Posted onFebruary 26, 2024|Comments Off on Eric Freeman: Role Model Steps Up As “A Better Chance” President
We all know the saying: “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
Eric Freeman is a busy man. A partner in a real estate investment firm, he travels frequently. He and his wife are raising young sons, and — as a former viola player — he sits on the board of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra.
But when he was asked several years ago to head up A Better Chance of Westport’s mentor program, he jumped at the chance.
He had enjoyed several informal meetings with the scholars at Glendarcy House, the local home for the national program that provides educational opportunities to academically-gifted and highly motivated young men of color.
A Better Chance of Westport mentors and scholars met at a fire pit last fall.
As a person of color himself, he understood the need for the ABC scholars to see people who looked like them, understood them, and were at the same time part of the Westport community that the scholars are now part of too.
When he got the chance to head up ABC’s mentorship program, he agreed. He organized chats around his fire pit, lunch meetings, outings and email conversations.
“They’ve got great resources,” he says of Westport’s embrace of A Better Chance. “This was one more outlet. I wanted to make sure it was meaningful.”
Eric Freeman
Role models come “in many shapes and sizes,” Freeman emphasizes. The scholars “have many. But it’s important for them to see people with similar backgrounds, so they don’t feel alone.”
When the program’s interim president stepped down, no one else immediately stepped up. Despite his busy work and travel schedule, and commitments to his own family. Freeman volunteered.
“This is a worthy cause. I’m proud to be part of it,” he says simply.
His term began last month.
“The directors to a phenomenal job,” Freeman says, of Dale Mauldin and Daniele Dickerson, who live at Glendarcy House. “They create an environment conducive to learning, and growing as young men.”
Freeman’s job is to “provide resources for the success and longevity of the organization.” That includes a long-range financial plan, and a marketing effort so that more Westporters know about A Better Chance of Westport.
“This town has abundant resources,” he notes. “People have worked hard in their careers. There is a certain privilege of living here, too. I hope we can get to them with our message.”
Eric Freeman and his wife Raquel.
Another long-range plan: an ABC House for young women, to augment the one that currently can support 8 young men.
As Freeman prepares for the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year — the “Dream Event” on April 27 at the Westport Library — he has a simple message to Westporters.
“Please support us. These young men are phenomenal. Think about it: You’re a 14-year-old in New York or New Jersey or somewhere else, and suddenly you come to Westport to live with strangers. It takes a lot to do that.
The 2023-24 A Better Chance of Westport scholars.
“So please support us, financially or with your time, or both. We’re always looking for host families, drivers, and people who can inspire our young men. We need everyone.”
(To learn more about A Better Chance of Westport, click here. To learn more about the April 27 Dream Event, and purchase tickets, click here.)
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Posted onJanuary 18, 2024|Comments Off on Roundup: De Tapas, Warming Centers, Trash Pickup …
De Tapas is closing.
The Spanish gastrobar on the Post Road next to Design Within Reach will serve its last meal on Sunday, January 28.
Owner Carlos Pia opened right after COVID, 2 winters ago. The restaurant was a leap of faith, after a career in corporate America. Click here for his compelling back story.
Then go say goodbye, and thank him for enhancing our dining scene.
Westport residents facing hardships due to the cold weather should contact Human Services for assistance: 203-341-1050 weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Just in time for the new year: Westport’s trash pickups begin again.
Representative Town Meeting member Andrew Colabella has organized the first 2024 session for Winslow Park. It’s this Sunday (January 21, 11 a.m.).
Volunteers will pick up garbage, and remove hazards from the walking paths. All are welcome. Dress warmly and appropriately!
A little snow should not deter Sunday’s trash pickup at Winslow Park.
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Westport Police made 3 custodial arrests between January 10 and 17.
A woman was arrested for larceny and identity theft, after a complaint that 9 checks had been stolen and fraudulently deposited into a bank account.
A man was arrested for identity theft and forgery, plus criminal attempts to commit larceny, identity theft and forgery, after a check for $249.65 was stolen, altered and deposited in the amount of $17,262.37.
A man was arrested for violation of a protective order and assault on an elderly victim, following a domestic disturbance.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 11 citations
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 6
Speeding: 3
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 3
For over a month last fall, an exhibition by 2 Westport artists enthralled visitors to the United Nations lobby.
Miggs Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion” — 30 lenticular photos, showing local residents using sign language to recite Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name, and Mark Yurkiw’s accompanying Braille “prayer wheel” mantra, based on those he saw in Bhutan (including a wheelchair-accessible element) — were displayed on a 102-foot curved wall.
On Tuesday, the two men described their accomplishment — the first-ever UN exhibit not sponsored by a member nation — at the Westport Rotary Club’s weekly lunch.
