More than 240 SLOBs, students and parents formed 38 3-v-3 teams, to raise over $5,100 for Staples Tuition Grants.
SLOBS president Cole Siegner, fundraising chair Zach Gillman and the executive board planned the event, and selected the charity to support.
They also voted to create a SLOBs named award with Tuition Grants, in honor of their friend and fellow Stapleite Max Harper. To contribute, click here; then select “SHS SLOBs Named Award” from the dropdown menu.
Contratulations to the winners: seniors James Pretty, RJ Kickham and Ben Cukier.
Runners-up were Austin Heyer, Cole Landgraf, Nate Maurillo and James Moneyhun. Two teams won sportsmanship awards: Jack Schwartz, Jackson Tracey, Max Saperstein and Andre Albanese, and Grant Bozeman, Ryan Marens, Charles Nivaud and Michael Roberts.
And finally … Donald “Duck” Dunn was born on this day, in 1941. A bass guitarist/record producer/session musician/songwriter, he is best known for his work with Stax Records artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd and others.
Dnn is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Booker T. & the MGs. He died in 2012, at 70.
(Hold on! Are you coming with a tax-deductible donation, to support “06880,” your hyper-local blog? If so, please click here. Thank you!)
The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee has released the results of its most recent study.
What do 1,955 respondents, plus attendees at focus groups and a townwide charette say>
Surprise!*
Most want Jesup Green to be untouched, for parking or any other use. Some people would even like the open space expanded, toward the river.
The Imperial Avenue parking lot, while used for the Westport Farmers’ Market, Westport Woman’s Club, Levitt Pavilion and Westport Library, is not utilized for downtown shopping and dining.
Presented with 3 sites for a downtown parking deck, nearly 50% favored the Baldwin lot on Elm Street.
For details on those results, and other questions like parking limits, click here.
*Not really.
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Speaking of downtown: With Japanese, Israeli and French cuisine — plus Spotted Horse, Emmy Squared and Mrs. London’s — Church Lane is already a food mecca.
Soon, there will be an ice cream place too.
Van Leeuwen will open in the space previously home to Franny’s Farmacy.
It’s the 4th location in Connecticut for the chain, which features ice cream (including vegan), chocolate chip cookies, cookie sandwiches, sundaes and milkshakes.
The other sites are New Canaan, Darien and Greenwich.
Van Leeuwen also operates shops in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Colorado, Texas and California.
Nothing there sells for $6.2 million, however. To pay that amount for art, you need to go to Sotheyby’s, and be a Hong Kong crypto entrepreneur willing to pony up for a duct-taped banana.
But wait!
What was that, duct-taped yesterday to a utility pole, outside the Riverside Avenue gallery?
The Representative Town Meeting Environment and Health & Human Services Committees meet together on Monday (November 25, 7:30 p.m., Zoom).
They’ll continue their discussion about “concerns related to a potential artificial turf field being added to Long Lots School property, during the new school construction.”
The athletic fields at Long Lots Elementary School are now all grass.
Speaking of the environment: Next year marks the 95th anniversary of the Greens Farms Garden Club.
Members got a jump on the celebration Tuesday. The warm, sunny morning was perfect for palnting daffodils, at Machamux Park on Greens Farms Road.
The name comes from the Mohawk and Wallup Native Americans who settled in the area. They called the area overlooking Long Island Sound “Machaux” (“the beautiful land”).
In the mid-1600’s, colonists arrived. The 5 “Bankside Farmers” bought land along the shore from the Wallups.
It named Greens Farms in honor of John Green, one of the Bankside Farmers. A large memorial rock in the park will be surrounded by daffodils and grape hyacinths next spring — the Greens Farms Garden Club’s contribution to this “beautiful land.”
Second Selectwoman Andrea Moore and Westport parks superintendent Michael West helped prepare the garden bed for the volunteers.
In a few months, we’ll all enjoy their work.
Greens Farms Garden Club members, at Machamux Park.
That was the title of last night’s sold-out Westport Country Playhouse show.
Actor Alan Cumming (“Cabaret,” “The Good Wife”) and American journalist and singer Ari Shapiro (NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Pink Martini) joined forces for an evening of entertainment.
The event’s title paid homage to Cumming’s Scottish and Shapiro’s Jewish roots. It was a night of thought-provoking conversations, slightly bawdy musical numbers and personal storytelling.
