Everyone who loves the Westport Farmers’ Market — in other words, everyone — loves Lori Cochran-Dougall.
The dynamic director of the nearly-year-round Thursday event (outdoors at the Imperial Avenue parking lot from May to November; inside at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center greenhouses from now through March) has made shopping the Market much more than just shopping for lettuce and tomatoes.
The array of goods is staggering. (Sourdough bread! Tacos! Organic pet food!)
The programming — helping area non-profits, showcasing musicians, welcoming high school interns — is crucial. It creates more than a market. It’s a community.
How did the Roanoke, Virginia native wind up in Westport (by way of Jackson Hole, Wyoming)? What are her goals for the Farmers’ Market? Who are her favorite vendors?!
Click below to see our recent chat at the Westport Library Trefz Forum. As everyone always does at the Farmers’ Market: We had fun!
As the year ends, Westporters look back on a tough one. COVID is still hanging around. The stock market plummeted. Our nation is politically divided.
Compared to Ukraine though, we live on Easy Street.
Our new sister city of Lyman is entering its 10th month of hell. The Russians are gone after 5 months of occupation. But they left devastation behind.
Buildings lack roofs and walls. There is virtually no electricity or heat. Fire trucks and police cars were demolished. Debris is everywhere.
You can click here to read the latest devastating news, from yesterday’s New York Times. (This news just in: Earlier today, a Russian missile hit the police station. Only 2 patrol cars are left in the town.)
You can see some brutal images too — taken, coincidentally, by Westport native/Staples High School graduate/Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Tyler Hicks.
A Lyman firefighter battles a blaze with just a trickle of water, in bitter cold. (Photo/Tyler Hicks for the New York Times)
On this final day of 2022, please help Westport’s drive to help Lyman.
Our goal is $250,000. As of yesterday — less than 2 weeks after we began — we’ve raised $219,200. Wouldn’t it be great to reach our target today?
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Lyman through Ukraine Aid International — the non-profit co-founded by Westporter Brian Mayer. Pleaseclick here. Click the “I want to support” box; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” Scroll down on that page for other tax-deductible donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo). You can also donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
When blandly named but popular Westport Chinese Takeout closed in October, it left a void in Saugatuck.
That’s where — decades earlier — the original Arrow Restaurant began. (The name comes from the angle of the road, where Franklin Street meets Saugatuck Avenue.) When it outgrow that location, the Arrow moved around the corner to Charles Street.
Work has begun on Lomito. The windows are still papered over. But there are new steps, and a spiffy logo. Two signs promise: “Opening soon.”
Connecticut Magazine is out with their annual “40 Under 40” list.
Among the 40 people under 40 years old who are “changing the game in Connecticut and beyond”: Westporters Drew Angus and Julia Marino.
The writeup on Angus — a 2007 Staples High School graduate — says:
Finding success as a musician is not easy, explains this Bridgeport-based and Westport-raised singer-songwriter. “In this business, behind all the accomplishments and successes are many more unsuccessful projects and ideas that just never quite worked out,” Angus says. “It takes a certain kind of drive and a sick love for things not working out to be successful in creative ventures like music.”
Fortunately for him and fans of music everywhere, Angus has that drive, as his easy-to-listen-to, melodic New Americana music propelled him to be a finalist on American Idol in 2016. He’s also shared the stage with Harry Styles and Nile Rogers on Saturday Night Live, as well as Pat Benatar, Ann Wilson of Heart, and Andrea Bocelli. He has also toured with Marc Broussard and last summer impressed his hometown music fans with a set at Sound on Sound festival in Bridgeport.
When asked what advice he has for aspiring songwriters, he urges artists to not over-revise their work. “Finish those songs and put them out,” he says. “There’s a point of diminishing returns when changing lyric, melody or mix on a song no longer makes it better but just different or actually worse. Sometimes version one is actually the magic take.”
Drew Angus
For Olympic silver medalist Marino, it reads:
Lots of notable folks can boast about throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for a Red Sox game at fabled Fenway Park, including slopestyle and Big Air snowboarder and Westport native Marino. But she also has bragging rights none of those others can touch. In 2016, Marino, then an 18-year-old World Cup newcomer, replaced an injured teammate to compete in the Polartec Big Air event held at Fenway Park … and won.
A hit at Fenway, she returned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2017, and again for a Red Sox-Yankees game in August 2022. Eighteen was a good age for Marino, who that year also became the first woman to land a double in slopestyle competition, according to her U.S. Ski & Snowboard team bio, landing two in the same run, a cab double underflip and a double backflip. Marino is most famous, of course, for winning a silver medal in women’s slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Olympics (slopestyle is snowboarding down a course filled with terrain-park features and obstacles like rails and jumps.)