Their next project: sending the exhibit to venues around the world.
Mark Yurkiw and Miggs Burroughs, at the Rotary Club meeting. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Speaking of art: Longtime Staples High School teacher and mixed media artist Camille Eskell is featured in a new exhibit — (Re) Work it!: Women Artists on Women’s Labor,” at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury.
The show explores the many types of labor that women are often expected to manage – caring for their family, participating in the labor force, negotiating beauty standards, handling emotional labor and more.
A reception for the 30 artists is set for January 21 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The show runs through May 19. For more information, click here. To learn more about Eskell, click here.
Four of the 6 new members of the Westport Country Playhouse board of trustees are from Westport or Weston
Dave Altman is a principal for Bernstein Private Wealth Management.
Ben Frimmer is a theater arts educator with over 30 years’ experience, and the director of Coleytown Company. He produced the Playhouse fundraiser “An Evening with Justin Paul & Friends with Kelli O’Hara & James Naughton,” and will produce and direct “Voices for Volunteers of Fairfield County” on January 24.
Anne Keefe has served the Playhouse in many capacities since 1973, including associate and co-artistic director with Joanne Woodward. She initiated and curated the Script In Hand series. Formerly she stage managed at Long Wharf Theatre, McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, and on Broadway, and served previously on the Playhouse board.
Jonathan Levy is a Westport native, and an attorney who built a venture capital business.
Speaking of the Playhouse: Nearly everyone knows the name Vince Lombardi. The Super Bowl trophy is named for the legendary football coach.
Now you can learn the story behind that name.
The Broadway play — based on the book “When Pride Still Mattered,” by David Maraniss — kicks off the Westport Country Playhouse’s Script in Hand series on February 5 (7 p.m.).
Click here for more information, and to purchase tickets ($30).
Following up on October’s Westport Library presentation on helping families and communities prepare for emergencies, Voices Center for Resilience offers a free webinar.
“The Ripple Effect of Trauma” (January 23, 7 p.m.) explores how children experience tragedy, including building resilience.
This year — which despite economic headwinds, was a good one for many Westporters — as we buy presents for loved ones, friends, and people whose good graces we need to keep, we should also think about helping others.
Give what you can.
(Of course, helping them can also ease our own tax burdens next spring. This is still a great country!)
But who to give to?
Far be it for “06880” to say. So here is a list of some worthy local organizations. Each one has a clickable link 🙂
I know I’ve missed some. Rather than bite my head off (too un-Christmas-y), please mention them in the “Comments” section. I’ll add them to this list.
And please: Keep your suggestions local (southern Fairfield County). There are way too many very worthy national and international groups to include. Thank you!
06880: This blog — now a non-profit — sponsors community-wide events. Projects include the Holiday Stroll, the Lyman Ukraine sister city project, and collaborations with the Westport Library. “06880” also publishes this daily blog, to help create community.
Disabilities
Catch a Lift: Westport supports veterans through fitness programs Circle of Friends: Teens work with children with disabilities
CLASP: Group homes and opportunities Club 203: Provides fun, engaging activities for adults with disabilities MyTEAM Triumph: Road race support for children, adults and veterans New Canaan Mounted Troop: Youth development and therapeutic equestrian center serving children and adults with disabilities, and giving horses a second chance STAR Lighting the Way: Support for all ages Sweet P Bakery: Provides jobs for adults with learning disabilities; supplies The Porch at Christie’s with delicious baked goods
PROUD Academy: New school for LGBTQ+ students and allies, proving a safe, affirming learning community Triangle Community Center: Providing programs and resources for the LGBTQ+ community Westport Pride: Our town’s own LGBTQ+ organization — sponsors of the June festival, and much more
Literacy
Mercy Learning Center: Life skills training for low-income women Read to Grow: Promoting children’s literacy from birth, supporting parents as babies’ first teachers Westport Book Sales: Providing employment for people with disabilities — and offering books, while providing funds for the Westport Library Westport Library: They do it all!
Ukraine Aid International: Founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer, UAI ensures that donations go directly to Westport’s sister city of Lyman, Ukraine. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo.)
Women and girls
AWARE: “Assisting Women through Action, Resources and Education” Dress for Success Mid-Fairfield County: Empowering women by providing professional clothes and other support LiveGirl: Leadership development and mentoring for females, grades 5 through college Malta House: Shelter and programs for young pregnant women and their babies
There’s no such thing as a free lunch — at least, if you’re eating in or taking out downtown.
Downtown parking though, has always been free — for 1 or 2 hours.
During the pandemic, enforcement of parking limits was suspended.
Tickets may soon return — but only after those parking limits are extended.
