It’s fast and easy. Check it out, and check at least one worry off your list.
And speaking of Election Day:
If you’re not yet registered, but eligible: You can register on Election Day (Tuesday, November 3, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) in the Town Hall auditorium.
Get there early — it takes a bit of time. Bring proof of identity (driver’s license, learner’s permit, Social Security card) and proof of residence in Westport (lease, paycheck, bank statement, property tax bill, naturalization documents, college registration, passport, utility bill, etc.).
But the time and energy that used to go into costumes has in many cases been turned to making lawns, yards and porches look spooky.
Yesterday was the deadline to register for Westport’s Parks & Recreation Department House Decoration Contest.
All around town you’ll see scenes like this. Whitney D’Angelo’s 10-year-old son Michael designed this, and many other scenes at their Westfair Drive home.
Good luck, Michael — and everyone else who entered the contest! Winners will be announced soon.
(Photo/Whitney D’Angelo)
Russ Mitchell, co-CEO of Mitchells, will be run his 4th New York City marathon this Sunday — well, his own COVID-friendly version, anyway.
Russ will run from Westport to Darien. He’ll raise funds for Shatterproof, a national nonprofit aimed at reversing America’s addiction crisis.
Russ — a Shatterproof board member — has raised nearly $60,000 over the past 4 years. Click here for his fundraising page.
Russ Mitchell
And finally … are you ready for Halloween?
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Posted onOctober 30, 2020|Comments Off on Check It Out: Anna Deavere Smith, International Film Festival At The Library
The Westport Library produces 2 signature events each year.
“Booked for the Evening” has brought Big Names like Alan Alda, Patti Smith, Martin Scorsese, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tom Brokaw to the library stage.
The Malloy Lecture in the Arts is just as impressive. Salman Rushdie, Christopher Plummer, Joyce Carol Oates, Arthur Miller and Christo have all inspired audiences with their insights.
COVID knocked out last spring “Booked” event. But the 2020 Malloy Lecture is on the books — virtually, of course.
Anna Deavere Smith is this year’s speaker. The event is Tuesday, November 10 (7 p.m.).
Anna Deavere Smith
Smith — a playwright, actor and educator — explores issues of community, character and diversity in America. The MacArthur Foundation gave her a “genius” grant, citing her creation of “a new form of theatre — a blend of theatrical art, social commentary, journalism, and intimate reverie.”
In 2012, President Obama awarded her a National Humanities Medal.
Smith travels the country, “absorbing America.” She performs portrayals of people she’s met, recreating a diversity of emotions and points of view on controversial issues. She has crafted more than 15 one-woman shows, transforming herself into an astonishing number of characters.
Her most recent play, “Notes from the Field,” examines the school-top-prison pipeline, and inequality in low-income communities. It won an Obie Award, and Time called it one of the Top 10 plays of the year.
Currently, Smith appears on “Black-ish” and “For the People.” She may be most recognizable as the hospital administrator on “Nurse Jackie,” and the national security advisor on “The West Wing.”
“Booked for the Evening” is a fundraiser; tickets are priced accordingly. Malloy Lectures, on the other hand, are free. They were established by longtime Westporter, arts patron and philanthropist Susan Malloy in 2002. She died in 2015, at 91.
For more information about Anna Deavere Smith’s appearance, and a link to free registration, click here.
But that’s not all that’s happening downtown by the river.
Couldn’t get to the Tribeca or South by Southwest Film Festival? Looking for entertainment while cooped up during COVID?
As it so often does, the Westport Library rides to the rescue.
“Short Cuts” — a short film festival — screens virtually on Thursday, November 12 (7 p.m.).
The event is a collaboration with Westport’s JIB Productions. Thanks to the library’s state-of-the-art technology, viewers will enjoy a professional experience.
The films will be followed by a discussion among 3 directors, and “Short Cuts” producer Nancy Diamond. The talkback has been a key to “Short Cuts”‘ success as a live event for the past 10 years.
