Tag Archives: Westport Fine Arts Festival

COVID-19 Roundup: Beach Parking; Fine Arts Festival; PPE Drive; Lax Drive; More

Posted on May 1, 2020 | 2 comments

Vehicle parking emblems (aka “stickers”) are required as of May 15 for entrance to the Compo Beach parking lots.

Because of COVID-19 limitations, emblems will be available for Westport and Weston residents only. No daily parking passes will be sold. Parking will be limited to 50% capacity until further notice, from 8 a.m. too 8 p.m. daily.

Longshore parking regulations also take effect May 15. The Old Mill lot remains open for residents of Old Mill and Compo Mill Cove only.

If you purchased emblems in prior years, you have an online account established. Click here (or here, then choose “Memberships”; in the search box type “Vehicle”).

All parking emblem purchases must be made online, and will be mailed within a week to 10 days.

If you forgot your login and/or password, email recreation@westportct.gov or call 203-341-5152,

Parks & Recreation officials may require a copy of your current vehicle registration and/or additional proof of your Westport/Weston residency.

The latest victim of the coronavirus is Westport’s Fine Arts Festival.

The summer event — which this year had moved to an earlier, less-than-broiling May date, from its longtime mid-July slot — has been postponed.

The sponsoring Westport Downtown Merchants Association will announce a new date soon. That will be welcome news to the 170 fine artists who display their art, photography and sculpture — and the thousands of visitors who flock to their booths, and enjoy live music, great food and family activities too.

Next Saturday (May 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., railroad station parking lot across from Mystic Market), the Westport Police Department Benevolent Association hosts a PPE collection drive.

But it’s not for them.

They ask for unopened and unused items like gloves, masks, gowns, face shields, hand sanitizer, bleach wipes, etc., as well as monetary donations. All supplies collected and money raised will benefit front line health care workers at Westport EMS and Norwalk Hospital.

Funds are also being raised through a GoFundMe page. Click here — and thank you!

The good news from Staples High School keeps on coming.

Thanks to an outpouring of support from the community, the boys lacrosse team delivered 1,000 items of food and cleaning supplies to the Gillespie Center yesterday — along with a $1,000 check for Homes With Hope today. These guys are winners on and off the field!

And finally … Phil Collins released this is 1981. Nearly 4 decades later, the first line says it all.

 

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Posted in Arts, Beach, Environment, Police, Sports, Staples HS

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Fine Arts Festival: Calling All Kids (And Adults)!

Posted on July 15, 2019 | 3 comments

Westport’s Fine Arts Festival draws painters, photographers, sculptors — and art lovers — from around the country.

Plenty of residents browse stroll the stalls on Main Street.

But for a town that prides itself on its arts heritage, the number of local artists showing is limited.

This weekend (July 20 and 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), we’ll get our fill.

Following last year’s successful pilot, the Artists Collective of Westport hosts 2 activity tents for kids and parents. Set up at at Brooks Corner, they’re a spot for kids to show off their creatives sides. Drawing, rock painting, origami — you name it, it’s there for children to do.

Action in last year’s Fine Arts Festival children’s tent.

New this year, the Collective will set up a giant Art Experience tent on Taylor Place, near Tiffany.

Over 20 Collective artists have volunteered. There will be several at a time, leading interactive projects and demonstrating techniques and media. Among them: clam shells, eggs, ceramics, murals, wire, camera-less photos, Band-Aids, folded paper, paint and more. Susan Fehlinger is the Collectivist in chair.

Westport Artists Collective co-founder Miggs Burroughs remembers when he was a boy. His father Bernie was president of the Westport Artists Club. Miggs, his brother Trace, and many other local kids grew up surrounded by art. Illustrators, cartoonists and painters seemed to be everywhere — always giving back to the community.

“I have a great sense of pride carrying out his legacy, in some small part, by helping the Collective keep the visual arts alive and lively for generations to come.”

Some of this art may be featured in the Experience Tent.

Miggs will be in the tent, at the 46th annual Fine Arts Festival. He and many others will be working with youngsters at  Brooks Corner too.