The second agenda item on Wednesday’s Board of Selectwomen meeting (August 16, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium) reads:
Acting in its capacity as the Local Traffic Authority, to re-establish the enforcement of timed parking limits previously suspended by the Board of Selectmen at its public meeting of June 10, 2020, and further, to establish uniform parking limits and times of enforcement throughout the town-managed and owned downtown parking lots known as Parker Harding Plaza, Sigrid Shultz Plaza, Baldwin, Bay Street, Jesup Road, and Taylor, and the Town roadways known as Main Street, Church Lane, Bay Street, and Taylor Place, by changing FROM the currently posted “1- and 2- hour parking” limits TO “3-hour parking” limits and enforcement times TO “8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.” And further, to request permission from the CT DOT to change the current parking term limits posted on Post Road East FROM “1- and 2-hour parking” TO “3-hour parking.”
Click here for the livestream of the Board of Selectwomen session, or watch on Optimum Channel 79. Comments may be sent to selectwoman@westportct.gov prior to the meeting.
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The 3rd agenda item for Wednesday’s Board of Selectwomen’s meeting is also of interest: a request from the Remarkable Theater to use the Imperial Avenue parking lot from August 28 through November 3 for a 4th season of drive-in movies.
From 2020 through ’22, the Remarkable’s season began in the spring.
Jacqui O’Brien was one of several readers who sent photos of a strange object seen over Westport skies last night.
Susan Leone was the first to identify them as SpaceX Starlink satellites.
They were launched yesterday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 9th flight for the first stage booster supporting the mission.
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As first noted on “06880” over a year ago — but denied vociferously by Organic Krush — Sweetgreens is indeed moving in to Compo Shopping Center.
Organic Krush has already moved out.
No date has been announced for opening. But the fast-casual salad-based chain — which emphasizes healthy eating and sustainability, and has 158 outlets in 13 states — already has Westporters excited.
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The recent food drive for Homes with Hope’s Gillespie Center and food pantry — which included a special, fill-my-shopping-cart trip by a mother and 2 children — was celebrated yesterday, at the Sunrise Rotary Club’s weekly meeting.
The sponsors — including also the Westport Rotary Club, Westport Police Department and Saugatuck Rowing Club — presented a check for $1,105.62 to Homes with Hope.
Those cash donations were in addition to the hundreds of bags of groceries that were dropped off, as shoppers entered and exited the store.
From left: Liz Wong, Sunrise Rotary president; Rob Hauck, Rotary member; Helen McAlinden, Homes with Hope president; Paris Looney, HWH vice president, and Sunrise Rotary members Bruce Paul and Bruce Fritz. (Photo/James Wong)
The link provided yesterday by Wakeman Town Farm for their September 9 Harvest Fest fundraiser was incorrect. Click here for tickets, and more information.
But all can agree: the Smart Shots Pickleball Social is great.
The September 30 event (6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Milford Indoor Tennis) is a fundraiser for A Better Chance of Westport.
Level-designated courts will ensure exciting matches. Vendors will offer pickleball services and products. A raffle includes special prizes. The Porch @ Christie’s is providing food (available for pre-purchase).
The event is sponsored by ATP (Alan & Tina Pickleball). Click here to register. Questions? Call 203-984-1949.
And finally … anyone who saw the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” knows that Rodriguez’s story is astonishing.
The Detroit musician wrote and sang haunting protest songs. But he never found an audience, and settled into a life as a laborer and office worker.
He was “discovered” in Australia however — and then, even more so, in South Africa during apartheid. According to the New York Times:
“To many of us South Africans, he was the soundtrack to our lives,” Stephen Segerman, owner of a Cape Town record store, said in the documentary.
“In the mid-’70s, if you walked into a random white, liberal, middle-class household that had a turntable and a pile of pop records, and if you flipped through the records, you would always see ‘Abbey Road’ by the Beatles, you’d always see ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon and Garfunkel, and you would always see ‘Cold Fact’ by Rodriguez. To us, it was one of the most famous records of all time. The message it had was ‘Be anti-establishment.’”
Astonishingly, Rodriguez did not know he had fervent fans in South Africa. Equally astonishingly, South Africans thought he was dead. One rumor was a drug overdose; another, that he had killed himself onstage.
In 1998, he was discovered — alive, and living in obscurity in Detroit. He was invited to South Africa, and played concerts at sold-out venues.
He was “discovered” again more than a dozen years later, with the release of “Searching for Sugar Man” — a film about his strange but vibrant life.
Rodriguez — whose full name was Sixto Diaz Rodriguez — died Tuesday, in Detroit. He was 81.
Click here for a full obituary. Click below to hear Rodriguez.
(Have you recently discovered “06880”? Did you know we rely completely on reader support? Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Robin Tauck and the Westport Weston Family YMCA are teaming up again.
