James Bairaktaris 7/30/22 James Bairaktaris 7/30/22

Saturday Sunset along Compo Beach Road

Tonight’s sunset was marked by orange skies and the silhouettes of the egrets patiently waiting in the shallows. Photo by Nancy Lally for Westportlocal.com.

James Bairaktaris 7/30/22 James Bairaktaris 7/30/22

William Bradford Sowik, Staples Grad, Air Force Veteran, Died

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of William Bradford Sowik on July 13, 2022. He passed away peacefully after a 5 year battle with cancer.

He will be deeply missed by his wife of almost 50 years, Sherri, his sons, Jason (Samantha) and Jeremy (Olivia) and grandchildren Kingston and Noah; sister Sharene Chiaia (Louie), and his cousins Frank and Ellen, nieces and nephews and many extended family members.

Born and raised in CT, Bill spent many summers out at Cockenoe Island, graduated from Staples High School and graduated from UConn with a degree in Environmental Sciences. He was a veteran of the U. S. Air Force. He jogged for many years and enjoyed playing golf and had the highlight of hitting a hole in one in 2012. He worked for many years for the State of CT monitoring air quality as a field technician at the DEEP.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street, Willimantic, CT on Saturday, August 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We will always be grateful to the staff of Dr. Joseph McLaughlin at the John DeQuattro Cancer Center and Bill's hospice team as well as family and many friends who were there for us.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made online to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (www.pcf.org). If mailing, the address is 1250 Fourth Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Please reference Bill's name "in memory" in either the online or sent donation. Inform them of your name and address so they can notify the family of your donation. Also, donations can be made to Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut to enable donations of medical supplies for people who need them at www.echn.org. Please write checks out to VNHSC Hospice and send to VNHSC Hospice, 8 Keynote Drive, Vernon, CT 06066. For complete obituary and online condolences, please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com.

J.C. Martin 7/30/22 J.C. Martin 7/30/22

Levitt Pavilion Hosts Two-Day Music Festival On Friday And Saturday Opening Doors At 3:00 PM

The two-day festival headlined by the fan favorite band Twiddle opened on Friday afternoon at 3:00 and by 4:30 or so the grounds were filled. Including headliners Twiddle the event features 5 bands including Levitt favorite Mihali and the Nth Power who performed on Friday, and Eggy and Dwight & Nicole who will join Twiddle on Saturday. Twiddle, whose fan base is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead and Phish came out in force, sporting a variety of Twiddle garb.

Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.

If there was one word to describe the festival it would have to be Joy which was evident everywhere in the enthusiastic crowd and very apparent among Twiddle's followers who could be seen singing along with many of their favorite hit tracks. The crowd danced for hours seeming to have and endless supply of energy.

Their was a truly eclectic mix in the audience, from less than a year old to over 70 years old. Flower children, both young and old with artwork everywhere, from the full sleeves and other tattoo art to the clothes worn by the creative and stylish crowd.

Twiddle, known for jaw-dropping live performances, the group has repeatedly sold out some of the most legendary venues in the world, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Capitol Theatre. Plus, they’ve ignited festivals such as Bonnaroo and Electric Forest in addition to launching and headlining their own annual extravaganza Tumble Down Festival. Along the way, they have built a powerful catalog highlighted by the 2017 double-disc epic Plump (Chapters 1 & 2). Thus far, they’ve also gathered over 100 million streams and counting. Throughout 2021, Twiddle wrote and recorded Every Last Leaf. For the first time, they teamed up with producer Clint Bierman behind-the-board, recording in Sugar Shack, Mihali’s home studio, and Clint’s own spot.

The musicianship, featuring frontman Mihali Savoulidis who delivered mesmerizing guitar shreds and top-tier drum work by Adrian Tramontano who provided the crowd with a high energy solos captivated the crowd. Their exceptional stage show was enhanced by spectacular LED screens behind the band and their second set, once the sun went down featured a beautiful, creative laser light show.

Outside the concert area were food trucks and merchandise vendors who did a brisk business and inside, libations including cocktails, craft beers, and Tito's Vodka kept the audience's thirst well satisfied. Twiddle will once again perform two sets on Saturday at 7:00 PM and doors open at 3:00 for opening acts Eggy and Dwight & Nicole.

Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.