Alan Cumming and Ari Shapiro: Och and oy! (Photo/Susan Garment)
And finally … Vic Flick, the delightfully named guitarist whose “driving riff in the theme for the James Bond movies captured the spy’s suave confidence and tacit danger,” says the New York Times, died November 14 in Los Angeles. He was 87. and suffered from Alzheimer’s.
(New businesses, art, gardening, sports, schools — it’s all here, just like it is every day, in our “06880” Roundup. If you rely us on for news you can use, please click here to support our work. Thanks!)
The smoky odor that pervaded much of Westport was due to a wildfire.
In Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Smoke from the Berkshires drifted southward, then hung around.
Fire Marshal Terry Dunn says, “Smoke in the air is a stark reminder of how quickly fires can spread under the right conditions. We urge all residents to remain diligent, and respect the outdoor burning ban to keep our community safe.”
As seen from Sherwood Island State Park, smoke from Massachusetts lingers over Cockenoe Island. (Photo/Chris Swan)
They were named Counry Music Association Vocal Group of the Year for the 7th time. That beats Little Big Town’s 6 awards.
Old Dominion’s lead guitarist, Brad Tursi, is a 1997 Staples High School graduate (and former soccer star). Last month, he wowed a sell-out Levitt Pavilion crowd last month, as a solo artist with a different backup band.
Old Dominion, at last night’s Country Music Association awards. Westport native Brad Tursi is at far left. (Hat tip and photo/Tricia Summers)
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The other day, “06880” reported on harsh, homemade and very un-neighborly sign posted by a Fillow Street resident.
She was (rightly) upset by very-unneighborly neighbors who neglected to pick up the dog poop deposited on her lawn.
I think she reads “06880.” It’s been replaced by this much smaller, more reasonable, and decidedly neighborly one:
The largest crowd ever turned out for last night’s Artists Collective of Westport show opening, at the Westport Country Playhouse’s Sheffer Barn.
All works — over 100, in a wide variety of styles, genres and materials — are available for purchase. And all are 12″ x 12″, making them easy to ship.
The show runs through Sunday, November 24 (noon to 4 p.m., Sheffer Barn at Westport Country Playhouse).
Nina Bentley is one of the many artists whose 12×12 work is on display at the Westport Country Playhouse’s Sheffer Barn. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Alisan Porter (Staples High School Class of 1999) and Drew McKeon (SHS ’00) are hitting the road in New England this week, support Alisan’s new record, “The Ride.”
The longtime friends co-wrote the single “Nothing’s Broken,” which Drew produced in his “tiny Manhattan apartment bedroom,” his parents’ Westport basement, and his friend Tim Walsh’s home studio in Black Rock.
Drew finished with vocal tracking at Charlie Chaplin’s old Hollywood lot.
Drew and Alison perform a set of Alisan’s original music spanning her career — including selections from her winning season on NBC’s “The Voice” — this Saturday (November 23) at the intimate Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Other performances include The Cut in Gloucester, Massachusetts (November 30), the Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (December 2), and Boston’s City Winery (December 4).
Alisan Porter and Drew McKeon.
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Speaking of Staples alumni entertainers: “The Good Whale” — a new 6-episode New York Times podcast about “Free Willy” orca star Keiko, once the cameras stopped rolling — includes an original song by Staples High School graduate Justin Paul, and his writing partner Benj Pasek.
They’ve already won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Can whatever award is given for podcast music far behind? (Hat tip: Ann Humphrey)
Speaking of music: Weston High School junior Owen Daniel has just released his debut single.
“Fear of Losing You — the first song he ever wrote — was produced at Norwalk’s Factory Underground Studio. It is available on all streaming outlets. Click here to listen and download.
More entertainment news: This Sunday (November 24, 7 p.m., Fairfield Theatre Company), Westporter Hannah Levin (Greens Farms Academy Class of 2015) screens her short film, “Golden Child,” as part of the FTC Short Film Festival.
The plot: a young woman is reunited with her childhood friend at a pool party, and reckons with the fact that he used to pee on her when they were kids.
Former Staples High School football star Willard “Buz” Leavitt — part of the 1964 backfield that included Bill During, John Bolger and Jack Forehand — died on November 13. He was 77, and lived in Blythewood, South Carolina.
Buz moved from Burnt Hills, New York to Westport as a junior. After his stellar Staples seasons, he headed to Wake Forest University. He earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week mention, and graduated in 1970.