Odds are good they’ll inspire at least one young artist. In 2083 — at Westport’s 109th Festival — he or she may be giving back to the next generation, just like Miggs and his very talented colleagues will do this weekend.

(The Fine Arts Festival — and the Westport Artists’ Collective participation in it — is a partnership with the Westport Downtown Merchants Association. For more information on the Festival, click here.) 

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Posted in Arts, Children, Downtown, Organizations, People

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Book Sale Begins Soon; Volunteers Needed

Posted on July 9, 2019 | Comments Off on Book Sale Begins Soon; Volunteers Needed

The Westport Library is transformed. But the annual book sale will be as familiar as your favorite novel.

Beginning Saturday, July 20 — the same weekend as the Fine Arts Festival — the 27th annual event features tens of thousands of books, in every category imaginable: art, children’s, graphic novels, foreign language, gardening, history, humor, music, mystery, nature, photography, poetry, religion, science fiction, sports, teens, travel.

That’s just the Jesup Green tent. Inside the library you’ll find DVDs, CDs, vinyl and paperbacks.

One scene from last year’s Book Sale.

This year’s specials include books from Ed Vebell, the famed illustrator whose heirs have donated much of his collection of military, American West and Native American objects, plus literature from Manny Margolis, the prominent civil rights attorney.

The Book Sale — whose proceeds benefit the library — needs over 300 volunteers. Set-up (starting July 15), sales, shelving, greeting, security, clean-up — there’s a job for everyone, of any physical ability.

If you’re a teenager, retiree or anyone in between, click here to sign up.

Book it!

(The Westport Library’s Book Sale is Saturday, July 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, July 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday, July 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Fine Arts Festival is Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

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Fine Arts Festival Focuses On Future

Posted on June 22, 2019 | 1 comment

It’s not easy getting into the Westport Fine Arts Festival.

Every year, organizers pick 175 artists from around the country. Every mid-July they fill Main Street with their painting, photography, sculpture, fiber, printmaking, mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewelry, wood and graphics.

Making the cut is tough. So is the juried competition that follows.

But the festival sponsor — the Westport Downtown Merchants Association — recognizes its responsibility to nurture up-and-coming artists too.

So this year — on July 20 and 21 — the 46th annual event will embrace artists you may not yet have heard about.

But with the Fine Arts Festival’s help, you certainly will.

Plenty of art — and art lovers — at Westport’s Fine Arts Festival.

The WDMA is partnering with the Drew Friedman Foundation and Silvermine Arts Center to highlight 3 young artists.

The Foundation — part of the bequest of the late downtown landlord, restaurateur and arts lover — will award one $3,000 prize, and two more of $1,000 each. Applicants are artists currently enrolled in MFA programs, or recent graduates of one.

The first prize winner in the Emerging Artists Program — chosen by a professional jury — will also be exhibited at Silvermine. The 97-year-old New Canaan organization encompasses an art school, educational programs, artists’ guild, permanent collection and 5 galleries.

This year’s Fine Arts Festival outreach also includes the Westport Library.

In recent years, the Festival coincided with the annual book sale on Jesup Green. Recognizing that the audiences for art and books often overlaps — and that the downtown venues are complementary too — both institutions have strengthened their ties.

Now — with the Library’s transformation project complete — the Fine Arts Festival will set up a tent on the riverwalk. The young artists’ work will be exhibited there on Friday night. There’s a reception in the library’s new café.

They’re invited too to the established artists’ Saturday night reception. Also honored there: several high school student artists, who will receive $5,000 Drew Friedman Foundation scholarships.

WDMA president Randy Herbertson and Silvermine board vice chair Robin Jaffee Frank are excited about the chance to encourage — and showcase — emerging artists.

Check out their work next month. In a few years, you can say “I knew them when.”

(For more information on the Fine Arts Festival, click here.)

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Library, Organizations

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Abstract Irony

Posted on July 15, 2018 | 32 comments

Alert “06880” reader — and ace photographer — JP Vellotti sent me this shot, from the weekend’s Fine Arts Festival. He calls it “Abstract Irony.”

