Talented and popular 12-year-old Aerin Lichtman is joined today by an even younger artist: 10-year-old Ben Gionfriddo.
We welcome too a couple of full-time, gallery-showing professionals: Brian Whelan, and newcomer Dorie.
That’s the whole point of “06880”‘s online art feature: No matter what your theme or medium — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited to contribute.
Email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.
“‘The Aviana’: Luxury Bird Condos” — oil on cavas. Mary Madelyn Attanasio explains: “A friend of mine created several birdhouses for the Birdhouse Fundraiser. This painting was sold at a juried show.”
“Green Heron” — watercolor (Kathleen Burke)
“The Raven” — encaustic wax (Dorothy Robertshaw)
“Textured Art on Wood Panels” — Anne Bernier
“Alien” — watercolors, ink, colored pencils and oil pastels on paper (Ben Gionfriddo, 10 years old)
Untitled (Tom Doran)
“Beached” — pastels (Werner Liepolt)
“Compo Beach” (Cohl Katz)
“Moving Upstream” — Lynn Wilson says, “Herring are running at Stoney Brook Mill in Brewster, Massachusetts.”
“Lavender Field Retreat, Provence” — oil on canvas. Artist Dorie is showing this now at Westport River Gallery.
“Autumn Blaze Red Maple” (Aerin Lichtman, 12 years old)
“Ornament at Eleven O’Clock” — Photographer Peter Barlow explains: “The title refers to when the shadow is straight. Most of the time there is no shadow.“
“POP! No muscles moved?” — Maasai warrior jump dancing, Tanzania — Mike Hibbard
“The Tribe of Dan” — Artist Steve Stein says: “One of Chagall’s 12 windows representing the sons of Jacob. ‘Dan’ in Hebrew means’ judge.’ The tribe is associated with law, order, the scales of justice and its most famous member, Samson.”
“Working Remotely” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Shakespeare” — in honor of his birthday; acrylic and foil on canvas (Brian Whelan)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
… and writes: “I drove by this today. I took it down. Horrified.
“I am Jewish. I attended Columbia a few decades ago. I am distraught. Then this, where I live.
“It was defaced on the highly trafficked corner of Cross Highway and North Avenue.
“I drove by it on my way to drop my child off at an after-school activity. I did not want to stop with my child in the car. So I left it there.
“I drove back 20 minutes later to retrieve it. How did people drive by this for 20 minutes and not remove it?
“I hoped beyond hope it would be gone before I got back, but it wasn’t. It was there. How many people drove by and didn’t stop? How could someone do this in the first place? It is now in the Westport Police’s hands.”
35 Staples High School students and 6 teachers recently returned from 12 days of cultural and artistic immersion in Italy and France.
Led by Stephen Zimmerman, town-wide coordinator of music and visual arts, the itinerary was packed with visits to renowned art museums including the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries in Florence, the Guggenheim in Venice, and Musée d’Orsay and Louvre in Paris.
Students also participated in hands-on activities, such as a fresco art workshop in Florence and an impressionist painting class in Paris.
Staples art students, at a fresco class.
The trip also included guided tours of landmarks like the Roman Forum, Colosseum and Vatican City. The group took gondola rides in Venice, and exploring the streets of Burano, Florence and Paris.
“This trip was an opportunity for our students to deepen their understanding and appreciation of art and culture,” says Zimmerman.
“By experiencing these iconic works of art firsthand, students gained a deeper appreciation for the scale, texture, color, and more.”
There are not many “Rosie the Riveters” left, in 2024.
But one of the originals — women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II — will speak at the Connecticut Air & Space Center in Stratford on May 1 (5 p.m.; $25 tickets, children under 12 free).
And (of course) there’s a Westport connection.
This Rosie — Jean Hunt Tucker — is 99 years old. Her father built the house on Imperial Avenue that she grew up in. It’s where Sharon Levin — who told “06880” about the event — now lives.
