068 Magazine - May/June 2022

May/June • 2022

”Insta” Culture Making Space and Time for Process

SWEET MUSIC Celebrating Two Decades of CHIRP Life & Legacy High Times with Clare Booth Luce

In the Dark About Animation?

THINKING OF SELLING?

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Contents

34 Run Like A Mother 5K Race refreshes the spirit, celebrates mothers, and improves health

40 A Timeless Passion The Clockery of Norwalk displays a vanishing craft

56 “Insta” Culture In our fast paced, to-do-list culture, it’s a challenge to let go and allow life to unfold in its own time

62 Music Will Keep Us Together Celebrating two decades of CHIRP

66 Sustainable Wine From grape to table, explore the roots of sustainable wine

70 High Times With Clare Boothe Luce

76 Five Questions With...

Chaka Kahn

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78 The Little Theater That DID The story of ACT of CT

Revving Up! Car Culture Takes Off in Danbury

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ON THE COVER Photo courtesy of Steamroller Studios Cover article on page 28

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Contents

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In The Front 14

Noted Megan Searfoss

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Behind The Scenes

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Old Ridgefield The age of great estates

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Have You Met? Mike Flynn, CEO Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield

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Art In The Spotlight The art of animation

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Ask Ms. Jen Snakes, snails & slime

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In The Back 80

Foodies Bagels & Food Trucks

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Is That A Thing?

Axe throwing at Danbury Ice Arena

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Shout Out

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In and Around More than just a haircut

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Whatever Comes Up Nights to remember

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One More Thing

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Friends.

Family.

Community.

We’re all in this together.

Georgann Hoffman Agent

State Farm® has a long tradition of being there.

That’s one reason why I’m proud to support Wilton and all of Fairfield County.

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152 Danbury Road Wilton, CT 06897 Bus: 203.762.3332 The Kent Schoolhouse

Noted

by Megan Searfoss • Community Ambassador

S

pring brings blossoms, crisp air, and now more than ever people are out, moving on our sidewalks, roads, and trails.

A group running fast around the RHS track while the sun rises… Five women running down Main Street towards the Silver Spring loop… A smattering of men and women of all ages on Saturday mornings meeting at Ridgefield Running Company (RRC) … A lone runner in the groove with Air Pods and a swift gait…

Partners on their daily stroll walking their dog from blinking light to blinking light on Main St., coffee in hand.

Some are fast, keeping pace with hi-tech watches and intervals, others running as a social hour, many just to step outside into the fresh, open air to move their bodies forward. Separately each group is its own little community of people—a guys running group, moms pushing strollers, a regular weekend group that meets for a five-mile run, and a dozen people training for their first 5k while others are trying to run their fastest half marathon.

Together, they have a shared mission and a common gathering spot. These are people who come from all around the area to connect through running, and it’s one of my proudest accomplishments that have emerged from owning my own business.

Ridgefield Running Company has blossomed into a great business, but more important it’s grown into an integral piece of the community—attracting people to the area not only to buy running shoes and athletic apparel at RRC, but to stop in next door at The Cakebox, to get accessories at Olley Court down the way, or a bite to eat at Luc’s on Big Shop Lane.

And on top of that, it’s made each runner, individually motivated by their love of a sport that keeps them fit physically, emotionally, and spiritually, also feel part of a larger community.

After all, that’s what it’s all about—bringing people together, making each one feel part of something bigger than themselves, and moving forward together. •

Behind The Scenes

Vol 1, Issue 3 • May/June 2022

Dee Dee Colabella Owner dcolabella@rpacartcenter.com

Greg Mursko Publisher publisher@068magazine.com

Dylan Miller Editor-In-Chief editor@068magazine.com Contributing Writers Dee Dee Colabella, Jennifer Bradshaw, Gail Buggy, Susan Ahlstrom, Allison Ganey, Gina Zammit, Julia Bruce, Greg Mursko, and Jack Sanders Lily Fertik Copy Editor

Contributing Photographers Chris Burke, Roger Garbow, Dylan Miller, Kristen Jensen, and Ivan Toscanelli.

Advertising Sales David Gursky | 914-646-9141 sales@068magazine.com

We welcome input about this and future issues.

Please address letters, queries, and ideas to editor@068magazine.com.

068 Magazine is a publication of Colabella Media LLC. ©2022. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.

www.068magazine.com

POWERED BY

This Issue’s

Featured Writers Roger Garbow Roger Garbow is the founder of Full Throttle Marketing, a Connecticut-based automotive marketing and PR firm. A member of the International Motor Press Association, he’s a contributing writer to numerous outlets including Road & Track and TheDRIVE.com.

Roger has driven some incredible vehicles, but he prefers lightweight sportscars with three pedals. Roger highlights the emerging car culture of Miry Road in Danbury, home to supercars, classics, and just about everything else on page 50.

Sarah Galluzzo Sarah Galluzzo is a freelance writer from Fairfield Connecticut. She enjoys writing about homes, people, travel, food, and fun. Sarah has always been interested in upcycling furniture and home goods for interior design, and she has a talent in conveying the atmosphere in interior spaces and identifying what gives life to the establishment.

Sarah explores a timely topic on page 40, and finds some mobile hot spots in this edition of “Foodies” on page 82.

Khristee Rich Khristee Rich is a holistic health expert, researcher, and writer who advocates for women’s health and empowers women to heal their chronic conditions and trauma using the natural medicine of the Earth, so that they become healthy, joyful women and make the impact they desire in their lives. She is currently writing a three-book series on childbirth around the world through a holistic experience.

She explores the annual event Run Like A Mother on page 34.

Dave Goldenberg Dave Goldenberg is a writer, musician, award-winning filmmaker, and recovering advertising creative director. He likes motorcycles, cigars, and whiskey, but is also a vegetarian who watches Antiques Roadshow.

Dave believes music can save the world—but then he also thinks he loads the dishwasher better than his wife of 40 years. He is at work on his first novel, which he promises is “almost finished.” In his first feature for 068 Magazine celebrates 20 years of CHIRP concerts on page 62.

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Old Ridgefield Jack Sanders

The Age of the

Great Estates A

Chauffeur-driven buggies line up to meet the evening train from New York City arriving at the village station on Prospect Street around 1905. From 1870 to 1925, passenger train service made Ridgefield easily and comfortably accessible from Manhattan.

The vast view from John Lynch’s West Mountain Farm extended to beyond the Hudson River and included a couple of estates in Lewisboro.

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19th Century locomotive was a noisy, smelly, dirty machine, but it provided an escape from a noisy, smelly, dirty place: New York City. The construction of the railroad in 1870 dramatically changed the Ridgefield village. The comfortable, two-hour trip from Manhattan drew scores of wealthy New Yorkers who built “cottages” to escape the steamy, stinky city summers.

Grand estates began replacing farmland in the 1880s. Ridgefield was being promoted for its offering of fresh air and—at 800 to 900 feet above sea level—views that could astound. From many spots one could see Long Island to the south or beyond the Hudson River to the west.

Good press helped. By 1890 The New York Times ran regular reports of Ridgefield’s social scene and touted the town’s benefits. Under an 1893 headline, DOCTORS RECOMMEND RIDGEFIELD, The Times reported: “The success of Ridgefield as a summer resort” is partly due to “the influence of many of the prominent physicians of New York, who have induced their patients to pass the summer here,” and listed doctors who’d built homes in town. Advertising even boasted that Ridgefield was typhoid-free.

The Place to Be Among the physicians was Dr. Bache McEvers Emmet, whose 43-acre estate on West Mountain, Greywacke, provided spectacular views to the west. It was later named Innisfree, home of Dr. Patrick Neligan who modernized Ridgefield’s Health Department.

Farther up the mountain, John Hampton Lynch, who headed the Terminal Warehouse in Manhattan, established his 50-acre “West Mountain Farm,” nearly 900 feet above sea level, with panoramic views. His mansion survives as the

core of Ridgefield Academy.

Nearby, heroic Civil War surgeon Dr. John Perry turned a farm into a summer estate. His modest home was replaced with stately Sunset Hall, owned by the family of magician Harry Houdini, and later actor Robert Vaughn, followed

by TV interviewer Dick Cavett. From the roof, one could see the Manhattan skyline.

In the village, High Ridge was being promoted as ideal for summer places. E.P. Dutton’s 1890 mansion, still standing, once included a bedroom toilet positioned near a window so the book publisher could enjoy views of the Hudson Valley. Dutton was one of many civic minded “summer people,” and helped purchase the library site as well as land later housing Ridgefield High School for a half century.

High Ridge mansions came and went.

Altnacraig, which burned in 1994, was the country home of Alonzo Barton and Emily Hepburn. Barton headed the huge Chase Bank in New York. After he was killed by a Fifth Avenue bus, Emily pursued a new life, building a 26-story Manhattan residence for working women that became the landmark Beekman Tower hotel.

Hotels were the realm of William Hawk, who built and operated The Manhattan, once the world’s tallest hotel. His 40-room “Hawks Nest” off Branchville Road, a turn-of-the-century showplace, burned in 1921.

The threat of fire worried express company executive Frederic Lewis, so his 40-room fortress was fashioned of fireproof masonry. Lewis’s 140acre Upagenstit estate along West Lane was staffed by nearly 100 people, including his personal physician and private chef (with houses provided for each). His wife, Mary oversaw vast gardens and immense greenhouses, growing prize-winning orchids.

Old Ridgefield

Mary Lewis grew prize-winning orchids in Upagenstit’s vast greenhouses. She was active in Ridgefield, heading the Red Cross here for many years.

The gardens for which Upagenstit was famous are long gone, but many specimen trees planted by the Lewises remain today along Manor Road and Lewis Drive in the subdivision created from the estate.

John Lynch’s West Mountain Farm was spread out to take advantage of the view. It’s now a core facility at Ridgefield Academy.

From the large porches on the rear of Altnacraig on High Ridge, one could see the Catskills to the west and Long Island to the south. The mansion burned down in 1994.

Casagmo was built in 1893 on 30 acres at the site of the Battle of Ridgefield along north Main Street. The name combined the Italian word, casa, or house, with owner George M. Olcott’s initials. The mansion was torn down in 1967 to make way for today’s condominium complex, but the barn was retained as a community center.

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Old Ridgefield

Publisher E.P. Dutton’s house was among the first on High Ridge. In the distance is the home of Charles A. Hamilton, head of International Silver, which was later stripped of its Victorian trappings and moved across the road.

Col. Louis D. Conley’s “Outpost Farm,” his home and the center of his 2,000-acre nursery, became the Fox Hill Inn from 1948 to 1971. Razed in the 1975, remnants can still be seen at Bennett’s Pond State Park.

Grovellen, at High Ridge and Peaceable Streets, was the home of Charles and Ellen Holt. Charles was a partner in the Holt book publishing company. His neighbor was publisher E.P. Dutton, and farther south on High Ridge, 19th Century publisher Samuel Goodrich grew up as a boy, leading some to call High Ridge “Publisher’s Row.” (In the 1990s, Jack Hoeft kept up the tradition at 77 High Ridge — he headed Bantam, Doubleday, Dell.)

Downesbury Manor on Florida Hill Road was the summer home of hat executive Edward M. Knox, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in the Civil War.

From the “widow’s walk” atop Sunset Hall overlooking Round Pond, one could see the skyline of Manhattan.

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Albert H. Wiggin’s long house on Peaceable Street, once called The Bungalow, was designed to take maximum advantage of the view to the west. It’s smaller and more efficient today.

Other Retreats Not all the great estates were summer-only.

Tin magnate Louis Conley decided by 1914 he wanted an “outpost” from the city.

Outpost Farm on Bennett’s Farm Road became the center of not only his estate, but his enormous nursery — 2,000 acres in all — that provided trees and shrubs for countless estates (including F.D.R.’s), parks, universities, and two World’s Fairs. After a stint as Fox Hill Inn, his handsome mansion was torn down, but remnants remain visible at Bennett’s Pond State Park.

Nor were all estate owners New Yorkers. Phineas Lounsbury was born on a Ridgefield farm, made his fortune in

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Old Ridgefield

Beacon Hill was built on the grounds where the British had encamped after the Battle of Ridgefield. The site commanded a view that allowed the Redcoats to light message fires that could be seen by their ships at Compo in Westport.

Grovelawn, home of Gov. Phineas Lounsbury, was the center of the only big estate established by a native son. Lounsbury employed 14 staff in the house and 12 caretaking the grounds. The mansion today, officially the “Veterans Memorial Community Center,” is more often called the Lounsbury House.

The Courtlandt P. Dixon estate overlooking Lake Mamanasco, once the home of a mobster who was sent to prison, became a resort in the 1940s and 50s, shown here, and is today a Catholic religious center.

Hotelier William S. Knox called his 40-room home “Hawk’s Nest.

When Electra Matilda Ziegler, millionaire publisher of a Braille magazine for the blind, bought this Main Street mansion in 1912, the exterior was shingled. She “Tudorized” it with stucco and half timbers. Today it’s Wesley Hall on Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church’s campus.

Rippowam, the West Mountain retreat of the Bulkley-Randolph family, is the oldest, intact estate in town, dating from the 1890s and still encompassing more than 100 acres.

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New York, and chose his native town as his summer and retirement home. After serving as governor, he moved his first Main Street house and built a new one, now the Lounsbury House.

While many estates have been subdivided, one has survived almost untouched. Built in the 1890s on over 100 West Mountain acres straddling the state line, Rippowam was acquired by the Bulkley-Randolph family in 1902 and, virtually unchanged in size, has remained in the family for 120 years!

End of an Era However, the Depression doomed many estates as too costly and inefficient. Some mansions were demolished; others found new uses. The 27-room Dixon place on Lake Mamanasco, once owned by a mobster, became a resort, then a Jesuit retreat house, and is now the center of the St. Pius X Catholic complex. Before it was demolished in 1953, Downesbury Manor, the 45-room

retreat of hat-maker Edward Knox, became a “dude ranch.” The majestic mansion that once entertained the likes of Mark Twain featured ancient fireplace tiles from the Alhambra in Spain.

