This past weekend was a busy and wonderful one with good weather, an art studio open house on Friday, a home football game (congratulations to the team on a terrific win), our TrumBall and a YSO concert featuring a Trumbull sophomore all on Saturday, followed, for me, by a trip to Vassar to celebrate Betsy Bradley’s (the former head of Branford) inauguration as Vassar’s new president.
Whenever Trumbull has been busy, it means that I have lots of thanks to express.
I’ll start with the art studio open house and thank our graduate affiliate Kassandra Leiva for leading it. She sent pictures to me of the painting taking place. If you happen to enjoy painting, photography, sculpture and if you would be willing to let some of your work be used for purposes of making some official Trumbull notecards (to be used to announce events, write thank you’s to people who have supported Trumbull in some way, etc.) please let me know. Photography or paintings of Trumbull spaces would be especially welcome for this purpose but think more broadly as well. Just send me an email if you are interested.
Next, I’d like to thank all who helped with the TrumBall. Our TCC’s members together with Deborah Bellmore pull this off each year and they did so again this year. Once again I am grateful. Thanks go to Deb Bellmore for many things in this regard including trying very hard to secure a tent. (It turns out, that new State of Connecticut regulations do not permit tents for the time being. Apparently, some structural engineering issues are unresolved. Even locating our own structural engineer to secure approval did not work. She also oversaw getting the dance floor ordered and put down, our office’s financial side of things, and she was here all day long on Saturday making sure we pulled this off. (Mind you, she doesn’t work on the weekends but both she and her daughter Caroline Bellmore were working pretty much all day and night Saturday.) All went well, well, almost well – the lights that had worked just fine all day did go out just before the dance and Deb and the TCC and resident fellow John Wargo tackled that issue. (Thanks to them).
In the end, the weather held, lighting was fine, Trumbullians danced and consumed crepes and trays of food, Diego Fernandez-Pages and Trumbull fellow Mark Graham insured the sound system worked, and , Andrew Schmidt took pictures all night long. Many other people including Alexyss Lange and Shah Kahn helped set up and clean up. Thanks to all. (I’m anxious to see the pictures Andrew took.)
There was even some dancing on the Friday evening before TrumBall. The dance floor was already in place, the weather was balmy, and people brought their own music to the courtyard. I was in the house doing some writing when I heard the music and looked out to see people dancing. I loved that that happened.
Congratulations are due to James Carrabino who played Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat Major by Beethoven on Saturday night as the soloist with the YSO (an honor given to him for having won the William Waite Concerto Competition last year.) James was fabulous as was the entire symphony. I congratulate not only James but also our other YSO players Grant Young (viola), Josef Lawrence (tuba) and Noah Stevens-Stein (contrabass).
I must also again thank Deb Bellmore who, together with Karen Eisenman, set up and pulled off a reception following the concert that ran, simultaneously with TrumBall.
Then on Sunday, over on Berkeley’s lawn Trum-Dog Luna, attired in a Trumbull kerchief, together with her very own human guest, Linda Wargo, represented Trumbull at the Daven-pups event.
Finally, congratulations to Obi Nnorom and Robbie Bickerton who were Trumbull’s IM players of the week last week and thanks to our IM leader Sara Seymour for getting our IMs underway.
What’s going on this week? Well, we’re about to enter mid-term season (which seems to spread out over much of the semester starting just 1/3 of our way in). So, get sleep, get some exercise (participating in an IM or two is a good way to do that but so too are simple walks or runs), and be considerate of your suitemates (noise wise) who have upcoming tests.
And here are some other things you might wish to join in on going forward:
This Thursday, Sept. 28, there will be a 2020 and 2020 class TC bonfire in the courtyard (aka a bond fire). It will take place (using our new firepit) from 7:00 p.m. to 9 p.m.
This Sunday, Oct. 1, you join Grad Affiliate Misha Semenov in hiking at the Sleeping Giant Park nearby in Hamden, Ct. A bus will leave Trumbull’s main gate at 1 p.m., there will be cider and donuts. You’ll come back to Trumbull by 4:30 p.m. There is still lots of room on the bus!
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, there will be a Trumbull Tea with Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director of The Good Food Institute, from 4:00 to 5:00 PM at the house, 100 High Street.
Then at 7:00 PM, Stephen B. Blum ‘74, Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives (AYA)
(stephen.blum@yale.edu) will host “Financial Life After Yale” in the common room until 8:00 PM.
On Saturday, Oct. 7th there will be a Trumbull Kayaking Trip on the Hammonasset River/Long Island Sound. We leave Trumbull at 9:30 on that Saturday and will return by 2 p.m. Three very experienced Trumbull Fellows and kayakers will lead us (I and Associate Head Polner will go as well not as your leaders but rather just as fellow Trum-kayakers). We kayak from the river into the sound and to a beach for lunch. You do need to sign up in the office; you don’t need any prior experience kayaking.
On Sunday, Oct. 8th we’ll sponsor an Apple Picking Trip to Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford followed by a baking event using those apples. Sign up for apple picking or apple baking or both in our office. Cider and donuts will be available while you’re on the trip.