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Police officers and Staples High School students battled last night. For 2 hours in the fieldhouse, they hurled objects at each other.
It’s all good.
The event was Dodge-a-Cop. The annual dodgeball tournament is a fundraiser for Toys for Tots — and a great way to get police and teenagers working together. Each student team included at least one officer.
Dodge-a-Cop was organized by the Westport Youth Commission and Staples’ Teen Awareness Group.
There were no arrests.
Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas (2nd from right) and RTM member Andrew Colabella (far right) joined in the fun. (Photo courtesy of Westport Police Department)
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Dueling tree lighting ceremonies!
Both the town of Westport, and Wakeman Town Farm, will do the honors on Friday, December 3.
The Town Hall event begins at 5 p.m. The Staples High School Orphenians will sing.
The WTF lighting starts at 4:30, and features music, cocoa, cookies and a bonfire.
If there are any other tree lightings that day, please let us know.
The Town Hall tree, in 2018. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Speaking of the holiday season: What a time for parties, celebrations and fun!
Not time for drinking and driving afterward, though.
Smart imbibers know that one way to avoid arrest — or worse — is to call Uber. Now — thanks to the Connecticut Department of Transportation Office of Highway Safety — you can get a $10 discount off that potentially life-saving ride.
And it’s available every day from now through January 14, between 5 p.m. and 4 a.m. The discount code is: SaveTheNightCT.
Put that code in your phone now. It may be harder to find when you need it the most.
This program comes thanks to a grant from the Governors Highway Safety Association, in partnership with Uber. Connecticut is one of only 5 states to receive the funds.
For more information, click here.
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Anaiza Morales moved to Westport only 2 months ago, from New Jersey. But it didn’t take her long to get involved in her Westfair neighborhood.
Impressed by how much fun everyone had on Halloween, last Sunday she organized a chili crawl/cook-off.
Anaiza met new neighbors, and their college-age kids and mothers in for the holiday weekend. They shared food and stories, while walking around the neighborhood (in perfect weather).
It was a blast. And people who did not have a chili recipe brought dessert.
The competition was close. Only .6 of a point separated the top cooks (as calculated by a young engineer). The winner: Wendy, with Brazilian feijoada.
Enjoying the chili (and warm weather) in the Westfair neighborhood.
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MoCA Westport’s current exhibition – “When Caged Birds Sing” — features 8 life-size sculptures by the late Westport artist Ann Weiner. They represent women’s rights activists who survived abuse because of their gender, yet still advocate for the rights of others at risk.
In conjunction with this important exhibit, MoCA hosts 3 human rights experts for a panel discussion at 6 p.m. on December 2:
- Claudia King, from Connecticut’s Human Anti-trafficking Response Team
- Cadence Pentheny, coordinator, community and corporate learning, LGBTQ+ Training Institute, Triangle Community Center
- Jamie Rubin, Southwest regional manager, Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities.
The event is free, but pre-registration is required (click here). Attendees who arrive early can grab a beverage at Bar MoCA. Guests can stay after the event to watch a documentary associated with the exhibition.
Part of MoCA’s “Caged Bird” exhibition.
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A memorial service for Julie Belaga — the former state representative, regional EPA administrator and Export-Import Bank director who died Friday — is set for December 19 (10 a.m., Westport Library). All of Julie’s friends and admirers are welcome.
Julie Belaga
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Two days ago, our Roundup featured 2 intriguing photos. Both showed a fancy women’s shoe, abandoned at Compo Beach. In one shot, it lay on the ground; in the other, it was perched on a railing.
That shoe sure gets around. Here’s a third image:
(Photo/Indrani Basu)
It sure gets around. If you see it on the cannons — or anywhere else — let us know.
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“Westport … Naturally” celebrates Turkey Day with, of course …
Dogwood Lane buck. (Photo/Eric Roth)
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And finally … 5o years ago today, hijacker DB Cooper parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane over the Pacific Northwest, with $200,000 in ransom money. He has never been found.
Click here for full details. Click below for DB Cooper’s song.
Correction, Dan: The Wakeman Town Farm Holiday Tree Lighting is Friday, December 3rd. It starts at 4:30 pm with live music followed by the tree lighting. Then hot cocoa and cookies and roasting marshmallows at the bonfire until 6:00. Admission is free!
My bad. Both the Wakeman Town Farm AND town tree lighting ceremonies are Friday, December 3. Apologies!