For decades, Westport’s downtown arts festival was held in mid-July. It was a great outdoor event. But the Main Street and Parker Harding pavement was always boiling.
For decades too, the Memorial Day parade was the unofficial kickoff to Westport’s summer.
Several years ago, the Westport Downtown Association moved the Fine Arts Festival to Memorial Day weekend.
It made the event even more attractive to exhibitors and visitors. And it made that weekend even better than it already was.
Lots of art — and art lovers — at Westport’s Fine Arts Festival.
The 51st Westport Fine Arts Festival is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
The juried show ranks in the Top 20 nationally. It features the award-winning work of over 140 fine artists from across the country, in painting, photography, sculpture, fiber, printmaking, mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewelry, wood, graphics and printmaking.
Gabriela Ferrera displays her work. (Photo/JC Martin)
This year, the WDA adds Encanto Village. The children’s area is based on the fantasy movie of the same name.
Encanto will include community project called “Westport Rocks.” Kids can write inspiring messages on rocks, which will be placed in planters throughout downtown. Like the movie, the rocks will reflect themes of strength, beauty and nature.
Other activities include face painting, tie-dyeing, jewelry-making and music.
There are food vendors too, and live music at several locations.
The Fine Arts Festival draws collectors and residents from the tri-state area, New England and beyond.
All artwork is available in various price ranges, themes and styles.
Club 203 “spared” nothing for their monthly party on Tuesday, at Nutmeg Bowl.
And they “struck” a perfect chord for all attendees.
Bowling, prizes, pizza — it was right down everyone’s alley.
Westport’s social group for adults with disabilities gets ready now for their final event before their summer break: a Compo Beach bash on June 5. Click here for details.
Westport Police made 2 custodial arrests between May 8 and 15.
A 47-year-old Westport woman was arrested for disorderly conduct, violation of a protective order and assault, after a report of a domestic violence incident.
A 36-year old Tracy, California man was arrested for identity theft and forgery, after he deposited fraudulent checks, then attempted to withdraw money from a credit card account.
Police also issued these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 10 citations
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 6
MoCA Westport’s “Gallery of Games” begins at 7 p.m.
The arts center will be filled with poker, blackjack and craps tables. Staples High School graduate Michelle Pauker provides entertainment; there’s tarot card reading too, and a silent auction.
Staples High School juniors Jack Schwartz, Ryan Sunjka, Jackson Tracey and Lucy Barney, plus freshman Sienna Schwartz, serve on the Friends of Yale New Haven Children Hospital’s Junior Board.
They volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house, participate in toy drives, and have special guest speakers at monthly meetings.
They also fundraise.
A lot.
This year’s goal is $30,000.
The money will support sick children and under-resourced families as they struggle through unimaginable medical complications.
The 2nd annual “Heartbeat for Hope” is set for Orange Theory in Westport this Saturday (May 18, noon) and June 1 (1 p.m.). Teams of 3 compete in running and rowing workouts.
There is no entry fee. But to win big prizes, participants are asked to raise at least $450 per team ($150 per person) from families, friends, neighbors and others.
Prizes to the teams with the top times and most amount of money raised include high value tickets (University of Connecticut basketball, Yankees Legends behind home plate, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets), gift baskets and gift cards. Participants also receive t-shirts. Click here to join the fundraiser; then click “Support Me.”
The Junior Board members hope “06880” readers will donate, even if they can’t participate. Click here for the donation page.
Staples high School members of the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital Junior Board.
And finally … on this date in 1888, Nikola Tesla described the equipment that allows alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
(Casino nights, jazz, police reports, duck races — as usual, it’s all here in the “06880” Roundup. If you enjoy this daily feature, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
“In the beginning was Love. And Love was good. But Love was alone, and with nothing to hold together, Love had nothing to do.”
These are the first words of “In the Beginning: A Love Story.” The children’s book was created by longtime Westporters Michael Hendricks and Rebecca Ross.
They envisions the universe and everything in it – including all of us – as we might be seen by Love.
The story assures children from as soon as they understand words that love is the truest thing about them and that they are loved unconditionally — even when they make mistakes, or occasionally make hurtful choices.