Also a 2018 Olympian and a seven-time X Games medalist, Marino loves photography, making videos, and spending time outdoors with her family and dog.
Julia Marino, on the Olympic podium.
Click here for the full Connecticut Magazine “40 Under 40.”
Matt Murray noticed all these shoes lined up at Old Mill Beach.
(Photo/Matt Murray)
There was no one nearby. No one swimming.
Who owns them? Why are they there?
Maybe it’s part of SyFy’s annual “Twilight Zone” marathon. The annual event — an homage to the show and its creator, former Westporter Rod Serling — began at 5 a.m. today. It runs through 4 a.m. on Tuesday.
Click here for the full schedule. (In case you’re wondering: “A Stop at Willoughby” — the classic Westport-themed episode — airs Monday, at 5 p.m.)
Congratulations to Dr. Cindy Dunbar. The 1976 Staples High School graduate was recently inducted into the National Academy of Medicine.
A Harvard graduate who specializes in hematology, she’s had an amazing career. Click here for an in-depth interview. (She begins with her youth in Westport — and her interest in music and theater. It continues to this day.)
Click here for a more scientifically oriented piece. (Hat tip: Ed Stalling)
And finally … who needs Guy Lombardo (or Dan Fogelberg), when we’ve got Mariah Carey?!
(The year is not yet over! You’ve still got a few hours to support “06880” — and, because we’re a non-profit, take a tax write-off. Please click here. Thank you!)
They come. Our trash goes. They come again, a few days later. Occasionally we write a check, to keep them coming.
Lyman — our new sister city in Ukraine — has not seen a trash truck in months.
Soon — with the help of Westport — they will.
When the Russians fled this fall, after several months of occupation, they stole all of the town’s trash trucks.
Debris from their missile attacks is piled everywhere. So is the garbage that accumulates as citizens live their daily lives.
Without trucks, there is no way to remove any of it.
For the past several days, Westport has been raising funds for Lyman (pronounced Lee-MON). We just passed $200,000, heading toward our $250,000 goal.
The other day, Brian Mayer — the Westporter who co-founded Ukraine Aid International — learned of a truck in Gdansk, Poland. It will cost about 5,000 euros to transport it to Lyman. Volunteers are already lined up to move it.
When it arrives in Lyman, residents will be ecstatic. Volunteers there are ready to start removing many tons of trash — and avoid an environmental catastrophe.
Brian is working too with construction wholesalers in Ukraine. They’re getting ready to move material from Kharkiv to Lyman, where more volunteers are eager to begin shoring up apartment buildings that are close to collapse.
Westport’s support for our sister city has been immediate. But the need is ongoing.
To help, click here for a credit card “Donate” button. Click “I want to support”; then select “Support for the City of Lyman.” You can also scroll down on that page for other donation options (mail, wire transfer and Venmo.) Or you can donate directly, via Stripe (click here).
One more cosmic connection between Westport and our sister city:
Yesterday’s New York Times included more harrowing photos from Ukraine, by 1988 Staples High School graduate/Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Tylerl Hicks.
Among them: an image showing Ukrainian troops crammed into an armored vehicle, plowing through mud in dusty skies on their way to the front lines.
It can, however, be repurposed to serve food to people in need.
For the second straight week, Sustainable Westport is partnering with Food Rescue CT and the Westport Farmers’ Market to collect black plastic takeout containers.
Washed, clean, black plastic takeout food containers (with lids!) can be brought to tomorrow’s Farmers’ Market at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center (7 Sylvan Lane; Thursday, December 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
The containers will be used by Fridgeport Outdoor Food Pantry to repackage large trays of donated prepared foods into smaller portions for distribution to Bridgeporters facing food insecurity.
Westport resident Ria Nova (right) donated black plastic containers to Sustainable Westport co-director Johanna Martell at last week’s Westport Farmers’ Market.
Strong enough to topple this tree, on the border between Winslow Park and the Westport Country Playhouse parking lot.
(Photo/Mark Mathias)
Just be thankful it didn’t fall in the other direction.
And that we didn’t get whacked like Buffalo did.
On the other hand, there’s this: Perhaps the trunk can be delivered to Long Lots Preserve.
As noted in yesterday’s Roundup, decomposing tree trunks promote the growth of bug populations. They in turn supply local and migrating bird populations with an important source of food, especially in the spring when they feed their young.
For more details on the Preserve and its need for dead tree trunks, email longlotspreserve@gmail.com.
Westporter Paul Podolsky has published a new thriller: “Master, Minion.”