“Rosie” will talk about her important work at Chance Vought Aircraft in Stratford.
Beginning at age 18, Jean made drawings of parts for electrical installations — without ever seeing the actual equipment. She also worked on fuselages.
Chance Vought sent her to the Academy of Aeronautics, near La Guardia Airport, to train women entering the industry.
In 1945 Joan entered Northeastern University, as one of its first class of women.
She married in 1949. When the company moved to Dallas, she stayed here. She earned a degree in industrial engineering, and taught math for 38 years in 3 states and 2 foreign countries.
Click here for more details, on Westport’s own Rosie the Riveter.
================================================
“06880”: where Westport meets Talladega.
Last weekend, 2007 Staples High School graduate — now vice president of marketing at Liquid Death (and an Ad Age “40 Under 40” honoree) — was at the Alabama Super Speedway to announce his company as the official iced tea sponsor of NASCAR.
But wait! There’s more! He met his friend, Staples ’09 grad Parker Kligerman, the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver.
Kligerman drives the #48 Chevrolet Camaro for Big Machine Racing. When he’s not behind the wheel, he’s a NASCAR analyst for NBC Sports.
Greg Fass, Parker Kligerman and NASCAR’s official iced tea.
=================================================
The always-popular Westport Woman’s Club’s “pop-up art show” is set for Friday, May 3 (5 to 7 p.m., opening reception) and Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5 (2 to 5 p.m.).
Curated by Miggs Burroughs, the event features many local artists. Over 200 works, including paintings, mixed media and ceramics, are available for purchase. Prices range from $50 to $1,500.
Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Refreshments will be served. Curated by Westport Artist Miggs Burroughs, this popular show features a variety of local artists whose works are available for purchase.
Among the artists and works at the Westport Woman’s Club show.
Alert “06880” reader Paul Rohan was curious about the pavement-grading activity to the right of the northbound entrance at I-95 Exit 18.
He asked State Representative Jonathan Steinberg, who serves on the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee.
A representative from Steinberg’s office said that the property near the Sherwood Island Connector is a “reuse stockpile area.” It is a hub for storing dirt and gravel salvaged from the Norwalk WALK railroad bridge site, allowing the contractor to minimize waste and disposal.
The materials are “carefully inspected, sorted, and organized for future use on the WALK Bridge and related projects. Repurposing these materials instead of disposing of them reduces waste and contributes to environmental sustainability.”
Materials salvaged from the Norwalk railroad bridge work are being stockpiled near I-95 Exit 18 in Westport.
Speaking of bridges: Yesterday’s “06880” floated a what’s-old-is-new-again idea: the possibility of a “new” Cribari bridge similar to the temporary one built in the early 1990s, during the span’s last major renovation.
Alert “06880” reader Gloria Gouveia goes back more than a century before that. She sends along this rendering of plans for the original bridge, built in the 1880s:
Hey, it looks better with holiday lights.
=================================================
The Westport Garden Club, Westport Library and Westport Arts Advisory Committee announces the winners of their Youth Poetry Contest, for students in grades K-9.
The winning poems are “Forever Awake” by Tessa Lederer (Grade 4) and “Thoughts on a Fresh Spring Day” by Katya Bank (Grade 9).
The theme for the 2024 contest was “I Spy with My Little Eye, Something Green Outside — Celebrating Our Green World.”
But that’s not all. Both young poets won first place in their grade at the state level. They now advance to The New England Garden Clubs’ regional contest. Those final selections will be submitted for National Garden Club awards.
Tessa and Katya will be honored at the Library this Sunday (2 p.m.).
Their readings will be followed by a poetry workshop with town poet laureate Jessica Noyes McEntee. Attendees will be invited to write their own poems, inspired by natural materials provided by The Westport Garden Club.
The event is free and open to the public.
=================================================
The Saugatuck Sunday Afternoon Concert Series continues this weekend (April 28, 3 p.m.) with “When Music Connects Us.”