Some houses shrank. Albert Wiggin, Hepburn’s successor at Chase, built his sprawling Peaceable Street mansion elongated to take advantage of the view.

Today, it’s less sprawling and more efficient.

Beacon Hill, the Wilton Road West cottage of Dr. Newton Shaffer, founder of the first hospital for the disabled, once had six chimney stacks and wrap-around porches with views of Long Island. Today, one chimney remains, porches are gone, and so is the view. Like many other vistas, trees grew up and cut them off.

Nonetheless, city folk continue to flock to Ridgefield, encouraged recently by the pandemic. The air is still cool and clean, and although some original views are now blocked by trees, the rich forests and engaging culture add to the charm.

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Have You Met

by Allison Ganey

Mike Flynn

CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield

Photos Courtesy of Mike Flynn, Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield.

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vital component of any community is its youth and the resources available to them as they grow up. For Mike Flynn, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club (BGC) of Ridgefield, making a positive impact on young lives has always been what drives him. Thankfully for us, he’s made it his life’s mission to champion our youth here in Ridgefield.

Mike is very much a family man, coming back to live in his hometown of Bethel right out of college, where he lives with his wife and their two boys, ages three and five. Sports have

always played a significant role in his life – from childhood through college – now coaching his kids in t-ball and baseball with the Bethel Little League. When he’s not coaching, he’s playing in the local men’s baseball and slow-pitch softball leagues. Some of the guys he plays with are even old rivals and teammates from high school!

Mike originally went to Southern Connecticut State University to become a physical education teacher, but his plans changed when he discovered his calling during an internship with the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven:

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Have You Met

Summer Camp at the Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield runs eight consecutive weeks from Monday, June 27th to Friday, August 19th. Activities include various games, arts, and swimming at their competition-sized swimming pool.

“It was the first time I’d ever walked into a Boys & Girls Club. I was probably 20 years old.” He met the program director, DJ, and saw the rapport he had with the kids and families: “It really connected with me, and I remember saying, ‘This is what I want to do.’” Because of this experience, he changed his major and went on to earn a degree in Community Recreation Management.

As it turns out, he’s a natural with kids, so much so that he’s celebrating his 20th anniversary with BGC this year. He did his senior internship with BGC of Ridgefield in 2002, where he felt a connection right away. Since then, he’s moved from being a Program Coordinator all the way to Chief Executive Officer, and he’s never looked back.

For those who aren’t familiar with BGC, the club serves many different purposes. “The whole idea is that it’s a place for kids to grow up with positive role models – people that care about them and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow throughout their school age.”

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Have You Met

Mike Flynn with his late mother, Amy Flynn at the Ridgefield Magazine event that celebrated the Ridgefield 25 most dedicated, creative, and influential. The event was held at BMW of Ridgefield.

The award-winning Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield is a youth activity center designed to offer programs for school-aged children after school and during vacations in five core areas: The Arts, Character & Leadership, Education, Health & Life Skills, and Sports, Fitness & Recreation.

The pandemic put this mission to the test, but Mike praised both his team and the members of the board for how they managed it: “The work we did through the pandemic has been some of our best.”

From repurposing a clubhouse to act as a pop-up pantry to messaging their kids on social media to check-in, the team at BGC of Ridgefield stayed true to their goal of ensuring the children that walk into their lives are looked after.

“It’s not a 9 to 5 job – the staff here work around the clock, and we’re fortunate that we’ve built one of the top teams amongst BGC nationwide. It’s the people inside the building that have a direct impact on the kids.”

When he’s not running the club, you’ll find Mike on a beach in Rhode Island with his family. Unwinding on the weekend probably consists of spending all day on a beach in Block Island, later cooking dinner while listening to anything from The Grateful Dead to 90s Hip Hop. This year’s Super Bowl halftime show – featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and more – was right up his alley.

Mike is one of those lucky people that found his passion early on in his life.

Though his work forces him behind the scenes, Mike genuinely cares about the people he serves. Parents from all over can drop their kids at Ridgefield’s Boys & Girls Club and be comforted knowing they’re in good hands.

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Art in the Spotlight

by Dylan Miller

Artwork for Curse of the Deadwood, a video game created by Steamroller Studios, for which resident Mike Safianoff is an Animation Supervisor.

Something to get

Animated Ab The Art of Computer-Generated Imagery

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nimation has really come a long way in the past few decades, and with the advent of Disney Plus, there are new movies reaching families at a truly amazing rate.

We may have even become so used to seeing animation that we now pay little mind to it, but few are aware of just how much work goes into this form of art. When looking at a painting, for example, the viewer generally knows it was likely

created by one artist. Animation is also art, but it’s a totally different story.

One resident, Chris Williams, is no stranger to the rigors and extraordinary organization that goes into producing awardwinning movies. With over 20 years of film industry experience working with Sony, Disney, Blue Sky, and now Skydance, he has worked on feature films such as Cloudy with a Chance of

Art in the Spotlight

out Meatballs, The Peanuts Movie, and perhaps most notably the original Spider-Man trilogy. He emphasizes that an animator is a part of a huge team of individuals that have various roles and responsibilities.

“I got a degree in art history, and back then computer animation was just starting,” he says. “Jurassic Park came out in ‘94 and that really changed the opportunities

available and got me excited about what was possible. I started out in TV animation, but my ultimate goal was to transition into the more detailed world of feature animation.”

Familiar with the animation process as an animation supervisor, Williams has an extensive background in keyframe animation; the art of bringing realistic movement to a character. Once the director

and visual development team approve a character, the form is modeled from basic shapes into a 3D mesh. Then, the character passes to the skeletal animator, or rigger, who places pivot points in the character that allow movements as well as limitations.

These pivot points act as joints in a skeleton and often number into the thousands.

“Once it passes to the animators,

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Art in the Spotlight Artwork from Spice Frontier, an award-winning animated short created by Steamroller Studios.

our job is to craft the performance so it meets the director’s vision for his or her film,” says Williams. “Most people don’t realize that even small details, such as the muscles bulging under the skin, need to be integrated into the process. When I worked on the Spiderman movies, my goal was to make the computer animated stunt double look as much like Toby Maguire as possible.”

Matching computer animation to reality as accurately as possible is an important practice within animation and is an art form in itself; a pursuit where Williams feels most at home. If this can be compared to artistic realism, then the more surrealist pursuit of pure animation is a different world.

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Mike Safianoff, another Ridgefield resident, is an Animation Supervisor at Steamroller Studios and has worked on several notable films such as Iron Man 2, Ferdinand, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Puss in Boots, The Spiderwick Chronicles and more.

“I’ve actually always preferred entirely CG (computer generated) animation and I really got into it when I worked with Dreamworks,” he says. “It can be challenging but its creatively rewarding.”

Safianoff gives characters movement as well. Although the characters he works on are often only loosely based on reality, he still looks to the real world for inspiration to inform his work.

“YouTube is an animators’ best friend,” he says. “Right now, I’m working on a scene where a creature is jumping out of the water. Obviously, I can’t act that out myself, so I watch a lot of nature documentaries.

Animators are always thinking about psychology and movements, because tiny details make a difference in making a character believable.”

Alongside the animator are other departments working to put an entire scene together. Storyboard artists sketch out the rough storyline of the movie, and color scripts that depict a single frame of a scene help animators with the style, lighting, and general mood of a particular scene. Camera angles are simulated to capture the scene.

Art in the Spotlight

Once the scene and movements are established, clothing, weather, fur, and other environmental factors are simulated by computer programs according to physics.

This saves animators from doing impossible tasks by hand, such as animating each strand of hair to move separately.

This whole process can take a long time even with a team of artists. For example, the recent film Encanto has a total run time of 90 minutes and 28 seconds, which is composed of 40 sequences, or scenes. These sequences are further broken down into shots, which are typically 0-30 seconds long.

In each second there are 24 frames, and each frame is doubled and modifies slightly to account for the left and right eye, to create the illusion of depth. So, in total, there are 267,418 total frames rendered for this one movie, Encanto, and each frame is worked on individually. Once the frames are put together, there is still further editing to be done, including music scoring and voiceover work, which can also inform further edits.

On average, a movie takes 3 to 5 years to complete, even with such a skilled team.

Given how quickly and how many animated movies are coming out, the way that artistic and scientific abilities come together to create this sophisticated symphony of digital elements, music, and acting is truly incredible. Safianoff and Williams worked hard to be where they are now but expressed how exciting the developments have been. Perhaps most importantly, they emphasized how many opportunities there are for young people to enter this exciting line of work.

“It’s all art, of course, but there are definitely different opportunities,” said Williams. “You could enter as a special effects artist, lighting specialist, storyboard artist, art director, character designer, etc.

At one end, you have heavy math and analytic thinking for rigging and software development, with the pure creativity of the art director on the other end of the spectrum, and everything in between.”

Both animators also emphasized that for any teenager who is interested, they have commercial grade software at their fingertips, sometimes for free. These

Local high school student Ben Kiefaber created this fan art based on the video game Borderlands 3 using Photoshop and a program called Fusion 360. Ben has been using his free time to explore various available animation software and developing his creativity and technical skills.

A creature created by Ben Kiefaber during his free time from school, which will be a character in a horror-based video game he is working on with his friends. Ben used the program called Z Brush to create this creature.

programs include Unreal Engine and Unity, which can be used to customize video games, and a free program called Blender is extremely powerful for modeling and lighting. There are huge communities of support surrounding these programs that are available online. Self-taught animation is possible and a good jumping off point, but on the other hand, a good old-fashioned apprenticeship is also important.

“Four-year schools and online programs are great, but you need to have a teacher that has worked in the industry,” said Safianoff. “An animation expert is key,

and you really need to learn from someone who is doing it with you. The whole industry is constantly improving, so if you’re not getting better, you’re actually getting worse!”

So, next time you have a family movie night, dim the lights and pick an animated movie. Pay extra attention to the extraordinary detail and remember how much of an artistic endeavor it truly is. Who knows, someone in your neighborhood may have worked on it, and your kids by your side may one day work on the next wave of movies to get animated about.

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Ask Ms. Jen

by Jennifer Bradshaw What is the best place to find snails, besides in the garden?

- Jennifer Meikle, Educator at Woodcock Nature Center Most gardeners would prefer to find snails anywhere BUT their gardens!

The main issue with snails in your garden is that they spread disease!

Although they are not guests we want in our gardens, these shelled gastropods are fascinating creatures.

The Quick Gloss, Compound Coil and Whitelip snails are some of the most commonly found species in CT. These species live in forests and wetlands among damp, decaying wood and leaf litter. Snails play a vital role in our ecosystem. They’re a food source for all sorts of mammals and birds, provide calcium to birds, and are important players in the forest decomposition process.

I know a lot about the over 30 animals I care for at the nature center including snakes, but how many species of snakes live in CT? - Allegra Jacobs, Animal Care Coordinator at Woodcock Nature Center There are 14 native snake species here in CT - only two of which are venomous! The venomous snakes are the Northern Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. The Northern Copperhead can be found around here but are the least venomous snake you could encounter.

The Timber Rattlesnake can only be found in northwestern Litchfield County and in the Meshomasic State Forest, which spans across 4 towns in central CT. Eastern garter snakes are the states most widespread species. Northern water snakes and common ribbon snakes are two other species that are easily found in our community. If you find a snake in your backyard, consider yourself lucky…free rodent control!

What is slime mold and where should I look for it?

- Tommy McCarthy, Educator at Woodcock Nature Center A slime mold is a brainless, single-celled organism that is often confused with fungus! These organisms have no legs or appendages but can move simply by changing their shape. Researchers have discovered that they even have the ability to “learn” and can go through mazes.

Slime molds are most commonly found on soil, forest floors, mulch and rotting logs. In the food web, they are important decomposers and help to recycle nutrients.

There are over 900 different species of slime molds and many of them have hilarious names like, “Dog Vomit”, Carnival Candy”, “Chocolate Tube” and “Wolf ’s Milk.” How fun is that! Who say’s nature isn’t cool?

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Run Like A

Mother

5K Race Refreshes the Spirit, Celebrates Mothers, and Improves Health

by Khristee Rich Photography by Kristen Jensen

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n Sunday, May 8, it’s Mother’s Day and the annual Run Like A Mother race in Ridgefield. Since 2008, Run Like A Mother has been a national 5K race which celebrates women on Mother’s Day. Megan Searfoss, the founder of Run Like A Mother, has been a runner for thirty years.

One day, after her first child was born in 1992, she stepped outside for twenty minutes, ran around the block, and inhaled some fresh air to step away from her busyness. She realized that doing this for herself every day cleared her mind and it became a habit.

“It’s amazing what your mind can do if it’s just you, your breath, and your heartbeat outside,” says Searfoss.

The idea to start Run Like A Mother simmered after she ran with other mothers

one Mother’s Day. About forty women showed up and it was so much fun. About six weeks before Mother’s Day, the next year, she decided to turn a simple pastime into an official 5K race including volunteers, sponsors, and signups. By this time, Megan was a competitive athlete, but she had never organized a race. Over 500 women attended the first year. With such success, Run Like A Mother was born. Searfoss saw a need for mothers to be cheered and celebrated for all the work they do and to have time to focus on themselves, no one else.

“Too often we don’t take time for ourselves,” says Searfoss.

For Run Like A Mother, one can walk or run. It doesn’t matter. It’s not a competitive race. During the race, the only person women

PHOTO CREDIT: WWW.KRISTENJENSEN.COM

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While Run Like A Mother is a 5k race for women, it’s clear that it’s really a family event as loved ones gather in large crowds of support for the runners. The whole family should support their mothers from the sidelines, as running with a stroller containing children is discouraged for safety reasons.

are in competition with is themselves.

