Monthly Archives: July 2010

Unwelcome At Compo

Posted on July 26, 2010 | 3 comments

Among the discussion of whose beach Compo is, we can probably all agree on one population we’d rather not see:

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Posted in Beach, Westport life

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Gene Seidman Mixes It Up

Posted on July 26, 2010 | 3 comments

Young, old, black, white, married, divorced, gay, straight — once a month or so, they all get together at a restaurant, theater or yoga studio.

They dance to great music, sing with the band, and have a funky time long past midnight.

It’s a movable Mix party.  And it takes place not in the Meatpacking District.  Not in Williamsburg.  Not even New Haven.

It happens right here in Westport.

The Mix parties — or MIX, as the word appears on posters and the website — are the brainchild of Gene Seidman.

Gene Seidman dances with Dr. Barbara Siminovich, an Argentine living in Bridgeport who attends every MIX.

A graphic designer with an interest in eco-friendly products who’s directed projects for IBM, the New York Times, Verizon, UNICEF and the USTA — and held important posts at Priceline, MOMA and Unilever — Seidman started his after-hours events a year ago.

The Saugatuck Rowing Club wanted to attract more diners.  Seidman proposed a dance party.  Word-of-mouth advertising drew 135 people.

Seidman realized he’d found an unfilled need.

“We have a problem,” the longtime Westporter (and current RTM representative) said.

“Fairfield and South Norwalk are on the up-and-up.  They’ve got more restaurants, more nightlife.  There’s not a hell of a lot to do here after 10 p.m.  We need to light a fire.”

His MIX parties provide the heat.

They’ve been held at Splash and the Dressing Room.  When they got too big for Michel Nischan’s restaurant, they moved next door to the Westport Country Playhouse barn.

The most recent event — held earlier this month at Kaia Yoga — featured a Cuban band from New York (and belly dancing).  The after-party at Manolo lasted until 2 a.m.

The mix of people is key.  The crowd skews over-40, but attitude counts more than age.

The MIX parties take place in Westport, but the crowd is more diverse — in terms of race, sexuality, even clothing styles — than you usually see here.

And everyone has fun.

For proof, check out the YouTube video.  “The best bands and best music,” someone says.

“Dynamic people,” another offers.

“Kick-ass band.”  “Everyone is smiling.”  “I came by myself, and I’m dancing.”

Ah, dancing.

A mix of a MIX.

“I love to dance,” Seidman says.  “It’s a great way for people to interact.  These days, people are so concerned about money and everything else.  They text and email each other.  But that’s not connecting.

“People have to get out.  When you dance, you connect.  When you dance, you’re beautiful and alluring.”

Lest you get the wrong idea, Seidman is married — and has been for 24 years.

“But I still want to get out,” he says.

Seidman works closely with MIX musical director Crispin Cioe.  The Westport saxophonist/composer/producer has toured and recorded with the Rolling Stones, Tom Waits and Ray Charles.

Cioe’s classic/nouveau soul band — Cracked Ice — has also played at MIX parties.

This Friday (July 30), Cracked Ice plays at the Levitt Pavilion.

Seidman is organizing the after-party — from 10:30 p.m. on, at Manolo.

It’s not a full-fledged MIX.  But everyone’s invited.

Provided you want to have fun.

(To find out more — and get on the MIX mailing list — click on www.mixct.com)

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Posted in Entertainment, People, Restaurants, Westport Country Playhouse

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Welcome To Compo!

Posted on July 25, 2010 | 32 comments

For the past couple of years, it was the elephant in the room.

Finally, people are talking about it.  Over the past week or so, at least a dozen people have mentioned it to me.  Some asked me to comment on “06880.”

The subject:  non-Westporters at the beach.

Okay.  To be perfectly honest:  the increase in New Yorkers and New Jerseyans at Compo.

Particularly those with foreign accents.

I first noticed the phenomenon 2 or 3 years ago.  Nearly every day, cars with out-of-state plates would park at South Beach — the part closest to the cannons.  What looked like several extended families stayed all day, playing and swimming and cooking out.

