Category Archives: Arts

Roundup: FCIACs, Doubt, Land …

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Yesterday’s Roundup gave an incorrect date for the Staples High School girls soccer team’s FCIAC championship match.

The correct date is tomorrow — Thursday, November 4 (7 p.m., Fairfield Warde High School). The #4 Wreckers face #6 Wilton. Both teams advanced on Monday, via penalty kick semifinal wins.

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“Doubt: A Parable” is a compelling, though-provoking play. (I saw it on Broadway, and was mesmerized.) It opened at the Westport Country Playhouse  last night, marking a return to in-person performances at the historic theater.

The Playhouse has planned 4 post-show discussions. They’ll feature community guests who deal closely with issues addressed in the play: a drama about a nun’s’ suspicion of a priest’s behavior.

They’ll include Beth McCabe, co-leader for Connecticut chapter of SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests), on Thursday, November 11; SNAP member Mark Fuller on Friday, November 12; Lucy Gellman, editor of The Arts Paper on Tuesday, November 16, and Thomas Burke, associate minister of children, youth and families at Norfield Congregational Church, on Friday, November 19.

The discussions are free, and open to the public; tickets to “Doubt” are not required.

For more information on the discussions, click here. For tickets, click here.

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Leonor Dao Turut takes center stage as guest art exhibitor for November, at the Westport Book Shop.

The Westporter shows 6 works, all started in the early days of the pandemic when she wanted to capture her emotions and moods.

A painter, sculptor and illustrator, Turut draws inspiration from her native Venezuela. Her pieces are filled with strong colors, imaginative motifs, symbolism and deep details.

The exhibit is on view during business hours at the used book shop on Jesup Green.

Leonor Turut with her work, at the Westport Book Shop.

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Aspetuck Land Trust just got bigger.

On Monday, the open space conservation non-profit closed on Weston’s 85-acre Fromson Strassler property. The deal took 5 years to complete.

It helps ALT assemble and protect a large forest block on the Weston/Wilton border. The property will be open to the public, for passive recreation.

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The November/December issue of Westport Magazine is out now.

The holidays take center stage. Mar Jennings’ front door — always well decorated — is on the cover. Inside, he shares home décor tips.

The issue also includes decorating ideas from Sam Allen, a gift guide and the Light a Fire feature celebrating local volunteers and philanthropists.

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Lifelong Westporter Thomas Hindle died peacefully on Sunday, with his family at his side. He was 77 years old, and had battled Parkinson’s for several years.

Tom and his younger sister Barbara enjoyed a gentle, magical time growing up here. Summers were spent at Compo Beach, swimming and exploring for starfish. Winters meant swimming at the YMCA, and skating and hot cocoa parties at the Patterson Club.

At Staples High School Tom was a charter member and president of the Orphenians, the select choral group.

He graduated from the University of Connecticut with a business degree. His work at the college radio station fed his passion for music, editing and broadcasting.

Tom’s long, successful career in video broadcasting technology began at CBS Labs, where the process of overlaying text in broadcasting, Vidifont, was being developed. As a product manager he contributed to evolving technologies; one led to the recognition of a Technical Emmy Award.

Later, as a senior account manager, Tom owned large accounts such as NBC. They used his company’s equipment to bring the Olympics around the world.

Water, boating and swimming were Tom’s passions. A longtime member of the Westport Y masters’ swim team, he swam regularly and made many friends with whom he traveled the country to compete.

Tom’s passion for music never waned. He appreciated live performances including the Handel and Haydn Society. He also enjoyed home improvement projects, and transformed his house over the years.

He shared his home with friends, especially entertaining for the Super Bowl. Tom’s travels took him around the world, visiting family, sightseeing, and for business.

Survivors include his sister Barbara; nephews Matthew Cohen and Darrel Kolb, and niece Star Kolb.

A funeral service will be held tomorrow (Thursday, November 4, 10 a.m., followed by a reception at Christ & Holy Trinity Church. Interment will be in Nichols Farm Burial Ground in Trumbull.

