The winter of 2021 was a big one for downtown bookstores.
In February, Barnes & Noble moved into the former Restoration Hardware. The space was closer to other retailers, though smaller than their previous store (now the Big Y supermarket).
No one cares about a big-chain corporate success. But a small, community-minded used book shop, with a special mission — that’s a different story.
Westport Book Shop is a partnership between the Westport Library and Westport Book Sales, the non-profit with 2 important missions: They raise funds for the library by running its book sales, and they hire adults with disabilities.
So it’s fitting that Westport Book Shop is just a few yards from the Library, across Jesup Green.
Westport Book Shop
The 5,000 or so books, in over 40 categories, come from donations to the annual book sales. There’s also a large selection of vinyl records, audio books, CDs and DVDs.
The view from inside Westport Book Shop, across Jesup Green to the library.
Books cover all major categories: fiction, non-fiction, biography, children’s, you name it.
The Book Shop also features the Drew Friedman Art Place. Miggs Burroughs curates rotating exhibits.
On January 28, the 60-plus artists and photographers who have been featured will honored with a special piece, by Burroughs. It remains up through February.
Miggs Burroughs with his own work, at the Westport Book Shop.
To celebrate their 5th anniversary, Westport Book Shop is offering a few specials. They’re fundraisers too — a great way for residents to show their love and support.
One is a raffle. The winner gets a new copy of “The New Yorker in Westport” book. Donated by its authors, Eve Potts and Andrew Bentley, it shows dozens of magazine covers, showing 50 magazine covers created by area artists, inspired by familiar local scenes. Accompanying each image are interesting stories, and facts about our town.
Tickets are $5. They’re available online and at the store, through Wednesday, January 28.
Also available at the store: items created especially for the anniversary.
There’s a snuggly Westport Book Shop logo hat; local artist Jack Geer’s image of the store as a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, and a decal.
Special 5th-anniversary items.
It’s been a great 5 years for Westport Book Shop.
They’ve provided over 12,250 hours of employment and skills training for adults with disabilities.
And they’ve contributed over $350,000 to the Westport Library.
But that’s just the start.
They’ve got a $50,000 fundraising goal, to help continue their work. Click here to donate.
Town officials are closely monitoring the major winter storm forecast.
It’s expected to begin Sunday morning (January 25), with hazardous conditions to continue into Monday.
Models indicate 12 to 18 inches of snowfall across southern New England. Wind gusts of 20 to 30 miles an hour may result in blowing snow and periods of near-zero visibility. The snow is expected to be light and powdery, so widespread power outages are not anticipated at this time.
Fire Chief Nick Marsan says, “This storm has the potential to significantly impact travel and daily activities. Now is the time for residents to prepare, complete errands early, and plan to stay off the roads once snowfall begins so emergency and public works crews can operate safely.”
Department of Human Resources director Elaine Daignault adds, “Extreme cold can be dangerous, especially for seniors, residents without reliable heat, and those facing hardship.
“Our team is ready to help connect residents with warming centers and other critical resources. Please check your furnaces now, and schedule fuel deliveries ahead of the storm. If you or someone you know needs assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Westport residents experiencing hardship due to cold weather can contact Human Services at 203-341-1050 now and tomorrow, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Both are on the menu this Monday (January 26, 7 p.m.). The League of Women Voters of Westport hosts their annual “Pie & Politics” panel, a few days before the General Assembly session begins in Hartford. It’s a decades-old tradition, organized by LWVs all over the state.
Local State Senator Ceci Maher, and State Representatives Jonathan Steinberg and Dominique Johnson will meet voters (and enjoy dinner). There’s also a panel, moderated by former State Representative Ken Bernhard.
They’ll discuss statewide issues like the budget, and local ones they’ll wrestle with, including affordable housing and the Cribari Bridge.
Two Representative Town Meeting (RTM) committees — Health & Human Services, and Environment — meet jointly on February 4 (7:30 p.m., Zoom).
