Congratulations to VFW Post 399!
For the 2nd year in a row, it’s earned All-American Post status.
The recognition, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Connecticut, honors the 106-year-old post’s commitment to serving veterans and the community.
All-American VFW posts demonstrate outstanding leadership, excellence in advancing the VFW’s core programs, meaningful service and sustained membership growth.
Post 399 quartermaster Phil Delgado calls the honor “a testament to the volunteers, members and partners who support our mission of serving veterans and our community.” To learn more about the Westport VFW, click here.
VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
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Ellen Harvey’s powerful, evocative works — dozens of “lost places,” from Ebbets Field and the Sutro Baths to the Remarkable Book Shop, Allen’s Clam House, the Cedar Brook Café and Bloodroot — formed the backdrop for an intriguing evening Thursday at MoCA\CT.
Harvey joined “06880” founder Dan Woog and Westport preservationist Ed Gerber in a wide-ranging discussion of the meaning of lost places, the importance of remembering them, and the meaning of absence.
Audience members participated avidly, recalling many parts of Westport’s past: restaurants like the Arrow, Ships and Big Top; stores like Klein’s, Selective Eye and Sally’s Place; Arnie’s Place, movie theaters and all of downtown, and much more.
From left: Ed Gerber, Dan Woog, Ellen Harvey … (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Each generation remembers the past differently, the panelists said, as they explored the meaning of memory, and the realities of the past and future.
Noting the inclusion of 4 local “lost places,” Harvey said, “I love that when this show travels next, it will bring a little piece of Westport with it.”
The program was sponsored by the CORA Foundation, the private foundation founded by philanthropist, travel business owner and advocate for culture and sustainability Robin Tauck.
CORA will sponsor 4 events in conjunction with the current MoCA exhibit, “Looking for History.” The next is Thursday, July 23 (6 p.m.)A : “Architectural Elegy: A Mourning Ritual for Lost Spaces.” Click here for details, and tickets.
… and Ellen Harvey, in front of her artwork. (Photo/Lewis Derogene)
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Also on Thursday: Nina Bentley was interviewed by fellow Westport artist Mark Yurkiw at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. Her humorously innovative exhibits of “typewriter art sculpture,” “Shoes” and “Marriage” is on display there throughout July.
Bentley, served as a Westport Arts Center board member, helped found the Westport Arts Collective, and is active with the Silvermine Guild Arts Center.
Nina Bentley and Mark Yurkiw. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
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On Thursday too, Eleish Van Breems Home hosted the most recent Westport Pride gathering.
Members of the LGBTQ community and allies enjoyed food from Nômade (across the street), and drinks from Black Bear Wine & Spirits.
The next social event is at Yuzu.
Westport Pride member, and friend. (Photo/Bethany Eppner)
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Many great scientists are also passionate musicians. (Far less often, the other way around).
On Tuesday (July 21, 8 p.m., Westport Observatory), Stephon Alexander will discuss “Cosmic Sound: the Emergence of Structure in the Universe.”
The director of the Center for Theoretical Physics and Innovation at Brown University revisits the interconnection between music, the evolution of astrophysics, and the origin of large scale structure in the universe.
He’ll explore new ways that music mirrors modern physics, like quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the physics of the early universe.
The talk will also be live-streamed on YouTube, shown as a Zoom webinar, and posted to the WAS YouTube channel afterward.
Dr. Stephon Alexander
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Yesterday’s Roundup included a photo of a sign from Turkey Hill Road South: Audrey Hepburn, warning drivers to “Slow Down.”
(Photo/Chris Grimm)
Pretty random, we thought. And quickly moved on.
Never underestimate the power — and knowledge — of “06880” readers.
Staples High School Class of 1971 graduate Bonnie Erickson soon sent a link to The New Journal, a Yale University publication.
It begins:
New Haveners have noticed, enjoyed, and sometimes stolen signs put up by artist Matthew Feiner. His most recent design is especially eye-catching: “SLOW DOWN,” it reads, over a stencil of Audrey Hepburn. The colors and stencils vary, but each sign features Hepburn in the center with her beehive haircut, staring straight at the viewer.
There are around 240 Audrey Hepburn signs made by Feiner in Connecticut. She glares from street signs near Feiner’s studio in West Haven, near his girlfriend’s place in Hamden, around bike routes, and across downtown New Haven.
“They’re a bright spot on the urban landscape,” Feiner proudly remarked. “They’re a calling card from an artist that says ‘cars slow down, everybody slow down, take an assessment of your life.’”
When asked how long ago he started making the signs, Feiner’s tall scruffy face smirked, and responded in his slightly raspy voice. “I guess the question really is, how long ago did I start admitting that they were mine?”
Click here to read the full story.
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The mother-daughter team of Niki Ketchman and Karen Kallins present their first exhibition together.
It’s on view weekdays (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) at the Weston Senior Center. A reception is set for Thursday, July 23 (6 to 8 p.m.).
Ketchman is showing “Resinations,” mixed-media works created with resin and found materials. Kallins exhibits her “Submerged” series, combining botanicals, water and flowing inks to blur the line between photography and painting.
Though working in different mediums, both share a love of color, texture, movement and organic forms, creating a cohesive exhibition.
The family’s roots in Westport go back nearly 50 years.
“Resinations” (Niki Ketchman)
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In today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature photo, a mother leads her little one across the street to Pizza Lyfe … or perhaps the new ice cream spot, Sweet Lyfe.
(Photo/Stacey Henske)
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And finally … Happy National Woodie Wagon Day!
(“06880” is “where Westport meets the world.” Audrey Hepburn, Surf City, lost places, the universe — you’ll find them all here. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support us. Thanks!)