They seemed to be Russian — Ukrainian perhaps, or maybe Georgian — and they were there on weekdays as well as weekends.  They were there when the weather was gorgeous, and when it was not.

A group commandeered the grassy median between the South Beach parking lot and the sand.  They sat under the shade trees, enjoying themselves.  They too were there almost all the time, usually late in the day.

This summer, I — and many others — have seen more groups coming to Compo.  There are the soccer players — all men, of all ages — on the grass near the softball diamond, and closer to Compo Beach Road.

There’s a group that plays dominoes in the pavilion by the volleyball courts, and spreads out on the beach nearby.

Others find other spots.  Some set up tents or canopies.  The groups are big.  They speak a variety of languages.

I like it.

Whose beach is it, anyway?

Their presence — and activity — adds flavor and energy to the white, suburban scene I’ve grown accustomed to.  There’s enough room for everyone, and the out-of-towners certainly enjoy themselves.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t be back.

I’m sure they’re good for business at Joey’s.

And, at $20 a car — $40 on weekends  — the revenues certainly add to town coffers.  I can’t imagine the added cleanup costs aren’t covered by parking fees.

But I know I’m in (ahem) a minority.

I’ve heard complaints about “out-of-towners” taking over our beach.  (And no, this does not refer to folks from Wilton and Ridgefield.)

I’ve heard questions about why “they” don’t go to Sherwood Island.

I’ve heard criticism of “loud music,” large groups, big tents and garbage.  (You want garbage?  Take a stroll through the brick pavilion any weekend afternoon — or walk along Soundview after the fireworks.)

And yes, I’ve heard dismissive comments about “all the different languages” spoken at the beach these days.

I’m glad our beach is not exclusive.  I’m glad “out-of-towners” find Compo attractive enough to keep coming back.  I’m glad we’re collecting entrance fees at the gate.

As I said, I know my position is not shared by many Westporters.  I’ve heard enough tsk-tsking to realize the “Welcome” mats we place on our doorsteps don’t always extend to our shore.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

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Posted in Beach, Westport life

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Your Move, Mate

Posted on July 24, 2010 | Comments Off on Your Move, Mate

The Westport Public Library thinks of everything.

In the main area there’s now a chess table — with men.

A sign invites library-goers to make a move or two — or for 2 to play together.

It’s the continuing nature of the game that’s so intriguing.  People make moves throughout the day — quietly, unobtrusively, anonymously.

Another sign indicates whose move is next (White, around noon yesterday).

I’m not sure who will bask in the glory when the game ends with checkmate.

But that’s probably not the idea, is it?

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Posted in Library

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A Special Graduation Day

Posted on July 24, 2010 | 2 comments

Last month, more than 400 seniors graduated from Staples.

Yesterday, 1 did.

In a special ceremony in principal John Dodig’s conference room, Eitan Dror — who missed the June ceremony due to illness — received his diploma.

And more.

Principal John Dodig hands Eitan Dror his diploma, and a DVD.

Dressed in a cap and gown, Eitan marched in to a recording of “Pomp and Circumstance.”  As superintendent of schools Elliott Landon — and secretaries, vice principals, a nurse, Class of 2010 salutatorian Morgan Patrick and Eitan’s parents all smiled broadly — Dodig presented the better-late-than-never grad with a DVD of the baccalaureate and graduation ceremony he’d missed.

Eitan turned the tassel on his cap.  He tossed it in the air.  He thanked everyone for coming.

Then they all dug into a celebratory cake, baked by the school’s attendance guru Patty McQuone.

This fall Eitan joins 3,000 other freshmen at Binghamton College, .

He’ll be the only one, though, who had his own graduation ceremony.

(Click on this YouTube clip of Eitan’s ceremony.)

Patty McQuone baked this special cake -- shaped like a graduation cap, complete with tassel.

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Posted in People, Staples HS

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The Cavalry Arrives

Posted on July 23, 2010 | 5 comments

About 3 dozen construction vehicles — electrical, tree work, what have you — rolled into the Staples parking lot this morning.