He met his wife Anne there. They married in 1969, and were together for 55 years.
Buz spent 32 years with Procter & Gamble in Charlotte, as sales manager and special events director.
For spent decades coaching youth sports, and was admired by players and parents alike.
Buz is survived by his wife Anne; sons Chris (Darla) of Greenville, South Carolina, Charley (Heather) of Charlotte, and Courtney (Shelley) of Blythewood; brother Scott (Bridget), of Charlotte; sister Susan Pittman, of Roswell, Georgia, and grandchildren Riley, Zoe, Lila, Ian, Banks, Ella Chase, Eliza and Olivia.
A service to celebrate his life will be on November 22 (1 p.m.), at the Clubhouse at Cobblestone Park in Blythewood.
In Lieu of flowers, a gift in Buz’s memory can be made to Baby Bundles, a Charlotte nonprofit that provides essential baby items to families in need.
Longtime Westport realtor Margherita (Marj) Basili died last Friday. She was 94, and also lived in Palatka, Florida.
The New Haven native worked her way through New York University, and graduated with a degree in business.
She worked as a management consultant, then worked for the Australian Consolidated Press in New York.
In 1957 Marj moved to Naples, Italy, where she supported the 6th Fleet as a buyer and merchandising manager in the Naval Postal Exchange (PX).
She married in Italy, then and returned to the US in 1960 to start a family. She taugh in Milford and Westport elementary schools.
By 1969, a single mother of 3 young boys, she shifted into commercial and residential real estate
Her family says, “Marj curated a large group of friends, knitted together by her interests in life and her empathetic approach to others. She reveled in helping others. No problem was insurmountable to her.”
She survived by her sons, Giuseppe (Dean) of Norman, Oklahoma, Gianfranco (Allison) of St. Augustine, Florida, and Roberto (Sara) of Bergen, Norway, granddaughters Alexandra Basili Gunther (Ben) and Johanne, and grandsons Benjamin and Filip.
At Marj’s request, no funeral or memorial service will be held.
And finally … in honor (or at least recognition) of yesterday’s visit from Great Barrington:
(Many “06880” readers contacted us yesterday, wondering about the smoky smell. We’re glad the town turns to us. But we rely on your support to keep us going. Please click here to help. Thanks!)
Old Mill Grocery & Delis’s picnic tables, gelato cart and liquor license are now, officially, legal.
On Monday night, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved — with a modification — a text amendment covering outdoor eating areas, and associated uses, for retail food establishments in residential zones.
Commissioners tweaked the prooposal, ensuring that tables at 2 other establishments — The Porch at Christie’s, and The Country Store on Wilton Road — would not encroach on their property boundaries.
The P&Z cited the “strong sense of community and connection with one’s neighbors” provided by those 3 establishments, as part of the reasons for adopting the text amendment.
Old Mill Grocery & Deli’s picnic tables have been there for decades.
Due to extreme fire danger in the area, outdoor burning is prohibited. This includes fire pits; open flames (for example, brush or leaf pile burning), chimineas, and other outdoor flame devices. Violators may face legal consequences.
For indoor fireplaces or wood stoves, follow these safety tips:
Ensure chimneys and flues are professionally cleaned and inspected.
Burn only dry, seasoned wood to minimize creosote buildup.
Avoid overloading your fireplace or stove.
Use a protective screen to contain embers.
As drought conditions persist, water conservation tips include:
Limit outdoor watering and use of irrigation systems.
Fix leaks in faucets, pipes, and appliances promptly.
Run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads.
Use rain barrels to collect water for outdoor plants.
Are you interested in electric vehicles, but unsure which is the “best”? (Or, more accurately, the best for you?)
The EV Club of Connecticut hosts a special online event December 3 (7 p.m.).
Gabe Shenhar — a Westport resident, EV Club member, and associate director of the auto test program for Consumer Reports — will review 8 vehicles: Mercedes EQE SUV; Genesis GV60; Cadillac Lyriq; Acura ZDX; Lexus RZ; Chevy Equinox EV; Tesla Cybertruck. and Volvo XC60.
The session is free, but registration is required. Click here to sign up, and for more information.
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Next month, prominent musicians and music scholars gather at the Westport Library to honor one of America’s greatest composers.
