Looking for a historic speakeasy in Westport, featuring jazz, food, drink and gambling?
Head to the Suzuki Music School in Colonial Green on March 4 (7 p.m.). The basement will be transformed into the type of illicit space F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald knew well from their time here.
The Rich Goldstein Trio and Joe Carter Trio will perform. Tickets ($125) include food and drink, and $25 of (charity) gambling chips. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Proceeds benefit the Suzuki Music Schools, and Westport Museum of History & Culture.
The evening marks the mid-event of the 2023 Connecticut Guitar Festival. Opening night at MoCA Westport (Friday, March 3) features classical guitarist Rene Izquierdo and contemporary Guitarist Jordan Dodson.
The Saturday daytime lineup includes education for young and old guitar students at MoCA: master classes, lectures, an open mic and a 3 p.m. showcase concert by the Yale Guitars.
The Guitar Festival ends Sunday at MoCA with a free children’s pillow concert headed by festival artistic director Mak Grgic, and an honors concert of young area students.
Click here for full details of the Connecticut Guitar Festival.
Westport Police report 2 custodial arrests between February 16 and 22.
One followed a report that a family member was acting erratically. During a mental health emergency, a Westport resident swung at officers, causing minor injuries. He was charged with 2 counts of assault on a public safety employee.
The other arrest was for failure to appear.
The Police Department is still unable to report information on traffic and other citations.
One arrest last week was for failure to appear for a court date.
Wheels2U’s on-demand, group ride, door-to-train platform shuttle service is free tomorrow (Friday, February 24).
The normal fee to and from the Westport and Greens Farms stations is $2.
Riders use the Wheels2U Westport app to request a pickup between 5:45 and 10 a.m., and 4 and 9:30 p.m., for rides between either train platform and their front door. Pickups for trips to the stations should be requested 20 minutes before normally leaving to drive to the station.
For more information about Wheels2U, including how to download the Wheels2U app and book a ride, click here. For more information about the Westport Transit District’s services for the elderly and people with disabilities, click here.
A Westport woman is having a hard time finding a handyman.
The work involves basic repairs, including painting, screens and other things.
She’s not on Facebook (the usual place to search for such things), and has had no luck finding one on her own. If you know of a good handyman — or you are one yourself — click “Comments” below.
But Staples Players’ productions always come with a twist. Next month’s show by the award-winning high school troupe is a catchy, contemporary musical version of the Bard’s romantic comedy.
They’ve been excited about it, ever since rehearsals began.
Last week, they got an added jolt: Composer Shaina Taub came to the Staples stage, to chat — and sing — with the cast.
The visit started as a shot in the dark. Co-director Kerry Long reached out on Instagram, noting that Taub’s friend Justin Paul — composer of “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Greatest Showman” and “La La Land” — is a Players alum.
Taub’s schedule is packed, but she graciously agreed to visit.
Shaina Taub (front row, center, hands clasped) enjoys a sing-along with Players. Andrew Maskoff is at the piano. (Photo/Kerry Long)
The Westport teens related to her stories about growing up as a musical theater kid in Vermont. She described the importance of her extended theater family at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, and the daunting task of writing an adaptation of Shakespeare after a call from the Public Theater.
Long and co-director David Roth led a Q-and-A session. A question about her writing process brought this advice about getting something — anything — down: “A C+ song on paper is better than an A+ song that hasn’t been written.”
Then the real fun began: a sing-along around the piano.
“There’s something amazing for theater kids to sing songs with the person who wrote them,” Long says.
“Our students are obsessed with the music. They all the know the words to every song, even if they don’t sing it in the show.”
Shaina Taub (left) with Sophia Betit. The senior plays Feste in “Twelfth Night” — the role Taub originated in her own show at the Public Theater. (Photo/Kerry Long)
Taub is now an accomplished composer and actor. But she went right back into “theater kid” mode, singing and bopping joyfully with the young cast.
It was a magical 90 minutes.
Then — the moment it was over — rehearsal began.
Shaina Taub could surely relate.
(Staples Players perform “Twelfth Night” at 7:30 p.m. on March 17, 18, 24 and 25, and 3 p.m. on March 19 and 25. Click here for tickets, and more information. Hat tip: Jill Johnson Mann)
(Staples Players is where teenagers meet Shakespeare — and Shaina Taub. “06880” is “where Westport meets the world” — and you read all about it. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
The little plastic thingy housing the cord that makes my blinds go up and down — the “tilt wand” (thanks, Google!) — snapped off.