They convoyed from Massachusetts, then gathered in the impromptu staging area.  They got their marching working orders, and within a few minutes — after coffee and a bathroom break — fanned out around to town to help clean up after Wednesday’s non-tornado.

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Posted in Weather, Westport life

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Oscar Hijuelos’ “Beautiful Maria”

Posted on July 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Oscar Hijuelos’ “Beautiful Maria”

What’s Westport in 2010 got to do with Havana of the 1950s?

Plenty, says Oscar Hijuelos.

Oscar Hijuelos

The American novelist — the 1st Hispanic to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction — says the connection between Cuba and the US goes so far back in history that “even ‘white suburban’ audiences feel familiar with the culture.”

For well over a century, he told “06880,” the island not far from Florida was a tourist destination, and source of tobacco and sugar.  Above all, “the Cuban psyche, via its music — of the rumba and the mambo — as well as its emotionality, have filtered into America’s consciousness in a way that few other Latin cultures have.”

Desi Arnaz had a big effect on Americans’ perceptions of Cuba too.

Lucy Arnaz Luckinbill — Desi and Lucille Ball’s daughter — now lives in Weston.  Hijuelos has known her since the early 1990s.  Two years ago, she helped arrange Hijuelos’ appearance at the Westport Public Library, where he received the Booked for the Evening award.

The riverside setting, the “elegance of the library” and the folks who attended all made a positive impression on the writer and his wife.

Now Hijuelos is set for a return appearance.  On Monday (July 26, 7:30 p.m.) he’ll talk about his new book, Beautiful Maria of My Soul.

A sequel of sorts to his famed The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, it’s an examination of the life of the muse of that novel as she moves from childhood to the fast lane in mid-20th century Cuba.  Her story involves fierce love, luscious sex and otherworldly beauty, as well as heartbreak and hardness.

It’s a story that should delight Westport readers — though most have never been to Cuba.  And anyone who heard Hijuelos 2 years ago knows how entertaining he can be.  Like any superb writer, he knows his audiences well.

“As exotic as my writing may seem in some ways, I always look for common cultural ground to draw my non-Cuban readers closer,” he says.  I try to create a world that both Cubans and Americans can relate to.”

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Posted in Arts, Library

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They’re Workin’ On It

Posted on July 22, 2010 | 1 comment

As they did in March, Westporters are complaining about the slow pace of power restoration.  It was hard to find crews this morning — and, according to Westport Patch, there was frustration in the selectman’s office, and police, fire and public works departments regarding CL&P’s coordination and cooperation with town officials.

Early this evening, I was pleased to see 2 crews — particularly because they were working near my condo.

If you don’t recognize the “National Grid” truck (above), that’s because they came from Massachusetts to help.

This CL&P crew (yellow truck above) toiled nearby, behind the Getty station near Playhouse Square.  My power came back on a few minutes later.

Thanks, guys — and I hope we don’t have to call on you for at least a few more months.

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Posted in Downtown, Westport life

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Raining On Our Parade

Posted on July 22, 2010 | 1 comment

The National Weather Service has decided that yesterday’s weather incident was not a tornado.

“Just strong winds,” a spokesman said.  Not even any “circular motion.”

Yikes.

Being on High Point Road — then navigating Hyde Lane, Long Lots and environs in the immediate aftermath — was scary enough for me.

I was sure I’d end up like Dorothy and Toto.

And I definitely saw flying monkeys.

I snapped this photo in the midst of yesterday's non-tornado.

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Posted in Weather, Westport life

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The Show Goes On

Posted on July 22, 2010 | 1 comment

In the world of drama, there’s always drama.

In the middle of Staples Players’ final push for their spectacular summer production of “Rent,” their website went down.  That’s cost them hundreds of ticket sales, prior to next week’s productions (July 29, 30 and 31 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 31 at 2 p.m.).

The cast and crew want Westporters to know that tickets are now available at an alternate site:  http://playersrent.tumblr.com.

We would say “break a leg,” but…

"Rent" cast members (from left) Chris McNiff, David Ressler and Tyler Jent. (Photo by Kerry Long)

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Posted in Arts, Staples HS

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