The Westport Farmers’ Market Young Shoots photo contest has begun.
Photgraphers ages 5-18 can take shots every Thursday (like today!), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Imperial Avenuue parking lot. The deadline is August 8.
Local artists will judge the entries, by age group. There’s a show on August 20 at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center. Winners receive cash prizes.
Here’s one of the first entries. It’s from Fielden Brelsford, in the 5-9-year-old category.
Fielden sets a high standard. Let’s see what you’ve got!
Staples High School athletic director VJ Sarullo has named Liam Witham as the 5th permanent head coach in Staples boys soccer 67-year history.
He succeeds Russell Oost-Lievense, whose contract was not renewed by superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice.
The London native played competitively for 15 years before transitioning to coaching, while pursuing his degree in sports fitness and coaching. He holds multiple respected soccer coaching certifications.
Following his playing career, he coached at the premier club FC Westchester and the University of Mount Saint Vincent. He also founded a private training organization.
Sarullo says, “Staples High School is proud to welcome Coach Witham to the Wrecker family. Throughout the interview process, Coach Witham distinguished himself with his genuine passion for working with student-athletes, his commitment to their growth both on and off the field and his clear vision for the future of our program. His leadership will build both immediate progress and sustained success. I look forward to working with Coach Witham in the years ahead.”
Liam Witham
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There was a lot going on at Compo Beach yesterday.
Visitors might be forgiven if they didn’t notice how nice the entrance looked.
But it didn’t just happen. Westport Garden Club volunteers were hard at work, making sure that fireworks-goers — and everyone who follows this holiday weekend — is greeted grandly.
Posted onDecember 23, 2024|Comments Off on Roundup: Caroling Last Saturday; Farmer’s Market Today; Pig For Wednesday …
Right on cue, a cold snap settled in on Saturday. Diners headed to restaurants, for warm holiday dinners.
And 7 Staples High School Orphenians made the rounds of Saugatuck, making the evening even more special for everyone.
This year’s “Caroling Crawl” — sponsored by the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce — may have been the best ever.
Many Westporters made reservations specially for the event. Crowds cheered when the singers strolled in.
The group hit nearly every Saugatuck spot. They began at The Boathouse, The Bridge at Saugatuck, Kawa Ni, The Whelk, Tutti’s, Black Duck, Tarantino, Harvest, Romanacci, Riko’s, Zucca, Rizzuto’s, Viva Zapata, and Little Pub at Dunville’s. They ended back at the Saugatuck Rowing Club, singing for a private party.
Thank you to Brianne Caporale, Josie Caricato, Frankie Diyoka, Jasmita Mani Lorenzato, Fin Maddaloni, Gracie Masters and Helen Root. You rocked it!
Orphenians caroling at Kawa Ni …
… and then at a private Saugatuck Rowing Club party. (Photos/Matthew Mandell)
A reminder: This week’s Westport Farmers’ Market is being held on a special day.
Instead of Thursday, it’s today — Monday, December 23 — at the usual place (Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, Sylvan Lane) and time (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
Next week’s Farmers’ Market is also on a different day: Tuesday, December 31.
Then it’s back to normal: Thursdays, through mid-March.
And finally … Joseph Smith was born on this date in 1805. He published the Book of Mormon at age 24, and attracted tens of thousands of followers. While in jail on charges of treason and inciting a riot, Smith was shot and killed by an armed mob.
(Wondering what to get “06880” for Christmas or Hanukkah? Easy! Just click here, to send a tax-deductible contribution supporting our work. Thank you!)
Comments Off on Roundup: Caroling Last Saturday; Farmer’s Market Today; Pig For Wednesday …
The first year with First Student — Westport’s new school bus company — has gone well.
Now, the long-awaited bus tracking app is live. FirstView can be downloaded on any smartphone, desktop or laptop.
The app lets families track the location and direction of their child’s bus. Other features include customizable bus proximity notifications; custom alerts and messages, and multi-stop views.