Fellow Westporter Mike Hayes — former commander of Seal Team Two and author of “Never Enough” — calls it “a gripping portrayal of the people and machinery behind financial warfare. Paul is a true storyteller who knows Russia and China firsthand. He takes the readers on a thrilling journey only an insider can provide.”
The book draws in part on his expertise in Russia. He recently wrote about that, for the Wall Street Journal.
Click here for more information on Podolsky’s new book.
The Staples High School Music Department celebrated the holiday season last night with its 82nd annual Candlelight Concert.
It was stunning.
The choral symphonic and jazz ensembles awed the full auditorium with their voices and musicianship. The program — from the traditional, lovely “Sing We Noel” through the stunning “Nutcracker Suite,” rousing “Jubilate Deo” and clever production number, to the powerful “Home Alone Suite” and rousing “Hallelujah Chorus” finale — was both proof that our town’s young artists are very alive, quite well (and superbly well-trained), and that even in times of uncertainty and division, all can be right in Westport.
Thanks to all who produced and participated in last night’s Candlelight. Two more (sold-out) concerts continue today.
The “Sing We Noel” processional. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
It’s still hard to believe Sue Pfister is retiring.
The beloved Senior Center director has spent 36 years serving Westport with plenty of kindness, tons of care and tremendous competence.
The town gets a chance to say goodbye and share memories on Wednesday, December 28. An open house (1:30 to 4:30 p.m.) is set for her beloved Senior Center.
Can’t make it? Drop in virtually. Just click here; the passcode is “retirement.”
Did you know that black plastic can’t be recycled?*
So what can you do?
Bring your washed, clean, black plastic takeout food containers (and matching lids) to the Westport Farmers’ Market the next 2 Thursdays (December 22 and 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, 7 Sylvan Lane).
Food containers will be used by Fridgeport Outdoor Food Pantry to repackage large trays of donated prepared foods into smaller portions for people facing food insecurity. Many recipients reuse the containers many times over.
The event is co-sponsored by Sustainable Westport and Food Rescue CT
*Why can’t black plastic be recycled? Optical sorting systems used to sort recycling cannot identify it as “plastic.” When black plastic is placed incorrectly with other items it contaminates the overall recycling stream reducing its value. In addition, black plastic has a hazardous level of toxins that increase in the recycling center. So whenever you can: Refuse or reuse black plastic!
¡Felicidades! to José “Feliz Navidad” Feliciano and his wife Susan.
The longtime Weston residents are the proud grandparents of twin grandsons. Their daughter Melissa and her husband Charles announce the birth of Theodore “Theo” Jose and Beau William Erickson.
They arrived 5 weeks early, weighing 3.13 and 6.02 pounds respectively.
They’re home and thriving, with Theo coming home on his mother’s birthday.
José and Susan say: “The Feliciano and Erickson families are blessed, and thrilled beyond words. So many prayers offered by so many good and loving people … we are incredibly grateful.”
The bar for our Entitled Parkers feature is extremely high. Usually, someone hogging 2 spaces won’t make the cut. “06880” readers demand something even more egregious: 3 spaces perhaps, or a vehicle completely covering a sidewalk.
But this Very Important Person takes today’s (Trader Joe’s) cake.
He — and you know it’s a guy —
Takes not just 2 spots, but they’re both handicap reserved.
Westport Sunrise Rotary’s guest speaker yesterday was Lexi Shereshewsky.
Founder and Executive Director of the Azraq Education and Community Fund (formerly The Syria Fund) — a non-profit providing education programs and hands-on humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees and other vulnerable families living in Jordan — she’s no stranger to the group. Sunrise Rotary is a longtime supporter.
Lexi Shereshewsky and Rick Jaffe, past president of Westport Sunrise Rotary.
Kristen Stroud posted this important — but depressing — information on social media:
“My family owns Malone’s Refuse Service. A customer brought to our attention that someone is fraudulently soliciting holiday tips.
“The person placed these cards (photo below) in mailboxes, hoping the customer will then mail them a holiday gift. This person is not employed by Malone’s Refuse Service. We will be reporting it to the police.
“Between this scam and all of the recent issues with check washing and mail being stolen, if you would like to gift your actual refuse collector, you can email me at malonesrefuse@gmail.com and we will figure out the safest way to do so.”
Calling Sherlock Holmes!
Or really, any 1st grader who can read.
With the address provided, it should not take long to crack this case wide open.
Every organization in Westport (and beyond) asks Miggs Burroughs for favors.
He always obliges.
