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One of the surest signs of spring is the return of the Westport Farmers’ Market.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 13. The Market will run every Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through mid-November, at the Imperial Avenue parking lot. Cross Culture Kombucha will offer a special toast, to celebrate WFM’s perseverance through the pandemic.
The Market’s shopping experience and programming (including Get Growing, Music @ the Market, Artist Alley, Chef @ the Market, Friend of the Market and Young Shoots) will operate much like before COVID — while honoring all state and local health guidelines.
Over 50 vendors will participate this season (click here for the full list), with over 30 on site each Thursday. New vendors include
- Parlor
- Stonington Kelp Farm
- Edenesque (alternative dairy)
- Tribus Brewery
- Sprout Juice Bar
- Stylish Spoon
- And more.
For more information, click here or email director@westportfarmersmarket.com.
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State and local officials wanted to support for outdoor dining. What better spot to do it than an actual restaurant.
Yesterday, the group gathered at Tarantino’s. They discussed a new state expansion of rules, and the possibility of making them permanent. Removing parking, adding seating on Railroad Place, and the use of town- and state-owned parking lots were among the concepts.
Dining and discussion at Tarantino’s (clockwise from left): 2nd Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Police Chief Foti Koskinas, 1st Selectman Jim Marpe, State Representative Jonathan Steinberg, Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce executive director Matthew Mandell, State Senator Tony Hwang, State Representative Stephanie Thomas.
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A few spots remain for tomorrow’s (Saturday, May 1) Fleet Feet 5K and kids’ fun runs. The youngsters start at 9:30 a.m., with the 5K following at 10. Click here to register.
Both kick off the 2nd annual Fitness & Health Expo. The event takes place all along Main Street (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), but many more businesses and organizations are involved.
Westport’s leading studios and clubs — including JoyRide, Pure Barre, Row House, Elliptica, Intensity, Physique57, Club Pilates, Saugatuck Rowing Club, The Dance Collective, Stretch Lab, Kaia Yoga and the Westport Weston Family YMCA — will organize fun (and challenging) classes on main Street.
Walk-ups are not permitted for classes. To register, contact each studio directly. Observers are welcome, of course!
Other health and wellness folks will have a presence too: Franny’s Farmacy, RESTORE Cryo, Cparkly Soul, Wisdom and Youth MedSpa, Embrace Orthodontics, New England Hemp Farm, TAP Strength Lab and Organic Krush. It’s sponsored by the Westport Downtown Association.
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Jill Bodach is an adjunct professor at Fairfield University. Describing Charlie Capalbo — the Fairfield resident whose grandmother is Westport writer Ina Chadwick, and who has fiercely battled cancer twice — she says:
“Over the years, I have had the privilege of being allowed into some of my students’ most intimate moments: the grief of losing loved ones, the end of relationships, engagements and graduate school acceptances, but never has a student’s story impacted me as deeply as Charlie’s.
He was enrolled in my Creative Writing: Fiction 1 class this semester but before classes could really begin, I learned he wouldn’t complete the semester due to his treatment. I wanted to help. Maybe it was because I saw this handsome, curly-haired young man’s face on my class roster and thought, ‘Wow, the world can be so incredibly unfair sometimes. Maybe it was because I’m a parent myself. Maybe it was because my son Jack was very sick when he was born and my husband and I endured the mental and emotional rollercoaster of having a hospitalized child. Maybe it was because as we emerged from the dark isolation of the pandemic I felt the need to connect with others deeply and more fervently than ever before.
When Jill’s trainer challenged her to run 100 miles in May, she saw it as a way to help Charlie.
When he told Jill during a text that he uses Uber Eats regularly — and she thought about the important role food plays in our lives — she had an idea for a fundraiser.
“I will think of Charlie with every step I take,” she writes of her 100-mile goal. “I am in awe of his courage, bravery, resilience and grit …. Someday Charlie will be back on the ice, back on campus and back to enjoying his life, but in the meantime, I’m grateful to be able to help.”
All proceeds from “Fuel for the Fight” will purchase Uber Eats gift cards for the Capalbos. Their expenses have been enormous. Click here to contribute.
Charlie and his mother, Jennifer Wilde Capalbo — with food.
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Attention, middle schoolers looking for an in-person social justice theater camp:
Check out Camp WCP. That’s the newest offering from the Westport Country Playhouse. It runs July 6 through 30, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the rehearsal studio.
Actin will be taught in the morning, playwriting/production in the afternoon. Young artists will create original pieces focusing on “What does home mean to you?” Working with playwright and University of Michigan professor José Casas, they’ll weave their stories into a play.
On July 31, students will share their original creations at the Playhouse. with family and friends.
Registration begins Monday (May 3); click here.
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The Unitarian Church is nestled in the church off Lyons Plains Road. Nature is everywhere — including this photo by their director of social justice, David Vita.
“Dinner time,” he says simply.
(Photo/David Vita)
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And finally … Johnny Horton was born today, in 1925. If he hadn’t been killed in an automobile accident in 1960, there’s no telling how many other historical saga songs he could have recorded.
Regarding Charlie Capalbo, the donations are being done through Facebook. For those that don’t use Facebook, please find out how a contribution can occur.
Just an opinion here, and I’m torn writing it……..the restaurants have been through hell—as so many businesses have—but I just haven’t been able to embrace the idea at any point of eating in a parking lot or road. With the pandemic HOPEFULLY starting to wrap up—-if everyone does their part—why do the restaurants want to remain serving outdoors in unusual spots, like parking lots/sidewalks/roads? Do they expect business to swell so much that they will need the extra space that they never had before the pandemic?