Click here to get started. Questions? Call 888-889-8920, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email support@firstviewapp.com.
You may come to “Dante: Inferno to Paradise” for the subject.
You’ll stay for the music.
Ric Burns’ new 2-part series on the 14th-century poet airs this Monday and Tuesday (March 18 and 19) on PBS. Dante’s “Divine Comedy” — his account of a life-changing journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise — is one of the greatest works of art in Western history.
The 4-hour show was filmed across 6 years in Italy, England and the US. it includes paintings, drawings, manuscripts, frescoes, and interviews with scholars, writers, poets, politicians, clergy and historians.
But the 4-hour show soars on the beautiful, deeply moving soundtrack. It was composed by Burns’ long-time collaborator, veteran Grammy, Oscar and Peabody Award winner Brian Keane.
The very accomplished composer/musician is a 1971 graduate of Staples High School.
Brian Keane
Keane’s hauntingly beautiful score brings alive Dante’s life and work, in a hallucinatory, almost cinematically vivid way. It captures the depth and breadth of Dante’s experiences in the 3 realms of the afterlife.
“Dante” will stream for free on PBS for 2 weeks after the broadcast. It will then go to PBS subscription, and eventually pay-per-view.
Excerpts of the music score ere premiered at the Westport Library Orchestra Lumos concert earlier this month.
The single will be released March 22. The album follows a week later.
There is a new date for the fundraiser to provide new AEDs in all fire, police and Emergency Medical Service vehicles in town.
Automated External Defibrillators are portable devices that deliver electric shocks to the heart during cardiac arrest. The current ones are reaching the ends of their useful lives.
On April 24 (5:30 to 10 p.m., Autostrada), the Westport Firefighters Charitable Foundation hosts its 2nd annual Whiskey Tasting.
The evening includes drinks, light bites, and a silent auction. The target is $75,000.
Many of us know people whose lives have been saved by AEDs. Any of us could be next.
When Amazon Fresh planned to open in the old Barnes & Noble — that’s the long-vacant store in the Angelina’s Pizza plaza, for you newcomers — they ran into some issues with their sign.
Last year, they bailed. The site became a “zombie store” — one of a number of Amazon Freshes nationwide that were abandoned, after being announced with great fanfare.
Next month, astronomy buffs across the world head to Texas. That’s where, on April 8, they can see a total eclipse along the totality line.
But Westport will be part of the event too.
The Westport Astronomical Society and its amateur radio station club (K1WAS) — along with other amateur radio operators and balloon enthusiasts — will help launch high-altitude balloons with cameras, sensors and radio transmitters, to capture the eclipse from a vantage point high above the Earth’s surface.
The WAS project is a collaboration with the University of Bridgeport and the University of New Haven, through the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project.
“We are thrilled to contribute to the scientific community’s understanding of this celestial event,” says WAS board member. Dan Wright. “These high altitude balloon missions will offer a perspective of the eclipse that is both breathtaking and informative, helping researchers study the Sun’s corona and the Earth’s atmosphere in new and exciting ways.”
Amateur radio operators and astronomy enthusiasts can follow the balloon’s location, and participate in related events and discussions. Details will be posted soon on the Westport Astronomical Society website.
The total solar eclipse, a rare event in which the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, will be visible across parts of North America. The sun is only 90% obscured in Westport and much of New England.
But the WAS will host a “watch party” at the Westport Library (April 8, 2 to 4 p.m.).
In Connecticut, the next partial solar eclipse is not until 2028. It will not obscure the sun anywhere near what we’ll see in April, though.
For that, you have to wait until May 1, 2079.
Mark your calendars now!
Here’s what the April 8 eclipse will look like. You saw it here first!
And finally … in honor of next month’s Westport Astronomical Society event (story above):
(Today — and every day — “06880” serves up a potpourri of news, information and “stuff.” But we couldn’t do it without reader support. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Speaking of the Festival of Lights: The Schneerson Center for Jewish Life sponsors community menorah lighting celebrations in Westport and Weston.
