If you’ve seen the Westport Library looking extra-cool these recent nights, there’s a reason.
(Graphic by John Nunziato)
The blue lights are reminders that VersoFest ’26 — the 5th annual music/media/ and much more festival — arrives soon.
There are 4 full days of concerts, panels, art shows and the like. Highlights include a concert by Wyclef Jean, and a talk with Ani DiFranco. Click here for full details.
A deeper dig into how AI is shaping the music industry is on tap this coming Sunday (March 29, 10:30 a.m., Library).
Executives from Suno, LANDR, Incantio and Chord Music Partners will discuss how AI is shaping the music the industry. A special “Coffee with the C-Suite: Creators, Technologists, and Music’s AI Frontier” panel features leaders from across music tech, rights investment, AI creation tools, and licensing platforms, discussing seismic shifts redefining the industry.
Among the speakers: Westporter Sam Hendel, managing partner at Chord Music Partners and Dundee Partners. Music industry veteran Dick Wingate — another local resident — will moderate the session. Click here for more details.
To try it yourself, Suno hosts a hands-on workshop afterward (noon to 4 p.m.). Attendees can experiment with the same tools used to create the AI jingles. Click here to reserve a 30-minute spot.
Sam Hendel
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One of Westport’s biggest and best Easter Egg Hunts is set for this Saturday (March 28, Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center).
The event — sponsored colorfully, as always, by WestportMoms — is actually 2 hunts. Ages 2 to 5 start at 10:30 a.m. Ages 6 and up follow at 11:15.
Along with the egg hunts and pictures with the Easter Bunny, youngsters will enjoy fairy hair, glitter tattoos, face painting, cookie decorating, STEM and sports games, music and more (including 20 “golden eggs” with prizes).
There will also be a food truck, plus donuts from Retreat Sweets.
The Mamas and the Papas, Byrds, Doors, Crosby Stills & Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and the Eagles were all at the Westport Country Playhouse last night.
Not in person, unfortunately. But their familiar music got fresh interpretations, in an intriguing and very well-received show.
“Live from Laurel Canyon – Songs and Stories of American Folk Rock” was an evening of live music and narrated stories of some of the most influential songwriters who lived in Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and ’70s
Great music from half a century ago has endured well.
Including — perhaps especially — Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”
Laurel Canyon musicians, at the Playhouse. (Photo/Lauri Weiser)
The curtain rises Friday on “Newsies.” Coleytown Company’s fun-for-all ages musical — inspired by the true story of the 1899 newsboys’ strike in New York City — has been in high gear ever since Westport native Adam Kaplan (a member of the Broadway cast) taught a master class to the young CMS actors.
Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday (March 27 and 28), 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (March 28 and 29).
Clarence Hayes writes: “It’s been a ritual for me to listen for spring peepers for 40 years — ever since I took my 7-year-old kids to hear them at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, coming up from the city.
“At a swamp there at dusk, it is literally deafening. I take my grandkids there now.
“But we have them in Westport too, in little bits of spring excess water scattered around town.
“This video is from a vernal pond behind my condo next to I-95. You can clearly hear them over the highway noise.”
PS: This week looks to be partly cloudy, partly sunny. The temperature will be in the 40s and 50s — except Thursday, when it could reach the low 60s.
And finally … on this date in 1857, Elisha Otis’ first elevator was installed, at 488 Broadway in New York.
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Three “wow”s don’t do justice to the triple-overtime loss the Staples boys basketball team endured Saturday night, in the Division I state championship game at Mohegan Sun.
The defeat — the first 3-OT contest in Connecticut final history — ended the Wreckers’ quest for a perfect (27-0) season.
And for their first state hoops crown since 1937, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House. (Also, 9 years before the founding of the National Basketball Association.)
(Graphic courtesy of @Staplesboysbasketball Instagram)
But the sting of that loss — a game in which Staples camethisclose near the end of regulation time, and all 3 overtimes — should not take away from what coach Dave Goldshore’s squad accomplished, all year long.
