Fashionably Westport just got even more fashionable.
Alisyn Camerota — the award-winning journalist, and former CNN anchor and host — will join fellow TV personality Dave Briggs as co-emcee.
They’ll make this the liveliest “Fashionably” event ever. The Westport Downtown Association-sponsored show (February 28, 7 p.m., Westport Library) — a benefit for Homes with Hope — features the latest styles, from the town’s mot sophisticated and fashion-forward retailers. Models are local friends and celebrities.
Click here for tickets, and more information. To donate silent auctiono items, or become sponsors, email events@westportdowntown.com, or operations@westportdowntown.com.
Startup Westport — our town’s public/private partnership for tech and entrepreneurial founders and funders — has spawned 2 intriguing special interest groups.
“Women in Tech & Innovation” is led by Tanaz Mody, an experienced venture capitalist and tech startup leader. The group welcomes all women, from experienced pros to those just getting started. Click here for more information.
The “Investor” special interest group is led by Dan Zuller, a VC investor and former entrepreneur. The group is for experienced founders and investors looking to connect, share insights, and engage in high-level discussions on emerging trends, market dynamics and the future of innovation. Click here to sign up for the first event, in March.
Meanwhile, last night’s inaugural first-Thursday-of-the-month social gathering was a smash.
Over 100 people gathered at Nômade for a high-energy night of networking, idea-sharing, drinks and fun.
Enjoying last night’s Startup Westport social event (clockwise from lower left): Jay Norris, Josh Guttman, Paige Parker, Ted Parker, Bari Schrager.
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Who opens an ice cream store in February — on a snowy day?
Van Leeuwen.
It was a great move.
Their new Church Lane shop was packed yesterday.
After all, every day is a good day for ice cream.
It didn’t hurt that they offered $1 scoops, and free totes.
Or that kids were home from school.
Because of a snow day.
(Photo/Doris Ghitelman)
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The next step for the proposed Sherwood Mill Pond project walkway project — including discussion of the gate and properties — is Tuesday (February 11, 7 p.m., Town Hall Room 201).
The Representative Town Meetingi Planning & Zoning, and Environment, Committees meet jointly to review plans.
Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates (Photo/Judith Katz)
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A reminder: Tomorrow (Saturday, February 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Stop & Shop), is the Westport Police Department and Sunrise Rotary Club food drive.
All donations support the Homes with Hope, and Westport Department of Human Services food pantries.
Police officers and volunteers will accept non-perishable food items and cash donations.
Suggested items include breakfast bars, baking goods, BBQ sauce, macaroni & cheese, canned vegetables and fruit, coffee, canned meats, canned stew, noodles, cereals, gluten-free foods, granola and protein bars, grated Parmesan cheese, hamburger and tuna helper, hearty soups, instant mashed potatoes, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, oatmeal, cooking oil, pancake mix and syrup, pasta and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, rice, spices, salad dressing, shelf-stable milk, and snacks. (No glass jars.)
Suggested personal care and household items include body wash, Clorox wipes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, razors, shampoo and oothpaste.
To volunteer, or offer a large pickup, call Anna Rycenga at 203-763-9656.
Volunteers, at a previous Sunrise Rotary Club and Westport Police Stop & Shop food drive.
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There are anecdotal stories that more Westporters are commuting back to New York City offices.
And then there’s photographic evidence:
(Photo/Bob Weingarten)
This was the scene Wednesday underneath the I-95 bridge, by the Greens Farms train station.
Scenes like this — from folks who don’t have a sticker, or find the parking lot full — have not been seen since before the pandemic.
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Emily Teall’s new “Tulip Bulb” sculpture has added a bit of whimsy to Grace Salmon Park.
The sculptor is one of many folks who have fun with it. Here she is: the artist, and her creation.
(Photo/Mary Schwartzman)
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Bonnie Bradley — the descendant of a famed Westport family, and who retained a lifelong love for this town — died Wednesday in Brentwood, Tennessee. She was 86, and lived in Roxbury, Connecticut.
Born in Bridgeport Ina Trivers Bradley and J. Kenneth Bradley, she grew up in Westport. Bonnie attended the Bolton School and Smith College.
She raised her children in Westport, and was deeply involved in the community. In 1999 she moved to Roxbury, where she continued her lifelong passion for service.
Bonnie was president of the Junior League of Greater Fairfield County, a board member of the Roxbury Senior Center and Friends of the Library, and a docent at the Glebe House in Woodbury.
She was predeceased by her sister, Deborah Donnelly. She is survived by her brother James Bradley; her children Brad Colby of Boca Raton, Florida, Stuart Weise of Brentwood, Tennesse, and Wendy Bradley of Woodstock Valley, Connecticut, and her granddaughter, Ainslie Bradley Tschamler.
A funeral service will be held on Thursday February 13 (10 a.m., Roxbury Congregational Church; click here for the livestream, and to leave online condolences). Burial will follow at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Friends of the Roxbury Library.
Sand, snow and Sound combine to form today’s intriguing “Westport … Naturally” image:
(Photo/Pam Docters)
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And finally …Gene Barge died Sunday in Chicago. He was 98.
The New York Times calls him “one of the last surviving saxophonists of the golden age of R&B, whose career ran the gamut of 20th-century Black popular music.” Click here for a full obituary.
Among the hits he played on:
(You don’t really need to rescue “06880.” But tax-deductible contributions sure help keep this hyper-local blog alive. Just click here. And thank you!)
RIP my old pal Bonnie Bradley. Condolences to Wendy and Stuart..