Roundup: Supper & Soul, Passover, Shakespeare …

In a town filled with high-profile, high-impact organizations working hard to make the world a better place, Westporters should be aware of AWARE.

Its name is not as well known as some others. But the group — whose acronym stands for Assisting Women through Action, Resources and Education — quietly and efficiently gets stuff done.

And they do it in a unique way.

Each year, AWARE selects a women’s cause — female veterans, say, or breast cancer, literacy, or refugees and immigrants,

Then they partner with a charity working in that area. Through a fundraiser, hands-on activity and educational event, AWARE shines a light on specific women’s issue, all year long.

This year’s partner is Inspirica. The Stamford-based non-profit strives to end homelessness and housing insecurity by helping individuals and families achieve stability through support services, and affordable housing.

To raise funds for an Inspirica playground, AWARE is hosting a “Canvas & Cocktails” party. The event is Thursday, May 16 (6 p.m.) at Clarendon Fine Art, on Main Street.

Tickets are $75. Click here to purchase.

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Nearly 200 people rocked to West End Blend at the Westport Library last night, in the concert portion of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce’s Supper & Soul event.

Earlier almost 100 enjoyed dinner, at 10 downtown restaurants. And after the show, concert-goers went for drinks there too.

Chamber director Matthew Mandell says, “This translates into a direct infusion of over $6,500 into the local  economy.”

That “sounds” pretty good!

West End Blend, at Supper & Soul.

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Tonight is the first night of Passover.

John Kelley offers this history lesson:

“At the onset of Passover, Ashkenazi Jews abstain from eating products containing corn, including those sweetened with corn syrup.

“It didn’t used to be so bad, as products were traditionally sweetened using sugar.

“The person to blame is Edward Bedford — once Westport’s richest man. He was head of the Corn Products Company, and set out to convince companies to switch from sugar to lower-priced corn syrup.

“In the meantime, if you want Coke or Pepsi made with real sugar, stock up on the bottles with the yellow caps. They’re made with sugar, and are kosher for Passover.”

Edward T. Bedford

John Kelley is a wealth of information on famous former Westporters.

Responding to yesterday’s Roundup story on Henry Moses Judah — the Civil War general and Westport resident who last week, 158 years after his death, finally got a headstone, by his tomb at the cemetery on Wilton Road and Kings Highway North — Kelly writes:

“Henry Judah had a more famous brother, Theodore Judah, who surveyed the route taken by the first transcontinental railroad. San Francisco, where I now live, has a Judah Street named in his honor.”

San Francisco: N Judah train on Judah Street at 19th Avenue.

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Today is also International Mother Earth Day. This year’s theme is “Planet vs. Plastic.”

Longtime Westporter Aye Aye Thant — whose father U Thant was the third secretary-general of the United Nations — writes:

“The day recognizes the earth and its ecosystems as humanity’s common home and the need to protect her to enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity.”

“In 1969 my father talked about the environment as an urgent and shared global challenge, and opened the UN’s first meeting on ‘the human environment.’

“He warned: ‘Never in the 25-year history of the United Nations has there been a problem of more relevance to all nations than the present environmental crisis.’

“On this day may I share my father’s prayer for our Mother Earth, as he rang the Peace Bell at the UN on Spring Equinox Earth Day, March 21, 1971:

“’May there only be peaceful and cheerful earth days to come for our beautiful spaceship earth. as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.'”

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Dorothy Abrams died peacefully in her home in Minnetonka, Minnesota yesterday, 4 days shy of her 97^th birthday.

Dorothy lived in Westport from 1963 until 2010, when she moved to Minnesota to be close to her son David and his family.

She taught arithmetic at Kathleen Laycock Country Day School (now Greens Farms Academy), Roton Middle School and Norwalk High School before retiring to an active life of volunteerism and travel.

Dorothy was a member of the Westport Woman’s Club and the Nature Conservancy’s Devil’s Den Ordway Nature Preserve in Weston, and tutored students in the Bridgeport school system. She also served as an election judge in Westport.

Dorothy and her family were longtime members of Temple Israel, where she served for years on the Social Action and Caring Committees. She became an elder of sorts, sharing her institutional memory and guiding younger members as they led the congregation down paths of justice and comfort.

Long Island Sound was her happy place for nearly her entire life.

She is survived by her son David (Audrey), and grandchildren Rachel (Claire Steinhoff) and Sal Abrams. She was predeceased by her brother Eugene Cohn, sister Anne Werner, husband Arthur, and daughters Judith Abrams and Janet (Gene) Karoscik.

Dorothy’s funeral will be at the Temple Israel Cemetery at 225 Richards Avenue in Norwalk at noon on Thursday (April 25) — her birthday. The service will be livestreamed; click here.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fairfield County Chapter of the Nature Conservancy or a local food shelf.

Dorothy Abrams

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William Shakespeare’s actual April birthdate was not recorded. His birthday is now celebrated on the date of his death: April 23.

Tomorrow marks the 408th anniversary of his passing, at 52 years old. The Bard of Avon packed a lot of writing into that short life. (And with a quill pen, too.)

Alert “06880” reader Fred Cantor passes on this long, but interesting, Shakespearean tale. Read to the end, for the important Westport connection:

“There is a lovely small public garden in Stratford, Connecticut, at the entrance to what once was the site of the Shakespeare Festival, and is now known as Shakespeare Park.

“The garden is called Will’s Garden — but not for the reason you would think.

“It was named for Will Geer, the late actor who was best known for his role as Grandpa Walton.

“Before that fame, he acted at the Shakespeare Festival for a number of years.

“And before that he earned a master’s degree in botany, and became an avid gardener — including creating the herbarium at the entrance to what was then the Shakespeare Festival.

“The garden fell into a state of disrepair over time. Its revitalization was spearheaded by Stratford resident Christine Rodney, who was given the name of Sal Gilbertie as someone who could help.

“Sal — the owner of Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center in Westport — has been among the most generous of donors over the years. He has always told Christine: ‘Take as much as you want.'”

I’m not sure if roses grow in Will’s Garden. But if they do, I’m sure — thanks to Sal Gilbertie — they smell very sweet.

(Photo/Fred Cantor)

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Speaking of flowers: On any list of springtime delights, tulips must be near the top.

Colorful proof — though none is needed — comes from today’s “Westport … Naturally” image:

(Photo/Matt Murray)

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And finally … when you saw today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo (above), you knew this was coming, right?

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