Condolences may be left online here. Contributions in his memory may be made to The Handel and Haydn Society or the Westport Weston Family YMCA.

Tom Hindle

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With leaves falling all around us, it’s hard to pick a special one out.

But Scott Smith found a few walnut leaves, like this one. He calls them “rare and striking.” We call it today’s “Westport … Naturally” image.

(Photo/Scott Smith)

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And finally … congratulations to our new 1st selectwoman, Jennifer Tooker.

I went searching for a song with Jennifer in the title. “Jennifer Juniper,” “Jennifer Ever,” Jenny/867-5309,” … nothing seemed to fit.

On a whim, I typed “Tooker” into YouTube.

This video came up. It has nothing remotely to do with Westport, or our new chief executive.

But it sure is stunning, both musically and visually.

 

Roundup: Girls Soccer, Pumpkins, ALS …

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Congratulations to the Staples High School girls soccer team!

The #4 Wreckers battled #1 St. Joseph to a 0-0 draw in the FCIAC semifinals last night — then prevailed on penalty kicks, to advance to the league championship. It’s tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7 p.m.) Thursday (November 4, 7 p.m.)  at Fairfield Warde High School.

Coco Crombie, Gaby Gonzalez and Gabriela de Brito each made their tension-filled, game-ending shots. McKenzie Didio saved 3 shots in goal, to propel the Westporters to the title match.

Coach Barry Beattie’s team hopes to make it 2 championships in a row. They beat St. Joseph in 2019. There was no match last year, due to COVID.

Good luck too to the Staples field hockey team. Seeded #3, they face #2 Darien tonight at 7:30., at Brien McMahon High School.

The Staples High School girls soccer team, at last month’s the Push Against Cancer …

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Halloween’s over. You’re rationing your kid’s candy, and cleaning the cobwebs (literally) from your yard. But what to do about that rotting pumpkin?

Bring it to the Westport Farmers’ Market on November 11 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Their 3rd annual Great Pumpkin Toss is a free, fun composting event.

Action Waste Solutions will accept all pumpkins (and gourds!) in their natural state at the market. Squishy, rotted pumpkins are welcome. If they’re decorated or painted, they unfortunately can’t be composted.

In addition to creating compost, pumpkins provide food for livestock. Ox Hollow Farm will fill their truck with pumpkins for their cows.

PS: You can also sign up for Action Waste Solution’s residential recycling collection service, and get your first month of service free.

Last year’s event diverted one ton of pumpkins from landfill. Let’s beat that this year!

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One of Westport’s most important holiday events — the annual Giving Program — is underway.

Aimed at friends and neighbors facing financial hardship, it’s funded entirely by community donations. Each year, over 100 Westport families with school-aged children benefit.

COVID — with unemployment, underemployment, food insecurity and stress — has increased the need.

During the pandemic, Westport’s Department of Human Services has pivoted from accepting toys and clothes. The emphasis now is on gift cards, checks and cash. Safety is one factor; so is the chance for parents to personalize their children’s gifts, while participating in the holiday season.

Individuals and organizations can click here to help; choose “Family to Family,” then “Holiday Giving Program.” Checks can be mailed to Westport Department of Human Services c/o Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880.  Donations may also be dropped off at Town Hall by appointment.

Westport residents facing financial difficulties can call Human Services at 203-341-1050 or email humansrv@westportct.gov for confidential assistance.

Click here for more information. Questions about the program? Email adaugelli@westportct.gov or call 203-341-1183. 

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As he battled ALS, Jonathan Greenfield was thinking of others. The well-known Westporter created Breathe4ALS, The goal was to improve the lives of people living with ALS by educating them about the Wim Hof breathing technique, and its ability to provide more energy, less stress and a heightened immune response — and to fundraise for ALS research.

Jonathan died in June, but his work continues. This Sunday (November 7,  11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) the non-profit he founded with his wife Iris holds its first Jonathan Greenfield Memorial Wim Hof fundamentals workshops. It’s called “Breathe Westport. Breathe!” Jonathan created Breathe 4 ALS with a dual mission:  to improve the lives of people living with ALS and to raise money for ALS research.

