From Guatemala to Connecticut — with some abstract stops along the way — our online gallery continues.
As we say every week: This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute to it. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
Untitled — abstract digital art (Tom Doran)
Untitled — abstract acrylic painting on canvas (Beth Berkowitz)
Untitled — Photographer Fred Cantor says, “Taken a short while ago in the backyard of the Saugatuck.This tree’s advanced foliage makes it seem like mid-autumn. I wonder: is this related to the drought?”
“This is My Happy Face!” (Steve Stein)
“One for the Road” — Photographer Peter Barlow notes that the only thing missing is “the powerful smell of steaming hot tar.”
“The Chef on His Break” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Eyeball to Eyeball” — Photographer Mike Hibbard explains, “a tourist in Galapagos reaches for a fish at an outdoor market.”
“Rocks” (Amy Schneider)
(If you enjoy our online art gallery, please consider supporting “06880.” Click here to help.)
“Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” Mickey Rooney said that so often to Judy Garland in Depression-era films, it became a cliché.
Kids today still put on shows. But — this being Westport, and the year being 2022 — they are, well, different.
“Lux Freer” is the latest movie to be made here. The plot: A middle-class non-binary teen feels like an outcast in their new town of rich jocks and beauty queens — until a wishing well and the most popular guy in school offer a view from the top of the social ladder.
See what I mean?
Cast and crew take a break, with a Joe’s Pizza lunch.
“Lux Freer” is a production of Triple Threat Academy. Each summer the Westport-based school for teen and adult actors, singers and dancers (“triple threats”), founded by “Fame” star/1981 Staples High School graduate) Cynthia Gibb, runs an independent film project.
Students learn acting in front of a camera, along with directing, shooting and producing.
With a professional crew, a cast of 23, and a heap of help from Westport residents and businesses, this is the biggest Triple Threat production yet.
Westporter Andrew Wilk (multi-Emmy-winning producer/director of “Live from Lincoln Center, former Sony Music COO), screenwriter Michael Jamin (“Beavis and Butthead”), makeup artist Kathleen Fillion and filmmaker Allie O’Brien all spoke with students.
Jamie Mann’s makeup is done professionally by Kathleen Fillion.
The non-binary star is Echo Bodell, Other cast members include professional actors Jean Louisa Kelly (“Top Gun Maverick”), Jamie Mann (“Country Comfort”), Cameron Mann (“Mare of Easttown”) and Natalie Mann (“A California Christmas”). All except Kelly are, were or soon will be Staples High School students.
“Lux Freer” star Echo Bodell (black clothes) and Jasmita Mani Lorenzato prepare for a shot.
Shooting took place at Bedford Middle School. Principal Adam Rosen welcomed the cast (many of whom attended BMS).
The Porch @ Christie’s — whose mission of inclusion aligns with the film’s theme — was another location. They catered one lunch. Comped and/or discounted food was also courtesy of Joe’s Pizza and Gaetano’s. Planet Pizza provided a uniform, pizzas and catering.
The iconic Buick station wagon came courtesy of longtime Westporter Anne Westlake.
Many Westporters joined the filming as extras. You’ll see some familiar faces (including, ahem, my own.)
Cast members and extras wait for “Action!” in the Bedford Middle School auditorium.
Later this year – after editing and post-production — “Lux Freer” will hit the film festival circuit.
The entire cast and crew — I mean, we — can’t wait.
(For more information on Triple Threat’s fall acting and improv classes, and more, click here.)
At the risk of our Friday Flashback becoming all-Compo Beach-all-the-time, I’m posting 4 more postcards from Seth Schachter’s superb Westport-themed collection.
They show clear, wide turn-of-the-century views, of the long stretch of bathhouses that pre-dated the current boardwalk, and the 2-story pavilion nearby.
All that remains today is the roof of the open-air pavilion.
The views below include people enjoying themselves, on the 2nd floor.
A commenter on an earlier Friday Flashback thought that the flag was “photoshopped” in. It’s clear from these postcards that the flag was real.
