Daily Five: A Lights Festival, Philosphy and Quintessential Brass

1.  Today is Friday, Dec. 7.  The National Weather Service predicts cloudy skies, a 30 percent chance of rain and a high temperature of 49 degrees. The low will fall to 42 degrees tonight and there’s a 50 percent of rain.

2.  The annual Festival Of Lights at Olde Mistick Village starts at dusk today and ends at 9:30 p.m. on Friday. The Village will be lit with more than 3,000 luminaries, Mystic Aquarium will have another 1,000 on its grounds. Free refreshments will be served in the Meeting House, and holiday music and other entertainment will be offered from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

3.  Connecticut College Professor Andrew Pessin, who has written three books about philosophy for the layperson, will give a free talk at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Groton Public Library. Pessin’s presentation is meant to be entertaining and educational, and is aimed at a general audience. He recently published Uncommon Sense: the Strangest Ideas from the Smartest Philosophers, his third book about philosophy. No reservations are required to attend.

4.  Quintessential Brass, a five-piece brass ensemble whose members have performed at venues including the Kennedy Center, will kick off the City Cabaret season with a free holiday concert at 3 p.m. on Dec. 16 in the auditorium of the Groton Municipal Building, 295 Meridian St. The quintet will perform Christmas carols, Hanukah songs, classical tunes and jazzy versions of holiday pop favorites. 

5.  Dave Hammerstrom, the executive vice president of Chelsea Groton Bank, recently received the Housing Hall of Fame Award from the Builders and Remodelers Association of Eastern Connecticut. In addition to his work at the bank, Hammerstrom serves as treasurer for the Eastern CT Chamber of Commerce, board member of United Cerebral Palsy, corporator for Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, and retirement board commissioner for the Town of Groton. He has been with the bank since 1988.