Tag Archives: Gately Ross

Roundup: Staples Players & Sports, Cribari Lights, Restaurant News …

Posted on November 14, 2025 | 4 comments

Staples Players’ big, bold, brassy — and spectacular — 10-show run of “Les Misérables” opened last night.

A cast of over 70 — costumed to the hilt, singing lustily on a revolving set, backed by a superb pit of nearly 30 musicians — awed the audience, with every aspect of the production.

If you’ve never seen a Players show: Go now!

Even if you’re an aficionado, you’ll be blown away by this one.

A few tickets are still available, for this weekend and next (including evenings and matinees). Click here for dates, times, and purchase and more information.

NOTE: The link above is the only place to buy tickets. Two people arrived last night, with tickets bought on StubHub. Let’s hope the person who was so sleazy as to try to profit off a high school drama program ends up like some of the revolutionaries at the start of Act 2.

A small portion of the large “Les Mis” cast. (Photo/Kerry Long)

==================================================

From the stage to the playing fields, there’s a lot going on with Staples this weekend.

Tomorrow, the field hockey team shoots for its third straight state championship. For the third year in a row, the opponent is archrival Darien.

Saturday’s 15 title match is set for 2:30 p.m. at Wethersfield High School.

On Sunday, the boys soccer team vies for their 13th state championship. They too face a Fairfield County opponent, with a long rivalry: Greenwich.

Kickoff is 3:30 p.m., at Hartford’s Trinity Health Stadium.

==================================================

A beloved tradition — holiday lights on the Cribari Bridge — nearly ended last year.

A quarter century of sponsorship by Al’s Angels ended. At the last minute, Westport’s Police Athletic League rallied businesses and individuals to buy new lights, install them, and once again make the Saugatuck span sparkle.

PAL took the lead again this year. They’re even getting a jump on the season.

A holiday lighting ceremony is set for this Sunday (6:30 p.m.). Everyone is invited.

The Whelk will serve hot chocolate, topped with a marshmallow whipped cream rim from Momu.

Attendees are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy, for the Westport Police Department collection drive.

Let there be (Cribari) lights!

=================================================

For nearly 50 years, Bloodroot has served delicious vegan food — spiced with healthy amounts of feminist ideology, and a side helping of social justice-type books — in a funky, you’ve-got-to-know-it-to-get-there spot on Bridgeport’s Black Rock Harbor.

Co-founder and longtime Westporter Selma Miriam died in February, 2 weeks short of 90.

Bloodroot lived on. It was even the focus of a documentary.

Bloodroot is tucked away, off a residential street in Black Rock.

But nothing lasts forever. Bloodroot will close on December 21, after what co-owner Noel Furie calls “48 amazing and wonderful years in business. This decision, though sad, is also necessary given many factors in our lives at this time.

“We’ve chosen December 21 because it is the day of the Winter Solstice (which means sun standing still), and heralds the beginning of the return of the light. The days start to get longer and it is a time for hope and celebration.

“We hope you will continue to visit us during our usual business hours in the remaining weeks that we are open.”

Within hours, nearly 200 devastated, devoted and grateful diners posted thoughts and memories on Bloodroot’s Facebook page.

The restaurant/community center earned a special place in American women’s history. And none of it would have been possible without the passion, creativity, love and great energy of Westport’s own Selma Miriam. (Hat tip: Chris Grimm)

Selma Miriam, at Bloodroot in 2017.

==================================================

Speaking of restaurants: The Blondinit has earned raves — and a passionate following — since opening 20 months ago.

Now the Israeli spot on Church Lane has introduced a new winter menu.

Dishes include shawarma-spiced potato wedges topped with garlic sauce; wild caught Chilean sea bass with mushrooms, cannellini beans and spinach with a roasted red pepper sauce; erguez sausage with peppers; roasted eggplant and peppers spread with challah toast points; Shabbat schnitzel sandwich with eggplant and matbucha on challah bread, and baklava brûlée.

The other night, I enjoyed a tasting menu. I love the cuisine to begin with, but the flavors, freshness, variety and creativity — and the joy with which it is all prepared and served — brought the meal to another level.

That’s not just me talking. It was a Monday — normally the slowest day of the week, in a traditionally slow time before the holidays.

But the restaurant was packed.

Meanwhile, The Blondinit just announced its Hanukkah menu. Email catering@theblondinit.com or call (203) 557-3277 for details.

Dinner at The Blondinit.

==================================================

Sustainable Westport’s co-directors, Johanna Martell and Gately Ross, were recently featured on “The Joe Gardener Podcast.” The national platform explores sustainability through the lens of gardening.

The pair described how they left established careers to lead the local non-profit. They discussed the ripple effects of local action, how to foster change at the community level, and why personal voices and examples matter.

Host Joe Lamp’l praised their ability to connect with people where they are, making sustainability accessible rather than intimidating.

Click here to listen, and to read Lamp’ls account of his visit to Westport.

Johanna Martell, Gately Ross and Joe Lamp’l tape their podcast at Westport Library’s Verso Studios.

=================================================

Looking for one more way to help fight hunger?

The Westport Country Playhouse is collected food and toiletry items, for Homes with Hope.

Pasta, pasta sauce, cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly, canned goods (tuna, soup, vegetables, beans, fruit), toothpaste and shampoo may be left in a box in the lobby.

You can drop them off during the day, or before a show.

(Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

=================================================

Club203’s November event was a great “Bingo Bash” at the Senior Center.

Doug Brill called the games, for members of Westport’s social group for adults with disabilities.

Dedicated volunteers helped everyone be a winner. Trefz Corporation and Gold’s Deli were sponsors. MoCA\CT collaborated, as always. And once again, Westport’s Human Services Department provided important support.