Women feel a sense of accomplishment and exhilaration to cross the finish line, to know that they challenged themselves a little more than their comfort zones on an average day.

Run Like A Mother 2022 Run Like A Mother will take place rain or shine on Mother’s Day. Children can also run a one-mile race before the event.

Contrary to the title, one does not have to be a mother to participate; they can support one (but only women can enter). Women can run in-person in Ridgefield or they can participate in the race virtually. For the last two years, Run Like A Mother has been a virtual race. Women run a 5K race in their communities and various states and post selfies later. They run alone or with mothers’ groups, family, or friends. This shared experience unifies women. It also shows children the importance of health

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and wellness at any age. Women who race virtually receive a grab bag with a t-shirt, medal, race bib, and tote bag. Runners at the event in Ridgefield also receive a cheer poster that kids can decorate for race day provided by Karla Murtaugh from Compass in Ridgefield and iris flowers at the finish line provided by The Iris Fund. Proceeds will go to the Ridgefield Library and will support the Iris Fund.

The funds help mothers. Through this race, The Ridgefield Library created the NLP: Mothers Live Your Life Series in honor of Noreen L. Papa, Searfoss’ dear friend, a mother of four, who passed away in 2013 from colon cancer. This health programming teaches mothers to take care of themselves so they can take care of others.

The Iris Fund is an organization that wishes to understand the cause of pre-term birth so that it can be prevented. The Iris Fund was created in memory of Iris Crystal

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Aleman who was born prematurely and passed away in 2017. Her parents, Brittney and Jose Aleman, wished to understand the causes of pre-term birth and how to prevent it, but they couldn’t find the answers, so they set up this fund to research to help more families. Brittany and Jose are local residents who hope that one day pre-mature births will no longer occur. Fifteen million babies are born pre-maturely worldwide and the numbers are growing. One million of those babies die from complications from being preemies. Prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborns and the second leading cause of death in children under the age of five.

Success and Self Care Searfoss never imagined this journey. In 1992, as a new mom, she became a runner.

In 2008, she founded Run Like A Mother.

In 2014, she created the Ridgefield Running Company. In 2014, her book, See Mom Run: Every Mother’s Guide to Getting Fit and

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Running Her First 5K launched. Then, she opened the Darien Running Company and now, her companies not only offer running gear, but also training to prepare for races such as Run Like A Mother. Today, she has completed nine Ironman triathlons and Run Like A Mother attracts thousands each year from a 60-mile radius.

Over the years, Searfoss has seen women transform from running the race from losing weight to running half marathons subsequently, but the icing on the cake for her, was seeing that so many women finally realized the importance of prioritizing time for themselves.

Searfoss encourages everyone to come to cheer on moms at the race. So often mothers are on the sidelines supporting everyone else; this event puts the spotlight on mothers. No matter if women can attend the event this year, Searfoss urges everyone to go outside every day and move. Simply moving the body daily can have tremendous health benefits. If one can raise the heartbeat

The Run Like A Mother race will start in the parking lot of The Ridgefield Playhouse, and run around the blocks, up Governor Street and onto Main, finishing at Ballard Park. The event is a fun event and the perfect opportunity to show support for mothers.

to an endurance pace where one can have a conversation while exercising, it benefits the heart and lungs and also builds muscle.

For women, any type of exercise that is weight bearing such as strength training and running is essential to maintaining strong bones. Also, moving improves our mood which makes us a better person.

“Too often we go, we’ll do it tomorrow,” says Searfoss. “We’ll start it tomorrow… but it really just starts with the one step out the door.”

For more about Run Like A Mother, visit: https://zoomarun.com/run-like-amother-5k Visit The Iris Fund: www.theirisfund.org The Noreen L. Papa Fund and the NLP: Mothers Live Your Life Series: ridgefieldlibrary.org

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Compass By The Numbers:

$254B 2021 Gross Transaction Value

225K 2021 Transactions

26K Agents

I’ve navigated to Compass.

I’m excited to announce my move to Compass Ridgefield. Compass is now the #1 brokerage in the country. As a local real estate professional with over 40 years of experience, joining Compass allows me to contribute to the community as a solid choice for home buyers and sellers. Joining me in this venture is my Transaction Manager, and team member, Kathy Gaisser, and together we are empowered through Compass tools to provide expert advice and a level of service that our clients expect from seasoned and dedicated professionals.

Carole Cousins

Kathy Gaisser

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson M: 203.241.0277 | carole.cousins@compass.com 470 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877 compass.com

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson M: 203.788.0063 | kathy.gaisser@compass.com 470 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877 compass.com

As of 2021 Closed Sales Volume, Source Real Trends 3/16/22 Carole Cousins is real estate agent affiliated with Compass Connecticut, LLC a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only.

Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.

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by Sarah Galluzzo

The Clockery of Norwalk displays a vanishing craft 1. A modern-day, heavily carved cuckoo clock.

2. The oldest clock, circa 1690 Yeardon of Sturbridge English tall case clock (note hour hand only).

3. Modern-day cuckoo clock with music and animation.

4. Circa 1910 Grand Rapids Michigan Clock Company tubular tall case clock in a mahogany case.

5. Circa 1890 Elliott of London quarter striking tall case clock in a heavily carved oak case.

6. Circa 1780 Dan Vauguion of London double fusee boulle clock in a tortoiseshell case.

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7. Assorted cuckoo clocks for sale.

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visit to The Clockery on 14 Van Zant Street in Norwalk is like stepping into another dimension–a place where being present is a way of connecting to the past. Frank Domotor is the owner and head clocksmith, but it wasn’t always that way. Established in 1972, Frank recently took the helm from the previous owner and founder Bucky Taylor who first worked as a draftsman of General Time Corporation in Stamford. 50 years ago, Taylor founded The Clockery as part of an antique shop and built the business from scratch, and the story that led to Frank’s passion for clocks is literally cuckoo.

“Frank was always our cuckoo expert,” Bucky says with a laugh.

“When I was a little boy growing up here in Norwalk, I learned to tell time on a cuckoo clock. I remember my dad telling me to ‘stop pulling on those chains’ and ‘leave that clock alone.’ By the time I was a teenager, my dad couldn’t keep the thing going and put it away. My mom went back to her family home in Austria, and she brought home a new cuckoo clock,” Frank explains. “But I liked that old clock. I missed it.” So, Frank got permission from his parents to try to repair the old clock. “I have always been mechanical. Ever since I was a little kid, I took things apart and put them back together. I eventually got the broken cuckoo going.” From that was born a passion fueled by a young man in love.

“I was in my late teens when I fixed that first clock, and my girlfriend Karen (now my wife) encouraged the whole thing. She found one clock at a tag sale, then another at an estate sale, and I started repairing them,” Frank elucidates.

How it all began The couple started calling into a radio show on WICC Sunday mornings where people could sell and buy items, and they began buying old cuckoo clocks for $30 or so each. “The light bulb went off when Karen came home with a cuckoo from the 1800’s.

It was the coolest thing I had ever seen,” he explains.

Frank soon had amassed many cuckoo clocks that he started running into issues he couldn’t figure out. So, he headed to his local clock shop, The Clockery, and asked Bucky to help him understand how to make the repairs he needed to make.

Bucky was so impressed by his skills and thirst for knowledge

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A major aspect of The Clockery is its service and maintenance of antique clocks, a service that is increasingly hard to find.

that he offered him a job.

“We had him doing repairs from home for years,” Bucky says.

“I began by doing very simple things, and after some time, I set up a little shop at my house. They would subcontract the work to me, and I would do the repairs part-time,” Frank explains. Frank also had a full-time job at Trafalgar Leather Factory, first located in Norwalk and later New York City. “I worked my way up from unloading trucks and working in the warehouse to a management position I held for over 30 years,” Frank says.

Frank worked for The Clockery in the evenings and on weekends throughout his career. He was, and is, always learning.

Over time he invested thousands of dollars into his own equipment, and the owners of The Clockery trained him to do even more sophisticated work. “I slowly built my way up to more complicated work. Finally, it got to the point where I was doing stuff they wouldn’t touch,” he explains.

Frank walks me through his showroom, showing me each clock as if he is

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introducing me to some of his closest friends.

The wonderful world of clocks “This one here is the Elliott of London.

It’s very collectible, one of the nicest clocks Elliot probably made,” he says while we gaze at the face of a finely etched brass grandfather clock with a hand-painted dial that tracks the phases of the moon.

There are french porcelain mantel clocks, grandfather clocks made in England, Scotland, and many from the clockmaking capital of the world…Connecticut.

“By the late 1800s, clockmaking was one of the leading industries in Connecticut.

Companies such as the New Haven Clock Company, the Waterbury Clock Company, and Thomaston made some of the finest clocks produced in the world at that time,” he explains.

“Check out this clock,” Frank guides me towards the oldest clock in his showroom. “This clock was made in 1690.

You’ll notice it only has one hand. The first clocks did not have a minute hand, they

only had an hour hand, and you would say ‘well yeah, if it was halfway between it’s 2:30.’ Anything in between was sort of a guess. Then later, we started adding the minute hands.”

He talks about tubes and chimes and strike service in rapid-fire. The gears in his mind whirring with stories like the inner mechanism of an exquisite clock. The clocks are comforting, always ticking in the background as we speak.

Many of the clocks in the showroom have been bought in disrepair. Frank and his staff repair them on demand once they have a buyer or if they have some downtime.

“Those clocks go to the front of the list for repairs once we have a buyer.” Frank explains.

When one worker retired in 2005, Frank moved his equipment from his home workshop to The Clockery and started working on site. A few years later, Bucky asked Frank to buy him out, and Frank quit his corporate job and took the leap.

“When I put my notice in at my fulltime job, they almost fell out of their chairs.

T HE RIDGEFIELD

PLAYHOUSE

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SINGER / SONGWRITER SERIES

MAY 7 @ 8PM Owner Frank Domotor in the main shop room with some of the finest clocks available in his collection.

JULY 26 @ 7:30PM

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They couldn’t believe it. They thought I would stay there for life. So when I finally cut the cord, it was a little scary. But it’s been the best decision I ever made,” he said. “I wish I’d done it sooner.”

But guess who didn’t retire? Bucky. Even though he sold the place to Frank a few years ago, the 80-year-old still can’t walk away.

“I love it. I planned to retire, and then I missed it. So here I am. Plus, Frank needs the help,” Bucky says.

“I sure do! We are busier than ever,” Frank says warmly.

A successful career “I’ve restored over 10,000 antique clocks in my lifetime,” Frank says. “There’s nothing I haven’t seen. I’m up in church steeples repairing the tower clocks; I’m doing repairs on $500,000 museum pieces. I have people shipping me pieces from all over the country.

I’m here in the shop working over 70 hours a week.”

Frank makes house calls every evening, and there is a six-month waitlist on repairs.

“I service one to two grandfather clocks every night,” Frank explains. “People are always shocked by how many clocks are out there, but we are located right in the heart of the Gold Coast. Many people here have very expensive and beautiful clocks that need

regular service every four to five years.”

Frank’s 26-year-old son, Alex also works in the shop full time and will likely take over the business one day.

“I feel so blessed to be working by their side and learning all the tricks of the trade from these two experts,” Alex says.

Wondering who makes the best clocks in the world? I figured it would be the Swiss or the Germans, but I was wrong.

“In my opinion, there’s nothing like a French clock. Of course, it is flashy and ornate on the outside, but the quality of the mechanism inside is unlike anything else. The French use the finest materials and design the mechanism using extremely fine gears,” Frank says.

He shares stories about customers who want to restore clocks for sentimental value.

One woman came in and had her grandfather’s old clock restored. When she heard the chime, she began to cry. She said ‘I’m so sorry I am crying this takes me back to being 12 years old again.’ I told her that’s exactly why I do this work. For that kind of gratification,” Frank explains.

“I have a ridiculous collection of clocks at home,” Frank says, and his warm gregarious laugh booms over the chimes, ticks and tocks of his showroom, “but the pride of my collection will always be that first cuckoo clock that started it all.”

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Fine Art makes for a

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Join us for a gallery hop on Main Street in Ridgefield. Enjoy great art with friends and family while meeting Featured and Resident Artists at our two gallery locations.

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Wild Things: An Exploration of the Familiar and Otherworldly Will Woodrow Charles Gulbrandsen

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Laura Freed Ancona Mastering the art of real estate

“By doing what you love, you’ll inspire and awaken the hearts of others.”

– Satsuki Shibuya I love what I do. I love helping my clients succeed. I love that my clients become my friends and vice versa.

I feel blessed, honored, and grateful for your trust. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind words below and so many other life altering moments together.

With sincere appreciation, Laura “This was our first time buying a house but we were in such good hands at every step. Buying a house for the first time is terrifying on its own, but in this wild housing market, we were so happy to have Laura. She was able to find us a perfect house in our budget and was completely hands on throughout the process so we never felt like we were on our own. Laura is incredibly knowledgeable of the area and was able to alert us to potential issues (and solutions) that other realtors with less intimate knowledge of the area would have missed. She is an absolute pro - the best of the best. We wouldn’t have done it any other way and I would strongly recommend Laura to anyone interested in buying or selling a house!”

– Allison O’Shea “Laura has been great. Very professional and calm. I recommend her as often as I can.”

– Vincent Falotico “Laura Freed Ancona is an outstanding realtor and a pleasure to work with.

She provided excellent advice on preparing the house for sale. She and Christy Kinsman did a beautiful job staging the house. She was always responsive to my questions and concerns and managed offers wisely. Laura expertly navigated some difficult circumstances, always remaining professional with the goal of closing the sale in mind. She was extremely generous with her time, overseeing seeing some of the necessary repairs. She developed a good working relationship with the other realtor involved and all service professionals. I would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone planning to sell their home.”

