This one-hour presentation takes us around all the southern islands of New England to see timeless New England island ports and landscapes. We will come to appreciate the soul of each distinctive locale. We will Island hop from the tranquil shores of Nantucket Island, where each cobblestone holds tales of the 19th century, to Martha’s Vineyard with its storybook gingerbread cottages. We will travel to Block Island, a favourite of Connecticut residents, to see the cascading shorelines of Mohegan Bluffs, a highlight of Rhode Island’s coastal islands. We might even find a mystical uniquely Block Island phenomena, the glass orb !!! We will stop over in Newport, Rhode Island, celebrated for its sailing yachts crafted during the “Golden Age of Yachting.” and end up back on the shores of Connecticut.
Presenter: Dr Richard W. Benfield was formerly Professor of Geography at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut where he taught courses in Human Geography, the history and management of National Parks, Plants, Predators and Parks, Russia, The European Union and many of the courses in the department’s tourism track. Prior to coming to Central he was Senior Program Coordinator in the Division of Continuing Education at the University of Oklahoma where he instructed citizens of the new Russian Federation on privatization and the transition to a market economy. He obtained his doctorate in geography from the University of Oklahoma in 1998. Prior to commencing his teaching career at the University of Oklahoma, he was Vice-President of Marketing at Whistler Ski resort, Canada, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Executive Director of the Banff-Lake Louise Chamber of Commerce and a tourism marketing executive with the Government of Alberta.
In 2013 his book Garden Tourism was published by CABI Press, Abingdon, England.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Avon Library
Registration is required for this in-person event.