Wednesday Night Traffic off of Cockenoe Island
With light winds slowing things down, tonight’s sailing regatta was the scene of quite the traffic backup as dozens of local and visiting yachts raced to get around the E marker near Cockenoe Reef. The Wednesday night regatta tradition includes Cedar Point Yacht Club, Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club, and other local clubs with their vessels all joining in on the friendly after-work competition on the Sound. WestportLocal.com photo
Best Selling Author James Patterson talks “James Patterson” to Packed Library Forum
WestportLocal.com photosThe Westport Library was packed tonight as hundreds, both in the Trefz Forum and streaming online, listened to authors Nina Sankovitch and James Patterson discuss Patterson’s memoir: “James Patterson by James Patterson.” The duo discussed his life and experiences as he ventured from “a boy from small-town New York to the world’s most successful writer.” The free event by the Westport Library included a meet and greet when he also signed pre-purchased copies of the novel.
Patterson: James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author. His enduring fictional characters and series include Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, and Ali Cross, along with such acclaimed works of narrative nonfiction as Walk in My Combat Boots, E.R. Nurses, and his autobiography, James Patterson by James Patterson. Bill Clinton (The President Is Missing) and Dolly Parton (Run, Rose, Run) are among his notable literary collaborators. For his prodigious imagination and championship of literacy in America, Patterson was awarded the 2019 National Humanities Medal. The National Book Foundation presented him with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, and he is also the recipient of an Edgar Award and nine Emmy Awards. He lives in Florida with his family.
Sankovich: Nina Sankovitch is the author of several nonfiction books, including American Rebels and The Lowells of Massachusetts. She has written for the New York Times, the Huffington Post as a contributing blogger, and was formerly a judge for The Book of the Month Club. A graduate of Tufts University and Harvard Law School.
Westport Pride: 2nd Annual Pride Celebration this Saturday “Not to be missed”
Westport Pride Press Release: Westport Pride’s third in person event for 2022 is not to be missed! The entire community is invited to celebrate Westport’s second-ever Pride Celebration.
The rally will feature a select group of community speakers, performers, local clergy as well as political leaders who will gather to celebrate this event. Jen Tooker, Westport Selectwoman, will be issuing a proclamation declaring June Pride Month in Westport. The town will also fly a pride flag on Jesup Green in honor of the event.
In addition, there will be children’s art activities, face painting, hair and makeup, pride merchandise and ‘swag,’ vendors and educational materials on hand.
Details:
Date: June 12, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Speeches will begin promptly at 1 p.m. in the order listed, followed by performances by local students and artists.
1:00 p.m. – Opening remarks by Westport Pride Founder Brian McGunagle*
1:05 p.m. – Jen Tooker, First Selectwoman – Proclamation Announcement
1:10 p.m. –Will Haskell, State Senator to present a citation
1:15 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. – Various Musical Performances and Speakers
3:00 p.m. – Closing blessing and dismissal: Cantor Julia Cadrain, Temple Israel of Westport with Westport/Weston Clergy Association
Place: Jesup Green, Westport, CT, located at Jesup Rd. & Taylor Pl., Westport, CT 06880. Additional parking is available at the Westport Library.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Wilton Firefighters Lend a Hand
Wilton firefighters aboard Wilton Engine 3 rushed on Myrtle Avenue as they headed to Evergreen Avenue tonight.Town of Wilton firefighters climb the Evergreen Avenue hill alongside water lines to meet Westport firefighters at the emergency scene. Through mutual aide agreements with surrounding communities, Wilton firefighters aboard Wilton Engine 3 rushed to Evergreen Avenue this evening as Westport Firefighters prepared for reports of a possible structure fire. Mutual aid agreements allow for first responders to gather support from surrounding towns by having the neighboring departments assist at the scene of large emergencies or by having them stay in the town to respond to other calls for help while the larger emergency is resolved. During fire incidents like tonight’s - Wilton, Norwalk, and Fairfield fire departments assist the Westport community, just as Westport firefighters assist in their communities. Neighbors helping neighbors. WestportLocal.com photos
Deer Seeks Refuge on Cockenoe Island
As has been rumored by locals, the local deer population isn’t just found in Westport’s mainland, but out on Cockenoe Island, too. The deer have found themselves out on the island during low tides, when navigating the trek from Cedar Point to the sand bars is manageable. Once on the island, they’re safe from most predators - including local traffic. WestportLocal.com photo
Ice Cream Float Boat Returns to Cockenoe Lagoon
Matt McManus, Fairfield Prep, floated through Cockenoe Lagoon this afternoon as moored vessels quickly flagged him down for their favorite ice cream. McManus and several of his industrious co-captains have spent several Summers gliding around the lagoon - offering an unexpected boat-side ice cream delivery to Westporters and all visitors to Cockenoe Island with their frozen coolers and Venmo transactions. The literal ice-cream-float is yet another official sign that Summer is just around the corner in the Westport community, and local teens will always find the best way to blend summer work with summer fun. WestportLocal.com photo
Twilight along the River: Outdoor Weather in Walrus Alley
Surrounded by warm night air, Walrus Alley was lively tonight as diners were able to sit outside for their dinnertime meals. WestportLocal.com photo
Twilight along the River: Golden Shadows, Indeed
One of Golden Shadow’s expansive rooms basking in evening light as the property sits idle by. WestportLocal.com photoA view of Golden Shadows from below the crest of the property’s hill, near Imperial Avenue and Jesup Road. WestportLocal.com photoEvyan perfume founder Baron Walter Langer von Langendorff’s former mansion was appropriately named Golden Shadows, as that’s exactly what could be found on the Baron’s South property overlooking the Saugatuck tonight.
