0684-Radi0

This week, we talk to Ted Grogan—a 1988 New Canaan High School graduate who works as executive director of The Serenity Project, a nonprofit organization that uses equine therapy to help people who have suffered from all forms of trauma—and New Canaan Police Officer Jeff Deak, the school resource officer at NCHS.

This week, we interview 1965 New Canaan High School graduate Sperry DeCew. It's the fourth installment of our “New Canaan Lifers” series, profiling longtime residents of the town.

This week, we talk to New Canaan's Rick Crolla (here's Laura Ault's "Who Knew?" on him). It's the third installment of our “New Canaan Lifers” series, profiling longtime residents of the town.

This week, we talk to Janet Bouton Wood Karl. It's the second installment of our “New Canaan Lifers” series, where we profile lifelong residents of the town.

This week, we talk to Liz Salguero, co-executive director of Circle of Care, a nonprofit organization with strong New Canaan ties that she launched more than 20 years ago when her then-3-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia. Here on Facebook and here on Instagram, Circle of Care offers programs and services that meet the unique and challenging needs of childhood cancer treatment. The nonprofit organization will hold one of its main fundraisers— “CARE to Laugh”—on April 3 in Fairfield.

This week, we talk to Monica Capela, a co-chair of the Waveny Playground Committee. Through a nonprofit entity under the New Canaan Community Foundation, the Friends of Waveny Playground group is now fundraising for the widely anticipated new facility. Note: If your family or business would consider a featured placement on the Waveny Playground Welcome Sign, prominently displayed at the playground entrance, please contact the Friends group for more information at ncwavenyplayground@gmail.com. 

This week, we launch a new series with the 0684-Radi0 podcast. “New Canaan Lifers” will profile lifelong residents of the town, and we start with a personal favorite among New Canaanites: Beth Jones.  

This week, we talk to Kathleen Benevento, executive director of Navigation at Waveny LifeCare Network. The organization's Navigator Alzheimer's and Dementia at Home Initiative helps caregivers who are supporting loved ones with Alzheimer's and dementia. Now, the Navigator Adult Day Program offers a supportive environment for individuals with Alzheimer's or dementia while providing a daytime respite for caregivers. For more information, call Waveny's dedicated Navigator line at 203-594-5289 or email navigator@waveny.org.   

This week, we've switched things up on our podcast. As NewCanaanite.com marks its 11th anniversary this month, Bob Doran, the head of NCTV 79, interviews me about the news site, its history and my own experience in running it.

This week, we talk to Stephanie Sambeat Odenath, a New Canaan resident who grew up in Pacific Palisades, Calif. This past weekend, she flew back to Los Angeles, where the childhood home where her parents were still living has been destroyed. Here are some vetted resources for those seeking to help: Local LA American Red Cross Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation Baby2Baby  World Central Kitchen (if you go to their site you can donate to California directly) Pasadena Community Foundation 211LA

This week, we talk to Michael Telesco, a New Canaan High School junior (here on Instagram) whose passion for astronomy has led him to help found the school's astronomy/astrophysics club and launch a stargazing outreach program. Designed for students in grades 5 through 9 and their families, “Stargazing for Families” is a free presentation (register here) that Telesco is running from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the library.

This week, we talk to Jeanne Gnuse, a longtime New Canaanite who this year published her memoir, “The Red Mustang.”   

This week, we talk to Margaret Riley, executive director of the New Canaan YMCA, and Bridget Philipp, the Y's vice president of healthy living and membership, about the organization's chronic disease programs.   

This week, we talk to Luke Parker Bowles, co-founder and CEO of CinemaLab, the company that operates The Playhouse movie theater, event space, pub and concession on Elm Street. Note that CinemaLab recently entered into a partnership with London's famed National Theatre and now has the ability to broadcast live select multi-award-winning plays on the big screen at The Playhouse. While “Hamlet” and “Frankenstein” (both starring Benedict Cumberbatch) already have been screened this month, future broadcasts include “Vanya” (Dec. 4), “The Motive and the Cue” (Dec. 11) and “Present Laughter” (Dec. 18).  

This week, we talk to Bill Post, president of the GetAbout Board of Directors. Schedule a ride by calling 203-972-7433. Transportation services are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Here's an FAQ with the organization and here's information on how to support GetAbout.

This week, we talk to Sheri West, founder and CEO of LiveGirl, about her new book “Confidence Unleashed: 10 Kickass Strategies To Grow as a Leader (Without Changing Who You Are).” (Signed copies are available through Elm Street Books.)  

This week, we talk to Dr. Andrew Gerber, president and medical director at Silver Hill Hospital, about the New Canaan Behavioral Health Alliance's Community Health & Well-being Survey.   

This week, we talk to New Canaan John Walsh. One year after benefitting from life-saving efforts by emergency responders here, Walsh is honoring police, firefighters and EMTs on National First Responders Day (Oct. 28). He also is planning to take the all-volunteer New Canaan Emergency Medical Services training (it's being offered in January, details here) to pay it back.  

This week, we talk to George Smart, CEO of US Modernist, an award-winning organization that documents, preserves and promotes Modernist residential architecture, and serves as home to the nation's largest open digital archive of Modernist houses. Smart is giving a talk at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20 at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. Register here for “Accidental Archivist: Preserving America's Legacy of Modernist Houses.” (Sign up here for US Modernist's weekly newsletter.)