The agenda includes:
Water contamination
Synthetic turf fields vs. grass fields
Reducing town pesticide applications
Tree preservation and clear-cutting
Noise ordinance.
Clear-cutting is on the RTM committees’ agenda.
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The VersoFest lineup just got even more festive.
Peter Shapiro — longtime owner and operator of concert venues like the Capitol Theatre and Brooklyn Bowl, and producer of many music festivals — and rock author, writer and documentarian Dean Budnick will discuss the legacy of the Grateful Dead, and the development of the jam band scene over the decades.
Their free session is March 29 (12 p.m.).
Shapiro produced Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead. He founded Lockn’, a 4-day festival featuring Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Widespread Panic and Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Budnick is the author of books on the music industry, and has written for Billboard, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
Speaking of prix fixe menus: Dandelion is serving up one for $95 on Valentine’s Day.
The February 14 “intimate and elevated” meal is “designed to be shared and savored,” at the restaurant in the Delamar Westport hotel.
It includes “a welcoming amuse bouche, followed by your choice of vibrant starters and beautifully composed entrées inspired by Mediterranean and Levantine flavors, from fresh seafood and wood-fired specialties to refined cuts of meat and seasonal vegetables. End on a sweet note with indulgent desserts created exclusively for the occasion.”
After 8 years as a professional with Brooks Beasts, the 2013 Staples High School and 2017 University of Virginia graduate — and holder of many Connecticut and collegiate running records (plus a world record, as a relay anchor) — is retiring.
Wynne began running as a freshman as a way to stay in shape for lacrosse. He soon realized he was a natural. He flourished under coach Laddie Lawrence, then went on to even great heights.
He missed the Olympics twice, by only two spots at the trials. But he stands tall, as one of Staples’ most accomplished athletes ever.
Congratulations, on a great career! You have inspired many young Westporters to follow — hopefully quickly — in your footsteps. (Hat tip: Reess Kennedy)
Henry Wynne (Photo/Will Hoffman for Runner’s World)
But the proposed remediation and redevelopment of Manresa Island — just off the Norwalk coast — is a Very Big Deal.
On Tuesday, the Westport Rotary Club heard all about it. Jessica Vonashek — executive director of the Manresa Island Corporation — described what may be ahead for the former NRG power plant. (That’s the smokestack we see from Compo Beach.)
The hope is to transform the site into a thriving (and accessible) 125-acre park. It would unlock almost 2 miles of shoreline access, and create a unique destination alongside the adaptive reuse of the structures at its center.
Westport Police made 3 custodial arrests between January 14 and 20.
A 30-year-old Piscataway, New Jersey man was charged with operating under the influence, traveling unreasonably fast and following too closely, after his vehicle struck a trash truck on Post Road West just before 4:30 a.m.
A 64-year-old Stamford man was charged with operating an unregistered motor vehicle, improper use of registration market plate, failure to maintain minimum insurance coverage, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and failure to appear, following a motor vehicle stop on Beachside Avenue.
A 53-year-old Westport woman was charged with failure to appear. Officers were called to a trespassing complaint, and learned that she was the subject of a warrant for an unrelated matter.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Texting while driving: 7 citations
Traveling unreasonably fast: 5
Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 2
Speeding: 1
Evading responsibility: 1
Following too closely: 1
Failure to obey stop sign: 1
Failure to obey state traffic commission regulations: 1
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 1
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 1
Operating a motor vehicle without a tint inspection: 1
Failure to remove snow from a motor vehicle: 1
Failure to renew license: 1
Failure to renew registration: 1
Improper windshield: 1
Improper rear/marker lamps: 1
It’s the law: You must remove snow and ice from your vehicle!
It’s a lot closer. And even though it’s a Middle School company, their “Addams Family” production may be worth checking out.
The curtain rises at Weston High School at 7 p.m. on January 30, and 3 p.m. on January 31 and February 1. Tickets are available online, and at the door.
