What’s in a name?
Not Westport. At least, not MoCA Westport anymore.
The gallery/performing arts center — whose official name was the Museum of Contemporary Art Westport — is now MoCA CT.
MoCA’s entrance is on Newtown Turnpike in Westport. But the bulk of the property — which includes Martha Stewart’s former TV studio, and was once a ball bearing factory — is in Norwalk.
MoCA explains the name change:
While our roots are in Westport, our impact and reach extend across the entire state of Connecticut.
The new name, MoCA CT, better represents our commitment to serving and engaging with communities throughout Connecticut. The name MoCA CT emphasizes our dedication to inclusivity and accessibility. It signals that we welcome artists, visitors, and participants from all corners of the state, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
Our mission is to celebrate contemporary art and foster a creative, engaging environment for all.
The new name aligns more closely with this mission by removing geographic limitations and highlighting our statewide aspirations.
MoCA was previously known as the Westport Arts Center. Its name was changed in 2019, when it moved to its present location from Riverside Avenue.
As of yesterday, a new logo had not been posted on the website (which is still mocawestport.org).
The name change was first reported by Westport Journal.
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Tomorrow’s Board of Education meeting (Thursday, June 13, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria) begins with a recognition of 15 retiring staff members: Susan Bambach, Peter Barcello, Anitha Bolar, Barbara Burns, Catherine Carlson, Karen DeFelice-During, David DuBois, Denise Emmerthal, Agustin Feliciano, Joyce Horne, Ann Neary Adalberto Orozco Jr., Jane Sandri, Bruce Smith, Mary Sue Welch.
The 2 Staples students on the Board — Calum Madigan and Anya Nair — will also be recognized, along with PTA co-presidents.
After a brief reception, agenda items include a teacher evaluation plan, and a second reading of Board polices on assignment of students to classes, ages of attendance and graduation requirements.
Staples High School English teacher Ann Neary is one of 15 retiring staff members.
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The Levitt Pavilion’s popular Wednesday Children’s Series launches tonight (June 12, 7 p.m.).
Grammy winners Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats headline the family-friendly show. They promise “an elegantly silly time, loaded with bilingual and swingin’ sounds of jazz and beyond.”
Click here to reserve free tickets. Click here for more information on the Levitt Pavilion’s 50-plus free shows — and ticket sales for others.
Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats
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Flag Day is this Friday (June 14). It celebrates the day in 1777 when our nation officially adopted its 13-stars, 13-stripes banner.
Carl Addison Swanson says, “on all such occasions, flags line Pleasant Valley Lane in honor of patriotism. It is a regular flag fest. And it is a fine time, in our divided country, that we remember we are all Americans.”
(Photo/Tom Cook)
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Speaking of patriotism: VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399’s 31st annual golf tournament, held Monday at Longshore, was a huge success.
Thanks to 96 golfers, plus friends, sponsors, auxiliaries and volunteers, it will help the organization and American Legion Post 63 offer support veterans throughout Fairfield County — and give them a welcoming place to gather.
VFW Post 399 (465 Riverside Avenue) is open to the public. and serves the community in many ways.
They host a weekly Jazz Night every Thursday; conduct monthly Red Cross Blood Drives (47 consecutive months so far), and organize open houses and ceremonies on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
The VFW partners with community institutions like PAL, the Fire Department, Westport Weston Family Y, Senior Center and Chamber of Commerce. They are also involved in youth activities in schools, Scouts, boating and sports teams.
For more information about Westport’s VFW Post 399/American Legion Post 63 and their community initiatives, click here.
Patty Kondub, VFW/American Auxiliary, is flanked by Honda of Westport sponsor representatives Evan Perkins and Steve Perkins.
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Jeff Mitchell writes:
“To his students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Fordham University, Manhattanville College, Fairfield University, and the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, and patients at his clinical and forensic psychology practice in Westport, he was known as Dr. Norman Klein.
“To the thousands of Westporters he coached in the mid-1990s and then umpired behind the plate at Kowalsky Field, he was simply ‘Norm!’”
