So when he married Jessica Trainham in Darien a few weeks ago, the music was not your run-of-the-mill — or even a cut above — wedding band.
Seal headlined. (He waived his usual seven-figure fee for private events. And hired another drummer for the night.)
Most weddings do not have a singer named Seal.
The officiant was a boldface nametoo, with Staples ties. Justin Paul — the 2002 grad, and second youngest EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner in history (6 months older than his “Dear Evan Hansen,” “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman” songwriting partner Benj Pasek) — tied the knot.
Drew McKeon and Jessica Trainham, with officiant Justin Paul.
Also in attendance: Alisan Porter. The Class of 1999 alum — who went on to fame in “Footloose” and “A Chorus Line,” then won “The Voice” in 2016 — sang at the “warm-up” event the night before, at Fairfield Theatre Company.
Drew Angus (SHS ’07, “American Idol” contestant) was at Drew’s wedding too. So was Ryan Smith (SHS ’97).
Ryan Smith and Alisan Porter provide entertainment the night before the ceremony.
The nuptials were not, of course, an all-Staples affair.
Thirty members of Bolton’s touring band flew in from across the country. It was their first reunion since the singer’s brain tumor halted his shows. (He’s in “good spirits and good health,” a recent report says.) They added tremendous energy and musical talent to the weekend.
Meanwhile, for the curious: Drew and Jessica met in West Hollywood. She is a model, actress and entrepreneur, running a home organization business. They live near the beach in Marina del Rey.
But for Drew — and his many Staples musical friends — Westport will always be home too.
The dress code was formal. But when 90% of the guests are musicians, that’s a loose definition. Staples Class of 2001 and novelist Ted Thompson (right) sports a more conservative look.
(“06880” is truly where Westport meets the world. If you enjoy stories like this — or anything else on our hyper-local-yet-also-global blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
It’s a tradition for “06880” to run Westport artist Stevan Dohanos’ Saturday Evening Post 2 famous Thanksgiving illustrations. Both used Westport models (including the former “gingerbread house” on Long Lots Road):
Today, we’re adding a third from Dohanos. (Though the turkey was probably for Christmas.)
This was not a cover. As the caption (“Here they come, Mom! And Jim won need the wishbone — they’ve got their Plymouth!”) suggests, it was an advertisement.
Still, it’s an evocative illustration. You can almost smell the turkey.
And the seats in the brand-new Plymouth. (Hat tip: Anthony Dohanos)
Meanwhile, Fire Marshal Terrence Dunn notes that many offices and businesses will soon have Christmas trees and holiday decorations. These can pose a serious safety risk.
Natural trees with a root ball attached pose a less significant fire hazard than a cut tree, which dries out faster. Artificial trees and decorations should be flame retardant or flame resistive. Decorations should not block exits.
Dunn says, “All lighting should be turned off, or better yet disconnected, when the area is unattended. This is especially important in residential occupancies when the occupants are asleep. Make sure the tree is not situated near open flames, and that it does obstruct any fire doors.”
Yesterday, “06880” reported on Ryan “Shoeless” Smith. The Bates College men’s cross country captain lost a shoe in the first mile of the 8K NCAA East Division Regional Championship. He still finished 11th — out of more than 200 runners — and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships.
That race was last weekend, at Michigan State University. Ryan kept his shoes on — fortunate, considering the snowy, 25-degree weather — and finished 59th out of 294 competitors. His 25:49.5 time over 8K was the best on his team.
He was not the only former Staples cross country runner there. Nick Taubenheim (SHS ’20) finished 146th for Claremont-Mudd Scripps (26:18.9), while Luke Lorenz (SHS ’19) took 179th for Middlebury College (26:29.9).
Ryan Smith
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Sure, it’s Thanksgiving. But pumpkins are still hanging around.
And — as Pam Kesselman points out, with today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo: “Someone was hungry.”
Each Christmas season, the Wreaths Across America program honors fallen servicemembers, and all who serve. Over 2 million volunteers take part, in all 50 states and overseas.
This year, for the first time, Westport joins in.
The date is December 17. The time is noon. The cemetery is Assumption, on Greens Farms Road.