Short Wharf Theater’s “Addams Family” cast. (Photo/Greg Cohen Photography)
And finally … in honor of Weston Middle School’s upcoming “Addams Family” show (story above):
(“06880” is your full-service, 24/7/365, hyper-local, “Where Westport Meets the World” blog. But we can’t do it without the support of readers like you. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
After the Westport Arts Center became MoCA\CT, many members felt abandoned by the very board cobbled together to support them.
They felt that their Riverside Avenue gallery had been exchanged for a grander “regional culture center,” straddling the Norwalk border.
One member says, “All of us were shocked and upset by the relatively sudden decision by the Westport Arts Center, after 50 years, to divorce themselves from the very artists who were the heart and soul of that organization from day one in 1969.”
Early Westport Arts Center logo.
Being kicked out of their gallery, however, was not new to the WAC.
In the early 1980s, fewer students in Westport rendered unnecessary the Greens Farms Elementary School building. WAC paid $1 a year for the space.
In exchange, WAC paid for its upkeep.
A WAC board member at that time recalls, “The town only took care of the roof in that building. Everything else was our responsibility. So we had to deal with a rather ancient boiler. We painted walls and we did everything to make it look nice.”
The WAC rented classrooms to artists as affordable studio spaces, at $80-100 a month. Members would wander to other studios to spark ideas and share techniques.
Artist Sue Sharp, in her Westport Arts Center studio.
One of the first artists to rent space was Herz Emanuel. His sculptures and drawings are on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Whitney, an the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He worked in the same space that — more than 25 years earlier — had been his son Adam’s 3rd grade classroom.
Other artists at the WAC included Howard Munce and Miggs Burroughs.
Sculptor Herz Emanuel, at work in his studio.
Pianist Heida Hermanns donated about $500,000, to turn the gymnasium into a 200-seat performing arts space for the Theatre Artists Workshop, and symphonies and orchestras. Named Artur Holde Hall, after her husband, and designed by architect Arthur Rothenberg, it was also used for visual arts exhibitions.
Jason Robards read “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” surrounded by works by Paul Cadmus, the controversial Weston artist whose works are now in the collections of the Whitney, Met and many more institutions.
Artur Holde Hall, as exhibition space.
The WAC was funded by studio rentals, ticket sales, and donations.
Best of all, the school superintendent — brightly, warmly, with a signed agreement — guaranteed their lease through 1999.
In 1992, executive director William “Clancy” Thompson told the New York Times, “I have never seen a model like it. I know of theater companies and ballet companies sharing facilities, but not a community of artists such as this, such fine performance space in a town with the wisdom to make the building available. It’s’ an unusual combination of factors, filled with promise.”
The center thrived.
Westport Arts Center, by a resident illustrator.
Until 1996 when the same superintendent broke the lease, and demanded that WAC compliantly leave the premises. The town schools were now packed with students.
Instead of building another school, officials decided to renovate this one.
Greens Farms School, as the Westport Arts Center.
Greens Farms School had been WAC’s home for almost 20 years.
However some parents — many of them new to Westport — were upset that artists were populating school space that could belong to their children.
A then-WAC board member says, “They thought the Arts Center was full of frivolous housewives with all this money to burn, who wanted to become painters so they could rent from us.”
In fact, some of those “frivolous housewives” included Anne Chernow, a lithographer with works at the Met, and artists like Marianne Rothballer and Judy Kamerschen, well noted for their work in juried exhibits and shows.
Still, according to an accomplished WAC member, “We became pariahs. It was really horrible. People would come to exhibitions and grab anybody they realized was part of the board or an artist and tell us, you know, you’re not very nice people.”
How did the artists respond to the loss of their home? That’s part 4 of this series. Much of this information comes from a WAC film, produced by Katie Hacala and 4th Row Films.
Staples High School’s many talented actors, musicians and athletes get plenty of press — and well-deserved praise
Plenty of others do equally admirable work, far beyond the spotlight.
