Wednesday Workshops Challenge Kids’ Creativity

Every Wednesday now through December 17, the Westport Historical Society has organized a series of workshops for curious creative kids from 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.  These fun workshops will allow kids ages 6 to 12 years old  to create a new project each week.

The workshops will be a fun way to encourage kids to explore their creativity.  Projects will be of interest for kids with a variety of interests.  For the child fascinated by technology, there’s “Industrial Revolution Robots,” where kids will make their own bots from nuts and bolts. For the budding artist there are workshops on how to make folk art signs and decoupage treasure boxes. Workshops on making sock dolls, parchment paper, scary Halloween stuff, antique toy reproductions and holiday gifts round out the syllabus.

“Wednesday Workshops,” Wednesdays, Oct. 1-Dec. 17, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. Ages 5-12. There is a $25 per session fee, $20 for members. For 10 sessions, the fee is $150 members, $200 non-members; includes all supplies. Reservations suggested: (203) 222-1424. For additional information visit  http://westporthistory.org.

Coffee House at Westport Historical Society

On August 29 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. join songwriter Suzanne Sheridan and other local musicians for an evening of Civil Rights and Vietnam War protest songs in tribute to the late folk icon Pete Seeger.

The writer of such Sixties anthems as "If I Had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Turn, Turn, Turn," Seeger was also an environmental activist and co-founder of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater project. He died Jan. 28 at the age of 94.

The evening kicks off with a set by Weston's Bruce Taylor, a retired teacher and maker of string instruments who was a friend of Seeger's. Taylor specialized in the "Seeger- style" 12- string guitar and the long-neck five-string banjo that he created just for Seeger. He and Seeger collaborated on a few songs and also performed together, usually in support of the Clearwater project.

Sheridan, who began her music career writing jingles for such companies as Pepsi, Hasbro toys and Texaco and writing music for The Electric Company and PBS television, has been traveling the world the last three years doing tributes to the music of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. In addition to Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer," she will perform other favorites of the Counterculture era.

Also joining the songfest will be Westport keyboardist Bob Cooper. Cooper played piano in the John Mooney Blues Band from 1978 to 1981, and keyboard for Harvey Robbins' Doo-Wop Hall of Fame concerts from 2000 to 2009.

So, if you were wondering where all the flowers had gone back in the Sixties, or just love great music, come out to the Westport Historical Society on August 29 for an evening that combines Seeger's songs with a bit of recent U.S. history.

Admission is $15 and reservations are recommended. Light refreshments will be served. For more information and to reserve, call (203) 222-1424.

For more information on the Westport Historical Society http://westporthistory.org.

Larry Silver/Westport Visions: Four Decades of Photography at Westport Historical Society

Today, some 40 years since his earliest forays into Connecticut, Larry Silver is sharing his retrospective of Westport photographs at the Westport Historical Society, located on 25 Avery Place in Westport through October 18, 2014. The exhibition, titled Larry Silver/Westport Visions, features images of the town's favorite haunts, quiet spots and humorous encounters of everyday life in this culturally dynamic community along the shore of Long Island Sound and mouth of the Saugatuck River.

Larry Silver spent decades photographing the neighborhoods and public spaces of Westport, and the coming exhibit features images of its beaches, open fields, parks and downtown that are indicative of a love affair with his adopted town. This personal, creative journey began in 1973, when Larry Silver and his family moved from New York City to Westport.

Drawn from hundreds of images of Westport, this exhibition includes over 50 gelatin silver prints, many vintage. Included are icons of Silver's career, such as the Compo Beach images Beach Showers (1980) and Dancing on the Jetties (1979), which depict isolated human figures in strongly composed, and graphic environments. This body of work is stylistically reminiscent of his earlier Photo League material, yet demonstrates the evolution of his lyrical and balanced compositions that define his trademark style. It also features images never exhibited or published before, including views of Sherwood Island State Park, the Gillespie Center (now Homes for Hope), town celebrations, local farms and neighborhoods, plus additional images of Compo, Longshore and downtown Westport. Silver shot the majority of these with a 35-millimeter Nikon, a 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 Hasselblad or a 4 x 5 view camera. However, in recent years, he has explored possibilities of digital cameras.

Westport Visions offers longtime residents, those new to the area, along with visitors an opportunity to pause and reflect upon the ever-evolving town, from its roots as an agrarian village to a summer resort and artistic community to a modern metropolitan suburb. Many of the places that Silver captured with his camera have changed or disappeared, yet, others, like views of commuters at the train station and bathers at Compo Beach, remain, at once timeless and familiar. This exhibition will provide audiences an opportunity to think about Westport's past and future, with its omnipresent call to improve and be vibrant.

Westport Historical Society is open Mon. - Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sat. 12 noon - 4 p.m. For additional information http://westporthistory.org. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

The British Are Coming!

The Westport Historical Society will host a lecture on Saturday, April 26, at 2 p.m. marking the 237th anniversary of Tryon's Raid, the Revolutionary War engagement that began with 1,500 British troops landing at Compo Beach.

Compo Beach

This four-day raid, which started on April 25, 1777, saw the British march to Danbury, where they burned Patriot supplies, then return to their ships, two battles with Colonial forces along the way. The incursion was led by Maj. Gen. William Tryon, Royal Governor of the New York province.