Performers include The Naugatuck Valley Chorale — an ensemble of students and community members — and the Western Connecticut State University Chamber Singers.
The concert is free, and the public is invited. A reception will follow.
Two groups perform Sunday at the Saugatuck Church.
================================================
Many Westporters use “Hair of the Dog” — just over the Southport border, near I-95 Exit 19 — for pet grooming, walking and sitting.
The owner, his wife and their 4 children have been displaced, after a kitchen fire at their Fairfield home last week. The contents of their home are a total loss.
The owner suffered serious burns on his hands and face, and may take a year to fully heal.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with housing, clothes, furniture and other expenses. Click here to read more, and contribute. (Hat tip: Seth Schachter)
And finally … in honor of the Rosie the Riveter (story above):
(“06880” is your go-to source for all things Westport. But we rely on our readers for help. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please click here. Thank you!)
The Connecticut Department of Transportation wanted them gone, for sidewalk installation and lane expansion as part of the Post Road renovation project.
Representative Town Meeting member galvanized local politicians and others in support of the beloved trees.
Public Works Department, RTM, Westport Tree Board and Earthplace officials, plus Sakura’s owner and landowner, met with representatives from DOT and Eversource. The trees were saved.
This week, they were at peak blossom.
Present and former members of the RTM headed to Sakura, to honor the occasion.
Every Westporter who drives past the restaurant thanks them for their efforts.
FUN FACT:“Sakura” means “cherry blossom” in Japanese.
Standing at Sakura (from left): RTM members Harris Falk, Claudia Shaum, Andrew Colabella, Matthew Mandell, Don O’Day. Not pictured, but important to the effort: Louis Mall, Jay Keenan, Julie Whamond, Chris Tait, Seth Braunstein and Jimmy Izzo.
Senator Richard Blumenthal was supposed to address the Sunrise Rotary Club in person at 8 a.m. yesterday, at Green’s Farms Church.
However, the Senate schedule kept him in Washington.
No problem! Rotary member Mark Mathias used his technical know-how to set up a remote appearance.
At 8:00 sharp, Blumenthal appeared on-screen. An audience of 80 people — members of both Westport Rotary Clubs, and guests — heard his takes on a variety of issues, including the need for quick approval of military aid to Ukraine.
Senator Blumenthal addresses Sunrise Rotary. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
The Tesla Cybertruck that has drawn plenty of attention in Westport may be off the road for a while.
Tesla has recalled all 3,878 of the vehicles it produced from November 13 to December 4. An accelerator pedal can stick, leading to accidents. The cause for the defect was soap used as a lubricant at the Austin factory. (Hat tip: Bill Dedman)
Tesla Cybertruck, last week on Hillspoint Road. (Photo/Karen Como)
The Westporter has developed a great business making (very) fresh jams and preserves.
Mary Lou is also an excellent artist.
She took a break yesterday from the kitchen. On a whim, she headed to Playhouse Square.
There — on the sidewalk outside the post office — she went to work:
(Photo/Dan Woog)
Whatever she does, Mary Lou always manages to make it a fruitful day.
=================================================
Speaking of artists: Herm Freeman — the Westport Book Shop’s artist exhibitor for February, whose works have been exhibited throughout the US and Europe for over 40 years — is one of 2 local artists whose “Kaleidoscope Eyes” show at Colorblends House & Spring Garden in Bridgeport has an artists’ reception today (Saturday, April 20, 3 to 6 p.m., 893 Clinton Avenue).
The other — Cris Dam — has produced the show.
They invite interested Westporters to stop by. “There’s tons of art, and thousands of tulips. It’s great family fun!” Herm says.
Judging by the number of emails I get, Westporters are increasingly concerned about the number — and weight — of wires strung between utility poles.
They serve a variety of purposes: electricity, telephone, cable. But apparently it’s lot easier to string new ones than replace outdated ones. There are a lot up there.