The early 20th century Compo Beach experience was a bit different from today’s.
In their own way, our great-grandparents had plenty of fun.
(“Friday Flashback” is one of many “06880” features. To keep them all coming, please contribute. Click here to help!)
Club 203 — the new Westport organization providing social and fun activities for adults with disabilities — launched with a bang Wednesday night.
Over 100 people gathered at MoCA for the kickoff event. DJ Joe’s great playlist got everyone on the dance floor from the moment they arrived.
The dance floor was filled.
Participants came from as far as Middlebury, Connecticut. DJ Joe rocked the night! Everyone was in on the dance floor. MoCA, The Porch at Christie’s, CVS for providing the venue and snacks. We would also like to thank all the volunteers from our community who helped us last night. We could not have done it with out them!
Hanging with the DJ …
Club 203 organizers Stacie Curran, Kathryn Sonne, Joe Anastasi and Sharuna Mahesh thank MoCA, The Porch @ Christie’s and CVS for providing the venue and snacks — as well as the many volunteers who made the night special.
Next up: a Halloween celebration (October 23, Remarkable Theater). For more information, click here.
Who was Sigrid Schultz, for whom part of the newly designed Elm Street parking lot is named?
She was a pioneering female reporter, social justice activist — and longtime Westporer — who played an important role in exposing the growing Nazi threat during the lead-up to World War II, and beyond.
Last night, the Westport Museum for Culture & History hosted Professor Dr. David Milne of the University of East Anglia. He is writing her biography, and shared fascinating details of her life. The “Dragon Lady” exhibit is open to the public at the museum through the end of the year. (Hat tip: Dave Matlow)
Dr. James Milne, at the Westport Museum for History & Culture. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Wondering about all those yellow ribbons downtown?
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The ribbons create awareness too: for Circle of Care, a Wilton-based organization that helps families deal with the diagnosis of a child with cancer.
Click here to learn more about Circle of Care. Then click below, for a local video:
With autumn around the corner, it’s time for Aspetuck Land Trust’s fall native plant sale.
Hard-to-find plants, trees, shrubs and perennials can be ordered online, and picked up September 30 to October 2 at the Caryl & Edna Haskins Preserve off Green Acre Lane. Click here for details.
Aarti Khosla believes that teachers are the backbone of our society. In these unprecedented times, she says, they need our love more than ever.
Aarti owns Le Rouge Chocolates, on Main Street. So she’s in a position to make it happen. Sweeeeet!
Her “Give a Little Love” chocolate heart campaign works like this: For $8 each, customers can sponsor a heart for one Westport teacher. Aarti hand-delivers the treats to each school.
This is the third year in a row for “Give a Little Love.” Teachers have been very touched by this small gesture, she says.
To donate one or more chocolate hearts online, click here.
MoCA’s next show — the premiere of the From The Pen To The Knife exhibition, featuring close to 300 watercolor paintings by Marian Christy, who creates watercolors using only palette knives and puddles of paint — is on view from October 15 to November 27.
An opening reception is set for October 15 (5 to 7 p.m.).
Christy was a Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe journalist, covering fashion and celebrities, for the first chapter of her life.
In the second chapter, she pivoted from “the pen to the knife.” Christy, now 90, had no formal training. She has worked for the last 15 years in her basement at an easel, held firm by used bricks to sustain her forceful palette knife strokes. For more information, click here.
One of Marian Christy’s nearly 300 works, exhibited soon at MoCA Westport.
Cohl Katz’s clients have included Al Pacino, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Bush, Bob Dylan, Cal Ripken, Cindy Crawford, Ellen DeGeneres, Hillary Clinton, Hilary Swank, Jerry Seinfeld, John McEnroe, Johnny Depp, Katie Couric, Keith Richards, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martha Stewart, Mary Tyler Moore, Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger, Muhammad Ali, Nicole Kidman, Phil Donohue, Ray Charles, Robert Redford, Robin Williams, Rod Stewart, Rosie O’Donnell, Sting and Tom Cruise,
The hair stylist and makeup artist recently moved back to Westport. She’s offering a back-to-school special for new clients (of all ages): a 50% first-appointment discount. Call 917-848-9596 — and mention “06880”!
