A reminder: Tomorrow’s (Sunday) CT United motorcycle ride will impact travel on Riverside Avenue, Wilton Road — and cross streets — from Exit 17 to the Wilton line.
The event — paying tribute to the victims and first responders of 9/11 — is the largest motorcycle ride in the state.
It begins around 11:30 a.m. at Sherwood Island State Park. Hundreds of riders head south on I-95; take Exit 17, and then proceed to Wilton, and on through 7 towns before ending in Bridgeport.
The route is closed and continuous. With the assistance of a police escort, motorcyclists drive through traffic lights and do not stop at stop signs.
Drivers should expect extended traffic delays along the route — potentially 45 minutes or longer. Alternate routes are recommended.
The start of the CT United ride, at Sherwood Island State Park. (Photo/Penny Pearlman)
==================================================
Today’s Slice of Saugatuck is postponed until next Saturday (September 14). Rain and thunder are expected this afternoon.
But the weather was perfect last night. And a large crowd enjoyed a pre-opening party at The Bridge at Saugatuck.
Doug Pardon’s new restaurant — replacing Parker Mansion, which replaced Mansion Clam House — will open later this month, or in early October.
But a band played, drinks were served, music rocked, and a couple of hundred guests enjoyed the 2-level space, patio and deck.
The cabanas by the river will be a welcome addition to the restaurant — and all of Saugatuck too.
“06880” will announce The Bridge at Saugatuck’s opening date, as soon as it’s set.
The band on the Bridge at Saugatuck patio …
… and a view of the downstairs bar, from above. (Photos/Dan Woog)
=================================================
Last October, “06880” reported on the 50th anniversary of the Kings Highway North Historic District — the first such designation in Westport.
Now — just in time for nice fall walking weather — the Historic District Commission has updated its self-guided walking tour.
And made it available digitally.
The fascinating and important project — overseen by HDC member Bill Ryan — includes nearly 3 dozen homes and other structures (plus a cemetery) on Wright Street, Kings Highway North, Old Hill Road, Edge Hill Lane and Wilton Road.
Click here to view, download and begin.
Kings Highway walking tour. Detailed information about each home is available by clicking on the Historic District Commission link above.
=================================================
The other day, we previewed Diane Benke’s upcoming Swedish swimrun.
The Westport mom was preparing to swim — tethered to a partner — to an island in the Stockholm archipelago. Then they’d race across the rocky surface, plunge back in the water, and do it again.
Two dozen times.
The Ötillö Swimrun World Championship involves 46 transitions: water to land, and vice versa. She hoped to race across 24 islands in all.
The pair needed to make cutoff points along the way. If they did not get to a point within a certain time, they could not continue.
Diane Benke and her swimrun partner, Chrissy Halioris of Louisville, Kentucky.
Diane is back home. Unfortunately, she says, she and her partner missed the second time cut-off by just 6 minutes.
“It was a huge disappointment,” Diane says. “Our race ended after over 5 hours on the course.
“It was a beauty and a beast! The water temperature was in the 50s. Conditions were pretty rough at the start, but you deal with the hand you’re dealt.”
Despite her early finish, Diane says, “it was so cool to be there. And it was such an incredible experience!”
Look closely — that’s Diane Benke, in the high yellow socks.
She hopes to try again another year — perhaps partnering with her husband Blake, an endurance athlete himself. (Click here to read an “06880” story about his 2013 adventure: a 153-mile Spartathlon race in Greece, tracing the journey of Pheidippides from Athens to Sparta.)
Meanwhile, Diane says, “I would love to grow the pool of local swimrunners in our community.”
Congratulations, Diane — on training for the swimrun, then spending 5 hours at, in the water and on land.
You have my admiration and huge respect, delivered warmly right here from the comfort of my home.
Diane and Blake Benke, in Stockholm.
==================================================
The Japan Society Fall Festival — scheduled for today at Jesup Green — has been postponed to tomorrow (Sunday, September 8, 1 to 4 p.m.). Threatened rain — which could harm the traditional drums — forced the delay.
The Fall Festival includes Taiko drumming, Bon Odori dance, booths with Japanese crafts and other products, and — new this year — a demonstration of Radio Taiso, a gentle fitness routine set to music.
The 2019 Japan Festival on Jesup Green.
================================================
Westport Fire Chief Nick Marsan spoke at yesterday’s Sunrise Rotary Club meeting.
He described the Community Connect program, and how it helps first responders during emergencies.
Sunrise Rotary has a special connection to the WFD: They provide the “river” that plastic animals course down during the annual Great Duck Race.
Fire Chief Nick Marsan speaks yesterday.
==================================================
In conjunction with StoryFest 2024, the Westport Library will showcase 2 art mediums related to their own kinds of storytelling.
The history, present and future of cartooning, and an album cover art retrospective, headline 4 new exhibits. They run from today (Saturday) through December 10.
The history of cartooning in Fairfield County is on display at “Cartoon County: The Golden Age of Cartooning in Connecticut” in the Sheffer Gallery.
It will display works from the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection, featuring more than 40 original cartoons by area greats including Dik Browne, Mel Casson, Stan Drake, John Cullen Murphy, Leonard Starr, Jack Tippit and Mort Walker.
Visitors can explore the medium’s current condition and vision for the future with “The State of Cartooning” in the South Gallery.
Works by members of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society include Greg, Brian, and Neal Walker, who carry the legacy of their father, Mort Walker, the creator of “Beetle Bailey.”
An opening reception and keynote presentation by cartoonist and comics historian Walker is set for Tuesday (September 10, 6 p.m.).
As it did in the spring, the Jesup Gallery exhibit will focus on country music this fall. Drawn once more from the collection of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame keyboardist and record producer Mark Naftalin (Paul Butterfield Blues Band) and his wife, Ellen Naftalin, “Art of the Album: Country” showcases tcovers from the 1920s through the ’70s.
Country music album covers, at the Library.
==================================================
As use of Longshore slows down, workers began maintenance on handsome entrance.
(Photo/DouglasHealey.com)
==================================================
Longtime Westport resident Marie Carpenter died Thursday, at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport. She was 96.
The Scarsdale, New York native served in the Civil Air Patrol after World War II.
She worked for many years as a real estate agent here, first for Mila Grieb Village Realty and then Coldwell Banker.
She was an avid scuba diver, tennis player and skier. and a member of the Norwalk Ski Club.
Survivors include her son Mark S. (Donna Marie) of Lakeway, Texas, and nephew Walter Greenwood of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was predeceased by her husband Stanley, and sister Helen Thornton.
A graveside service will be held September 13 (11 a.m., Willowbrook Cemetery). In lieu of flowers, contributions in Marie’s name may be made to Potter League for Animals. Click here to leave online condolences.
==================================================
Fall is not far away, as today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo from Robin Frank’s back yard shows:
(Photo/Robin Frank)
==================================================
And finally … Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian pianist, composer who came to fame with his Brasil ’66 combo, and was a popular performer for more than 60 years, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 83, and suffered from long COVID.
Click here for a full obituary.
(If it’s happening this weekend — or any time else — you’ll read about it on “06880.” Please click here to help us continue covering everything going on in Westport. Thank you!)