They inspired our entire town. The stands were packed with classmates, many of whom stood inches from the sideline, cheering on the gritty Wreckers.
On the other side of the gym were dozens of younger players. They cheered raucously, stomped their feet, and asked their heroes for autographs.
Cheering Staples on, all season long. (Photo courtesy of @Staplessuperfans Instagram)
At the end of the marathon at Mohegan Sun, they — like those heroes — were in tears.
It was a bitter, Hollywood-style ending, for a Hollywood-esque year.
I had the privilege of serving as the team’s PA announcer. I had a front-row, courtside seat as the squad enjoyed a season unlike any other in the century that Staples has had a basketball team.
Over the past 4 years, Goldshore molded the team in his image. They battled for everything: every tipoff, every loose ball, every pass.
They played smothering defense. They shot the lights out.
Most importantly, they did it together.
One of the top scorers in Staples history, Sam Clachko, regularly dished off assists to teammates. All 5 starters scored in nearly equal measure; each game, it seemed, someone different had the most.
When a sub took the floor, support from teammates was as loud as if — well, a triple-overtime title was on the line.
And wow, were they resilient. That quality was apparent to all at Mohegan Sun Saturday. Four times — at the end of regulation time, and in all 3 overtimes — Staples battled back from deficits, with talent, grit, composure, and a palpable belief in themselves, and each other.
When it was all over — when the last shots did not go in, when the final buzzer sounded, when the Blue Devils celebrated their hard-earned victory — the feeling of emptiness must have been brutal.
Anyone who has been in a game like that — in any sport, at any level — knows what it’s like.
The boys — “young men” is a better term — on the Staples basketball team dedicated everything to their quest.
For some, it began even before their 4 years in high school. For all, it was an all-consuming journey, beginning the moment last season ended, continuing through the spring, summer and fall, and roaring into high gear the day tryouts began in November.
It will take a while for the sting to ease. It will be tough to hear well-meaning parents and friends say, “What a tough loss.”
What will be toughest is knowing that — from the moment West Haven celebrated wildly — never again will this group share practices, shootarounds, games, bus rides, pregame meals, and everything else that makes a sports season special — with their best friends in the world.
That’s the essence of sports. It makes the joy even sweeter when you win, and more agonizing when you lose.
Coach Dave Goldshore, and the Wreckers.
The Staples boys basketball team lost Saturday night.
But that was only on the scoreboard.
What they’ve won — in memories, in life lessons learned, in the magic they brought the town, all season long — will live on long after they leave the gym.
Thank you, coach Goldshore.
Thank you, Jared Sale, Austin Heyer, Mason Tobias, Jack Jacob, Dhilan Lowman, Sam Clachko, Henry Veislid, Matty Corrigan, Drew Hill and Oliver Vynerib, Gavin Mayr, Aaron Schorr, Ryan Marcus, Declan Jandora and Declan Mayr.
You won our hearts, with your heart.
You are our champions.
Celebrating, after a second straight FCIAC (league) championship. (All photos courtesy of Staples boys basketball, unless otherwise noted)
OVERTIME: Coach Dave Goldshore told The Ruden Report: “Being part of one of the greatest high school basketball games in the state of Connecticut history is special.
“The kids just battled. They battled and sometimes things don’t go your way. The world judges you sometimes on results, but I judge this team on their process. I judge this team on their heart. I judge this team on their ability to be resilient. That’s what the heart of a champion is.”
“Tonight was my favorite part of the season Under incredible pressure and incredible adversity, they showered incredible commitment. Sometimes the results don’t go your way, but the toughness never goes away.”
Staples (far side, white uniforms). The thrill and memories of playing at Mohegan Sun will last a lifetime. (Photo/Diane Lowman)
DOUBLE OVERTIME: Click here or below for highlights from the game. It begins with a short clip of Staples senior Demeil Betfarhad, who gave a stirring rendition of the national anthem.