Bingo!

=================================================

It didn’t rain yesterday.

But a beautiful rainbow appeared over Westport.

Adam Drake captured this image, over Winslow Park:

(Photo/Adam Drake)

It was also visible at — of all places — the rainbow crosswalk on Jesup Road:

(Photo/Svea Vocke)

==================================================

It’s a place every Westporters knows well, and loves dearly.

But we don’t always get to see it in mid-November.

June Rose Whittaker offers today’s “Westport … Naturally” image: timeless, yet timely, Compo Beach.

(Photo/June Rose Whittaker)

==================================================

And finally … in honor of Bloodroot, and its 48-year legacy:

(If it’s happening in Westport — or there’s a Westporter involved — you’ll read about it on “06880.” And if you appreciate what you read, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

4 Comments

Posted in Arts, Restaurants, Sports, Staples HS

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Sustainable Westport Directors Chart Net Zero Path

Posted on June 1, 2023 | 13 comments

Everyone talks about sustainability. We all want our planet — and town — to continue existing, without depleting our natural resources.

There’s even an organization — Sustainable Westport — with the word in its name.

But not many of us know exactly what that is, or what it does.

Johanna Martell and Gately Ross do.

Johanna Martell and Gately Ross.

They’re co-directors of the organization. After its formation in 2006, when 1st Selectman Gordon Joseloff appointed a Green Task Force, the volunteer group proposed and helped enact policies to help reduce Westport’s carbon footprint.

In 2017, the Representative Town Meeting passed its recommendation for the town to become Net Zero by 2050. 

To expands its reach, the Green Task Force separated from the town, and was rebranded as Sustainable Westport in 2020.

While remaining financially and operationally independent, the organization moved under the umbrella of Earthplace, a non-profit committed to building passion and respect for the natural world.

This year, Sustainable Westport separated from Earthplace to become a 501(c)3 itself, with its own board of directors and staff.

But the mission of Sustainable Westport has not changed. The goal is to inspire, support and connect residents, organizations, and the town of Westport to use best efforts to become a Net Zero community by 2050.

Martell joined Sustainable Westport after a career largely in commercial real estate. A local resident since 2013, she realized during COVID that she wanted work with more meaning. Her friend Nico Eisenberger suggested Sustainable Westport.

Martell had taken environmental law in college. And though she had never worked for a non-profit — “and for no money,” she says — the fit seemed perfect.

Ross — whose career was in veterinary medicine, but had a marine conservation background, and who moved to Westport in 2007 with the first of her 3 children — was also looking to get back in the work force, and knew she’d work well with Martell.

At that point, Sustainable Westport was best known for its Zero Food Waste Challenge. Ross’ involvement began with the first composting class, at Greens Farms Elementary School.

In 2019, Greens Farms Elementary School students avidly joined the compost effort.

But there is a whole new group of Westporters — parents with school-age children — who know little about Sustainable Westport. Ross and Martell were eager to tap into that network.

It’s been harder than they thought. Though the schools have been champions for sustainability since before the two got involved, efforts have been siloed.

In their first year as directors, Martell and Ross tried to go through PTAs. But they realized that’s only one approach.

“We needed both top-down and bottom-up,” Ross says.

They’ve begun meeting with personnel throughout the Westport Public Schools. They’ve expanded their reach to other stakeholders: Wakeman Town Farm, the Westport Farmers Market, RTM Environment Committee, town departments and more — including 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and operations director Tom Kiely.

Westporters flock to the Farmers’ Market. They do their share to educate shoppers about sustainability.

The goal is to get “all the different groups talking with each other.”

“Planning and Zoning, Public Works — everyone needs to think about sustainability,” Martell notes.

“We know it’s hard to add more to people’s plates. But we can provide them with information and resources, to help in any way we can.”

“We want to engage more people — especially young families,” adds Ross. “They’ve got kids who are growing up. We want them to think about what their town and planet will look like in the future.

“We know people can be disinterested or, on the other hand, can feel overwhelmed. But the first step inspires the second, and the third. Then you can see, you’re making a difference.”

So are Sustainable Westport’s (unpaid) co-directors optimistic or pessimistic that their organization is making an impact?

“It depends on the day,” Ross admits. “Some things are frustrating. Naively, we thought the process would be easier and faster.”

“Things can be controversial,” says Martell. “This is a very engaged town. People have opinions about everything.”

Still, Westport — the first municipality east of the Mississippi River to enact a plastic bag ban, which followed up with a plastic straw ban — is seen as a sustainable leader, despite the difficulties of enforcement.

“Other towns look to us,” Ross says.

So Sustainable Westport keeps moving forward.

In January, they launched “Refill Not Landfill.”

The program encourages residents to use reusable mugs at coffee shops to reduce waste, combat climate change, and help support small businesses.

At checkout,  participants scan a QR code to enter their name and email. Five refills (at any location) qualifies for a monthly raffle.

“We all carry water bottles. Why not coffee cups too?” Martell asks.

 

“Coffee cups are not recyclable. That’s a huge generator of trash that we’re addressing.”

Participation is “fantastic” by 15 local coffee shops, cafés, markets and restaurants.

But not enough residents have joined in.

Gately Ross and Johanna Martell keep plugging forward — one coffee cup, compost pile and paper bag at a time.

They’re in it for the long haul. And they’ve got their sights set on that Net Zero town target: 2050.

(To learn more about Sustainable Westport, click here.)

(Want to help sustain “06880”? Please click here. Thank you!)

Participants in Sustainable Westport’s “Refill Not Landfill” program

13 Comments

Posted in Environment, Restaurants

Tagged , , , , ,