The event will be held at the Greenfields’ home, and livestreamed. Tickets are $200 and $45, respective. All proceeds benefit Breathe4ALS. Click here to register, and for more information. Click here for a video on the Wim Hof technique.

Not long after his diagnoses, Jonathan Greenfield hiked in Spain with Wim Hof (left).

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Political season means political signs. You see them everywhere: traffic islands. Front lawns. Today, of course, at polling places.

They tout candidates for local offices. Except this one, spotted earlier today on South Compo.

The Tiger King is not on the ballot. Besides, the 2020 presidential election is over. Joe Biden won.*

(Photo/Matt Murray)

*Really.

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The Mercedes station wagon parked since summer front of Town Hall still remains there.

It’s not the only perhaps abandoned vehicle.

Chris Grimm says a Holiday Rambler travel trailer has sat in the Sherwood Island Connector I-95 commuter lot for at least a couple of weeks. 

The door is wide open. He describes it as “ever so slightly furnished crack den chic. The only decoration is a Junie B. Jones bumper sticker on the inside of the front window. Looks like a metaphor for lost youth if there ever was one!”

Holiday Rambler in the I-95 lot. (Photo/Chris Grimm)

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MoCA Westport’s auction is online, and open. More than 50 items — including original art, unique experiences, and products from small Westport businesses — are available for bid.

Click here to participate. The auction closes November 15.

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Thoreau never gets old

To prove it, Westporter Andrew Blauner has compiled essays from 27 leading writers. Their original pieces explore how the 19th century philosopher/poet/ environmentalist/abolitionist influenced them.

Next Monday (November 8, 7 p.m.), he (Blauner, not Thoreau, Zoom) will talk about his new book, what he’s learned, and why we still need Thoreau in our lives. Click here to register, and purchase the book.

Henry David Thoreau

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The Westport Astronomical Society’s lecture series is one of our town’s unheralded gems. (The WAS calls itself, after all, “The Best Space in Connecticut.”)

Next up: the Hubble Telescope, and “A Brief Moment in Time.” It’s November 16 (8 p.m.). Click here to view.

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There are plenty of places to admire fall foliage. One of my favorites is at the entrance to Staples High School, just off North Avenue.

Dayle Brownstein loves it too. Here’s her photo — a perfect “Westport … Naturally” image, on this Election Day when there’s no school.

(Photo/Dayle Brownstein)

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And finally … today is Election Day. Leonard Cohen nails it. Sure, he was Canadian, but you get the idea.

 

https://vimeo.com/leescharf/review/640045615/d2acaa8cda

Roundup: Election Day, Christmas Trees, Gallery Opening …

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Election Day is tomorrow (Tuesday, November 2). Here is what you need to know, courtesy of Westport’s official town website:

Are you registered to vote? Click here to check your current status.  If your are voting by Absentee Ballot, this tool will also tell you if we’ve received your Absentee Ballot.

Do you still need to register to vote? Click here to register.

Missed registration deadlines? You can register on Election Day at Town Hall.  Here’s how.

November 2nd Election Sample ballots

Need to check where to vote? Use the State Voter Registration Lookup Tool.

Election voting districts can be viewed here.

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Election Day is — as noted above — tomorrow. Yesterday was Halloween.

But it’s not too early for Christmas.

Anthropologie wins the race for earliest trees.

A welcome sight? Or absurdly early? Click “Comments” below.

(Photo/JC Martin)

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George Billis Gallery’s next show — a group event with 5 artists, working in watercolor, acrylic and glass — runs from November 13 to December 5.

Featured artists include Russ Havard, Margery Gosnell-Qua, Abby Modell, Angela Rustici and Susan Stillman.

An opening reception is Saturday, November 13 (4 to 7 p.m.). For more information, click here.

“White Trees Spring” (Susan Stillman)

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Daniel Vener snapped today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo on Saturday.

He says: “This gull was trick-or-treating a bit early.”