It’s one of those annoying malfunctions that people from an earlier generation could probably have fixed in an instant, but that I’m helpless to do.
Broken piece.
Clueless about what type of serviceperson to call — I really am helpless — I went to “Angi” (formerly “Angie’s List”). The online service that connects helpless people with the right pro in minutes provided a quick list of folks to call.
The price for their services, they said, ranged from $329 to $481.
Gulp.
Immediately, Angi and a few of the handypersons followed up, by email and text. They were relentless: Did I want them now? Why wasn’t I responding? Didn’t I still want my blinds fixed?
Ugh.
My next move was what I should have done originally: “Westport Front Porch,” on Facebook.
Several people quickly offered the same idea: Stanton Miles.
My previous encounters with the Post Road store had been to buy vacuum cleaner bags. Who knew they did blinds too?
Apparently, everyone. There it was, right on their website (and storefront): “Vacuum Cleaners/Window Treatments.”
Dave called right back. He asked me to text a photo of the broken piece.
I was in luck. He had it in stock.
Unfortunately, Dave was going in for rotator cuff surgery in a few days.
Fortunately, he said he could stop by the next time he was in my area.
A couple of days later, he did.
He brought the piece. He worked his magic, stringing the string through the thingy. His eyes were open, but I figured he could do it with them closed. (They’re “blinds” — get it?)
We chatted a bit. I learned he started working at Stanton Miles when he was still a student at Roger Ludlowe High School. Now he owns it.
“How much?” I asked when he was finished, a few minutes later.
“20 bucks,” he replied.
“Come on! You deserve more than that,” I said.
“Nope. It was easy. 20 bucks will do it.”
Thanks, Dave. My blinds now work flawlessly.
I hope your shoulder surgery went well. I’ll be back to Stanton Miles for all my vacuum cleaner and window treatment needs.
And the next time I have a question like this, I’ll go to Westport Front Porch — not Angi — first.
The little thing on the upper left now works. Thanks, Dave!
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email 06880blog@gmail.com)
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It’s much colder in Lyman, Ukraine than Westport, Connecticut.
But hearts in our sister city have been warmed by gifts this winter. The latest delivery is good news for hundreds of freezing bodies.
A 20-ton truck headed out yesterday to the town in the Donbas. It was filled with construction material, to shore up 6 apartment blocks devastated during 5 months of Russian occupation.
Residents have been living in basements. Soon, the rebuilding of those apartments can begin.
Ukraine Aid International and Alex21 — Westport’s partners on the ground — also delivered armored vests for utility workers. That will enable them to work more safely, restoring power in areas still under attack by the invaders.
The construction material and armored vests were paid for by Westporters. During the holiday season, our town raised $252,000 to aid our sister city. More projects are in the works.
Click below for a video showing delivery of the building materials and armored gear.
Tax-deductible donations can still be made to Lyman through Ukraine Aid International — the non-profit co-founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer. Pleaseclick here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other tax-deductible donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo). You can also donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
Tomorrow (Thursday, February 23) is Fairfield County Giving Day.
Friends of Sherwood Island State Park is raising funds for their garden team. They’ll plant natives in their Pollinator Garden, and the East Beach dunes. Among them: seaside goldenrod, switchgrass, rose mallow, maritime marsh elder, Virginia rose, blue-flowered spiderwort, yarrow, white heath aster, pink-flowered showy tick-trefoil (pea family), thin-leaved sunflower, boneset, New England blazing star and marsh fleabane.
The dune restoration will be extended with 150 feet of American beach grass, 12 feet wide. They’ll add 12 red maple, white oak and pitch pine trees in the picnic area.
The goal is $1,700. To donate, click here, or send a check to: Friends of Sherwood Island State Park, PO Box 544, Westport, CT 06881. Memo line: “Giving Day 0- Garden Team.”
Westporters Orna Stern and Debbie Ritter — members of the Friends of Sherwood Island State Park garden team — planting a red maple tree. It will one day shade East Beach picnic areas.
But I am not making this up. I’m just paraphrasing (and quoting) a press release.
“Celebrity psychic medium Karyn Reece” comes to Child’s Pose Yoga (8 Church Street, April 1 7:30 p.m.) for “the most coveted event this spring that has everyone talking.”
