Wakeman Family Fun Day Attracts Countless Smiles
Today’s Wakeman Family Fun Day at Wakeman Farm (11:00-3:00) attracted countless families. The pizza, Saugatuck Sweets ice cream stand, face painting, butterfly and pollinator garden station, Westport Book Shop, and a variety of other activities drew in large crowds. Photos and words by Cami Vynerib.
Lucky Duck: Westporter Wins 2022 Great Duck Race, $5,000 Prize, with Duck #410
Janet Mittleman, a Westporter for 32 years, was this year’s Lucky Duck as her rubber ducky won the Westport Rotary’s Great Duck Race today on Jesup Green. Mittleman and her five year old grandson James Gladstein were all smiles as they came to claim their prize from First Selectwoman Jen Tooker and members of the Westport Rotary clubs after their duck, #410, made its way the fastest down the manmade river - with water supplied by Westport firefighters. Thousands of ducks took the plunge today from the bucket of an AJ Penna frontloader, with every duck randomly assigned a number that corresponded to a donor’s ticket. All money collected from the duck race goes back into the community as the funding supports numerous non-profit organizations and local events through the Westport Rotaries. WestportLocal.com photo
Runners (floaters?) up for this year’s race included:
Nick Battaglino
Anna Brady
Rob Graham
Alexnder Strompen
Tracey Cauley
Wen Hsu
Rady Johnson
Jason Wolgast
Silvia Durno
Cribari Bridge Opens as Saugatuck Tradition Continues
The William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge over the Saugatuck River opened this evening for boat traffic, a tradition for the historical swing bridge spanning over 100 years. Constructed in 1884 and renovated in 1993 - the bridge originally was operated manually, with a large bar being pushed by hand to rotate the bridge on its track. Now powered by a motor, the operation requires State Department of Transportation personnel to man the bridge and operate the motor - which can open and close the bridge in about five minutes as boat traffic passes alongside it. Maintenance has kept the bridge working efficiently, though in moments when the motor failed - the original manual operation still can be seen observed from the riverbank. Despite its age, the bridge opens up throughout the summer months when high tides force up-river boats to request passage, sometimes several times each week. Click here for more information on the Route 136 bridge. WestportLocal.com photo
