Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

The Fairfield Museum and History Center, 370 Beach Road, will chronicle a major part of Fairfield’s and Connecticut’s past with its exhibit “The War of 1812 at Sea: Marine Paintings from the J. Russell Jinishian Gallery Collection,” which opens today, July 28, and continues through Sept. 9
The exhibition explains the great sea battles of the War of 1812, many of which occurred off the Connecticut Coast, and features marine paintings from the collection of art dealer and collector Russell Jinishian. Featured artists include Robert Sticker, Paul Garnett, William Walsh, Patrick O’Brien and Lloyd McCaffery, a model maker. For more information, start here.
Additionally, two more programs related to this era will take place later. “Historic Sites of the War of 1812″ will be offered on Sunday, Aug. 26, at 2 p.m. The free program features a tour of the Powderhouse, behind Tomlinson Middle School. Attendees will learn about the role of Fort Union and Fort Defense by Betty Oderwald of Fairfield, the president of the U.S. Daughters of 1812, CT Chapter. The Powderhouse, which was built in 1814, was used to store ammunition in case of British attacks. After the tour, participants will reassemble on the Town Green at 2:45 p.m. to learn more about the celebration of peace following the end of the war. Then at the Old Academy, there will be a tour and refreshments.
On Sunday, Sept. 9, the War of 1812 will be explored in a free program cosponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the U.S. Daughters of 1812, CT Chapter. Oderwald again will be the facilitator and she will discuss the sea captains and Fairfield’s maritime history and its relationship to Southport and Black Rock harbors.
To register for both programs, call 203-259-1598.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

In 2005, the Connecticut Challenge Bike Ride hit the streets for the first time. It was an immediate success, and has grown ever more since then.
It began with Jeff Keith, a cancer survivor and athlete who also has raised tons of money for research, and his friend, John Ragland, a businessman and cyclist. According to the ride’s website, in January 2005, Jeff visited “the David B. Perini Quality of Life Clinic at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston – a clinic for pediatric cancer survivors – and felt strongly that adult cancer survivors needed access to the same type of resource in Connecticut. He approached, Dr. Richard Edelson, Director of Yale Cancer Center, with the proposition to fund a survivorship clinic at the newly planned Yale Cancer Center facility in New Haven. Dr. Edelson and his colleagues at Yale were very enthusiastic about the concept and signed on.”
Then the CT Challenge Bike Ride was born.
To give you an idea on how successful it has become, in 2011, 113 teams participated. That’s just teams, and doesn’t take into account the single riders who joined in and raised funds.
The mission of the Connecticut Challenge “is to empower cancer survivors to live longer, happier, healthier lives, by creating and funding programs, offering credible resources, and building a community of support.” But that has grown too. Instead of cancer survivors traveling to one location for services, “the CT Challenge supports hospitals and community organizations across the state so that survivors can receive the unique care they need right in their local community.” Toward that end, the CT Challlenge broke ground last year on the Center for Survivorship, which will open in September at 250 Pequot Ave., Southport, and provide survivors as well as their families and other caregivers resources in several areas, such as exercise, nutrition and psychosocial support.
All this started with two friends talking. Amazing. For more information on the organization, visit its website.
This year’s ride begins Friday, July 27, with a pasta dinner from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fairfield County Hunt Club, Long Lots Road, Westport, which is the base of operations for the 2012 challenge. On Saturday, July 28, the eighth annual ride takes off at 6 a.m. when registration opens. From 7:35 to 7:55 a.m., there will be opening ceremonies, the national anthem, a survivors’ walk of honor and the release of butterflies. At 8 a.m., the ride begins. Various distances are chosen by participants. They start in Westport and go north. By 5:30 p.m., riders return to the hunt club. At 7 p.m., the festivities conclude.
For information on how to participate, visit the ride website.
To read heartwarming and inspiring reasons why people participate, start here.
And for more information on the programs funded by Connecticut Challenge and their impact on survivors, visit the website.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

