There’s Plenty to do This Week in Ledyard!

Cabin fever has broken. Ledyard residents and people up for a short jaunt have lots of reasons to venture forth from their winter habits and enjoy one or more of the events taking place this week.

Thursday
On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. the Ledyard High School Music Department will present a Benefit Choral Concert in the High School auditorium. The concert will feature five choirs and close to 300 students performing a wide variety of choral music ranging from classical to folk to contemporary. Tickets are $5 and proceeds go toward the Matt Buriak and Lauren Candler Memorial Scholarships.

Friday
On Friday, Ledyard residents are invited to attend a dessert tasting and professional comedy show at Ledyard High School. Organizers of the the third annual Sweet Laughs have booked Jimmy Dunn, Moody McCarthy and Jane Condon, but before the show people will have the opportunity to sample desserts from 12 local businesses. 

Each elementary school has been selling the $20 tickets, which include five dessert tastings but don’t worry, you’re not limited to just five. Additional tasting tickets are available for $1.

Proceeds from the event will go toward technology and school upgrades to the respective school from which you purchase the ticket. If you can’t make it to school, you can purchase tickets online on their website.

Cake pops, cupcakes, pies, cakes and fudge and a whole lot more will be provided by Fireside Brickoven Creations, Valentino’s, Zest; The Chocolate Rose, Amanda’s Fudge, Extreme Cakes by Heather, Gracie Mae’s Kitchen, Somewhere in Time, When Pigs Fly, Sweets by Stacy, The Pastry Mama, and Lucky Girl bakery.

The event is really fun and definitely something people look forward to, according to Gallup Hill School PTO member Denise Dettrich. She said they have sold about 350 tickets so far and with tons of returning audience members, the event grows larger each year.

“The reason we did it is because we wanted to bring the community together and support local businesses,” she said, while helping out the schools.

Doors open at 6:30 so don’t be left out in the cold, get your tickets today!

Maugle Sierra is also hosting a Friday evening of live entertainment with the Cartells Trio who play “a wide variety of music including Jazz, swing, Motown, R&B, rock and roll, popular music of all styles.” The tasting room opens at 11 a.m. Friday and the band starts around 6 p.m. On Sunday, the winery has booked the Jan Jungden Trio to being at 2 p.m. The winery promises that “this tight yet spontaneous 3-piece ensemble delivers, making them a perfect choice for your soulful, swingin’ afternoon delight...”Starting this month, the winery is also open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check here for more details.

There is a musical performance by Village Voices Friday night at the United Methodist Church of Gales Ferry called “How He Loves Us!”.  The show starts at 7 p.m. and promises to bring you “great collage of performances by the Kingdom Kids (ages 3-7), Village Voices main group (ages 8-12) and TIME (ages 13-17)!”

Saturday
On Saturday, there’s an Auction Extravaganza! Michael Daggett, a graduating senior, is an amateur auctioneer and he’ll lead the bidding on a week in Orlando Timeshare (4 Disney Tickets), 32” Flat Screen TV, UCONN football tickets, DD gift cards, prom packages, graduation package, VIP LHS Sports parking [ass, fire truck ride to school, 2-hour photo shoot, golf excursions, singing telegram by Final Cut and more.There will also be a silent auction, a cook-off and a kids section and much, much more. The proceeds go toward the LHS senior class drug-free trip.

Also on Saturday, the Historic Up/Down Sawmill will be open! Come  see one of Ledyard's treasures, the water-powered up and down sawmill, on a Spring Saturday afternoon. The sawmill is down for repairs volunteers will be there conducting guided tours of the mill, including close inspection of the mechanism. The adjacent town park has swings for the kids and a pond where you can catch a stringer of fish.

There’s also an ongoing art exhibit of recycled materials at the i5 Teaching Network in the Gales Ferry Community Center. Second Chances: Art with a Purpose gives materials and people a new life through art. A portion of each sale goes to charitable organizations. Gallery hours are Tues. - Thurs. from noon - 5:30, Friday from Noon - 5:00, and Sat. from 10:00 - 12:00 and other times by appointment.

And, because it’s the first Saturday in April, kids get free admission to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum.

The Bill Library will be host to the Edible Books Festival and the Artist and Writers Showcase. Entries for the edible books will be submitted between 12:30 and 2:00 p.m. and viewed by the public until 3:00 p.m.; and the selected works by local artists and writers will be exhibited throughout the library until May 5.

As always, there are lots of sports teams to keep up with, here’s this week’s schedule of games.

Sunday
Some of the Ledyard churches have posted their services on the community calendar, and you can check here for hours, directions and any other events that the church is hosting. Check out the community calendar for more details on events listed here and nearby, or to submit your own.