WESTON EVENT: The Secondnd Annual Fine Arts Festival Is This Saturday And Sunday, July 16 - 17 From 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

 

WESTON (FAIRFIELD COUNTY) CT: The tree-lined Park will be filled with over 100 beautiful juried art exhibits from local favorites to new talents. Ceramics, glass, painting, photography. jewelry and wearables to mixed media and sculpture will be available for collecting. Hosted with the support of Weston Arts, the new show features top-tier artists.

The weekend will be filled with culture and creativity!

Admission is free and there is plenty of free parking located on the School Rd campus and across the street.

Bring a friend and come make some new friends at the Weston Fine Art Festival!

Learn more here.

WESTPORT: 2022 Joanne Woodward Internship Class Selected

 

WESTPORT (FAIRFIELD COUNTY) CT: Westport Country Playhouse announces its 2022 Joanne Woodward Internship class of seven theater career aspirants who will enhance their professional skills and gain on-the-job experience working directly with Playhouse senior staff from June through mid-August. The seven interns were selected from nearly 250 applicants.

Named in honor of actress, director, and the Playhouse’s former artistic director, the Joanne Woodward Internship program is one of the nation’s preeminent theater training opportunities for emerging professionals. Internships have formed a vital part of the Playhouse’s mission since 1946. Among the alumni of the Playhouse’s program is composer Stephen Sondheim.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new interns to the Westport Country Playhouse,” said Jenny Nelson, who is the Roz and Bud Siegel director of education and community engagement at the Playhouse. “It is our hope that these talented, young people will gain authentic knowledge about their craft as well as offer guidance to our staff about ways we can amplify young people in our community through the art of theater.”

Westport Country Playhouse’s 2022 Woodward Internship class:

Corinne Brager, company management intern from Richmond, VA, is a senior at Elon University, pursuing a double major in arts administration with a management concentration and drama theater studies with a dance minor. She has worked in administration, advisory, and audition management. Her experience in both performance and administration fuels her passion for new works and creating inclusive theater communities. 

Christopher Conte, marketing intern from Darien, CT, is a rising junior at Sacred Heart University with a double major in strategic communications, PR & advertising, and musical theater. He is actively involved with his university’s theater arts program, currently serving as the co-recruitment chair. He has worked in many different areas of theater including acting, directing, costume design, and stage management. 

Kathryn Duffner, wardrobe intern from Middletown, CT, recently graduated with a BA in theater from Southern Connecticut State University where she was awarded the Theatre Scholar Award and summa cum laude Latin honors. During her time at SCSU, she held the positions of president and costume crew head for her campus’s drama club, The Crescent Players.

Alix Livermore, development intern from Marblehead, MA, is currently a sophomore at Wesleyan University studying theater and biology. This past year, she acted in student productions playing a grandma, a young boy, and a judge. In her free time, she enjoys running, baking, and trying to find really old books.

Nick Nuñez, education intern from Stratford, CT, is a sophomore theater performance major at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY. He has been a part of the performing arts community for years. His most recent credits include “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” and “The Other Shore & Dance Project 2021” with Wagner College Theatre. He has worked with students of all ages since he was a freshman in high school at various camps and schools. During the winter of 2021, he organized and facilitated a 4th-8th grade student online theater workshop with the Stratford Recreation Department and throughout the year works in their arts department. 

Nick Schons, props intern from Fargo, ND, recently graduated from Concordia College in Moorehead, MN, with a bachelor of arts in theater. He works as a freelance scenic designer and scenic artist in the upper Midwest and recently returned from being a scenic artist at the Utah Shakespeare Festival for their 60th Anniversary season. www.nickschons.weebly.com

Abigail Wilson, stage management intern from South Salem, NY, is a rising senior at Pomona College in Claremont, CA, majoring in math and theater, with a focus in stage management. Her recent credits include “House of Desires” on the Pomona College Mainstage, and an outdoor dual student thesis production of “Twelfth Night.” She has been working in technical theater since middle school,

In addition to immersive work in their respective departments, interns attend weekly seminars featuring a variety of guest speakers, including Playhouse staff members, visiting designers and artists, commercial producers, and more. Interns receive a living wage stipend and housing in Fairfield, CT.

The 2022 interns were hired through the Playhouse’s recently restructured recruiting process to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Hiring panels, comprised of the department’s manager, other department members, and a staff member from a different department, carefully reviewed all applications and asked identical questions of all candidates, creating an equitable environment.  