The tents started going up a week or so ago. I watched the workers erect them as I traveled down Pequot Avenue. It was as exciting as seeing the big top being put into place for the circus.
The volunteers are working hard now to prepare for the 52nd Annual Summer Book Sale at the Pequot Library in Southport -one of the most eagerly anticipated events of summer. And one I never miss. Not like I need more books. In fact, I recently cleaned out my bookcase, in preparation for painting it, and have stacks of books in a spare room that I will donate to the library once this year’s sale is over.
The sale takes place from Friday, July 27, to Tuesday, July 31. Sunday, July 29, is Young Readers Day. The entire event is tagged as “the best book sale in New England.” I’d be hard-pressed to argue with that. Admission is free to the sale and all proceeds benefit the library. The book sale has humble beginnings, which can be explained on the Pequot Library’s website. It’s a fascinating history. “The Pequot Library Book Sale has become a well-loved Fairfield area tradition. People come from all across the country in the hopes of finding just the right book or simply to have a great time talking to other avid book lovers in a beautiful setting,” reads a statement on the website.
More than 150,000 books will be on display and available for purchase. Buyers (myself included) can spend hours reading over the titles lined up in the tents and in the library’s auditorium. I usually head for the mysteries, biographies and true crime. Also available are children’s books, current fiction, classic literature, gardening and nature, cooking, history, , science, science fiction, sports, travel, crafts and hobbies, health, music, performing arts, art and architecture. And don’t forget about the array of LPs, 45s, CDs, DVDs, and tapes. And keep in mind, all of these can be purchased for a few dollars each.
The hours and pricing are:
Friday, July 27: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., all items double the marked price
Saturday, July 28: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., all items priced as marked
Sunday, July 29: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., all items priced as marked
Monday, July 30: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., all items half price
Tuesday, July 31: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., $5 per bag day.
Pricing for records, CDs, videos and such are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, priced as marked; Monday, half price; and Tuesday, records 50 cents each, CDs and videos $5 per bag.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Operation Hope is suggesting that you lighten your load and donate household items and other goods that you no longer need to its annual tag sale, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 5, at 148 Beach Road. Rain or shine.
Donations will be accepted from Monday, July 30, through Thursday, Aug. 2. Visit www.operationhopect.org for specific information about drop-off times and a list of new or gently used items that may be donated. Operation Hope cannot accept bedding, televisions, computers, monitors, clothing, shoes or books. Operation Hope is unable to pick up donated furniture.
“Our 23rd annual tag sale is a win-win for the community and Operation Hope. For those that donate, it clears their homes of excess items; for people that attend, they can shop among a wide selection of items at bargain prices; and for Operation Hope, it helps us sustain our services to needy members of our community,” said Carla Miklos, Operation Hope’s executive director.
The tag sale features furniture, household goods, jewelry, pictures, paintings, linens, gaming systems, toys, outdoor goods, sports equipment and much more. A concession stand, hosted by the Fairfield Rotary Club, will be open during shopping hours. Summer refreshments will also be available as will a raffle.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

You had to be a very sound sleeper if you didn’t experience the wild thunderstorms and pounding rain Sunday evening into the early morning hours of Monday.
I watched the light show from my bed and listened to the torrential rain for more than a hour (at least it seemed that way). I so wanted to run out and do two things 1) drain the water from my inflatable pool so it wouldn’t overflow (it didn’t, by the way) and 2) cover my plants in my vegetable garden so they didn’t get ruined. When I looked today, I saw I lost a few plants, lots of buds and a couple of tomato branches (those that the woodchuck hasn’t already gotten).
The other ramification of a heavy rainstorm like this one is the havoc is plays on our coastline. According to the Fairfield Health Department, due to rainfall amounts exceeding the closure criteria, all Fairfield swimming areas were closed on Monday and Lake Mohegan will stay closed on Tuesday. If we don’t get any more significant rainfall overnight or Tuesday, all swimming areas will be open Tuesday and Lake Mohegan will open Wednesday.
None of this means you can’t go to the beach and still have a good time. Just stay out of the water.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Don’t be alarmed on Monday, Jan. 16, when the town tests its new emergency notification system at 10 a.m. The town has contracted with Emergency Communications Network to license the high-speed phone notification system, CodeRED. It replaces Reverse 911 and will give town officials the ability to quickly deliver phone messages to certain areas or the entire town in an emergency.
If a phone number is not already in the town’s previous emergency notification database under Reverse 911, then a resident or business will not be called. First Selectman Mike Tetreau said in a prepared statement, which can be read in its entirely here, “One of the reasons the CodeRED system was selected by the town is that it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the system’s database which is an extremely important feature.”
All businesses should register as well as all residents who aren’t already in the system; have unlisted phone numbers; have changed their phone number or address within the past year; or who use a cellular phone or VIP phone as their primary number.
Anyone who is not already in the emergency notification system can log onto the town’s website, or the Police Department’s website, and follow the link to the “CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment” page. Those without Internet access may call 203-254-4830, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to supply their information over the phone. Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, ZIP code, and primary phone number. Additional phone numbers can be entered as well.
And remember, town officials will be testing the CodeRED system on Monday, July 16, at 10 a.m., when all residents and businesses currently in the database will be called.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

A seminar will take place at 7 p.m. July 17 to address coyotes, which have been suspected of recently attacking pets in Fairfield and other communities.
Sponsored by Fairfield Animal Control, the free public session will take place in the second-floor meeting room at 501 Kings Highway East, and feature urban wildlife expert Lynsey White Dasher. Dasher will speak about resolving coyote conflicts, including sightings of them in neighborhoods, attacks on domestic pets and fear for human safety. Dasher will also teach the latest hazing techniques for addressing habituated or bold coyotes. She will also cover what types of coyote behavior constitute a true risk and where public education can best reduce human-coyote conflicts.
For information, call Fairfield Animal Control at 203-254-4857.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Pepe’s Pizza, 238 Commerce Drive, is donating 15 percent of customers’ tabs on Thursday, July 12, toward “A Night of Music,” which raises money through Swim Across the Sound for the Lebo-DeSantie Pancreatic Center for Liver & Pancreatic Disease at St Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport.
The center is named in memory of Keith Lebo and Jim DeSantie, brothers-in-law who both died of pancreatic cancer within a year of each other. The forces behind the successful “A Night of Music” are their wives, Charlene Lebo and Suzanne DeSantie, who are sisters. The musical concert, in its third year, will be staged on Nov. 17 at the Quick Center at Fairfield University. One of the headliners is Fairfield’s own Christopher Robin.
A certificate must be presented at the time of payment at Pepe’s or tell the restaurant staff that you are there to help the benefit. A certificate can be obtained via A Night of Music’s website, where you also can obtain more information about the sisters’ efforts, past shows and how to donate to the cause.
For information about Pepe’s, which was established in 1925, visit its website.