The former trustee, benefactor of the Robin Tauck Wellness Center and longtime executive with her family’s international travel company celebrates the Y’s 100-year anniversary with a $100,000 matching challenge.
From now through June 30, Robin will match every dollar donated at $500 and above. Funds will go toward new programs for seniors, adults, and youth that improve health outcomes.
They include fitness and well-being for arthritis, Parkinson’s, cancer management and other diseases, and special strength and conditioning program for youths.
Funds will also benefit the Y’s financial assistance program, serving under-resourced families and those in need.
Donors who contribute $1,000 or more will enjoy a special summer event.
Fore more details and to participate in the matching grant challenge, click here.
A pre-Mothers Day pop-up shopping event This Friday (May 12, 12-4 p.m., Yoga45, 201 Main Street) benefits A Better Chance of Westport.
A portion of sales will go to the local organization, which for 20 years has offered educational opportunities to academically gifted young men of color.
It’s a great way to shop local, at a women-owned store, for Mom — and for a great cause!
Among many other things, Verso Studios and the Westport Library are becoming a film hub for movie buffs throughout the area.
On May 19 (7 p.m., the Lundberg Family Foundation Masters Film Series launches, to tie it all together.
The first event is the Connecticut premiere of the documentary “Heaven Stood Still: The Incarnations of Willy DeVille.” Area residents Chris Frantz and Crispin Cioe are featured in the film.
A Q&A after the showing with the filmmakers, including the filmmakers; Frantz and Cioe, and DeVille’s niece.
The Lundberg Family Foundation Masters Film Series will showcase films and filmmakers. It bridges independent production and established innovation. Special screenings coupled with master classes will “educate and inspire on modes of production and storytelling craft, as well as technical, philosophical, and historical aspects.”
Master classes on June 14 and 21 will focus on techniques to convert a film concept into a compelling documentary story.
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Brown University 1968 Bernicestine McLeod Bailey adds another degree later this month. The IT leader and longtime advocate for inclusion of alumni of color will receive an honorary degree — doctor of humane letters — at the commencement ceremony.
Following her career as an IBM systems engineer, she established McLeod Associates, a pioneering minority-owned IT consulting firm.
McLeod Bailey is a founding member of TEAM Westport, and former board member of the Westport Library and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.
At Brown, she is a longtime member of the Pembroke Center Advisory Council and served as founding chair of its Archives Committee with a focus on elevating gender history. She has established funds to support undergraduate diversity and initiatives highlighting Black history at the university.
McLeod Bailey served as a Brown trustee from 2001 to 2007, and is an honorary lifetime member of the President’s Advisory Council on Diversity. She also received the Brown Bear Award, the Brown Alumni Association’s highest volunteer honor.
McLeod Bailey and her husband, Brown alumnus Harold Bailey Jr., are the parents of Brown alumni Aisha (Class of 1999) and Harold III (Class of 2003).
Andrew Colabella — RTM member and all-things-Westport booster — planted 100 bulbs.
Another 400 are coming this fall, he promises.
Andrew Colabella, with a bulb at the Minute Man monument. (Photo/Jimmy Izzo)
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Former Westporter Kristin Erickson died April 25 in New Fairfield. She was 62.
She studied at Northfield Mount Hermon, Denison and Southern Connecticut State Universities, and a earned a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University.
As a hospice social worker, Kristin had “a remarkable capacity to show up for people and their families in very dark moments.” She was passionate about death with dignity, access to mental health resources, and caring for senior dogs and dogs with high needs. She was recently certified as a death doula.
Kristin and her former husband Dan Carpenter raised 3 children in Fairfield. They were her pride and joy. Her family says, “she was a creative, goofy, and above all, deeply loving mother. She also filled roles as a cool aunt, second mom to her kid’s friends, and dedicated dog mom.”
Kristin spent the past years between West Palm Beach and New Fairfield with her partner Ken Green and his dogs. She spent a lot of time with her mom, Sue, as well. Kristin had recently become certified as a death doula and had continued to hold space for people at the end of their lives.
Kristin is survived by her parents, Susan and George Erickson; children Nell, Guthrie and Aria Carpenter; siblings Jon and Martha Erickson and their partners Jayne and Bones; nieces Riley, Mullein, Romy, and Faye, and many lifelong friends.
n lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Compassion & Choices, a non-profit Kristin was passionate about.
Kristin Erickson
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There’s always something different to see from Grace Salmon Park.
Patricia McMahon framed this “Westport … Naturally shot beautifully, as spring comes to the popular Saugatuck River spot:
(Photo/Patricia McMahon)
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And finally … in honor of Bernicestine McLeod Bailey’s honorary degree from Brown (story above), here is the world’s greatest college fight song.
