Today is July 1.
Tomorrow — 2 day ahead of the holiday — the annual PAL fireworks will light the sky over Compo Beach. It’s Westport’s biggest and best party of the year.
It also has a major impact on traffic.
The beach closes to the public at 4 p.m. Only vehicles with fireworks passes hanging from their rearview mirrors can stay in the parking lot. The beach reopens to ticket holders no later than 5 p.m.
Access to the fireworks is through Compo Road South only. Hillspoint Road south of Greens Farms Road will be closed to through traffic.
Uber, Lyft and taxi services will drop riders off where Soundview Drive runs into Compo Road South. However, return service will not be possible until 11 p.m., due to one-way traffic exiting the beach. There will be delays of an hour or so after the fireworks end (approximately 9:30 to 9:45) for residents return to the Compo Beach area from elsewhere, and for anyone picking up people at the beach.
The fireworks are sponsored by Melissa and Doug Bernstein, and are an important fundraiser for Westport PAL. A few tickets remain, at the Parks & Recreation Department office in Longshore (during business hours), and the police station.
The traffic is worth it. (Photo/Elissa Moses)
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Speaking of the fireworks: Please send us your photos tomorrow!
Your parties and picnics; you and your friends hanging out, and your kids running around — however you celebrate, we hope you’ll share with our online community.
We’re less interested in shots of the actual fireworks — sorry, but they all tend to look the same — than in people. Faces, smiles, flags — email them to 06880blog@gmail.com, by 10 p.m. (the end of the fireworks show).
Thanks. It takes a village, and we’re glad you’re part of ours.
Jennifer Kobetitsch sent this last year. Let’s see what you’ve got!
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And now … the moment you’ve been waiting for: the winners of the Great Duck Race.
Westport Sunrise Rotary — which thanks to the event will distribute about $100,000 in grants and scholarships next year — announces the champions.
Congratulations to:
- Sharon Rychilk ($5,000 1st prize)
- Bruce Fritz ($1,000)
- Ellen Swisher ($500)
- Brian Stern ($500)
- Angelo Termine ($500)
- Gimbels Pon ($500)
- Ian Gorman ($500)
- Courtney Mullen ($500)
- Tim Kelly ($500)
- Sylvia Galambos ($500)
They are very lucky ducks!
The race is on! (Photo/Mark Mathias)
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The Westport Library Board of Trustees, welcomes 4 new members: Christy Charise, James Corgel, Darcy Travlos and Ashley Zwick.
There’s a new president too. Senior vice president Robert Boroujerdi succeeds Pat Wieser. She remains a board member member, while Krishna Patel takes over as senior vice president.
Other officers include treasurer Ben Chan, secretary Sheri Gordon, Finance Committee chair Scott Bennewitz, Governance and Nominations Committee chair Martina Sze, and Development Committee chair Mark Silverstein.
Boroujerdi is a former partner at Goldman Sachs. He later joined Third Point, an institutional asset manager, as the head of markets. He and his family live in Westport.
Leaving the board are longtime members Andrea Berkely, Randy Herbertson, Celeste La Croix, Jay Norris and Andrew Wilk.
Charise and her husband Justin co-founded Saugatuck Financial, where she headed up daily operations and growth initiatives for more than a decade. She continues to lead business development, marketing and strategic initiatives. The couple live in Westport, with their 2 children.
Corgel is an experienced business executive. He has been involved with several non-profits since retiring in 2013, after serving in key managerial roles with global responsbility at IBM. He and his wife Chris have lived in Westport for more than 35 years.
Travlos is s a capital markets specialist, investor and entrepreneur with deep experience across technology, media, industrial and consumer sectors. She moved to Westport in 2000 with her daughter, and now lives here with her black labrador Robert.
Zwick has more than 20 years’ experience in the nonprofit and education sectors. She serves as executive director of the Tuck Initiative on Workplace Inclusion at Dartmouth, and teaches courses on social impact at NYU. When she moved to Westport in 2020, her one demand was to live within walking distance of the Library.
New trustees at the Westport Library.
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Joe Lamp’l — aka “Joe Gardener” — spoke to a full house at the Westport Library last week, on ecological gardening for beauty and biodiversity.
The next day, he visited Greens Farms Garden Club’s “Growing for Good” vegetable gardens. Volunteers with the project grow organic vegetables, and donate them to Homes with Hope in Westport, and Bridgeport’s Mercy Learning Center.
He was awed by Prospect Gardens, and their generosity to the program, Click here to learn about the Greens Farms Garden Club, and Growing for Good.
Greens Farms Garden Club.
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Richard Orenstein was a significant benefactor of the Westport Museum for History & Culture.
On Sunday, friends unveiled a commemorative stone in his honor, near the front of the building.
He also donated generous to other organizations, here and in Sarasota, Florida — where he flew over 1,000 hours for Angel Flight, which provides free medical services.
(Photo/Nick Pisarro Jr.)
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Today’s “06880 … Naturally” photo from Compo Beach is very, um, interesting.
So interesting, in fact, that we invite you to write your own caption. Click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Andrew Colabella)
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And finally … on this date in 1908, SOS was adopted as the international distress signal.
(No, we’re not in distress — but “06880” does rely on the support of readers like you. If you get a chance, please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Cannot wait until we see all the Very Important People bombard the beach with their masses of chairs & tables at 6am to reserve swaths of Compo for the day – a privileged Westporter tradition like no other!!!
Have you not heard:
“First come, first served?”
A beautiful Westport tradition of being able to have your group sit together for the fireworks celebrating AMERICA.
Why don’t you take pictures for Dan of the citizens you deem VIP?
Have fun people! (I’ll be asleep, as will my dog LOL) I realize dogs aren’t allowed at the beach, but if you have a pet who’s afraid of fireworks, the folks at AKC Reunite (who microchip pets) say: Did you know the Fourth of July Holiday is our busiest time of year? That’s why we urge you to NEVER take your pet to an event with fireworks. Most cats and dogs will do anything to flee from fireworks’ scary bright lights, loud sounds and strong smells. Instead, keep them in a safe, quiet place inside and away from windows and doors.
CAPTION for today’s “06880 … Naturally” photo of 2 geese:
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I TOLD you we were supposed to fly north in the Spring… Now we are probably the last two Canadians in the United States!!!
Eh?
The new Library Trustees list with all its very accomplished CAPITALISTS, leads me to ask: Where are the ARTS & BOOKS people? THE Creatives?
Before Westport was the Town of Homes, it was the Town of Artists.
Whither the People’s Democratic Repository of Knowledge?
Created, as I know, by an Carnegie-local-boy-makes-good money bags founder. (Oh, Ms Street, look where we are now.)
All I can say is God Bless Dick Orenstein!! He was one of CLASP’s earliest Board members, and very longtime Board Chair. He supported us in every way imaginable since the mid 1980’s. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude professionally, and equally importantly personally. I can’t begin the share what he taught me over the past 4 decades. And I hope I was able to teach him a thing or two.
We miss him every day.
xoxo Tracy Flood – CLASP President
Caption- Here they come again for the darn fireworks
I’ve probably been to 50 fireworks in my life. Yawn
No worries Jack, all of 06880 know you’re a dud.
mean or a joke from a friend