(Photo/Daniel Vener)

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And finally … on this day in 1894 Buffalo Bill Cody, 15 Native American members of his traveling show, and Annie Oakley were filmed by Thomas Edison in his New Jersey studio.

 

Roundup: Kelli O’Hara, Cary Pierce, Steven Parton …

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Congratulations to Staples’ October Students of the Month!

Catherine Cunningham, Gianna Amatuzzi, Lucas Baer, Sydney Griffiths, Olivia McCaffery, Kaylin Manning and William Holleman are “students who help make Staples a welcoming place for peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.”

Teachers nominate students who are friendly to staff and fellow students, and make positive contributions in class as well as the Staples community.

From left: Catherine Cunningham, Gianna Amatuzzi, Lucas Baer, Sydney Griffiths, Olivia McCaffery, Kaylin Manning, William Holleman.

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A link is live for the virtual version of the Westport Library’s 2021 Malloy Lecture in the Arts. Broadway (and Westport’s) own Kelli O’Hara will be joined in conversation on Thursday, November 11 (7 p.m.) by renowned theater director Bartlett Sher.

O’Hara won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Anna in “The King and I,” among many honors. Click here to register for the event.

Kelli O’Hara

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Speaking of songs: Cary Pierce – the 1987 Staples High School graduate who is the longtime half of the popular musical duo Jackopierce — sends word that his new single, “Outta My Head” (from the EP “The Dalhattan Project”) has just dropped. Click here for its many platforms.

You can see Jackopierce live, too. They play City Winery in New York this Tuesday (November 7; doors open at 6 p.m., the band is on at 8). Click here for more information.

Cary Pierce

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Amy Simon — the Post Road East art gallery — hosts an artists’ reception for Donald Martiny and Amy Genser this Friday (November 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.). The show is called “Pushing the Boundaries.”

“Callisto” — polymer and pigment on aluminum (Donald Martiny)

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Speaking of art: Westporter Steven Parton earned a Salmagundi Award for Oils & Acrylics at the Audubon Artists’ 79th Annual Exhibition in New York. The honor came for his work “SAFE.”

Congratulations, Steve!

“SAFE” (Steven Parton)

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Is today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo a Halloween witch?

Nah. But it could be.

(Photo/Nancy Axthelm)

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And finally … trick or treat!

 

Roundup: Leaf Blowers, Lamont, Trunk Or Treat …

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Yesterday’s “06880” post about leaf blowers created a lot of noise.

On November 8 (7 p.m.), Wakeman Town Farm hosts an information session to clear the air about the impact of gas blowers on our bodies and environment. There will be information too about a gas leaf blower ordinance being presented to the Representative Town Meeting.

The panel includes RTM member Kristin Schneeman, lead co-sponsor of the ordinance; Valerie Seiling Jacobs, advisor with the non-profit Quiet Communities, and Alice Ely, advocate for Westport’s Pollinator Pathway.

The event is moderated by Liz Milwe, WTF co-chair and proponent of Westport’s successful plastic bag ban. Tickets are $10. Click here to register.

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Governor Lamont believes that Connecticut residents should shop local.

So when it came time to pick out a gift for his wife’s birthday, he headed to one of his favorite spots: Savvy + Grace.

The Main Street store was not open decades ago, when Lamont was a young man living on Saugatuck Shores. But he discovered the gift shop-and-more on a trip to Westport, and has loved it ever since.

Governor Lamont, on Main Street.

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Pirates, princesses, superheroes — and all other costumed characters ages 12 and under (and their parents) are invited to tomorrow’s Trunk or Treat event, at the United Methodist church (Sunday, October 31, 1 to 3 p.m.).

It’s fun — and benefits local food pantries. The requested admission is a non-perishable food or cash donation.

Ideas for non-perishable food donations: hearty Soups, peanut butter and jelly, pasta and sauce, snacks like granola bars, canned items (chicken, tuna, beans, fruits, vegetables), cold cereal and oatmeal, shelf-stable milk, pancake and cakek mixes, rice, and mac and cheese.

For more information, click here.