Sorry, Michigan and Notre Dame. But this one’s clearly the best.
(Be ever true to “06880”! Please click here to support your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Posted onApril 4, 2023|Comments Off on “06880” Podcast: Dale Mauldin And Daniele Dickerson, ABC Executive Directors
On Saturday, hundreds of friends and supporters enjoyed the 20th annual A Better Chance of Westport Dream Event.
Among the highlights: heartfelt speeches by 3 alums, on the impact the program — which brings young men of color from underserved communities to Staples High School — has had on them.
Earlier in the day, nearly a dozen grads from the past 20 years returned to Glendarcy House, where the current scholars live. They met with the teens, and executive directors Dale Mauldin and Daniele Dickerson.
Dale and Daniele have taken ABC to a new level. Serving in multi-faceted roles — “house parents,” mentors, role models, confidantes and friends — they help the ABC scholars adapt to life in an unfamiliar town, and a challenging high school.
They (and their young daughter Sage) have created a safe, loving environment. The other day, Dale and Daniele joined me at the Westport Library, for a very interesting and insightful podcast.
They talked about the journey that brought them to Westport (spoiler alert: Daniele was part of the Ridgefield ABC program in high school); the challenges of “parenting” a house full of teenage boys, and the importance of A Better Chance — not just to the scholars, but to the town of Westport.
Click below, for an engaging and informative half hour.
Comments Off on “06880” Podcast: Dale Mauldin And Daniele Dickerson, ABC Executive Directors
Last night’s A Better Chance of Westport “Dream Event” was everything a fundraising gala should be.
The venue was exciting (Pinstripes at the SoNo Collection). There was plenty of food, but no sit-down dinner, so there everyone mingled. Silent auction items were fresh, and fun.
Best of all: The speeches were few, but deeply meaningful. Several alumni of the program — which brings students of color from underserved schools to Westport, where they attend Staples High School and give back to the community as much as they get — returned for the 20th annual event.
ABC grads live all across the country now. They’re establishing (or in the middle of!) their own careers, starting their own families.
But nearly a dozen of them spent yesterday at Glendarcy House, speaking with and mentoring the current scholars (who also were guests at the gala).
Three — Savion Agard (Staples Class of 2007, Cornell University ’11), Luis Cruz (SHS ’15, Boston College ’19) and Adrian Belvitt (SHS ’16, Colgate University ’20) — spoke passionately about the generosity of Westporters, and the impact the program made on them.
Yet it was clear from the night that A Better Chance makes at least a strong impact on our community.
Yesterday’s United Methodist Church Easter Egg hunt was so much fun, they’re doing it again — today (Sunday, 2 p.m., 49 Weston Road).
Everyone is invited to “Rabbit Hill.” (Yes, that’s the legit name. The previous owner of the property was Robert Lawson — author/illustrator of the beloved children’s series.)
Yesterday’s United Methodist Church Easter Egg hunt.
The New York Yankees are winners, on and off the field.
They’ve arranged for a portion of ticket sales from their June games against the Texas Rangers to benefit Pink Aid.
For more than a decade, the organization has provided support, resources and emergency financial assistance to underserved breast cancer patients and their families. Pink Aid has helped more than 20,000 patients throughout Connecticut and 38 other states.
The games are June 23 (7:05 p.m.), 24 (4:05 p.m.) and 25 (1:35 p.m.). Tickets include 1 hot dog, a drink and baseball cap. Click here to reserve a seat.
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Steve Lillywhite — whose record producing credits include the Rolling Stones, U2, the Dave Matthew Band, Phish, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, the Psychedelic Furs, XTC, Morrissey, the Pogues, Guster, the Killers and more — regaled a large VersoFest crowd yesterday with tales from his long career.
The conversation — with Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club founder Chris Frantz — was one of the highlights of Day 3 of the music-and-media Westport Library event.
Among Lillywhite’s remarks: Our Weston neighbor Keith Richards is one of the “most bohemian people” he know. The Rolling Stone guitarist may wake up at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. “It doesn’t matter. He’s good with that.”
Steve Lillywhite, Chris Frantz, and some of the record producer’s work, at the Westport Library’s Trefz Forum. (Photo and hat tip/Dinkin Fotografix)
In the evening Frantz interviewed Richard Butler, lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs (and now an accomplished artist).
That session also served as this year’s Malloy Lecture on the Arts.
Richard Butler and Chris Frantz (Photo/Dinkin Fotografix)
Also at VersoFest yesterday: A workshop on the Grateful Dead’s 1974 wall of sound, with a 1/20th-to-scale working version. The model was led by its creator, former Weston resident Anthony Coscia.