The “original Westport menorah” at Compo Acres Shopping Center (Trader Joe’s/Wells Fargo parking lot) — now in its 16th year — will be lit Monday (December 11, 7 p.m.).
The day before (Sunday, December 10, 5:30 p.m.), a menorah will be lit at the Weston Shopping Center. It continues a tradition begun 20 years ago.
Both ceremonies include music, cookies, gelt and dreidels.
Westport Scout Troop is selling wreaths as a fundraiser this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, December 9-10, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., while supplies last; Saugatuck Congregational Church).
Wreaths are $30 and $45. Baked goods and hot cocoa are available too.
Funds will help projects, like the recent construction of lanternfly traps for Sherwood Island State Park. The troop also partners with Sustainable Westport each year, for a mattress recycling drive.
Everyone should be mailing gifts and cards like crazy.
But — astonishingly — this was the scene at noon yesterday, in the post office lobby:
(Photo/Dan Woog)
Come on, Westport! This is show time for our postal clerks.
It’s when they shine: helping with packages, dispensing advice, tossing all your stuff into the back to be whisked away — all with the efficiency of a thousand Rudolphs.
Our great US Postal Service men and women are ready to serve you. Give ’em the business!
With leaves off the trees, and leaf pick-up by the town almost complete, the trash that litters our town has become quite visible.
Andrew Colabella, and his faithful crew of garbage pickers, come to the rescue.
And anyone can join.
After a successful spring, they’re starting again this Sunday. Everyone is invited to meet at 10 a.m. this Sunday (December 10), at the transfer station on the Sherwood Island Connector. They’ll work throughout the Greens Farms neighborhood.
Volunteers should wear boots, bring gloves and trash bags — and dress warmly.
For questions, or to be added to the email list, write acolabellartm4@gmail.com.
Andrew Colabella (center, front) and friends, picking up trash at the Westport train station last winter.
Westport Police made 1 custodial arrest between November 29 and December 6.
A man was charged with assault, unlawful restraint, interfering with an emergency call, larceny, sale of narcotics, possession of cannabis greater than 1.5 ounces, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, and criminal possession of a firearm.
The charges came after police responded to a report of domestic violence in a vehicle on the Sherwood Island Connector. After the assault, the man refused to let the victim leave, and prevented a 911 call.
The suspect left the area on foot. Officers located him in a vehicle traveling the wrong way on the I-95 northbound exit ramp, and initiated a traffic stop.
Westport Police also issues these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 12 citations
Failure to obey stop sign: 4
Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 3
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 2
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 2
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 2
Distracted driving: 1
Following too closely: 1
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 1
Failure to renew registration: 1
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 1.
A handgun was found, following a report of domestic violence.
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Speaking of crime:
Scooter Swanson — editor, and nephew of the TV dinner magnate — says his mail carrier tells him that leaving cash in the mailbox as a holiday gift (whether in an envelope or not) is subject to theft.
The carrier claims that UPS, FedEx and Amazon drivers yank out the cash cards intended for him and other US Postal Service colleagues. (This has not been verified.)
Swanson was ripped off of a $10,000 check for his credit card when it was robbed by a “correctional officer” making his nightly tour of mailboxes through neighborhoods.
Fortunately, People’s Bank reimbursed him for his loss. The Hartford also considered it personal property, and reimbursed him another $10,000.
PS: Swanson was once a federal attorney.
Think twice about leaving holiday cash for your mail carrier inside your mailbox.
Music is everywhere — including, often, the Westport Library.
On December 12 (7 p.m.), a multi-media presentation tracks the impact of music on a variety of art forms, in a range of venues.
Speaker John Brandt — a dancer, singer, actor, percussionist, PR consultant and lifelong Westporter — will highlight how music is “the soundtrack of our lives.”
The event — sponsored by the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston — is free, but registration is required (click here). For further information, email jkbrandt@aol.com or call 203-246-6280.