It wouldn’t have happened without Patty Kondub. The popular Westport Family YMCA and Senior Center (and Staples High School girls golf coach) is the local coordinator.
As part of her many other Westport activities, she’s also vice president of the VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399 Auxiliary.
Click here to sponsor a wreath (the deadline is November 29). To designate a wreath for a specific veteran at the Assumption cemetery, email Patty: nortonpk@aol.com. You can also email her to volunteer to mark graves before December 17, and place them on that date
For Patty, the project is personal. Her father — John Kondub — was a World War II Marine, and VFW Post 399 member. He earned a Purple Heart, for hand-to-hand combat in the Japanese Islands.
He is buried at Assumption Greens Farms Cemetery — almost across from the farm where he was born, before I-95 was built.
“There are over 200 veterans buried in this cemetery,” Patty says. “I hope they all get wreaths.”
She’s from Florida, and speaks 5 languages. He’s a German attorney. They met and formed a group that braves drones and missiles to drive desperately needed supplies to the front lines in Ukraine. Their supplies include water filtration systems and wood burning stoves for civilians, who are starving and bracing for a cold winter.
After several months of non-stop work, the pair needed a rest. Brian invited them to Westport, for a few days of R&R.
On Monday they met with 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Ken Bernhard, another Westporter deeply involved in humanitarian aid.
Liz and Richard were taking a breather. But they did not stop working. The group discussed how Westport can be even more helpful in the global fight against Russian aggression.
(From left): Richard, Brian Mayer, 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Liz and Ken Bernhard discuss how Westport can aid Ukraine.
One of Westport’s favorite toy drives takes place soon.
The Police Department Benevolent Association and Westport Police Athletic League will again collect gifts for underprivileged children in Fairfield County.
Officers will accept new, unopened and unwrapped toys — plus cash donations — in the ASF Sports & Outdoors parking lot (1560 Post Road East), on Saturday and Sunday, December 3-4 and 10-11, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Speaking of police: As they do every year just before Thanksgiving, dozens of Staples High School students dodged cops.
The teenagers and officers had a ball.
The event was the annual Dodge-a-Cop dodgeball tournament. Each team of students included at least one member of the Westport force.
They hurled dodgeballs at each other. They protected their teammates.
The event — sponsored by the Westport Youth Commission and Staples’ Teen Awareness Group — was for a great cause. Entry fees supported the Toys for Tots holiday drive.
Staples school resource officer Ed Woolridge (back row, white shirt, blue headband) was on the winning Dodge-a-Cop team. The winners posed with Andrew Colabella — longtime Dodge-a-Cop referee, former Youth Commission member, and current RTM member. (far right).
That’s appropriate. Longshore — the site of this Saturday night’s first-ever Café Noir — is said to have been the setting for nearby resident (okay, renter) F. Scott Fitzgerald) when he later wrote “The Great Gatsby.”
But the music and vibe will be “classic house, funk and disco” at 9 p.m., when a pair of Westport DJs (self-described “middle-aged British dudes, aka “Bangers and Mash”) host the event at Longshore’s La Plage restaurant.
“We’re looking to introduce a bit of suave and sophistication to the evening,” says Phil White, who is Banger.
Tom Fielding is Mash. He’s also an accomplished house DJ. He founded London’s famed dance club The End back in the late 90s.
White DJed in college, then toured Europe putting on raves. before getting sucked into “the big bad world of global advertising.” (Hey, at least he’s advertising Café Noir well.)
The pair will run their Saturday night events at La Plage through Christmas. In the spring, they’ll take their act out on the terrace.
“So get out,” White urges. “Get your groove on. And dress to impress!”
Given the alleged nature of La Plage at Longshore ( the original millionaires party venue for the Great Gatsby?)…we’re looking to introduce a bit of swarve and sophicats to the evening proceeding and get 06680’s well healed and otherwise housebound cognoscenti to get out and get their groove on!
No shoe? No problem!
Ryan Smith — Bates College’s men’s cross country captain, and a Staples High School running star with the Class of 2019 — lost a shoe in the first mile of the 8K NCAA East Regional Championship, at Bowdoin College.
When his shoe was stepped on, there were 100 runners behind Smith. He could not slow down to fix it, so he kicked it into the woods and kept going.