“Speaking of Music: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington (December 7, 7 p.m.) features a multimedia presentation by Dr. John Edward Hasse.
The longtime curator of American music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will discuss Ellington’s legacy as a musician, including his impact on popular music of the late 20th century.
Then, James Langton and Dan Levinson’s New York All-Star Big Band will perform music from the innovative artist.
Tickets are $40. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
But they’re not the only prizes in the film universe.
ETHOS Film Awards celebrate purpose-driven films that promote peace, diversity, inclusion and environmental sustainability.
All genres and lengths are eligible. Under-represented voices — including the neuro-diverse and disability community — are encouraged to apply.
This past weekend in Santa Monica, California, Wynston Browne earned an ETHOS as “Best Impact Actor.”
The Staples High School senior — a non-speaking autistic teenager whose communication via a typing device has opened up his own world, and shown the rest of the world his remarkable, wide-ranging and tremendous intelligence — starred in (and inspired) “Presumed Incompetent.”
Directed by Staples High School graduate Cynthia Gibb, written by longtime Westporter Jill Johnson Mann, and filmed here in 2023, the film tells the story of an exceptionally bright young man — overlooked for his neuro-diversity, and “presumed incompetent” — overcoming his disabilities, and blazing a path for inclusion.
Wynston did a talkback — using his communication devices — following the screening in California.
But he and his film don’t stop there. On December 12, “Presumed Innocent” will be screened at the Big Apple Film Festival (657 West 57th Street, 5:45 p.m.; click here for tickets).
Congratulations, Wynston. We always knew you were a star!
Speaking of entertainment: First Folk Sunday is going Irish.
Four fine Irish musicians come together Sunday, December 1 (noon), at the Saugatuck Rowing Club.
Californian John Brennan began his career as a guitarist with Poco, the Eagles, Graham Nash, and The Byrds discovered his Irish roots when he relocated to New York City.
For First Folk Sunday, he brings together accordionist Loretta Egan Murphy (Cherish the Ladies, Shamrock Traditional Music Society); Eugene Bender (Sligo style traditional Irish fiddler), and Mark Demchak (bodhran player – the Irish drum).
First Folk Sunday’s Irish lass Suzanne Sheridan joins them. She recently traveled to Ireland, and has taken her homeland’s music to heart.
The music cover charge is $15 (click here for reservations). Table service is available for brunch or lunch. Cocktails and beverages are offere too.
Sure, and it’s an Irish First Folk Sunday.
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Here’s an interesting spin on mental health:
Over 75 people turned out recently for Positive Directions’ first spin fundraiser.
More than 150 donors — including some of the town’s top officials — rode almost 625 miles in 90 minutes.
Police Chief Foti Koskinas, 2nd Selectwoman Andrea Moore and 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker take spins.
Their hard work raised over $30,000 for Positive Directions. Funds will help the non-profit behavioral health organization address mental health needs, and ensure that mental health treatment is available to all who need it.
The Westport Country Playhouse 2024 Script in Hand season concludes December 2 (7 p.m.) with “True Art.”
It’s a “sharp and funny tale of ambition, deception, and self-discovery in the high stakes and cutthroat art world.”
All tickets are $30. Click here for tickets, and more information.
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There were treats for doggies — and humans — last night, as Spot on Vet celebrated its grand opening.
The new veterainary center replaces Men’s Wearhouse, on Post Road East between Christian Siriano’s boutique and Starbucks.
Spot On Vet offers emergency medical care; day care and boarding for sick, injured or recovering animals in “luxury accommodations” (well-lit cubicles with small beds).
Owners can watch their pets via camera. Pets can also listen to their favorite music or TV program.
Spot On Vet also offers dental care, a full pharmacy, facilities for major surgeries including orthopedic procedures, medical testing that often can’t be done in a regular veterinary office, physical therapy, and a valet service to pick up pets from home.
Everyone was welcome at Spot on Vet’s opening. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
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Speaking of man’s best friend: Our “Westport … Naturally” features often bring smiles to readers’ faces.
But today you’ll actually laugh. Just look at this laughing dog:
(Photo/Pat Weist)
“We all need a good laugh these days,” photographer Pat Weist says.
And finally … in honor of Positive Directions’ fundraiser (story above):
(No matter how you spin it, “06880” is your hyper-local source for news, opinions and much more. As always, we rely on reader support. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
The Westport Library has plenty of both. And right now, viny is on display on the main floor, near the reference desk.