During the “intimate VIP evening (guests will) be given the opportunity to connect with their past loved ones and hear about their future through live audience-style readings with Reece. She will allow ‘the other side’ to guide her around the room as she gives inspiring and specifically detailed personalized messages of healing and hope to some lucky winners in attendance.”
But wait! There’s more! Attendees will enjoy “exceptional food and spirits” (ho ho), “delectable desserts,” and gift bags too.
Reece “has been featured on TLC, Discovery, Lifetime, The CW, FYI, Travel Channel and A&E. She is also the go-to psychic medium for celebrities on Bravo. She has worked with some of the world’s most A-list celebrities and brands including Deux Moi, Reebok, Kyle Richards, Leah Remini, Margaret Josephs, entrepreneurs, and media who featured her as one of the most accurate psychics with over 98% accuracy per reading (average psychics being only 50%).”
Tickets are just $200 per person (non-refundable or transferable). For reservations, call 716-580-2520 or email karyn@karynreece.com.
The press release concludes: “Reece is ready, spirit is ready, but the real question is, are you ready for a spring night like none other?”
If you have, you’ll know to mark March 1 (6 to 8 p.m., Westport Country Playhouse barn) for hors d’oeuvres, wine, great conversation, and of course a diverse array of art by talented Collective members.
Then on March 5 (5 p.m.), several artists will talk about their process and answer questions about their work and careers.
The show runs March 2-5 (2 to 6 p.m.). Artists exhibiting include Nina Bentley, Suzanne Benton, Eric Chiang, Lynne Knobel, Joanie Landau, Susan Murray, Dale Najarian, Judy Noel, Julie O’Connor, Eileen Panepinto, Gay Schempp, Renee Santhouse, Joan Wheeler and Marc Zaref.
Choral Chameleon’s previous 2 appearances at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport were great success.
The New York-based group returns this Saturday (February 25, 7:30 p.m.). Their “Music for Chameleons” concert — part of their 15th anniversary tour — is a “thought-provoking narrative on the ever-changing landscape for the world, and the power of human beings to have meaningful discourse and invoke transformation.”
They’ll include music by di Lasso, Pulenc, Nobuaki, Rimmer, Trmbore, Jamiroquai and Janet Jackson, plus premiers from Choral Chameleon Institute composers inspired by a Truman Capote short story.
Tickets are available online and at the door ($20 each). To learn more about Choral Chameleon, click here.
Dr. Arthur Brovender, a longtime Westporter, died peacefully at his Boca Raton, Florida home on Saturday. He was 92 years old.
The Bronx native earned a BA with Phi Beta Kappa honors from New York University in 1952. He received a medical degree with distinction from L’Université Libre de Bruxelles 6 years later.
He completed his internship in general surgery at Norwalk Hospital. Arthur then specialized in orthopedic surgery, finishing his surgical residency in New York.
In 1962, during his children’s surgical residency at The House of St. Giles the Cripple in Brooklyn, he met his future wife, Paula on a blind date. They were married for 59 years.
Throughout his medical career, he held many memberships as a Fellow in medical societies (International College of Surgeons, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, New York Academy of Medicine, American College of Surgeons and the American Geriatrics Society) and was a Charter Member of the Eastern Orthopaedic Association. He was a regent in the State of Connecticut International College of Surgeons, and president of the Norwalk Medical Society. He taught at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Police and Fire Departments in Westport and Norwalk.
In 1963 Arthur opened a private practice and joined the medical staff at Norwalk Hospital. At the same time proudly served in the Army Reserves, rising to captain. He served as the chief of orthopaedics at Norwalk Hospital from 1981-1985.
He enjoyed playing golf and tennis, skiing, hunting and fishing. He was an avid photographer and history buff, and enjoyed traveling with family and friends. Arthur took classes throughout his life.
His religious observance was important. Heserved as president of Temple Shalom in Norwalk from 1976-1979.
After retiring from his private practice of 37 years in 2000, he continued to provide medical service to the Social Security Administration as an independent medical expert on orthopedic cases throughout the United States.
For the last 20 years he enjoyed retirement at Boca West Country Club, where he served on the Board of Governors and numerous committees. He made many wonderful new friends in Florida.
Arthur was predeceased by his brother, Dr. Stanley (Patricia) Brovender. In addition to his wife, Arthur is survived by his children Leslie Serena and Lisa (Arthur) Hayes; grandchildren and step-grandchildren Max, Malisia, Rebecca, Olivia, William and James; niece, Dana Parillo, and nephews Matthew and David Brovender.