Ross — the artist — brings the message to life with illustrations that put a face and personality to the character of Love, as well as to little hearts that don’t always quite live up to their purpose. Her images show that nothing the little hearts do, or don’t do, ever stops them from being hearts.
Hendricks is the author of 2 mystery novels. He has lived in Connecticut for over 30, years, mostly in Westport.
Michael Hendricks
He has noticed that “whenever people share the most important things in their lives, it doesn’t take long before love comes up. So how can love be so important to individuals and so hard to find in the world?
“And if that’s confusing to me, how much more confusing must it be to children? And how on earth do you talk about something like that with a small child? This book is designed to help children understand how very important love is.”
Rebecca Ross
Ross — also a longtime Westport resident — is a painter. This is her first children’s book.
She is most proud, she says, of “all my initial mess-ups. I think that I redrew, re-painted and re-designed every page at least 3 times. And every time the page was way better than the previous. I learned so much, and became a better painter.“
The book is launched via a Kickstarter campaign. The online fundraising platform chose it as a “Project We Love.” Click here to support the campaign.
Diana Capellán has been following the Board of Education’s discussion of a new Code of Conduct for students.
Tomorrow night (Thursday, May 16, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria), they’ll have a third reading of the policy.
Diana writes:
Back in 2016, our community mourned the tragic suicide of a 14-year-old Staples High School freshman.
In an open letter to then-superintendent of schools Dr. Elliott Landon, his parents wrote:
Several current Staples students have reported observing bullying, humiliating or inappropriate behavior by one or more peer or peers toward others, and these students report that [they] do not know how to respond or intervene.
They feel guilty and ashamed of their inaction and passive consent to the blatantly behaviors.
We wish to address school policy regarding mandatory electronics access and usage during class. We spoke with our son’s team of teachers and guidance counselor about limiting his access to his phone and laptop during the day to enhance his focus on his work. We were told that he had to have his laptop with him.
Frankly, there should be more and better options available. Such policy presently seems to result in social media access during school hours, which is counterproductive to the learning environment and subjects kids to additional cyberbullying. “
Fast forward to today. We still have similar challenges with our children being constantly online, and their safety.
Our children have access to their phones and social media during school hours, affecting not only their mental health but also increasing their likelihood of being exposed to hateful content.
Those online exposures inevitably bleed into the real world. In the last couple of months, we have seen concerning cases of racist and antisemitic hate incidents in our schools. Yet students still don’t know how to report or intervene when they see a peer being harassed in school or online.
Along with over 40 concerned parents, and at the behest of our school administrators at the March 13 Temple Israel event on bias, we have been contributing to the code of conduct process to find ways to address the issues of hate-based harassment we’re seeing in our schools.
We launched a website to raise awareness of 4 points that need further consideration in order to have a comprehensive code of conduct and rollout plan.
After further research, we realized that the single most impactful policy is implementing an anonymous reporting system, as has already been done by Darien, Greenwich and Norwalk.
According to a recent study by researchers at the University of Michigan, an anonymous reporting system increases the likelihood of students reporting signs of concerning behavior so it can be promptly investigated and addressed by administrators before it escalates to harassment.
Specifically, we’d like to bring the evidence-based Say Something program by Sandy Hook Promise to our schools.
Their website says: “Sandy Hook Promise’s no-cost Say Something program teaches elementary, middle and high school students to recognize the warning signs of someone at risk of hurting themselves or others, and how to say something to a trusted adult to get help.”
This training and app would not only empower bystanders to take action and help children feel more comfortable reporting bullying, but is also designed to be a powerful tool to keep our children safe from the threat of gun violence.
Tomorrow’s Board of Education agenda includes cellphone use during school hours and voting on the new code of conduct, which includes a provision to implement an anonymous reporting program in our schools.
Comments about a no-cellphone use police during school hours, and an anonymous reporting system to keep our children safe can be sent to boe@westportps.org, and/or made during the BOE’s public comment period.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, and nominate an entire group of Westporters as this week’s Unsung Heroes:
Everyone who slowed the runaway train that (to mix a metaphor) looked like it was ready to turn part of Jesup Green into a parking lot.