The virtual format means that filmmakers will appear live from where they live. That includes New Zealand and Texas.
The “Short Cuts” films:
Single an “anti-romantic comedy challenging preconceived notions of life with a disability
Coup d’Etat Math: 4 immigrant stories using graphic animation.
Tapes: The discovery of an old recording leads to an awkward and raucous family dinner.
Dirty Laundry follows the misadventures of 2 foreigners trying to dispose of an old washing machine.
Liliu: Based on a true story; director Jeremiah Tauamiti was inspired by his own journey as a high chief from his Samoan village.
Tickets for the films and talkback are $25. Click here to purchase.
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There’s a lot going on over the next few days. First Selectman Jim Marpe says:
Westporters should know that there has been an increasing number of calls to town departments from residents who do not wish to accept trick-or-treaters at their doors this year. Parents and youth who are considering trick-or-treating this year should consider alternate plans for the holiday, because many homes may not be participating.
The Centers for Disease Control considers traditional trick-or-treating to be a high-risk activity and should be avoided. It recommends alternatives with lower risk activities and small events that allow for reduced exposure and ease of contact tracing. Reminder: The state has capped the number of attendees at all private indoor gatherings at 25.
To discourage large crowds, Compo Beach and the Soundview parking lot will be closed to parking at 3 p.m. this Saturday.
In addition, today (Thursday) is the deadline to submit photos to the Westport Parks and Recreation Department’s House Decorating Contest (mrobbins@westportct.gov). To register and for more information, click here.
Boo!
This weekend in Westport, you can join the Westport Museum of History and Culture Cemetery Lantern Tour. The ticket fee is a donation to the museum. It’s safe, fun, family appropriate and includes a goodie bag. For more information, click here.
But wait! There’s more!
Election Day is Tuesday (November 3). If you already have a ballot, use the official drop box behind
For same-day voting registration, polling places and additional information, click here.
In-person voters must wear masks. The Westport Police Department recognizes that everyone should be comfortable and feel safe when voting at polling sites, and has taken appropriate security measures.
The drop box behind Town Hall. (Photo/Pippa Bell Ader)
PS: Don’t forget to turn your clocks back Saturday night. Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday!
In a first for Staples High School sports — and perhaps for any team anywhere in the country — the boys soccer team broadcast last night’s match at Norwalk on a drive-in movie screen.
With a limited number of spectators allowed due to COVID at most schools — and Norwalk banning even parents — the Wreckers have livestreamed all their games this year.
GKess Films of Cheshire provide high-def quality video. WWPT-FM students provide play-by-play; alumni athletes, former coaches and other soccer aficionados add color commentary.
Cars filled with parents, siblings, younger players and random soccer fans headed to the Remarkable Theater Imperial Avenue parking lot for tailgating, and the game. They honked their horns and flashed their lights when Haydn Siroka and Alan Fiore scored early goals, and when Sebi Montoulieu saved a penalty kick.
Staples won 2-1 — their 3rd consecutive victory — and perhaps a new tradition was born.
A scene from the big screen at the Remarkable Theater. (Photo/Neil Brickley)
Good news from the Westport Library!
Starting Monday, November 9, they’ll expand hours, institute cart-side pick-up, and will offer access to the media studios, Maker Space and Children’s Department (by appointment).
New hours are Monday through Friday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). The Library will remain closed on Sunday.
Patrons can browse for materials in the Library, place them on hold remotely, or do so by calling 203-291-4807. Items placed on hold can be picked up in the tent outside the building at any time during operating hours. This replaces the current curbside pick-up arrangement.
Delivery services will continue for residents who are homebound or in a high-risk category that prevents them from visiting the Library.
The Library is also adding printing services to its 3 Express computers. and will reintroduce loans from in-state Libraries.
Shopping in the Library store will continue in person or virtually by appointment. Click here to schedule.