For over 30 years, the talented and generous artist/graphic designer (and longtime runner) has designed t-shirts for the Pequot Running Club’s annual “Turkey Trot.” Proceeds go to the club, and charity.
They’re great souvenirs. Then they end up in the bottom of runners’ drawers, replaced by their next race t-shirt.
This year Miggs commemorated 45 years of Turkey Trotting. He chose historic national and world events from those past years, and included them in the design.
Uh oh.
A Tik Tok user named “Crawlie” — who did not run in the race, and apparently had way too much time on her hands — did not like Miggs’ choices. She posted her thoughts.
For reasons known only to Tik Tok users, Crawlie’s post has received over 688,000 views. It’s generated more than 2,800 comments.
Most people did not share her outrage.
In fact, requests to buy t-shirts have poured in from across the country.
Take that, Crawlie!
PS: Another Tik Toker attempted a Billy Joel/”We Didn’t Start the Fire”-style video. It’s pretty weak. Still, it gives you an idea of the “controversy” surrounding the shirt.
… and 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker made brief remarks (including a shout out to the Public Works Department, for decorations). She then asked kids in the crowd to join her, counting down “3 … 2 … 1!” …
… and wham! Last night, Westport’s Christmas (aka Holiday) tree was lit, in front of Town Hall by Myrtle Avenue.
(Photos/Dan Woog)
Missed it? No problem!
There’s another tree lighting tonight (Friday, 4:30 p.m., Wakeman Town Farm). Stick around for carols and treats, too.
Speaking of Christmas songs: The Saugatuck Caroling Crawl returns a week from tomorrow (Saturday, December 10).
The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce event was last held in pre-COVID 2019.
This year once again, 6 Staples Orphenians will sing holiday songs, moving from one restaurant to the next. They’ll hit 14 in all.
Carolers begin their rounds at the Boathouse at 6:30 p.m. They’ll head to Parker Mansion, Kawa Ni, The Whelk, Tutti’s and the Black Duck, before making their way to Railroad Place to sing at Tarantino, Harvest, Romanacci and Allium.
They finish by 8:30 p.m., after entertaining diners at Match Lobster Burger, Rizzuto’s, Viva Zapata and Dunville’s.
Participating Orphs include Sophia Betit, Madelyn Spera, James Dobin-Smith, Alyssa Lee, Deneil Betfarhad and Ethan Tober will be performing.
The Westport Farmers’ Market adds a special “Holiday Artists’ Market” a week from tomorrow (Saturday, December 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, 7 Sylvan Lane). The market features a wide range of handcrafted gift ideas, from 25 local artists.
Carolers will entertain. Bubble & Brew will provide cold and hot beverages, plus sweet treats. Chef Dan Kardos will bring his Oak & Oar food truck too. “Mark(et)” the date right now.
Today we feature a different scene, from almost the exact same spot:
After zipping past several prominent “One Way/Do Not Enter” signs, the driver continued the wrong way, refusing to back up or turn around — even when told to. (Had she looked around, she might have noticed every other car pointed in the other direction.)
The driver never stopped (or acknowledged reality). She just kept going, all the way to the Post Road.
‘Tis the holiday season. So Westport Country Playhouse ends its 2022 Script in Hand series on December 12 with …
… “Bad Jews.”
Spoiler alert: It’s a comedy.
The night after their grandfather’s funeral, 3 cousins engage in a verbal (and sometimes physical) battle. There’s Daphna Feygenbaum, a “Real Jew” who is volatile, self-assured and unbending; her equally stubborn cousin Liam, a secular and entitled young man with a shiksa girlfriend Melody in tow, and Liam’s brother Jonah, who tries to stay out of the fray.
There’s live music at 6 p.m. in the lobby before the show. Click here for tickets, and more information.
A number of new retailers and restaurants have joined the Holiday Stroll.
The December 3 event (5 to 7 p.m., Main Street and environs) is co-sponsored by “06880” and the Westport Downtown Association. There’s kids’ activities (and Santa!) in front of Cold Fusion, special store deals, cocoa and nibbles, and plenty of neighborly fun.
Greens Farms Academy’s Harbor Blues will sing holiday songs at 5 p.m. Staples High School’s Orphenians will follow at 6:30. Both will be at the tent in front of Cold Fusion.
In addition, Nick Calabrese — a professional singer and music teacher — will lead anyone who wants to join in on a carol sing through downtown. It starts at the corner of Main and Elm Streets at 5 p.m., and will head on to Church Lane and back up Main. Everyone is invited to listen — or sing.
A box will be set up for donations for the PAL holiday toy drive. Feel free to bring an unwrapped, new gift (or two!).