Alert “06880” reader Bob Weingarten spotted a utility worker yesterday, on Post Road East by Stop & Shop. Bob writes: “He must be wondering, which one do I connect?!”
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature is a fierce one.
Anita Tucker Smith writes: “Our wooded yard on Roseville Road has a lot of daily wildlife visitors. But this one is special.
“We first spotted footprints in the 6-inch snow a few weeks ago. We then saw him 6 feet from our front door a few weeks later. We were all startled, and he zipped away.
“I finally managed a few pictures Saturday afternoon as we glanced out the living room windows, just before heading out to dinner.”
(Photo/Anita Tucker Smith)
==============================================
And finally … since today is 4/20:
(On 4/20 — and every other day of the year — “06880” is your hyper-local blog. And every day, we rely on readers like you. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The totality of this month’s eclipse lasted just over 3 minutes.
But it’s captured here for eternity, in a photo by first-time online art gallery contributor Michael Robertshaw. (His mother Dorothy is a well-known local artist; her works are frequently featured here.)
We welcome too another new exhibitor. Joan Carroll recently returned to art, after 40 years away. You’ll enjoy her work!
No matter what your theme or medium — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited to contribute.
Email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.
“3 Minutes and 3 Seconds” — South Hero, Vermont (Michael Robertshaw)
“Creating Sunflower Honey” — Cohl Katz says, “it took 4 days, the right sunflower, and the right beetle …”
“Dusk Over Star Valley” — Ken Runkel says, “this is an impressionistic digital illustration of a location in Arizona that I would often pass through on my way to the mountains in the çentral northeastern part of the state. One of my favorite locations in the Ponderosa pine — Zane Grey country in the 1920’s.”
Untitled (Tom Doran)
“Girl by the Bay” — oil painting on canvas (Joan Carroll)
“Manspread” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Did You Want High Tops or Low Tops” (Aerin Stein, 12 years old)
“A View of National Hall” (Steve Stein)
“Sunday Brunch” (Patricia McMahon)
“I Want to Get Burnt in Your Flames of Beauty” — poem by Colonel Muhammad Khalid Khan (Mike Hibbard)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Abortion — one of the biggest national issues — comes to MoCA next month.
The Newtown Avenue museum and performance space will host a staged reading of “The Wish.” The montage of dramatic scenes about the loss of abortion rights is described as “inspiring … gut-wrenching … at times comical.”
Two performances are set for May 8: 2 and 7 p.m.
Westport writer Ina Chadwick is the executive producer — and the founder of The “A” Chronicles. Her non-profit “tells stories with quandaries, irony, moral indignity, heartbreak, love and passion. Mostly about abortion.” And it “creates theater that makes visible lives other than our own.”
Screenshot from The A Chronicles website.
She describes the back story: “In 1969 I made bedside visits to women in the postpartum ward at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, to gather information for a research project on the efficacy of an IUD, conducted by the World Population Council.
“One week I was assigned to the exam rooms to chaperone doctors (all men) in the free OB GYN clinic.
“I witnessed a heartbreaking case of incest. A 12-year-old Down Syndrome girl was 3 months pregnant. Abortion was illegal.
“I was outraged that although most of the girls and women I knew could get an abortion if they needed one, this girl — unaware of what was happening, and her Irish immigrant mother who was stunned and devastated — had no choice but to have the baby.
“I followed them to the elevator and gave them a society doctor’s name. He would help.”
That encounter impelled her involvement with a lobbying group to push Roe v. Wade through Congress. She formed a Westchester County Committee For Abortion reform.
In 1973, the US Supreme Court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy encompasses a woman’s decision on whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.
“Here we are. 51 years later,” Chadwick says. “Thank you to MoCA for collaborating on a theater production with The ‘A’ Chronicles.”
As for “The Wish,” Chadwick was initially reluctant to take on the script that she calls “a last-ditch manual to save abortion in the US through theater.”