The Library will continue to limit the number of people in the building to 100 at any time.
Tony Award-winning actor and noted director James Naughton is also a noted animal advocate. He writes:
Having lived in Weston for 43 years, and been raised in Connecticut, I count myself very lucky to have shared this wonderful, woodsy environment with nature’s creatures.
Just in the last 6 months while sequestered, we were entertained daily by a couple of foxes raising their 5 little kits in our yard, then a family of groundhogs and a raccoon family. Owls hoot in the woods , hawks circle overhead, and we watch out for fawns crossing the roads.
When some of these animals aren’t so lucky — hey are orphaned or encounter an automobile they (and we) are lucky to have a place to take them right here.
Dara and Peter Reid created Wildlife in Crisis, and have been its stewards for over 30 years.
Normally, they take in 5,000 animals a year. This year they’ve taken in an unusually large number of creatures–and they need our help.
They’re a 501C3, and depend on charitable contributions. Click here, and watch a 10-minute video of them releasing back into the wild some of the animals they’ve raised or rehabilitated.
It’s inspiring, and a delight to show to your children and grandchildren. Then please: Make a donation.
Jim Naughton with a baby possum.
Speaking of famous Weston residents: This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. The other day, singer-songwriter Jose Feliciano popped into a Norwalk TV studio to talk with Telemundo about the jazzy, jangly classic.
Click here to see. The interview is in Spanish. But if you don’t speak it: no hay problema.
The song — and Jose’s exubertant personality — are universal.
Want $10,000?
Saturday (October 31) is the deadline to apply for a Westport Young Woman’s League Super Grant.
They’re awarded to local organizations working in areas like food insecurity, education, and health and wellness.
Despite the impact of COVID on fundraising, the WYWL continues to support our community. For a grant application, click here. To learn more, click here.
Halloween is not yet here.
But Christmas is, at Anthropologie downtown.
Can spring be far behind?
(Photo/Amy Schneider)
And finally … thanks to Jose Feliciano and Anthropologie, “06880” officially kicks off the holiday season:
Saugatuck residents worried about over-development have spent years battling a proposed 187-unit complex on Hiawatha Lane.
Now they’ve got a new fear. And it’s out of Westport’s hands.
There’s a plan to built a warehouse and distribution center at 10 Norden Place.
That’s in East Norwalk. It’s accessible off Route 136 (Saugatuck Avenue/Winfield Street). And it is very close to Hiawatha Lane.
The proposed Norden Place warehouse and distribution center is shown in yellow. Tractor-trailer routes are marked in green and purple. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
What does “warehouse and distribution center” mean?
According to Save Old Saugatuck, the Norden property — which once housed an electronics company, then became an office park and has now added apartments — would be the site of a 330,000-square foot facility. It would draw 198 tractor-trailers — 62 to 67 feet long — and 376 cars each day.
SOS foresees “possible 24 hour operations.”
The distribution facility would include 19 loading docks, for 3 to 5 tenants occupying 60,000 to 100,000 square feet each.
The tenant mix would be unknown until the applicant receives zoning approval, purchases the building and begins leasing space.
Artists’ rendering of a distribution center.
Save Old Saugatuck warns, “This Norden Place warehouse will affect Westport’s Exit 17 and surrounding traffic.”
Tractor-trailers can’t fit under the railroad bridge (though god knows plenty of drivers try). So some would take the I-95 exit, head north on Riverside Avenue, then take a sharp turn onto Post Road West and continue on to Strawberry Hill Avenue.
“Our Norwalk neighbors came out to support us when we had to fight (the Hiawatha proposal) before the Norwalk Zoning Commission,” SOS says.
“It is critical for those of us who live in the SOS neighborhood to now give our support to our Norwalk neighbors. Support is in the form of petitions, emails, or open-to-public virtual meeting attendance.”