(“06880” covers high school sports — and much, much more — and often goes behind the scenes to tell our stories. If you appreciate posts like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
There was an added mystery to last week’s Photo Challenge.
In addition to guessing where in Westport the image was — the date “1806,” carved in concrete set in a red brick building — readers tried to figure out why it was there.
The structure — the Bank of America branch on Post Road East, next to Design Within Reach (the old post office) — clearly does not date from the early 19th century. (Click here to see.)
Ed Davis — one of 5 readers who correctly guessed the site — has what sounds like a plausible answer:
Didn’t that building used to house Connecticut National Bank in the 1960s-1970s? According to Google, CNB used to the the Bridgeport Bank, which was founded in 1806. Maybe it is to commemorate the founding of the bank (and not the building).
Mystery solved! (Perhaps.)
Congrats to historical sleuth Ed, along with Pat Saviano, Morley Boyd, Lynn Untermeyer Miller and Seth Schachter. You can bank on them to know many answers.
This week’s Photo Challenge doubles as a really nice image of Westport.
If you know where you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/John Maloney)
(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
The Staples boys basketball team fell 1 game — and 3 overtimes, and just 7 points — short of a perfect season.
But the Wreckers’ battle last night will be remembered for decades.
In what may be the most dramatic state championship game in Connecticut history, coach Dave Goldshore’s top-seeded squad lost 79-72 to #2 West Haven, in the Division I final at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
It took triple overtime for the Blue Devils to deny the Wreckers their first state crown since 1937.
The contest — which drew a raucous crowd from Westport — had a Hollywood-style string of dramatic moments.
Staples had chances to win — with 3-pointers and foul shots — near the end of regulation, and all 3 overtimes.
Instead, they were left with a runner-up plaque, a 26-1 season (including their second straight FCIAC league championship), and memories of a spectacular season that inspired the school, legions of younger children, and the entire town of Westport.
Congratulations, men. The scoreboard may not show it. But you are true champions.
Congratulations to Corporal Shawn Wong Won: Westport Police Department’s 2025 Officer of the Year.
He joined the force nearly 13 years ago, after reaching the rank of lieutenant in the Norwalk Police Department.
The WPD says, “From the first day Corporal Wong Won walked through the Westport Police doors, he has been an exemplary officer. Every member of the department can attest to the positive achievements, acute knowledge and refined skills he brings to Westport.
“As a corporal and field training officer, Corporal Wong Won brings new officers into the fold while offering steady, solid advice. He has proven to be a model officer for all to look to in both the way he conducts himself within the department and with the public alike. Further, Corporal Wong Won has a wealth of experience to offer his peers and supervisors.
“No task is too great for Corporal Wong Won. There is no task he does not give his complete effort to, while always maintaining a positive attitude. Corporal Wong Won is capable, driven, and most importantly, willing to help his fellow officers whenever the need arises.
“Corporal Wong Won has proven throughout his career that he routinely goes above and beyond the call of duty. His attitude, work ethic, intelligence, physical capabilities, empathy, leadership, and genuine character are the divine qualities of a noteworthy and commendable officer.”
Corporal Shawn Wong Won (center) with (from left) 1st Selectman Kevin Christie and Police Chief David Farrell.
Yesterday’s Roundup noted the correct date — Sunday, March 29 — for the soccer clinic for youngsters in kindergarten through 6th grade (10:30 a.m. to noon, Wakeman Field). However, we said “tomorrow,” rather than “next week.”
It’s organized by Bedford Middle School 8th grader Allyson Post. Donations ($25 per player) support the soccer program at Bridgeport’s Columbus School, for grades K-8.
To register through Full Court Peace, click here. Click “Donate,” and note “Soccer Clinic” in the notes. Then click here, so organizers can plan for each age group.
Lauri Weiser calls today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo “the first lights of spring,” at the Lansdowne condos.
(Photo/Lauri Weiser)
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And finally … on this date in 1963, the Beatles released their debut album, “Please Please Me,” in the UK.