– Janine Gordon “Laura Freed is phenomenal. She did a wonderful job for us. This was a difficult transaction — lots of unique and difficult issues. Without Laura, I don’t think this house would have been sold. She is thorough, thoughtful, smart and a committed honest genuine person. She is the best!”

– Philip Danford

203.733.7053

|

“Laura embodies all the values so important to both buyers and sellers…a passionate concern for both with the experience to identify all issues and answer all questions in a professional manner. Laura would be good for anyone’s business.“ – Joseph Poppalardo “Laura Freed is fantastic. She has helped us buy / sell a few homes and always very insightful and very in tune with the market.“ – Justin Pinkham “Laura Freed Ancona deserves her great reputation. We enjoyed working with her. She offered good advice and had some excellent workers “on call” to help us get the house show ready after our tenant left.”

– Pamela Leahy “We loved working with Laura! She is by far the best and most professional realtor my husband and I have ever worked with. Laura guided us through the home buying process and made everything as easy as possible on our end.

Would highly recommend her to anyone looking for their new home.“ – Laura Petrucelli “There are no words to express the gratitude that we have for Laura Freed Ancona. After spending a day with us she knew exactly what we wanted (which turned out to be something totally different than what we thought we wanted) and found us the perfect home within 3 days! Her professionalism and follow up during the process was stellar and it was a real pleasure working with her.

We have already referred 2 friends to her!”

– Robert Delman “Laura exhibits everything you want from the best of realtors. No nonsense, no BS, to the point. Confidence that she WILL sell your house. This makes the seller relaxed and instills confidence in them (buyer). I honestly don’t know how she does it. We were very fortunate to have her. Thank you Laura and William Pitt.”

– Paul Miner

lfreed@williampitt.com

|

470 Main Street, Ridgefield

Paul Cézanne, used with permission

COUNTRY RANCH WITH POOL & BARN

Expanded country ranch on 3.51 stunning acres with panoramic views, in-ground heated pool, & attached 3 car garage; plus fantastic collector’s car barn w/room for 3-4 more cars & 2nd story 34’ x 22.5’ finished loft w/full bath, ideal for pool house, studio, or guests. This spacious ranch offers 1,980 sf on the main level including the light/bright family room w/vaulted ceiling, skylights, wood burning stove, & sliders to the rear deck/pool. The main level also offers the spacious eat-in-kitchen open to the dining room, living room w/fieldstone fireplace, & 3 bedrooms plus 2 remodeled full baths. Additional 1,031 sf finished in the lower level: large rec/game room w/bar, adjoining the “summer” kitchen, plus 3rd full bath. Sought after neighborhood, moments to town center, & 59 miles to Midtown. $865,000

HISTORIC “NYDEGGEN” WITH LAKE VIEWS

Welcome to “Nydeggen”. This 1910 historic country estate is set on 2.88 private acres with picturesque lake views & deeded lake rights. Resplendent with all the character of a bygone era including servant’s call buttons, butler’s pantry cabinets, wood paneling, moldings/hardwood floors; & stunning solarium with original leaded glass windows. This sprawling home offers 6,840 sf on the main floors, plus 1,572 sf in the finished walk up 3rd floor, 6+ bedrooms, 5/1 baths, office, library & multiple work from home options. Notable historic features remain, yet $450+K of extensive renovations: kitchen/butler’s pantry; C/A; bathroom remodeling; floor refinishing; closet upgrades; interior/exterior painting; driveway paving; landscaping; flagstone patio; new shed; & more. $1,595,000

PICTURESQUE STONE & SHINGLE CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION

Extraordinary country retreat on 2.95 bucolic acres w/gated entry on scenic Lounsbury Road, just steps from The Hickories, Ridgefield’s oldest working farm. The charming orig. 1956 cape was significantly expanded/renovated in 2010. Total 9,411 sf on 3 finished levels w/6 BR incl. main level suite, 5/3 bths, & 4 fireplaces. Enjoy indoor/outdoor entertaining w/welcoming front porth; DR & stunning two story kitchen both open to the large stone patio; cedar deck; rear covered porch w/fplc; & the MBR balcony w/outdoor shower! Each BR has either a pvt or J&J bath (3 w/radiant htd floors); chef’s kitchen w/prof gas range/flat top griddle; paneled library; walk-out lower level media & game rms; & just 58 miles to Midtown. $2,295,000

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Each office is independently owned and operated.

I

The dramatic Glickenhaus 004S supercar looks fast even when sitting still.

Hand-built in Danbury, the street-legal three-seater shares a chassis with the 004C race car.

Photo: Ivan Toscanelli

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f you’ve driven down Danbury’s Miry Brook Road in the last year, you may have noticed a construction project that has risen from a rocky hillside, spawning two massive buildings. The new home of North American Motor Car is the most recent addition to Miry Brook’s wild car scene. Down the road a short distance is Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, a boutique supercar builder, and anchoring the street is the longest inhabitant, Speedsport Tuning. The three companies couldn’t be more different, yet they share a common passion for motoring.

Speedsport Tuning (aka SST Auto) has been a Fairfield County fixture for decades, known as the go-to shop for European car enthusiasts. While SST built their reputation among discerning Porsche owners looking for an alternative to dealer service departments, in the past 15 years, and at the urging of clients, the company has expanded to most European brands. The business is comprised of four components: Porsche service, European service, Porsche vintage and Competition. The Porsche department handles everything from routine service to major repair while the European service department does the same for non-Porsche brands from Audi and BMW to Mercedes, Volvo and VW. The Speedsport Vintage Porsche department is world-renowned, caring for some of the rarest and most sought-after Porsches in existence. For a Porschephile, it’s like walking into a museum.

Car Culture Takes Off in Danbury

by Roger Garbow

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Clockwise from upper left: SST Auto owner Bryan Lagas; SST Auto European Department technician Mike servicing an Audi RS2; the wild Glickenhaus Boot outside of the Miry Brook facility; the Glickenhaus 004S three-seat sportscar test mule, SST Auto’s technicians have expertise in every Porsche, from the rarest air cooled 4-cam cars to today’s cutting edge Taycan EVs.

On the opposite side of the building is the Speedsport Competition department.

This is where amateur racers and track enthusiasts have their Porsches maintained, set-up and transported to race tracks up and down the East Coast. As a testament to the excellence of their technicians, Speedsport clients consistently win races from Watkins Glen to Sebring.

Stepping into their 25,000 square foot facility recently with SST owner Bryan Lagas, I saw a 2021 Mercedes SUV getting an oil change alongside a BMW E46 M3 receiving a performance suspension. Across the way a 356 Outlaw Coupe was in for a carburetor adjustment, while a pristine 928 was receiving a major mechanical overhaul.

Over on the alignment rack, a bright green 992 GT3 was getting a tweak to better suit

the driving style of the owner. For many of their clients, it’s a point of pride to say they bring their cars to SST. When you trust someone, why go anywhere else? www.sstauto.com The Supercar Builder Across the street from SST, in a building that was once part of the Highcroft Racing team, is Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, aka SCG. Founded by car collector and former movie director Jim Glickenhaus, SCG is building some of the most interesting and exciting performance vehicles on the planet. From the 004S threeseat supercar to the SCG Boot, a 650hp go-anywhere SUV, the common thread is the racing roots of their vehicles. Jim has a serious passion for motorsports, evident in

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North America Motor Car Founder and CEO Chris Bishop with one of his personal cars: a Porsche GT3 RS owned by the late Eddie Van Halen.

the cars that make up his personal collection.

In 2011, SCG entered and finished the grueling Nürburgring 24-hour race in a car of their own design. Most people would be content with that achievement. But not Jim. In recent years the team has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Baja 1000, where they’ve twice won their class.

Jim’s son, Jesse, heads up the Danbury operations, where SCG is building the

004S. They let me drive the prototype and I was blown away. I’ve driven quite a few sportscars, but the design of the 004S with its center seat position, even in this raw form, was truly thrilling. The outward visibility and sense of control is a revelation.

And unlike other sportscars, with two passenger seats, it could even work as a family car. The 004S shares a basic design and carbon fiber monocoque with the 004C

North American Motor Car Which brings us to North American Motor Car. The brainchild of Chris Bishop and Andy Hill, NAMC is a seriously ambitious undertaking. The two new

A sample of my recently sold homes:

The unprecedented buyer demand and low inventory has shown no sign of slowing down resulting in rising home values.

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which is a full-blown GT3 spec racecar.

The company also produces the Glickenhaus Boot, one of the wildest vehicles you’ll ever lay eyes on. Back in 2010, Jim bought Steve McQueen’s Baja Boot which the actor raced in the 1969 Baja 1000. Jim felt a modern version of the radically designed off-road racer would be a compelling contrast to today’s cushy, streetfocused SUVs. The Glickenhaus Boot retains the original’s rear-mounted V8 design with massive exposed exhaust pipes, while using modern technology to deliver performance McQueen could only dream of. If I had a spare $300k, there would be one in my driveway. After driving it, I couldn’t get the smile off my face for a week. www.hkmotorcars.com

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buildings compromise 50,000 square feet featuring environmentally-controlled storage, complete car fabrication, restoration and consignment. The rear building has storage capacity for 267 vehicles, a glassenclosed detail shop and a VIP lounge, complete with a high-end air filtration system for clients who like cigars. There will be various membership plans for folks who want to store their vehicles as well as those who just want the social aspect of hanging with other auto enthusiasts.

The front building houses the corporate offices, a complete metal fabrication shop, service bays, wiring and electronics, an interior shop, and one of the largest paint booths I’ve ever seen. NAM can help you find a car, sell one you own, or build your dream vehicle from scratch. If your existing car needs a refresh, their restoration services can handle every aspect. Clients picking up their vehicle will have a memorable experience as the car will be unveiled

CEO Chris Bishop (center) and COO Andy Hill (2nd from right) with staff in the massive North America Motor Car storage facility.

on a rotating turntable in the main hall.

Overlooking the atrium is a spacious event space which NAM will rent out when not using for their own clients. The company expects to be operational by early summer with their current 19 employees, with plans and room to expand. While the vision might seem overly ambitious, consider that Chris, along with his father and brother, founded and built Blue Buffalo Pet Products, which

they sold to General Foods. In addition to being a massive car enthusiast, Chris is also a big supporter of veteran’s groups and his positive attitude is infectious.

Considering these three companies, and the smaller auto specialty businesses in the area, maybe it’s time to rename the Hat City the Motor City. With apologies to Detroit, of course. www.northamericanmotorcar.com

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by Susan Ahlstrom

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he old saying “things take time” seems to have lost its stature in our current “insta” culture. Somehow, we’ve lost sight of the fact that in life and in learning, allowing the time to move through a lesson, a project, or a challenging experience is very important. In our fast paced, to-do-list culture, it’s a challenge to let go and allow life to unfold in its own time. Finding the balance

between “getting it done” and “giving it time” is a struggle of immense proportions, and few are immune to it. This struggle has increasingly affected our children.

Navigating Rough Waters Learning new skills takes time. Creativity takes time. Providing our children with the time and space to experience moving through

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a” re a process has been lost in the scheduling of game after game, lesson after lesson, and activity after activity. By letting the weekend just unfold or encouraging spontaneous activity, whether on the playground or with an art project, children and adults alike can invite in opportunities to discover (or rediscover) the unexpected benefits of letting go and following the flow.

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Nowhere is the effect of overscheduling, even with good intentions, more evident than in our public schools. “Block scheduling,” is now a common practice, where every topic is scheduled to the minute throughout the day, as well as testing requirements and the ever more elaborate curriculum are three factors that have intensified daily routines in our elementary school classrooms. Teachers and students alike are pressed to follow tight routines by the clock, with little or no transition time in between. Snack time, recess time, time to shift from one subject to the next—or just plain quiet time—continues to be whittled

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away as the curriculum gets wider and deeper every day.

Walk down the hall of an elementary school at arrival time on any given morning and the energy is filled with pure potential.

Young minds, open hands and hearts, curiosity, and vulnerability abound. The school day then begins with the bell and it’s off to the races. Block scheduling and Common Core standards rule the day.

Young minds are invited to dive deep into subjects and incorporate business-like skills in managing their supplies and professional decorum all in record time; to make the most of the academic day.

Scheduled to the Minute The school day is scheduled to the minute, leaving no transition time between subjects and oftentimes requiring teachers to borrow time from other subjects to complete “mile wide and mile deep” learning objectives while routinely hastening students from one time block to the next (in twenty to fortyminute intervals).

When asked about the changes in her classroom that have occurred over the years, Veterans Park Elementary School 3rd grade teacher and 2019 Teacher of the Year shared, “When I started teaching, the material wasn’t as rich, but there was a lot more professional liberty,” she said. “There wasn’t this block planning like there is now. You had to teach four subjects in your day and make it work.” Ms. Craig has been teaching for over 20 years and explained that these days “It’s more complex, which is a good thing, but we don’t allow the time for the kids to do the work.” For instance, she said, “we have our March Madness Read Aloud books, which are so much fun because these books are so beautiful and thought provoking.

The kids want to stop and talk about them, but there’s not any time for that!” And although this is an example that highlights the current elementary school experience, there is evidence that suggests both children and young adults (middle school and high school students) feel that their daily schedule does not allow time for adults to listen to their interests and concerns.

A Wide Spread Challenge It’s no secret that many of us are stressed and overwhelmed by our quick-paced life. More than one-third of Americans have displayed clinical signs of anxiety, depression, or both since the coronavirus pandemic began (Census Bureau). This comes as no surprise, but one “up-side” of

the pandemic has been that it seems to have given many families a break from rushing around and blindly playing beat the clock day after day. Being in lockdown afforded a respite from the lives that were inadvertently conjured up in attempts to “make the most” of life and “give every opportunity” to our children. This unexpected downtime was a struggle for many, but it offered extra time for new ways of exploring our existing habits and day-to-day routines, as well as the opportunity to check in with our beliefs about everything from equality to our personal definition of safety. We have been pressed to explore our sense of boundaries, relationships, and the scope of our emotional resilience in a way that we never would have had to prior to March of 2020. We have had to deal with the fact that

things take time, patience truly is a virtue, and life is a process.