Funeral services will be held this Friday (February 24, 1 p.m., Temple Shalom, Norwalk). Burial will follow at the Temple Israel Cemetery behind Beth Israel Cemetery in Norwalk. The family will sit shiva on Saturday (6 to 8 p.m.) and Sunday (1 to 4 p.m.)
And finally … in honor of celebrity medium Karyn Reece’s April 1 appearance here:
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The Staples High School Class of 1961 graduate produced “Hello, It’s Me.” He managed Todd Rundgren and Kris Kristofferson — as well as (with Albert Grossman) the careers of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, The Band, Odetta, and Peter Paul & Mary. He did publicity for the Dave Clark 5 and Herman’s Hermits.
He sold Americana and folk art. He owned the Ash Creek Saloons in Fairfield and Norwalk, along with Darien’s Goose restaurant.
With such varied careers — and so much going on — he could be forgiven for losing the negatives of photos he took half a century ago.
They were not random snapshots of the Friedman family at the beach, or their naked newborn in a bathtub.
These were up close, personal — and superb — shots of some of the biggest names in the music world.
Mick Jagger (Photo copyright Michael Friedman)
The Stones. Janis Joplin. The Band. Johnny Winter. Gordon Lightfoot. James Cotton. Ian and Sylvia. All are artists Friedman worked with in the 1960s.
In 2016, his wife Donna stumbled upon them. They’re remarkable — not just for their power and professionalism, but because they’re atypical musician images.
They’re much more human. Freidman took his photos as a friend, not a “photographer.”
But he was a damn good one, for sure.
Friedman spent several months printing, restoring and mounting the photos.
He displayed them at a pop-up gallery the next year, in Bedford Square. Developer David Waldman offered him the space, after seeing one photo and hearing his stories.
Janis Joplin (Photo copyright Michael Friedman)
The show was well received. The photos were shipped to the California Heritage Museum, then to a year-long exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Attendees in LA and Cleveland repeated what Westport gallery-goers said: Michael should compile them into a book.
More than 5 years later, that daunting project is almost complete.
“Exposed: The Lost Negatives and Untold Stories of Michael Friedman” is in the Kickstarter phase — almost ready to print. Many of the 100 photos have never been seen — not even in the photographer’s shows. They’re accompanied by essays and explanatory text.
It was a long process. One of the hardest parts was figuring out exactly where each photo was taken, and when.
Donna spent many of hours researching. For example, a shot of an outdoor concert with Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge looked like a college — but there were no records they performed outside, on a campus.
Finally, Donna saw a photo online of a building that matched one in the background. The site: Columbia University.
Friedman also had no idea where he took a well-composed image showing a mother, child, VW bus and police officers.
Eventually, he and his wife realized the police officers were not Americans. They followed that rabbit hole all the way to the 1970 Festival Express in Toronto. They found a documentary film from 2003, which showed the same scaffolding behind the bus.
Friedman’s essays complement the photos. They are short but insightful portraits of nearly everyone he’s met in the music industry, from mega-stars to mighta-beens.
The essays also provide context for his life — including his introduction to rock music, as a Westport boy growing up in the 1950s.
He describes Mike Borchetta, the Staples High School student who brought Bo Diddley and Harvey & the Moonglows to town (and who asked 15-year-old Friedman to take over as drummer, when the Moonglows’ percussionist passed out drunk).
Harvey & the Moonglows gave Michael Friedman a signed photo. Leader Harvey Fuqua told their stand-in drummer: “Mike, you count to 4 good for a white boy.”
Friedman writes about his time with Westport’s first rock band, the Schemers (with lead singer Barry Tashian, later of the Remains).
Prodded by Donna, he brings the reader into the photos. “People want to know what it was like to be 25 years old in 1968 — in the middle of the music business,” he says. “I want them to take the journey with me.”
But it’s the photos that take center stage. The Stones on stage. Janis Joplin chatting in a hallway. Todd Rundgren in the studio. Levon Helm being Levon.
Michael Friedman with a photo of Levon Helm, legendary drummer for The Band.
Those images fill the 233 pages of “Exposed.”
Michael gives his wife — who found the negatives in the first place — credit as “curator, director, producer, editor, consultant and psychiatrist” for the project. “She had a clear picture in her mind, of how to put it all together.”
Unwilling to cede creative control to an agent or publisher, the Friedmans are self-publishing.