Several Westport chefs will prepare 4-course tableside meals at Greenwich Wine + Food. The fundraiser for the Jacques Pépin Foundation and Wholesome Wae is set for October 7 (at Abigail Kirsch The Loading Dock, Stamford).
The local contingent includes Jes Bengtson (Terrain Garden Café. Amis Trattoria); Debra Ponzek (Aux Delices), Matt Storch (Match Burger Lobster) and Bill Taibe (The Whelk, Kawa Ni, Don Memo).
The evening includes honors for the Serendipity’s 2022 Most Innovative Chefs. Among them: Will Friedman of Kawa Ni.
Click here for the full schedule, and ticket information.
Bill Taibe and Jes Bengtson will cook at Greenwich Wine + Food.
There’s not much funny about a sales job selling retail packaging.
But Pat McGann liked talking to people. He got to travel. It was a living.
Until July of 2010, when he got laid off.
The timing was not great. His wedding was 4 months away.
So at 31, the Chicago native embarked on a new career.
Stand-up comedy.
He’d already been doing open mic shows. Now it became his full-time gig.
Pat McGann
It did not take long to get gigs. The comedy community is very welcoming, McGann says. He became the house MC at Zanies, welcoming crowds and introducing comedians.
It wasn’t easy — 10 to 14 shows a week, 6 days a week. But he got experience. He loved it. And hey, it was a living.
McGann opened for Sebastian Maniscalco, including 4 sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. He worked at Gilda’s LaughFest, the Great American Comedy Festival, the Nashville Comedy Fest and Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival
He was invited on the Late Show with David Letterman — twice — and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His riffs on his wife, his kids and marriage were spot on.
Being funny on TV is different than on stage. “You’re set up for success,” McGann says — simply standing next to a late night host provides “instant credibility” — but the stakes are high. You better be funny.
McGann is.
Then came COVID. “It blew up our whole industry,” McGann says.
There was not much funny about the global pandemic. Still, people were desperate for laughs.
Comedy thrives on shared experiences. McGann helped audiences relate to what everyone was going through — virtually, of course — and made it through. Comedians like him helped us all.
There’s nothing funny about homelessness either. But that’s the hook for McGann’s upcoming appearance.
He’s the headliner for Homes with Hope’s “Stand Up for Comedy” — an annual (and very popular) fundraiser. This year’s event is October 15 (8:30 p.m., Fairfield University Quick Center).
“Comedy is a uniting force for good,” McGann notes. “This will be a night where people come together, have some laughs, and do something good for others.”
He’s spoken with Homes with Hope executive director Helen McAlinden. He learned about the non-profit’s many programs — the Gillespie men’s shelter and Hoskins Place for homeless women; supportive housing initiatives, and programs like Project Return — and is all in for the cause.
“This is why I do standup: to have people leave a room feeling better about things, after laughing for a while,” McGann says.
“Knowing that what they paid for goes to something good – those are the best kinds of nights, for all of us.”
(Click here for tickets to Pat McGann’s October 15 “Stand Up for Comedy” Homes with Hope fundraiser, at the Quick Center. Click here for more information on Homes with Hope.)
(“06880” is sometimes funny, sometimes serious — and always, your hyper-local blog. Please click here to contribute.)
It’s almost here: StoryFest, the Westport Library’s genre-spanning literary festival (and the largest one in the state). Plus: It’s free!
StoryFest celebrates all forms of stories, and storytellers from across all media.
