Woog’s Web World

Kids’ photos — they’re not just for Facebook and Flickr anymore.

The Westport Arts Center is looking for photographs taken by Connecticut youngsters (ages 5-18) for a juried exhibition.  The criterion is broad:  The photo should “represent their lives.”

That means pictures of friends and family, people hanging out, even self portraits.

There is only 1 rule:  There must be at least 1 person age 18 or under in the photograph.

(Well, there are probably rules about X-rated content too, but this is a family blog.)

The winners (the photos, not the photographers) will be printed, framed, and displayed in the Westport Arts Center Gallery alongside the work of some of the 20th century’s most famous photographers in the upcoming winter exhibition, “Kid Kulture” (December 10 through February 20).  All submissions that follow the rules will be displayed in a loop on a TV monitor during the show.

Each applicant should submit 1 color or black-and-white photograph, along with a $25 entry fee ($20 for WAC members), by October 15.

For information on how to submit, and to download the entry form, click on www.westportartscenter.org.

The Boathouse, Blue Lemon, Da Pietro’s, Manolo, Mansion Clam House, Matsu Sushi, River House, Rizzuto’s, Tarantino’s, Tavern on Main and Thali have become some of Westport’s favorite restaurants by finding a balance between 2 competing demands:  offering intriguing menus, but not straying too far from what they do best.

Now they’ve embraced a new idea that they hope will lure diners old and new to a few of their specialties:  the 2nd annual Restaurant Week, sponsored by the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce.

From tomorrow (Sunday, Aug. 29) through Saturday (Sept. 4), prix fixe menus will be available for lunch and dinner.  Prices range from a low of $10.10 for lunch, to a high of $30.10 for dinner.

Why the 10 cents?

Maybe because it’s 2010.

Maybe to make it seem special.

At any rate, it’s not deceptively “low,” like the 99 cents that is really just a dollar.

The list of cars coming to this year’s Concours d’Elegance (Sept. 11-12, Fairfield County Hunt Club) grows each day.

Included so far:

• 1959 Buick Convertible
• 1959 Edsel
• 1937 Packard
• 3 Bugattis (2 37s, 1 57C)
• 1937 Cadillac V-16 Torpedo Victoria
• 1907 Fiat — which raced in the Targa Floria in Sicily
• 1934 MG Pa Airline Coupe
• 1960 Corvette
• 1965 250LM Ferrari and a 1979 Porsche — both LeMans winners, courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
• 1970 Maserati Ghibli Spyder

There will be 235 cars and motorcycles on display, many in special areas like “Period Hot Rods and Customs.”

New this year:  a Bonhams auction of up to 70 cars and memorabilia from around the northeast.

If you know something about cars, this list will mean something.

If you don’t know anything, come on by anyway.  You’ll never look at the traffic on the Post  Road the same way again.

Back in the day, signing up for Westport Parks & Rec programs meant standing in lines snaking out many doors.

Not any more.

Program registration for fall and winter programs takes place – online only – beginning at 9 a.m. this Monday (August 30).  It continues through Monday, September 6.  Program offerings are available at www.westportrecreation.com.

Of course, you don’t have to register online.  Registration forms can be mailed, faxed or dropped off at the Parks & Rec office in Longshore Club Park.  But the starting date for those registrations is Tuesday, Sept. 7. 

The early bird will no doubt get the programs he or she wants.

With unemployment still stubbornly high, the Westport Public Library is filled every workday with job-seekers.  They pore over reference materials, read up on how to market themselves, even use the wireless space to research and communicate.

The library is happy to have them.  But they also are happy to help them leave.

A variety of resources is available to job-hunters.  Among the most popular:  “Book a Librarian.”  Patrons schedule a day and time to meet with a reference librarian, on a particular job-search topic.  Bookings are available at 203-291-4800.

Sylvia Schulman — a reference librarian specializing in business-related topics — and colleague Margie Freilich-Den conduct regular “Energize Your Job Search” sessions.  These introduce participants to the library’s extensive online and onsite resources.