Today we salute Natalia Garment, Neha Singh and Jessie Zhang.
The highly motivated, self-starting seniors created SpeakEasy. The student-run organization supports language learners, and increases access to multilingual education.
They promote biliteracy through free tutoring. They’ve hosted a fundraiser at Toquet Hall.
Now they’ve partnered with the Westport Library.
Next month, SpeakEasy offers free beginner Spanish, Mandarin and French classes for students ages 6-9 at the Library.
Group members have earned the Connecticut Seal of Biliteracy, and have experience teaching peers and younger students. Families may sign their child up for individual sessions using this link.
SpeakEasy has also designed a special “Biliteracy Bookshelf,” at the entrnace of the Library’s children’s section. Prior to lessons, families are encouraged to visit the display.
Natalia, Neha and Jessie: You are our Unsung Heroes of the week. Congratulations!
Or — as you already know how to say: Félicitations! ¡Felicidades! Gōngxǐ!
From left: Neha Singh, Jessie Zhang and Natalia Garment, at their Westport Library display.
(“06880” is proud to honor Unsung Heroes — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog.)
I don’t often post personal news. But several people insisted I include this, so here goes:
“06880” founder/writer/former Staples High School soccer coach Dan Woog has been named to the LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame. The announcement says this year’s class “recognizes trailblazers who have made significant contributions to sports, advocacy and inclusion. This year’s honorees have demonstrated unwavering commitment to equity, representation, and leadership in athletics.”
Among the 10 honorees: Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, former WNBA star Sue Wicks, and “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts.
They’ll be inducted June 25, at a New York dinner. Also honored that night: Glenn Burke Award winners Billie Jean King, and Jason Collins, the first active NBA player to come out publicly.
Woog was one of the first coaches in the country — at any level — to come out as gay. He went on to write 2 books — “Jocks: True Stories of America’s Gay Male Athletes” and “Jocks 2: Coming Out to Play” — that were the first anywhere to address the subject of gay athletes.
He also wrote books on LGBTQ issues in education and the workplace, and on the importance of straight allies. He spoke nationally — from Maine to Alaska — on those subjects.
Woog founded the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s LGBTQ advocacy group. He later joined the United Soccer Coaches’ (the organization’s new name) board of directors, overseeing LGBTQ, Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, women’s, faith-based, disabilities, high school and military servicemembers’ coaching groups.
As Staples coach from 2003-21, Woog’s teams won 4 FCIAC (league) championships, and 1 league title. He is a member of both the Connecticut Soccer and FCIAC Halls of Fame.
A Brown University alumn, he also co-founded Staples High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance — the first at any Connecticut public school — and the Triangle Community Center’s OutSpoken youth group, which he led for 23 years.
Speaking of sports: A familiar Westport face popped up on “Shark Tank.” The episode airs tonight (Wednesday) at 10 p.m. (ABC-TV, and streaming on Hulu).
Kyle Martino — the soccer star who won MLS Rookie of the Year honors, and played with the US national team — vied to win $250,000 for his app. Street FC connects players looking for pick-up soccer games, in cities around the country.
Martino — who was 1999 Gatorade National Player of the Year at Staples — was shown in a photo with his brother (and former teammate) Wes.
And though he described his love for pick-up (unstructured) soccer, Martino did not mention that it was honed while growing up in Westport — the town where he once again lives, and directs Street FC (and many more soccer-related projects) from.
Bitter cold did not deter a small crowd from gathering yesterday on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge.
They were part of a nationwide “Free America” protest. It coincided with the first anniversary of President Trump’s second inauguration.
Protest on the Post Road bridge. (Photo/Rowene Weems)
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The Sweet Remains — Greg Naughton’s band, and longtime Fairfield County favorites with their Crosby Stills & Nash/Simon & Garfunkel/Eagles/John Mayer/Jason Mraz-type harmonies and warmth — are this Saturday’s Westport Country Playhouse headliners (January 24, 8 p.m.).