In addition to the Woodward Internships, the Playhouse supports the Staples High School and Fairfield Ludlowe High School Senior Experience programs, in Westport and Fairfield, CT, respectively, designed for seniors to gain a comprehensive overview of an organization and real-world experience prior to graduation. This year’s Playhouse participants are Leah Chapman from Staples, and Sophia DelGuadio from Fairfield Ludlowe.  

Woodward Internship Program sponsors include Anna Czekaj-Farber. Support for the 2022 Education and Community Engagement Program comes from the Eunice and David Bigelow Foundation; Stephen Corman; Anna Czekaj-Farber; The David and Geri Epstein Foundation; George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation; Judy and Scott Phares; Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation, Inc.; and Roz and Bud Siegel. 2022 Season Media Sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.  

Westport Country Playhouse’s 2022 season includes the Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winning pop/rock musical, “Next to Normal,” about a family’s loss and their endurance with music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and directed and choreographed by Marcos Santana, April 5 through April 24; “Straight White Men,” about a father’s relationship with his three adult sons, written by Young Jean Lee and directed by Mark Lamos, May 24 through June 5; “Kim’s Convenience,” a comedy that inspired a Netflix series about a Korean family who own a Toronto convenience store, written by Ins Choi and directed by Nelson T. Eusebio III, July 5  through July 17; Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist “4000 Miles,” about two unlikely roommates, written by Amy Herzog and directed by David Kennedy, August 23 through September 4; and Los Angeles Drama-Logue winner and Pulitzer Prize nominee “From the Mississippi Delta,” an inspiring coming-of-age journey, written by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland and directed by Goldie E. Patrick,October 18 through October 30. The complete schedule is available at www.westportplayhouse.org. All play titles, artists, dates, and formats are subject to change.

All audience members are required to show proof of vaccination and to wear masks while inside the Playhouse to ensure the actors stay safe and healthy to avoid performance cancellations. For updates on Covid-19 health and safety protocols at the Playhouse, visit https://www.westportplayhouse.org/visit/covid19safety/

DANBURY: Congratulations to the Wooster graduates of the Class of 2022

 

DANBURY (FAIRFIELD COUNTY) CT: Wooster School held its Commencement Exercises on Friday, June 10 to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2022. These seniors join more than 3,000 alumni who have graduated since Wooster's founding in 1926.

Vice-President of the Wooster School Board of Trustees, Jennifer Wadehra offered kind words to Wooster's soon-to-be graduates. “Graduates, you have shown that you are truly kind and generous. As a class, you excelled in academics, arts, sports and service. Let’s pause for a minute and remember again how challenging the last few years have been. Maybe the struggles are top of mind. That’s understandable too. Yet today, you are here, and you navigated the unknown, the losses and the changes - all while expected to learn, mature, have fun and plan for your future. Please know, that’s a lot and it’s more than enough. We celebrate every one of you.”

Class orator Cole Breen ‘22 delivered some heartfelt remarks. “The idea of shared values and knowing you are a part of something bigger than yourself is invaluable. Wooster is a small school, but we are big in the way that matters - friendship, empathy, respect, challenging oneself, and the ability to communicate one's thoughts, feelings, and ideas effectively are just some of the many skills that a Wooster student learns over their four or more years.” Breen added, “We build community not only by caring and talking with one another, but by our common identity. Some of us have been here since kindergarten, others since middle school, and even more who have come over the past few years. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter when or where we came from, it matters where we all arrived…Wooster School.”

Before the seniors received their diplomas, Head of School Matt Byrnes spoke to the graduating class. "Questions are essential, because they demand answers. Good answers are hard to come by and require thinking, and discussion, and listening. The big, personal and existential questions require the most work – and that isn’t a bad thing." Byrnes added, "The more questions I ask, the more I read, the more I listen, and the more I learn, the more I need to know. The more I want to know. But that’s what I would call a virtuous cycle to be in. And the interactions which will best shape your existence and define who you are are those with the people whom you love. Your family, and your friends. Those are the interactions that will create the matter of your life, the perceptible reality. Through them, purpose and meaning emerge and evolve. Your work, your passions, your experiences, they will all contribute – they’ll help to round out your sense of what you are for, but it is the love you share with others – your vulnerability, your generosity, your courage, your forgiveness in relationships – that will get you closer to understanding yourself and your purpose in this life."

