WestportCT.gov sponsors a “Celebrate Westport” calendar — which, for some reason, does not include town government meetings.
WestportNow offers a calendar — with events for that day only.
A new startup hopes to become our go-to local calendar app.
Burbio — a “fun play” on the word “suburb,” they say — has spread to 30 Fairfield and Westchester County towns. Users pick and choose calendars for local organizations, non-profits and schools, customizing which ones they see. Color coding permits everyone in, say, one family to see every other family member’s calendar at once.
Burbio users can also sync information to a digital calendar, and be notified of changes or additions.
An email digest of “important school, community and school sports events” is sent to users every Sunday, a press release says. (It looks, though, as if the sports link is not yet live. It also looks pretty minimalist, as shown below.)
A Burbio screenshot.
Burbio is the brainchild of Julie and Dennis Roche. The Pelham, New York couple with 4 kids was going bonkers trying to keep track of everyone’s activities. Dennis is no stranger to Westport — he lived near the beach in the 1990s.
Burbio is still finding its way. The groups currently listed for Westport are the library, schools and Farmer’s Market. So the main calendar includes events like a 6th-7th grade “can competition,” and an elementary school parent social.
A “Westport Holiday Events” page included “The Nutcracker,” craft shows — and Staples Players’ “Fiddler on the Roof.” (Okay, maybe they were thinking Chanukah.) And there are no town commission or board meetings.
Burbio is just getting started. As more people use it — and more organizations add their calendars — it will become more inclusive, more robust and livelier.
For now, check it out: www.burbio.com.