There are 22 days until Christmas — but only 5 to the 4th annual “06880”/ Westport Downtown Association Holiday Stroll.
This Saturday’s event (December 7, 5 to 7 p.m.) will turn downtown into a fun, family-friendly and festive street festival. It’s a chance to meet friends and neighbors, enjoy free nibbles and drinks, and enjoy great discounts.
Staples’ elite Orphenians will sing. There’s a DJ, “piglet” reindeer, a “Human Snow Globe,” and the very popular s’mores fire pit.
Kids’ highlights include photos with Santa, Staples Players’ Buddy the Elf and other characters, face painting and ornament making.
Over 70 retailers, restaurants and others offer gifts, giveaway and more. Click here, then scroll down for the full list.
PS: Please bring a toy or two, for the Westport Police Department’s Toys for Tots collection box. Plus a letter to Santa, to drop in his very own mailbox.
S’mores …
… and Santa. (Photos/Dan Woog)
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The Westport Police Department has added 2 new officers.
Devonte Savage, age 30, comes from Bristol. He has worked for both the Hartford and Meriden Police Departments, most recently as a School Resource Officer.
Handel Sam, also 30, is a Bridgeport resident. Formerly a personal trainer, he will study for 6 months at the Milford Police Academy, then do 4 more months of field training in Westport.
Chief Foti Koskinas thanks the new officers for “taking a chance on the Westport PD. (They had) several employment opportunities, and chose Westport.”
Police Chief Foti Koskinas (center) with Officers Handel Sam and Devonte Savage.
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Yesterday’s Roundup reported on the removal of holiday decorations from a Bayberry Lane stop sign, at Easton Road.
Unlike October, when a resident took down a Halloween skeleton from the same spot, this one was done by Westport’s Public Works Department. Decorations are not allowed on public road signs.
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Mark your calendar for these upcoming Westport Farmers’ Market events. All are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their winter location: Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, on Sylvan Lane:
Saturday, December 7: Artists’ Market (3 dozen artists show and sell their wares)
Monday, December 23: Holiday Market
Tuesday, December 31: New Year’s Eve Market
Coming in January: the annual coat, mitten and hat drive, plus an educational program with wellness instructors.
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Markley Rizzi exhibits her oil paintings all month, as the Westport Book Shop’s featured exhibitor.
“My awareness of the earth, water and sky, and their relationship to the human spirit, allows me to paint freely, drawing on life experiences such as being a mother and my love for the water and the environment,” the artist says.
Markley Rizzi, with her artwork.
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Yesterday, friends and family of Gavin Creel celebrated his life, at the St. James Theatre.
Tonight at 6:45 he receives the ultimate actor’s tribute: The marquee lights of all Broadway theaters will be dimmed.
Creel — who died on September 30 at 48, of melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma, a rare form of cancer — was well known in Westport.
In January 2022, PBS broadcast “Stars on Stage,” a special performance taped 4 months earlier at the Playhouse.
Eight months later, when Renée Elise Goldsberry headlined the WCP benefit gala, Tony and Olivier Award winner Gavin Creel offered “coffee and conversation” as a silent auction item
Creel was a graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theater and Dance, about a decade before Staples High School 2003 graduate Justin Paul.
But when Paul and his musical theater songwriting partner, Benj Pasek, were just starting their careers, Creel gave them a boost by performing their songs.
Yesterday, screenwriter and theater journalist Jill Johnson Mann posted the audio of an interview she conducted with Creel, for Westport Magazine.
He talks about his journey to stardom, the challenges of the pandemic, the highlights of his Playhouse performance, and more. Click below to listen.
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Speaking of the Playhouse:
A full house turned out last night for “True Art.” The final Script in Hand reading of 2024, it was a sharp and funny tale of ambition, deception and self-discovery in the cutthroat art world.
Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand curator Mark Shanahan (3rd from left) poses with cast members and others (from left): Alyssa May Gold, Kimberly Senior (director), Charlie Reid, Bob Ari, Rebekah Vega-Romero (stage directions), Deidre Madigan, Jessica Provenz (playwright). (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Meanwhile, series and single tickets are now on sale for the 2025 Script in Hand season.
Readings are set for 8 Mondays: January 13, February 3, April 14, May 5, June 9, September 8, November 3 and December 1. Click here to purchase, and for details.
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Pianist David Hazeltine returns to the VFW this Thursday (December 5), to headline Jazz at the Post.
He has recorded 35 CDs as a leader, and hundreds more as a sideman.
Hazeltine is joined by trumpeter Josh Bruneau, bassist Boots Maleson, drummer Tim Horner, and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall.
Shows are 7:30 and 8:45 p.m. Dinner service begins at 7. Tickets are $20; $15 for veterans and students. Click here for reservations.
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The first frost of the year was yesterday.
Pam Docters captured a tiny bit of it, for our “Westport … Naturally” all-weather feature.
(Photo/Pam Docters)
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And finally … on this date in 1960, the musical “Camelot” opened on Broadway. It has since become associated with President Kennedy’s administration.
(Camelot may not be real. But “06880” sure is. And we really do rely on reader support to keep existing. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Yo Dan‼️ Saw you on Facebook narrating the holiday stroll. Lookin good 😎 nice hat🎅
The s’mores fire pits are courtesy of Nômade, right outside our restaurant. We love giving back to the community and creating this incredibly fun and well received activity.
The wonderful staples choir sing on our balcony’s and it is a very magical holiday evening.