John Brandt
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Speaking of the Library:
The second of 3 “Short Cuts Film Festival” showings is next Thursday (December 14, 7 p.m.).
Documentaries selected from the Tribeca Film Festival include:
“Then Comes the Body” by Jacob Krupnick: An unlikely ballet school outside Lagos, Nigeria, gains national attention after a video of students dancing in the rain goes viral.
“In Her Element” by Idil Ibrahim: Hip-hop artist Daisha McBride takes the traditional rock and country audience in New Orleans by storm.
“Team Dream” by Luchina Fisher: Determined friends and competitive swimmers journey to the National Senior Games.
“Deciding Vote” by Jeremy Workman & Robert J. Lyons: Fifty years ago, a now-forgotten New York assemblyman cast single tiebreaking vote that legalized abortion in New York, and la the groundwork for Roe v. Wade.
After the screenings, “Team Dream” director Fisher will discuss her film, and documentary filmmaking in general.
Short Cuts Film Festival concludes on January 18, with a program of narrative shorts.
Tickets are $26.50; click here to purchase. Films are suitable for ages 12 and up. Refreshments and popcorn will be provided.
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Mark Yurkiw — whose work has lately been heavily influenced by his Ukrainian heritage — is December’s guest exhibitor, at the Westport Book Shop.
His exhibit — “Art is Always of Its Time” — includes 12 illuminated works using large-format film transparencies of 3-D images of the 1980s and ’90s.
Yurkiw is an artist, sculptor, filmmaker, scientist, designer, creative director and consultant. His work appears in magazines, advertising, television, feature films, exhibitions and public art. It has been exhibited globally, including most recently as part of a 2-man United Nations exhibit.
A reception for Yurkiw will be held December 14 (6 to 7:30 p.m.). Reserve a spot by phone (203-349-5141) or email: bookshop@westportbooksaleventures.org.
Yurkiw’s art is on exhibit through December 31. All work is available for purchase.
The Weston Weston Family YMCA’s Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund honors its 2023 grant recipients at 5 p.m. next Tuesday (December 12) at the Y.
This year, the Fund will award $315,000 in grants to 31 organizations throughout Fairfield County. Their programs support equitable educational programs for students.
On Sylvan Road North, motorcycle officer/PAL president/all-around good guy Craig Bergamo rode by.
He was doing a check of bus routes. But he took the time to stop, chat, and wish Dylan Rosen a great start to the year, as he begins 6th grade at Coleytown Middle School.
Dylan Rosen, his mom Barrie and Officer Craig Bergamo. (Photo/Frank Rosen)
And, in what has become one of our favorite “06880” traditions, Pam Long sends this photo of the first day, waiting for the bus at Juniper Road and Caccamo Lane.
(Photo/Pam Long)
Each year the faces change. Kids get older. They move on to a new school; younger ones take their place. But always, there are lots of them.
Meanwhile, this was the scene at Grouse Path and Woodcock Lane, off Newtown Turnpike:
(Photo/Elizabeth DeVoll)
All over town, kids are eager, excited, energetic — and perhaps a bit nervous too.
It’s all natural. For decades in Westport — and across the country — those emotions have not changed.
Good luck to all. Here’s to the best school year ever!
The package had a false return address. The letter inside was signed “Sam Elliott (not really, but you’ll get the 1976 movie reference).” The only clue to the sender is slim: It was mailed from Zip code 06376 (Old Lyme, Connecticut).
The note said: “A few years back you wrote about a lifeguard reunion, and that a former lifeguard brought along a vintage red jacket.” (Click here for that story.)
He was a lifeguard “50-plus years ago,” he said. And he too “forgot” to turn in his jacket.
He worked 6 days a week, 8 hours a day, for $1.25 an hour. (Shifts ran from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and noon to 8 p.m.)
It was a great job — especially uncrowded early mornings and late evenings. The sun rising or setting, with the waves lapping quietly, were “idyllic.”
