Here’s the first Thanksgiving item of the year.
It won’t be the last.
Wakeman Town Farm’s annual Pie Sale begins next month. Proceeds support Earth Animal’s Mitten Project, aiding CT Food Share.
Orders can be placed for fresh-baked 9-inch Oronoque Farms pies: apple, apple crumb, blueberry, blueberry crumb, cherry, cherry crumb, and pumpkin (the latter is unbaked and frozen). Pies are $25 each.
Orders can include “a la mode,” with pints of Madagascar vanilla or bourbon brown sugar ice cream from Lindsay’s Handmade Ice Cream. Pints are $10 each.
Click here to order, and for more information.

Order today!
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Speaking of food: PopUp Bagels is going bicoastal.
The innovative baker — born as a lark in Westport during COVID — has already expanded to 4 Connecticut, 8 New York and 3 Massachusetts locations, plus 1 each in Tampa and Charlotte.
Next up: San Diego.
Specifically, La Jolla.
PopUp’s tagline is “Not famous, but known.” They may soon have to change it to “Not everywhere, but close.”

“06880” reader Elliot Weiler spotted this sight, on a recent visit to La Jolla. “06880”‘s tagline is right: “Where Westport meets the world.”
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Speaking still of food: Atlantic Retail is advertising a “rare big box opportunity on Route 1 in Westport, CT.”
The subject line in an email to realtors describes the 1385 Post Road property as “NEW Listing: Former Balducci Space Available.”
Photos show the store, with its 12,233 square feet on the ground floor, and more on the second and lower levels.

But Balducci’s is not “former.”
Nor, according to a manager who answered the phone, are they closing. “I’d be one of the first to know,” he says.
“06880” has learned that Balducci’s has a 10-year lease.
Stay tuned.

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The Staples High School boys soccer team lost only 2 matches, this season.
Last night at Fairfield Warde, they avenged one. Brendan Allen’s goal, and air-tight defense, helped the Wreckers beat Stamford 1-0, in the FCIAC (league) semifinal.
That vaults them into Monday’s final. They’ll face Greenwich: the only other squad to edge them this year. Kickoff is 6 p.m. October 27, at Fairfield Warde.
Staples is shooting for its 28th FCIAC title — by far the most in the league. But it would be their first since 2010, which was capped a string of 3 straight. They made the finals the next year too, but fell to Trumbull.
The Staples girls soccer team, meanwhile, has a semifinal of their own. They face Greenwich tonight (Friday) at Fairfield Ludlowe. Game time is 5 p.m.

Staples boys soccer celebrates their win. (Photo/John Walker)
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Through the first 4 days of early voting, 3.6 % of eligible Westport voters have cast ballots.
The breakdown:
- Democrats: 413 of 7,952 eligible voters (5.19%)
- Republicans: 91 of 3,338 eligible voters (2.73%)
- Unaffiliated: 175 of 7,582 eligible voters (2.31%)
Early voting continues this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Town Hall.
The early voting schedule next week, also at Town Hall:
Monday, October 27 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday, October 28 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, October 29 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday, October 30 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, October 31 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 1 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 2 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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A new documentary about World War II journalist Sigrid Schultz — a longtime Westport resident, is nearing completion.
“Eyes on Evil” chronicles Schultz’s remarkable career covering the rise and fall of Nazi Germany — from the liberated exuberance of Weimar Berlin to Hitler’s ascent and the devastating aftermath.
It includes the years during the war when Schultz returned to the US and settled in Westport, after being injured in a British bombing raid on Berlin. She launched a nationwide lecture tour to warn Americans about the growing threat of Hitler’s regime.
In 1945 she was among a small group of reporters to cover the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp.
The film is directed by Vanessa Johnston, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and former Reuters producer based in Washington. She made several trips to Westport, including an interview with historian John Suggs.
Johnston will launch a fundraising campaign next month. To register for updates, click here.

Sigrid Schultz …

… and Vanessa Johnston and John Suggs, at the plaque honoring Sigrid Schultz off Elm Street. Schultz lived near there.
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Today’s great Halloween lawn decoration comes from Bradley Street:

(Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)
That’s in the Compo Beach neighborhood. So you know there will be plenty of kids (and parents) passing by, a week from today.
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Speaking of Halloween: Tomorrow (Saturday, 2 p.m.), the Westport Library hosts its Pinkalicious Party.
After Victoria Kann reads from her best-selling “Pinkalicious” book, youngsters are invited to join a costume parade around the Library, and trick or treat for Pinkalicious treats on Jesup Green. Click here to register.

Pinkalicious, at the Library.
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Westporters know Frank Murgalo as “Santa Claus” at our annual Holiday Stroll (Shhhh … don’t tell the kids!)
He’s also a Marine Corps veteran, who donates time and energy to many excellent causes.
Now — at 82 — he’s written a memoir.
“My Mid-Life Crisis at 82: A Life of Mischief, Mayhem and Making It Work…” chronicles his wild, adventurous life. He navigated diverse careers, pulled off international hoaxes, and discovered that “success lies in the outrageous ride rather than the finish line.”
Murgalo has been an auditor, fishmonger, actor and stand-up comedian. He writes about stopping Super Bowl XVII, being tackled by the FBI, and outwitting the State Department. Beneath the humor is an inspiring message of resilience, risk and laughter.
Click here to order, and for more information.

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A Revolution is coming to Voices Café.
On November 1 (8 p.m.), the “activist duo” Emma’s Revolution brings their music to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport,
Known for “fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you cannot resist singing,” their performances span folk to jazz, and funk to rock. Emma’s Revolution has been described as “beauty, power and ferocity all mixed together with love and hope.”
Click here for tickets, and more information.
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“The A Chronicles 10-Minute Play Festival” — “bold, funny and fearless short dramas” by 9 playwrights, selected from over 350 submissions — runs for 2 performances on November 2 (2 and 7 p.m., at MoCA CT).
The A Chronicles stages live theatrical events around reproductive rights —”amplifying voices, disrupting narratives to fuel real conversations.”
Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Theatre Artists Workshop’s 42n annual Fall Festival of New Works — 9 original short plays — includes performances by Westporters including Melody James, Susan Jacobson and Linde Gibb.
Dates are November 1 (7:30 p.m.) and November 2 (2 p.m.), at Powerhouse Theatre Performing Arts Center in New Canaan.
Theatre Artists Workshop was founded in Westport in 1983. For more information, click here. For tickets, click here.

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from Willowbrook Cemetery.
Photographer Elenee Argent says, “follow the yellow brick road. The paved path is covered in yellowed pine needles.”

(Photo/Elenee Argent)
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And finally … of course, based on the photo above:
(You don’t need a wizard to know that “06880” relies on reader support. And that if you enjoy your hyper-local blog — which we know you do! — you can click here to contibute. Thank you!)

I believe Pop Up Bagels started in Redding or Georgetown. Westport came after.
It started when Adam Goldberg was looking for a home project during COVID. He’s a Westporter.
Speaking about Concentration camps, my wife was in Auschwitz 50 years ago.