Written by 6 young women on the eve of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to criminalize the procedure, she calls it “a radical theater piece.”
Chadwick had just launched The “A” Chronicles “with a grand vision to find and stage stories of heartbreak, moral indignity, quandaries, love, and passion, all dealing with abortion.”
“I had witnessed the scary times ‘before, and then the freedom and peace of ‘after,'” she recalls.
But “The Wish” was “unlike anything I ever saw, read or heard. Like listening to rap and hip hop lyrics, I had to adjust my experiential lens to hear and see the pathos in the mini-dramas, and get used to the language of women living in environments where they have little control over their own lives. Profanity is part of how they tell their stories.”
Chadwick realizes, “to make a difference in the arts we must push past discomfort. I had to resurrect the outrage of my own younger self.”
After 3 workshop readings of “compelling monologues, wry short play cycles, mesmerizing mythological tales and witch-weaving spells for healing herbs, and magical empowerment,” producing the show became “an imperative.”
More than half a century after that life-changing experience in a New York hospital moved her to work on the national stage, Ina Chadwick continues to tell important stories about important topics.
(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — in politics, arts and so much more. We rely on reader support to continue our work. Please click here to contribute. Thank you!)
Does a musical about early 20th century suffragists — with an all-female and non-binary cast — seem like a tough sell?
Well, what about one on the life of Alexander Hamilton — someone most Americans before 2015 had only vaguely heard about, with non-white actors and a hip hop score?
Could “Suffs” producer Jill Furman — a Westport resident — have another “Hamilton”?
Maybe. She produced that one too.
That blockbuster was not her first smash. She’s produced “In the Heights,” “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” “West Side Story” and “The Drowsy Chaperone,” among others.
Jill Furman
But Furman’s involvement with the theater did not begin until her 30s. After graduating with an art history degree from Brown University, she headed to Los Angeles for a job in “a different kind of art”: film.
She began doing “typical stuff — bringing the boss’s dog home from the office” — but gained experience on sets.
Fed up with LA, and eager to start a film production company, Furman headed back east to Columbia Business School.
“I didn’t have to take math at Brown,” she says. “I was scared of numbers. But I knew I needed that background.”
She raised money for “a film no one saw.”
Then, pivoting to theater — following the lead of her father, an entertainment investment banker who had become a producer — she associate produced 3 shows.
While working on Broadway’s “Sly Fox” in early 2003, an actor she knew told her to check out a show being workshopped in a Manhattan basement.
“It blew me away,” Furman recalls of “In the Heights.”
“It was music I’d never heard on the stage before. Lin-Manuel Miranda was a baby — in his early 20s. But he was ridiculously talented.”
Furman put her money where her mouth — and heart — were. Backing that show was “the thing I’m most proud of,” she says.
Bringing a show to Broadway is a long, risky process. It is often a labor of love.
But, Furman notes, “it feels so good to be part of something I really believe in.” With every project she tries to strike a balance between mass audience appeal, and something that feels “different and fresh.”
In the 2009 “West Side Story” revival, that meant including Spanish lyrics and dialogue. For the 2013 “Cinderella,” it was the young servant opening the prince’s eyes to injustices in his kingdom.
With “Suffs,” it’s bringing an important but overlooked piece of history to life — at a moment when it is “more timely than ever,” Furman says.
She went to an all-girls high school. But she never learned about the suffragists.
Women like Alice Paul have been lost to history.
Furman first heard of “Suffs” in 2014. She knew of “up-and comer” Shaina Taub — who wrote the book, music and lyrics — and was impressed with the passion with which Taub pitched the concept.
Furman signed on in 2016. The plan was to be in production in 2020 — the 100th anniversary of enactment of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
But COVID shut down Broadway.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton — expected by some to be the first female American president — had been defeated by Donald Trump. His Supreme Court appointees overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision seen by many as an assault on women’s rights.
