Many things make the Westport Fine Arts Festival special.
Besides the wide variety of art and artists — and the friendly vibe all along Main Street — there is the Saturday night artists’ reception.
After a long day of chatting up customers (and just-lookers), dozens of painters, photographers, sculptors, jewelers, ceramists and woodworkers gather at Christ & Holy Trinity’s Branson Hall a few yards away.
They relax, over good food (and an open bar).
There are a couple of brief speeches thanking the Westport Downtown Association organizers. Then come the awards.
This year’s “Best in Show” winner was GM Webb of Baltimore. A sculptor working with wire, his selection was roundly applauded by his fellow artists.
Click here to see some of his work. Better yet, head down to Main Street today, to see it in person — and all his fellow artists’ too.
The Fine Arts Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
GM Webb, with his “Best in Show” ribbon. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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The Fine Arts Festival is in its 51st year.
The Parks & Recreation Department’s Summer Kickoff party at Compo Beach is in its first.
But it too was a huge success yesterday.
A couple of hundred families enjoyed activities like touch-a-truck, face painting, an obstacle course, and activities run by Longshore Sailing School, and golf and tennis instructors.
Plus (of course) food trucks.
Westport Police, Fire Department, EMS and Public Works were involved too.
Congratulations to all, for the start of a great new tradition.
Selectwomen Andrea Moore and Jen Tooker, Parks & Recreation interim director Rick Giunta and operations manager Carm Roda join Parks & Rec employees at the Compo Beach Kickoff.
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There was even more going on yesterday than the Fine Arts Festival and Compo Summer Kickoff.
The Levitt Pavilion hosted 3 bands — Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Andy Frasco & The UN, and Dogs in a Pile — in an hours-long festival.
Just like Main Street and the beach, the place was packed.
Just one more example of why, if you left town for the holiday weekend — well, you missed a lot of fun.
Levitt Pavilion 3-band festival. (Photo/Alex Sherman)
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One of the unfortunate consequences of the gas-powered leaf blower ban that went into effect May 15 has been harassment of landscapers.
“06880” has heard of several instances in which Westporters have screamed at employees using the blowers, demanding they stop, then growing even angrier when the men do not know why they’re being yelled at. Some do not even speak English.
Landscapers work for their employers. Their employers work for homeowners.
It’s unfair to blame men who are simply doing the job they’re instructed to do.
It’s also the easy way out.
Talk to the homeowner. Call the landscape company owner.
And to report a violation, email ckelly@westportct.gov, or write: Conservation Department, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880.
These are not the people to yell at.
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The Staples boys lacrosse team did it for the first time: winning the FCIAC (league) championship, in dramatic fashion. (Click here to read the stirring story.)
And Charlie Scott has done it again.
The Staples High School senior has produced another spectacular highlight reel of Thursday’s huge win.
It’s the latest in his year-long series of great videos. And it may be his best yet.
Click below to see:
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Last night’s perfect holiday weather brought the first big outdoor dining crowd of spring to Church Lane.
Tables outside Spotted Horse, The Blondinit and Pink Sumo were all filled. It was a hint of many more such nights to come.
Today is predicted to be cloudy. As for Memorial Day … uh oh.
Dining al fresco at Spotted Horse. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo features blue-eyed grass, growing at the base of a spicebush. Both plants are native to our region, says photographer Melissa Chang.
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And finally … Sally Ride was born on this day in 1951. She was the first American female astronaut, the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space (32 years old), and the first astronaut known to be LGBT. She died of pancreatic cancer in 2012, age 61.
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(As Westport heads into summer, “06880” is your place to find out what’s happening, where and when. Plus what just happened. Please support our work, by clicking here to contribute. Thanks!)