It took another year for Beatlemania to reach the US.
But we’ve never been the same.
(If we please you every day with our “06880” Roundup — and everything else — please please us with a tax-deductible donation. Please click here. Thank you!)
In just 5 years, VersoFest has gained a great reputation for its celebration of music, media and creativity.
This year, those 3 elements have reached new, um, records.
Verso Studios — the Library’s media hub — has created a promotional jingle. They’re playing at other Library events, and will be heard at VersoFest too. The 4-day show begins Thursday.
There are 4 versions of the same jingle. Each emulates the styles of major artists in this year’s lineup.
Lyrics and music were created in Verso Studios by Travis Bell, the studio’s in-house producer. He collaborated with Verso advisory board member Les Dinkin, principal of DinkinEsh Presents, who conceptualized the creative project.
The duo used the studio’s AI-based software to draft and refine a set of lyrics for the festival. Then came music generated through iterative prompts.
Ani DiFranco (Photo/Shervin Lainez)
Bell and Dinkin worked on many preliminary versions, before finalizing the right fit for each artist’s sound.
All jingles were created solely from prompts through AI tools. The artist’s recordings or inputs from their recordings were not utilized in any way.
“We believe this may be the first time that AI music tools have been used to create artist-specific jingles by any performance venue, let alone a public community library,” Bell says.
This is not the first “first” for the Westport Library.
In 2022 “Verso Records: Volume One” became the first vinyl record ever recorded, produced, and released by a public library.
(“06880” is your place for all VersoFest news — and everything else going on in town. If you appreciate our coverage of “Where Westport meets the world,” please click here to support us. Thanks!)
Tonight is the boys basketball state championship. Staples High School — ranked #1 in Division I — meets #2 West Haven. Tipoff is 8:30 p.m., at Mohegan Sun.
But hey — you don’t have to drive clear across Connecticut.
In the wake of Thursday’s state Department of Transportation public meeting about the Cribari Bridge, several residents contacted “06880.” They want to know how to urge town officials — particularly 1st Selectman Kevin Christie and the Representative Town Meeting — to get involved.
For example, Robbie Guimond writes: “RTM! It’s time to answer the call. Are you ready?
“After the CTDOT hearing, one thing was clear: Fear about increased truck traffic is widespread across town. While other issues came up, the need to address truck traffic stood out.
“I believe the RTM should begin the process of creating a ‘no through truck’ ordinance immediately.
“This is public shout-out for the appropriate RTM committees to take this on — or form a new committee if needed. It would make sense to include people like Andrew Colabella and Jennifer Johnson, who have consistently raised this issue, along with others who can help move it forward.
“We also know that during reconstruction, a temporary span will allow all legal loads to cross for 3+ years. Even a bridge rehab would bring increased truck traffic back. We should be ready with a plan to act, if and when the trucks show up.
“RTM: It’s time to get to work. Are you ready? Your constituents are.”
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Mark Yurkiw — the Westport artist who has been very involved in relief efforts for his native Ukraine — shares an item about Westport’s sister city Lyman, from the Ukrainian National News Agency. It reports:
“The main and most relevant objective for the enemy is Lyman. Lyman has long been a target because (Russia’s) long-term goal is to reach the northern outskirts of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.
“To do this, they need to capture Lyman and then advance further toward Raihorodok. From there, they would directly move on to the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, but for years the enemy has failed to achieve this.”
Westport Board of Education “community conversations” are wide-ranging affairs.
Residents are invited to raise any topic related to the schools.
And they do.
The next session is Tuesday (March 31, 12 p.m., Westport Library). Former Representative Town Meeting moderator Velma Heller will facilitate the conversation.
Connecticut’s secretary of the state has a lot on her plate.
At the Westport Library on Thursday, Stephanie Thomas described some of her many roles. She was the second in a 3-part “Your State — Your Business” series, sponsored by the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce.
Among the topics: scams targeting business owners and individuals, how businesses and residents can get involved civically, and human trafficking. She also answered questions, including about election policy.
