Westport Book Sale Becomes the Perfect Wet Weather Activity for the Community
Book shoppers selectively browsed through a wide variety of choices in the Westport Library Trefz Forum as the 22nd annual Westport Book Sale was underway. Photos and Story by Preston SirokaThe Westport Book Sale was welcomed this weekend by a flood of both bibliophiles and rain, making it a great way for locals to spend the days inside to support a good local cause.
After 14 months of pandemic closures, an increase of people reading at home, and the donation of thousands of books - 60 library volunteers managed the indoor fundraising event while assuring safety amidst a pandemic.
Volunteers for Westport Book Sales Ventures work to facilitate this weekend’s book sales. In this era of working and learning from home - books have been in the laps of many Westporters. According to staff members, the most donated reading categories in the past year were fiction and history books, however due to the heavy influx in donations, the library couldn't accept all books gifted. And due to the pandemic, strict rules and regulations about quarantining the books had to be put into place for all the books that were accepted. The pandemic and new regulations didn't stop The Westport Library from welcoming the community into the Library to enjoy their famous opportunity to snag a deal on off-market classics, gently-used new novels, or sought-after collectibles. Book sales didn’t end in 2020, but included more online offerings, as well as ticketed events to assure accurate social distancing.
As the library celebrates the success of the Memorial Day weekend event, Westport Book Sale Ventures Board Member Linda Hopper described the future - saying that “The Staples Cafeteria is the target location for future sales” as bigger and more available indoor options may be needed.
Giving Others A Chance
The Westport Library and Westport Book Sales Ventures’ mission is to provide funding for the Westport Library in conjunction with an opportunity to help adults with disabilities become employed and successful, with profits from the book sale directly helping those missions. “The jobs we provide are to help give them the skills to work a full-time job perhaps in the future.” Hopper said. As a way to continue their work in-between book sales, the group recently opened the Westport Book Shop - where employees of all abilities sell books, DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and collectibles from the 23 Jesup Road storefront year-round.
Charise Siblings Sell Kid-Created Art for a Cause; Youngest Exhibitors at Westport Fine Arts Festival
Ashley and Austin Charise stand inside their booth surrounded by the student-created art, all of which is being sold for a good cause. Austin (11) and Ashley (9) Charise had the idea to join the Westport Arts Festival this year, however when they realized how large of an event it is and that they would be juried, they went back to the drawing board as they worked to meet their goal of obtaining a booth that displayed art created by fellow elementary schoolers.
Thinking about how to enter the show as elementary schoolers, and with guidance from the Downtown Merchant’s Association, the siblings were able to find a sponsor in their parents’ local business and with help from local artist Miggs Burroughs and the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center - and their booth was secured. With a spot on Brooks Corner, they were the youngest exhibiting members of the Festival and enjoyed meeting the artists who worked alongside them to sell their art to the community.
Their booth exhibited art from Westport elementary schoolers, from 5 to 11 years old. Each piece required a $20 fee to enter, which was donated to the international charity BuildOn. The artist named their price for their pieces, and when sold, they collected 80% of the sales - with the other 20% also going towards BuildOn.
The Charise siblings have a goal in mind with those BuildOn donation dollars: build a school in Malawi, Africa. As of Sunday, they had raised nearly $1,500 dollars towards their goal, with hope that Sunday afternoon will bring more success as the festival comes to a close at 5:00 PM today.
Westonite Drew Klotz Takes Home the $500 Pen Sculpture Award from Fine Arts Festival
Sculpture artist Drew Klotz holds his blue ribbon after being awarded the Pen Sculpture Award by the Downtown Merchant’s Association. Klotz has participated in 5 of the 48 years of the Westport Fine Arts Festival, and has kinetic sculptures visible throughout both Westport and the region.
Longshore Pool: Opening Memorial Day for the 2021 Season
The Town of Westport Parks & Recreation Department has announced that the Longshore Pool will be opening this coming Monday on Memorial Day. The Town tradition of heading to the pool will begin again after it’s 2020 hiatus due to COVID-19 precautions, another step towards the revival of Westport during Summer 2021.
The pool will be open on weekdays for open swim from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM, and weekends from 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM.
From Westport Parks & RecreationThe Longshore Pool will open for the 2021 season from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day in accordance with the schedule below.Please note that as COVID-19 is still a concern, if it is determined that the pool area is overcrowded, the Town reserves the right to temporarily halt admittance until space is available. Additionally, if overcrowding becomes an ongoing issue, the Town reserves the right to implement alternative operating procedures to allow appropriate usage of the facility.
The Longshore Pool Complex and Longshore Pavilion offers handicap accessible locker rooms with showers, family bathrooms, and a full service concession stand with outdoor seating and picnic tables. There is an adjacent playground and tennis courts with lights.
The Longshore Pool complex consists of two swimming pools and a wading pool
The Training Pool is 20 yds. in length, is a uniform depth of 3’7” and used for lap swim and swim lessons
The Lap Pool is 25 yds. in length with depth from 3-ft. to 9-ft. and is used for open swim
The Wading Pool has a depth 1-ft. to 2-1/2 ft. and is restricted during open swim to children under six years of age