MILFORD — If you’ve ever caught a Metro-North train in downtown Milford, you’ve walked right past it: the little brick station building on the eastbound side, with teal trim, rainbow banners under the platform canopy and big letters out front that spell mAC. Inside the old waiting room there’s a 110-seat theater, a gallery, a classroom and a speakeasy-style lounge. This is the Milford Arts Council, and tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 28, it opens its annual Member Show with a free reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
Most people in town know the MAC as “the place with the shows by the train station.” Fewer know how it got there, who runs it now, or that it runs a second gallery in an old Walnut Beach firehouse. Here’s the story.
From clubs on Broad Street to an abandoned train station
The council started in 1971, when a group of local clubs and arts groups came together as the Milford Fine Arts Council, according to the MAC’s own history. It was certified as a nonprofit in 1972, and state business records show The Milford Fine Arts Council, Inc. registered on Feb. 28, 1972, and still active today at 40 Railroad Ave. South. It has done business as the Milford Arts Council since 2012.
The early meetings happened in the Mary Taylor building on Broad Street, once home to the Milford Chamber of Commerce. Performances, exhibits, classes and plays were scattered all over the city. In 1984, the council decided it needed a permanent home, and it picked an unlikely one: the abandoned eastbound train station.
It took years of fundraising and renovation, but the MAC opened its doors in the station in 1995. The building dates to the Civil War era. A state “Good to Great” grant paid for another renovation in 2017, and the station is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The MAC celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.
The council likes to point out that it is the closest arts venue to the Metro-North platform “because we ARE the train station.” Milford Harbor is down the block, and there’s parking right outside.
Who runs the MAC
The council is led by Executive Director Paige Miglio. The rest of the small staff includes Nicole Heriot-Mikula (membership and operations), office manager Jeremy Ajdukiewicz and marketing director Raheem Nelson.
The staff list on the MAC’s website has two more names, and neither one is human. Teak is listed as the “Canine Patron of the Arts.” Over at the Firehouse Gallery, the docent goes by Chief Sparky B MacFirehouse.
Most of the programming is run by volunteers. Committees handle nearly everything: Dolores Hannon and Sandy Morgan run Open Mic Nites, Laura Garrity leads the Written Word writers’ group, and Nancy A. Herman chairs Eastbound Theatre with Richard Warren as vice chair. Suzan Maxey and Bobby Fritz are behind the New England Guitar Society, and Stephanie Sands books the jazz. There’s a visual arts committee, an Artist-2-Artist group and a membership committee too.
The numbers are big for a building this size. Between its two venues, the MAC says it draws more than 12,000 patrons a year to more than 250 events, with more than 800 performers and artists taking part. Since 2021 it has added summer events, so the season now runs all year.
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The second home: a 1920 firehouse at Walnut Beach
Across town at Walnut Beach, at 81 Naugatuck Ave., the MAC runs the Firehouse Gallery. Milford Fire Company No. 3 opened the building in 1920. The city and the MAC began turning it into a gallery in 2000, and it opened in 2002 with about 1,000 square feet of exhibit space and an apartment for an artist in residence.
You can’t miss it now. The outside is covered in color, with murals by John Paul O’Grodnick (2019) and Miguel Estrada (2024). The gallery is two blocks from Long Island Sound and hosts themed shows, workshops, the Written Word group and the Artist-2-Artist group. It’s open weekends from noon to 4 p.m.
Theater on the tracks, and Shakespeare in the park
The MAC’s own community theater company is Eastbound Theatre, named for the station it calls home. It stages three main productions a year, in September, February and June. It also runs a summer festival of original one-act plays, the East/West PlayFest, with Westport Community Theatre, and a Plays in Development series of staged readings where the audience talks with the playwright afterward.
In summer, Eastbound takes Shakespeare outside to Eisenhower Park. The first year was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In 2025 it was “Twelfth Night,” and this past summer it was “The Tempest.” The company says another Shakespeare play is coming in summer 2027.
What to see and do this season
Here’s what’s coming up on the MAC’s calendar over the next few weeks. Check milfordarts.org before you go, since details can change.
The Member Show (opens tonight, Oct. 28)
The annual Member Show is open-theme: member artists could paint, photograph or build anything they wanted. Tonight’s reception, 6 to 8 p.m. at MAC Downtown, is free and open to everyone, with light refreshments. It’s the first chance to see the work, and the award winners get announced, from a $200 Best in Show to prizes for Best Use of Color and Best Black & White or Limited Palette.
Halloween Dance Party (Oct. 31)
For Halloween night, the theater turns into a dance floor from 8 p.m. to midnight, with DJ Sonja spinning. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and MAC members get in free.
Open Mic Nites (Nov. 11)
A longtime MAC tradition. Open Mic Nites run 7 to 9 p.m.; it’s $5 to watch, and performers get in free. Performer sign-ups open on the 1st of each month. There’s also a Literary Open Mic for writers on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.
Concerts and readings
- Nov. 8, 4 p.m.: “The Three Lives of Duncan MacRae,” a Plays in Development reading.
- Nov. 15: the Katarina String Quartet.
- Nov. 20, 7 p.m.: Songbird, with Halley Neal singing Fleetwood Mac.
- Dec. 6, 3 to 6 p.m.: the Holiday Buoy Tree.
- At the Firehouse: Artist-2-Artist meets Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., the Written Word group Nov. 4, and the New England Guitar Society Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.
What people say
The MAC has a 4.7-star rating on Google from 127 reviews. The word that keeps coming up is “intimate.”
Nice intimate venue for shows! Not a bad seat in the house.
Deborah, Google review
Frank wrote that it’s a “great venue run by great people,” adding: “I’ve been to a few events there now and can say that they’re run beautifully!” Ed came back after a long break to see the Farayi Malek Quartet and wrote, “Haven’t been here in too many years, but that changes now!”
Not every review is perfect. G. Glenn gave four stars after a dance show. Glenn noted that the seats aren’t stepped, so it’s hard to see dancers’ feet unless you’re up front, but called the space “a good space for music” and said there was “a good amount of parking, and the hosts/staff were friendly.” Our tip: for dance, get there early and grab the front rows.
Good to know before you go
- Office hours: MAC Downtown is open Tuesday to Friday, noon to 4 p.m. The Firehouse Gallery is open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
- Getting there: The MAC is in the eastbound Milford train station, so you can take Metro-North right to the door. There’s parking for cars, and buses run into downtown.
- Get involved: All the committees are volunteer-run, and the MAC posts open positions and volunteer info on its website. Members get perks such as free entry to the Halloween party.
- Contact: 203-878-6647 or info@milfordarts.org.
MILFORD ARTS COUNCIL AT A GLANCE
Main venue: MAC Downtown, 40 Railroad Ave. South, Milford
Gallery: Firehouse Gallery, 81 Naugatuck Ave., Walnut Beach
Phone: 203-878-6647
Founded: 1971 as the Milford Fine Arts Council; in the train station since 1995
Executive director: Paige Miglio
Theater: Up to 110 seats; home of Eastbound Theatre
Online: milfordarts.org
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