The collection ranges from classics like Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” to newer releases like Hozier’s “Unreal Unearth” and and Beyonce’s “Renaissance.”
There are over 100 records across 9 genres: rock, pop, R&B, hip hop, jazz, folk, blue:s, country, and local artists (including the Library’s home-grown “Verso Records: Volume 1.”
Patrons can check out up to 3 records at a time, for up to 10 days. For more information on viny collectng, click here.
Also in the Library of Things: 2 Nintendo Switch consoles, plus 50 games like Mario Party, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and more.
Westport Library vinyl and video game collections.
Speaking of music: Jeff Franzel — the Westport native and current Saugatuck Shores resident who played piano for the Hues Corporation (“Rock the Boat”), Les Brown, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Mel Torme and Bob Hope, then wrote hits for Taylor Dayne, the Temptations, NSYNC, Shawn Colvin, Josh Groban, Placido Domingo and Clay Aiken — recently received his first Grammy Award nomination.
It’s for his song “Big Mama-Latto,” in the Best Melodic Rap Song category. (The multi-talented Franzel is a rapper too.)
Earlier this fall he won the Netherlands’ Edison Award — that country’s Grammy equivalent.
Jeff and his wife Joanne went to Amsterdam for the ceremony. (Hat tip: Prill Boyle)
Remarkably, they’re not the only field hockey champs in town.
Yesterday, Greens Farms Academy won captured its first-ever New England prep title. The Dragons edged New Hampton 1-0, in the Class C final at the Ethel Walker School.
Almost as thrilling was the reception home. After getting off I-95, the team received an escort back to GFA by the Westport Police.
Greens Farms Academy: New England field hockey champs!
PS: Congratulations too to senior Grace Almeida. GFA’s all-time leading scorer will play field hockey next year at Brown University.
As audiences laughed, applauded for and loved Staples Players’ production of “Elf,” they had one question: Where was the peppy, great-sounding pit orchestra?
Conductor Lauren Pine and her 16 musicians were nowhere to be seen.
With no room on stage, they played from the band room, down a hallway behind the stage.
Staples High School’s “Elf” pit orchestra, in the band room.
They were hardly out of sight, out of mind. Despite the distance — and thanks to a TV monitor — they did not, um, miss a beat.
The show was particularly meaningful for bassist Larry Perlstein.
Exactly 50 years ago — in 1974 — he was a Staples junior, playing in his first pit for Players’ production of “Oklahoma!”
His daughter Avery is now a junior herself. She runs lights for “Elf,” carrying on the family tradition.
There are still 4 chances to see the show that has the entire town buzzing. performances are set for this Thursday and Friday (November 21 and 22, 7 p.m.), and Saturday (Nofember 23, 2 and 7 p.m.).Click here for tickets. Though some shows may be sold out, tickets are often available at the door.
Robert Haydon Jones, Jr. died peacefully on November 10 in Fairfield. Alice, his wife of 50 years, was at his side. He was 86.
Born in New York City and raised in Westport, he was a graduate of Staples High School, Portsmouth Priory (now Abbey) in Rhode Island.
He left Miami University in Ohio before graduation, when he married Carol Lindblom.
Moving back to Westport, Bob was hired by advertising firm Ogilvy, Benson & Mather. He spent his career on Madison Avenue agencies alongside giants in marketing, advertising, public relations and literary publishing. Malachy McCourt was a good friend, until his death earlier this year.
Bob founded his own shop, Robert Haydon Jones & Associates, in Westport in 1972. He helped create a new genre of customizable, direct-to-customer, targeted-outreach marketing tools.
He crafted “some of the greatest direct marketing strategies ever conceived,” said Denny Hatch, editor of DM News.
A fundraising letter aimed at holding President Nixon to account in 1972 started “Dear Fool.” It broke response records, and became a major fundraising package.
He was passionate about baseball. Generations of young players around Fairfield County still talk about his coaching of their Babe Ruth, travel and Collegiate Summer League teams.
In the 1980s and ’90s he helped revive the Over-18 Westport Advertisers club, which barnstormed throughout New England.
After stepping back from coaching, Bob became a youth and school umpire. He called his last game well past his 80th birthday, finally retiring in 2020.
His family says, “One of Bob’s greatest journeys was forging and maintaining the path to sobriety, a journey for which he was often armed with vats of coffee for his regular meetings. He found great solace in his community, and was always willing to talk to and guide others navigating their own rock bottoms.”