The final plan for downtown is still to be determined. There are studies to be done, plans to be made, votes to be taken regarding Parker Harding Plaza, the Imperial Avenue lot, Taylor Place, perhaps even a deck on the Elm Street Baldwin lot.
But — thanks to a decisive vote by the Representative Town Meeting last week –there will be no further consideration of parking on historic, and very green, Jesup Green.
Saved! (Photo/Rowene Weems Photography)
Reasonable people can disagree on next steps. (And they will. Probably even in the Comments section on this very story.)
But many reasonable people stepped up in the days preceding last week’s RTM vote, and ensured that as our town moves forward to figure out its parking problem, we did not do what Joni Mitchell despaired over, more than 50 years ago.
We did not pave paradise, and put up a parking lot.
(Unsung Hero is a weekly “06880” feature. To nominate a hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)
Today is the day Westport’s gas-powered leaf blower ban goes into effect.
From now until October 15, handheld and backpack leaf blowers may not be used. Make sure your landscapers and neighbors know. Click here for the full ordinance.
PS: If you see a violation, email ckelly@westportct.gov, or write: Conservation Department, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880. (Hat tip: Liz Milwe)
The war in Ukraine has been pushed off the front pages, by other world events.
But for residents there — including Westport’s sister city of Lyman — the situation remains very, very real.
Ukraine Aid International — the organization founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer, which helped connect our town with our friends in Donetsk — report that Russia is putting more pressure on the front, while attempting to open a new front on the northern border.
With the recent US aid package, 1 million Czech artillery shells, new German air defense systems and more — plus the expected delivery of F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine, the Mayers are optimistic.
In Lyman specifically, they have not seen any movement in the front line, despite stepped-up attacks.
A new Westport project to aid Lyman will be announced soon. In the meantime, aid to Lyman is always needed.
To donate by credit card, click here; click the “I want to support” box; then select “Westport — Lyman Sister City.” Scroll down on the Donate page for other options: mail, wire transfer and Venmo.
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The Wakeman Town Farm farm stand opens June 8.
Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October, it’s open. Regular items include fresh organic produce, microgreens, honey and flower bouquets grown on the Farm, pls WTF logowear.
Rotating local artisanal products include organic coffee, bread, pastries, extra virgin olive oils, gourmet balsamic vinegars and salsas.
It’s a fun family outing. Other attractions include the Farm’s flower and vegetable gardens, visits with the animals, and chats with the farmers.
As a non-profit focused on community building, the Westport Weston Family YMCA knows the importance of innovative ideas and collaborative projects.
Those things doesn’t just happen, of course. So on June 4, the Y’ will host a “Pollinator” cross-networking event.
Local non-profits, and the Y’s Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund’s grant recipients, will gather for a working lunch.
Attendees will discuss topics like digital marketing, volunteer recruitment, grant writing, fundraising, operational efficiencies and strategic planning.
The guest list is by invitation only. To learn more, contact Kate Guthrie, the Y’s director of development: 203-571-6043; kguthrie@westporty.org.
Speaking of the Y: Congratulations to their masters swim team.
For the second straight year, they won the Masters National Championship, in Fort Lauderdale last weekend. Former Westport Y swimmers, now living in Florida and New Jersey, joined the local team for the meet.
The women crushed the competition with 1501 points, far ahead of second place finisher Greater Cincinnati (1041). The men’s team finished third with 1123 points, behind Cincinnati 1372.
Joan Campbell, formerly of Westport, was the team inspiration. At age 94, she swam 9 individual events and 2 relays. She won all of them, racking up 81 points.
Kristin Gary, previously a Westport Water Rat age grouper, won all 9 individual events, worth 72 points. She broke Y national records in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
Current Westport residents had a strong showing too. Tait Michael won 5 individual events, and broke the national record in the 100 freestyle.
Pam Henry-Moss defended her national title in the 50 breast stroke. Lauren Fabian won the 200 butterfly, while Nancy Saipe, in her first YMCA nationals, swam 10 individual events.
On the men’s side, longtime Westport resident Michael Laux and former Staples High School girls swim coach, won all 7 of his individual events. Matthew Rossi captured the 100 butterfly. Russell Greenberg, in his first Y Nationals (and one year after major heart surgery), swam 4 individual events and 4 relays.