Attendees made their own speakers, after learning about the evolution of sound and the need for better amplification for larger and larger venues in the 1960s.
The Wall of Sound, and workshop participants. (Photo and hat tip/Matthew Mandell)
VersoFest concludes today (Sunday), with a record fair and panel, workshops on audio and hip hop, an Alice Cooper documentary and artifacts exhibit, the Wall of Sound scale model, and more. Click here for a full schedule.
Easter and Passover are almost here, so let’s think about … Mother’s Day!
It’s May 14. And Wakeman Town Farm offers handmade bouquets (not, they emphasize, “supermarket flowers.”
Each spring bouquet comes in a Mason jar tied with gray leather criss-cross cord, designed by Sarah Shaw Floral Design exclusively for WTF.
Orders will be taken through May 3. Pickup is Saturday, May 6, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Farm
A portion of the proceeds supports Wakeman Town Farm programs. Click here to order.
Say it with flowers.
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The Democratic Women of Westport’s Souper Luncheon is a decades-long tradition.
On Friday, they celebrated with a twist. Pippa Adler and Dawn Sullivan — who coordinate Sustainable Westport’s Zero Food Waste Challenge — helped them create a planet-friendly event.
The pair told the DWW to avoid plastic water bottles and plastic wrap (use pitchers, real glasses and aluminum foil). No disposable plates — just old-fashioned glass or ceramic ones.
Paper napkins were okay if they were compostable — and the compost bag should be nearby, for any (minimal) food waste.
DWW ordered branded refillable mugs made partly out of wheat straw (a wheat byproduct that typically gets treated as waste). Guests were encouraged to use them as part of Sustainable Westport’s “Refill Not Landfill” program at local coffee shops.
There were even reusable magnetic name tags.
This year’s guest was Secretary of the State (and Norwalk resident) Stephanie Thomas. She discussed her first few months in office, encouraged advocacy for important issues — plugged green businesses.
Democratic Women of Westport members Sherry Gordon, Candice Savin and Lee Goldstein, with magnetic name tags.
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Longtime Westporter Rita Leyden died last month, at 85.
private family ceremony on Compo Beach to honor Tom and Rita Leyden, their four granddaughters walked across Soundview Drive toward Fairfield Avenue in a familiar style.
On Thursday, family members gathered at Compo Beach to honor her and her late husband Tom.
Afterwards, their 4 granddaughters walked across Soundview Drive, toward the Leydens’ Fairfield Avenue home of nearly 55 years, in familiar fashion.
André DeShields — a Tony Award winner for “Hadestown”– highlights a Westport Country Playhouse Sunday Symposium, following the April 16 matinee of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” He’ll discuss the significance and history of the Tony Award-winning show.
DeShields was an original Broadway cast member of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” He also performed on its 1982 television broadcast and won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement.
The Symposium is free, and open to the public (click here to register). It will begin around 5 p.m. Performance tickets are not needed to attend.
For years, TAP Strength has been many things to (and for) many people.
The downtown center offers personal training, soft tissue therapy, injury prevention, injury recovery, circuit training, performance coaching, mobility and stretching. They also just hosted CPR classes for Westport EMS.
Now they’ve added yoga and sound bath classes.
The schedule includes a Wednesday night yoga class beginning April 12 (6 to 7 p.m.), and regular sound bath meditations..
To sign up for classes, performance coaching and therapy, or for more information, click here.
Questions? Email Nancy@tapstrength.com, or call 203-292-9353.
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Sorelle Gallery’s new exhibit, On View, opens Friday (April 7).
Three artists are featured: Linda Bigness, Tony Iadicicco and Nealy Hauschildt.
Their works ranges from Bigness’ floral encaustic paintings using beeswax, damar resin, and pigment, to Iadicicco’s work with thin layers of oil paint, and Hauschildt’s watercolor paper.
The show runs through April 29. Click here for more information.
Sorelle Gallery show.
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Jazz comes to MoCA Westport on April 21 (7 p.m.).
Sax player Eddie Barbash brings his unique sound — and string quartet — for the evening.
Tickets are $40; $25 for students and seniors. MoCA members receive a 15% discount. Click here to reserve.
Eddie Barbash
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Now that dogs are banned from the beach, dinosaurs may take over.
This one was spotted yesterday, at Compo. It’s the first one we’ve featured on “Westport … Naturally.”
Hey … once upon a time, they roamed the earth.
(Photo/Patricia McMahon)
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And finally … Keith Reid — the lyricist of “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” and many other deep and dramatic songs by Procol Harum — last week in London. He was 76, and had battled cancer.
Posted onMarch 12, 2023|Comments Off on Roundup: Class Of ’72, ABC Dream Event, Garden Club Poetry …
Fifty years after graduation, the Staples High School Class of 1972 has not forgotten their alma mater.