He finished 11th out of more than 200 runners, helping the Bobcats to 2nd place overall. That helped them qualify for the NCAA Championships, (Hat tip: Brian Strong)
Westport’s founding fathers did not wear t-shirts. And they sure didn’t have mouse pads.
But you can sport a tee (or tank top, sweatshirt or hoodie), wrap yourself in a fleece blanket, drink from a mug or use a mouse pad that commemorates 1835 — the year Westport became its own town.
Those items are part of Finding Westport’s newest offerings. There are 2 lines: the 1835 Collection, and one called Westport Est.
The Y’s Men of Westport and Weston took a brisk 5-mile walk Monday — in Manhattan.
The group headed out from Grand Central to the United Nations, Sutton Place, Rockefeller University, Carl Shurz Park and Gracie Mansion.
It was the 7th in their series of New York City explorations. Many Y’s Men spent their careers working there. They seldom had a chance to be tourists, though.
Y’sMen at the New York Daily News building. (Hat tip and photo/Dave Matlow)
And finally … Michael Butler, the wealthy financier and producer who brought “Hair” to Broadway in 1968, died earlier this month in a nursing home in California. He was 95.
He was hardly a hippie. But he made his mark on American theater with the “tribal love-rock musical.” Click here for a full obituary.
(“Easy to be hard …” — and easy to support “06880.” Just click here. And thank you!)
Many Westporters loved Serena Williams big US Open win last night over Anett Kontaveit, the world’s 2nd-ranked player.
There were a couple of local connections — and we don’t mean any fans lucky enough to be in the stands.
Westport-based Birdseye Sports is a large independent production company. Specializing in game-day broadcasting and video productions, they provide camera crews to major networks. ESPN, for example, subcontracts them for the US Open.
Ryan Smith — a 1997 Staples High School graduate, and director of the Bedford Middle School Acting Group — has worked the Open for Birdseye for the past 4 years.
He’s seen a lot. But last night was special. He was behind the camera for Williams’ match.
Ryan Smith, at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I still kick myself from time to time, for how lucky I am,” he says.
He did not get home until 2:30 this morning. But he got up early, to head back to Queens. He’ll be behind the camera tonight — again covering Williams. She and her sister play doubles, in what their fans hope will not be their final match together. (Hat tip: Kerry Long)
Speaking of the beach: “06880” has run stories recently about beach days of old. Rocks instead of sand at Compo; sand instead of rocks at Longshore; demolished bathhouses, no houses along the shore — different days, for sure.
Suzanne Sherman Propp owns an interesting piece of art. It combines several elements of old beach-y Westport — some real, some imagined — in a fanciful way:
Created by Suzanne Urban, in part from a 1906 postcard, it shows bathers at Old Mill Beach; nearby homes (that probably were not there then), and — in the background — the old Longshore lighthouse.
Urban is a 1971 Staples High School graduate. After studying art at Marymount College, she worked as an illustrator.
For steady income she became a secretary at Greens Farms Elementary School, from the early 2000s to 2014. Former Stapleites Propp and Carey Leonard also worked there.
Urban moved with her husband to Windsor. They live in one of the oldest houses (1664), in what residents claim is Connecticut’s oldest town settlement (1633).
Urban has found a niche selling “contemporary folk art” — including holiday-themed work — online.
Her Halloween witches, ghosts and pumpkin-heads and cute. But only a true Wesetporter — like me, Suzanne Sherman Propp, and any “06880” reader — can appreciate the Old Mill Beach of Suzanne Urban’s imagination.
It’s not too late to sign up for Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician training.
There’s an orientation tonight. Classes begin next Tuesday (September 6). Most are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with some Saturdays as well.
The course covers information needed for state certification tests, a prerequisite for joining WVEMS. Click here for more information.
Meanwhile, mark your calendar for September 9 (7 p.m.). DNR — the grimly named, highly entertaining and very professional rock band made up mostly of doctors — plays a free show at the Levitt Pavilion, in honor of Westport Volunteer EMS.
WVEMS personnel will be there, answering questions about donations or joining the ranks.
Standing by, at a Levitt Pavilion concert (though not one headlined by DNR).