The series continues April 2 (11 a.m., Westport Library), with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Click here for more information.
Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas and Matthew Mandell, Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce director.
The Chicago Dawgs play, starting at 7:30. Bar food (pizza slices and hot dogs) are available, along with early bird bar specials. Click here for tickets.
Chicago Dawgs
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All soccer players in kindergarten through 6th grade are invited to a fun clinic and fundraiser next weekend (Sunday, March 29, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Wakeman Field). Westport travel coaches and Staples players will run the event.
It’s been organized by Bedford Middle School 8th grader Allyson Post. Donations ($25 per player) support the soccer program at Bridgeport’s Columbus School, for grades K-8.
Allyson started working with the Columbus program last year. It was so meaningful, she has continued her involvement.
To register through Full Court Peace, click here. Click “Donate,” and note “Soccer Clinic” in the notes. Then click here, so organizers can plan for each age group.
The Weston History & Culture Center opens for the season on March 29 (1 to 4 p.m.).
Visitors can enjoy a new “Weston at Work ”interactive exhibit in the Coley barn, take a guided tour of the Coley House (circa 1940s), learn about the forgotten village of Valley Forge, and explore the Weston Meteorite. For more information, click here.
Looking at the Lockwood Loom, at the Weston History & Culture Center.
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Is that spring we see, sprouting in Molly Alger’s yard?
We can’t imagine a better “Westport … Naturally” photo for today!
If you’re a teen — or ever were — this one’s for you.
(Hey, teens! And everyone else! If you enjoy “06880” — and appreciate the work that goes into posting 3 to 6 times a day — please click here, to support our work. Thank you all!)
This week in 2020 — a few days into the realization that the COVID-19 pandemic was real — I put out a call for artwork. The idea was that “in these perilous times,” “06880” readers could create — and share — artwork.
“Westport really is an arts community,” I wrote.
It doesn’t matter how old (or young) you are. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a brush, crayon or camera in your life. You don’t have to be an experienced painter, sketcher or collagist. You can work together, or with your family or anyone else you’re self-isolating with
All you need is an idea and a way to express it. Serenity, love, calm, separation, friends, solitude, fear, hope — whatever you’re thinking or feeling, get to work!
Artwork flooded in. It was broad, beautiful and imaginative. The very next day, I posted our very first online gallery. (It was first called “0*6*Art*Art*0.” at Stacie Curran’s suggestion. Click here to see that inaugural post.)
In the early days, I tried to limit the Saturday feature to work specifically created during the crisis, or that showed powerfully some of the effects those days had on everyone.
Soon, I broadened it to art with any theme (or none).
We’ve been going strong ever since. Today, we kick off the 7th year of our online art gallery.
As always, we invite you to be part of next week’s exhibition. No matter your age; the style or subject you choose — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, mixed media, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
Just email a JPG to 06880blog@gmail.com. And please include the medium you’re working in. As they have for 6 years, lovers want to know.
“Open Your Eyes” (Elise Mergenthaler — age 16, One River Art student)
“Mr. Silhouette Snowflake” — mixed media, pastels on paper (Patricia McMahon — Available for purchase; click here)
Photographer Mike Hbbard says: “Beings, far beyond our galaxy, visit Earth regularly to study its life forms. They speculate that the creatures there, calling themselves humans, may go extinct through their own doing — unless they learn that kindness for each other is their only path to survival as a species.”
“Diane Heading Off to Work” — watercolor (Eric Bosch)
“STOP” — acrylic on original metal sign (Jerry Kuyper)
“Congress” (Mark Yurkiw — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (Tom Doran — Available for purchase; click here)
“Orange Art” — a clementine and watercolor (Steve Stein)
“Child Support” (Lawrence Weisman)
“June and Friend” (Martin Ripchick — Available for purchase; click here)
Untitled (John Maloney)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery –as it has been for 6 years. But please consider an anniversary donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
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