For last summer’s half-century (!) reunion, classmates contributed extra funds to help anyone who wanted to attend but could not afford the expense.
When money remained, reunion committee member Mike Elliot had an idea: purchase a Class of ’72 bench for the Staples courtyard. It could be placed it next to a sculpture of dancers by Steffi Freidman — mother of classmate Margie Friedman.
Mike elicited the help of several Staples grads, including ’72 alums Buck Iannacone and Jim Deegan, plus John Rizzi of Rizzi Design Studio (Class of ’74),
Westport Public Schools director of facilities Ted Hunyadi did a great job installing the finished product in the courtyard.
It’s there now, ready for use. And it bears a plaque: “Sit, relax and enjoy! A gift from the Staples Class of 1972.”
Enjoying the bench, clockwise from upper left: Mike Elliot, Joan Wright, Prill Plantinga Boyle and Ann Becker Moore. Missing: John Friedson,
Tickets are going fast for A Better Chance of Westport’s 20th anniversary Dream Event.
The April 1 gala — one of Westport’s best fundraisers of the year, for the program that offers a Staples education, housing and support to 8 boys from underserved communities — brings together current and alumni scholars.
In addition to strong, insightful speeches from the scholars, the evening includes cocktails, dinner, entertainment, bowling — the event is at Pinstripes, in the SoNo Collection — and a silent auction.
Among the featured items: 2 nights at Gurney’s in Montauk; VIP tickets to a Yankees game; a Wakeman Town Farm dinner for 2, and a “Broadway your way” experience (with transportation, dinner for 2 and a New York hotel stay).
Tickets are available for cocktail/dinner only, or cocktails/dinner and bowling. Click here to purchase.
Three young poets have won the Westport Garden Club’s youth contest — and placed first in their grade at the state level. They move on to the New England competition.
Congratulations to Owen Cloherty (1st grade), Maya Cloherty (4th grade) and Kassia Stedman (5th grade).
This year’s theme — “Seeds, Trees, and Bees…Oh My – Celebrating the Diversity of Nature” — drew entries from every grade level, kindergarten through 9th.
The winners will receive their awards — and read from their works — at the Westport Library on April 2 (2 p.m).
It’s part of National Poetry Month. The event also includes a poetry workshop with town poet laureate Jessica Noyes McEntee. Attendees can write their own poems, inspired by natural materials provided by the Westport Garden Club. For more information, click here.
Staples High School celebrated Civic Learning Week with 3 events, featuring local government leaders in celebration of Civics Learning Week. these events provided opportunities for students to meet and learn from local officials.
Last Monday, selectwomen Jen TookerAndrea Moore and Candice Savin answered questions about the budget, affordable housing, environmental sustainability and more.
On Thursday, Board of Education chair Lee Goldstein and vice chair Liz Heyer discussed education policy, and the BOE’s role in the community. Students asked questions about curriculum, funding, testing and school schedules.
The final event on Friday featured registrars of voters Deborah Greenberg and Maria Signore. They answered questions about election integrity and access, the voter registration process, and the new early voting proposals.
The 3 sessions were organized by Spencer Yim, a member of Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society and leader of Your Vote Matters, a civic engagement club at Staples,
This week: a “town hall” with Congressman Jim Himes for next week
Civic Learning Week organizer Spencer Yim (center) with (from left) registrars of voters Deborah Greenberg and Maria Signore.
Eileen Diana Blau died Thursday in her longtime Westport home. She was 92.
She was born Eileen Lefkowitz in Brooklyn, to Ukrainian parents who had immigrated less than a decade earlier.
Eileen graduated from Brooklyn College with a BS in mathematics. She met fellow student Barry Blau at a Socialist Youth League gathering. They married in 1948, and enjoyed 69 years together until Barry’s death in 2017.
A passionate reader, artist and collector, Eileen filled her mid-century modern home with thousands of books and an eclectic art collection ranging from Flemish tapestries to Indonesian Buddhas, ancient Chinese mirrors and sculptures of her own creation.
In the basement she helped her husband launch his business, Barry Blau & Partners. It grew over 20 years into a global advertising agency.
Once her children were grown, Eileen pursued a life of many interests. She was an avid golfer and tennis player at Birchwood Country Club. Her Manhattan apartment, also art-filled, was a launching pad for attending classes at the China Institute and Asia Society, and frequent visits to museums, galleries and auction houses.
For many years Eileen and Barry also maintained a vacation home on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was a winter gathering spot for their extended family.
In addition to her husband, Eileen was predeceased by her elder sister Rita Kannel. She is survived by her younger sister, Anita Metz; her children Shawn Blau and Emily Blau (Robert Cohen) both of Westport, Peter Blau (Barbara) of Belmont, North Carolina and Juliet Jenkins (Bruce) of Belmont, Massachusetts; grandchildren Lucy Thomas (Kyle), James Blau, Michael Blau (Julie), Lucas Jenkins, Maddie Jenkins, Tess Jenkins, Benjamin Cohen and Veronica Blau, and great-grandchildren Claire and Charles Thomas.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow (Monday March 13, 11 a.m., Abraham L. Green & Son Funeral Home, Fairfield). Shiva will be observed at the Blau home in Westport the same day from 1 to 6 p.m. For more information and to share a condolence message, click here.
Westporters have plenty of fundraising galas to choose from.
All are worthy. Nearly all are well-organized, and fun.
But for inspiration and impact, few compare with A Better Chance of Westport’s Dream Event.
ABC — the program that provides both a home and an educational opportunity for up to 8 outstanding and academically-gifted young men of color each year — celebrates its 20th year on April 1 (7 p.m., Pinstripes at the SoNo Collection, Norwalk).
There are cocktails, dinner, entertainment, a silent auction — all important elements at many fundraisers — plus bowling at Pinstripes’ 12 lanes.
But what sets the Dream Event apart from many other galas are the speeches. Hearing about A Better Chance’s life-changing power — directly from those involved — is well worth the ticket price.
Funds are used for housing, tutoring, transportation and other expenses that getting the ABC scholars through Staples High School, and on to college.
Tickets available for cocktail/dinner only or cocktails/dinner and bowling. Click here for details.
The Weston History & Culture Center (aka Weston Historical Society) celebrates by co-hosting a lecture. “Powerful Voices: Connecticut Women Changing Democracy,” with Sarah Lubarsky, director of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.
The free event is is set for March 15 (7 p.m., Weston Public Library).
Among Connecticut’s most powerful women: suffrage advocates Alice Paul and Isabella Beecher Hooker, prominent firsts like Ella Grasso and Denise Nappier, and social activists like Helen Keller, Anne Stanback and Estelle Griswold.
Helen Keller lived for many years on the Westport/Easton border.
A celebration of life service honoring Peter Nathan is set for March 12 (11 a.m., Fairfield County Hunt Club). The former Representative Town Meeting member and longtime civic volunteer died last month.
Peter’s friends and family will share memories, and celebrate his impact on everyone he met. Attendees should wear bright colors, to contribute to the spirit.
The raised runway event — held in the Westport Library’s Trefz Forum on March 4 (7 p.m.) — showcases the town’s fashion and beauty merchants. The Westport Downtown Association-sponsored event also raises important funds for Homes with Hope.
Click here for more information. VIP tickets include light bites, DJ and gifts.
This year — which despite economic headwinds, was a good one for many Westporters — as we buy presents for loved ones, friends, and people whose good graces we need to keep, we should also think about helping others.
Give what you can.
(Of course, helping them can also ease our own tax burdens a few months from now.)
But who to give to?
Far be it for “06880” to say. So here is a list — off the top of my head — of some worthy local organizations. Each one has a clickable link 🙂
I know I’ve missed some. Rather than bite my head off (very un-Christmas-y), please mention them in the “Comments” section. I’ll add them to this list.
And please: Keep your suggestions local (southern Fairfield County). There are way too many very worthy national and international groups to include. Thank you!
06880: This blog — now a non-profit — sponsors community-wide events. Projects include the Holiday Stroll, an educational seminar at the library, and a soon-to-be announced Westport/Marigny/Ukraine school project. “06880” also publishes this daily blog, to help create community.
Disabilities
Catch a Lift: Westport supports veterans through fitness programs Circle of Friends: Teens work with children with disabilities
CLASP: Group homes and opportunities Club 203: Provides fun, engaging activities for adults with disabilities MyTEAM Triumph: Road race support for children, adults and veterans STAR Lighting the Way: Support for all ages Sweet P Bakery: Provides jobs for adults with learning disabilities; supplies The Porch at Christie’s with delicious baked goods
Triangle Community Center: Providing programs and resources for the LGBTQ+ community Westport Pride: Our town’s own LGBTQ+ organization — sponsors of the June festival, and much more
Literacy
Mercy Learning Center: Life skills training for low-income women Read to Grow: Promoting children’s literacy from birth, supporting parents as babies’ first teachers Westport Book Sales: Providing employment for people with disabilities — and offering books, while providing funds for the Westport Library Westport Library: They do it all!
AWARE: “Assisting Women through Action, Resources and Education” Dress for Success Mid-Fairfield County: Empowering women by providing professional clothes and other support LiveGirl: Leadership development and mentoring for females, grades 5 through college Malta House: Shelter and programs for young pregnant women and their babies
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