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Congratulations to the Staples High School girls soccer team!
The #4 Wreckers battled #1 St. Joseph to a 0-0 draw in the FCIAC semifinals last night — then prevailed on penalty kicks, to advance to the league championship. It’s tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7 p.m.) Thursday (November 4, 7 p.m.) at Fairfield Warde High School.
Coco Crombie, Gaby Gonzalez and Gabriela de Brito each made their tension-filled, game-ending shots. McKenzie Didio saved 3 shots in goal, to propel the Westporters to the title match.
Coach Barry Beattie’s team hopes to make it 2 championships in a row. They beat St. Joseph in 2019. There was no match last year, due to COVID.
Good luck too to the Staples field hockey team. Seeded #3, they face #2 Darien tonight at 7:30., at Brien McMahon High School.
The Staples High School girls soccer team, at last month’s the Push Against Cancer …
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Halloween’s over. You’re rationing your kid’s candy, and cleaning the cobwebs (literally) from your yard. But what to do about that rotting pumpkin?
Bring it to the Westport Farmers’ Market on November 11 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Their 3rd annual Great Pumpkin Toss is a free, fun composting event.
Action Waste Solutions will accept all pumpkins (and gourds!) in their natural state at the market. Squishy, rotted pumpkins are welcome. If they’re decorated or painted, they unfortunately can’t be composted.
In addition to creating compost, pumpkins provide food for livestock. Ox Hollow Farm will fill their truck with pumpkins for their cows.
PS: You can also sign up for Action Waste Solution’s residential recycling collection service, and get your first month of service free.
Last year’s event diverted one ton of pumpkins from landfill. Let’s beat that this year!
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One of Westport’s most important holiday events — the annual Giving Program — is underway.
Aimed at friends and neighbors facing financial hardship, it’s funded entirely by community donations. Each year, over 100 Westport families with school-aged children benefit.
COVID — with unemployment, underemployment, food insecurity and stress — has increased the need.
During the pandemic, Westport’s Department of Human Services has pivoted from accepting toys and clothes. The emphasis now is on gift cards, checks and cash. Safety is one factor; so is the chance for parents to personalize their children’s gifts, while participating in the holiday season.
Individuals and organizations can click here to help; choose “Family to Family,” then “Holiday Giving Program.” Checks can be mailed to Westport Department of Human Services c/o Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880. Donations may also be dropped off at Town Hall by appointment.
Westport residents facing financial difficulties can call Human Services at 203-341-1050 or email humansrv@westportct.gov for confidential assistance.
Click here for more information. Questions about the program? Email adaugelli@westportct.gov or call 203-341-1183.
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As he battled ALS, Jonathan Greenfield was thinking of others. The well-known Westporter created Breathe4ALS, The goal was to improve the lives of people living with ALS by educating them about the Wim Hof breathing technique, and its ability to provide more energy, less stress and a heightened immune response — and to fundraise for ALS research.
Jonathan died in June, but his work continues. This Sunday (November 7, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) the non-profit he founded with his wife Iris holds its first Jonathan Greenfield Memorial Wim Hof fundamentals workshops. It’s called “Breathe Westport. Breathe!” Jonathan created Breathe 4 ALS with a dual mission: to improve the lives of people living with ALS and to raise money for ALS research.
The event will be held at the Greenfields’ home, and livestreamed. Tickets are $200 and $45, respective. All proceeds benefit Breathe4ALS. Click here to register, and for more information. Click here for a video on the Wim Hof technique.
Not long after his diagnoses, Jonathan Greenfield hiked in Spain with Wim Hof (left).
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Political season means political signs. You see them everywhere: traffic islands. Front lawns. Today, of course, at polling places.
They tout candidates for local offices. Except this one, spotted earlier today on South Compo.
The Tiger King is not on the ballot. Besides, the 2020 presidential election is over. Joe Biden won.*
(Photo/Matt Murray)
*Really.
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The Mercedes station wagon parked since summer front of Town Hall still remains there.
It’s not the only perhaps abandoned vehicle.
Chris Grimm says a Holiday Rambler travel trailer has sat in the Sherwood Island Connector I-95 commuter lot for at least a couple of weeks.
The door is wide open. He describes it as “ever so slightly furnished crack den chic. The only decoration is a Junie B. Jones bumper sticker on the inside of the front window. Looks like a metaphor for lost youth if there ever was one!”
Holiday Rambler in the I-95 lot. (Photo/Chris Grimm)
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MoCA Westport’s auction is online, and open. More than 50 items — including original art, unique experiences, and products from small Westport businesses — are available for bid.
Click here to participate. The auction closes November 15.
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Thoreau never gets old
To prove it, Westporter Andrew Blauner has compiled essays from 27 leading writers. Their original pieces explore how the 19th century philosopher/poet/ environmentalist/abolitionist influenced them.
Next Monday (November 8, 7 p.m.), he (Blauner, not Thoreau, Zoom) will talk about his new book, what he’s learned, and why we still need Thoreau in our lives. Click here to register, and purchase the book.
Henry David Thoreau
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The Westport Astronomical Society’s lecture series is one of our town’s unheralded gems. (The WAS calls itself, after all, “The Best Space in Connecticut.”)
Next up: the Hubble Telescope, and “A Brief Moment in Time.” It’s November 16 (8 p.m.). Click here to view.
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There are plenty of places to admire fall foliage. One of my favorites is at the entrance to Staples High School, just off North Avenue.
Dayle Brownstein loves it too. Here’s her photo — a perfect “Westport … Naturally” image, on this Election Day when there’s no school.
(Photo/Dayle Brownstein)
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And finally … today is Election Day. Leonard Cohen nails it. Sure, he was Canadian, but you get the idea.
Congratulations to Andrew Blauner. His collection of essays about Thoreau is excellent. I didn’t know Andrew was a Westporter!