Among the highlights:
StoryFest Kick-Off: Isaac Fitzgerald in Conversation with Saeed Jones (Friday, September 9, 6 p.m. — click here to register)
Tessa Smith McGovern and Patricia Dunn launch their new podcast, “Go Ahead, Write Something” with bestselling author Naomi Novik (Saturday, September 10, 4:30 p.m. — click here to register)
Raise a glass to StoryFest weekend with specialty cocktails. Mallory O’Meara (James Beard Book Award-winning author) and Brea Grant (filmmaker/actress) bring their podcast “Reading Glasses” to the Library stage, with guest stars: Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, Alexis Henderson and Clay McLeod Chapman (Saturday, September 10, 6 p.m. — click here to register).
Several authors authors are releasing new books early, for StoryFest. They include:
It’s been nearly 30 months since the pandemic struck.
Westport — a town of commuters — changed immediately. Anyone who could work from home, did.
Metro-North slashed service. The railroad parking lots stayed empty. People who had waited for years for parking permits suddenly had them.
Offices re-opened slowly, often only 2 or 3 days a week. But many men and women — unwilling to sit next to others on trains where conductors did not enforce mask mandates — traded trains for cars.
Yesterday though, “06880” reader Ellen Bowen noticed something: The Westport train station’s eastbound lot was once again full. From Donut Crazy to the lower spots by Saugatuck Avenue, every spot was taken.
A sign that things are pretty much back to normal? A cause for celebration? Concern that the great experiment in working from home is ending?
Click “Comments,” to offer your take.
No spots — not even by Saugatuck Avenue. (Photo/Ellen Bowen)
Aquarion has requested a revenue increase of $49.9 million — a 25% increase. If approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, it would add about $4.25 per month to the bill of a typical residential water customer using 72,000 gallons of water annually.
Public hearings will be held today (Thursday, September 8, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall), and Thursday, October 6 (via Zoom; click here) and Tuesday, October 25 (via Zoom; click here).
For more information, click here. (Hat tip: Mark Lemcke)
This Sunday (September 11, 10 a.m. to noon), the popular Cross Highway spot will be overrun by puppies.
Westport animal Shelter Advocates will bring a litter of 11, and other furry friends, including older dogs — all available for adoption.
There is no on-site adoption. But for those who follow up through WASA, Earth Animal is donating pup packs. (They’ve already provided nutritious puppy food.)
WASA will also hold a silent auction at the Porch, to raise funds to assist and advocate for neglected and homeless dogs. Featured items include a certified signed Aaron Judge baseball, and four VIP Yankee Stadium Legends seats for the September 24 Yankees-Red Sox game.
For more information, call 203-557-0361. or email wasa1@optonline.net.
It’s a paradox: There are so many utility wires, we often don’t really notice them.
But Michael Brennecke does.
The native Westporter thinks there are too many. He cites this “particularly egregious example of wire pollution,” where Hillspoint Road and Prospect Road meet:
The all-runners-welcome group once again sponsors Saturday morning events, starting at the Greens Farms train station at 8 a.m. The $50 yearly fee includes all paces, 2 new routes each week, free Brooks Endurance running shirts for all new members, unlimited post-run coffee, along with track nights and the Joggers Club Jr., for youngsters in grades kindergarten through 8th.
For more information, click here, or go to Instagram (@TheJoggersClub.CT),
Facebook or Strava for weekly courses and local running chatter.
First Selectwoman Jen Tooker honored Westport’s 11U Little League district all-star state champion team yesterday. Each player received a commendation for their “hard work and perseverance.”
Rear (from left):1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Nolan Walters, Wyatt Johnson, Justin Goldshore, Henry Ellis, Toby Slavin Jack McGrath, coach Jon Ellis, Dylan Burdeshaw, coach Marc Theisinger, manager Justin Walters Front: Torrey Rossetter, Chase Landgraf, Luke Moneyhon, Grant Theisinger, Miles Delorier, Christopher Lambert.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo is a bit different than most.
Maggie Boroujerdi writes: “Tuesday’s much-needed rain revived our dry stream along Morningside Drive North and Keenes Road.