On Monday, young and old honored Norm for his nearly 30 years of service to Westport Little League.
Extolling Norm’s “flair for the dramatic, and his youthful exuberance,” longtime umpire-in-chief Brian Kurtz noted, “Your work was always your play. Which is the way it should be.”
Westport Baseball president Jeff Brill added, “His spirited and emphatic umpire calls on Saturday mornings of Majors games were hallmarks of better spring weather and Little League baseball fun. He will be sorely missed.”
In his bellowing umpire voice Norm said, “I am forever grateful, and just know: I loved every single inning.”
Westport Little League will permanently honor Norm with a plaque on the backstop at Kowalsky Field.
Norm Klein (right) and Little Leaguers, at Kowalsky Field.
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The Hillspoint Road sidewalk project is making good progress.
Yesterday, workers were busy in front of Old Mill Grocery & Deli.
Unfortunately, if they wanted a cold brew after work, they had to go elsewhere.
Though the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 5-2 earlier this month to amend zoning regulations, to allow retail food establishments with seating inside for up to 10 people to serve alcoholic beverages, OMG’s application is not yet finalized.
(Photo/Richard Fogel)
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For a couple of weeks, Westporters brought new and slightly used shoes to Town Hall and the Senior Center.
This week, town officials helped Souls4Soles organizers Ken Bernhard and Ted Freedman transport 35 boxes — filled with 450 pairs — to the UPS store for delivery to Tennessee.
This is the 5th time the town has rallied to provide footwear for people around the world who need them.
From left: Officer Greg Gunther, Ken Bernhard, Detective James Baker, Ted Freedman, Sgt. Sean Kelley and Sgt. Sharon Russo, with Soles4Soles boxes.
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“Art in Bloom” — the Westport Public Art Collections‘ first fundraiser in 5 years — was a rousing success the other day.
The volunteer organization — which collects, curates and distributes artwork for schools and municipal buildings — sold 30 paintings. The $16,000 raised will go a long way to ensuring that the arts are alive and well, all around town.
“Dream Town” by Lisa Daugherty was one of WestPAC’s auctioned items.
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Another successful event: The “Evening of Mental Fitness,” sponsored by Rhone. 125 guests gathered at the Westport Woman’s Club to raise awareness and funds for Positive Directions’ prevention and counseling programs.
The non-profit collected nearly $30,000 through tickets, donations, a silent auction and 10% of Rhone’s Westport sales over the weekend.
At the mental health fundraiser (from left): Vanessa Wilson of Positive Directions, Zac Clark of Release Recovery, Kate Sweeney and Nate Checketts of Rhone, Staples High School boys basketball coach Dave Goldshore, and Westport 1st selectwoman Jen Tooker.
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“This was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me” has just been released as an audiobook, on all digital platforms.
There are 2 local angles. It was written by Westporter Lucy Antek Johnson, with her late father Samuel Antek. He was NBC Symphony’s first violinist.
And it was produced at the Westport Library’s Verso Studios. Johnson and actor David Garrison did all the narration, while Verso director Travis Bell handled the music editing.
Excerpts from the famed conductor’s original NBC Symphony performances replace the iconic photos, in the hardcover edition.
For example, when Toscanini bellows “Brahms!” at the first rehearsal, listeners hear the opening of his First Symphony.
The release is particularly noteworthy now. June is Audibook Appreciation Month.
To order, and for more information, click here.
Arturo Toscanini (left) and Samuel Antek.
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J. McLaughlin — the clothing store diagonally across from the Westport Country Playhouse, in Compo Acres Shopping Center — is helping its neighbor.
On Friday, June 21, 15% of all sales will benefit the WCP. To see new arrivals, click here.
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Among the “Westport … Naturally” marvels at Sherwood Island State Park: this flowering (and fleeting) dogwood:
(Photo/Pam Docters)
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And finally … in honor of Norm Klein, and his 3 decades of Little League service (story above):
(Another day, another well-rounded Roundup. If you enjoy this daily “06880” feature, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