This was true before and will continue to be expressed throughout the future.

Through his musicals, the late, great composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim (also beloved Connecticut neighbor), offers the audience the opportunity to explore the tension between the boring and safe life path versus the scary and exciting options.

The pandemic has offered us more than our fair share of scary options and has been a far cry from any kind of boring, safe path. Every lesson Sondheim’s characters learn, every hurdle they encounter, is a new invitation to explore the character’s own motivations and decision-making abilities.

The stories expose the development of the character through their adventures and

relationships, unhindered by, or as a result of, the restrictions of time and expectations.

According to Sondheim, the unknown is a life-giving, tumultuous space that humans are meant to inhabit. In our culture, we are scheduling the heck out of the unknown in an attempt to feel safe, ensure the safety of our children, and control the outcomes of our lives. As a result, we lose the chance to learn resilience, problem-solving, creative process, and the importance of building strong inner resources in order to experience the most out of life. In a New York Times interview in June of 2008, Sondheim shared a view on his creative process. “That’s one of the things that appeals to me about stories, is if I’ve never done anything like it before. It has to be some unknown territory. It’s got to make you nervous. If it doesn’t make you nervous, then you’re going to write the same thing you wrote before.”

Ask anyone born before 1980 to describe their day- to-day routine as a kid, and some of the first words you’ll probably hear are “outside,” “neighborhood,” “bicycle” and “friends.” Their response will be filled with phrases like “all day,” “looking for something to do,” “pickup game” and “making things out of boxes.”

Earlier generations learned to innovate and follow their curiosity to come up with their own ways to resolve tiffs with friends and a solution to not having a toy Barbie car (solved by making one out of tissue boxes or a strawberry container). In “the old days” patience was developed by waiting a whole week to watch cartoons, which only aired on Saturday mornings, or waiting forever for a letter from a best friend who was away at camp. This is challenged by todays instant gratification offered by streaming services and social media. Kids roamed and explored and sometimes got in ‘a pickle’, but ultimately found their way home and found out a lot about themselves in the process.

Being forced to step out of our ordinary lives during Covid has been challenging in many ways, but many would agree that it has also been a gift; a chance to reflect on who we are and what we’ve been doing. What we do with that gift is up to us.

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“Ask Your Friends About Us

If They Own A MAZDA, We Probably Sold It To Them...”

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Music Will Keep W Us Together Celebrating two decades of CHIRP For 20 years, CHIRP Founder and Producer Barbara Manners (left) has introduced Ridgefield to such national artists as The Duhks and 3 Penny Acre (pictured here and on following pages).

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by Dave Goldenberg Photography by Chris Burke

hen Elizabeth Ballard died in 1964 at age 87, she bequeathed five acres of her family’s Main Street estate to her hometown, “for a park . . . where persons, both young and old, may be free to gather in pleasant surroundings for rest and recreation.” And where, 27 years later, another civic-minded Ridgefielder launched a now-iconic concert series—one that has helped earn Ridgefield its reputation as an “arts town.”

Barbara Manners may be a passionate music fan, but she’s a reluctant meteorologist. On any given summer Tuesday afternoon—or Thursday, for that matter—you’ll find her glued to online radar maps, while hundreds of people in the Ridgefield area are hanging on what she sees there.

As the founder and unpaid producer of CHIRP (Concert Happenings in Ridgefield Parks), she’s spent the last two decades booking and presenting national touring acts in Main Street’s Ballard Park. “Still,” she says, “it’s making the weather calls that turn my hair white every year. When it’s looking iffy, I’ll park myself in front of the computer from 11am until 3pm to make the call.”

Over the years, CHIRP has presented as many as 400 free concerts, everything from New Orleans jazz to folk to bluegrass to country to rock—and very few people have gotten wet. Manners’ greatest forecasting gift, though, is not of weather but musical appeal. She has a knack for unearthing up-and-coming acts who are about to go big. “I go to industry events and festivals,” she says. “I find artists who

are genuinely talented, but I also watch the audience. Their response tells me everything I need to know.”

Consider the now-big-time, Alabamabased soul outfit St. Paul and the Broken Bones. “I found them playing as unknowns on the street in Austin, at the South by Southwest festival,” she says. “I booked them right there.” Two weeks later, the band signed with a label, and their debut album shot to #56 on the Billboard charts.

The Founding Concerts On those summer evenings, people begin to trickle into Ballard Park at around six, staking out their territory with chairs, blankets and picnic baskets. Music-lovers gather up front while families and groups of picnickers settle toward the rear. Along

Main Street, lines begin to form at takeout counters. Frisbees and hacky sacks come out.

Grownups sip wine and nibble from Martha Stewart-worthy platters. The park is packed by the time Manners takes the stage for her pre-show announcements. “And now,” she eventually says, “without further ado ...”

As a kid, Manners was a less-thanpromising music student. “My piano teacher told my mother to save her money,” she laughs. But at NYU in the ‘60s, she was drawn to the flourishing Greenwich Village folk scene, where she was swept away by artists like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Odetta. She ventured up to the Newport Folk Festival to hear artists like Judy Collins and Pete Seeger. At 75, her passion for music is undimmed, as is her energy. “I hope I can do this series for another 10 years,” she says.

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With its serene setting, excellent sound, and appreciative crowds, CHIRP has become a favorite tour stop for many acts.

To understand CHIRP’s origins, you have to go back to the 2001 bar mitzvah of Manners’ son David, the week after 9/11.

“The rabbi told us you don’t cancel life events, so we went forward.” Expecting a somber affair, Manners was surprised by the festivity. “It was a release. I realized how much we needed music to heal, to bring us together. A week later I brought the idea for CHIRP to [first selectman] Rudy Marconi.”

Marconi gave the thumbs-up. “I thought it was a great idea,” he said. “I knew if she took it on, she’d be successful.”

He had good reason to trust her. A Ridgefielder since 1982, Manners was—and still is—a town selectwoman and passionate arts advocate. She’d spent the previous five years helping drive the restoration of the Ridgefield Playhouse and had booked

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its first acts. Meanwhile, Ridgefield’s Arts Council had sponsored a few concerts in Ballard Park, providing proof of concept.

Manners aimed to go big from the start. “People thought we should do four or five events a year, but I wanted to do a regular series, to get people in the habit of coming.” But there was a big hurdle: funding. She went to the Ridgefield Press, which offered sponsorship in the form of free advertising. Parks & Rec found money for sound equipment and built the “temporary” stage that’s still in use. Scraping together $10,000, she booked nine concerts that year, using connections and pulling in favors.

Manners’ “if you build it, they will come” optimism paid off. About 75 people showed up for the first show, a jazz quartet.

“By the end of the summer we were getting 300-400 people, and they were loving it,” she says. With a successful first year under her belt, she began seeking underwriters for the second year.

A Growing Event Among the first underwriters was Chris Pike, a local musician and proprietor of the late lamented Ridgefield Music store. “It was awesome,” he says from his new home in North Carolina. “Live music builds community. I can’t think of anyone more committed to live music and entertainment in Ridgefield than Barbara.”

Funding continues to be a challenge, especially since Manners expanded the series in 2012 to include Thursday evenings as well. Each concert now runs CHIRP about

$5,000, with the annual budget exceeding $150,000. “It’s not quite self-sustaining,” she laments. Still, she’s resisted suggestions to charge admission or offer VIP seating and parking. “I want it to be free and never exclusionary.”

Parks & Recreation Director Dennis DiPinto, who oversees operations for the series, has run summer concert series in other towns. He describes CHIRP as a cut above. “The concerts cost a lot, but funding she generates allows her to book next-level talent,” he says. “We couldn’t be more thrilled.”

Among CHIRP’s biggest fans are the artists who play there. All are national touring acts who make Ridgefield a stop enroute between weekend festivals and events.

“It’s a beautiful setting and heart-warming to

see folks gathering on the grass,” says Welsh balladeer Martyn Joseph.

“Barbara Manners has figured out how to create real delight right there—even in the midst of a pandemic,” notes renowned singer-songwriter Susan Werner. “There is such a feeling of community, belonging, even sing-alonging.”

Christine Ohlman, a blues-inflected singer dubbed “The Beehive Queen” for her soaring hairdo, will be back this summer with her band The Rebel Montez. “Ballard Park is one of Connecticut’s great parks,” she says. “You feel a real heart-soul connection between the audience and the band.” She also raves about the sound quality. “The sound is pristine and excellent no matter where you sit.”

Many artists say they come not just for

the venue but for Manners herself: “Barbara is a very special soul,” says Joseph. “She recognizes the power of the arts to remind us who we truly are.”

“Barbara is a gem, and we love her so, so much,” says Jess Eliot Myhre of the Bumper Jacksons. “CHIRP is a stop I know many touring Americana acts really look forward to.”

As Manners intuited so many years ago, it’s about far more than music: Spread out on a blanket with friends and family as the warm summer sun slips below the horizon, while lightning bugs flash their shimmering light, children’s laughter rings from the playground, and the music spreads magic through the crowd, we can sense that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves.

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Sustainable

wine T

From Grape to Glass, Wine is a True Art Form

by Ashley Alt

Photos courtesy of Wine Institute

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here’s something magical, almost mysterious, about wine. The taste, the mouthfeel, that oh so relaxed feeling that comes with unwinding from a long day with a full-bodied Malbec or zesty Pinot Grigio. From watching it pour from a decadent decanter to taking that first, slow sip, it’s no doubt that drinking wine is an experience.

Whether you’re a fine wine devotee or occasional wine drinker, your appreciation for wine is about to grow tenfold.

As we’re pushing for more sustainability in our lives, whether it’s the clothes we wear, the food we eat, or the car we drive, we’re longing for a more sustainable world, and

part of that sustainable movement includes, you guessed it, winemaking.

But What, Exactly, Makes A Wine Sustainable?

The answer is complex, as many factors play into whether a wine is sustainable or not.

Luckily, I had the pleasure of speaking with local wine expert, or “sommelier” Jillian Fontana, on what makes a wine sustainable or not.

Wineries in some locales can choose to become certified; the California Sustainable Wine Alliance recognizes these wineries as Certified California Sustainable Wine (CCSW), but many other wineries (or

“producers” as they are known in the industry) opt to create their own sustainable plans of action.

In response to the question of whether sustainable wines taste better, Jillan explains, “A sustainable wine can be a truer expression of where the wine was derived; when utmost care for the grapes is given both in the vineyard and the winery, as is true with many sustainable practices - you can taste the better quality.”

She explains that sustainability in winemaking is more of a concept to better the planet rather than following a strict set of guidelines.

“How the grapes are cultivated is one aspect,” Fontana explains. “And then there is the actual winemaking in a winery: the fermentation of juice to the bottled product.”

The whole production of winemaking is taken into consideration of whether or not a wine is considered sustainable or not. It is a comprehensive combination of practices in the vineyard that keeps the health of the planet at the forefront.

From growing the grape to bottling the wine, those choices and decisions are made based upon what’s best for the planet.

A Deep Love For Wine While words like “organic,” and “natural” are often used interchangeably, they are not one in the same, especially when it comes to wine. “Organic” is always a certification, while “sustainable” can be a

The main factors indicative of what makes a wine sustainable are as follows:

n Farming methods — including the soil. “With utmost consideration for the land,” Fontana states. “In treating the land properly, you will get healthy soil which will grow healthy grapes. Instead of using a chemical fertilizer, using manauer is more of a sound practice, too. Farmers who abide by sustainable practices are enriching the soil naturally and might be hand-harvesting grapes rather than using a machine.” n Canopy management — Controlling the growth and health of the vine. Farmers might prune the leaves as needed to let the sun hit the grapes how they want, allowing for the breeze to pass through the foliage to prevent any fungus from growing. n Water conservation — Dry farming where farmers don’t irrigate at all, depending on the rainfall. n Amplifying biodiversity in the vineyard — including natural pest control, soil support, and climate regulation. n Adopting social responsibility for communities around the vineyard. n Fair compensation for employees. n ●Reduction of carbon footprint and waste — Using recycled glass bottles and eco-friendly packaging.

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A beautiful testament to the tradition of wine-making, this 116 year old grape vine of the Flame Tokay variety was planted in an old school vineyard along the Mokelumne River, CA.

certification (several exist) or a practice, and “natural” has no bounds.

Fontana explains that it isn’t feasible for every vineyard to be certified organic; one reason being the cost. For very small producers, it can be prohibitive. “To get the certification is also laborious,” she adds.

“Also, if you are in a climate that is prone to fungus, you have to use pesticides because you can’t afford to lose your crop.”

As for the taste, sustainable wines have more of a “quality” taste. Fontana illustrates her point by comparing a Hershey’s kiss to Godiva chocolate or Velveeta cheese in comparison with real cheddar. “You can just taste the difference,” she says, “Its depth of flavor, its nuance.”

Before becoming a wine sommelier,

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Fontana started her career in hospitality, the wine tastings in the restaurants she worked in initially sparking her interest.

“In the early days, I bought the book, French Wine For Dummies, which I highly recommend because it made it so easy to understand the wines I was working with,” Fontana said.

She spent the next several years traveling, attending numerous industry wine tastings and events, with her first wine trip spent in Willamette Valley in Oregon, a very up-and-coming wine region at the time. She traveled to Bordeaux, France, completing the Grand Crus of Bordeaux course, and finally taking the Certified Somm exam administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers, the global standard setters for

today’s sommeliers.

“At the end of the day, I’m really self-taught,” Fontana said. “I read a ton of books, went to all the tastings, experimented constantly with food and wine pairings.”

Now, Fontana has her own wine consulting business where she does private and corporate events, curates wine collections, and is most recently launching a custom wine program for restaurants in the area.

