If it’s (almost) the beginning of July, it’s time for … taxes.
Most Westporters received their new real estate, personal property and motor vehicle taxes, plus any sanitary sewer use and assessment charges, yesterday. They’ll be available online too, beginning tomorrow (Wednesday).
First quarter payments are due July 1. Fortunately, we’ve got until August 3 to pay them, without penalty. Late fees are 1.5% per month.
Payments may be made by credit card, debit card, or direct withdrawal from a checking account on-line at www.westportct.gov. The tax collector’s PO box has been closed, but checks made payable to “Town of Westport” can be mailed to Tax Collector, Room 109, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880.
Payment can also be made in person (Town Hall Room 109), 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
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Speaking of the beginning of July: Westport’s annual fireworks display is Thursday (July 2).
Just a few tickets remain for the town’s biggest and best bash of the year.
The pyrotechnics begin just after 9 p.m., at Compo Beach. But hours earlier, residents begin partying — eating, playing, strolling, meeting friends and strangers. They keep going all night long.
The event is sponsored by longtime residents Melissa and Doug Bernstein, the Police Athletic League and Parks & Recreation Department.
This year they promise new, never-before-seen fireworks effects, plus an extended, extraordinary finale.
You need a ticket to park at the beach. Thanks to the Bernsteins, every purchase includes a “FlowArt Guided Art Pad” — custom-designed for Westport.
Ticket proceeds benefit Westport PAL, and their programs and scholarships serving thousands of youngsters. The few remaining tickets are available at Police headquarters on Jesup Road (24 hours a day) and the Parks & Recreation office at Longshore, near the first tee (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Party at Compo! (Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)
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Speaking of the fireworks … Seen on social media, and posted without comment:
“Looking for someone to set up a group of beach chairs early in the morning this Thursday July 2nd at Compo. Please DM me if you are interested or have a college kid home for the summer who would be! Thank you.”
Also posted without comment. (Photo/Matty Murray)
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As a heat wave settles in, the Westport Farmers’ Market will open this Thursday an hour earlier than usual (9 a.m.), and close promptly an hour earlier too (1 p.m.). Vendors who can set up by 9 will do so. Some may arrive later.
Shoppers are encouraged to arrive early, in the cooler morning hours.
Stay cool with strawberries!
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The heat wave will send droves of Westporters onto (hopefully cooler) Long Island Sound.
Here’s an important reminder from Michelle Larson. She went boating yesterday, and writes: “We picked up at least a dozen Mylar balloons between Compo and Peck’s Ledge. Most are Father’s Day, Graduation Day and a few red and blue stars.
“Might be a good reminder on tying tight and disposing of properly. Or better yet: Just don’t buy balloons!”
Reagan Larson, age 9, with her bounty of balloons.
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As The Inn at Longshore and La Plage restaurant get set to reopen (soon!), they’re looking to fill positions, of all kinds.
A job fair will be held on-site today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday), from noon to 6 p.m.
Questions? Email mryan@innatlongshore.com.
Putting the finishing touches on The Inn at Longshore.
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“Bernstein’s Wall” — Westport filmmaker Doug Tirola and producer Susan Bedusa’s documentary about Leonard Bernstein — earned rave reviews at the Tribeca Film Festival, then at its theatrical premieres in New York and Los Angeles.
Now — finally — it will be screened locally.
The one-night-only event is July 9 (7 p.m., SHU Community Theatre, Fairfield).
Extra special highlight: Tirola and Bernstein’s daughter Jamie will take part in a post-show talkback, moderated by longtime film critic (and Westporter) Susan Granger.
“Bernstein’s Wall” traces the composer/conductor’s lifelong struggle to create social change and bring people together through his work.
While towering over the worlds of classical music, Broadway, television and culture, he advocated for progressive political change. He lent his name to numerous causes and groups, at great personal risk.
The film captures the sweeping arc of Bernstein’s life, sharing his private thoughts about America, politics, race, family, media, sex and religion. Click here to purchase tickets. (Hat tips: Fred Cantor and Caroline Owens)
Leonard Bernstein
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Nina Bentley — the very creative, always whimsical Westport artist — is featured all month in a Senior Center art show. The title is “I Do, Or Maybe Not.”
Thirty pieces of art — some including her trademark typewriter — are on display during operating hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
She’ll give a special artist talk on July 16.