Congratulations to the Great Class of 2022 for all of their accomplishments!

Wooster School Class of 2022

Isabel Allo

Alex Ancona

Charlie Aspillaga

Gabe Bordoy

Cole Breen

Sam Briody

Bella Brown

Logan Burhance

Alli Byrne

Lulu Carone

Angelina Cerulli

Raymond Consiglio

Abigail Duffy

Trip Dulecki

Jordan Dupree

Marcus Dupree

Kai Escobar

Parker Etzbach

Reid Etzbach

Joey Everett

Lalo Farro

Zach Felton

Colin Fortson

Robert Gabrik

Sean Garvey

Sam Goldblat

Alex Goldstein

Justine Gray

Ben Greco

Kieran Greeley

Ethan Hale

Megan Heneghan

Deanna Jones

Chris Komar

Charlie Levy

Griffith Li

Hailey Looney 

Skyler Marcus

Johnny Masi

Morgan Nelson

Patrick O'Brien

Sasha Peck

Max Porter

Sophia Rodriguez

Brendan Santiago

Vlad Schwindeman-Romano

Lillie Shipman

Tillie Spencer

Benedicta Szewczuk

Shane Taubin

Cass Washington

Riley Whelehan

Patrick Xue

Elena Yin

Evie Zahner

William Zhang

About Wooster School

Wooster School is an independent, co-educational college preparatory day school, serving students from Fairfield and Westchester Counties. Located in Danbury, Connecticut, the School serves students from grade 5 through grade 12. A leader in classroom innovation and teaching, Wooster School is a place where thinking and learning are personal, meaningful, and visible; and where faculty work closely with students in small classes and cohorts to think and communicate critically and creatively. At Wooster, every student participates, every student contributes, and every student learns and develops the necessary skills to be a life-long learner and leader in college and beyond.

To learn more, visit http://www.woosterschool.org/ or contact Wooster School Admissions at (203) 830-3916.

WESTPORT: Award-winning singer/songwriter Diana Jones will be at Westport’s Voices Café on Saturday evening June 11th, at 8:00pm, in-person and live streamed

 

WESTPORT  (FAIRFEILD COUNTY) NY: A concert is raising funds for the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants’ (CIRI) Apartment Set Up Team who settle refugees in Fairfield County. CIRI has been settling refugees in Connecticut for 104 years. The Apartment Set Up Team began 7 years ago and is comprised of volunteers, primarily from 6 area faith communities.

Diana Jones has been a major literary voice in contemporary song since her 2006 breakthrough album, My Remembrance of You, which garnered rave reviews. This album set her on a path which would see her release four further critically acclaimed albums: Better Times Will Come (2009), High Atmosphere (2011), Museum Of Appalachia Recordings (2013) and Live In Concert (2016). She has toured the globe, including performances at Cambridge Folk Festival, Galway Arts Festival, Levon Helm’s Ramble in Woodstock, NY, and Bimhuis in Amsterdam, and shared stages with the likes of Richard Thompson, Janis Ian and Mary Gauthier.  

Jones’ progressive, yet historically rich, songs have been recorded by artists including Joan Baez and Gretchen Peters and have won her awards from Kerrville New Folk Festival, New Song Festival and nominations from International Folk Alliance. 

Jones’s inspiration for Song To A Refugee came through a chance encounter with actress Emma Thompson in New York City, and at a time when Jones was recovering from a serious illness. Although her health was improving, artistically Diana felt at a loss. At the same time, Diana found the harsh reality of what was happening at the US-Mexican border particularly distressing; scenes of mothers separated from their children resonating with her own experience as an adopted child. After the chance meeting with Emma Thompson in a NYC park, Diana Jones was called out of her writer’s block.  Says Jones, “for a lot of us there’s that one person we would love to meet and for me it was Emma… she was so kind and passionate, especially about the refugee crisis.” 

Jones began to write the stories that she found so devastating, one voice at a time. “My own need to ‘re-humanize’ the people who were being dehumanized by governments resulted in a flood of songs,” says Jones. One of the album’s strengths is Jones’ ability to inhabit the characters about whom she is writing, from the woman walking miles to the US border carrying her child, to the young children separated from their parents fleeing their homeland, giving an immediacy to their stories while illuminating the more generic themes within.

