Everyone has a favorite Westport place: Compo Beach. The Library. Farmer’s Market. Lillian Wadsworth Arboretum. Museum for History & Culture.
This Saturday (September 28, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saugatuck Church), all those special spots will be honored.
The Westport Garden Club’s 100th anniversary flower show — called “Westport’s Town Treasures” — is their first official National Garden Clubs-sanctioned flower show in 19 years.
Westport Garden Club, at Jesup Green.
Members spent the last 2 years learning official rules, planning and practicing to create the event, and craft a program that pays tribute to the town they have worked a century to beautify.
Hoskins Hall at Saugatuck Church (another town treasure) will be transformed by exhibits in horticulture, floral design, photography and education.
In keeping with the theme, 4 Westport environmental groups — Aspetuck Land Trust, Earthplace, Friends of Sherwood Island and the town’s Conservation Department — will offer educational exhibits, highlighting how each has enhanced Westport’s Pollinator Pathway.
The photography exhibits, provided by amateur photographers from around the state, honor treasured local resources”:
The Community Garden: A photograph of a landscape or a garden.
The Saugatuck River: A photograph of a plant or tree reflected in a body of water.
Burying Hill: A photograph with a beach setting that includes plant material.
Staples Players: A photograph of a butterfly, moth or dragon fly in a garden setting.
The Photography division will be judged by Westport professionals Stacy Waldman Bass and John Videler (along with an official Flower Show judge).
Even the show’s program cover art fits the theme. It is an original work of art created for the show by former Westport teacher and artist Kerstin Rao. She offers limited edition tea towels and notecards, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the garden club.
Kerstin Rao’s program cover.
The suggested donation is $10, which go toward the club’s community projects. Donors will receive a copy of the commemorative 100th anniversary booklet. and a chance to win a gift card from 2 more recent Westport favorites: Nômade and Gabriele’s Steakhouse.
(The Westport Garden Club is 85 years older than “06880.” But we’re proud to report on treasures like it — and younger ones too. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Every so often, a yacht anchored off Compo Beach draws the attention of normally blasé beachgoers.
In 1966, when Mia Farrow — a Westport resident — was 21 and Frank Sinatra was 50, they spent time on his vessel. Their marriage lasted 2 years.
A few years ago, the 185-foot Rosehearty — previously owned by Rupert Murdoch, but sold to a Staples High School graduate building a home near Saugatuck Shores — drew admiring gazes (and plenty of envy).
Yesterday, it was Gene Chaser’s turn.
Gene Chaser, off Compo Beach. (Photo/Rob Feakins)
It’s 182 feet — just a yard shorter than Rosehearty. And it too has an intriguing back story.
Rob Feakins found a 2022 story on Robb Report. The yacht is owned by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, a “Connecticut-based DNA sequencing specialist.”
Launched in late 2020, Rothberg converted spaces inside and out into laboratories and hubs for scientific projects.
Four Caterpillar diesel engines with a combined 5,600 horsepower push it to 26 miles per hour.
There’s space to land a helicopter, carry a fleet of tenders and toys, and stow a converted shipping container full of ATVs and motorbikes.
With her massive, Transformer-like, 13-ton-capacity crane extended, the yacht’s Fjord 42 tender, 28-foot OXpro AL8 landing craft, 20-foot Zodiac RIB and a fleet of jet skis can be hoisted and stowed on the deck.
Gene Chaser is used for family trips to the Bahamas and Caribbean, then north to Maine and Connecticut for the summer. Scientific experiments are conducted along the way.
Not the British — this is Gene Chaser. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Over 100 people headed to Christ & Holy Trinity Church’s Branson Hall yesterday, for a special viewing of Homes with Hope‘s 40th anniversary video.
The documentary — created by former Westporter Livio Sanchez — spotlights the 4-decade history of our town’s homeless shelter, supportive housing and food pantry non-profit.
It is an honest look back at the hurdles its founders faced. It’s also an inspirational tale, one that — as various interviewees emphasize — should be replicated by suburban towns across the country.
Craig and Bryan Gillespie — sons of co-founder Dr. Jim Gillespie — and other family members were at the event. The Gillespie Center men’s shelter is named for him.
Future showings will be announced on “06880.” It’s a must-see look at what remains an important, complicated issue, and an unvarnished history of how our town has dealt with it.