In addition to Alice, Bob is survived by brother Christopher “Kit” of New York and Westport; sisters Jeremy of Philadelphia, Jude Anne of Norwalk, and Pam of Fairfield. He was predeceased by his youngest brother, Jeffrey.
He is also survived by sons Andrew (Francesca Gori-Montanelli), Evan (Margaret Mitchell-Jones), Charles and (Meg), and Robert H. III (Sylvia); stepdaughter Catherine (Sean Beaudoin), and stepsons James Lewis (Noel Casiano) and Tom (Kim), along with 8 grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, spread across 4 continents, along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
His decades-long companion and trusted aide, Henry Glasford of St. Kitts and Bridgeport, who stood by Bob’s side throughout his decline and into his final days, also survives.
A funeral service for Robert Haydon Jones Jr. will be held this Friday (November 22, 10 a.m.), at Assumption Church.
After the service, his wife Alice will host a celebration of life gathering at her Fairfield home.
The family asks that any memorial donations inspired by Bob’s memory be directed to the study and treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome, a cause to which he and Alice have dedicated decades to supporting themselves on behalf of their son Beau.
Bob Jones
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A dog, low tide, sunset … what could be more natural for our “Westport … Naturally” feature?!
The Staples High School field hockey team won their 6th state championship — and 2nd in a row — yesterday.
The Wreckers beat Darien 5-2, at Wethersfield High School. They put the game away with 3 straight goals, breaking a 2-2 draw. Goals came from Leah Larit (2), and Emma Larit, Alex Hackett and Sofia Fidalgo.
It was a clash of titans. Staples was seeded first in the class “L” (large schools) tourney. The Blue Wave were second.
They’re longtime rivals. The Westporters — ranked number 8 nationally — lost only once all year, to out-of-state Camden (New Jersey) Catholic. Darien had only 2 losses before yesterday. Both were to Staples.
And … the Blue Wave were victims of the Wrecker juggernaut in this year’s FCIAC final, and last year’s championship game as well.
Well done, coach Ian Tapsall and all the girls. Now, Darien and the rest of Connecticut: Get ready for a three-peat!
Staples field hockey: once again, state champs! (Photos courtesy of Staples High School Athletics)
Speaking of sports: ESPN journalist — and Westport resident — Jeremy Schaap hosts a special screening of his new E60 documentary tomorrow (Monday, November 18, 7 p.m., Westport Library).
“Pat Tillman: Life, Death, Legacy” highlights his career as a football star with the Arizona Cardinals, followed by his life as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. His death (by friendly fire) received national attention.
After the film, Schaap will lead a discussion about it, and Tillman’s legacy.
And the New York Times — no easy reviewer — loves the first effort, from the 2002 Staples High School graduate.
Hilary Leichter writes:
Public and private moments of upheaval are the catastrophes in Chris Knapp’s fantastically dense and omnivorous debut novel, “States of Emergency.”
Climates both marital and global, existential terror and immediate terror, the dissolution of borders between countries and also people — such a list only simplifies the vertiginous simultaneity achieved in these pages.
Knapp doesn’t just tighten the perceived distance between our inner lives and the world around us; he erases it.
The result is a masterfully digressive story that moves across perspectives, time zones and time periods.
Imagine a 24-hour news cycle that name-checks Walter Benjamin, Frantz Fanon, the New York City water supply, the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges and Chris Martin’s 2016 Super Bowl halftime show, and you’ll have something approximating the serious and often playful intellectual terrain of this novel. Knapp’s narrator is a flâneur with push notifications.
Click here for the full review. Click here for more information, and to order “States of Emergency.” (Hat tip: Jeff Wieser)
Chris Knapp
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1972 Staples High School graduate Jeff Scher is a filmmaker and animator. He works in a Cross Highway studio, a few steps from his house.
He says: “In the pursuit of tiny post-election joys, here’s a new video I made for the Tom Petty estate. It premiered Friday.
“It’s an unreleased song from the ‘Long After Dark’ album that’s been re-released, with new songs from the original session.”
The video includes a couple of shots based on Compo Beach.
The Heida Hermanns Piano Competition never gets the local attention it deserves.
But the event — set for November 22 and 23, at MoCA CT — is one of the most prestigious in the piano world. It celebrates emerging talents, ages 18-35.