(Photo/JP Vellotti)

It took me a few seconds to figure out why he gave it that title.

When I realized the reason, it fit perfectly.

If you catch the irony in JP’s image, click “Comments” below.

Meanwhile, kudos to the Westport Downtown Merchants Association for this year’s 45th annual event.

Over 180 exhibitors in charcoal, watercolor, pastel, pencil, ink, photography, digital art, sculpture, printmaking, mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewelry and wood filled Main Street, Elm Street and Church Lane.

Live music, special performances, children’s activities, food and non-profit groups’ exhibits added to the flair.

Around the corner, the Westport Library‘s annual book sale drew plenty of bargain hunters (some of whom were also paying serious prices for art).

The book (and CD) (and DVD) (and more) sale continues tomorrow (Monday, July 16, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., half price day) and Tuesday (9 a.m. to 1 p.m., everything free but contributions gladly accepted).

It was a great weekend to be downtown.

And I say that without any irony whatsoever.

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Entertainment, Library

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Friday Flashback #99

Posted on July 13, 2018 | 15 comments

At first glance, this photo looks unremarkable.

Fred Cantor took it in 1977, he thinks — during the Great Race. That was the fun, funny and often alcohol-infused event in which people dressed in costumes, created their own vessels, ran from Taylor Place to the river, jumped in their watercraft, raced out to Cockenoe Island, filled a bag with garbage (the cheaters already carried pre-packed trash), then rowed or sailed or whatever-ed back to shore.

Meanwhile, Main Street merchants held sales. This was the scene outside Remarkable Book Shop. The stalls were always outside, but on this day they attracted huge crowds.

(Photo/Fred Cantor)

The Great Race is (regrettably) long gone. But this weekend the Fine Arts Festival returns to Main Street. It’s a great show.

Unfortunately, few Remarkable-type stores anymore offer something else to all those art-lovers (though Savvy + Grace is worth a trip from anywhere).

Also this weekend, the Westport Library hosts its 26th annual Book Sale. Those squintillions of volumes make this Remarkable scene look, well, unremarkable. But whenever and wherever people buy books, it’s a good thing.

Finally, this Friday Flashback raises the question: Now that Remarkable Book Shop is gone — and Talbots too is a long-ago memory too — will anything ever take their place?

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Friday Flashback, Library, Local business

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Downtown Art Show: Bigger And Better Than Ever

Posted on May 9, 2018 | 8 comments

There’s always something new under the downtown art show sun.

And we do mean “sun.” The annual event always seems to be held on the hottest weekend of the year.

This year’s 45th art show — that’s what everyone calls it, though the official name is the Westport Fine Arts Festival — will expand to Church Lane.

Last year’s return to Main Street and Elm Street — after a few years hidden in Parker Harding Plaza — was hailed by artists and art-lovers alike. Over 9,000 people attended.

According to the sponsoring Westport Downtown Merchants Association, the 2017 show was ranked 34th in the nation.

Sculptures filled the street in front of Banana Republic, at last year’s summer art show.

Also new this year: an expanded jury of prominent local artists and experts.

The panel — with graphic artist Miggs Burroughs, Westport Arts Center director Amanda Innes, Westport Library curator Chris Timmons, town arts curator Kathleen Bennewitz, WDMA and The Visual Brand president Randy Herbertson, and festival director Sue Brown Gordon — has already selected over 160 high-quality local, national and international artists. They span a broad variety of categories, and include last year’s Best in Show winner, photographer Mark MacKinnon.

The downtown art show — er, Fine Arts Festival — is set for the weekend of July 14-15. We know 2 things:

  1. It will be filled with excellent art, music, food and fun.
  2. It will be hot. Wear sunscreen!

PS: The logo is new too:

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Entertainment, Organizations, People

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Have You Seen Carole McClintock’s Koi?

Posted on July 26, 2017 | Comments Off on Have You Seen Carole McClintock’s Koi?

The Fine Arts Festival that filled Main Street earlier this month was a great success.