As his troops marched back to Compo, Tryon got wind that Patriots under Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold were waiting for him at a bridge at Kings Highway where he had to cross the Saugatuck River. Luckily for Tryon, he was accompanied by a unit of Loyalists, one of whose members had lived in this area. The Loyalist was able to lead the invaders across the river at a ford upstream near present-day Red Coat Road, helping the British avoid the ambush. The site of that crossing is now designated by a historical marker.

The episode inspired the book "The Bridge Not Taken" by Wilton land surveyor Damon Greenleaf Duncan, copies of which are available in the WHS' gift shop.

The lecture will be given by Ed Hynes, whose interest in the American Revolution dates to his childhood in Wilton, where he lived next to a home that was partially burned by Tryon's soldiers. Hynes will look at the raid in the context of the war and discuss the commanders on both sides and "things quite smart and not so smart" on both sides, including how "the Brits outwitted" the Patriots on their return to Compo. This incident took place in our own back yard and highlights an interesting aspect of the war: the extent to which local Colonists were divided for and against the Revolution.

Hynes will speak for about 50 minutes, then take questions from the audience. There will be a handout of maps to help attendees follow the action. The cost of the program is $5 and reservations are required, please call (203) 222-1424 or visit http://westporthistory.org for more information.  For information about Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Cover Story: The New Yorker in Westport at the Westport Historical Society

The Westport Historical Society located on 25 Avery Place in Westport is hosting an exhibit, Cover Story: The New Yorker in Westport and "Can't Tell a Book by its Cover..." through April 26.  

This exhibition focus's on the fact that between 1925 and 1989, 13 New Yorker artists living in and around Westport-Weston produced a remarkable 695 covers for The New Yorker Magazine. Some 44 of the covers actually depict Westport scenes.

These two exhibits share the covers and the story-behind-the-story, focusing on the influence of The New Yorker's "idea man" turned Art Editor , James Geraghty, who–with wife Eva–first lived on Rayfield Rd, Westport before moving to Old Redding Rd. in Weston. Throughout the Geraghty era (1939 to 1973), often with an element of wit, The New Yorker's cover images mirrored the commuter lifestyle of his Connecticut-based artists, including Garrett Price, James Daugherty, Perry Barlow, Alice Harvey, Helen Hokinson, Edna Eicke, Arthur Getz, Reginald Massie, Whitney Darrow, Jr., Charles Saxon, Albert Hubbell, Donald Reilly and John Norment. Curator Eve Potts draws from artifacts, anecdotes and correspondence provided by the families of Geraghty and these artists, who also did innumerable drawings for the magazine.

Never, as visitors will see in "Can't Tell a Book by its Cover..." in the Mollie Donovan Gallery, was that more true than the Aug. 31, 1946 New Yorker, a single-story issue. The story? Hiroshima, by writer John Hersey, who shortly thereafter moved to Turkey Hill South (the home later sold to Andy & Martha Stewart) in Westport.

Hersey , considered the "Father of the New Journalism," not only was a member of Geraghty's local New Yorker Friday afternoon bowling team (Westport Bowling Lanes, in winter) and golf team (Longshore, in summer), he served for a period of time on the Town of Westport Board of Education.

The Westport Historical Society is open Monday - Friday 10 - 4 p.m.and Saturday 12 - 4 p.m. For more information http://westporthistory.org.  For information on Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Coffeehouse at The Wheelers - Westport Historical Society

The Westport Historical Society's Betty and Ralph Sheffer Gallery will sway to the rhythms of music and poetry t0n November 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. when it morphs into a Greenwich Village-style coffee house featuring singer/songwriter Suzanne Sheridan and friends.

Westporter Sheridan, whose music influences include Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, will appear with Westport poet Ralph Adams. She will be accompanied on keyboards by Bob Cooper of Westport and Chris Brown on bass. The sessions are titled "Coffee House at the Wheeler's," a reference to Wheeler House, the society's headquarters at 25 Avery Place.

A jingle and New York club singer in the 60s, Sheridan says she dropped out in the 70s because she couldn't relate to disco and decided she was going to do it her way, performing music that made her happy. Her goal has always been to bring "intelligence and heart to the music scene," she says. In addition to tunes by Mitchell and Cohen, her dates at the WHS will feature Kansas City blues, jazz and such all-time rock faves as "You Send Me," "New York State of Mind," "Johnny Be Good" and "Stand By Me."

Adams, whom Sheridan considers the unofficial poet laureate of Westport, draws on his experiences growing up on the Kansas plains dreaming of buffalo and Indians and his days sailing the world's seas with the Merchant Marine.

Cooper played piano with the John Mooney Blues Band in the late 1970s, performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He was also the keyboard player for Harvey Robbins' Doo-Wopp Hall of Fame concerts from 2000 to 2009.

Brown, who has homes in Bethel and on Candlewood Lakes, studied jazz and classical music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A horn player in addition to a bassist, he enjoyed a long collaboration with Paul Winter and the Winter Consort, serving as music editor of Winter's Grammy-winning 1994 album "Prayer for the Wild Things."

Though contemporary music programs are something of a departure for the WHS, executive director Sue Gold says they serve the mission of "enriching the community and creating an opportunity for Westporters to gather together. A $10 donation will be requested at the door, and reservations are required. For more information visit www.westporthistory.org, to reserve,call the Westport Historical Society at (203) 222-1424.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com