Fontana ultimately wants to educate people on being more confident with their wine choices and pairings, and not just reach for whatever bottle at the store is familiar.

She is a huge supporter of natural and sustainable wines because they benefit both the palate and the Earth.

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2022

t a e r G ectations xp

E

Saturday, JuNE 4 6:00 PM thE ridgEfiEld library 472 MaiN StrEEt, ridgEfiEld, Ct 06877

Celebrating another Year of great expeCtations Please join us in honoring Peggy and Rudy Marconi as the 2022 recipients of the Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award for for their embodiment of the Library’s mission in their lives as well as their extraordinary leadership, dedication and contributions to the Ridgefield Community over the years and especially during recent difficult times.

Seating is limited, so please act now. For reservations and sponsorship opportunities contact Laureen Bubniak, Director of Development, at (203) 438-2282 ext. 104 or via email: LMBubniak@RidgefieldLibrary.org.

www.ridgefieldlibrary.org

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by Gina Zammit

fter Broadway’s infamous hiatus due to Covid-19, a new musical, Flying Over Sunset finally premiered last fall at Lincoln Center Theater. Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner James Lapine and scored by a fellow Pulitzer Prize, Emmy, and Tony Award winner Tom Kitt, the new musical had the promise of being a smash, but suffered from mixed reviews from both critics and members of the audience.

If you were able to catch this show during its limited run, you may have noticed a familiar location listed as a setting in the Playbill: Ridgefield, CT. While much of the show is set in Hollywood - specifically Sunset Boulevard - in the 1950s, a very prominent local estate serves as the backdrop for a highly emotional musical scene. The show depicts an unlikely mix of characters: Hollywood actor Carey Grant, writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley, and Connectictut’s own Clare Boothe Luce embarking on an acid trip together in the hopes of working through their traumas.

While the musical is a work of fiction, all three characters did indeed take the hallucinogen several times throughout the 1950s - well before lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) became en vogue in the 1960s through the experiments of Timothy Leary. Luce was a user of the then legal narcotic and it was at a sprawling Ridgefield estate she shared with her husband, founder of Time, Life, and Fortune magazines, Henry Luce where she would embark on her third experience with the psychedelic drug in just a few months in May of 1959.

Looking more like a model for a fashion ad than a diplomat, Clare Boothe Luce, relaxes at vacation home in Phoenix. Taken March 17, 1959. In addition to being an ambassador, Luce was also a respected writer and playwright.

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Clare Boothe Luce, photograph taken on July 31, 1953 when Luce was serving as US Ambassador to Italy.

Life of a Legacy Clare Boothe Luce was nothing short of a renaissance woman. Throughout her life, she was a successful author, playwright, war journalist, feminist, editor, congresswoman, mother, and ambassador.

Though she lived an objectively charmed and pampered life, she also suffered a great deal of tragedy as well. It was these tragedies that piqued her interest in LSD. Born in New York City in 1903 to a brilliant but unstable father with a gift for playing the violin and an ambitious mother, Clare bounced around in several cities in U.S. as a child before becoming a Broadway understudy at the tender age of ten. After traveling to Europe with her family, she became a proponent of the women’s suffrage movement and later married her first husband, George Tuttle Brokaw. She and Brokaw had one child together, a daughter named Ann, but Brokaw’s temperament and issues with alcohol proved too difficult to maintain their marriage. The couple divorced in 1929.

Luce poured herself into the arts to mourn the loss of her marriage and ended up writing a hit play, The Women. The satirical play about scheming Manhattan socialites performed so well during its run on Broadway that it was made into a film in 1939 starring Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. Albert Einstein was reported to have attended the film’s opening in Princeton, NJ. The film was remade in 2008 and had Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, and Debra Messing at the helm.

Right before the play opened in 1936, Luce married her second and final husband; publisher Henry Luce in 1935.

Shortly after they wed, Luce was given the opportunity to work as a correspondent for Time and Life magazines during World War II. After returning home, she became a managing editor at Vanity Fair and wrote two nonfiction books. Luce was well known for not only her talented writing skill, but also her biting wit. Perhaps her most famous phrase is “No good deed goes unpunished,”

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or, “Widowhood is a fringe benefit of marriage”.

In 1942, Luce won a seat in the House of Representatives as a Republican to represent Fairfield County, making her Connecticut’s first elected Congresswoman.

During her term in Congress, she helped to create the Atomic Energy Commission and instituted the LuceCellar Act of 1946, allowing immigrants from both India and the Philippines to become naturalized citizens.

At that time, though, tragedy struck Luce as her only child, Ann, was killed in a fatal car crash at Stanford University, only years

and remained married despite many marital issues until Henry’s death in 1967. A few years later, in 1973, Richard Nixon named Luce to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Nearing the end of her life in the late 1980s, Luce became a hero in the feminist movement. Given that women in America didn’t have the right to vote until she was 16 years old, this should come as a surprise to no one. No matter where you fall on the political scale, Luce was an incredibly prolific politician and artist, and her

Aside from the Luce’s, who lived at the mansion from 1946 - 1966, it has also been home to several prominent figures of the 20th century. Its original owner, Wadsworth R. Lewis, was the son of a railroad tycoon.

His foundation, the Lewis Fund that was established following his death in 1942 and still contributes to the community at large through donations to the local library, the Boys and Girls Club, and Meals on Wheels, as well as select art programs such as the Thrown Stone Theatre Company.

Another distinguished resident of the beautiful estate favored the library above all other rooms. Hans Peter Kraus, a rare book collector filled the shelves of his study with artifacts including a Gutenberg Bible, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and a

Clare Boothe Luce, taken on July 31, 1953. This was taken when Luce was serving as US Ambassador to Italy. Clare Boothe Luce, taken on July 31, 1953. This was taken when Luce was serving as US Ambassador to Italy.

after Luce’s own mother had suffered the same demise. She sought out the help of psychiatrist that would ultimately spark her interest in LSD. When her term in congress was up, Luce was appointed ambassador to Italy by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. Her anticommunist speeches were very effective through the country during her tenure, and she was eventually well received by the Italian citizens.

Luce left her post in 1956 after suffering arsenic poisoning. The government questioned if the poisoning was a result of a political move, but nothing they found was conclusive. By 1964, both Luces had retired

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legacy is one the town of Ridgefield should not soon forget.

The Luce Mansion This massive estate was constructed in 1939 by the same architectural firm that designed the original Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The Georgianstyle estate spans over 46 acres of private land with an adjacent wildlife preserve adding to its secluded feeling. In addition to the 12,837 sq. ft. main manor house, there are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a guest house, tennis court, caretaker’s cottage, greenhouse and a Vermont slate patio.

first printing of the U.S. Constitution.

In recent years, the closets were no doubt the most loved corridor, as the house was occupied by former model turned fashion designer, Basha Szymanska.

Though I have to agree with the many not so stellar reviews of Flying Over Sunset, I have a great appreciation for its central theme; connection. Though Grant, Huxley, and Luce connect with each other during their acid trip (and the hilarity produced as a result), they more importantly find a deep connection within themselves as they work through their unprocessed grief and face the demons of their pasts.

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GREAT EVENTS ALL SUMMER LONG AT

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE Non-profit 501 (C) (3)

THE SIXTIES SHOW

JAY LENO

The band features former members of The Who, Bob Dylan, and NBC TV’s Saturday Night Live band

Two shows!

The legendary late night host and stand-up comic returns.

MAY 14

CELEBRITY HOUSEWIVES MAY 18

Jill Zarin (RHONY), Caroline Manzo (RHONJ) and Vicki Gunvalson (RHOOC)

JUNE 26

SOUTHERN AVENUE JULY 15

This Grammy nominated group is one of the brightest new lights in the blues and soul galaxy

KATHY MATTEA & SUZY BOGGUSS

JORDAN RUDESS

Two careers worth of stories and more hits than they can fit!

The music of Dream Theater reimagined for the piano.

THE GILMOUR

CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH WITH

FIVE FOR FIGHTING

MAY 5

& HIS CABARET SHOW JUNE 18

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT MAY 4

Hard rock godfathers with anthems like “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Burnin’”

PROJECT

An All-Star Band with Jeff Pevar, Kasim Sulton, Prairie Prince, Mark Karan & Scott Guberman

TOGETHER AT LAST MAY 19

ISAAC MIZRAHI

The famed fashion designer dazzles with pop hits and Broadway tunes!

SWEET BABY JAMES

MANDY MOORE

America’s #1 James Taylor Tribute Artist Hear all your favorites - “Fire & Rain,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and of course “Sweet Baby James.”

Grammy, Emmy & Golden Globe nominated actress and singer who stars on NBC’s “This is Us”

MAY 7

STEVE SOLOMON’S

IN REAL LIFE TOUR JUNE 21

BACH TO ROCK: A MUSICIAN’S JOURNEY JULY 24

JULY 26

Special Guest The Verve Pipe Best known for Grammy nominated song “Superman (It’s Not Easy)”

ARRIVAL FROM SWEDEN THE MUSIC OF ABBA JULY 27

“Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia” “Super Trouper” and more

CORINNE BAILEY RAE

THE 5TH DIMENSION

A side splitting one-man show

Opening Act: Melanie Charles Best known for hits “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star.”

“Age of Aquarius,” “Up, Up, and Away,” “Wedding Bell Blues” and more!

GAVIN DEGRAW

THE MAVERICKS

LYLE LOVETT & HIS LARGE BAND

Returning for a night of hits in advance of his much-anticipated new album Face The River

A night of Mavs favorites and new tunes from their upcoming album

MY MOTHER’S ITALIAN, MY FATHER’S JEWISH & I’M IN THERAPY MAY 8

FULL CIRCLE TOUR MAY 13

JUNE 22

EN ESPAÑOL WORLD TOUR JUNE 24 & 25

AUGUST 5

AUGUST 9

Singer, composer and actor who has broadened the definition of American music

203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG

Five Questions With

Chaka, Chaka...

by Dylan Miller

068 Your childhood in Chicago with an artistic family was somewhat unconventional. What aspects or challenges of that time are you thankful for, that have contributed to who you are today?

CK My father was a beatnik and my mother was “able to do anything.” My love of music really came from my grandmother, who introduced me to jazz as a child. There was always music playing in our home, and my father was an artist and photographer, so creativity was always omnipresent in our home. During the time I was growing up however, there was a lot going on in terms of social revolution. I was not in choir—I was totally into my Black Panther-ism, and I was highly rebellious. I probably cut most of my classes. I wasn’t very successful; that was the point where I actually quit high school and started doing music full time. I fell in love with rock, jazz, R&B, African music, and the progressive, experimental sounds I heard when I became part of the Afro-Arts Theater scene in my early teens.

068 What drew you to the Yoruba tradition, and how did you get the name ‘Chaka’ that you have kept so close to you ever since?

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CK I attended several civil rights rallies & spiritual events with my father and his second wife, Connie, who was a strong supporter of the civil rights & spiritual movements in those early years and one of them was around the Yoruba community. I was really culturally into my Pan Africanism then. I was named “Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi” which was given to me at age 13 by a Yoruba Baba priest during an African naming ceremony. Chaka was a Zulu warrior, but the name has a feminine and masculine pronunciation. Chaka is fire, red, Mars. The “Khan” came from my exhusband Hassan Khan.

068 You’re the embodiment of confidence on the stage, is that something that came naturally or is it the result of a deeper practice?

CK I am actually shy—I still dry-heave sometimes when I go onstage. Yes, I’m scared to death. Are they going to like me?

Am I going to f*ck up? Will I remember the words? I think that the moment I become confident for real is the time that I will probably need to do something else.

Because as long as I have these feelings of inadequacy, I will always strive. I’ll always have something to work on.

068 Name an artist you haven’t collaborated with but would love to. Who inspires you? Any young artists you are excited about?

CK Jazzmine Sullivan- the R&B singersongwriter whose confessional EP Heaux Tales lit the internet on fire when it was released earlier this year.

068 We are excited to see your performance at the Ridgefield Playhouse on June 11th, following the annual Summer Gala. What can Connecticut residents expect? Will you be promoting your most recent album as well as the classics you are so well known for?

CK I’ve always enjoyed performing in Connecticut- it’s a beautiful state. I’m very excited to be doing such an intimate showIt takes me back to when I first started out - back to Chicago and playing the smaller clubs on Rush Street and the smaller theaters. I’ll be doing my classic setlist, with a few of their favorites of course. If I don’t, they’ll let me know their displeasure for sure, LOL. I normally do a medley of my top hits to ensure everyone is covered and has a great time. I look forward to engaging with the audience and dancing a little too.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE

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I

t is hard to imagine that ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut will only be going into their fifth season next September. In many ways, it feels as though this gem of a theater has been a staple in our community for far longer than that.

Founded in 2018 by Katie Diamond, Daniel C. Levine, and Bryan Perri, ACT of CT has quickly become a key Fairfield County destination and has gained significant national attention as well. The theater’s 2021 cast album of their production of Stephen Schwartz’s “Snapshots” (directed by Artistic Director, Daniel C. Levine) was nominated for a Grammy Award. Their 2019 reconceived and reimagined production of “Working” was subsequently licensed by Music Theater International (the licensing agent for musicals) and is being produced at other theaters across the country. Broadway HD (the on-demand digital streaming media platform) purchased both aforementioned filmed productions and viewers worldwide are able to stream these shows. ACT of CT brings leading Broadway talent to their stage including Tony winners Lauren Patten, Lindsay Mendez, and Tony nominee Caitlin Kinnunen (to name a few). The small but mighty Ridgefield professional theater attracts over 15,000 patrons annually and employs close to 230 individuals per year. Not bad for a theater that has only had four seasons, one of which was significantly altered due to the pandemic.