Craig Gillespie (with microphone) and, from left, former Homes with Hope CEO Jeff Wieser, board chair John Walsh, vice president and COO Paris Looney, and president and CEO Helen McAlinden.
For nearly 50 years, quietly — but fiercely — Bloodroot has raised consciousnesses, fought for women’s rights, and served great food on a side street near the water in Bridgeport.
Many Westporters know and love it.
Others have never heard of it.
Now the Washington Post has given it the full-story treatment.
Including plenty of shout-outs to its co-founder, longtime Westport resident Selma Miriam.
At 89 years old, she deserves every accolade.
The story says:
Since 1978, diners have stepped over the threshold to find themselves enveloped by the inclusive yet pro-female culture created by the Bloodroot Collective, a group of feminist and lesbian activists from the Bridgeport community seeking to put women’s issues at the center of the plate….
For Noel Furie, now 79, and Selma Miriam, 89, Bloodroot’s co-owners, the goal was to build a self-sustaining feminist community that would embrace global cuisine and where women, lesbian and straight, could feel supported. The concept appears to have worked as today’s diners eat platters of housemade injera and misir wat beneath hundreds of vintage photographs of women, picked up at yard sales and donated by friends, that line the walls.
The Post notes that “of the 200-plus feminist restaurants, cafes and coffeehouses that opened across the United States during the 1970s and ’80s … just one remains: Bloodroot.”
To read the full story, click here. (Hat tip: Eileen Lavigne Flug)
Bloodroot founders Selma Miriam (left) and Noel Furie, at their restaurant. (Photo/Penny de los Santos for Washington Post)
Sure, it’s the far side of the Stop & Shop parking lot.
But it wasn’t empty — look at the other cars.
If everyone in the lot decided to park like that …
Meanwhile, this guy (or gal, though I’d bet the farm it’s the former) is just lucky 2 other drivers decided not to park very close, in the empty spots on either side.
Every year, the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary — created in honor of one of the children murdered at Sandy Hook — holds a Butterfly Party in Newtown.
This year’s was on Saturday. It would have been Catherine’s 18th birthday.
The day included pet adoptions, kids’ crafts and more.
Westporter Tracy Porosoff and her daughter bought a milkweed plant. It will provide food for butterflies in their yard — much needed, as their numbers decline.
Tracy says, “If Westport families could make their garden butterfly-friendly, that would be a wonderful way to honor Catherine’s memory — and help the earth.”
To learn more about Pollinator Pathway, click here.
Milkweed, already planted in Tracy Porosoff’s garden.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo — and nature lesson — comes from the superb, indefatigable, and very knowledgeable wildlife photographer Johanna Keyser Rossi.
She writes: “I kept hearing chirping from a tree in Grace Salmon Park. I saw what looked like a small bee hive. But then I saw the orioles feeding their chicks.
And finally … in honor of Bloodroot’s 47 years (and its shout-out from the Washington Post):
(Whether you own a yacht, a sailboat, a kayak or a rubber ducky, we’re grateful for your support of “06880.” Whatever level feels comfortable is happily accepted. Please click here — and thank you!)
As the search continues for the submersible, lost in the Atlantic Ocean during a dive to the wreck of Titanic, media outlets cite David Pogue’s report on the company catering to the ultra-rich.
Last November, the Westporter and “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent described his own dive — and the warnings that preceded it. “06880” wrote about that now-noteworthy segment.
Our piece included a link to his broadcast:
There was a link to his “Unsung Science” podcast too. Click here, then scroll down for his 2-part series on his experience with the vessel.
This week, Pogue has been quoted in print and broadcast media outlets around the world. He has become the world’s go-to expert, both from personal and professional experience.
Large red and technologically advanced “Wrong Way” signs will be installed soon at the northbound and southbound I-95 Exit 17 entrances.
They’re part of a statewide program to cut down on head-on collisions — often fatal — resulting from drivers entering highway exits.
The state Department of Transportation has identified 236 high-risk ramps. Many are like Exit 17, where the on- and off-ramps are in close proximity. The highest priority goes to ramps that are near to places that serve alcohol.
The new signs will include cameras that identify when cars drive the wrong way. When that happens, lights flash.
The signs will also notify the closest state police barracks, and DOT Highway Operations Center.
I-95 Exit 17 on- and off-ramps are right next to each other.