The library also sponsors expert talks in areas such as interview psychology, networking, and the business side of performing arts, as well as programs targeted for particular demographics, such as recent grads and jobseekers over 40.

Among the programs:

• Wednesday, Aug. 25 (7 p.m.):  “Energize Your Job Search.”
• Monday, Sept. 13, (7 p.m.):  “How to Launch Your Job Search.”  Sara Hacala, an expert on social codes and protocol, teams with Career Co-Op coaches Meredith Lowe and Gary Clarke to advise recent college graduates and others looking for their first full-time jobs on how to mount an effective job search.
• Wednesday, Sept. 15, (10 a.m.):  “Energize Your Job Search.”
• Monday, Sept. 20, (7 p.m.):  “Improve Your Interview Chemistry.”  Organizational psychologist and HR veteran Uco J. Wiersma helps participants improve their interview chemistry by learning how to apply behavioral research findings.
• Tuesday, Sept. 21, (9 a.m.):  “Over 40 and Looking for Work.”  Susan Atherton of the state Deartment of Labor focuses on the needs of jobseekers over age 40.  Advance registration required.
• Monday, Sept. 27, (7 p.m.):  “The Business Side of Performing Arts.”  Westporter Cynthia Gibb — actress, singer, dancer and former model — focuses on the differences between training as a performer and what is required to run one’s own “business” as a performer.
• Tuesday, Oct. 5, (8 a.m.):  “Take Action.”  Networking expert Rich Gee teams with financial experts Patrick Morrow and Brian Scanlon to show participants the importance of networking.  Advance registration required.

(For more information, or to register for programs, contact www.westportlibrary.org)

You can go to Broadway to see Kate Baldwin and Ben Vereen, and hear the music of Stephen Schwartz.

But you don’t have to.

Those stars — plus “Addams Family” lyricist/composer Andrew Lippa, “Wicked” veteran Julia Murray, Max von Essen of “Les Mis” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” plus more — are coming to us.

They’ll be at the Westport Country Playhouse Monday, Sept. 13, as part of the “Magical Music of Stephen Schwartz” gala celebration.

The event includes cocktails in the garden; a stellar performance by Stephen Schwartz and “Broadway Friends of the Playhouse, a champagne and dessert reception, and silent auction.

Patron tickets are available at $1,000.  For information, call 203-227-5137, ext. 122, or email kgloor@westportplayhouse.org.

The Westport Community Gardens (adjacent to Long Lots School) is having a work day today (10 a.m.-noon).  At the same time, they’re  collecting food and funds for the Gillespie Center.

It’s an ongoing project.  Twice a week, all summer long, Sheila Bergman and Trish Williams have made deliveries to the men’s shelter.  Despite the gardeners’ help — and many other donations — the shelves are bare.

During today’s Community Gardens work day, they’ll be accepting cash donations.  Sheila and Trish will then head to Costco.  Working with a wholesaler who can provide certain items in large-size cans, and taking advantage of local supermarkets’ weekly specials and 2-for-1 deals, they’ll provide a major boost for the 20 residents and 20 other men who get meals at the Gillespie Center every day.

Non-perishable donations are also welcome.

“Souterrain” — an underground structure or passage — comes from the French “sous terrain.”

“Le Farm” — one of Westport’s most popular restaurants — is also French.  The name refers not to the cuisine, but to where most of the food comes from:  local farms.

Now Le Farm is sponsoring “Souterrain” — and the tagline is “underground food.”

A different location is chosen for each monthly dinner.  It’s announced just 48 hours before the event.  The sites run the gamut — a poolside patio one time, a Norwalk warehouse the next.  In addition to fresh, locally sourced ingredients and creative preparation, Souterrain is a great way to discover Fairfield County.

The location is not the only variable.  Dinner prices fluctuate according to market value and availability.

Reservations are available only by email; reservations are limited to 40-60 diners.  To learn more — and receive information on upcoming Souterrains, contact:  ffoodllc@optonline.net.

Bon appétit!