Even today, the former guard wrote, hearing certain songs — “Black is Black,” “Summer in the City,” “See You in September” — brought him back to those days.
He’d kept his guard jacket for over 5 decades. Now, he said: “I entrust it to you for appropriate disposition — to the Recreation Department, the guard shack, a lifeguard groupie, etc.”
There — folded neatly underneath the note — was his vintage jacket.
The note ended:
“I just couldn’t put it in the textile recycling bin without giving it the possibility of one last trip to Compo Beach before summer’s end.”
Thank you, whoever you are. This weekend — the last of the season for the guards — I’ll bring it down to the shack you remember so well.
PS: That “Sam Elliott 1976 movie” comment? He starred in “Lifeguard.”
This Thursday (August 31, 6:30 p.m.), the Fairfield Museum hosts a free concert. Pianist (and Fairfield native) Jamie Saft headlines the show, with Steve LaSpina and Tim Horner.
And finally … in honor of the songs that — nearly 60 years later — still remind a former lifeguard of his idyllic days at Compo Beach (story above):
(Today the kids are back in class! Celebrate with a donation to “06880” — a great source for local education news. And, of course, lots else. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The Memorial Day parade is one of Westport’s greatest town events.
Everyone has a favorite spot to watch from. Everyone has a favorite band, float or marcher to photograph.
But why share them only with a few hundred dear pals, casual acquaintances and random how’d-they-get-on-my-list Facebook “friends”?
Tomorrow, let all of Westport see “your” Memorial Day parade. Send a few (not all!) of your photos to “06880” (email: 06880blog@gmail.com). Deadline: 1 p.m. Please include brief identification, if needed, and of course your own name.
I’ll post some (not all!) in the afternoon.
And be creative! We want special photos, for our special parade.
Seen along the Memorial Day parade route.
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Speaking of the Memorial Day parade:
When it comes to float-making, the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston don’t mess around.
Every year, they spend hours designing, building and enhancing their creation. Every year, the crowd along the route is awed.
And every year, the Y’s Men win the “Best Float” award.
They also always hand out fliers, describing what they’ve built. This year it says:
The Y’s Men honor the military doctors, nurses, corpsmen and medics who have served on the front line saving lives. The float depicts a field hospital at the battle front. It represents the concept of forward surgical hospitals – bringing medical support to the frontlines. That idea can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars, and translated to the mobile units used from World War I through the Iraq War.
Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) were defined in the popular mind as a part of the Korean War (1950-1953) because of the book, movie and television series of the same name. Numbering at times about 8 percent of total active-duty strength, men and women in the medical corps are dedicated to saving lives.
But they too can become casualties. In World War II, for example, 5,000 physicians, 9,000 medical workers, and 48,000 aid and stretcher men were killed or lost in action.
We give our thanks to these lifesaving professionals who made the ultimate sacrifice and to those who returned to civilian life to provide their medical expertise to serve the Westport community. We honor them and every member of the armed forces dedicated to protecting freedom and liberty for all.
Y’s Men master builder and designer Roy McKay directs the assembly of this year’s Memorial Day float. (Photo/Larry Lich)
Speaking of the Y’s Men: They’ve got a new president.
Baxter Urist handed the reins recently to Dewey Loselle. The longtime member has served Westport in many capacities, including town operations director.
Baxter Urist (left) and Dewey Loselle. (Photo/Tom Lowrie)
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The Westport Country Playhouse Sheffer Studio was filled yesterday, for the town’s first-ever Literary Landmark dedication.
A plaque honoring Lawrence Langner — founder, with his wife Armina Marshall — of the Westport Country Playhouse in 1931 — was unveiled at the gazebo.
Literary Landmarks is a program of the American Library Association’s Friends’ arm. The Langner honor was sponsored by the Westport Library.
Langner and Marshall’s son, granddaughter and great-granddaughters attended the ceremony, along with many town and theater luminaries.
