Last year’s Soundview Summer Stroll was a smash.
All day Sunday, the Compo Beach exit road was closed to traffic. Kids enjoyed games, face painting, a balloon artist and more. Adults ambled, greeting old friends and making new ones.
Bands played. Old Mill Deli provided pizza and gelato. The vibe was Venice (California).
It’s back! This year’s 2nd annual Soundview Summer Stroll is July 27. There’s an extra hour: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Like last year, it’s a gift to the town from “06880” and the Compo Beach Improvement Association.
Mark your calendar. See you there!
Fun for all ages. (Photo/Benji Porosoff)
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If you saw a bunch of teenage boys picking up trash, weeding or doing other work this weekend, they were SLOBs.
As in: Staples Service League of Boys.
Every April, the high schoolers fan out around town, for their Earth Day Service Weekend.
That’s in addition to all the other work they do, all year long, for non-profits and other organizations.
The group below worked with the Westport Downtown Association, to help clean up Parker Harding Plaza.
(Photo/Lee Shufro)
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Also yesterday: VFW Post 399 commemorated its 105th anniversary, celebrating over a century of support to veterans and community.
Established on April 27, 1920, by 11 World War I veterans, the Joseph J. Clinton Veterans of Foreign War post has served Westport’s veteran community ever since.
Private Clinton was a Westporter who gave his life in France on November 7, 1918, just 4 days before the armistice.
“For 105 years, our Post has been more than a gathering place — it’s been a family,” says quartermaster, Phil Delgado.
“We honor Private Clinton’s sacrifice by serving today’s veterans, strengthening community ties, and preserving the memory of those who paved the way for our freedoms.”
VFW Post 399 hosts many events, from Memorial Day ceremonies to monthly community blood drives, plus Jazz at the Post every Thursday. It also partners with nonprofits to advance veterans’ causes.
Celebrating 105 years (from left): Al Strazza, Frank Veno, Phil Delgado, Dennis Rohrmoser.
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Jonathan Grayer has spent his career in education.
As CEO of Kaplan, the 1982 Staples High School and ’86 Harvard University graduate turned the test prep company into the 2nd largest online education provider in the world.
He retired in 2008, then started Imagine Learning. He now serves as CEO. Its digital curriculums make enormous differences in some of the largest and neediest public school districts in America.
Grayer is a philanthropist too. His main passions are cancer research and post-secondary schooling. His Kaplan Educational Foundation — “Rhodes Scholars for Community Colleges” — sends students from 2-year schools to Ivy League and other top universities.
But Grayer has not forgotten his Westport roots. And he knows that in this affluent community, plenty of families cannot afford the enormous (and skyrocketing) cost of college.
In 2022 he jump-started a Staples Tuition Grants award, from the Class of 1982. It’s become a shining example of how SHS alums can give back to their school and community, long after they graduated.
To learn more about Staples Tuition Grants — and/or contribute — click here.
To watch an interview of Grayer, at the ASU+GSV summit — where over 10,000 educators, workforce leaders and innovators discussed the future education (and how to ensure access to it) — click below.
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Tickets are selling fast for a variety of upcoming Westport Country Playhouse events. They include:
“The Wizard of Oz” (June 21, 1 and 4 p.m.; all tickets $30). From the same company that brought “Pinkalicious The Musical” to the WCP stage.
“Karma Kabaret” (June 21, 8 p.m.; all tickets $20): A creative celebration of life — described as “Robin Williams meets Streisand meets TED Talks meets Einstein meets Buddha meets Broadway meets creator M. Zavidow.
Rosanne Cash with John Leventhal (July 16, 8 p.m.; tickets $125, $115, $98).
Click here for more information, tickets, and details of many other upcoming events.
Rosanne Cash and her husband John Leventhal.
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1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and ROAN Ventures’ Rodrigo Real are part of the annual “Real Estate Outlook” panel. The event is May 20 (8:30 a.m., SoNo Collection M&T Bank, Norwalk).
The theme is “Breaking New Ground: The Projects That Will Impact Fairfield County.” The moderator is Eric Bernheim. He heads up the real estate and land use practice at Westport’s FLB Law, which co-sponsors the event. Click here to register, and for more information.
The real estate outlook for Fairfield County includes The Hamlet at Saugatuck project.
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Westport author Meg Serino’s debut novel “Annapurna” will be published May 6.
In it, a woman returns to the base camp of the famous Nepalese mountain to confront events leading to her best friend’s tragic death there 20 years earlier. She explores the nature of their friendship, the meaning of love, and the unexpected consequences of what is spoken — and what is not. Click here for more information.
Meg Serino
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“Cheese Fries & Chili Dips” — Weston native Chris Fuller’s one-man “hilarious and heartfelt story of a pro golfer’s bipolar journey to wellness” — is set for 2 performances at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church (May 16 and 17).
A 6:30 party precedes the 7:30 p.m. show.
Tickets are $10. Call 203-259-5596 to purchase.
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Spring foliage continues to fill us with joy and wonder.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” image comes from the ever-changing Riverwalk, outside the Library.
(Photo/Wendy Levy)
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And finally … in honor of an upcoming show at the Westport Country Playhouse (story above):
(It doesn’t take courage, or a brain or heart, to support “06880,” your hyper-local blog. All you have to do is click here. Like Dorothy, you know how important home is.)