Speaking of traffic: The Westport Sunrise Rotary’s annual Great Duck Race is this Saturday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). The Taylor parking lot (between Jesup Green and the Saugatuck River) will be closed beginning Friday evening.
Also this weekend: the downtown Sidewalk Sale (Friday through Sunday). Expect extra traffic — both vehicular and pedestrian.
Oblivious to the upcoming closing of the Taylor parking lot. (Photo/Mary Sikorski)
Since 2019, Wakeman Town Farm, Earthplace and the Westport Garden Club have promoted Westport’s “Pollinator Pathway.” It’s part of an area-wide effort to restore and connect habitats for ecologically crucial pollinators.
This Saturday (June 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the group has organized a second annual Pollinator Pathway tour. It features 2 private and 4 public gardens. Other Fairfield and Westchester County towns are also involved.
Westport locations include:
4 Deepwood Lane
Earthplace
Prospect Gardens (13 Prospect Road)
Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center
Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve
Wakeman Town Farm
All sites except Earthplace will have guides and/or gardeners on hand to answer questions, and provide information about plant choice and best practices to support biodiversity using earth-friendly practices for healthier lawns and gardens.
Earthplace will be a self-directed tour.
Click here for more information on participating gardens, and an interactive map with descriptions, photographs, and directions.Click here for a list of Northeast native pollinator plants.
Part of the Sherwood Island State Park Pollinator Pathway. (Photo/Kelle Ruden)
A few days after the end of the legislative session, State Representative Jonathan Steinberg addressed the Westport Rotary Club at yesterday’s weekly meeting.
“We hope Connecticut can get back to where it was pre-pandemic,” Steinberg said, referring to the local economy. Election initiatives such as early voting and new election technology, and sensible gun reform, are other priorities for Governor Lamong.
The legislator also discussed Westport’s crippling traffic. He said, “We need to do more work on improving traffic in Westport, We have no choice not to.”
Though a proposal to levy highway tolls failed in the past few years, Steinberg hopes to keep the issue alive. He says it could help alleviate congestion.
State Representative Jonathan Steinberg, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)
At 57 Diane Meyer Lowman set off on a life-changing adventure: a “senior year abroad” studying in the MA program at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon.
She learned a lot.
She wrote a lot too.
Her memoir –“The Undiscovered Country: Seeing Myself Through Shakespeare’s Eyes” — will be published in September.
Diane details her “transformative experiences, both personal and academic,” as she immerses herself in the world of Shakespeare. She learns as much about herself as she does about the Bard.
“Undiscovered Country” is available for pre-order. Click here for details.
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Former Westport resident Patricia Lane Willett died unexpectedly on June 8. She was 83, and lived in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Her family calls her “a devoted wife for nearly 6 decades to William H. Willett, a loving mother of 5, a loyal friend, an active philanthropist, and an extraordinary hostess. Pat embraced life with boundless energy, a competitive spirit, and a knack for timely humor.
“Her infectious smile, unwavering desire to please, and unmatched passion for entertaining ensured that every gathering she hosted was unforgettable and filled with laughter.
“She possessed a remarkable ability to spoil her cherished grandchildren, showering them with affection, Nana kisses, and indulgences that will forever hold a special place in their hearts. Pat’s dedication to philanthropy revealed her depth of competitive spirit as she tirelessly pursued charitable goals, all the while expressing immense gratitude for those who supported and shared in her endeavors.”
Patricia was preceded in death by her siblings Mary, Judy, Linda, Joe, Paul, Chubby, Greg, and daughter-in-law Shannon Willett. She is survived by her husband; children Wendy Sellers (Rick), Chris Willett, Jeff Willett (Lisa), Brad Willett (Jennifer) and Elizabeth Johnson; sister Joanne Lane; 16 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests considering donations in Pat’s memory to Autism Speaks, a cause close to her heart.
Shonda Rhimes — the producer/screenwriter/author/global media company CEO/Television Academy Hall of Fame inductee — entertained, inspired and wowed a sold-out crowd at last night’s Westport Library “Booked for the Evening” fundraiser. Actors Tony Goldwyn and Scott Foley were there too.
The leader in both her industry and for women of color, Rhimes is known for telling great stories (check out Netflix!). On stage before an appreciative audience, in a conversation with Vanity Fair editor Rhadika Jones, she spent her evening in Westport doing exactly that.
Shonda Rhimes, at the Westport Library. (Photo/Jerri Graham Photography)
Ceremonies are held at Westport’s 2 middle and 5 elementary schools.
Dylan Chatterjee captured this scene yesterday, outside Bedford, where his sister Mia was celebrated. It seems symbolic: 8th graders moving toward the light of Staples High School, both literally and figuratively.
(Photo/Dylan Chatterjee)
Congratulations to all 5th and 8th graders — I mean, rising 6th graders and freshman — all over town!
To celebrate, Pollinator Pathways organizers in Westport and surrounding towns are showcasing properties — both public and private — where habitat-friendly landscaping is done. They’ll also provide information on how homeowners can create Pollinator Pathway yards of their own.
It’s this Saturday (June 25) at 4 separate Westport sites, all 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Earthplace (3 gardens), Prospect Road (privately owned), Smith-Richardson Wildlife Preserve (2 meadows) and Wakeman Town Farm (a 100-foot pollinator border).
Weston’s Onion Farm tour is also Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Guides and gardeners will be on hand, to answer questions.
Click here, then scroll down to plan your tour. You’ll also see Pollinator Pathway tours throughout Fairfield, New Haven and Westchester Counties.
The Westport Public Schools and Westport Weston Family YMCA have teamed up to coordinate child care — before and after school – for youngsters in grades K-5, during the coming school year.
The program includes arts and crafts, STEM activities, themed projects, outdoor and physical activities, homework help and snacks.
Transportation will be provided to and from the elementary schools, and YMCA.
The before-school program runs from 7 to 9 a.m. for Coleytown, Greens Farms, Kings Highway and Long Lots Schools, 7 to 8:30 a.m. for Saugatuck.
The after-school program runs from dismissal until 6 p.m. Students who sign up for any youth programs taking place during after-school care hours — karate, swim lessons, soccer shots, basketball, gymnastics, fencing or dance — will be accompanied to their program by a staff member. There is a separate fee for those programs.
3-, 4 and 5-day signups are available. Click here for more information, and to register.
Sure, it was 2 days ago. But we can’t resist a good photo. Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the Levitt Pavilion during Sunday’s Michael Franti & Spearhead show:
(Photo/JC Martin)
Encore: Here’s a video of Michael, complete with a shout-out to Westport:
Looking ahead, the Levitt celebrates the final days of Pride Months with 2 performances.
Isle of Klezbos is this Thursday (June 23, 7:30 p.m.). New York magazine says their repertoire ranges from “rambunctious to entrancing: Neo-traditional folk dance, mystical melodies, Yiddish swing & retro tango, late Soviet-era Jewish drinking song, re-grooved standards, and genre-defying originals.”
It’s about time Levitt had some Yiddish swing and late Soviet-era Jewish drinking songs! Click here for (free!) ticket information.
Next week, it’s “Queer + Quiet”: an evening with Treya Lam (Tuesday, June 28, 7 p.m.). They’ll “lift up the underrepresented, quiet, marginalized voices in the BIPOC trans, non-binary, queer community.” Click here for (also free!) ticket information.
The June 27 (7 p.m.) Westport Library showing of the award-winning documentary “Four Winters” is noteworthy.
The film tells the story of the 25,000 Jewish partisans who battled the Nazis and their collaborators from the forests of Eastern Europe. The men and women — many in their teens — blew up trains, burned electric stations and attacked enemy headquarters.
But there’s also an important local connection: “Four Winters”‘ writer/producer/director Julia Mintz is a Weston High School graduate.
NOTE: “Four Winters” supporters have designed a program for screenings and talkbacks at colleges that don’t have Jewish Studies departments, or funding for Holocaust programming. Click here to donate.
Weston native Julia Mintz, with an interviewee for “Four Winters.”
Lou Weinberg is the passionate, creative and very hands-on director of the Westport Community Gardens. He knows flowers, trees, grasses and bushes — and birds, bees, rabbits and all other wildlife there.
He’s also a gifted photographer.
Here’s his description of today’s stunning “Westport … Naturally” photo: “This gray catbird is eating a berry from a serviceberry tree. This native tree produces flowers and an abundance of fruit for a multitude of birds this time of year. If you like birds, plant serviceberry trees!”
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