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Jolantha — Weston’s favorite holiday sculptor — welcomes Pumpkin Day. (“Some find Halloween too spooky,” explains Jolantha’s creator, Hans Wilhelm.

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The air is getting colder. But folks continue to flock to Westport. So — as this “Westport … Naturally” photo shows — do our fine feathered friends.

Of course, they were there first.

(Photo/Bruce Borner)

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And finally … tomorrow is Halloween. Kids will dress up as anything. Maybe a walrus?

Meanwhile — once upon a time — the day before Halloween was “Mischief Night.” Hard to believe now, but Kids would toss toilet paper over trees, smash mailboxes, and throw eggs.

So, in honor of walruses and eggmen:

 

 

0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 83 Gallery

Who can resist autumn leaves?

Not our online art gallery artists. This week’s submissions were full of fall foliage. There is, as always, a wide variety of interpretations and styles.

And (of course) one Halloween-themed piece.

To each his or her own — that’s art!

Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old — this feature is open to everyone.

All genres and styles are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage (and now needlepoint) — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world!

Untitled (Larry Untermeyer)

“Autumn Leaf Print” (Amy Schneider)

“End of Summer” (Karen Weingarten)

“Community Garden” (Lawrence Weisman)

“Little Irish Dancer (of Death)” (Brian Whelan)

Halloween Window Painting Artists: Take A Bow!

It’s a record!

On Saturday., 131 children painted 65 windows throughout town, for the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce’s annual Halloween Window Painting Contest.

They looked great — for 3 days. Then the nor’easter washed most of the artwork away. Only a few remain.

Luckily, judging was done last weekend. Winners receive a certificate, and $25 gift card to Cold Fusion.

Who won? Scroll down to see.

Best Halloween Theme (Elementary School):Calvin Carreas (2nd grade., Long Lots) and his helper- brother Julian (kindergarten ); Fleet Feet in Sconset Square.

Scariest Theme (Elemenary): Scarlett Nelson (3rd grade, Saugatuck); Franny’s Farmacy on Church Lane.

Most Original Theme (Elementary): Jonah Milgrom (3rd grade, Long Lots); HSBC on Elm Street. (His work washed away in the storm, but he holds the photo of himself and his window.)

Best Halloween Theme (Middle School): Hailey Kipperman (7th grade, The Southport School); Bella Bridesmaids, Post Road West.

Scariest Theme (Middle School): Milo Milgrom (6th grade, Bedford); Cycleogy Bike & Ski, Post Road East.

Most Original Theme (Middle School): Sophie Jacques (7th grade, private school); Brown Harris Stevens, with BHS executive director John DiCenzo.

Scariest Theme (High School): Ella Scheweizer (10th grade, Staples); Greens Farms Spirits, with owner Jim Broyer.

NOTE: The “Most Original Theme” high school artist was Camille Mergenthaler (9th grade, Staples). Her work — at Local to Market on Main Street — washed away in the storm. Here’s what it looked like:

Coleytown Company: “All Together Now!”

Broadway was not the only theatrical casualty of COVID.

Student stages were also darkened by the pandemic. For Coleytown Middle School — which was simultaneously shuttered by mold — 2 entire grades lost opportunities to learn how to audition for, rehearse, light, costume and stage a show.

Not to mention all the lost revenue, which pays for the next Coleytown Company production.

Music Theater International wants to help schools like CMS get back on their feet.

The licensing agency — which usually charges hefty right fees — created a 15-number musical revue they’re offering free. (They hope, of course, that directors who like the songs may do an MTI show in the future.)

Coleytown Company director Ben Frimmer loved the idea. But — in typical directorial fashion — he wondered: How can we make it different from all the other schools that are doing it too?

MTI is licensing “All Together Now!” for one weekend only. Several area groups are also producing it then — along with 5,500 schools and theaters, in all 50 states and over 40 countries.

Frimmer realized it would be difficult to get middle schoolers to learn 15 songs in just 2 months. He also realized he has plenty of Broadway friends who could help.

