Every week is a new experience. But always: This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
(NOTE: The online art gallery will be closed next week. We’ll reopen on January 21. Come visit then!)
“Winter Sunset” (Karen Weingarten)
“Winter Walk” (Werner Liepolt)
“Waterfall” (Amy Schneider)
“Dancer” — mixed media (Peter Barlow)
“Mommy, I’m Scared” — Photographer Mike Hibbard says of this photo from Tanzania: “Will 2023 bring us humans more or less fear?”
For decades, the pedestrian tunnel between Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza was — well, not exactly what you’d expect in a downtown like Westport.
While not as scary as the one in “A Clockwork Orange” — where Alex performs “a bit of the old ultraviolence” — it was poorly lit, dirty and dank.
In 2015 it was reborn as the “Tunnel of Love & Community” (abbreviated of course as TLC). Miggs Burroughs’ 16 stunning lenticular images show Westporters connecting with each other. Each changes, depending on the angle you view them from.
The passageway is now bright and alluring. It’s (almost) a tourist attraction.
But for 20 years in between — from 1995 to 2015 — a mural hung in the tunnel.
(Photo/Jarret Liotta)
Created by Westport children to celebrate the first “Westport Weston First Night,” it was a colorful portrayal of downtown.
It wasn’t great art. But it was fun, big, and ours.
The mural lasted 20 years. First Night — the New Year’s Eve family-friendly, non-alcohol celebration with music, fireworks, ice sculptures and much, much more — lasted a bit longer: until 2017.
Its demise — years after many similar events across the country faded — was due largely to a lack of volunteers, and decreasing attendance.
In the 5 years since, Westport has welcomed an influx of new, young families. Downtown too has seen a renaissance.
Perhaps next year we can revive First Night.
With, maybe, a kickoff event in the Tunnel of Love & Community.
Horse-drawn First Night sleighs, right outside the Tunnel of Love.
The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) will hold a special public hearing on January 17 (7:30 p.m., Zoom) to review last month’s Planning & Zoning Commission decision to create a new zoning and map amendment in Saugatuck.
The vote rezoned 11 properties, and could pave the way for the new Hamlet at Saugatuck retail/hotel/marina project.
The RTM’s Planning & Zoning Committee planned to hold a public meeting to review the P&Z Commission’s decision last night. However, due to a Zoom glitch allowing a maximum of 100 people to attend at a time, with more seeking to participate, the meeting was canceled.
Further meetings are set for January 10 and 12, via Zoom (7 p.m.). The RTM Transit Committee will also meet on Monday, to discuss Saugatuck. Click here for agendas and details.
Details on the January 17 public hearing have not yet been released. It will be livestreamed at www.westportct.gov, and aired on Optimum channel 79 and Frontier channel 6020.
The shaded area includes the new text and map amendment boundaries.
This year, Westport celebrates more than Martin Luther King Day.
It’s a full Martin Luther King weekend.
On Saturday (January 14), the Westport Library features several community events.
Junauda Petrus and local artists offer workshops in creative mediums, culminating in a panel discussion on justice, art and healing. They include:
11 a.m. to noon: Writing Workshop with Shanna T. Melton, a poet, painter and art educator in Bridgeport. The author of “Unraveling My Thoughts” and founder of The Writer’s Group, she is also an arts consultant who integrates social justice and community engagement in her creative workshops, performances and events.
Noon to 1 p.m.: Self-Portrait Workshop with Alicia Cobb, a visual artist, fine body painter and teaching artist in Bridgeport. She honors her ancestors, and creates art for those who couldn’t. Breaking away from conventional canvas and concepts, Alicia creates stories of survival and beauty on human skin and through fine art.
1 to 2 p.m.: Art Workshop
2 to 3 p.m.: Workshop with Junauda Petrus, a creative activist, writer, playwright and multi-dimensional performance artist. Born on Dakota land, West-Indian descended and African-sourced, her work centers around Black wildness, futurism, ancestral healing, sweetness, spectacle and shimmer.