For nearly 30 years, a group of 10 or so swimmers have met at Compo Beach — at 6 a.m. They swim 1 to 2 miles. Several shower there, dress in their (non-bathing) suits, and head to the train station.
They swim from May to November — in wet suits at the start and end of the season. Here they were, last week:
Posted onOctober 28, 2020|Comments Off on Halloween Store Painting Windows Announced
Once upon a time, kids soaped up car windows on Halloween. (That was the “trick” part, if they didn’t get — or didn’t like — their treats.)
Today we live in a much gentler society. So the only windows painted this year were courtesy of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce’s annual contest.
Nearly 100 children participated. They painted 55 store windows, all over town. Both are records.
Judges Ruth Mannes and Anne Greenberg call the competition “fierce. It was clear that all the kids who participated really put their all into their artwork,”
The winning windows get ribbons. The winning artists get a certificate — and a gift card to Donut Crazy. How’s that for a treat!
And the winners are …
Elementary
SCARIEST: Perri Schleef, grade 5, Weston Elementary School (Baker Graphics)
BEST HALLOWEEN THEME: Calvin Carreras, grade 1, Long Lots; helpers Julian Carreras and Aaron Slomich (1st Nail Spa)
MOST ORIGINAL (tie): Caroline Hammond, grade 2, Saugatuck (Stiles Market)
Chloe Robbin, grade 2, Long Lots (Fleet Feet)
Middle School
SCARIEST: Sophie Jacques, grade 6, Housatonic Valley Waldorf School (Stephen Kempson)
BEST HALLOWEEN: Sally Nathan, grade 6, Bedford (Cycleology)
MOST ORIGINAL: Hailey Kiperman, grade 6, The Southport School (Restore Hyper Wellness + Cryotherapy)
Alert — and very, very grateful — “06880” reader Heidi Curran writes:
The other day I lived a nightmare when my dog Milo went missing from Winslow Park.
After 20 minutes of searching with a couple of incredibly kind strangers, we learned that a dog fitting his description had been hit by a car on Compo Road North and Tamarac.
A dog walker named Sarah had seen him, stopped to try and catch him, then witnessed the accident when he ran across the road. She lost him, but had the foresight to alert Animal Control and post the details on Facebook’s Westport Front Porch page.
The power of social media! I immediately posted on Westport Front Porch too.
Amie Peck, a resident of that area, spread the word very quickly. Before we knew it, many of my good friends and many good strangers were mobilized to find Milo.
I literally heard Milo’s name called out all over town.
Milo
He somehow made his way up to the area of North Avenue and Terhune Drive. I got a call around 2 p.m. from Caroline Luke Ugolyn. She tried her best to catch him, but he was frightened and disoriented.
Again, friends and neighbors came to search the area. More people got involved, making posters, sending texts, offering to buy food, contacting other friends and neighbors to get the word out.
At dusk we were still searching. As darkness and fog descended, people were out calling his name.
At 8 p.m. I received a text from my friend Sarah Daw. She me in touch with Laura and Eily Tucker. I couldn’t believe it: They had him!
They were on North Avenue and Terhune. 9-year-old Eily was feeding him treats, while Laura had him contained. Thankfully my husband and son were near there. They got to him in seconds.
He has been checked by the vet. While he’s a little sore and exhausted, he has no injuries. We are beyond delighted to have him home safe and sound.
I cannot tell you how overwhelmed with love and gratitude I am for the communities of Westport, Weston, Wilton and beyond. The incredible outpouring of concern on social media, the advice, the ideas, the sharing of information and the people involved with his search was simply breathtaking.
Thanks to everyone for your messages, whether by text, phone calls or Facebook posts.
Without everyone’s help we would not have found him unharmed. I hope through “06880” I can reach every person involved — friends, families and strangers — to convey our thanks and gratitude for everything you have done for us.
The Winslow Park dog community.