Clinton was not in the White House. Instead, she was available — and eager — to help produce “Suffs.”
In fact, it was Clinton’s concession speech — it which she told “all the little girls” to never doubt they deserved “every chance and opportunity in the world” to pursue their dreams — that had inspired Taub to keep working on “Suffs.”
Another important backer is Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai.
The show has come a long way from its Off-Broadway opening at the Public Theater in 2022.
“It feels less like a history lesson,” Furman says. “It’s funnier. The humanity of the characters feels deeper.”
At a time when women’s rights are under attack, the true story of the suffragists — including their internal divisions over race and class — is crucial to be told, Furman says.
Though the Broadway calendar is crowded — 18 new shows are opening this spring — the early buzz has been exciting.
Word-of-mouth — crucial for theatrical success — is excellent. Theater insiders have spoken passionately about it.
“Suffs” on stage. (Photo/Sara Krulwich for the New York Times)
It’s been a hectic couple of months for Furman, who splits her time between Westport and New York.
She’s had little time to enjoy her waterfront home here. “It feels like a vacation,” she says of Westport. “It’s easy to get to. It’s beautiful, relaxing, and the people are great. I could sit outside all day long, and never move.”
There’s little chance of that. “If we get in the Tony mix, it’ll be crazy through mid-June,” Furman says.
In any event, she’s already thinking about her next project: a musical based on “Wonder,” the 2017 film about a boy with a facial deformity.
Like “Suffs,” Furman says, “It’s another amazing story that deserves to be seen.”
(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — and Broadway, and history. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
A small group gathered yesterday, in support of Jesup Green.
The land between Jesup Road and the Westport Library is included in a plan to renovate downtown parking. Trees at the top of the green would be removed, to replace spaces slated to be lost across the Post Road at Parker Harding Plaza.
Green space would be added later, closer to the Saugatuck River at what is known as the Taylor lot.
Among the attendees were District 9 Representative Town Meeting members Sal Liccione and Jennifer Johnson. Their district includes Jesup Green.
The RTM may consider an appropriation for the Jesup repaving plan on May 8.
Members of Westport’s Tree Board also joined the group. So did Marliyn Harding, whose father Evan Harding designed Parker Harding.
Attendees were asked to sign a petition to review downtown parking plans for an option that does not jeopardize Jesup Green, proposed by attorney Lawrence Weisman.
Two meetings about downtown parking are scheduled for this week: tonight (Monday, 6 p.m., Zoom, RTM Planning & Zoning Committee) and Wednesday (April 17, 6 p.m., Town Hall Room 309, RTM Environment Committee).
Both meetings generated a bit of controversy when they were announced. This week is spring break for the Westport Public Schools, and a number of residents are not in town.
Also yesterday, just few yards from Jesup Green, the Westport Library hosted a celebration of Westport artist Ann Chernow.
The event — inspired by film noir scenes of the 1930s through ’50s — included the premiere of a documentary depicting her life and legacy.
Afterward, her son (and Staples High School graduate) Dan Chenok led a panel discussion. It included actors Keir Dullea and Mia Dillon, film critic Susan Granger, and the film’s co-creator Andrea Wozny.
Dan Chenok (far right) with (from left) Keir Dullea, Mia Dillon, Susan Granger and Andrea Wozny.
The audience also heard from the artist’s cousin-in-law Ron Chernow, author of best-selling biographies like “Grant” and “Alexander Hamilton.”
Augusta National golf course — where the Masters tournament concluded yesterday — is known for its magnificent magnolias.
Well, ours are not too shabby themselves. Barry Kresch captured water droplets on these, after a recent rain, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
And finally … on this date in 1865, Abraham Lincoln died. He was shot the previous evening at Ford’s Theater, by famed actor John Wilkes Booth. Less than a week earlier, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.