Katie Diamond and Daniel C. Levine knew each other when they both worked on Broadway, and reconnected after they both moved to Ridgefield. They became good friends once they settled into town and in 2017, the pair began to brainstorm what it would look like if they were to create their own professional theater. While in very early and casual discussion about this possible grand endeavor, they were introduced to Ridgefield’s First Selectman, Rudy Marconi.

Marconi suggested that Levine and Diamond take a look at the Schlumberger Property. Once headquarters to Schlumberger Oil, the building had sat vacant for many years and fell into a state of disrepair. A town committee was formed to help decide the fate of the property and, after multiple town meetings and votes, ACT of CT (Diamond and Levine’s newly formed not-for-profit theater company) was given a lease to the building.

Executive Director Katie Diamond recalls, “When Dan and I first saw The Schlumberger property and its declined condition, we both felt as though it might be a bigger project than we initially had in mind. That said, we could see its incredible potential and, while we had considered other properties in neighboring towns, we were committed to opening ACT of CT in Ridgefield. We are glad we did!”

It was up to ACT of CT

to raise the funds needed to renovate the facility in order to make it a state-of-theart theater. Shockingly, just one year after the signing of the lease to the property, ACT of CT opened its doors with their first production, “Mamma Mia!”. Almost immediately, the 180-seat venue sold out all performances.

Since that first production, ACT of CT has produced and presented thirteen mainstage musicals (each running for approximately one month), established a thriving conservatory program for theater students, implemented a vibrant New Works program, and created several unique performance series including the wildly popular “Broadway Unplugged”, a series created

by ACT of CT’s co-founder and Resident Music Supervisor Bryan Perri.

A Winning Team When COVID-19 hit, ACT of CT brought on R. Erin Craig to help the theater navigate the incredibly challenging and uncertain road that the theater industry faced due to the pandemic. A commercial producer by trade, Erin serves as Producing Director for ACT of CT. “Having met Daniel, Bryan and Katie as they were starting to build the theater in 2018, I was thrilled when Daniel reached out to me as the world was shutting down in March of 2020, to see if I would be interested in joining their leadership team,” Erin says. “I was quickly amazed to learn of the extraordinary support from, and commitment to the community, that this theater has created.

It’s inspiring! As we head into our 5th season, I am excited to be a part of the planning for the future of the theater.

ACT of CT is a theater that is open to EVERYONE and I can’t wait to share all that we have in store for the future!”

Erin, along with Executive Director Katie Diamond, Artistic Director Daniel C. Levine, and Resident Music Supervisor Bryan Perri are at the helm of ACT of CT’s leadership.

As Daniel C. Levine often says during his pre-show curtain speeches, “We are lucky and grateful to live in a community where the arts are considered vital to a thriving and vibrant society.”

But it is the residents of Fairfield County who consider themselves lucky!

As patrons exit ACT of CT it is not uncommon to hear, “That was as good as seeing a show on Broadway! And it only took ten minutes to get here!”

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Foodies

Sourdough

Success

by Julia Bruce

I

n the spring of 2020, Jennifer Balin was running her wildly successful restaurant Sugar and Olives, when COVID-19 shut everything down. With time on her hands, she—like many other people—experimented with sourdough. She started baking as many as three loaves a day, mailing her bread to friends and family around the country. After mastering bread, Balin set her sights on making bagels. “I always love a challenge,” she said.

Through trial and error, Balin perfected her creation. News of her delicious sourdough bagels spread through social media and by word of mouth. “Once orders started multiplying, I decided to go all in on the bagels,” she said.

This started the birth of Badass Bagels.

The process of making the bagels is an intensive labor of love. First, the starter needs to be fed and active. The starter is then mixed with flour and water to form a levain, which acts as a natural leavening agent—a substance that causes expansion of dough by the release of gases, producing baked products with porous structure. After time to rise, the dough is then shaped, boiled, topped, and baked.

“The whole process takes about four days and is very precise,” Balin said. She is grateful for a cast of loyal workers by her side in the kitchen.

The resulting bagels have a light crunch on the outside but are airy and chewy, with a slight tang on the inside. Currently, there are nine varieties including golden sesame, black sesame, poppy, smoked sea salt, everything, Gabriela Cenatiempo showcases the shaped dough that will rest before baking. The final product: bagels that look as good as they taste.

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pumpernickel, cinnamon raisin, and plain.

Gluten-free bagels made from white and brown rice flour are also available.

Uniquely flavored cream cheeses, such as pimento scallion or smoky black garlic, are made in-house. Balin added other items to the menu including whitefish salad, her recipe enhanced by radishes, celery, three-color carrots, and parsley stems. She also cures her own gravlax. “I don’t want to do a thousand things halfway, but a few things really well using the best ingredients I can source,” she said.

Last summer, Balin paired with Millstone Farms in Wilton, using some of farm’s vegetables in her cream cheeses and offering her bagels to their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members, many of whom are now regular customers. She also sells at the Westport Farmer’s Market and has had successful pick-up collaborations in Larchmont and Greenwich. “One of the things I’m most proud of is the relationship I have with my customers,” said Balin.

Badass Bagels makes upwards of 2,000 bagels each week, which are pre-ordered by texting the Bagel Hotline. Balin is growing her business with the same attention to detail that she grows her sourdough starter “I’m doing food with meaning and purpose,” she says.

“There’s so much depth to every transaction.

Each bagel is made with intention, because it has a home to go to.”

Pick up times are at Sugar and Olive, 21 Lois St, Norwalk. To order bagels, text the bagel hotline at 203-816-0028.

BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD STILL AHEAD ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut

Michelle Tattenbaum returns to ACT of CT this Spring to direct the musical RENT. In 2019, Michelle directed ACT’s production of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. Some of her past credits include the world premiere musical NOBODY LOVES YOU, an international production of URINETOWN, and has also directed numerous fiction podcasts for kids including over 200 episodes of the mystery thriller SIX MINUTES, and the Peabody Award Winning podcast THE UNEXPLAINABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARS PATEL. ACT: This is your second production at ACT of CT. What do you specifically enjoy about working at this incredible Ridgefield venue?

SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT Friday, May 6, 2022 | 6 PM Honoring Anita & Nick Donofrio

MT: I love all the people at ACT of CT. They have created a place that really supports the vision of the artists who work there. I can have big ideas and then bring them to fruition with the help of my collaborators and the amazing producing team.

ACT: Is there anything that you can tell us about your specific concept for this production of RENT? MT: My production of Rent is about the way our experiences when we’re young shape us and bring us strength throughout our lives. I will be setting up the story as a memory play, beginning with middle-aged Mark in 2022. He feels lost and alone, as many of us have in the past two years. In a moment of desperation, he begins to remember his time living La Vie Bohème and the people he loved and lost. Connecting with those memories, Mark finds what he needs to get through this today, and the next today, and the next.

ACT: RENT was on Broadway in 1996 and was considered groundbreaking at the time. How is this musical still relevant today?

MT: It would be impossible to overstate the relevance of Rent to audiences today. We have spent the last two years living through a pandemic. We have been measuring time, just like the characters in Rent. We have counted out the days of a quarantine. We have counted months until a COVID vaccine was available. We have counted days after an exposure. We have counted minutes after taking a rapid COVID test. Many of the other issues that Rent explores are ones we continue to grapple with today. And by telling a story about a disease (HIV/AIDS) that is no longer a death sentence, we remember that there is hope.

What other musical can teach us how to stay connected to others and to our own humanity in the face of death and despair?

ACT: Why are regional theaters like ACT of CT important?

MAY 26–JUN 19 ACTOFCT.ORG BOX OFFICE: (475) 215 5497 36 OLD QUARRY ROAD, RIDGEFIELD, CT 06877

MT: I have had the privilege to direct shows at theaters all over the world, to get to see the unique relationship that each theater has with its community.

Having a theater in your town makes you feel like you belong to that theater, and that theater belongs to you. And that relationship is the best kind of feeling of belonging.

PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE STONE

Foodies

Food Truckin’ Three Mobile Food Businesses You Need to Try

by Sarah Galluzzo

A

h, food trucks! The sheer brilliance of easy-to-eat gourmet meals being served roadside is not lost on me, so I am excited to share this review of three very different mobile food businesses.

When I set out to write this article, I had no idea it would prompt me to face my lifelong culinary nemesis: the all-American universally adored hot dog. This is the first time I have willingly eaten a hot dog since I was 12 years old. Without experiencing a hot dog from Chez Lenards, a time-honored tradition in Ridgefield, I can’t possibly talk about the business that holds a special place in the heart of so many locals.

On a Saturday afternoon in late March, I visit the cart set up on 144 Main Street in Ridgefield with some trepidation that quickly disappears when meeting the owner and proprietor, Mike Principi.

This is a man who loves what he does in the town he loves.

“My Mom used to bring my sister and me here when we were kids. I worked here through high school and college. It was the best job I ever had growing up.”

Lenard Des Lescinskis started the stand in 1978 with the idea of putting a French spin on the flavor and taste of traditional hot dogs, and the business passed hands several times. Fast forward to 2007 when Mike decided to pivot from a corporate career in HR and buy the company.

The cart has a unique lineup of toppings inspired by French cuisine. The overall impression of the cursive written menu, the French flair of the toppings, the French toque adorned by the vendor, and the amazing smells wafting from the cart are 100% gourmet.

He caters a few hundred parties each year, and his catering

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menu offers burgers and dogs. But how did I like it? At first, my preconceived notions were getting the best of me, though it was encouraging to see that the stand drew a long line of people from all ages – from middle schoolers just finishing dance recital on up.

To fully experience the flavors he can coax from the humble hot dog; you’ll have to try one. I was amazed. My fave is Le hot dog Choucroute Alsascienne et Garniture Suisse, a decadent medley of imported cheese fondue in white wine and sauerkraut with caraway seeds. The caraway seeds and wine elevated the experience of the savory fondue flavor. Le hot dog facon Mexicaine is a spicy delight with chili, chopped onion, and hot pepper flakes. The soft potato bread bun offers the perfect pillowy texture to sop up extra toppings while allowing the quintessential spices of the frank to shine through.

Now that I have visited, I understand why this gourmet cart has been featured on the Martha Stewart show. So, the next time someone offers me “Le Hot Dog” from Mike’s cart, I will definitely say “oui” and “merci.”

The food looks even better The Valencia mobile food truck features Chef Michael Young’s authentic Venezuelan beach food served up hot and fresh. According to their catering manager Cathy Turey, “We have newer trucks, and they have all been rewrapped. The new design looks so good.”

“Our food truck menu features our famous arepas and empanadas, rice and beans, plantains, and fresh salads,” Turey says.

You will be hard-pressed to find a fresher, tastier meal. Everything they serve offers a delicate balance of perfectly nuanced flavor. I can’t get enough of the black bean and cheese empanadas, and the Carlo

While food trucks are not as common as they are in cities, there are still a surprising variety of options that offer great gourmet food. For a detailed list of local food trucks, visit ridgefieldmom.com/guides/food-trucks.

arepa rocks my world, featuring fennel, chicken, avocado, and queso. You can find the Valencia truck in various places around Southern Fairfield County, including Liberty Square in Stamford during lunchtime hours, the Merritt 7 buildings in Norwalk, and often on the weekends at local events.

Be sure to sample their sweet plantains and try all the sauces they serve, each tastier than the next. If you happen to have them cater your home or corporate event, order the margaritas and sangrias. Alcohol is only available for private events or in person at their brick-and-mortar restaurant in Norwalk.

If you like dumplings, you are going to love Dumpling Underground. This new business, the brainchild of chef Josh Pekar, is run from a six-by-twelve trailer towed by a truck. Often invited to outdoor areas such as Two Roads in Stratford and other local breweries, Josh shows up and makes his magic happen. “These are dumplings like you have never had before. I like to call it American Bar Food,” Josh says.

His menu features traditional dumplings and some surprising combinations--the perfect two bites bursting with flavor! Have you ever had a cheeseburger dumpling? How about a Philly cheesesteak dumpling or a combo of curry, potato, and peas? Sausage and pepper dumplings are also on the menu and drawing long lines of dumpling-crazed fans.

Finally, be sure to try the Jamaican curry dumpling with a special BBQ sauce. To find out where Dumpling Underground will be next, follow them online at www.dumplingunderground.com Food trucks have gone from the construction site to gourmet and almost anything can be ordered for private events; keep your eyes open for these gems!

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Is That A Thing?

Axe Throwing at Danbury Axe Tricks is Absolutely

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s the hockey season was underway earlier this season, visitors to the Danbury Ice Arena heard thick THUDS coming from a room in an upstairs hallway after the games. An investigation would have led them upstairs to discover an activity that’s not only unexpected, but something impossible to imagine in this ice arena just years ago; axe throwing.

“It’s a very finicky sport, but once you get the feel for it the easier it becomes,” says Axe Tricks Manager Gryffin Syme. “I’ve taught a lot of people at this point, and it’s become extremely popular. The more relaxed, the more you can do things consistently. People have become so excited about it that we are thinking of forming a league to compete against other venues one day.”

It may look easy, but I can tell you that looks can be deceiving. Watching your friends make fools of themselves is all well and good until it’s your turn. No matter how coordinated you think you are, once that axe handle leaves your hand and that axe plummets pitifully toward the wall, you’ll quickly realize it’s going to take many more tries before your inner warrior can shine forth. It’s no wonder you’re required to sign a waiver before attempting it.

Once you get the hang of it, though, there’s little that is more satisfying.”

However, it’s not only the sounds of axe throwing that can be heard, but music, cheering, a game of pool table, drinks being poured, television, and banter. Put this all together with incredible lighting and a fun, nostalgic atmosphere and you’ve got the new Axe Tricks

ting

Throwing Lounge at the Danbury Arena, located on the second-floor concourse of the arena.

“Once you have a ticket, you are welcome to join us in the lounge, which opens an hour before the game at 6pm and stays busy after the game until around midnight,” Nick Garofalo, Arena General Manager at the Danbury Arena. “We had a good thing going before COVID, and now that the pandemic has done its thing, we are back to filling the arena with up to 2,000 per game, and it’s awesome to see the resurgence.”