(NOTE: There’s still room for a face painter, and other kids’ stuff. If you’ve got a kids’ talent and want to help, email 06880blog@gmail.com).
Meanwhile, here’s the latest list of Holiday Stroll participants:
Bartaco: Hot chocolate on their patio
Basso:
Black Bear Wines & Spirits: 15% off all wines
Bobbles & Lace: Glass of wine & Bobbles Bucks ($$$ off your purchase)
Bridgewater Chocolates: Complimentary chocolate tastings and hot chocolate
Brooks Brothers: The entire store is 30% off all weekend
Capuli: Giving out churros
Cold Fusion Gelato: Check back soon!
Don Memo: Giving out festive adult and children’s beverages
Fred: Complimentary holiday treats
Jeera Thai: 20% off on takeout meals
Joe’s Pizza: Garlic knots
Kerri Rosenthal: 15% off read-to-wear and accessories
Le Route Aartisan Chocolates: Free hot chocolate
Lift Wellness Group: Discount on bundled psychotherapy and nutrition services; gift cards with 10% discount
Lux Bond & Green: Refreshments and surprises
Manna Toast: Hot chocolate
Megan’s Martha’s Vineyard Boutique: 20% off, and a giveaway bundle
Moxie Salon & Beauty Bar: Spin The Wheel to Win! 20% off hair extensions; $20 off voucher; $25, $50, $75, $100, $200 gift certificates; complimentary spray tan or blowout; $50 off Balayyage or Ombre; complimentary makeup application, girls hair tinsel and/or braids
Nomade: Candied almonds in bamboo cone, and cookies
Noya Jewelry: Hot holiday drinks
Rye Ridge Deli: Free hot chocolate, tea, coffee
Savvy + Grace: Holiday treat, and mailbox for kids to drop off letters to Santa
Scout & Molly’s: 20% off purchase, light snacks
Sorelle Gallery: Gif boxes with discounts from 5 to 15% for any Holiday Collection item; light festive refreshments (prosecco, candy canes, sparkling water, etc.)
The Cashmere Sale of Westport: Holiday candy
The Tailored Home & Studio Café: Complimentary Santa’s cookies and hot chocolate; 50% off sale on all pillows
The Toy Post: A small toy for each child
Upnorth: 20% off, and a giveaway
West: Raffle for $150 gift card (no purchase necessary); winner drawn at 7:30 p.m.
Walrus Alley: Happy hour prices for food and drinks
Westport Book Shop: Free book, and a coupon for a future visit
Winfield Street Street Coffee: Hot cocoa and cruffins (pecan cinnamon rolls with a croissant dough)
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher John Trautwein spoke last night at Town Hall on a tough but very important subject: suicide.
He runs the nonprofit Will To Live Foundation. Raising awareness of teen suicide, it is named after Trautwein’s son Will, who took his life. There were no warnings — no signs of anxiety, depression or unhappiness.
His message about his son — a healthy, happy, popular, athletic, and musical teenager, who came from a loving home yet lost the will to live — resonated deeply with the audience.
John Trautwein at Town Hall. (Hat tip and photo/Andrew Colabella)
That’s the 12-unit condo complex rising on the west bank of the Saugatuck River, at the site of the former Save the Children (and before that, Famous Schools) offices.
The buildings were designed by Roger Ferris + Partners. They’re built by David Waldman’s David Adam Realty and Urbane New Haven, and are marketed by KMS Team, at Compass. They’ll be finished next year.
Staples High School’s girls soccer team battles for its 2nd consecutive state championship this Sunday (November 20). The Wreckers — ranked #3 in the “LL” (extra large schools) division — take on #1 Cheshire. Kickoff is 4 p.m. at Trinity Health (formerly Dillon) Stadium in Hartford.
Meanwhile, you can see Staples’ future football stars in action.
The PAL 7th and 8th grade teams play for the Fairfield County Football League title tomorrow (Saturday) at Wilton High’s Fujitani Filed. Game times are 4 and 6 p.m.
Veterans Day was special for Christine Quinn Antal.
The 1994 Staples High School graduate and former Army lawyer, and her husband Mark, a former decorated Green Beret, formed an organization — Task Force Antal — that has helped Afghanistan allies escape the Taliban, and provided humanitarian aid to soldiers in Ukraine.
Dozens of veterans help, knowing the couple cuts through red tape and delivers what they promise quickly and efficiently.
For Veterans Day, the “Today” show produced a live segment with the couple, their daughters, and a veterans organization that honored them. Click here for that inspiring story.
