peeking behind your child’s screen
Social media, online gambling, group chats and plenty more are regular parts of life, for young people today.
They’re fun. They’re entertaining. They’re potentially dangerous.
On November 12 (7 p.m., Bedford Middle School), the Westport Police Department and Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection offer an eye-opening presentation: “Behind the Screen: What Parents Need to Know About Online Safety.”
You’ll learn about networks like 764, which target teenagers through gaming, social media and other online communities.
new juice bar, bowl spot opening downtown
Spilling the tea: Barvida is coming to Westport.
The juice bar — offering (in its words) “organic, plant-based smoothies, cold-pressed juices, superfood bowls, and gourmet toasts, health food with zero compromise on flavor” — will move soon into vacant Post Road East space, on the block anchored by South Moon Under.
“Coming when it’s done,” the storefront says semi-helpfully.
You can learn more on social media: @barvidajuicebar. Click here for the website.
The brand started in Darien in 2020, then expanded to New Canaan and Greenwich.
Until now, I guess we’ve been chopped liver.
(Hat tip and photo/Sal Liccione)
chili cookoff: hot fun on a cold night
Speaking of food: The VFW’s 4th annual Chili Cookoff spiced up last night.
Proceeds benefit VFW Post 399, the Fire Department, Police Department and Volunteer Emergency Medical Services.
So who was the winner?
Everyone who cooked. And all who ate all those varieties of chili (plus chips, cheese and cornbread).
Two of the many chili choices. (No, these were not the cooks — they’re volunteer servers.) (Photo/Dan Woog)
MURRAY HILL MEETS WESTPORT
Also last night: Comedian Murray Hill packed the Westport Library.
The evening — celebrating the release of his memoir “Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man” — was both hilarious and poignant.
Hill sat for a candid evening of stories, laughs, revelations, and behind-the-curtain moments — with Emmy winner Jeff Hiller
Murray Hill, at the Westport Library. (Photo/DinkinESH Fotografix)
WESTERN CONNECTICUT HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN
Eighteen communities have worked with the Western Connecticut Council of Governments to update the Western Connecticut Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan.
It outlines actions to take to reduce losses of property and life due to natural disasters like floods, severe wind, winter storms, wildfires, droughts, extreme heat events and earthquakes.
A virtual meeting on October 22 (6 p.m., Zoom) will provide information about the plan. Attendees will have a chance to ask questions about their communities.
WestCOG is approaching the completion of its Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update for 2026 and is moving into the public comment process. WestCOG is kicking this process off with a webinar to summarize the content of the plan and collect questions and comments from the public.
To learn more about the project, click here.
How can we mitigate future natural hazards? WestCOG could help. (Photo/Stacie Curran)
CLASSICAL SINGER TO ENTERTAIN AT TUNNEL OF LOVE …
The Tunnel of Love — the walkway between Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza — has some of the best outdoor acoustics in town. (Check out the Staples Orphenians, during the annual “06880” Westport Downtown Association Stroll.)
This Friday (October 23, 11:45 a.m.), Chloe Beth will entertain passersby there, with a special program.
Vocalist Chloë Beth is classically trained. She sings all genres, including opera, jazz, musical theater and pop.
She specializes in classical music. It really wows the crowd.
Especially — as will be the case Friday — when the acoustics are great.
Chloe Beth will sing at the Tunnel of Love, this Friday.
… and moca hosts international piano competition
Speaking of music: MoCA\CT hosts an international event next month.
On November 14, MoCA\CT welcomes 3 outstanding young pianists for the final round of the 54th annual Heida Hermanns International Music Competition.
Selected from an outstanding pool of talent, each finalist performs a 45-minute program, spanning 5 centuries of piano repertoire. Each will also debut a commissioned work by composer Samuel Adams. Click here for tickets, and more information.
2026 Heida Hermanns finalists (from left): Matthew Figel, Juhee Lim, Daria Podorozhnova.
BOOK IT! library sale begins november 6
From every kind of book imaginable, to rare vinyl, art and more, the Westport Library’s Big Fall Book Sale has something for everyone.
The fall event begins November 6,, and runs through November 9.
Click here for hours, more information, and details on early access tickets for Friday, November 6 (8:45 a.m. to noon).
The sale is run entirely by volunteers. To join that helpful community, click here.
Scenes from the Westport Library book sale.
westport butterfly’s louisiana journey
Last month, “06880” reported on Alice Ely’s presentation at Wakeman Town Farm.
The monarch butterfly watch conservation specialist helped youngsters release “Petey,” and provided a fascinating peek into the science behind monarch migration.
Before the butterfly took off, Alice attached a tiny radio tag to his back using eyelash adhesive. The transmitter weighs no more than a grain of rice, so it’s light enough for Petey to fly freely.
WTF reports that he’s now made it to Louisiana. He’s on his way to Mexico, where he and millions of other monarchs stay until late winter.
Petey is the first monarch ever released from Connecticut with this type of radio tag.
As temperatures warm and the days get longer, they receive their cue to head north, where they mate and lay eggs on the first milkweed they find — often in Texas.
To follow his journey, download the Project Monarch app, then search for Petey2026. You can track his migration in real time as he flies south.
NOTE: The tiny tags are powered by solar cells, so Petey may occasionally disappear from the radar while his tag recharges.
Petey’s journey south.
SEASONAL FOOD, WARMTH AT LACHAT TOWN FARM
Chef Molly Healey grew up in Westport and Weston. S
Now she’s back home, raising a family. And Molly is eager to give back, in the best way she knows: through food, warmth and gathering.
She’s getting ready to open Hemma Café in Weston Center next year.
Before that, on November 14 (7 p.m.), Weston’s Lachat Town Farm welcomes her for a delicious, seasonal meal.
The Johnson & Wales University graduate will prepare kale and squash salad, fennel orange roasted chicken, roasted eggplant, garlic braised greens, trumpet mushrooms, smashed fried potatoes, fresh buttermilk pancakes and pastries. Spiced cider spritz will be served; guests can bring their own beverages.
Tickets are $90 per person. Click here to register.
Molly Healey
OBITUARY: PASQUALE RAZZANO
Westport resident Pasquale Razzano died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by his family. He was 83.
A graduate of Georgetown Law School, Pasquale practiced intellectual property law for over 50 years. He won victories for clients like Rubik’s Cube, Disney, Beatrix Potter and Mars.
He also led bar associations, homeowner groups and country clubs.
Pasquale was a devoted fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. He was also a traveler, a fisherman, a “cowboy born in the wrong state, and a pirate born 200 years too late.”
He loved being on his boat, watching the sunset, drinking
margaritas or martinis, and listening to Jimmy Buffet and Willie Nelson.
He and his wife Maryann — who he met in high school — visited over 35 countries, on 6 continents.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children Elizabeth Razzano (Terry), Pasquale Razzano, Jr., Susan Razzano and Christyann Weltens (Jerrett); grandchildren Rainia Razzano, Michael and Cecilia Weltens, siblings Frank Razzano and Theresa Oliveira, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A wake will be held at his home, 21 Covlee Drive, on Thursday (October 22, 4 to 7 p.m. A funeral Mass is set for Church of the Assumption on Friday (October 23, 10 a.m.).
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or Parkinson’s Foundation.
“WESTPORT … NATURALLY” & SONG OF THE DAY
This sly guy posed perfectly in Weston, near green grass and colorful flowers, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo feature.
(Photo/Sandy Rothenberg)
And finally … on that note (above):
(From floods and opera singers to juice bars, “06880” keeps you up on all things Westport. If you enjoy learning about our town — or anything else we do — please click here to support us. Thanks!)