Surprisingly, this was one of President Lincoln’s favorite songs. He had it played at political rallies, and after news of General Lee’s surrender. ”
(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — and Abraham Lincoln meets Jesup Green. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Thanks to all who offered their work this rainy, cool week. You keep us hoping for a warm and wonderful spring.
Remember: No matter what your theme or medium — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited to contribute.
Email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.
“Luminous Tulip Blossoms” — digital photography using the ICM technique, then stacked and blended in Photoshop. (Ken Runkel)
“Quince in Blue Bottle” — oil on paper (Werner Liepolt)
“Windows in Women’s Slave Quarters in Mt. Vernon” (Wendy Levy)
“Wild Flowers” — original watercolor on left; computer colorizations on right (Steve Stein)
“Watching the Parade” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Remembering and Honoring Ancestors” — A room in a Peruvian home. Photographer Mike Hibbard says, “Skulls are decorated with flowers, coca leaves and candles. Observers of this tradition believe the skulls of the dead will protect the living, and bring them luck. Skulls are often adorned with sunglasses, flowers and cigarettes. Many believers bring precise wishes and hopes to the skulls.”
“Stairs” (Karen Weingarten)
Photographer Peter Barlow explains, “I like seeing a squirrel running along the tips of a picket fence or high up on a telephone wire, but this is a different view.”
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
In 2012, Stephen and Jessica Rose decided to solve the lack of wonderful fresh peaches he was accustomed to from his farm in Georgia.
Stephen loaded a 1968 Jeep Gladiator with fresh, hand-picked peaches, and brought them to Nashville. In 5 weeks, the couple sold 10 tons of peaches.
Today, The Peach Truck delivers pickup joy to over 25 states. They also ship direct to homes, across the country.
Mary Lou Roels
Westport resident Mary Lou Roels — a professional artist — is a delighted Peach Truck customer.
She notes, “super-fresh fruit needs to be used quickly.” But there are only so many peaches a person can eat.
So Mary Lou started making peach jam.
Her batches have no preservatives. They’re simply the fruit, fresh-squeezed lemon juice and cane sugar.
“It’s as organic and pure as possible,” Mary Lou says.
She makes them in small quantities — cooking down for hours, and watching to release the flavors and natural pectin.
She gave jars as gifts. (Full disclosure: I was a very satisfied recipient.)
As demand grew, she created a website.
And she branched out beyond peaches.
Her strawberry-lemon rind jam is so tart and fresh that people tell her they couldn’t help themselves — they ate it with a spoon right out of the jar.
Other flavors include blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, black plum, and a special fig jam that complements a charcuterie board of dry cheeses and breads.
A sampling of Mary Lou Roels’ jams.
Her jam has been requested by an oncology unit at a hospital, for a young girl on oral chemotherapy with severe allergies. The staff tried everything to take the taste away.
They needed something pure, organic, with no preservatives — not even added pectin.
Mary Lou’s strawberry jam did the trick. The fruit flavor was so intense, the girl did not taste the medicine.
Customers buy Mary Lou’s jars for teacher, holiday and birthday gifts. She designs each label, and can be personalize them for any occasion.
It’s not easy making all those jams. Mary Lou is working right now on a big order: 250 custom jars, as wedding favors.
Fashion and hip hop closed out VersoFest yesterday. The 5-day event was the best attended and most diverse in the 3-year history of the Westport Library event.
The penultimate event was “Glam to Punk Fashion Roundtable: Alice Cooper, Bowie, Blondie and Beyond.” Christine “The Beehive Queen” Ohlman moderated.
Christine Ohlman (left) leads the fashion panel.
The finale was “Hip Hop Panel and Performances: 51 Years of Wild Style, the First Hip Hop Motion Picture” with Tony Tone (Cold Crush Brothers).
Hip hop on stage. (Photos/Dinkin Fotografix)
VersoFest ’24 drew plenty of Westporters — and many others from throughout the tri-state region.
All were impressed by the depth and breadth of the programming, as well as the venue. Those who had never been in the Westport Library before were awed by the space.