Christine and Mark also participated in Bedford Middlel School’s 8th grade Veterans Day event. They spoke powerfully about their work, and inspired the youngsters in Christine’s hometown. (Hat tipis: Kerry Long, Kate Tarrant)
Christine Quinn and Mark Antal, in a screenshot from yesterday’s “Today” show.
Here’s a chance to do so with Board of Education members.
A community forum is set for November 15 (noon to 1:30 p.m., Westport Library).
Former RTM moderator Velma Heller will facilitate a conversation, on any topics related to our local schools. It should be a very interesting dialogue.
Just in time for the holidays, the Westport Farmers’ Market moves indoors.
Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center once again hosts the winter market. It opens November 17 and runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday (except Thanksgiving) through March 9.
Vendors will fill 3 heated greenhouses with high-quality locally grown or raised fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, milk, baked and prepared foods, and handmade items,
The Farmers’ Market kicks off the season with a celebration. Bubble & Brew and Parlor Pizza will set up their trucks outside the greenhouses. Luke Molina will play music and Mae Farrell will entertain the kids with a nature-inspired theme.
As Batman fans around the world mourn the death of Kevin Conroy — the character’s distinctive voice on television, in movies and video games — Staples High School graduates remember him as a classmate and friend.
The 1973 alum starred in several Staples Players productions, including “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Crucible.”
He was Sky Masterson too in “Guys and Dolls.” Opening night was 50 years ago yesterday — the same date as last night’s premiere of the same show.
Eric Bosch sent along these photos of Kevin Conroy, from the Staples yearbook:
That’s the provocative subtitle of a Zoom discussion set for Monday (November 14, 7:30 p.m.).
Sponsored by the Democratic Women of Westport, with the title “Who is My Neighbor?,” the event features Nancy Gagnier. She’s part of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, a non-profit with the goal of building a suburban community free of racial segregation in housing and community involvement.
For more information, and to access the link, email dww06880@gmail.com.
Three years ago, “06880” honored Charlotte — the longtime Balducci’s cashier known as “Charle” — as an Unsung Hero.
The “Comments” page quickly filled with more praise for her.
Now, Susan Weingarten reports, she was recently in a very bad automobile accident. Her car was totaled.
The good news: After recuperating at her Orange home, she is back at the store. Susan encourages all Charle’s friends to stay by and say “welcome back!”
The Weston Police Commission’s choice of Citizen of the Year is a no-brainer.
For more than 30 years, Mark Blake served the Weston Volunteer Fire Department and Weston Volunteer Emergency Medical Services. He was also a Westport EMS supervisor. Mark died in September, after a long battle with COVID.
A ceremony is set for Monday (November 14, 6 p.m., Weston Town Hall).
Among Mark’s many contributions to public safety: Weston’s Child Passenger Safety program. It offered training on the proper use of child car seats, and seats to those who needed them.
The public — including all of Mark’s friends and admirers — are invited to the event.
Mark Blake
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Ukraine has moved off the front pages.
But the war is very real to tens of millions of people who live there. And to friends and relatives, like Tatyana Hisxon of Westport.
She’s helping organize a fundraiser (December 2, 3 p.m. Carriage Barn Arts Centr, New Canaan).
The non-political event — called “Ukraine Fast Forward” — will showcase the country’s culture, arts and sciences.
All proceeds benefit Big Dreams Children’s Foundation. Long active with orphans and youngsters with disabilities, it now is helping kids and women affected by the fighting.
Raffle prizes include a private tour of the United Nations, and works by exhibiting artists.
For several years, a proposed gas-powered leaf blower ordinance has been blowin’ in the Westport wind.
On Tuesday (November 1, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall), a proposal — already approved by the Ordinance Committee — heads to the full Representative Town Meeting. for a first reading.
The text of the amendment is not yet available online. It is available at the Town Clerk’s office during business hours.
On Thursday (November 3, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the same site — the Imperial Avenue parking lot — turns into the Great Pumpkin Toss.
The free community composting event returns for its 4th year, at the Westport Farmers’ Market. Action Waste Solutions will collect pumpkins — aka “Halloween food waste” — while also having some fun.
Just “toss” your pumpkin (or gourds) in the bin, and go.
All pumpkins and gourds in their natural state are welcome. Squishy and rotted ones are fine, but decorated or painted pumpkins cannot be composted.
In addition to creating compost, pumpkins provide food for livestock. Stephanie Maynard from Ox Hollow Farm will fill her truck with good pumpkins that will serve as food for her cows .
Last year’s Great Pumpkin Toss diverted one ton of pumpkin waste from landfill. Can we break that record this year?
Last Saturday, over 75 children painted 63 store windows throughout town this past Saturday, in the annual Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce Halloween Contest.
Winners received gift certificates for an ice cream cake at Gofer Ice Cream.
They are:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Scariest: Chloe Robbin (Cycle Dynamics; Long Lots grade 4)
Best Halloween: Scarlett Nathan (Stephen Kempson, Saugatuck grade 4)
Most creative: Calvin and Julian Carreras (ASF, Long Lots grades 1 and 3)
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Scariest: Hailey Kipperman (Sephen Kempson, The Southport School grade 8)
Best Halloween: Linda Morgan and Julie Ferraro (Cold Fusion, Bedford grade 6)
Kaitlyn Steffa loves living on High Point Road. “There’s always something fun going on,” she says.
Like her neighbor at #26, For the past few weeks Sarah Maraun has entertained anyone driving, biking or walking by with creative skeleton displays in her front yard.
One day they’re out playing Twister; the next, they’re doctors performing surgery, or having a potato sack race.
As you can see, Sarah does not mess around. These are some hard-core decorations — and some very hard skeletons.
More than 200 movie lovers thronged the Westport Library this week, for the opening night of “Short Cuts.”
Five international short films were screened, followed by a conversation.
The next installment of the “short film” festival (Thursday. November 17) features documentary films, with guest Oscar-nominated Kevin Wilson Jr. Click here fpr tickets. and more information.
“06880” does not often post wedding announcements.
But this one has a twist.
Staples High School graduates Juliet Senia and Josh Jeavons are getting married November 18, at Town Hall. State Representative Jonathan Steinberg will perform the ceremony.
Bride and groom live in England. A celebration is planned there in June.
What makes this special is that Juliet was the first baby born to a Westport couple in the new millennium.
Billy and Linda welcomed their 7-pound, 5-ounce daughter into the world at 9:09 a.m. on January 3, 2000.
Julia’s parents are not the only ones thinking right now, “Time sure does fly!”
Westport PAL’s first-ever gala on Thursday was a hit.
The Inn at Longshore was packed, as residents dined, drank, danced, and raised funds for the kids-first organization’s projects like renovating the clubhouse at PJ Romano Field. Click here to see all that PAL does.
Westport PAL gala-goers (from left):Anna Rycenga, Pam Romano, PAL president Craig Bergamo, Kristen Zygmant, Catrina Hegarty, Emma Rojas, Georgia Rojas. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
Longtime Westporter Nancy Gershon died last month, 10 days before her 87th birthday, of multiple medical causes.
The Brooklyn native was a stellar student, and an excellent pianist and flutist.
After graduated from James Madison High School and Barnard College, majoring in math, then earned a master’s degree in education from Teacher’s College.
Nancy married Richard Gershon in 1957. She worked as a calculator (a pre-computer-era job) at the Harvard-Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory. After he graduate from Harvard Business School they moved to Queens NY, where she worked as a substitute high school math teacher.
The couple moved to Westport in 1963. Her 4 children, born in 6 years, kept her busy, but she took up cello. She played in the Norwalk Symphony and in informal Westport chamber groups. Nancy ‘s oldest child went on to a career as a professional musician.
Nancy and Richard divorced in 1980e. Once her nest was empty she continued with musical activities, including learning jazz piano and taking up saxophone. She also studied computer science at Norwalk Technical College. She collected large quantities of music books, which her musician son has been distributing to music students.
She is survived by her children Russ of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and Andrew, Jill and Laurie of Manhattan; 3 grandchildren; sister Maryanne Lehrer of Oceanside, New York and brother Dr. Robert Leon of Scottsdale, Arizoba. She was ably cared for in her home by Lorna Jones for the last 6 years of her life.
Today’s spectacular “Westport … Naturally” fall foliage photo is from Compo Road South, near Bradley Street. Thanks, Matt Murray, for the image — and kudos too to whoever takes care of this beauty!
And finally … rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis died yesterday in Mississippi. He was 87.
He was a legend. Just imagine what his career would have been like if he hadn’t married his 13-year-old cousin. He was 22 years old at the time — and still married to his second wife. (Click here for a full obituary.)
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Candidates for State Senate and House seats squared off yesterday, at the Westport Library. The debate was sponsored by the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce. Chamber director Matthew Mandell moderated.
Among the main topics: reproductive rights and affordable housing.
Candidates at yesterday’s Westport Library event. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Fall is in full force. But the Westport Farmers’ Market plows on in its summer location — the Imperial Avenue parking lot — every Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
They’ll be there another month, through November 10.
In addition to vendors with seasonal vegetables and fruits, meat, milk, cheese, seafood, baked goods, prepared foods (plus knife, scissors and tool sharpening), the Farmers’ Market hosts different musicians each week.
Tomorrow (October 20), hear Picnic on the 4th of July. Guitars, banjo, harmonica, washboard and vocals offer “new grass” music – songs with a bluegrass twist. The band includes Westporters Louis Fuertes and Pat Blaufuss.
Picnic on the 4th of July band members (from left): Martin Daniels, Jeff Carroll, Pat Blaufuss, Louis Fuertes. (Photo /Lynda Carroll)
And finally … Peter Tosh was born today in 1944. From 1963 to 1976 he, Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer were the heart of the reggae band the Wailers. He then became a successful solo artist. He was killed in 1987 during a home invasion, at age 42.
Despite this summer’s lack of rain, many home gardens are at their peak right now. Tomatoes, zucchini, other seasonal delights — they’re all ripe.
Some gardeners may actually have too much produce. They give it to neighbors — and still have extra food.
Every problem has a solution. This one is easy.
Grow-A-Row Westport is a volunteer effort to grow and donate fresh produce. Since 2020 members have planted, tended, harvested, and collected nutritious donations of fresh fruits vegetables, and herbs to benefit food-insecure people and families throughout Fairfield County.
Bounty from the Westport Community Gardens.
Amy Unikewicz runs Grow-A-Row Westport. The program began in the spring of 2020 at the Westport Community Gardens, during the early COVID lockdown.
The idea was simple: encourage fellow Community Gardens members to grow an extra row (or more) to donate.
She set-up a large cooler. All season long, gardeners filled it with freshly harvested items. Several members helped transport over 200 grocery bags were donated to the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED) in Bridgeport.
Westport continues to sustain the effort. Early on, Pippa Bell Ader of the Zero Food Waste Initiative and Sustainable Westport, and Aileen Brill of Christ & Holy Trinity Church, helped with logistics.
Last year Pippa connected Amy with Westporter Haley Schulman — national site coordinator with Food Rescue US – Fairfield County, a non-profit that picks up otherwise-wasted food from restaurants and supermarkets, and delivers it to pantries and shelters.
Haley — also a Wakeman Town Farm committee member — loved Amy’s idea to expand Grow-A-Row Westport beyond the Community Gardens.
They met Lori Cochran, director of the Westport Farmers’ Market. She championed the idea of a Grow-A-Row community collection cooler every Thursday at the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
By the donation cooler at the Westport Farmers’ Marker: Lori Cochran, WFM director; Amanda Sayegh, Westport Housing Authority director of programs and resident services; Amy Unikewicz, Grow-A-Row Westport founder; Haley Schulman, national site coordinator with Food Rescue US – Fairfield County, and Food Rescue US volunteers, Jennifer Seideman, Darryl Kowalsky and Susie Kowalsky.
The Wakeman Town Farm Committee supported Grow-A-Row collections at their weekly farm stand too.
Haley committed Food Rescue US – Fairfield County’s network of volunteers to transport the fresh produce, and found agencies that are a good fit for the collections.
Grow-a-Row at Wakeman Town Farm.
Now in its third year, the expanded Grow-A-Row Westport effort continues to, um, grow.
All home gardeners are invited to donate at any of 3 drop-off spots:
Saturdays (9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wakeman Town Farm farm stand, 134 Cross Highway)
Daily (8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Christ & Holy Trinity Church Branson Hall, 75 Church Lane).
Westporter Cornelia Olson donates a huge rutabaga.
Not a gardener? Grow-A-Row gladly accepts fresh produce from your CSA, refrigerator, even “freshly-purchased” at the Farmers’ Market or Wakeman Farm Stand.
Each week, volunteers with Food Rescue US – Fairfield County deliver the donated produce to agencies in Bridgeport and Westport, including: FEED Center, Lucy Baney Family Reunification Center at Career Resources CT, Fridgeport (Bridgeport’s first community fridge), and the Westport Housing Authority.
Westport Housing Authority director of programs and resident services Amanda Sayegh says that residents are very appreciative of the fresh donations. They’re shared among 221 families, including seniors and families with children, and prioritized to the most food-insecure residents.
“Fresh vegetables are considered a luxury for many,” Amanda says. One resident was “thrilled” to receive fresh lettuce — something they had not been able to purchase for a long time.
You may shake your head, wondering how you’ll get rid of all that lettuce.
Now you know: Grow-A-Row!
(For more information, follow @growarowwestport on Instagram.)
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Joe Stadek lives in Ridgefield — and donates to Westport’s Grow-a-Row project. (All photos courtesy of Amy Unikewicz)
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