A panel discussed the importance of the Playhouse in American theater history. All agreed: It was profound.
This is only the 6th Literary Landmark in Connecticut. Among the other honorees: Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain.
The Lawrence Langner plaque was unveiled, after the covering — a piece of the original curtain — was removed. At the ceremony were Langner’s son Philip (front) and, standing from left: Westport Library director Bill Harmer; Philip Langner’s daughter Eve and granddaughters Brielle and Lauren; Playhouse honorary trustee Ann Sheffer; 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Was it a huge bust yesterday on Compo Road South? The end of a wild traffic chase?
Nope.
Just a few police cars, lined up to buy lemonade at a stand set up by a couple of Westport kids.
Alex and Ava O’Brien were raising money for the Connecticut Humane Society. The men in blue were happy to oblige.
The Westport Fire Department also stopped by.
Alex and Ava made the lemonade by hand-squeezing 82 lemons. It took 3 hours yesterday morning.
All told, they made $467 for the Human Society — more than double their first effort last year. Congratulations, Alex and Ava. And thanks to all who stopped by! (Hat tip: Heidi McGee)
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Back in the day, Carl Swanson and Jo Ann Miller had a hot tub outside.
It cracked every winter. Jo Ann decided to make a “Jackson Pollack abstract” out of the concrete slab.
Now, any kid who comes over is invited to throw paint on the surface.
The sculpture in the middle is by Westport artist Kelly Spearen. Both it and the abstract art are quite valuable.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a holiday without a photo of Jolantha, Weston’s favorite pig:
(Photo/Hans Wilhelm)
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Andrew Colabella’s vivid photo of a bumblebee in mid-pollinating flight, at his Greens Farms garden, shimmers as today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
As the year ends, Westporters look back on a tough one. COVID is still hanging around. The stock market plummeted. Our nation is politically divided.
Compared to Ukraine though, we live on Easy Street.
Our new sister city of Lyman is entering its 10th month of hell. The Russians are gone after 5 months of occupation. But they left devastation behind.
Buildings lack roofs and walls. There is virtually no electricity or heat. Fire trucks and police cars were demolished. Debris is everywhere.
You can click here to read the latest devastating news, from yesterday’s New York Times. (This news just in: Earlier today, a Russian missile hit the police station. Only 2 patrol cars are left in the town.)
You can see some brutal images too — taken, coincidentally, by Westport native/Staples High School graduate/Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Tyler Hicks.
A Lyman firefighter battles a blaze with just a trickle of water, in bitter cold. (Photo/Tyler Hicks for the New York Times)
On this final day of 2022, please help Westport’s drive to help Lyman.
Our goal is $250,000. As of yesterday — less than 2 weeks after we began — we’ve raised $219,200. Wouldn’t it be great to reach our target today?
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Lyman through Ukraine Aid International — the non-profit co-founded by Westporter Brian Mayer. Pleaseclick here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other tax-deductible donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo). You can also donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
When blandly named but popular Westport Chinese Takeout closed in October, it left a void in Saugatuck.
That’s where — decades earlier — the original Arrow Restaurant began. (The name comes from the angle of the road, where Franklin Street meets Saugatuck Avenue.) When it outgrow that location, the Arrow moved around the corner to Charles Street.
Work has begun on Lomito. The windows are still papered over. But there are new steps, and a spiffy logo. Two signs promise: “Opening soon.”
Connecticut Magazine is out with their annual “40 Under 40” list.
Among the 40 people under 40 years old who are “changing the game in Connecticut and beyond”: Westporters Drew Angus and Julia Marino.
The writeup on Angus — a 2007 Staples High School graduate — says:
Finding success as a musician is not easy, explains this Bridgeport-based and Westport-raised singer-songwriter. “In this business, behind all the accomplishments and successes are many more unsuccessful projects and ideas that just never quite worked out,” Angus says. “It takes a certain kind of drive and a sick love for things not working out to be successful in creative ventures like music.”