“We’re relatively new to the neighborhood. At the bus stop the other morning, neighbors said this is the first year they’ve seen the little stream dry up completely, for weeks. I took this photo:
In 2010, Anna and Shawn Rycenga went house hunting. She was the land use director in Oxford, Connecticut; he worked in New York City.
Westport was in between. It had all the amenities: excellent schools, great children’s activities, beaches. But something else attracted the couple too.
As they drove through Westfair Village, they saw kids riding bikes, and adults walking dogs. It had a true neighborhood feel.
The Rycengas bought a home on Westfair Drive. Twelve years later, they’re still there.
And still very happy.
Westfair Village — nestled between Post Road East and North Bulkley Avenue — is little known outside of the area. Its profile is as low-key as the Westfair Center strip mall it sits behind, across the Post Road from Stop & Shop.
A home on Fairport Drive.
But with over 100 homes, a couple hundred children, and a year-long calendar of fun events, it’s one of Westport’s last true “neighborhoods,” in all the community-minded, hometown senses of the word.
It’s had a long time to create traditions. Westfair Village was built right after World War II by developer B.V. Brooks Sr., for beneficiaries of the GI bill.
Located on an old onion farm, the circular streets featured modest Capes on 1/3-acre lots. He named the roads “Westfair” and “Fairport” (combinations of Westport and nearby Fairfield) as well as “Dexter” (the nickname of his son, B.V. Jr.) and “Brook” (presumably short for his own last name). It’s not clear what the 5th street — Hunting Lane — is named for.
In the nearly 80 years since then, Westfair Village has seen many changes. Homeowners added 2nd floors to the original Capes, rebuilt their interiors, and enlarged their small houses. Some became teardowns, replaced by bigger homes. Large trees provide shade, on once-open lots.
Anna Rycenga estimates 14 or 15 original homes remain.
This home in Westfair Village started out as a Cape. The 2nd floor was added later, and the floor plan — the same in every home — was reworked.
As younger families like hers moved in, Anna wanted to make sure they felt welcome. She created a neighborhood directory.
That made organizing a block party easy. The first, in 2013, included a live band. Anna — who loves to cook — provided the food. It’s now become one of the highlights of the year.
Tables laden with food sit on lawns. People dance in the streets.
The block party has become an annual end-of-September tradition.
Westfair girls … (Photo/Anna Rycenga)
But the block party is just one part of a full year of fun. There are holiday parties, chili cook-offs, Easter egg hunts.
On the first day of school, mothers enjoy a “MOMosa” bar. On the last day, dozens of boys and girls ride their bikes to Long Lots Elementary.
… and guys. (Photo/Anna Rycenga)
Friday ice cream trucks are a much-loved new tradition. Westport’s Police and Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services are all invited (and eat free). Children clamber in and out of police cars and fire trucks.
If Stevan Dohanos was alive, he’d paint the scene for the Saturday Evening Post (if it was alive too).
Friday ice cream: a neighborhood tradition. (Photo/Anna Rycenga)
The pandemic accelerated the influx of families with young children.
It also made social connections harder. But parents organized a socially distant Halloween parade. And people set out lawn chairs by their driveways, and chatted with their neighbors and passersby.
“I feel blessed to live in Westport as a town, and in this neighborhood especially,” Anna Rycenga says.
Police and kids hang together. (Photo/Anna Rycenga)
Peggy Lehn agrees. She’s lived there for 30 years. She’s thrilled at the energy and sense of community the young families have brought.
“”I was sad to see some of the older residents move on,” Peggy says. “But the new residents have embraced this wonderful neighborhood. There is a real sense of community here: kids riding bikes, people walking dogs.
“And always, a wave and a smile.”
(“06880” is all about building community too. Please click here to help us do that.)
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He’s spoken with Homes with Hope executive director Helen McAlinden. He learned about the non-profit’s many programs — the Gillespie men’s shelter and Hoskins Place for homeless women; supportive housing initiatives, and programs like Project Return — and is all in for the cause.
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