Diana is rooted in the Appalachian traditions of her birth family and has proven unusually adept at distilling complicated cultural forces down to a particular person in a particular time and place. When Jones was reunited with her birth family in her twenties, she spent time with her Tennessee grandfather. “I decided to throw out my previous songs,” she says, “and go to the woods and ask my grandfather and my ancestors for help.” That decision yielded such powerful songs as “Pretty Girl” and “Pony”, which came from a story told by her grandfather about children removed from their families to go to Indian Schools. 

With Song To A Refugee, Jones continues to give voice to the dispossessed, and bring awareness to social justice issues, taking her place in the lineage of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. “I believe we all want to get involved and give each other hope,” Jones says, “how can any of us look away?”.  Don’t miss this opportunity to see Diana Jones, and support arriving refugees settling in our area.

Learn more: https://www.dianajonesmusic.com/ 

Refugees arrive with just the clothes on their backs. They need housing and everything from a toothbrush, to pots and pans, to a bed. Funds raised by this concert will be used to purchase these items.

Over the past 6 months, 72 volunteers have set up 41 apartments in Bridgeport and New Haven for 194 refugees. The value of the furniture and supplies donated and purchased, estimated at $48,000, is priceless to refugees.

David Vita, Director of Social Justice at The Unitarian Church in Westport said, “World Refugee Day (June 20), the recent surge of Afghan refugees, refugees arriving from countries like Ethiopia, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the imminent arrival of Ukrainian refugees plus Diana Jones’ commitment to this cause made her the logical choice for Voices Café’s June performance.”

Diana Jones’ signature storytelling is at its best with her award-winning Song To A Refugee, reflecting deep empathy for, and common cause with the plight of refugees. Jones is known for giving voice to dispossessed people, and her voice will stay with you, “...at times haunting, at times heart-breaking, and always challenging”, says Down at the Crossroads. 

Voices Café is located at The Unitarian Church in Westport, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport. Doors open at 7:30.

SOUTHPORT: U.S. News & World Report Review Of Connecticut Public High Schools

SOUTHPORT (FAIRFIELD COUNTY) CT: U.S. News & World Report reviewed more than 24,000 U.S. public high schools and 207 Connecticut schools made their 2020 rankings. 

Below are the rankings of high schools in and around Southport.

High School	CT Rank	Nat Rank	Grad Rate	Enrollment
Stratford High School	#112	#6,567	94%	958
Center For Global Studies	#113	#6,775	98%	284
Achievement First Bridgeport Academy	#118	#7,457	73%	218
Wilton High School	#11	#537	99%	1,330
Aerospace/Hydrospace Engineering And Physical Sciences Hs	#121	#7,611	93%	475
Bunnell High School	#122	#7,656	98%	1,045
Information Technology And Software Engineering High School	#144	#10,283	94%	475
Central High School	#160	#12,573	78%	1,612
Bassick High School	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	64%	970
Biotechnology Research & Zoological Sciences at the Fairchild Wheeler Campus	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	96%	471
Bridgeport Military Academy	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	96%	301
Bullard-Havens Technical High School	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	96%	778
Capital Preparatory Harbor School Inc.	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	56%	148
Harding High School	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	60%	967
The Bridge Academy	#162-207	#13,345-17,792	78%	179
Fairfield Ludlowe High School	#18	#883	98%	1,510
Weston High School	#2	#202	99%	808
Fairfield Warde High School	#38	#1,683	sch

According to U.S. News & World Report, the highest-ranked schools are scattered throughout the country, showing that the best schools are not concentrated in any one geographic area. Nine different states are represented among the top 10 schools. More broadly, the top 100 schools span 29 states.

U.S. News & World Report says that they take a holistic approach to evaluating schools, focusing on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates. College readiness measures participation and performance on AP and IB exams.

Here are the top 10 high schools in Connecticut:
#1 Connecticut IB Academy in East Hartford
#2 Weston High School
#3 Darien High School
#4 Staples High School (Westport)
#5 New Canaan High School
#6 Simsbury High School
#7 Greenwich High School
#8 Hall High School (West Hartford)
#9 Ridgefield High School
#10 Marine Science Magnet High School of Southeastern
See the complete Connecticut High School rankings 

View the article in its entirety here.