Fortunately for him and fans of music everywhere, Angus has that drive, as his easy-to-listen-to, melodic New Americana music propelled him to be a finalist on American Idol in 2016. He’s also shared the stage with Harry Styles and Nile Rogers on Saturday Night Live, as well as Pat Benatar, Ann Wilson of Heart, and Andrea Bocelli. He has also toured with Marc Broussard and last summer impressed his hometown music fans with a set at Sound on Sound festival in Bridgeport.
When asked what advice he has for aspiring songwriters, he urges artists to not over-revise their work. “Finish those songs and put them out,” he says. “There’s a point of diminishing returns when changing lyric, melody or mix on a song no longer makes it better but just different or actually worse. Sometimes version one is actually the magic take.”
Drew Angus
For Olympic silver medalist Marino, it reads:
Lots of notable folks can boast about throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for a Red Sox game at fabled Fenway Park, including slopestyle and Big Air snowboarder and Westport native Marino. But she also has bragging rights none of those others can touch. In 2016, Marino, then an 18-year-old World Cup newcomer, replaced an injured teammate to compete in the Polartec Big Air event held at Fenway Park … and won.
A hit at Fenway, she returned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2017, and again for a Red Sox-Yankees game in August 2022. Eighteen was a good age for Marino, who that year also became the first woman to land a double in slopestyle competition, according to her U.S. Ski & Snowboard team bio, landing two in the same run, a cab double underflip and a double backflip. Marino is most famous, of course, for winning a silver medal in women’s slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Olympics (slopestyle is snowboarding down a course filled with terrain-park features and obstacles like rails and jumps.)
Also a 2018 Olympian and a seven-time X Games medalist, Marino loves photography, making videos, and spending time outdoors with her family and dog.
Julia Marino, on the Olympic podium.
Click here for the full Connecticut Magazine “40 Under 40.”
Matt Murray noticed all these shoes lined up at Old Mill Beach.
(Photo/Matt Murray)
There was no one nearby. No one swimming.
Who owns them? Why are they there?
Maybe it’s part of SyFy’s annual “Twilight Zone” marathon. The annual event — an homage to the show and its creator, former Westporter Rod Serling — began at 5 a.m. today. It runs through 4 a.m. on Tuesday.
Click here for the full schedule. (In case you’re wondering: “A Stop at Willoughby” — the classic Westport-themed episode — airs Monday, at 5 p.m.)
Congratulations to Dr. Cindy Dunbar. The 1976 Staples High School graduate was recently inducted into the National Academy of Medicine.
A Harvard graduate who specializes in hematology, she’s had an amazing career. Click here for an in-depth interview. (She begins with her youth in Westport — and her interest in music and theater. It continues to this day.)
Click here for a more scientifically oriented piece. (Hat tip: Ed Stalling)
And finally … who needs Guy Lombardo (or Dan Fogelberg), when we’ve got Mariah Carey?!
(The year is not yet over! You’ve still got a few hours to support “06880” — and, because we’re a non-profit, take a tax write-off. Please click here. Thank you!)
Brochu Walker opened recently on Main Street, between The Gap and J. Crew.
The women’s store began in Carmel, California. Westport native Nancy Berger consulted for them. They were considering an East Coast location. When she was moving back here last year, she suggested it as a good fit.
Owner Karine Dubner visited last summer, and fell in love with the historical architecture, water views and variety of seasons. The available location — an older building downtown — seemed perfect.
Brochu Walker hopes to “become part of the community, establish roots and foster deep relationships” with customers, Dubner says.
Dubner describes the store as a “‘conscious luxury’ collection,” known for clothing with “an understated, rich nature and an attention to detail that is thoughtful and discreet.” It is best known for “luxurious knitwear, timeless dresses and exclusive pre-layered Looker sweaters.”
She’s pleased with customers’ positive reactions (including that they still carry winter styles). She promises to “evolve in the direction our community dictates.”
Staples High School senior and noted coxswain Mia Khamish has committed to Duke University.