His first call was to Coleytown Company choreographer Amiee Turner. A veteran of Broadway’s “Will Rogers Follies” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” she said she’d love to perform.

Broadway veterans Mia Gentile and Jacob Heimer — both CMS alums — were happy to come back too.

More than a decade ago, Jacob Heimer and Mia Gentile starred in Staples Players’ “Urinetown.” Both have gone on to professional success.

Company producer Stacie Lewis — the mother of a CMS grad, and a current student — said she’d sing. She reached out to others.

Quickly, Frimmer had a cast: 10 Broadway performers. Six songs featuring Coleytown 7th and 8th graders. And speaking roles for First Selectman Jim Marpe and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice.

“All Together Now!” is set for Saturday, November 13 (7 p.m.). There’s a livestream option, for anyone unable to be at CMS’ new auditorium in person. (All audience members eligible must be vaccinated.)

As with any show, there are challenges. COVID is one. “If someone has a sniffle, they can’t come to rehearsal,” Frimmer notes. “At any moment, we might have to switch out a performer.”

And because Coleytown had not hosted a performance in 3 years, there was no wood to build sets, or tools to build them with. Lights and props had been removed during the school’s renovation.

On top of which, the current 7th and 8th graders had no Company experience . Frimmer started fresh with everyone, teaching everything from how to audition to how to perform. (Plus: The date MTI chose is earlier than usual for a CMS show.)

But, he says, “they’re all really excited. They’re working together to create live theater. Amiee, Eli Newsom (our musical director) and I are challenging them with high expectations. They’re rising up to meet them.”

Click here for tickets. Revenue helps pay for sound, lights and other Coleytown Company costs — including this spring’s show, “SpongeBob Musical.”

Oh, yeah. They have to pay for licensing rights then too.

From Wall Street To Westport: Eric Chiang’s Arts Journey

When Eric Chiang moved to Westport in 1993, he lived across the street from the legendary illustrator Howard Munce.

Growing up in Taiwan, Chiang had loved art. But he didn’t know anyone who made a career of it. So he went to New York University, majored in computer science and math, earned a master’s, and got a “normal job” as a programmer and financial modeler at Goldman Sachs.

Watching Munce — then in his 80s — create sculptures outside, even in winter, intrigued Chiang. He watched with added interest as Leonard Everett Fisher — another iconic artist — came to visit Munce.

Chiang realized that Westport’s arts legacy lived on, in the spirit of real, working artists.

Around 1997, he carved out half an hour or so every night to create art. He had no formal training. He did not have an actual studio either — just a small easel in a corner of his living room.

But after nearly a decade, he’d accumulated plenty of works. He had ideas for many more.

Chiang wanted no regrets. He decided to leave Wall Street. His wife gave her blessing.

In 2007, Chiang became a full-time artist. His painted realistic objects, arranged surrealistically.

“The Year 2020, No. 2” — oil on canvas.

In the past few years he’s moved into less precise landscapes. His works are big, and tied to his love of nature.

For example, he says, he always wondered what would happen if the earth wrote a story about itself.

To keep his hands off the work — he wanted the art to be as primordial as possible — Chiang sprayed paint to represent rain, storms and the erosive process at work. To mimic gravity, he tilted the canvas.

The resulting “Land Scripts” series of more than a dozen paintings is 50 feet wide.

Eric Chiang with his “Land Scripts XIII.”

Chiang applied the same technique to “Water Scripts,” a series of 12-foot high waves and waterfalls.

“Water Scripts I” — oil on canvas.

Another work fills a large space at Coleytown Middle School. When Westport Permanent Arts Collections officials realized they had nothing suitable to hang near a staircase and skylight in the newly renovated school, they asked Chiang to help.

He presented 5 options. Students chose an intriguing work called “Are We Born Connected?,” which included guitars.

“Are We Born Connected?” (Eric Chiang, acrylic on canvas)

When that was selected for an exhibit at the Housatonic Museum of Art, the second choice — a 16-foot, 4-panel “History of Civilization” — took its place.

“A History of Civilizations,” at Coleytown Middle School.