3 to 4 p.m.: Justice, Art and Healing panel discussion with Junauda Petrus and guest artists; moderated by Connecticut poet laureate, author and artist Antoinette Brim-Bell,
Click here for more details about the free Library events, and registration.
On Sunday (January 15, 3 p.m.), Petrus will deliver a keynote address at the Westport Country Playhouse.
The program includes a dance performed by the Regional Center for the Arts.
Click here to register for the free Westport Country Playhouse event.
The Playhouse — partnering for the weekend with the Westport Library, TEAM Westport, Westport/Weston Interfaith Council, and Westport/Weston Interfaith Clergy, says:
“Together, we invite our entire community — those who live, work, study and participate in the life of Westport, Fairfield County, and adjacent counties — to join us as we begin the work needed to continue King’s call to action, as urgent now as it was in 1968.
“For members of a community such as Westport, that begins with a challenge to understand our place of comfort and the work we each, as individuals, need to do to transform ourselves and our society into a more equitable and just one.”
Westport’s 17th annual Martin Luther King Day celebration begins next Friday (January 13), with Petrus leading student workshops in various schools.
The Remarkable Bookcycle is enjoying its winter home on Main Street, outside Savvy + Grace.
It’s all good. Except: It needs books!
They can be dropped off in the Bookcycle itself, or with Annette Norton in her Savvy + Grace. (No yellowing softcovers, please.)
The back story: Jane Green — yes, that Jane Green — and her husband Ian Warburg created the Remarkable Bookcycle as a tribute to the beloved pink book shop — the Remarkable — that sat on the Main Street/Parker Harding Plaza corner for 34 years.
The Bookcycle is a free library that moves between Compo Beach and Main Street — reminding everyone, Jane says, “of the many charming idiosyncrasies, and the many creative people, that made us fall in love with Westport in the first place.”
Jane Green, and the Remarkable Bookcycle on Main Street.
As contributions for Westport’s sister city of Lyman, Ukraine continue to come in — $4,500 over the past 2 days — our 3-week fundraising total stands at $246,300.
That’s just $3,700 of our $250,000 goal.
Meanwhile, Brian and Marshall Mayer — native Westporters, and our partners on the ground through the Ukraine Aid International organization they founded — are in Europe. They are sourcing material and goods to help Lyman, as it emerges from several months of Russian occupation.
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Lyman through Ukraine Aid International. Pleaseclick here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other tax-deductible donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo). You can also donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
Food for thought: The Westport Library’s January 10 (7 p.m.) event.
Michel Nischan dishes on “Dinner Disrupted: The Power of Food.”
The Library says: “Food has the power to transform. From where it is grown through consumption, food transforms us along its journey from seed to plate. But what journey is your food taking? And is it reaching everybody? Do we all have access to healthy and nutritious foods?”
Nischan — former partner with Paul Newman in The Dressing Room restaurant; 4-time James Beard Award-winning chef; founder and president of Wholesome Crave, which sells responsibly sourced, plant-forward soups to large-scale dining facilities, and co-founder of Wholesome Wave, the nonprofit food equity organization — will talk about food access, food choice, and how to create a more equitable and sustainable food system.
Yesterday’s Roundup mentioned a new store — Courtgirl — moving into 125 Main Street soon. They sell tennis and golf products in private clubs, pro shops and sports stores. This will be their first retail outlet.
Patti Brill — one of Westport’s 12 zillion pickleball players — wondered if “tennis products” included her sport.
The answer: Yes! Courtgirl will sell pickleball gear.
I don’t play. (I know, I know …). So I don’t know what “pickleball gear” is.
The bike tour that raises money for cancer survivors through 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100-mile rides through Connecticut (and virtually) draws dozens of Westport cyclists (and contributors).
Registration opens January 17. Click here for details.
A leaf blower ordinance — discussed for years, and blowing in the wind for the past few months — was finally enacted last night.
Westport’s Representative Town Meeting voted 22-9 in favor of the proposal, which regulates when and which types of leaf blowers can be used, and by whom. The town of Westport is specifically exempted from the rules. Enforcement will be done by the Conservation Department.
Click here, the scroll down to Slide #28, for the full ordinance, and supporting materials.
Meanwhile, the Board of Education voted 4-3 to request up to $600,000 from the Board of Finance (which meets tonight), for 2 modular classrooms at Long Lots Elementary School. The portables will be placed behind the school, near a small play aea.
The Board also discussed redistricting. Pieces of the puzzle include unbalanced populations at Westport’s 5 elementary schools; Stepping Stones preschool, currently housed at Coleytown El but slated to move to Long Lots after a new building is constructed, and the schedule for that new Long Lots.
The new portable classroms would be placed behind the school, at the upper left on this photo. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
Westporters — especially seniors and those with low to moderate incomes — can once again take advantage of the town’s no-cost full-service AARP/VITA/IRS Volunteer Tax Assistance Program.
On-site personal counseling is available by appointment at Town Hall (Mondays from 1 to 7 p.m.) and the Senior Center (Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.), starting January 23. Call 860-590-8910 for an appointment.
The service is also available through a secure internet site. Click here for an appointment.
The “SimplyCT” counselor group that services Westport prepared and filed more than 7,000 returns last season – almost all electronically. Federal refunds of over $10 million were received by their clients..
The program is administered by Westport’s Department of Human Services.
Westport is less than $10,000 away from its goal: raising $250,000 to support our sister city of Lyman, Ukraine.
Yesterday’s donations brought the total to $241,700. Our partners on the ground — Ukraine Aid International, founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer — are arranging for building supplies, a trash truck and more to be delivered immediately to the war-torn town.
It is far quicker and cheaper for those to be sent from Poland and elsewhere in Europe, rather than the US.
Can we reach our goal today?
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Lyman through Ukraine Aid International. Pleaseclick here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other tax-deductible donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo). You can also donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
Grammy winner Frank London headlines tomorrow’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, January 5, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399, sets at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; $15 cover; dinner from 7 p.m.).
The trumpeter will be joined by pianist Roberta Piket, bassist Hilliard Greene, drummer Billy Mintz and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall.
Wall calls London “one of the most inconoclastic traditional musicians I have ever met. I have heard him tear down the walls of parochial practices of old and new jazz, swing, bop, klezmer, Gypsy, Baltic, Cuban, West African and many other musical genres, and create community across the globe while bringing joy to literally hundreds of thousands of concert goers.”
Wall and he were partners in Hasidic New Wave, a band combining traditional Jewish celebratory music with downtown jazz, funk and “pure improvised mayhem.” They play together now in Zion80, a “mixed marriage of avant jazz and Afro beat.”
London will play new works inspired by Pharaoh Sanders, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Azar Lawrence and others, with an ethnic twist.
Reservations are highly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com
Longtime Westporter Richard Auber of Westport died peacefully on New Year’s Day, surrounded by his family. He was 87.
Dick lived on Long Island before moving with his wife and 5 children here in 1975. He served in the Air National Guard for 6 years.
After graduating from St. John’s University he had a long career in the business world, and retired from the New York Transit Authority in 1987.
He met the love of his life, Elizabeth Mary Schick, in church choir. They were married for 64 years. He enjoyed sharing his singing talents with the St. Luke Church choir every Sunday morning. He also sang with the Hoot Owls and Fairfield County Chorale. He was a gifted storyteller too.
Dick is survived by his wife Elizabeth (Betty) Auber; children Patricia Auber (Tom Magro), Richard (Tatyana Nivina), Ron (Cheryl Fogg), Judy Auber Jahnel (Ferdinand) and Christine Auber (Michael Bauersfeld); 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; his sister Marilyn Fitzpatrick, many nieces and nephews, and countless friends and extended family. He is predeceased by his brother Robert and sister Edna.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday (January 7, 11 a.m.. St. Luke Church). Contributions can be made in his memory to the St. Luke Church Matthew 25 fund, or Food for the Poor.
And finally … Earth Wind, & Fire drummer Fred White died Sunday. He was 67.
The New York Times says he “propelled some of the funkiest songs in pop history, helping to provide a soundtrack to the nation’s weddings, bar mitzvahs, high school reunions and any other function at which people of all ages dance.”
Posted onJanuary 4, 2023|Comments Off on Drew Friedman Scholarships Draw Young Artist Applicants
The arts are thriving in Westport.
And “06880” is proud to partner with the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center to help the next generation of artists develop their talents.
To the tune of 3 scholarships — each worth $7,500.
The grants will go to current high school seniors with financial need who want to pursue an arts education at any level — university, community college or an arts school. All Westport 12th graders are eligible, no matter where they currently attend school.
The DFCAC is funding the 3 scholarships. It was founded by Friedman — the downtown property owner, restauranteur (Onion Alley, Cobb’s Mill Inn, Stonehenge Inn) and philanthropist whose first wife Bobbie was an accomplished artist.
The Drew Friedman Community Arts Center also sponsors workshops and projects for students. The center is administered by Nick Visconti, Friedman’s longtime business partner. (Click here to learn more about the DFCAC.)
Drew Friedman Community Arts Center representatives Miggs Burroughs and Nick Visconti (far right) and then-1st Selectman Jim Marpe congratulate previous arts scholarship winners (from left) Zoe Molina, Lilianna Giaume, Whitney O’Reardon and Katelyn Loucas. The mural in the background at the Westport Woman’s Club was created by youngsters in the Homes with Hope after-school arts program — also funded by DFCAC.
To apply, students who currently participate in art classes or art activities should send up to 8 digital images (JPEGs) of their work. It can be any medium — photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, digital art, or other.
Applicants should also submit a statement of up to 500 words describing the value of art in their life, and the world at large.
Send images and the statement (or any questions) to info@DrewFriedmanCommunityArtsCenter.org (subject line: “2023 Scholarship”). The deadline is February 28.
Submissions will be evaluated by an independent panel of professional artists. Awards will be announced by the end of March, with the winners’ work posted on “06880.”
Comments Off on Drew Friedman Scholarships Draw Young Artist Applicants
Westport’s latest teardown now looks like every other:
(Photo/Matt Murray)
But unlike many homes that smooshed by the wrecking ball, this one will have few mourners.
Here’s what it looked like, pre-demolition:
174 Hillspoint Road is the house that — ever since it was built in 1968, across from Sherwood Mill Pond — never fit in.
Westport Journal’s Thane Grauel described it as “a single-story house with a sort of terracotta mansard roof, white stucco-ish sides, narrow vertical windows and greenhouse windows like a fern bar.”
Architect Christopher Pagliaro was more succinct. He called it the “offspring of a Burger King and a diner.”
And, says Historic District Commission chair William Harris, “When we put the (demolition) sign up, people walking by started applauding.”
I have no idea what will take its place. But it will have to go a long way to be as universally disliked as its predecessor.
If you think the real estate market has slowed a bit lately: You’re right.
There were 472 closed sales in 2022, a decrease of 22.2% from 2021.
But the average days on market dropped from 57 days in ’21 to 52 in ’22. So homes sold a bit more quickly this year.
Average sales price: $2,250,197 in 2022 (up 29% from 2021).
The months supply of inventory was flat from 2021 to 2022, at 3.2 months. A historically normal market is considered to have 6 months of supply. The low figure for Westport could indicate that demand for homes in the area is outstripping the supply, potentially leading to further price appreciation.
About those prices: The average sale in Westport was $2,250,197. That’s a 29% increase over 2021. (Hat tip: The Riverside Realty Group)
The most expensive home on the market is this 11,000-square foot, 6-bedroom, 7 1/2-bath property on 3.45 acres on Charcoal Hill Road. It is listed for $12.5 million.
If you own a house in Westport — like the one above, or perhaps smaller — you think about leaves.
One of the noisiest items on the Representative Town Meeting agenda — a leaf blower ordinance — cranks up at tonight’s meeting (Tuesday, January 3, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall).
Click here, then scroll down to Slide #26 for the regulation itself, and explanatory materials.
Many sides — homeowners, landscaping company owners and town officials — have been heard already. They’re loud and clear, on all sides of the issue.
Checking in recently has been another concerned party.
Tanvi Gorre — president of Staples High School’s Club Green — wrote to support the proposal. Her words are a model of clarity and objectivity. She says:
“This ordinance isn’t perfect, though I am most definitely not the first person to tell you this.
“But we cannot wait for the perfect move, the perfect step against climate change. That step will never come, because it doesn’t exist.
“There will always be a problem with every solution we come up with. The best we can ever do is try to get closer to a solution. What has brought us some of the best solutions we have today is trial and error.
“But in order to get to good solutions we need to try. This ordinance is a way for us as the town of Westport to take a step towards getting to a better solution. So perhaps one day when my generation has to face the ramifications of the climate crisis we can have a great solution. We, the young generation, need your help more than ever.”
Meanwhile, the RTM’s Planning & Zoning Committee meets Thursday (January 5, 7 p.m. Zoom; click here for the link). They’ll begin discussing the Westport Planning & Zoning Commission’s approval of text and map amendments that would create a district in Saugatuck, which could lead to the development of The Hamlet at Saugatuck retail/residential/hotel/marina complex.
A group of residents — the Saugatuck Sensible Zoning Committee — has petitioned the full RTM to review the P&Z’s decision. Their goal — for the RTM to overturn it — requires a 2/3 vote.
The group says that are not “against development, change, improvements or re-zoning of the 4.82 acres and 11 properties that comprise the area under consideration.”
In fact, they add, “we enthusiastically support the revitalization of Saugatuck that will result from the Planning & Zoning Commission proactively engaging in a rigorous process to craft carefully planned changes in the zoning.”
However, the SSZC urges, “we want the re-zoning and subsequent development to be sensible, of appropriate scale, and respectful of Westport’s past, present and desired future.”
The group is concerned about the size and density of the possible project; traffic, congestion and parking; precedents, and other issues.
After Thursday’s meeting, the RT& P&Z Committee will meet again next Tuesday (January 10), and if necessary January 17.
They will then make a recommendation to the full RTM, which will meet and vote on January 17 or 19.
The shaded area includes the new text and map amendment boundaries.
Speaking of town politics: Anna Rycenga has resigned as chair of the Conservation Commission. She has taken a full-time job.
She has served as chair since 2010. Anna says that she and her fellow members have helped “ensure the protection, preservation and restoration of local wetlands and watercourses in Westport by making provisions to protect these wetland soils, water bodies, environmental functions and the wildlife habitat.”
Hers is not an easy job. She and fellow commissioners must balance the sometimes competing wishes and needs of property owners, neighbors, developers, environmentalists and other town officials.
Anna did it for 12 years, with dedication, understanding, dedication and grace. Thanks for your service!
In addition to the Conservation Commission, Anna has helped lead many charitable projects, including food and holiday toy drives with Westport PAL. She’s also the unofficial “mayor” of Westfair Village, keeping the neighborhood connected and fun. She’ll keep doing that.
PS: Anna’s new employer has made a very wise hire.
We’re used to seeing a few hardy souls “plunge” into the water on January 1. Yesterday’s Roundup carried one such photo– a gorgeous shot, just as the sun rose.
But I can’t recall anyone ever enjoying a New Year’s swim at Sherwood Mill Pond.
Perhaps “enjoying” is not the right word. These 4 dudes do not look happy at all.
(Photo/Matt Murray)
Hey — as photographer Matt Murray notes, at least they heeded the oft-disobeyed “No Jumping or Diving” sign.
MoCA Westport’s annual collaboration with the Westport Public Art Collections Committee — “Paul Camacho: El Ritmo y La Unidad” — is set for this month.
The opening reception is January 12 (5 to 7 p.m.). It’s a ticketed event (free for MoCA members; $10 general admission). Click here to register.
The museum’s annual high school exhibition — “Who Are You When You Are Dreaming” — is on view simultaneously.
Nearly 200 student artworks will be on display. As always, Westport artists are represented creatively.
Among them:
“I Have Always Wondered Why, You See” — digital collage/composition (Allison Cancro, Staples High School sophomore)
In this week’s “What’s Next in Weston” podcast (click below), 1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor chats with Police Chief Ed Henion about personnel plans, road improvements, driver safety and state grants.
The series sponsored by the Y’s Men of Westport & Weston, and hosted by Dick Kalt.
And finally … Anita Pointer died Saturday, at her Beverly Hills home. She was 74, and had battled cancer.
The New York Times called her “the sweet and occasionally sultry lead vocalist” on many hits with her siblings: the Pointer sisters.
They “occupied a middle point in pop history between the doo-wop innocence of the Ronettes and the stilettoed girl power of Destiny’s Child. Anita’s voice had a lot to do with that. She sang with the speed and flavor of molasses. Though she commanded the virtuosity to trill prettily, she tended to sing too softly to sound overpowering. In ‘Slow Hand’ …Anita cooed.” (Click here for a full obituary.)
(Real estate, politics, art, music … “06880” covers it all. Please click here to help support this hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
It’s winter in Westport. Plenty of folks are dreaming of Hawaii.
The Orphenians will actually go there.
Well, not until June. But Staples High School’s elite a cappella choral group is already making plans. And rehearsing.
And raising funds.
The trip to the International Luau of Song Festival, with director Luke Rosenberg and conductor Pearl Shangkuan of Calvin College, will include learning about cultural music, performing, and touring on both Oahu and the Big Island.
All 42 Orphenians are going. They’ve set a goal of $45,000, to cover expenses of those who cannot afford it all.
So think leis and grass skirts, and get ready for an “Aloha Cabaret.” It’s set for January 22, at the Westport Library.
Broadway and Metropolitan Opera star, Tony Award-winning Kelli O’Hara — a Westporter, and Orphenians fan — will perform. Choral alumni like Clay Singer, Georgia Wright and others joins her on stage.
Rosenberg will sing too. For those who know him only from the back, as he wields his baton, that’s a special treat.
The emcee is David Pogue. Among many other talents, the “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent is a former Broadway arranger and conductor (and father of Orphenians).
A silent auction includes an array of items, from Caribbean stays and jewelry to lessons and coaching. There are Hawaiian-themed light bites too.
Just what we need for a cold — but also very cool — January night.
(VIP tickets are $225 per person; they include 6 p.m. early entry, choice seating, and a meet-and-greet with performers. General admission tickets are $150 per person, for 6:30 p.m. entry. Click here to purchase. To make a donation without purchasing, click here. Questions? Email Staples.Music.Parents.Assn@gmail.com.)
Click below for the Orphenians’ most recent Westport Library event. They performed holiday music, and selections from their fall concert.
Our final online art gallery of 2022 looks back (at Hanukkah), forward (at 2023), and — as always — in every other direction.
As we say all year long, every year: This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
“The Last Night of Hanukkah” (Karen Weingarten)
“Bunny, It’s Cold Outside!” (Mike Hibbard)
Untitled abstract (Tom Doran)
“Watching the RTM” (Lawrence Weisman)
“When a Rolls Really Was a Rolls” — 1921 Silver Ghost Tourer (Peter Barlow)
Two first-time artists — well, the first time they’re on “06880,” anyway — join our online art gallery this week.
They’ve picked a good time. With Hanukah underway, and Christmas just a day away, several works touch on the holiday theme, directly or indirectly.
As always, all year long: This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
“It is Better to Light Just One Little Candle Than to Stumble in the Dark!” (Esther Stein Lichtman). Regular contributor Steve Stein submitted this on behalf of Esther, his 11-yer-old granddaughter, who spends her summers visiting in Westport.
“Paper Ornaments and Chanukah Gelt” (Amy Schneider)
Photographer Mike Hibbard says: “Listening to hear the angels’ voices. Singing goodwill to all on earth!” (Adapted from the hymn ‘O Night Divine.’)”
Ceramicist Morgan Veltri is a sophomore at East Stroudsburg University, majoring in environmental studies and minoring in studio arts.
“Art With AM” — acrylic (Lis Hisgen). This was taken from a photograph taken at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. an acrylic painting.
Westport’s drive to raise $250,000 for our new sister city in Lyman, Ukraine now has a logo.
Miggs Burroughs — the native Westporter/graphic artist/creator of lenticular exhibits at the downtown and train station pedestrian tunnels/designer of the Westport town flag/Westport Artists’ Collective co-founder — has once again donated his talents for a great cause.
His design — in Ukraine’s famous blue and yellow colors — shows Lyman nestled under the bridge being built by both Westport and Marigny-le-Louzon, the French town we adopted after World War II, and helped rebuild. They’re joining us now, to aid another devastated place.
Our goal is to raise $250,000 — by Christmas. That would provide materials to build 150 homes, with a generator for every one, plus a water filtration system for the Donetsk region town. Thanks to our partner on the ground, it can all be delivered within 3 days.
As of last night — 2 days after announcing our drive — we had over $85,000. Just $165,000 left to raise!
To help, click here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo.) You can also donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
Ukraine Aid International is a non-profit organization. It was co-founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer. Click here for more information on our sister city, Lyman.
Tonight, Saugatuck Congregational Church unveils a big gift for the community.
That’s not an exaggeration. It’s a giant video Christmas card.
From 5 to 8 p.m. today (Wednesday), Craig Patton and Mark Mathias — creators of the “card,” and leaders of the church’s audio-visual team — will be on the Great Lawn on the Post Road near Myrtle Avenue, projecting a video greeting on the front of the building. It will be augmented by an audio broadcast on 89.3 FM.
Look for the enormous holiday card on the front of the Saugatuck Church as you drive by. Better yet, stop and share some holiday cheer with Craig and Mark.
If the weather allows, the greeting card will be presented again tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday, also from 5 to 8 p.m.
On Sunday, Westport Troop 100 held an Eagle Court of Honor at VFW Post 399. They presented Eagle Scout awards, and celebrated the outstanding achievement of 4 Scouts:
2021 Staples High School graduate PJ Shaum, who coordinated a musical instruments drive for Bridgeport Schools’ Music program.
Purdue Polytechnic University freshman Maxim Zotkin Williams, who created an outdoor picnic area for St. Mary’s Holy Assumption Church in Stamford.
Staples High School senior and fencing team captain Gleb Syomichev, who helped clean and repaint the parking lot at VFW Post 399.
Staples High senior and fencing team member Jack Martens, who helped to clean up and paint the kitchen at VFW Post 399.
Troop 100 has a 54-year history in Westport — and, now, 90 Eagle Scouts. Congratulations to all!
Troop 100 Eagle Scouts, clockwise from top left: PJ Shaum, Maxim Zotkin Williams, Jack Martens, Gleb Syomichev,
Staples High School Class of 2013 graduate Shira Helena Gitlin is directing a new production of “Indecent,” by Massachusetts’ Concord Players.
Shira was involved with another Players group — the Staples ones — on the tech side, in high school. They also sang with the Orphenians. Shira is now building a career as a theater maker, in the Boston area.
Click here for a video about “Indecent.” They talk about its relevance today, beginning at 5:01.
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