It’s impossible to name every person, but here are a few:
Sarah, the lady who initially spotted him and got the word out
Marnee, the kind lady from the dog park
Ana the dog walker, and the Winslow dog walking community
Kristina Andrew and Malcolm Boyd
Andrew Kindt
Aimee Peck
Erika Sales
Anne, Eugene and Cameryn Brink
Lucy Dasbach
Lori Kosut
Katie Lynch
Mark Rubino
John Karrel
Linda and Verity Abel
Laura and Eily Tucker
Caroline Luke Ugolyn
Sile Marrinan
Suzanne Knesich
Stacy Greiss
Alex, Dave and Ryan Cirasuolo
Lisa Aldridge and family
Lisa Sabino
Celia from the dog park
Silvia and Todd Coleman
The Polys
So many kind strangers, neighbors and Facebook friends!
I am so sorry if I have not mentioned you. You know who you are, and we are forever grateful.
Posted onOctober 28, 2020|Comments Off on Roundup: Justin Paul, MoCA, STAR Award, More
Justin Paul already won a Tony Award for “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Now the 2003 Staples High School graduate has an Olivier too.
On Sunday, the show — which opened in London last November — earned 2 prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards. They’re the British equivalent of Tonys, for plays performed there.
Paul and his writing partner Benj Pasek were honored for “Best Original Score.” “Dear Evan Hansen” was also named Best New Musical.
The ceremony was originally scheduled for April, in Royal Albert Hall. After COVID, it was postponed to Sunday. Most of the ceremony was pre-taped, at the London Palladium. Click here for full details.
Justin Paul (Photo/Dan Woog)
Stress levels are high leading to Election Day. Even after voting, many residents will no doubt feel anxious.
So how about feeding your soul with some art? “World Peace” — the current exhibit at MoCA Westport, a multi-media show including photography, sculpture, video works and art that address the culture of American politics will be free, and open to the public, on Election Day (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Just show your “I Voted” sticker (or mention you voted by absentee ballot). Click here for more about the exhibit.
MoCA is also hosting an Election Day workshop for children and teenagers, featuring voting-related projects related to the show. There are 2 sessions: 10 a.m. to noon, and 2-4 p.m. Click here for details.
For nearly 70 years, STAR Lighting the Way has provided services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families.
Services include education, after-school and summer camp programs, behavioral interventions, advocacy, job training, residential support, and much, much more.
STAR is a shining light in Fairfield County. I am honored, through “06880,” to spotlight so many good things the organization does.
So I was especially proud to receive this year’s “Media Partner of the Year” award from STAR. The handsome glass award sits on my desk, a reminder of what a wonderful community we are all part of.
Among Martha Aasen’s many passions, Martha Aasen was particularly loyal to the Westport Library.
To honor the longtime civic volunteer, who died last week at 90, the library as created a Martha Aasen Memorial Fund.
Contributions will help fund ongoing programs and projects. A plaque near the daily newspapers will honor her commitment to the community. Click here to contribute.
Martha Aasen and her husband Larry.
Brittany Berlin graduated from Staples High School in 2012, and Georgetown University 4 years later.
She began a corporate career, then began a blog to share her passion for wholesome recipes accessible to people with food allergies and specific dietary concerns. The Banana Diaries features goodies with a healthy twist.
Simon & Schuster just published her first book. Baked with Love includes over 100 allergy-friendly vegan desserts — all developed and tested by Brittany. She took all the photos too.
Click here for details and ordering information. (Hat tip: Nathalie Fonteyne)
Sure, it’s another in what seems like a series of endless gray days.
But the sun shone (briefly) the other day. And Lori Lustig snapped this gorgeous reminder of why nothing — anywhere! — compares to autumn in New England:
(Photo/Lori Lustig)
And finally … in honor of Justin Paul’s Olivier Award:
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The films will be followed by a discussion among 3 directors, and “Short Cuts” producer Nancy Diamond. The talkback has been a key to “Short Cuts”‘ success as a live event for the past 10 years.