This year’s 3 international finalists — Nick Bai, Carter Johnson and Yongqiu Liu — were chosen from over 70 pianists, who submitted videos of their performances. The trio will premiere a new commissioned work, by composer Lowell Liebermann.
Chair of the jury panel is Frederic Chiu, the local resident, internationally known pianist, and a previous Hermanns winner. The winner receives $10,000.
Speaking of music: On November 24 (The Klein, Bridgeport; 6:30 p.m.), longtime Westport resident and nearly as longtime instructor Bernice Friedson will receive the Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras’ inaugural Inna Berson Wetmore Excellence in Teaching Award.
Friedson “demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of music education, inspires young musicians, and makes meaningful and lasting connections to their students and our community through their teaching,” the honor says.
Friedson grew up half a block from Carnegie Hall. She gave her first recital at age 7, and later performed on WQXR and WNYC. As a teenager, she played with the New York Philharmonic and NBC Symphony.
She studied at Juilliard and Mannes Schools of Music. At 18 she auditioned for conductor Leopold Stokowski, and was accepted into both the City Center Opera and RCA Recording Orchestras.
After moving to Connecticut, Friedson played with the Norwalk, New Haven and Stamford Symphonies, and served as concertmaster for the Greater Bridgeport, Danbury and Ridgefield Symphonies, Connecticut Ballet, and Connecticut Grand Opera. She was concertmaster, violin soloist and assistant conductor of the Connecticut Chamber Orchestra, and founded the Connecticut String Quartet.
Friedson helped found the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Youth Orchestra (now GCTYO) in 1961. She was also a founding member of the Fairfield County String Teachers Association, and a specialist at Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County.
She continues to teach violin and viola, coach chamber music groups, and prepare students for auditions at at her Westport studio.
Bernice Friedson, with instruments created by her violin-maker father.
“06880” photographers can’t get enough of this full moon.
Matt Murray snapped today’s “Westport … Naturally” image yesterday, as it rose over Sherwood Mill Pond.
(Photo/Matt Murray)
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And finally … on this date in 1973, President Nixon told 400 Associated Press managing editors, “I am not a crook.”
(Sports, music, literature — and everything else going on in town — are all part of today’s Roundup. Just like every day. If you enjoy our hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The high school troupe punched way above their weight, thrilling last night’s audience with a Broadway-quality presentation of “Elf: The Musical.”
It’s fresh, funny and festive — a perfect, high-energy and wholesome respite from reality, and a great way to begin the holiday season a couple of weeks early.
The show continues today (Saturday, November 16, 2 and 7 p.m.) and tomorrow (Sunday, November 17, 2 p.m.). There are performances next weekend too, on November 21 and 22 (7 p.m.) and 23 (2 and 7 p.m.).Click here for tickets. Though some shows may be sold out, tickets are often available at the door.
“Elf” cast members take their bows last night. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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The Westport Board of Education hosts a “community conversation” for all residents this Wednesday (November 20, noon to 1:30 p.m., Westport Library).
Any school-related topic can be raised.
Velma Heller — former RTM moderator, and longtime Westport Public School admistrator, will facilitate the event.
31 men and women have just graduated from Westport’s Citizens’ Police Academy.
They spent 8 weeks learning all about the Westport Police Department’s many functions, including criminal investigations, specialty units, forensic science, financial scams, motor vehicle stops, and post-arrest procedures.
They also participated in firearms familiarization, rode with patrol officers, and received “stop the bleed training.”
A buck jumped in, then became trapped for a day inside a half-finished cement foundation. Two members of the Fairfield County Hunt Club horse barn team provided hay bales.
Public Works Department employees and Westport Animal Control officer Peter Reid began assembling a ramp from the bales.
Suddenly, the buck ran at the wall, and jumped out cleanly. “He just needed the right motivation,” Julie Loparo reports on social media.
Deer trapped in foundation. (Photo courtesy of Westport Front Porch, via Facebook)
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Longtime Westporter — and elected (Representative Town Meeting) official — Dick Lowenstein reminds all candidates for office earlier this month: It’s (past) time to remove your lawn signs!
This photo is from yesterday afternoon:
(Photo/Dick Lowenstein)
Today’s weather is perfect to get out, get ’em — and sotre them for the next campaign.