Art lovers flocked to see — and buy — wonderful paintings, sculptures and photos. Artists happily sold as much as they could.

But one piece went mysteriously missing.

As Westporter Carole McClintock was packing up her work — no long drive home for her! — she absent-mindedly left a large, wet koi fish painting up against the brick wall of Bedford Square.

Carole McClintock, with her unfinished painting.

She spent the next 10 days traveling. So she realized only now that it was not in her studio, with the rest of that weekend’s work.

McClintock would love to have it back. Not only is it unsold, but it’s unfinished. It had not even been signed.

“My guess is that someone found the painting and kept it, not knowing what else to do with it,” she says.

If you can connect the artist with her missing work, email carolemcclintock12@gmail.com.

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Book It! Main Street Art Show A Smash

Posted on July 16, 2017 | 11 comments

With spectacular weather — and a wise move from Parker Harding Plaza, back to its original Main Street roots — this weekend’s 44th annual Fine Arts Festival drew twice last year’s numbers.

An eclectic mix of 148 artists, sculptors, photographers and jewelry makers — and the addition of new dining options — drew raves from longtime festival-goers and newcomers alike. The event is sponsored by the Westport Downtown Merchants Association.

Every artist has a specialty.

Elm Street was also filled with artists. These two had natural shade.

Gloria McRoberts specializes in sculptural weaving.

The alley next to the old Westport Pizzeria was transformed into al fresco dining.

Sculptures filled the street in front of Banana Republic.

A few steps from the art show, the Westport Library sponsored its annual ginormous Book Sale. 

In a world filled with Kindles and iPhones, it’s nice to know thousands of people still love to read books. 

And listen to CDs and vinyl, which were also on sale.

Like those tens of thousands of books — all could be had for a song.

The Westport Library book sale covers every category imaginable. Inside, there was even a sign marked “Beatles.” (It was for books, not music.)

The many long tables were perfect for browsing.

The hardest part of the Westport Library is choosing.

The art show and book sale were only 2 of many events in Westport this weekend.

And there’s much more to come. Happy summer!

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Library, Organizations

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Artwork, Books — And Miggs Burroughs — Downtown This Weekend

Posted on July 15, 2016 | 6 comments

Some things about the Westport Fine Arts Festival never change.

Favorite artists, sculptors, jewelry-makers and photographers return, with familiar work in an intriguing variety of styles. Westporters and visitors flock downtown; there is music and food. The weather is hot.

Some things are always different. There is new artwork. New bands play.

This year too, the Westport Library‘s new artist-in-residence lends his presence — and talents — to the 43rd annual Fine Arts Festival (Saturday and Sunday, July 16-17, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Parker Harding Plaza).

Miggs Burroughs' official Westport Library "geek" portrait. (Photo/Pam Einarsen)

Miggs Burroughs’ official Westport Library “geek” portrait. (Photo/Pam Einarsen)

Miggs Burroughs co-presents his own artwork — along with others from the Westport Artists Collective — including Nina Bentley, Trace Burroughs, Linn Cassetta, Wilhelmina de Haas and Tammy Windsor.

Miggs will man an “Artist-in-Residence” booth, answering questions and providing information about the library’s connection with local artists, town arts organizations and events.

The Fine Arts Festival — sponsored by the Westport Downtown Merchants Association — is one of the town’s signature summer events.

Of course, so is the Library’s annual book sale. It runs this weekend too: Saturday, July 16, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, July 17, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Monday, July 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (all items half price); Tuesday, July 19, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (all items free; contributions welcome).

The 2 events are big, fun and complementary.

Just think: It’s the Library’s biggest event of the year, and they share their artist-in-residence with the Arts Festival.

(For more information on the Fine Arts Festival, click here. To learn more about the Library’s book sale, click here.)

A mime and artist, both hard at work during the Westport Fine Arts Festival.

A mime and artist, both hard at work during the Westport Fine Arts Festival.

You can get just about anything at the Westport Library's book sale.

You can get just about anything at the Westport Library’s book sale.

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Library, Organizations, People

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