Jeff Sargent who marshaled the Connecticut squad; Cheryl Kupan, originally from Westport, organized the Florida contingent. Both contributed important points to the Y team’s total too.
Westport Y masters swimmers, at the national championship.
Westport architect John Rountree’s son Ben — a 2009 Staples High School graduate — made a short film about Becker’s Hotel Marcel project.
It was entered into the American Institute of Architects’ film challenge. It was selected as one of 10 finalists, out of 140 submissions. Click below to watch:
Kathleen Mitchell, a 25-year resident of Westport, died peacefully on April 18. She was 81 years old, and had suffered from health issues for several years.
The Medway, Massachusetts native received an associates degree from Becker College in 1962. She worked in Boston for the Chamber of Commerce, then moved to New York City.
In 1975, Kathi and Bob Mitchell met on a plane. They married a year later. She had a career in marketing and communications, working for Hilton Hotels International and Meetings and Conventions magazine, where she ran trade shows for the travel industry.
Her true passion was decorating. She studied at the New York School of Interior Design. Kathi also loved dogs, flowers, cabaret singing and shopping. Her family says, “Those who knew her remember a bright, friendly, talented person who always lit up a room.”
In addition to her husband, Kathi is survived by her sisters, Ellie Fenton of Mesa, Arizona, and Carol Devine of Harwich, Massachusetts.
A memorial service will be held at Saugatuck Congregational Church this Saturday (May 18, 2 p.m.). Donations in her name may be made to the church.
Kathi Mitchell
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Claudia Sherwood Servidio has the perfect caption for today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, captured near Cross Highway: “Bambi and Thumper.”
And finally … on this day in 1905, Las Vegas was founded in the Nevada desert, when 110 acres of land next to to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks were auctioned off. The city was incorporated in 1911.
(Viva “06880”! If Elvis were here, he’d say: “Don’t be cruel. Support your local blog.” We won’t hound you any more. But please: Click here. Thank you!)
Yesterday’s New York Times carried the obituary of Daniel Kramer. The man Rolling Stone once called “the photographer most associated with Bob Dylan” died last month, at 91.
The story noted that Kramer shot (among many other photos) the cover for Dylan’s “Bringing It All Back Home” album.
That classic photo has a Westport connection.
Among other items scattered on a table, it shows a record called “The Folk Blues of Eric von Schmidt.”
Von Schmidt — a Staples High School graduate, and son of famed painter/ illustrator Harold von Schmidt — followed a stint in the Army with a Fulbright scholarship to study art in Florence.
But he was also a musician. In 1957 he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and fell in with the coffeehouse scene. He influenced Tom Rush, then Dylan. According to Wikipedia, he and von Schmidt “traded harmonica licks, drank red wine and played croquet.”
Eric von Schmidt, in his folk days.
Dylan gave von Schmidt a shout-out on his first album, for teaching him “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down.”
That relationship may be how von Schmidt’s magazine cover landed on one of the most famous album covers in music history.
The album on the cover of “Bringing It All Back Home.”
Von Schmidt later segued into a career as a full-time artist. He painted enormous, compelling scenes, including the Civil War and Custer’s Last Stand, in the Evergreen Avenue studio where his father once painted.
He died in 2007, after tragically losing his larynx to cancer.
But Eric von Schmidt’s art lives on. His magnificent “Birth of the Blues” — seven works, showing the broad scope of American music, including jazz and folk — hangs in the auditorium foyer of Staples High School.
Every day students and staff pass by, without even noticing the brilliant art.
At every event there, many others walk right by it too.
What a shame.
Waiting in the Staples High School lobby for a Players’ show. The painting is part of “Birth of the Blues” by Eric von Schmidt. (Photo copyright Lynn U. Miller)
When he finished his paintings, Von Schmidt was in talks to donate the works to the Smithsonian Museum.
Instead, he chose his alma mater.
He was bringing it all back home.
Eric von Schmidt, with “Storming the Alamo.” (Photo by George R. Janecek)
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Their website says: “Sandy Hook Promise’s no-cost Say Something program teaches elementary, middle and high school students to recognize the warning signs of someone at risk of hurting themselves or others, and how to say something to a trusted adult to get help.”