The Westport River Gallery — on the left side, where Post Road West turns into Riverside Avenue — overflows with interesting art, from an array of international artists.
But a work by a Connecticut artist — with a very Westport theme — stands out among the scores of landscapes and scenes from around the world.
“Westport USA” is a multi-media 36×36 creation of Connecticut pop artist Franki Vinci.
It’s an explosion of Westport residents, present and formers (and a few folks, real and imagined, with ties to this place).
“Westport USA” (Frankie Vinci) — click on or hover over to enlarge.
There are the usual suspects: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Martha Stewart, Rodney Dangerfield, F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, Patty Hearst, Bette Davis, Michael Bolton.
(Plus, of course, Keith Richards. He lives in Weston. But, as anyone who has seen him around town knows, he’s really one of us.)
There’s “I Love Lucy” and “Bewitched” (both TV series were “set” in Westport, at least for a while). Superman (drawn by longtime resident Curt Swan). Norman Rockwell, who helped found the Famous Artists School (located a few yards from the gallery, on Wilton Road).
How many of the nearly 50 references do you recognize in “Westport USA”? How many surprise you with their Westport connection?
Click “Comments” below, to share your reactions and remembrances to this remarkable piece of art.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport celebrates the retirement of minister of music Rev. Dr. Edward Thompson this Saturday, with — appropriately — concert of his works.
The November 16 (7 p.m.) event features the New York-based Choral Chameleon ensemble. A reception follows the free concert.
Thompson is stepping down, after more than 46 years with the UU church. What began as a part-time position conducting a single choir blossomed into a full-time role, conducting 8 choirs across 2 weekly services.
He holds a master’s degree from the Juilliard School, and a doctorate from the University of Hartford.
For nearly 5 decades Thompson has guided hundreds of children and adults through choir, offering both musical training and spiritual mentorship.
During his tenure Thompson has composed numerous works for youth, adult and bell choirs. “Celtic Noel” was written for choir, Uilleann pipes, harp and tin whistle. “Seeking Home” is a 12-movement piece for choir, guitars and native flutes, dedicated to missing and murdered Indigenous women.
But the tide was plenty high yesterday morning, at Compo Beach.
(Photo/Matt Murray)
Good thing the weather is nice!
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A few seats remain for Coleytown Middle School’s fall musical review.
“Raise Your Voice” features 15 songs from “Into the Woods,” “Guys & Dolls,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” and “Oliver!,” to “Mary Poppins,” “Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Legally Blonde” and more.
Performances are Thursday, November 21 (6 p.m.) and Friday, November 22 (7 p.m). Click here; then search for “Coleytown.”
Coleytown Middle School students raise their voices. (Photo/Clair Benmosche)
Westport Country Playhouse has named new members to its Theatre Council. The advocacy group supports the artistic and community-building mission of the historic theatre, now in its 93rd year.
The volunteer group is guided by Playhouse trustee Ben Frimmer. Members include Ari Benmosche, Carin Freidag, Ivy Kramer-Gosseen, Jeff Gurner, Kerri Joller, Diana Mashia, Carolina Mata, Rachel Rosado Murray, Rabbi Zachary A. Plesent, Sara Robbin, Elizabeth Salem, Meredith Walker and Claire Wilkes.
Ben Frimmer leads the Westport Country Playhouse Theatre Council.
Long time Westport realtor-artist — and now writer — Jo Ann Miller, is out with her third book.
“Echo Bunker” follows protagonist Abbey Lane, who deals with corruption and collusion at the World Bank with kickbacks to bureaucrats and politicians.
BookList says: “Fast paced plot with spicy dialogue. While an ‘airplane book,’ a reader cannot wait until lift off.” It’s available on Amazon by Thanksgiving.
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This handsome guy posed for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature in Eric Roth’s Dogwood Lane front yard.
“Didn’t even flinch,” Eric reports.
Why should he? They were here first.
(Photo/Eric Roth)
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And finally … on this day in 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins his famous “March to the Sea.”
Operating without supply lines, and lasting through December 21, his troops moved from Atlanta to Savannah. They destroyed military targets, along with industry, infrastructure and civilian property. The Confederacy’s economy and transportation networks were disrupted, helping lead to surrender in April 1865.
(As the photo above shows, the buck stops here — in Westport. Specifically, at “06880.” If you enjoy our hyper-local blog, and have a buck or two to help support us, please click here. Thank you!)
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