Not all of the artist’s creations are enormous. His most recent work — “Westport: A Perspective From Early Days” — is one of 5 murals unveiled this month at the Main Street entrance to Bedford Square. His depicts the earliest days of our town.

Chiang explains:

This mural brings us into an imaginary world back in the early days of Westport, when the Paugussett Indians occupied the area with a farming and fishing culture. Then the European traders came to transact with the indigenous tribes, just to be followed by the English colonists, who built towns, church, and farms.

From there, someone in the painting invited us to peek into the future – Let’s go over the bridge and see a bigger town and a much greater nation in the making.

“Westport: A Perspective From Early Days”

Inspired by Howard Munce and Leonard Everett Fisher — and his own career change — Chiang is a firm believer in the importance of arts to Westport.

“It’s less about the exhibits and displays, than the spirit of the people,” he says. “And it’s not just visual artists. It’s musicians, dancers and writers. Their activities make the whole town artistic.”

In Taiwan, Chiang had no role models. In his first years as an artist here, he worked alone. But when the Westport Artists Collective began in 2014, he was an avid founding member.

He is eager to keep passing Westport arts’ “spirit and culture” on to future generations.

Meanwhile, visitors to Bedford Square — and hundreds of students at Coleytown — are enjoying Eric Chiang’s work.

A long way from Taiwan — and Goldman Sachs — he enjoys creating it too.

(To see more art at Eric Chiang’s website, click here. Hat tip: Kris Szabo.)

Roundup: Tyler Hicks, Amy Kaplan, Oaktober …

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Today’s arresting New York Times Magazine cover photograph is by Pulitzer Prize winning (and 1988 Staples High School graduate Tyler Hicks.

The Contributors’ page explains that the photography for the story — on sharks and Cape Cod — was shot over the course of 3 months. Luckily, it says, both Hicks and the author “are men of the ocean and have plenty of boating experience. They were still at the mercy of nature, with the weather and an unpredictable predator to cover.  But they also had technology to deal with. Drone batteries run out very quickly.” (Hat tip: John Karrel)

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Say goodbye to Amy Kaplan today 🙁

The noted artist is relocating to Florida, for her husband’s job. Her current Newtown Roux Gallery show, “Dreamweaves,” closes Tuesday.

Today, she hosts a reception there (14 Elm Street, 2nd floor, 3 to 5 p.m.). Share a glass of bubbly, and thank her for all she’s done for our artistic community.

One of the works in Amy Kaplan’s current show.

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Rowene Weems attended yesterday’s OAKtober/Halloween celebration on Jesup Green. She reports: “Lots of costumes, young and old. Earthplace brought a snake and a bat. There were 50 pumpkins to decorate. We got an oak tree too!”

The event was sponsored by Westport Book Shop, Earthplace and the Westport Tree Board.

Enjoying an OAKtober snake. (Photo/Rowene Weems)

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It’s bad enough when traffic for the Starbucks drive-thru backs up on the Post Road, coming from the west (downtown).

But yesterday, this very entitled driver coming from the other direction decided his (or her) Trenti iced coffee, 12 pumps [sugar-free] vanilla, 12 pumps [sugar-free] hazelnut, 12 pumps [sugar-free] caramel, 5 pumps skinny mocha, a splash of soy, coffee to the star on the siren’s head, ice, double-blended drink could not wait.

Hey … why park and go inside, when I can block one lane of traffic on Westport’s main thoroughfare, right? I’m thirsty!

(Dashcam photo/JM Weisz)

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The Post is a new home design and gift shop, across from Stop & Shop.

They say, “Inspired by the confluence of worlds we inhabit, The Post offers a sophisticated take on city, country and coastal vibes.”

They host an open house November 4 through 7, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. All holiday items will be 20% off.

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Spectacular “Westport … Naturally” scenes abound throughout Westport — even downtown. “06880” photographer JC Martin knows exactly where to look.

(Photo/JC Martin)

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And finally … today in 1931, the George Washington Bridge officially opened. What better way to salute it than by a song by this group …

… and this singer: