In the 1960s and ’70s — before strict building codes, and regular inspections and enforcement by the Fire Department — there were spectacular fires at Westport businesses.
Carousel Toy Store burned twice: in Compo Acres Shopping Center (along with Franklin Simon and others), then again in Sconset Square (at the time, called Sherwood Square; the Paint Bucket next door burned to the ground too).
The furniture store opposite Brooks Corner went up in a memorable winter blaze in 1976; it was a midweek afternoon, and downtown was thronged.
Several years earlier, the Westport Lanes bowling alley caught fire in the middle of the night. Unlike Carousel or the furniture store (now The Gap), it was rebuilt.
Another large fire took out the entire block between Taylor Place and the entrance to the Jesup Green parking lot, across from what was then the Westport Library (today it’s the downtown Starbucks, and others).
On the evening of Saturday, November 10, 1974, the businesses — Muriel’s Diner at one end, Klaff’s Lighting at the other, and a jewelry store, smoke shop, shoe repair, plus 2nd-floor offices and apartments — caught fire.
The aftermath of the “Klaff’s fire.” (Photo courtesy of Gail Comden)
The blaze did at least $1 million in damage, and cut power to much of downtown.
The block was rebuilt, and Klaff’s returned. (The space is now South Moon Under.)
But a historic block — housing the very first, pre-Morris Jesup library, among others) — was gone.
(Friday Flashback is a regular “06880” feature. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Like most Westporters, I’ve gotten used to the construction cones, narrow lanes and drunken lines on the Post Road between Fresh Market and McDonald’s — and further east, near Bulkley Road by Stop & Shop.
Like most Westporters too, I’ve gotten used to seeing no work going on at either site — for months.
Will it ever resume? Is it done?
I asked Pete Ratkiewich. The Westport Public Works Department director pointed me to documents from a 2019 (!) Town Hall presentation.
They show intersection improvements, roadway widening and sidewalk work (click here to see).
So: No. It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot.
“They are only done partially on the north side. And they have a long way to go on the south side in both locations,” Pete says.
And, he adds, “you won’t see work start up again in earnest until the asphalt plants open.”
Work on Post Road East near Fresh Market.
Work at the Post Road East/Roseville Road/Hillspoint Road intersection.
================================================
Speaking of the state Department of Transportation:
They’ll perform maintenance work on the Cribari Bridge this Monday night (7:30 p.m., to 5:30 a.m. Tuesday; March 18-19).
While the bridge is closed, traffic will be detoured to the Post Road.
When the sun goes down Monday, work will be performed on the Cribari Bridge. (Photo/Sam Levenson)
================================================
St. Patrick’s Day came early for Club 203.
On Wednesday night, over 135 guests from Westport’s social organization for adults with disabilities partied at VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
The evening included entertainment by the Lenihan Irish Dance troupe, green bagels from Village Bagels, and green clover cookies from the Pantry.
Nearly everyone wore green. Everyone was Irish for the night. And everyone had a blast!
There is a new — and very friendly — face at the Westport Weston Family Y.
Angie is the “official greeter” on Monday and Thurday mornings, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. She then heads to the Wellness Center, keeping things clean and tidy.
Her employment is a partnership between the Y and Star Inc. She gets her first paycheck today, and is very excited.
When you see Angie, give back to her the same smile she gives you!
When thousands of homeowners in Florida and Louisiana purchased their hurricane insurance, they probably had no idea that John Seo stood to make a big profit if their properties got through the next three years unscathed.
Unbeknownst to them, Seo, a 57-year-old hedge fund manager in southern Connecticut, is the reason why millions of people from New Zealand to Chile have financial protection against natural disasters. His fund, Fermat Capital Management, owns the world’s biggest collection of catastrophe bonds — complex financial instruments that insurers issue to cover risks they can’t handle.
Fermat is an oddity in the hedge fund world. Its modest office, in the affluent town of Westport, sits in a former post office across from an auto-repair shop. There are meteorology journals in the reception area and equations scrawled on a whiteboard. Investment decisions are guided by complicated weather-risk computer models powered by large servers that whirr ceaselessly behind a glass window.
Fermat’s “modest office” is at the end of Riverside Avenue, just before it intersects with Railroad Place. Click here to read the rest of the piece about Seo, titled “How a Physics Whiz Made a Fortune Betting on Nature’s Catastrophes.” (Hat tip: Allan Siegert)
John Seo (2nd from left) and colleagues, at Fermat Capital. (Photo/Joe Buglewicz for Bloomberg)
Next up in the Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand play reading series: “Tenderness and Gratitude Number Four.”
Michael is a party boy who avoids intimacy at all costs. Jenny is a jaded, wise-cracking office worker who still harbors dreams of becoming an artist. When the two strike up an unlikely friendship at work, they are forced to learn what it means to open up to someone else, and how to take a long, hard, messy look at oneself in the mirror.
The “a humorous, often heartbreaking examination of love, art, truth, lies, office politics, and the complicated road to true friendship” is set for April 15 (7 p.m.).
All tickets are $30. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
We’re halfway through March. Which means our town is halfway through the Great Westport Burger Contest.
Competitors in the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce event include Black Duck, Boathouse, Harvest, Jr’s,, La Plage, Little Barn, Match Burger, Nomade, Old Mill Grocery, Organika, Rizzuto’s, Shake Shack, Southport Diner, Spotted Horse, The Blondinit, The Porch, The Whelk, Viva Zapata and Zucca.
The 7 categories are Best Classic Burger, Best Cheese Burger, Best Gourmet Burger, Best Veggie Burger, Best Non Beef Burger (fish, turkey, lamb…), Best Fast Food Burger, and Best Slider. Each Restaurant can enter up to 4 categories, but can win a maximum of 2.
Residents have until March 31 to visit the venues, enjoy their offerings, then vote on the Chamber’s website.
Yesterday, 17 current and former Representative Town Meeting members relished the chance to promote the contest, with lunch at Spotted Horse.
I wasn’t there. But I’m pretty sure I know what was on the menu.
What’s the state of college admissions today, in a post-COVID world? What should rising 9th and 10th graders be thinking about?
Those are some of the topics they (and their parents) can learn about, at a “College Admissions Planning for Rising Freshmen and Sophomores” webinar (March 21, 7 p.m.).
There is no charge for the S4 Study Skills event, but registration is required here. Click here to sign up.
And finally … in honor of the Westport Y’s new greeter (story above):
(From Post Road traffic to hedge funds, the YMCA to London, “06880” is “where Westport meets the world. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Do you want tickets to see Timmy Trumpet, Four Tet or Mura Masa?
Interested in a show at Terminal 5, Knockdown Center or Under the K Bridge?
If those artists and venues are incomprehensible to you, you’re not part of the rave and EDM* scenes.
But if you are, you know how hard it is to exchange tickets.
Fortunately, you’re about to get a jolt. A CrowdVolt, in fact.
That’s the name of a new start-up. Two of the 3 founders are Staples High School grads: Max Hammer and Josh Karol. Carter Bassler is helping out as an intern.
If successful, they’ll create a solution to the hassle of buying tickets off Facebook Marketplace, Reddit, or paying high fees on other sites. Right now tickets sell out early, and can’t be traded easily.
There’s no guarantee of success, of course. But they’re backed by Y Combinator — the most prominent start-up accelerator in the world.
From left: Josh Karol, Max Hammer and Aria Mohseni, at Y Combinator headquarters in San Francisco.
It’s funded 4,000 new enterprises — including Airbnb, DoorDash, Instacart and Stripe — at $500,000 each. Their combined valuation is $600 billion.
Every 6 months, over 10,000 companies apply to participate in Y Combinator’s next “batch.” The acceptance rate is 1.5 to 2 %.
CrowdVolt cleared that hurdle at the end of last year. When they got news they were accepted,Staples Class of 2016 grads Hammer and Karol quit their jobs — investment banking at UBS and software engineering at Millennium Management, respectively — and headed to San Francisco.
Since then, they’ve been immersed in intense work with the accelerator. They’re learning about the start-ups world, and meeting a network of already successful Y Combinator founders. When they and their fellow start-ups’ “batch” is done, they’ll head back to New York, and really try to fly.
CrowdVolt’s third co-founder currently in San Francisco is Aria Mohseni. A DJ and friend of Karol’s from Emory University, he was a roommate with Karol and University of Pennsylvania grad Hammer in New York.
Carter Bassler
Bassler, meanwhile, works remotely. The 2020 Staples alum is a senior at the University of Virginia, finishing his work as a computer science major. He met the others through his Staples friend Zach Karol, Josh’s brother.
“What StockX did for sneakers and streetwear, we’re doing for tickets,” Hammer promises. (The CrowdVolt name conveys the idea of large audiences, and electric excitement.)
Existing rave and EDM markets “claim to be 2-sided” for ticket buyers and sellers, he says.
“CrowdVolt wants to give more power to buyers. And when sellers know what they’re willing to pay, there will be more accurate pricing.”
Buyers can either “buy now” or bid. Sellers can “sell now” or ask for a higher price. All transactions are publicly viewable.
Furthermore, CrowdVolt says, “concerts are communal events meant to be experienced with others. So we’ve made buying and selling a social experience, with social media integration and messaging.”
The founders know the rave and EDM scene well. They attended over 80 shows last year alone. “We know the marketplace experience through the existing mediums is poor, so have opted to rebuild it ourselves,” they say.
Their time in San Francisco has been a whirlwind of activity. Working on a start-up can be isolating, so Y Combinator brings groups together. They learn from each other, and those who have already been through the process.
It’s a big adjustment from the structure of corporate life to starting a start-up, Hammer says. Y Combinator keeps them focused.
“They keep stressing: If you’re not coding or talking to customers, you’re wasting your time,” says Hammer.
The 3 founders in San Francisco do the back-end work. Bassler, in Charlottesville, takes care of the front-end.
CrowdVolt’s look is rave-inspired.
The youngest members of the current batch are still in high school. A few are in their 40s. Most, however, are the CrowdVolt founders’ age: 20somethings.
Hammer and his crew see rave and EDM as the beachhead to other genres, and markets beyond New York.
Since CrowdVolt’s February launch, they’ve handled $26,000 in transaction volume. Five thousand users have visited the site. Those numbers should soar, as spring and summer events come online.
Marketing has been through social media, street posters and word of mouth. CrowdVolt plans to host in-person events too.
Returning to New York will be exciting. They won’t be far from Staples — where all 3 were first inspired on the road to today.
Karol was introduced to coding as a freshman in Dave Scrofani’s class. Bassler’s freshman year programming teacher was Dr. Nick Morgan.
The hands-on skills they learned were some of the most important lessons from high school, the founders say.
For which all the Timmy Trumpet, Four Tet and Mura Masa ticket-buying fans in the tri-state area should be grateful.
(Rave and EDM fans — and those of every other type of music — have a home at “06880.” We cover the entire local entertainment scene, and much more. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Westport’s next Hazardous Waste Day is Saturday, April 13 (9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Greens Farms railroad station).
The free program enables residents of Westport, Norwalk, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich to safely dispose of household hazardous wastes.
Residents of those towns may bring these types of hazardous waste: gasoline, kerosene, spray paint, paint strippers, paint thinners, solvents, paints, stains, turpentine, varnishes, wood preservatives, degreasers, fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, bleach, charcoal lighter, cleaning chemicals, drain cleaners, mercury thermometers, moth balls, pet flea shampoos, photo chemicals, rug shampoos, spot removers, art supplies and paints.
Make sure items are clearly labeled.
Never mix chemicals!
Keep products in their original labeled containers.
Place leaky containers in clear plastic bags.
Tighten lids of all containers, and pack items in sturdy cardboard boxes lined with paper.
Put boxes in the trunk or in back of the vehicle, away from passengers.
Leave pets and children home when bringing hazardous materials for collection.
This is the first Hazardous Waste Day of 2024, so lines may be long.
Westport residents may recycle antifreeze, motor oil, batteries of any type, light bulbs and electronics at the transfer station on the Sherwood Island Connector, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturdays from 7 a.m. to noon.
The following items are NOT acceptable: ammunition, flares, commercial hazardous waste.
The Westport Country Playhouse has hosted many big names.
On May 19, it adds another: Bernadette Peters.
The stage, film and television actor and singer has won 4 Emmy Awards, 3 Tonys, and a Golden Globe. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Peters just finished a successful West End debut in “Old Friends,” celebrating the life and work of Stephen Sondheim.
Tickets for the evening of song are $250 and $175. All proceeds benefit live theater at the Playhouse. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
The Long Lots School Building Committee meets tonight (Thursday, March 14, 6 p.m., Town Hall Room 309).
Two items on the agenda:
Executive discussion to discuss Request for Quote submissions, with invited candidates.
Public comment and/or questions, as time allows.
Discussion continues, on a new Long Lots Elementary School.
Meanwhile, next Monday (March 18, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker will present the town budget for fiscal year 2024-25 to the Board of Finance.
=================================================
A large crowd filled Mitchells of Westport for last night’s meet-and-greet with University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, and his team.
Among the attendees: Emily Bernier. She wore her UConn shirt. Meeting the legendary Auriemma was fun — and so was posing with her idol, Paige Bueckers:
The event was a fundraiser for Bleeding Blue for Good, the organization that provides name, image, likeness opportunities for Husky athletes.
=================================================
There is no limit on beach sticker sales to people who live in Westport and Weston.
However, only 450 stickers are sold to folks living anywhere else.
Those non-resident sales began yesterday, online and in person.
The photo below shows the woman (on the right) who purchased the first non-resident sticker.
She looks delighted.
Like the rest of us, she can’t wait to shed her coat, and — starting May 1 — put that sticker to good use.
================================================
Registration is open for a slew of Wakeman Town Farm classes and events, for children and adults.
They include:
Kids’ spring classes
Kids’ summer camp
Kids’ Easter and Passover cooking (April 26, 4:15 to 6 p.m., ages 6-12)
Backyard chicken-keeping (April 4 and 25, May 9, 6:30 p.m.)
Canning class: jams and pickles (April 30, 6:15 p.m.).
Click here for details and registration information.
Want to raise chickens? Wakeman Town Farm will teach you.
================================================
Jill Dunn‘s speed dating events are attracting big crowds.
And some great success stories.
The next are on Tuesday (March 19, Walrus Alley).
There are actually 2: one of people in the 30s-40s range (7 p.m.), the other for singles 55+ (5 p.m.).
Space is available for all (particularly for “great men” in the older group).
Click here for tickets to next Tuesday’s events. Click here for more news and information for singles.
Last week, “06880” reported that Nate Colman and Jonah Rothlein’s documentary was one of 15 finalists for C-SPAN’s Student Cam contest.
Now it’s official: the Weston High School students’ story about Morad Tahbaz, a Weston resident held in an Iranian prison for 6 years, won the grand prize.
The young filmmakers will receive $5,000 — and “Innocents Held Hostage” will air on C-SPAN on April 21 (6:50 a.m., then throughout the day).
You can see it now — just click below:
The network received over 1,600 entries, from 42 states and Washington DC.
Westport is a town of people who love to read. Now, you can help select the next winner of the Westport Prize for Literature.
The Westport Prize needs readers to help vet manuscripts for its 2024 honor, to be awarded in conjunction with this fall’s StoryFest.
Readers will read 2 or 3 manuscripts, then submit feedback via an online form. Those results will help determine the finalists that advance to an independent jury.
The Westport Prize for Literature honors “an original work of fiction that explores issues in contemporary society. Last year’s winner was Zadie Smith, for The Fraud.
Westport residents interested in being a reader for this year’s prize should click here.
Last year’s winner of the Westport Prize for Literature.
The Greenfield Hill Grange is in Fairfield. But Westporter Cornelia Olsen is very involved.
And Westport resident/composter/self-described “trash picker” James Flint is the speaker at fundraiser there. Proceeds will help pay for a new roof on the beautiful Queen Anne building.
“Recycling Revisited” (March 23, noon) is a luncheon and panel discussion for “gardeners, farmers, eaters and waste generators.”
Speakers will offer updates on what’s in and out in the recycling world; the solid waste crisis in Connecticut, and what local residents can do about it all.
Tickets are $20, and include a tuna or egg salad sandwich, beverage and dessert. RSVP by March 20; call Cornelia: 203-571-8673.
The Westport Public Schools address antisemitism and other biases in many ways: in and out of the classroom, and during and outside the school day.
But educators know they can do more.
That was one takeaway from last night’s “Addressing Incidents of Antisemitism and Bias in our Schools” forum at Temple Israel.
A large crowd — and more watching the livestream — heard Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice, and nearly every member of his leadership team, discuss an array of efforts the district takes to confront a problem that is ongoing, rising, and part of American society as well as its schools.
Some of those efforts are proactive. Others are reactive. All, Scarice and others stressed, rely on the support of parents and the community, as well as educators.
Introducing the evening, Rabbis Michael Friedman of Temple Israel and Jeremy Wiederhorn of TCS told the audience — which included members of the Board of Education, 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Police Chief Foti Koskinas and state legislators — that Scarice and his administrators work as partners with local clergy to address hate incidents.
Rabbi Michael Friedman welcomes forum attendees to Temple Israel.
The presentation was divided into 2 parts. Much of it was devoted to antisemitism, though other types of prejudice, such as racism and homophobia, were mentioned too.
The first part — “Prevention” — described staff training and professional development; curriculum and instruction; social emotional learning; student clubs and activities; special events, and parental outreach.
The second involved schools’ responses to incidents of bias. It includes prioritizing the safety of targeted students; gathering facts; education; communication with stakeholders; consequences and accountability, and restoration and training.
Scarice noted the importance of holding students accountable for their actions, while at the same time helping them understand the meaning and import of what they said or did.
Privacy laws prohibit schools from discussing individual incidents, or revealing specific consequences.
“We don’t behave a certain way because we’re fearful of being sued,” Scarice said. “We’re following the law.”
And, he acknowledged, “We can do more. We will still have bias incidents that are unacceptable. Kids will be kids.” But he committed the Westport Public Schools to continuing to address hate-based words and actions, wherever and whenever they occur.
(From left): Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice, Staples High School principal Stafford Thomas, Westport Public Schools Grades 6-12 social studies coordinator Lauren Francese. (Photo/Dan Woog)
One way is through a tightened, clearer Code of Conduct. “It’s squishy now. It needs to change,” the superintendent said.
The code is being revised and reviewed, with Board of Education oversight. Scarice urged residents to provide input, throughout the process.
“Westport is a competitive community,” Scarice noted. “Sometimes this does not bring out the best in people.
One result: students “exclude others, based on things like socioeconomic status, ability, race, religion and ethnicity.”
A new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging page on the WPS website offers more information on the school district’s efforts to provide education and resources to combat hatred, bias and misunderstanding, in all forms.
Staples Players directors David Roth and Kerry Long have had some challenging sets before.
They’ve created a New York neighborhood for “West Side Side Story,” a dystopian world for “Urinetown,” and the terrorizing plant in “Little Shop of Horrors.”
But “James and the Giant Peach” is deceptively difficult. A centipede falls off the giant peach. The peach has to land on the Empire State Building. Gulls attach spider webs, and fly.
Audience members for Players’ spring production will be familiar with the show. If they haven’t read the 1961 children’s novel by Roald Dahl, they’ve seen the 1996 film.
Next week, from March 21-24, they’ll be able to see a stage adaptation of it.
Beckwith Fipp, as James. (Photo/Kerry Long)
And that familiarity is especially relevant, because the musical was developed by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek. They’re the creative team responsible for “Dear Evan Hansen,” “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman.”
Justin Paul is a former Staples Player himself. He graduated in 2003, after taking advantage of nearly every acting, performing and directing opportunity the high school offered.
“James and the Giant Peach” follows in the tradition of other spring Players shows, with dual appeal to adults and younger audiences.
Roth and Long have thought about doing one of Paul’s musicals for several years. They saw “James” — the first full-length Pasek and Paul collaboration — when it debuted at Goodspeed Opera House in 2010.
With its large cast size and accessibility, this is the right show, at the right time.
A large cast offers many Players a chance to shine. (Photo/Kerry Long)
“It’s very funny,” Roth says. “The music is great, in so many styles.”
He and Long are longtime Dahl fans.
They are fans of Paul and Pasek too.
“The play goes further than the book,” Roth says. “It uses music to explain themes that were not as developed — like the idea that ‘family’ doesn’t have be what you’re born into.
“Your family can be found. You never know who will end up being your family. That’s an idea that’s beautifully explored.
“And this is not just a ‘kids show,'” Roth emphasizes. “Everyone will get something different out of it.”
Despite the staging challenges — how do you get a giant peach on stage? — the directors and cast have had fun. Set designer Jordan Janota has worked hard, and creatively, fueling the young actors and musicians’ energy.
Lauren Pine, who led the orchestra for the fall production of “The Prom,” is making her Players’ vocal directing debut.
Yet this is not just a Staples Players production of a show created by a famous alum. Earlier this week, Paul returned to the stage where he got his start. He spent several hours talking about his career, and his days at the high school.
A compliment by a “random person” after his performance in “City of Angels” gave him the confidence to pursue musical theater as a career,” Paul said.
After his talk, he and the cast spent a couple of hours working on “James and the Giant Peach” he composed.
Justin Paul works with “James and the Giant Peach” cast members. (Photo/Kerry Long)
That’s only the most recent connection Paul had with the Staples production. Last fall, after “The Prom” closed, he was the one who announced that this would be the spring show. (Click here to see that video.)
This week’s visit will not be Paul’s last, either. He, his wife and 4 children will be at the Sunday, March 24 matinee. He’ll stick around after, to do a talkback with the audience.
Sitting, no doubt, under that giant peach at the center of the stage.
(“James and the Giant Peach” will be performed at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 21, 22 and 23; 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, and 1 and 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 24. Audience members can meet the characters after the Friday night, Saturday matinee and Saturday night shows. Click here for tickets, and more information.)
Tonight is the night for a forum on “Addressing Incidents of Antisemitism and Bias in our Schools” (Wednesday, March 13, 7:30 p.m., Temple Israel).
The event — including educators, clergy and community leaders — will provide an opportunity to share best practices for preventing and responding to identity-based bullying in public schools. A Q-and-A session will follow.
Originally scheduled for February, the forum was postponed by snow.
Click here to attend in person (pre-registration is required). Click here to watch via livestream. Click here to watch via livestream.
Several big capital spending projects loom in Westport.
What are the rationales, goals and processes?
Town Hall and Westport Public Schools leaders share insights on March 26 (7 p.m., Westport Library) in a community conversation.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice will present their capital spending strategies and rationales. A panel of experts will discuss possible funding strategies, capital planning best practices, and the approval process for achieving capital spending goals. An audience Q-and-A session will follow.
The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Westport, and the Westport Library’s Common Ground initiative.
Longshore is one of several large capital projects planned for the future.
Congratulations to the Staples High School Model UN Club.
Inklings reports that 16 delegates attended the recent National High School Model UN Conference in New York.
Staples delegates represented South Africa in 8 committees, debating topics like healthcare and renewable energy.
Club president Tucker Peters and vice president Jameson Russell were given the Commission on Science and Technology for Development’s Awards of Distinction, the highest possible award.
Alessandra Spadea, Jori Altman, Mia Bomback and Graysen Peters earned Awards of Merit for their contributions in the UN Human Rights Council and International Organization for Migration, respectively.
Jacob Calandro and Julien McMahon received Awards of Excellence for the Commission on Crime Prevention and Justice.
Staples’ Model UN Club, at the real UN. (Photo/Mia Bomback)
From a quick glance at this photo, it looks like just some guy playing piano at last night’s Artists Collective of Westport pop-up gallery opening party.
(Photo/Dan Woog)
But look closely. “That guy” is Mark Naftalin. A spectacularly talented keyboardist, he played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band — and was inducted with them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
It did not take long for the large crowd to realize they were in the presence of greatness — musically, as well as artistically.
Attendees of all ages gathered around the piano, as the famed Westport resident played blues, boogie-woogie, and lots more — just like he was back on stage at Monterey.
Mark Naftalin: a master at work. (Photo/Tomoko Meth)
But plenty of Westporters are members of the 75-year-old organization.
And sure, they’ll all be there this St. Patrick’s weekend to celebrate.
You’re invited too!
From Friday to Sunday (March 15-17; $10 non-members), Irish and non-Irish alike* will enjoy live music from a pipe band, with step dancers; corned beef sandwiches and more.
As our national mental health crisis escalates, TAP Strength — the individualized coaching center in downtown Westport — is offering an intriguing discussion.
“Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy” features a discussion with Jennifer Boyd, a physician assistant, ecopsychologist and Reiki master. TAP founder Dr. EJ Zebro will moderate.
The event is March 26 (6-7 p.m., 180 Post Road East). Proceeds from the suggested $25 donation will go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Westporter Atara Nova’s unique “Cosmic Misfit” concert and one-woman show of all original music heads to Newtown’s Sticks & Stones Farms this Saturday (March 16, 7 p.m.).
Organizers say: “As the music from pulsating beats to haunting melodies unfold, you’ll embark on a journey woven with intricately layered harmonies and rhythms, each reflecting a chapter of Atara’s profound inner quest.
“The music tells a story of Wetiko, a deadly virus of the mind, and one celestial being’s quest to heal herself and her community.”
Tickets are $22 (sliding scale available). Click here to buy, and for information.
PS: If you haven’t heard of Atara Nova, you may know her as Atara Horrigan.
And finally … in honor of Mark Naftalin, last night’s featured musician at the Artists’ Collective of Westport gallery opening (story above):
(Today — as every day — “06880” is “Where Westport meets the world.” But we couldn’t do it without our readers’ support. Please click here to contribute. Thank you very much!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
