Posted onJanuary 12, 2022|Comments Off on “The Westport Idea” Emerges At MoCA
Two of Westport’s powerhouse arts institutions — MoCA and the Westport Public Art Collections — join forces soon.
“The Westport Idea” debuts at MoCA January 28. The exhibit features selections from WestPAC’s 2,000-work collection. Most are housed in public schools and town buildings.
They’re amazing treasures. But even before COVID, because of their locations they were not easily accessible to the public.
The exhibit includes several 2021 acquisitions by artists of color and under-represented groups. Examples include “Village @ Ntonso,” filled with colors and patterns from African symbols, architectures and textiles, by internationally known (and Staples High School graduate) Charles Joyner; “Three Shadows” by photographer Adger Cowans of Harlem’s’ Kamoinge Workshop, and “Don’t Judge Me” by Stamford artist Christa Forrest.
“Village @ Ntonso” (Charles Joyner)
The Westport Public Art Collections’ origins date back to 1910. But it became more fully evolved in 1965, thanks to the vision of artist and educator Burt Chernow. His “idea” was to collect original fine art, for students to experience daily.
Simultaneously with “The Westport Idea,” MoCA will showcase the works of students from around the region, in its annual high school exhibition. This year’s title is “Identity.”
It features over 100 works based on the memories, experiences, relationships and values that create one’s sense of self. High school students were invited to submit drawings, paintings, digital and graphic images, photos, sculptures and videos.
“Facing Myself” (Tessa Moore, Staples High School senior)
Many familiar names will be highlighted in the main “Westport Idea” show. Among the artists included in the exhibit: Lynsey Addario, Ann Chernow, Charles Daugherty, James H. Daugherty, Lisa Daugherty, Stevan Dohanos, Walter Einsel, Leonard Everett Fisher, Jerri Graham, Hardie Gramatky, Robert Indiana, Estelle Margolis, Henri Matisse, Norma Minkowitz, Enid Munroe, Baroness Hilla von Rebay, Robert Rauschenberg and Larry Silver.
“Six Dancers, Children at Yangzhou School for the Deaf and Blind” (Larry Silver)
The opening reception is January 28 (6 to 8 p.m.). The exhibit runs through March 12. Admission is free, thanks to an anonymous gift.
Supporting programming for “The Westport Idea” includes a talk by co-curator Kathleen Motes Bennewitz (February 3); an in-depth discussion on Tom Wesselmann (February 17), an ekphrastic writing workshop with Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman (February 24)m, and a WestPAC teaching gallery talk (March 3).
All programs run from 6 to 7 p.m. Click here to register.
“Portrait of Joseph Mortimer Lichtenauer” (James Henry Daugherty)
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Longtime Westporter Barbara Bernstein taught art to special education students at Coleytown Elementary School for many years. She died in 2021, at 85.
But her art lives on. Her paintings are on display at Art Place (70 Sanford Street, Fairfield) every afternoon through January 29, from noon to 5 p.m. It’s the same door as the Fairfield Theater Company box office.
It’s a beautiful memorial show — well worth the trip on a winter’s day. (Hat tip: Jo Ann Davidson)
In the fall of 2020, Westport writer Ruth Shalit Barrett wrote a long article for The Atlantic about crazy, college-focused Fairfield County niche youth sports, like fencing, crew, squash, lacrosse. It created an immediate, intense buzz.
It created even more buzz when the magazine appended an extraordinary 800-word correction. Then they retracted the entire piece. (Click here to read why.)
Now Barrett and her story are back in the news. She’s suing The Atlantic for $1 million. She clams the editor’s note and retraction “destroyed her reputation and career.”
The suit was filed in Washington, DC Federal Court. Click here for details. (Hat tips: Mark Potts and Jeff Mitchell)
Ruth Shalit Barrett (Photo/Robertson Barrett, courtesy of Washington Post)
Westport’s wildlife has a way of naturally protecting itself. Can you find the hawk in today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, taken by Pam Kesselman in last week’s snowstorm?
And finally … Marilyn Bergman died Saturday in Los Angeles, at 93. You may not know her names, but you sure know the lyrics she wrote. They include “The Way We Were,” “The Windmills of Your Mind,” and the theme songs of “Maude and “Good Times,” among many others. Click here for a full obituary. (Hat tip: Amy Schneider)
“Tender Bar” is a new movie, which recently began streaming on Amazon Prime.
Directed by George Clooney, starring Ben Affleck, and based on the best-selling memoir by J.R. Moehringer, it includes a Westport scene. The Hollywood Reporter says:
“During a visit to Sydney’s home in the la-di-da suburbia of Westport, Connecticut, J.R.’s tense breakfast with her parents (Mark Boyett and Quincy Tyler Bernstine) tips into the absurd, recalling the memorably uncomfortable meet-the-parents meal in Goodbye, Columbus, and giving Clooney a chance to express his taste for edgier, satiric terrain.”
Fred Cantor — who sent along that tidbit — adds: “Even though the author’s sometime girlfriend at Yale was from Westport, the scenes at the train station and her home were filmed in a Boston suburb.”
One more local connection: The cast includes Christopher Lloyd. As a Staples High School student in 1958, he helped found what is now the nationally known Players drama troupe.
Click here for the full Hollywood Reporter review.
Omicron may be rampant, but Stop & Shop has eliminated its special 6 a.m. opening time — instituted early in the pandemic, to give older shoppers special access to a supposedly emptier store. The new opening hour for everyone is 7 a.m. (Hat tip: John Karrel)
“About 5 hours after the snow had stopped falling yesterday, it was very treacherous being a pedestrian on Post Road.
“I stopped in a couple of businesses and asked why their sidewalks had not been cleared. No excuses were forthcoming other than, ‘Someone is supposed to do it.’ This is extremely disappointing — not to mention hazardous.”
Molly sent along a series of photos of un-shoveled sidewalks. Here is one:
(Photo/Molly Alger)
A reminder: According to WestportCT.gov, “Per town ordinance, businesses are responsible for keeping all sidewalks along their property clear of snow and ice.”
It’s been many months in the making. But Ellen Naftalin’s “Art of the Album” exhibit is open, at the Westport Library’s Jesup Gallery. Put a mask on, and go!
On display is album cover art from remarkable women artists from the 1920s through ’60s. From the Depression and World War II to the civil rights and women’s movements, they broke the glass ceiling and the color barrier.
Naftalin and her husband Mark — a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band — dug through their personal, vast collection of LPs. Now they share them with the rest of us.
Every album cover — plus and the sign with Sister Rosetta Tharpe (“The Godmother of Rock and Roll”) has a QR code. Visitors can admire the art — and listen to each artist.
Naftalin’s exhibit is the second in a series. Another is planned for spring.
Part of Ellen Naftalin’s “Art of the Album” exhibit.
Speaking of the Library: “Cart-side service” is now available weekdays (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at the Westport Library. Books, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, and children’s toys and kits are available for pickup.
Anyone with a Westport or CT Library card registered with the Westport Library can use the service. However, requests can take up to 4 days to be fulfilled
Click here or call 203-291-4807 to request items (up to 10 per library card). You will receive an email or phone call when the items are ready. Call the number above when you plan to come; items will be placed on the cart in the library (just inside the main upper entrance) for pickup.
This replaces the previous “curbside” service. Click here for more information.
There’s never a dull moment with Carl Addison Swanson. The Staples High School graduate has written 51 (!) novels, including the highly acclaimed Hush McCormick series, Tug Christian thrillers, Scooter mysteries, Ian Fletcher legal series, Justin Carmichael nostalgic memoirs, and more. Five works have been optioned to the film industry.
Carl’s latest is “Never a Dull Moment: Spring of 1966.”
Amazon’s teaser says: “One’s last two 2 semesters of high school can be rough, but even worse when there is never a dull moment.”
Westport’s feathered creatures know how to fend for themselves in foul weather. Of course, a bit of help from humans never hurts. Wendy Crowther snapped today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo right after yesterday’s snow.
And finally … Inez Foxx’s “Mockingbird” is one of the album covers in Ellen Naftalin’s Westport Library exhibit (above). Here’s the song behind the artwork:
Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old — this gallery is open to you. In every medium.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world.
It’s 10 a.m. Are your kids bored with their snow day yet?
Here’s something they might enjoy: Carly Walker’s first yoga video aimed at youngsters. It comes from Child’s Pose Yoga, the Church Street South studio.
Longtime Westporters Jørgen and Pat Jensen died peacefully, together, at their home on December 22. He was 92; she was 88.
Jorgen — known as “George” — served 9 terms on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), and was a prominent member of the Y’s Men and their Hoot Owls singing group. He was also an avid bridge player.
Pat worked for many years for the Westport Public Schools. She also served with the Westport Woman’s Club.
Both were active in retirement at the Senior Center, and were lifelong boaters. At the Senior Center George was in charge of the Garden Club. He grew tomatoes, and distributed them widely.
George was born in Copenhagen, and graduated from the university there with an MS in mechanical engineering.
Pat — a native of Bridgeport — graduated from Sacred Heart University.
Both were world travelers. They met while working at General Electric in Bridgeport. He worked there until retirement, in 1985.
Pat retired in 2000, after serving as director of purchasing at Staples High School. She was a master knitter and crocheter.
While on the RTM, George worked to purchase the Baron’s property, and on construction of the Senior Center and Saugatuck senior housing. Both he and Pat were active in the movement to save Cockenoe Island from becoming a nuclear power plant, in the 1960s.
George and Pat are survived by their children Elisa (John McKay), Eric (Michele Ryan) and Aline Maynard (Garth); 7 grandchildren and George’s brother Steen Folmer.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Westport Center for Senior Activities, 21 Imperial Avenue, Westport, CT 06880.
Pat and George Jensen (Photos courtesy of Westport Journal)
Three of Westport’s most important institutions — The Library, Wakeman Town Farm and Westport Farmers Market — are partnering for a delicious presentation.
“Dinner Disrupted: How We Eat” (Tuesday, January 11, 7 pm., in-person at the Library and via Zoom) features a conversation with market researcher and author of How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink, Paco Underhill.
The book describes how cities are getting countrified with the rise of farmer’s markets and rooftop farms; how supermarkets use their parking lots to grow food and host community events, and how marijuana farmers have developed a playbook so mainstream merchants and farmers across the world can grow food in an uncertain future. Click here to register.
Every Martin Luther King Day, I run a story on the civil rights leader’s visit to Westport — and the wood carvings that local artist Roe Halper presented to him. They hung for years in his Atlanta home.
Halper is still a working artist. Her works are now colorful and abstract.
They are so colorful, in fact, that her current exhibit — at the Westport Library — is called simply “Orange.”
It is “a warm, radiant color with positive energy,” Halper says — “exactly the message I wanted to portray as I pushed bold strokes of power on the canvases with my Chinese brushes. A person must have a positive attitude to survive in life, and be able to be productive.”
Check out “Orange” — and many other colors — at the Westport Library Gallery.
It’s school course selection time. What to take? When? Why?
College admissions counselor Amy Chatterjee offers a free webinar on Tuesday (7 p.m.): “Why Course Selection is Important to the College Application Process.” Click here to register.
And finally … on this day in 1904, the distress signal “CQD” was established internationally. Two years later, it was replaced by a different one: “SOS.”
Earlier this week, “06880” noted the full agenda of the Planning & Zoning Commission’s Regulation Revision Subcommittee meeting.
Yesterday, the group discussed a proposed amendment to preserve mature trees on private property. It received both positive and negative feedback. The text amendment will be re-drafted, for further discussion at a future subcommittee meeting.
Proposals that would permit 2nd floor retail, as well as stores over 10,000 square feet, downtown will be considered at next Thursday’s work session, to be brought as a P&Z-sponsored text amendment at a future meeting.
A proposal to allow non-team activities — for instance, guided hikes, painting classes and yoga — at Baron’s South will also be considered at next Thursday’s work session, to be brought to a future public hearing as a P&Z-sponsored text amendment.
Discussions will continue on a Planning & Zoning Commission tree proposal.
Local to Market — the food-and-more store featuring (duh) all local goods, at the corner of Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza — has a constantly changing array of items.
But they’re always on the lookout for more.
Which is where we all come in.
Next Tuesday (January 11, 4 to 5 p.m.), they’re sponsoring a “think tank.” Everyone is invited to hear about procurement, ask questions, suggest ideas, and meet fellow food lovers.
Want two more reasons to go? There’s also a wine tasting from Stappa Vineyards. And you’ll get 15% off if you shop during the event.
Tomorrow (Friday, January 7; 9 pm on New York’s Channel 13; check listings for other PBS stations) marks the first of 3 “Stars on Stage from Westport Country Playhouse” specials.
Gavin Creel stars in the inaugural broadcast, taped during 2 shows in September, and produced by our own Andrew “Live from Lincoln Center” Wilk.
Pre-press has been excellent. The Los Angeles Times called it a “Pick of the Week,”
But see for yourself (below). Then mark your calendars for the next 2 Fridays: Shoshana Bean on the 14th, Brandon Victor Dixon the 21st.
2011 Staples High School graduate Margot Bruce’s short film, “Harbor,” debuts at the Westport Library next Wednesday (January 12, 7 p.m.). She’ll be there, and hosts a conversation afterward. Click here to register.
“Harbor” offers a modern twist on selkie stories from Celtic, Gaelic, and Norse folklore.
While at Staples, Margot swam and played water polo, and was a member of the band, orchestra and chorus. She discovered a passion for filmmaking at Fairfield University, and graduated from the College of Wooster with a BA in English. She recently completed an MFA in cinema at San Francisco State University.
Suzanne Bauman — the pioneering female documentary filmmaker who lived near Old Mill Beach from 1976-1991 — died on January 2, from complications of cancer. She was 76 years old.
She and her husband Jim Burroughs gave noted 1971 Staples High School graduate Brian Keane his start in film scoring.
Suzanne was editor and co-producer of the Academy Award-nominated “Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey” (1981). She and Jim produced the film while living in Westport. It was the first one scored by then-27-year old Keane.
She produced, directed and wrote more than 80 films, both documentary and drama.
Suzanne took crews all over the world, and worked with — among others — John Kenneth Galbraith, Norman Mailer, the Sixth Earl of Carnarvon, Diana Vreeland, astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Anna Wintour, Gianni Versace, Tina Brown, Jane Alexander, David Rockefeller, Fidel Castro, Ted Kennedy, Annie Liebowitz, Gloria Steinem, Cybill Shepherd, Raul Julia, Stacy Keach, Martin Sheen and Sir Ian McKellen.
She was supervising producer/director of “The Writing Code,” a landmark series for PBS on the invention, history, art and craft of writing, from ancient times to the internet.
“Water Wars” won the award for best documentary feature at the 2014 Universe Multicultural Film Festival. Her feature documentary “Shadow of Afghanistan” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam. “Jackie Behind the Myth,” a two-hour documentary special on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was People Magazine’s Pick of the Week, premiered on PBS nationwide and aired in more than 30 countries.
Suzanne is survived son Ryan, and step-children Rain, Shannon, Shane and Doah Burroughs.
For more information on Suzanne’s life, click here and here.
Suzanne Bauman
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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” Earthplace photo has been hanging around the “06880” files for a while. But a good mushroom never gets old.
Services will be held this Saturday (January 8) for Horace Lewis. The beloved head custodian at Staples High School — and before that at Coleytown Middle School — died last month of complications from COVID, following a stroke. He was 62 years old.
The family will receive visitors from 10 to 11 a.m. at Kingdom Life Christian Church, 597 Naugatuck Avenue in Milford. The funeral service follows, at 11 a.m. Interment will be at Union Cemetery in Stratford.
Larry Aasen’s family has sent along his official obituary. Here are more details, on one of Westport’s most remarkable residents:
Larry Aasen died on Sunday, January 2, at Norwalk Hospital. He was 99 years old. The cause of death was complications of COVID-19.
Larry and his wife Martha married in 1954. They moved to Westport in 1963. Martha died in October 2020, at 90.
Larry was born in a log house on a farm near Gardner, ND, on December 5, 1922, during a heavy snowstorm. There was no electricity, running water or central heating. His grandparents were immigrants from Norway.
He attended North Dakota State University from 1941 to 1943, then entered the U.S. Army. Larry rose to sergeant in the 13th Airborne Division. After training in North Carolina, he was sent to France during World War II. His job was cryptographer, encoding and decoding secret messages. His division had 20-person gliders. Their mission was to drop behind enemy lines and destroy anything of value.
One year after his 1946 discharge, Larry received a journalism degree from the University of North Dakota. He added a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University in 1949.
Larry moved to New York, where he began his career as a journalist for McGraw-Hill trade publications. He spent 14 years with New York Life Insurance, rising to vice president of public relations, then 20 years with the Better Vision Institute on campaigns urging Americans to get their eyes checked.
He was active in Westport’s civic life. He served 17 years on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM). Other volunteer activities include the Democratic Town Committee, Y’s Men and Rotary Club. He was an active member of the Saugatuck Congregational Church. In 2018, he served as grand marshal of the town’s Memorial Day parade
He wrote 4 books about his beloved North Dakota, including “North Dakota 100 Years Ago,” “Images of North Dakota” and “North Dakota Postcards 1900-1930.” “North Dakotans Never Give Up” was written when he was 97 years old.
Larry is survived by his children, David and Susan; son-in-law David Rutkin, and extended family members in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Because of the pandemic, there will be no funeral at this time. A memorial service will be held in the spring. His family requests that no flowers or gifts be sent to the Aasen residence. Instead, memorial gifts may be sent to Saugatuck Congregational Church (click here, or send to 245 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880).
Memorial Day 2018 grand marshal Larry Aasen and his wife Martha. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
Josh Fass passed his love of hockey to his kids. Carter — a junior at Staples High School — plays on the boys varsity team. Lexie is a freshman; she skates for the Staples/Stamford co-op girls team. (The oldest is studying molecular and cellular biology in California.)
Creating a rink on their front lawn was a passion project last year, and a saving grace during the long COVID winter. The virus is still here — but thankfully, the rink is back.
The Fass family rink. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
A Westporter writes:
My husband and I have been doing a daily walk around our neighborhood. We see things that — well, shouldn’t be there.
So the other day we took a couple of bags with us. In just 20 minutes around the corner and back, we filled them (see photo below). We picked up something almost every 10 yards.
So here’s my “food (garbage) for thought”: Why does this happen in one of the wealthiest and most highly educated places in the country — in front of million dollar homes? I’m sure we wouldn’t see this on their living room floors.
In days to come, we’ll bring bigger bags. And maybe a truck, for the barbecue grill someone threw away.
On Monday, “06880” reported on the cache of unopened tin cans Wendy Crowther found in a decaying Baron’s South tree.
Several readers speculated they might have been left there by a homeless person.
Wendy returned, and examined the labels. The oldest “Best By” date was February 28, 2017. Others were dated as late as 2022. A plastic jar of unopened peanut butter that rolled downhill from the rest had a “Best By” date of 2023.
Such dates dates typically range from 1 to 3 years, Wendy says. It’s hard to know who stashed the cans, and when. But, she adds, “No matter who, it’s a reminder that someone’s next meal may depend on the secrecy and integrity of a tree cavity, even here in Westport.”
Canned goods, in and near a Baron’s South tree. (Photo/Wendy Crowther)
The Westport Book Shop starts the new year off with a different kind of Artist of the Month. Literary and visual artist Diane Meyer Lowman — our town’s poet laureate — offers 9 original haiku. Superimposed on a photo taken by Diane in Westport or close by, they’ll be exhibited in the store through January 31.
Lowman is a poet, author and essayist (click here to read). Her memoir Nothing But Blue was published in 2018. Shortly thereafter, she received her M.A. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of Birmingham.
Diane Meyer Lowman with her haiku, at the Westport Book Shop.
Sarah Bloom Raskin is the leading candidate for vice chair of supervision at the Federal Reserve.
According to Axios, “By settling on Raskin, a former deputy Treasury secretary, for the powerful bank regulator position, [President] Biden is giving progressive senators like Elizabeth Warren a policy and personnel win on a position about which they care deeply.”
Raskin — a law professor at Duke University — served as a Federal Reserve governor before joining the Treasury Department under President Obama. She is married to Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
Why is this “06880”-worthy? She is the daughter of longtime Westporter Arlene Bloom and her late husband, Herb. (Hat tips: Mary Condon and Sheila Weiss)
Posted onJanuary 1, 2022|Comments Off on 0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 91 Gallery
Happy New Year!
This week’s online gallery — the first of 2022 — features colorful, optimistic works. Hey, we can dream …
My dream, meanwhile, is for this feature to continue to expand. To do that, we need your help.
Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old — this gallery is open to you. In every medium.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world.
And for now: Enjoy!
“Resination 32.” Artist Niki Ketchman explains: “This is from my Resination series. Each piece starts with a 12” x12” canvas, on which I create an image. Then I collage on various items and coat the entire piece with resin. This piece is to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2022.”
“Luscious Lemon” — from the Westport Farmers’ Market (Pam Kesselman)
“New Year’s Star” (Karen Weingarten)
Unitled — Rowene Weems took this photo of her granddaughter visiting over the holidays.
As COVID cases soar in Westport, a concerned “06880” reader writes:
“Our positivity rate is through the roof. The statistics as of Wednesday were near 18%. When other variants were circulating, an indoor mask mandate was in place.
“Currently there is no mask mandate, except government or municipal buildings. I cannot comprehend why there is no mandate reinstated for all indoor spaces in Westport.
“Masks have proven to work in preventing the spread of COVID. As we are all aware, the Omicron variant is extremely contagious. Westport residents, as well as people who work here, would be much safer with a mask mandate in place.
“Not having everyone wear masks indoors puts all of us in danger, especially the older and immuno-compromised populations.
“This has nothing to do with politics or the economy; it has to do solely with health. Whether people agree or not, it is honestly not much of an inconvenience to mask while indoors in order to protect people.
“Let’s keep everyone safe. Let’s reinstate a mask mandate.”
Masks did not detract from Staples High School’s Candlelight Concert earlier this month.. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Yesterday’s New York Times carried a fascinating obituary of Ben McFall. It calls him “the longest-tenured bookseller in the history of the Strand, New York’s renowned bookstore, who for decades peered above his spectacles at a line of acolytes, tourists and young colleagues for whom he incarnated the store’s erudite but easygoing spirit.” He died last week at his home in Jersey City. He was 73, and suffered from pulmonary fibrosis.
The story notes that after graduating from Olivet College with a degree in French and music in 1971, he moved with college friends to Connecticut — and worked at the Remarkable Book Shop in Westport.
“A co-worker told Mr. McFall she could see him at the Strand,” the Times says. “He had never heard of the place, but in 1978 he arrived in New York and interviewed for a job.” He was hired on the spot.
Click here for the full obituary. (Hat tips: Tom Prince, Jackie Kaplan, Adam Stolpen, Mark Lassoff and Fred Cantor)
Ben McFall (Photo/Julie Glassberg for the New York Times)
If you’re like 90% of Westporters*, your New Year’s resolution is: “Get fit” (or “fitter”).
Why wait?**
The Joggers Club starts 2022 on the right foot (ho ho), with their annual 3.5-mile run (Saturday, January 1, 8 a.m., Compo Beach).
But wait! There’s more! Cool off with a Polar Plunge at 10.
For a $50 annual fee, you’ll get access to exclusive parties, 41 group runs, post-run coffee and treats, a Brooks running shirt ($35 value!), a ton of fun — and you’ll get in great shape.
Click here, or check out Instagram (@TheJoggersClub).
PS: Save the date: Joggers Club Jr. (ages 5 to 13) returns April 3. Six weeks of 75-minute coached sessions, for just $99.
*The other 10%? See below.
**Because then you won’t do it.
This could be you! (Photo/Armelle Pouriche-Daniels)
Perhaps your New Year’s resolution is to find inner peace.
Pause + Purpose is ready. A new studio on 21 Jesup Road — right near Westport Book Shop — they offer drop-in meditation weekdays (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). They also plan to launch mindfulness gatherings soon.
Founder Emily Vartanian-Tuttle says: “The world is especially stressful right now, and our collective mental health and wellness is suffering. We have built a positive communal space for meditation and discussion in the heart of Westport.
“Scientists are beginning to understand that meditation is essential to a healthy mental landscape, and there is no better way to dedicate yourself to a practice than with the backing of a whole community behind you. We offer meditation modalities and group support, backed by science to improve mental, social, and emotional wellbeing.
“Our professional staff includes psychologists, counselors, nutritionists, and the like, addressing issues such as postpartum depression, social anxiety, dietary challenges, and mourning, among others.
“Drop in for a self-led practice or join one of our high-quality children and adult mindfulness gatherings, where a seasoned meditation teacher will lead you and a group in meditation and discussion.” Click here to learn more.
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