She coxed her Connecticut Boat Club 4+ crew to first place finishes at the Head of the Fish, San Diego Fall Classic and Mercer Sprints. She also directed the 4+ to sixth at the Head of the Charles.
Mia earned first honors throughout Staples. She is fluent in English, Russian, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew, and has played violin for over 7 years.
Duke recently profiled Mia on its sports website. Click here for the Q-and-A.
Tickets went fast for this weekend’s Candlelight Concert.
But Westporters — and everyone else, around the world — can watch it online. A tape of the 81st annual event will be streamed on Thursday, December 23 (8 p.m.).
Like the concert itself, it’s free — a gift, from the Staples High School music department. The link will be available at StaplesMusic.org.
Steve Ginsburg spent 10 great years with the ADL: 4 in Chicago, the last 6 as director of its Connecticut chapter.
His most rewarding times were helping people in crisis — CEOs, school principals, teenagers being bullied or accused of bullying — work through their issues.
Now, the Westport resident is doing that full-time.
Ginsburg is a co-founder of August. It’s a national strategic communications firm, helping people and companies in difficult circumstances tell their story with clarity and integrity.
His area of expertise is “diversity and bias.” For example, he cites a university campus roiled by accusations of racism. He can guide the many stakeholers — students, professors, administrators, trustees — as they speak to the media.
“At ADL, I loved working with media,” Ginsburg says. “I saw the importance of them doing their job well — and what can happen when they don’t.
“Our society is very polarized. When news breaks, there’s often a rush to judgment. But things are not always what they first seem. Society benefits from accurate, fair reporting.”
Justin Paul has been very generous with his time. The Tony, Oscar and Grammy Award-winning co-songwriter of “Dear Evan Hansen,” “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman” — and 2003 Staples High School graduate — has returned often to his alma mater (and Coleytown Middle School) to share insights and tricks of the trade with the next generation of talented Westporters.
For the rest of us — who aren’t still in school — there’s a new online course.
Paul and his writing partner, Benj Pasek, offer a month-long online class: “Songwriting for Musical Theater.” It’s immersive — 7 to 10 hours a week, for 4 weeks — that provides students with the foundation to write their own musical (including 2 original songs).
Click here for details. Who knows? Maybe after writing your musical, “You Will Be Found.”
At the end of an appearance in 2018 at Staples High, Justin Paul played piano as students sang the “Dear Evan Hansen” classic, “Waving Through a Window.” (Photo/Kerry Long)
Everyone is in the gift-giving mood. Even the Westport Transit District.
As a holiday gift to residents, they offer free rides to users of the Wheels2U shuttle service. The service starts Monday (December 20), and is good through December 31.
Wheels2U Westport is the WTD’s on-demand, group ride, door-to -train platform shuttle service.
The free rides to and from the Westport and Greens Farms stations are not just for commuters. If you’re seeing a show, museum, the Rockefeller Center tree or friends: hop aboard the shuttle, and the train.
If you’re in the service area, use the Wheels2U Westport app to request a pickup between 5:45 and 9:45 a.m., and 4 and 8 p.m., 20 minutes before you’d normally leave.
Back in the (Clam Box) days, there was an exit from that parking lot in the back, onto Long Lots Road.
Years ago, it was sealed off. The only exit and entrance was via Post Road East.
There may be another exit in the future. In a different spot: the upper parking deck.
Planning & Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals permission has been granted to expand the upper deck by 18 spaces; reconstruct and extend the existing retaining wall; install a planter and landscaping — and add gated, emergency access to Long Lots. It would only be used by fire, police or EMS vehicles, as a secondary exit route.
The request for a zoning permit awaits P&Z Department approval.
A view of the 877 Post Road East upper parking deck, from Long Lots Road.
And finally … Steve Bronski, a co-founder member of the British synth-pop trio Bronski Beat, died Thursday, at 61. Click here for a full obituary. (Hat tip: Amy Schneider)
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