STRATFORD: Port Five Naval Veterans Annual Car Show

 

STRATFORD (FAIRFIELD COUNTY) CT: It’s back! After an interlude because of the pandemic, the Port Five Naval Veterans return this year on Sunday, May 15 with their annual car show at Boothe Memorial Park & Museum in Stratford, CT. The car show begins at 9 am and is $15 per show vehicle. Port Five is now under the command of Jim “JB” Bogos who along with the Officer of the Deck, John Buehler, and many veteran volunteers are running the event. Best of all, public admission is FREE!

We all look forward to Spring with its longer daylight, milder weather, and colorful flowers. It’s great to get outdoors again in beautiful surroundings. What better place for activities with family and friends than at Boothe Memorial Park and Museum on its Opening Day weekend. 

Opening Day honors the birthday of David Beach Boothe, who, along with his brother Steven, owned the Stratford estate. The Visitor’s Center in the East Barn has a wonderful video previewing the many highlights to be seen at the park and museums. A timeline of the family’s history in Stratford and their accomplishments is displayed on the interior walls.

There will be tours of the Boothe homestead museum, set at the turn of the century with many items owned by the Boothe family still in place.  In addition, many of the unique buildings will also be open including the clock tower, carriage house, Americana Museum, planetarium, windmill, trolley station, chapel, model train museum, and a working blacksmith shop.  Local student art exhibits and other activities round out the selections for all ages.

To start the day, DJ Seth Carley will be spinning some great oldies. In the later afternoon, the music will continue with a lively concert by the Stratford Community Band until 4 pm.

Enjoy delicious hot food available for both breakfast and lunch provided by the Port Five Naval Veterans. The Ladies Auxiliary will provide culinary delights with a bake sale along with having a basket raffle with terrific prizes.

At Noon, the park celebrations commence with a military flag raising ceremony. Military groups and Veterans are invited to attend with their families; they are our true heroes of today. Join a tribute ceremony with Color Guard with a live performance of the National Anthem by singer Karen Milosky. Honor your families’ veterans by enjoying a fun-filled day together reminiscing, and creating new memories to cherish. 

Feast your eyes on the unique variety of vehicles that display on the South grass lawn of the park. Relieve your past through the decades of stunning cars in pristine condition. Marvel at exotic super cars and Concours d’Elegance beauties. Experience a fabulous exhibit of automotive history in cars, trucks, service vehicles, and military vehicles. Reminisce days gone by in viewing interesting nostalgia such as Ford Model T’s, Model As, and Packards.

This year’s car show will be judged by a team of judges due to the increasing size and prestige of the event. In order for a vehicle to be eligible for judging, it must arrive early and stay throughout the event. There are a large number of field trophies to honor the winners. There also will be both prestigious and memorial awards; the Richard Iannucci Best in Show Trophy, Best Antique, Best Paint, Best Ford, Best Mopar, Best GM and Best Truck trophies.

The first 200 car owners will receive a dash plaque and a goody bag. All Car Clubs are welcome with no cut off year. There is no rain date; the show is held rain or shine. $15 for show vehicles. The museum activities are open from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and the car show hours are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Entrance to the park and the car show are free and open to the public. Boothe Park is located at 5744 Main Street Putney in Stratford. Bring the family to the Opening Day events to be held on May 15, 2022 from 9 am to 4 pm.

For information, ad book and trophy sponsorships please go to: https://www.portfiveusa.com/carshow

For additional information please call John Buehler at 203-650-2009. For more photos from past years’ shows, go to: http://www.ctseaportcarclub.com

BLACK ROCK: Restaurant Saved From Eviction

 

BLACK ROCK NEIGHBORHOOD (CITY OF BRIDGEPORT) CT: Two weeks ago, Mark Turocy announced that his restaurant, Black Rock Social House, would be temporarily closing Feb. 26th.

Mr. Turocy's miracle came this week when he and financial backer inKind reached an agreement to eliminate the debt that he owed his landlord after he fell behind on rent late last year and found his business facing eviction.

Black Rock Social House was also approved in partnership with the owners of the building to receive $25,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds for additional outdoor seating.

Mr. Turocy hopes to get more federal money from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

Black Rock Social House opened in March 2021 at 2895 Fairfield Ave. in a historic landmark building, touting itself as a gluten-free gastropub specializing in international comfort food. However, the coronavirus pandemic provided barriers to success for the business, and, until funding came through recently,

Black Rock Social House struggled with obstacles that affected its eligibility for assistance.