It’s a risky — and costly — venture. But it’s in fitting with Michael’s multi-varied career.
And his personal philosophy, honed in the music business and articulated by his longtime friend Kris Kristofferson: “By not having to live up to other people’s expectations, I was somehow free.”
(To see the Kickstarter page for “Exposed,” click here.)
(“06880″‘s tagline is “Where Westport meets the world.” We meet that world with readers’ help. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The 3rd-generation owner of Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center — plus Gilbertie’s Organics — has quite a story.
From its beginnings as a small business started by Italian immigrants, to its explosive growth as the flower and herb industries boomed, to its current emphasis on organic agriculture, Gilbertie’s has been part of our town.
There are tons of stories — and 86-year-old Sal Gilbertie tells them engagingly, and well.
I learned a ton during our chat at the Westport Library Trefz Forum. Click below, for a fascinating half hour:
The 120-foot structure — on private property adjacent to I-95 — would address a gap in cell service coverage.
The battle is over. As reported first on Westport Journal, the Connecticut Siting Council recently approved the tower. As those decisions nearly always stand, the town will not appeal the decision.
A cell tower has been approved for 92 Greens Farms Road, the property on the left of the photo. (Photo courtesy of Google Maps)
Dr. Winston Allen — a Westporter, and the author of “I Pried Open Wall Street in 1962” — discusses that memoir, and his life as the first Black man to open a broker-dealer service — this Thursday (February 23, 7 p.m., Westport Museum for History & Culture; $5 suggested donation).
The event includes a Q-and-A session. Click here for more information.
Another book talk: Westport author Paul Podolsky shares the challenges of “Raising a Thief,” his memoir of parenting an unusually difficult child, at the Westport Book Shop (March 9, 6:30 p.m.).
He and his wife adopted a baby girl who had been severely neglected as an infant. Their daughter, now in her early 20s, was ultimately diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder.
Fairfield County Giving Day is February 23. But Wakeman Town Farm has their “Donate” button up and ready already.
They ask help for 3 programs. All support their commitment to outreach and inclusion, as WTF makes programs accessible to less advantaged groups by offering them at low — or no — cost.
The first is a project with the Connecticut Transitions Program. It offers services to students ages 18-21 with emotional and physical disabilities, ages 18-21, as they enter adulthood.
WTF provides opportunities to volunteer, gain work experience, and attend social events. Tasks include working in the gardens, gleaning produce, merchandising, setting up the weekly Farm stand, and selling and interfacing with the public.
A second partnership is with STAR: Lighting the Way, for people of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities. WTF offers a popular weekly cooking class, along with outdoor experiences in the gardens and animal enclosures.
The third partnership is with Horizons, a national network of educational programs for disadvantaged students grades K-8 from surrounding urban areas. Their summer curriculum is enhanced by weekly visits to the Farm, where some see a vegetable garden, farm animals, beehives, fruit trees or a working farm for the first time. Youngsters learn how vegetables are grown, retrieve warm eggs from nesting boxes, feed baby goats and pick fruits, berries and vegetables.
Click here to contribute to those 3 Wakeman Town Farm programs.
Wakeman Town Farm programs benefit on Fairfield County Giving Day.
Grammy Award-winning pianist Dave Kikoski headlines this Thursday’s Jazz at the Post (February 23; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner at 7 p.m.; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399).
Kikoski emerged on the New York jazz scene in the 1980s and quickly established himself as a go-to performer working with top musicians. He is known for his adept post-bop style, and spontaneous swinging play. Chick Corea calls his playing “sparkling.”
Also sitting in on this week: bassist Yuriy Galkin, drummer Vinnie Sperazza and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall.
Reservations are highly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo — and naturalist lesson — comes from Lou Weinberg.
The Westport Community Gardens director writes: “Chickadees nest in tree cavities. Their natural food sources consist mostly of insects. Insects love tree bark and dead wood. So, when possible, leave trees standing even when dead. Nature wins!”
And finally … Huey “Piano” Smith, a 1950s pioneer of Top 10 New Orleans R&B, died last week in Baton Rouge. He was 89.
He wrote and recorded — among many other songs — “Don’t You Just Know It,” “Rocking Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” (later covered by Johnny Rivers) and “Sea Cruise” (which was taken by his record company and given to a white singer, Frankie Ford).
For a full obituary — including other examples that forced Smith to pawn his piano and declare bankruptcy — click here.
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