Tickets are selling fast, for the group with over 65 million Spotify streams. Their latest album, “Embers,” was produced by Grammy Award winner Andy Zulla.
Tickets are $40, $45, and $55. To purchase, and for more information, click here.
The new studio celebrates their new 25 Sylvan Road South space with an opening party tomorrow (Thursday, January 22, 5 to 7 p.m.).
The event includes music, cocktails and “good energy.” Children are welcome.
DanceBody “blends functional training with the joy and artistry of dance, to deliver a workout that is as effective as it is empowering.” It focuses on “full-body movement, coordination, strength, and endurance. Classes incorporate aerobic conditioning and resistance training in a “dance-driven, constant progression (that) creates an energizing environment that builds both confidence and community.”
“Community Conversation With Kathryn Turley-Sonne & Rachel Churner” (January 29, 6 p.m.): A panel discussion on the exhibition “Enough Already: Women Artists from the Sara M. + Michelle Vance Waddell Collection,” and the groundbreaking feminist work of Carolee Schneemann featured in it.
“Opening Reception: Art, Jazz & The Blues” (February 26, 6 p.m.; $10). The exhibit explores powerful intersections between visual art and music, drawing from the rich holdings of the Westport Public Art Collections.
The exhibition centers on “Giants of the Blues,” 7 sweepin group portraits by Westport native Eric von Schmidt honoring blues, jazz and folk musicians from the 1920s to the 1960s (currently hung in his alma mater Staples High School’s auditorium foyer).
Complementing von Schmidt’s paintings are 40 works from the WestPAC collection depicting musicians, inspired by musical themes, or exploring the resonances between musical and visual forms.
Among the local and international artists: Ann Chernow, Eric Chiang, James Daugherty, Lisa Daugherty, Stevan Dohanos, Frances Gershwin Godowsky, Joan Miró, Robert Rauschenberg, Barbara Rothenberg, Eric von Schmidt, Larry Silver and Tracy Sugarman.
Not everyone goes out for a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day.
So Marilyn Zavidow is throwing a Valentine’s Theatre Party, at the Westport Country Playhouse Lucille Lortel Barn.
“Valentines and galentines all” are invited to the February 14 (7 p.m.). “Karma Kabaret.” Chris Coogan plays piano, John Mobilio is on bass, at this :thought-provoking, heart-evoking musical tour de force.”
It’s followed by a “bubbly and chocolate” after-party.
And finally … we welcome DanceBody to Westport (story above) with this similar-sounding song:
(Arts, entertainment, politics, sports: today’s Roundup has it all. It’s what we do at “06880” — and we do it 24/7/365. If you like it, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
No announcement has been made about a new tenant for the 12,230-square foot space.
But if a pre-application meeting request is approved — and that meeting goes well — Westport could welcome a 25,000-square foot Sprouts Farmers Market diagonally across the street.
The Phoenix-based chain — with more than 410 stores in 23 states — is not mentioned specifically, in the pre-app request filed by architect Rick Hoag.
But an artists’ rendering of 1460 Post Road East prominently shows Sprouts’ name.
Artists’ rendering of 1460 Post Road East
Hoag’s letter says that renovations to the existing building would improve the façade, enhance safety within the parking area, and increase landscaping.
BevMax — one of the current anchor tenants — would be relocated to the lower level. The rest of the lower level space would be converted from retail to storage and utility use.
1460 Post Road East, with Julian’s Pizza (left) and BevMax.
If approved, Sprouts would be the third major supermarket in a 1.5-mile stretch of Post Road East. The other 2 are Stop & Shop and Big Y.
A pre-application meeting is a non-binding forum. It allows an applicant to obtain feedback on a proposal from the P&Z, without expending resources associated with filing a formal application. (Hat tip: Peter Gold)
Site plan for 1460 Post Road East, prepared by Langan Engineering.
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The highly motivated, self-starting seniors created SpeakEasy. The student-run organization supports language learners, and increases access to multilingual education.