Speaking of the Levitt: Though summer is over (at least, for those with kids in school), outdoor entertainment is not.
In addition to the Orebolo show September 7, featuring Rich Mitarotonda, Peter Anspach and Jeff Arevalo — members of the popular Connecticut rock group Goose — The Levitt just added a special free-ticket show at 1:30 p.m. September 17.
It stars ElephantProof. The band includes Ben Atkind — a founding member of Goose.
ElephantProof is “a euphonic snapshot of the unique sonic energy born at the house parties your best friends still talk about to this day. Refined by disciplined training and years of performance experience, Ben Atkind (drums), Sean Cronin (guitar), Chris Enright (keys) and Shon Gordon (bass) are reconnected, traipsing along the rigid confines of genre using erudite tonal expression.”
I’m not sure what that means, but I’m sure it will be a cool show! Click here for more details, and tickets.
Another piece of Pavilion news: Karina Rykman, whose band plays tomorrow (Friday, September 2), has another gig after the Levitt. She’ll fill in on bass during next week’s Late Night with Seth Meyers Show.
PS: The Levitt has added a “child 12-and-under free ticket” to the BYO-lawn chair section of the Robert Cray show on September 10 (8 p.m.). Click here for details and tickets.
Tonight’s (Thursday, 6 to 7 p.m.) MoCA “Cocktails & Conversations” event features the curators of the current “Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse exhibition.”
Attendees will peek behind the scenes, learning more about the works and the artists. Cocktails and drinks are available for purchase.
“Cocktails & Conversations” is free, but advance registration is requested (click here). The exhibition runs through October 2.
Curators of the MoCA exhibit, and speakers at tonight’s event (from left): Maria Gabriela Di Giammarco, Melanie Prapopoulos (founder and director of the CAMP Gallery), Mario Andres Rodriguez), in front of a work by Shelly McCoy. (Photos/Leslie LaSala)
Cars with decorations like this can be seen all over town:
(Photo/JD Dworkow)
It’s a long-standing Staples High School tradition: Senior girls (and only the girls) boast about their 12th-grade status on the opening day of school.
And you’ll be seeing these for quite a while. Another part of the tradition is to leave the writing on for a long, long time.
Sure, there’s a drought. But there are still lots of gorgeous colors out there. Lauri Weiser captured this, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature:
Staples High School’s Candlelight Concert is always special. The 3 performances are the hottest ticket in town. For parents, other Westporters and alumni who attend, it marks the true start of the holiday season.
The coronavirus impacted the concert, as it has every other aspect of life. This year’s event — the 80th annual — went virtual. Choirs, orchestras and bands were recorded earlier this month. Performers and conductors were (of course) masked and socially distanced.
But one of the unexpected and joyful consequences of COVID is that this year’s Candlelight was extra-special.
Ryan Smith used several cameras to tape the performances. Brandon Malin led a superb high school lighting crew. The Staples Music Parents Association’s decorations turned the gym into a concert hall.
With the help of many, you’d never know this was the Staples High School gym. (Photo/Brandon Malin)
I was honored to be asked to conduct interviews with former music instructors and alumni. George Weigle and John Hanulik’s now-grown children, alums like Suzanne Sherman Propp, Shirah Lipson and Jon Gailmor — all provided perspectives, augmented by the current talented, passionate directors.
The Staples musicians were — as always — spectacular. Astonishingly, they had had only one in-person rehearsal a week together — and that was with only half the group. The other half was learning remotely.
Add in the fact that they performed apart from each other — no easy feat — and this truly seems like a holiday miracle.
A screenshot of the orchestra during last night’s livestream.
Nearly 3,500 people logged in to last night’s Candlelight Concert. The total audience probably reached 5 figures, as many viewers watched with family and friends.
They were watching in Westport, of course, but all over the world too — California, France, you name it. We know, because the “chat” function was filled with chatter. Strangers became fast friends, posting memories and praising the current crop of young musicians (and their teachers).
It was something old, something new. It was fresh and different — but there was still the processional, “Sing We Noel,” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
It was the Candlelight Concert, COVID -style.
A screenshot of Luke Rosenberg conducting a choral ensemble. (Screenshots courtesy of June Whittaker)
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