The home sits amongst assumedly spectacular former gardens, with now just one cleared walking path available to pedestrians looking to cut between South Compo Road and Imperial Avenue.
The home and its expansive property is owned by the Town of Westport, and remains one of the most complex future planning projects facing the community, all the while sitting and waiting for its next life in Westport.
Dolphin Trio Visits Saugatuck Island
Saugatuck Island residents had three more visitors for their weekend plans as this small pod of dolphins enjoyed the calm waters and warm air of Bermuda Lagoon over Saturday and Sunday.
Video and photo courtesy of Gina Oliveira Beranek, who kayaked out into the Lagoon today after first seeing them yesterday to record their playful nature from a safe distance. Beranek said a neighbor had put a call into the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) to alert them to the unusual sight, who said they would give them a few more days before they assisted them in leaving the lagoon if they were stuck.
Although difficult to discern, the coloring may allude to their being white-beaked dolphins, according to NOAA. “White-beaked dolphins are found in colder temperate and subpolar waters throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. Their range includes the waters of eastern North America (Massachusetts to Newfoundland), northern Europe (north of Portugal), Scandinavia, Greenland, the United Kingdom, and the Barents Sea. Their distribution in U.S. waters is limited. They prefer waters less than 650 feet deep.”
Photo by Gina Oliveira Beranek Click to watch video courtesy of Gina Oliveira Beranek
Michael Brennecke Exhibits Paintings at Westport Book Shop’s Drew Friedman Art Space for March
Contributed photoThe Westport Book Shop is pleased to welcome artist Michael Brennecke as its guest art exhibitor for the month of March, at the Book Shop’s Drew Friedman Art Place.
Michael’s focus is the creation of abstract paintings, in oils or watercolors. He typically begins with a non-representational drawing, employing random, intuitive movement and accident to create a composition without any preconceived image. Then, in the tradition of Rorshact, through the addition of color and texture, he develops and emphasizes the evocative parts of the image that draw his attention. While his compositions are conceived as abstractions, they may still evoke a sense of landscape or figure, or have the suggestion of natural geology, or appearance of rock formations, vegetation or water.
Michael describes his process with each piece as a mental landscape, or overgrown archeology in which he has to tease out an underlying structure and sense of space. While some of his works, including those on exhibit at the Book Shop, are mostly in the landscape category, sometimes his compositions evolve to be more figurative, even portrait-like. Michael names his works after completion, depending on visceral impressions.
Michael is exhibiting four recent oil paintings at the Book Shop:
“Night Lights”, which turned out as an inadvertent homage to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhone”, of Arles lights reflected on the river;
“Paradise”, which ironically refers to the California town destroyed by the Camp fire. This piece walks the line between the beauty and destructive power of fire;
“Monteverde”, evocative of the sunlit, vine-draped rainforest area of Costa Rica; and
“Backside”, which the artist says he has no clear idea about. “It is possibly somewhat figurative.”
Michael attended The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and earned a BFA at Tufts University. He is a member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists, the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, the Rowayton Arts Center and the The Artists Collective of Westport. Michael is a lifelong resident of Westport. You can see more of Michael’s works on his website, at www.michaelbrennecke.com
Westport Book Shop, a nonprofit used book store, is downtown Westport’s only source for gently used and antiquarian books, vintage vinyl records, and other media. It is located at 23 Jesup Road, right across Jesup Green from the Westport Library.
The Book Shop’s “Drew Friedman Art Place” is an area of the store dedicated to exhibiting the work of community artists year-round, on a rotating basis. Miggs Burroughs, a Trustee of the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center, and a founding member of The Artists Collective of Westport, is curating these exhibits, which change monthly.
The art exhibit is open to the public during the Book Shop’s business hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m. (closed Mondays). Michael Brennecke’s artwork will be on exhibit through March 31, 2022. All artwork on exhibit is available for purchase.