Several pieces from Nina Bentley’s art show.
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The other day, Michael Chait snapped this intriguing view of the downtown Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge:
(Photo/Michael Chait)
No, the town has not put the iconic span up for sponsorship.
That’s just a (very long) truck crossing the bridge.
Although, come to think of it, maybe a corporate sponsor for that other bridge over the Saugatuck River could fund its renovation, without surrendering to the state …
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There is always something special to see at Sherwood Mill Pond.
Judith Katz captured extra-special light the other day, for our “Westport … Naturally” feature:
(Photo/Judith Katz)
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And finally … David Clayton-Thomas, “a homeless Toronto runaway who learned guitar in prison and went on to become the lead singer of the gritty, blues-inspired band Blood, Sweat & Tears,” died Wednesday in Toronto. He was 84.
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Thank you Regan Larson! This is a sad reminder that balloons very often end up harming wildlife and simply add to our overflowing trash. I cringe whenever I see them.
Very nice work Megan Larson. Also, if I was shopping for strawberries, I would just walk past those pictured in the photo.
“if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all”
Thumper in Disney’s Bambi
Westporters seem to have very, very thin skin. Nothing negative, even slightly negative, can be said. I’ll say what I want to say! I wouldn’t buy them. This is from a guy who grew up in the early 1950s with almost two acres of strawberries growing in the back field.
Those strawberries are exactly what draws people to a Connecticut farmers market in June. Their appeal isn’t just visual—it’s the promise of flavor.
Unlike most supermarket strawberries, which are bred to withstand shipping thousands of miles and are often picked before they’re fully ripe, these appear to have been harvested at peak ripeness. That makes all the difference. Local strawberries tend to be:
* Deep crimson all the way through, not just on the surface.
* Intensely fragrant—you can often smell them before opening the basket.
* Sweeter, with a brighter acidity that gives them a more complex flavor.
* Softer and juicier because they don’t have to survive days in trucks and warehouses.
Their irregular shapes are actually part of their charm. Supermarket berries are often selected for uniform size and durability; farmers-market berries are selected for taste. Connecticut’s strawberry season is brief—typically just a few weeks in June—which is why these berries are such a seasonal treat. This year’s crop has been widely praised by many growers despite a challenging winter.
Looking at this photo, the berries have that rich, matte red color that signals ripeness rather than the glossy, oversized appearance of many supermarket varieties. They’re the kind of strawberries that remind you what the fruit is supposed to taste like: fragrant, sweet, and fleeting—the very definition of eating with the seasons.
They may be the litmus test that separates the true Ct farm to table shopper from one who has forgotten the experience of the June Connecticut strawberry.
In affluent communities, like Westport, it’s kind of an unspoken rule that criticism is taken as disloyalty rather than honest feedback, so people bite their tongue out of fear! ! I tell it like I see it. Get used to it.
I ate so many strawberries as a kid, I started to get hives because I overdosed on them! But it seems in today’s Westport, in order to “ fit in” and not “rock the boat” ALL criticism is frowned upon. I’ve gone from Trump to strawberries! Westporters are frightened to even be slightly critical. “ If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” That’s the go to sentence nowadays in Westport. Gotta fit in; don’t rock the boat.
I imagine your Urticaria —even if experienced many moons ago could trigger both your revulsion at a photo of farm raised strawberries and our sympathy for your condition.
I think the full moon we have been enjoying is called the Strawberry Moon.
Jack, Jack, Jack, it’s not that “ALL criticism is frowned upon” it’s just that nobody really wants to hear yours. Yes, of course, dear boy, you are entitled to your opinion but so am I. And in my opinion your opinions are repetitive, stale and trite. Nobody is frightened by these blatherings, it’s just that, well, you need to learn a couple of new tricks.
Do you want me to tell you what’s wrong with those strawberries? They have white areas. White areas are sections that haven’t finished converting starches to sugars and developing full red color. That’s why I would walk by them! They’re still edible, but not sweet!
A few notes:
Now that was informative and helpful. Why didn’t you just say that in your first comment (or your second, third or fourth comments) rather than just dropping a turd in the punchbowl and wandering off?
If you don’t have better things to do, I’d suggest trying Reddit.com. Half the folks there are trolls. You’ll have a blast.
Anyone else have a 19% property tax increase? WTF?