We are all happy to see a comeback from the pandemic, but Garofalo also spoke of a return in the popularity of hockey in Danbury, following the infamous era of the Danbury Trashers.

“There’s a documentary on Netflix called Untold Crimes and Penalties, which is about the first professional hockey team in Danbury, the Danbury Trashers,” he said. “Not to spoil it, but it has a lot of hockey nostalgia, along with some familiar faces to the arena.”

Obviously things aren’t like that anymore, but with the spur of healthy competition that axe throwing encourages and the revitalized energy of the arena, the local culture is making a comeback.

“In 2019, the arena came under new ownership. My first day with the new ownership,” says Garofalo. “It has totally transformed, it’s not just a place for your kids to come to go skating or play hockey, it has become an entire entertainment complex. There’s a modern arcade, new upgraded concession menus, bars upstairs and downstairs, upgraded suites etc There’s truly something here for everyone, both on and off the ice.”

The “resurgence” Garofalo mentioned will only continue from here, and will start opening to the public the first Friday of May and following Fridays.

For more information, go to danburyice.com/axe-tricks/

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Shout Out

Culture Crawl Theater tour spans beyond town borders

W

ith summer right on the horizon, what better way to celebrate than attending the first annual “Culture Crawl” celebrating live local theatre? The Culture Crawl is a collaboration of the Westport County Playhouse, Wilton Playshop, and ACT of CT offering packages including three nights of shows with a single purchase. Guests choose either a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night package—each including 3 nights of musical theater, a pre-show wine reception, prefixed meal offerings in each town and a SWAG bag featuring gifts and coupons from local merchants.

Each ticket entitles the guest to view theatre experiences in each of these local venues. The Westport Country Playhouse, located in the heart of Westport, will be offering the experience Next to Normal, the 2009 Tony Award winning compelling musical which lifts the veil on family loss and illuminates personal responses to crisis and endurance.

The Wilton Playshop will be offering the rock-concept musical Evita with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. This musical concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita’s early life, rise to power, charity work, and death.

The third musical included in your ticket to the Culture Crawl is the musical powerhouse Jesus Christ Superstar being performed at ACT of CT in Ridgefield. This rock opera follows the last week of Jesus’s life told entirely through song.

This spring’s Culture Crawl promises to deliver exceptional entertainment with the added bonus of supporting local arts in a safe and meaningful way.

Visit culturecrawl.org for more information.

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Shout Out

Celebrating a Long History T

he Long Ridge Library, located at 191 Long Ridge Road, was established in 1919 for the members of the Long Ridge Women’s Club. A few years later the library moved to its current building, a former one-room schoolhouse on Long Ridge Road. The New York Public Library, as well as local families, donated books to the initial collection.

Today, contemporary books sit next to old volumes on the shelves, making it a fascinating treasure trove. The library, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, serves over 500 families in the area: lending books, running book clubs, and hosting community events. As a public library, their services are free to residents of Danbury, Ridgefield, Redding, and Bethel. It is staffed by a group of dedicated volunteers, most notably, Barbara Fulton, head librarian for over 40 years, who says, “We would love more people to come and discover us.”

For more information, go to longridgelibrary.org.

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Shout out

Ridgefield Station Brings Innovative Approach to

Senior Living

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ew England-based Senior Living Residences is proud to announce the grand launching of Ridgefield Station Senior Living. The Assisted Living and Memory Support community is replacing Atria Ridgefield, formerly managed by Atria Senior Living, which opened in 2020.

Senior Living Residences (SLR) has been at the forefront of developing and providing service-enriched Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Alzheimer’s care options for seniors across New England for more than 30 years. Ridgefield Station joins 17 Senior Living Residences communities across New England, including Farmington Station in Farmington, CT. “Neighbors and eldercare professionals in the area should think of Ridgefield Station as a brand new assisted living and memory support community in town. While it has only been a short time since SLR took on management of the community, we have already made some integral changes,” says Tadd Clelland, SLR’s President and CEO. “We have significantly improved staff wages across the board, brought in a number of new programs for the residents who live here, and we are spearheading a public education initiative to make Ridgefield a Dementia Friendly community.”

One new innovation that has been a hit with both staff and residents is SLR’s award-winning Brain Healthy Cooking program, which incorporates the principles of the well-researched Mediterranean

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Diet into everyday meals to improve overall brain health. Simone attributes the quick success of this program to the community’s new chef and Director of Dining Experience, Jennifer Cerny. “She was really excited to roll this program and has been working with her team to develop new Mediterranean-style recipes that are inspired by our residents’ favorite dishes.”

Simone also notes that the community is hiring new staff to keep up with the increase in the community’s occupancy since SLR took over, specifically in programming, dining and caregiver departments.

Those interested in working for the new Ridgefield Station can apply online at RidgfieldSLR.com.

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068 Races. Local Fun.

May 8th-Run Like a Mother 5K June12-First Responder 5K Sept 11-Where the Pavement Ends Oct 16-Ridgefield Half-Marathon and 7-Miler ridgefieldrunning.com/races

What is good design?

It’s what we do. That was easy.

PRINT AND DIGITAL DESIGN

“Since 2009, we’ve been dedicated to curating the finest cheese, charcuterie, wine and gourmet products available. We only sell what we would buy ourselves and invite you to visit with us and our friendly, dedicated foodie staff in our Ridgefield and Kent locations.” – Monica and Todd Brown • The finest cheese & charcuterie from around the world • European sandwiches and gourmet grilled cheese • Picture perfect cheese & charcuterie boards • Specialty gift baskets and beautiful foodie gifts • Artisan chocolates • Boutique European wines

publications • advertisements • flyers • signage brochures • logo design • illustration • websites banners • video • photography

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info@rpacartcenter.com (475) 215-5740

109 Danbury Road, Ridgefield, CT • 203-438-5757 7 Old Barn Road, Kent, CT • 860-592-0366 109cheeseandwine.com find us on Instagram and Facebook

In And Around

More Than Just A

Haircut W

hat goes between a bakery, a flower shop, and a tequila bar? If you guessed a Switzerland gentlemen’s barbershop meets Brooklyn thrown up into Connecticut, you’d be right! Dapper Den is truly a unique, yet traditional space, and one that is taking leaps forward with Owner Jared Gelbert at the wheel.

“I got the idea for my Ridgefield shop while I was on vacation in Switzerland with my wife, and there was a nice gentleman style barbershop, and I had never seen that style before,” he said. “After seeing that, I thought of a Switzerland Gentleman style with a Williamsburg, Brooklyn style.”

With walls full of family antiques from the talented barbers, the atmosphere is crafted from hand-selected music, classic movies, and casual conversation, and banter.

“Within the next 10 years, I would like to franchise a separate barbershop for kids,” said Gelbert, thinking of the future. “I hope to spread my influence through ‘Beardbrand’ and express my artistic view on the haircut.”

More information is available and appointments at this unique barbershop can be made online. www.dapperdenbarbershop.com

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Want to keep in touch with the happenings in the

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Subscribe for a glimpse into the vibrant culture for the year and receive six bi-monthly issues that focus on the wonderful arts and community that thrive within Connecticut’s first cultural district and surrounding areas.

Please note: Residents of Ridgefield and Wilton receive a complimentary magazine subscription. This option is for those who would like to receive the magazine outside of zip codes 06877, 06879, and 06897.

Subscribe Today! www.068magazine.com

Formerly Ridgefield & Wilton Magazine

Whatever Comes Up

ECLIPSES ALL ELSE

by Dee Dee Colabella

May / June has celestial and lunar events to watch for. Mark your calendars and get ready to watch a different type of entertainment.

S

STARS FALLING FROM THE SKY

THE LONGEST DAY

During the end of April and beginning of May, a meteor shower created by debris from Halley’s Comet causes the spring sky to light up. The peak time to observe this shower is Friday, May 6th at 3:35am. This meteor shower is named after the most brilliant star in the constellation it appears to emerge from. In May, this constellation is Aquarius which is why this meteor shower is named “Eta Aquarid”. If it is a clear sky, you should be able to see this brilliant show.

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I SEE A MOON ARISING May 16th brings the Flower Moon (May’s full moon) and June 14th brings the Strawberry Moon which is June’s full moon. June’s Strawberry Moon is ALSO a Super Strawberry Moon in 2022 (Daiquiris are calling). What is a Super Moon? This Super Strawberry Moon not only signals the ripening of the strawberry crops but it’s also it is when the moon is closest to the Earth and it appears larger in the sky but sadly, it will not appear as a big strawberry.

pring is the time to get back outdoors. The sun is coming out, the days are longer and with a blanket, you can spend your nights gazing up at the stars.

Escape to the memories of you as a kid watching the skies and wondering what you will see.

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If you are ready for a total eclipse of the heart…I mean a lunar eclipse? Get out your blankets and set a reminder for May 16th. A total lunar eclipse is when the Earth is between the sun and the moon creating a shadow on the moon making it appear reddish in color. There are different phases of the eclipse. Here is what you need to know, the eclipse will begin on May 15th at 9:32pm and continue until May 16th at 3:00am. The FULL ECLIPSE will be at its maximum at 12:11:28am when the shadow is most dense and covers the entire diameter of the Earth. Get that Bonnie Tyler rocking and enjoy the show

May/June 2022

Want to know the exact date of the June Summer Solstice which is also the longest day of the year?

June 21st is a constant from year to year signifying the day with the MOST time of daylight. Finally, the best day for star gazing is when the Micromoon makes an appearance on June 29th. This is the night of the year when there is a moonlight free night!

Enjoy whatever comes up in the skys!

MAY 1

Town of Ridgefield Battle of Ridgefield Reenactment Event

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D.Colabella Fine Art Gallery Wild Things: An Exploration of the Familiar and Otherworldy

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Candlebox Unplugged Tour 2022

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Keeler Tavern Museum Spring Gala

5/3 6/25

Ridgefield Theater Barn Peter and the Starcatcher

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Art Garfunkel

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Ridgefield High School Choir Concert

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Ridgefield Theater Barn Pete Wikul Band Concert

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Diversity Film Screening: Parasite

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The Ridgefield Playhouse The Gilmour Project

Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra Concert Fundraiser at The Ridgefield Playhouse

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Ridgefield Guild of Artists 12th Annual Juried Member Show Opens

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ACT of Connecticut Gala: Season Announcement

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Ridgefield Theater Barn Whose Barn Is It Anyway Improv

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Comedian Janeane Garofalo

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Ridgefield Guild of Artists Coming of Age - Show Closes

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Steven Solomon: My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish

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The Ridgefield Playhouse “Weird Al” Yankovic

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Ridgefield High School Orchestra Concert

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Celebrating Juneteenth (Emancipation Day) Ridgefield LibraryMichael Chekhov Festival The Slavery Project “UnheardVoices”

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Celebrating Juneteenth (Emancipation Day) The Ridgefield Playhouse Diversity Film Screening:Dear White People

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Joss Stone

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Mandy Moore

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Ridgefield Arts Council Make Music Day

ACT of Connecticut RENT performances

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Corinne Bailey Rae

Ridgefield Historical Society Sundays at the Peter Parley Schoolhouse

6/24- The Ridgefield Playhouse 6/25 The Mavericks 26

The Ridgefield Playhouse Jay Leno (2 shows)

JUNE

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Tuesdays & Thursdays CHIRP in Ballard Park Summer Concerts

Ridgefield Historical Society Sundays at the Peter Parley Schoolhouse

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Ridgefield Guild of Artists Children’s Summer Program begins

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Diversity Film Series: Cured (in honor of Pride Month)

CHIRP in Ballard Park Start of Season

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Ridgefield Library Great Expectations Gala

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The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum 52 Artists: Revisiting a Feminist Milestone exhibition

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Gordon Lightfoot

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Ridgefield Choral at RHS Spring Concert

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The Ridgefield Playhouse The Sixties Show

Ridgefield High School Pops Concert

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Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra 20th Anniversary Concert

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Summer Gala with Chaka Khan

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The Ridgefield Playhouse Isaac Mizrahi - PRIDE Event

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Keeler Tavern Museum Family Program

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Wilton Congregational Church Escher Sting Quartet

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The Ridgefield Playhouse An Evening with the Celebrity Housewives

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The RPAC Gallery Lost and Found – Rediscovering the Ordinary

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Ridgefield Guild of Artists 12th Annual Juried Member Show Closes

Things To Do

May/June

All events were submitted by the organizations through public calendars including the Ridgefield Arts Council calendar. 068 Magazine is not responsible for any omissions or errors.

For more information, visit the individual website of each organization. Please submit any events happening in a 068 zip code to editor@068magazine.com

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One More Thing

From A

Young Mind W

e are happy to welcome this written piece by Lucy Bradley in Mrs. Dunn’s second grade class—a heartfelt reminder from a kind and creative soul in our community—that was submitted as part of the annual Branchville Writes initiative.

“We had so many special submissions to Branchville Writes this year. Lucy’s piece was chosen as the feature for the magazine because when we read it, we felt that the beautiful message in her writing exemplified what we encourage of all our students at Branchville Elementary School (BES)!”

– Keith Margolus, BES Principal.

Grade Level Winners

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Honorable Mentions

Our # 1 priority is our clients

#1 Team in Wilton, CT at the #1 Brokerage in the U.S.*

Marion Filley Licensed RE Salesperson M: 203.515.1387

Patrick Filley Licensed RE Salesperson M: 203.515.9088

Kerry McMahon Licensed RE Salesperson M: 203.856.2954

The Marion Filley Team Licensed RE Salespeople M: 203.515.1387 marion.filley@compass.com marionfilley.com | compass.com Marion Filley Team is a team of real estate licensees affiliated with Compass Connecticut, LLC, a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. *Source: SmartMLS & 2021 sales volume per Real Trends