And amazed that no one said, “Be quiet. This is a library!”
Congratulations to all who made it happen: Library staff, sponsors, performers, panelists, and anyone else.
In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, WMMM was Westport’s local radio station.
Broadcasting from studios above Oscar’s (now Rye Ridge) Deli, 1260 AM offered local news and sports, plus middle-of-the-road music.
They were there for the Save the Children radio auction, the Great Race, Festival Italiano and the Oyster Fest.
Of course, John LaBarca hosted a weekly Italian house party — and made trips (as Santa) to deliver holiday gifts to the Southbury Training School.
WMMM is no longer (though the FM station lives on, as 50,000-watt WEBE 108). WMMM’s last owners — the Graham family — donated WMMM to Sacred Heart University. In 2000, the call letters were changed to WSHU-AM.
But WMMM is back, at 105.5. Those are the call letters now of a radio station serving the Madison, Wisconsin area.
I don’t know how former Westporter John Kelley stumbled on the station, but he shared the news with “06880.”
PS: When WMMM was our station, the letters stood for “Modern Minute Man” (owner Red Graham owned Minuteman Travel, too).
Out in Wisconsin these days, they call it “Triple M.”
The “new” WMMM …
… and the original.
=================================================
The Fortunoff brothers — Aaron, a Staples High School freshman, and Brett, a Bedford Middle School 7th grader — spent all of yesterday outside Stop & Shop.
The boys were collecting cereal and donations for Cereal4All. The non-profit provide cereals to local food pantries.
Their hard work paid off. Shoppers donated 989 boxes of cereal, and added $2,100 in cash.
If you missed the Fortunoffs, but want to help, you can Venmo @lauriefortunoff, or click here for an Amazon wish list.
There will also be a collection box at Temple Israel in Westport throughout May.
Aaron and Brett Fortunoff, with a few of their many cereal boxes.
=================================================
Suzuki Music Schools are best known for their violin instructions.
Sophie B. Hawkins does not play the violin.
No matter. The Westport-based singer/songwriter is the special guest performer at Suzuki’s annual gala (April 26, Aspetuck Country Club, Weston). She’ll be accompanied by Suzuki students.
The event includes a cocktail hour with open bar, dinner, and a live auction.
Last year’s gala raised nearly $40,000 to support their Bridgeport Outreach programs, to provide music lessons to children in need.
This year’s goal: raise enough funds to provide violins for those children to take home for practice.
Community Conversations: “It Will Go On” curator Victoria McCraven and Black Art Library founder Asmaa Walton (Thursday, April 11, 6 to 7 p.m.; Zoom only): A discussion about the current exhibit, and New England’s first Black art library installation. Click here to register, and for more information.
MoCA Some Noise: Open Mic Night (Friday, April 26, 6:30 p.m.): A night of creativity and talent, celebrating the power of expression and connection through music, poetry and more. Click here for more information.
Voices of Women: Natalia Kazaryan (Saturday, April 27, 7 p.m.): Georgian pianist Natalia Kazaryan celebrates the contributions of women composers. Click here for tickets, and more information.
=================================================
Stéphanie Szostak — the Westport actress whose credits include “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Iron Man 3” and “A Million Little Things.” — is a keynote speaker at the American Cancer Society’s annual Women Leading the Way to Wellness luncheon (May 15, 11 a.m., Stamford Marriott).
Szostak speaks often about overcoming failure, being an outsider and living with authenticity.
Kitt Shapiro — owner of WEST boutique, and a longtime supporter of the ACS — is a tri-chair for the event.
The luncheon highlights the importance of being one’s own health advocate. Over the past 10 years it has raised more than $1 million to support women’s health research, advocacy and more.
A deer silhouetted in the Vista Terrace woods, in Longshore near the 1st and 2nd holes on the golf course, starts this week’s “Westport … Naturally” feature off on a handsome note.
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