This week, we talk to Nancy Coughlin, CEO of Person to Person or “P2P,” a nonprofit organization known to many New Canaanites that supports families and individuals as they move toward stability with healthy food, clothing, housing assistance and a path to economic opportunity. Demand at the donor-supported organization, which recently launched its second mobile food pantry, has grown by 2.5 times since the onset of the pandemic.

This week, we talk to New Canaan Police Officer Nicole Vartuli about electric bikes or “e-bikes,” whose misuse here is causing serious safety concerns. Please also note that Officer Vartuli will be at New Canaan Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 to educate the community on scooter and motorized bike safety. During that event—details here—the organization Northeast Community Cycles will collect bicycles at an outdoor drop-off location. Please note that rusty bikes cannot be accepted, nor can scooters, plastic toddler bikes or skateboards.

This week, we talk to Heidi Xethalis, a New Canaan resident who is directing and acting in “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” which opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny (tickets here). It's presented by the Town Players of New Canaan and Norwalk's Crystal Theatre.  

This week, we talk to John Winter, executive director of the New Canaan Land Trust, about the Sept. 7-8 centennial celebration of Bristow Park, New Canaan's bird sanctuary and wildwood preserve (register here for free events). The centennial includes a silent auction (now live) and sale of limited editions of the new book, “A Songbird Heaven: The 100 Year History of Bristow Park.”

This week, we talk to Rachel Takacs, director of Navigation at Waveny LifeCare Network. The program that she oversees for the nonprofit organization, called “The Navigator: Alzheimer's at home in New Canaan,”  provides services for caregivers, including assessments, education, insurance assistance, emotional support and more.  

This week, we talk to Ted Grogan, a 1988 New Canaan High School graduate who works as executive director of The Serenity Project. A nonprofit organization that helps people recover from all forms of trauma, The Serenity Project will hold its annual spring fundraiser—”Gallop for Good: A Night at the Farm”—on Saturday, June 1 (tickets here).

This week, we talk to Bobby Troup, who at 7 p.m. Friday at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny is performing “The Life and Times of Poppa Blue.” Presented by the Town Players of New Canaan, the show includes anecdotes shared by Troup about his own father, Robert Troup or “Poppa Blue” as scores of New Canaanites knew him. 

This week, we talk to Dr. Raquel Harrison, a New Canaan resident who is one of the founders of a new initiative. New Canaan Unplugged is a parent-led effort to help families navigate the social media and smartphone landscape, with a focus on thoughtful boundaries around technology. (Their newsletter sign-up is here.)  

This week, we talk to Vin Farrell, whose architectural photography goes on display this week at Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park. The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society is hosting an opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 at the Gores Pavilion. The show will run through October, and after the reception visitors can book an appointment with NCM&HS to view the exhibition.

This week, we talk to two committee members helping to organize the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan's 50th annual Scottish Heritage Sunday, Rab Ker and Steve Van de Graaf. Free and open to the public, the festive event will be held this coming Sunday, May 5, following the church's 10 a.m. service.

This week, we talk to Peter Green, director of “Alice In Wonderland”—and a different version than many are familiar with—which opens April 26 at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny (tickets here). Presented by the Town Players of New Canaan, the show runs weekends through May 12. 

This week, we talk to Colleen Prostor, executive director of New Canaan CARES, about important upcoming programs—namely, Destigmatize Mental Health For Teens (9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on March 14) and ‘Social Media and Your Kids' Featuring Max Stossel (7 to 8:30 p.m. on April 4)—as well as the nonprofit organization's 2024 Home Tour on May 31. Sign up here for the CARES newsletter.

This week, we talk to New Canaan resident John Kao, a former Harvard Business School professor and current Turing Fellow at Yale's center for new media who also is a best-selling author and expert on jazz music. His presentation—titled “The World According to Jazz”—will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan. Presented by the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society and the church, it is free and open to the public.  

This week, we talk to Janet Dinger, program and events manager at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, and Lexi Gazy, market master of the New Canaan Farmers Market, about the second annual Farm To Table Brunch. Launched last year to celebrate 25 years of the Farmers Market, it's scheduled for March 3.

This week, we talk to New Canaan High School Principal Bill Egan about the NCHS Scholarship Foundation and the major fundraiser coming up to support it, the Color Drop, scheduled for Saturday, March 23.  

This week, we talk to Lenore Skomal, co-founder and director of the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival, and Deborah Burke, creative director at the Town Players of New Canaan, about a partnership that will see 10 new plays—written by locals—produced at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny (deadline is March 10, more info here).

This week, we talk to Deborah Burke, a local actress, director, producer, set decorator and costumer, who works as creative director for the Town Players of New Canaan. She's leading a new 8-session acting class that's set to start Jan. 23. We talk about the Town Players, its productions and especially its acting classes. 

New Canaan's Gwen North Reiss this year saw one of her poems, “After Watching Film Clips of Calder and His Circus,” published in the Connecticut Literary Anthology.

This week, we talk to Mike Benevento, chairman of the New Canaan Athletic Foundation. Those interested in learning more about how to support the NCAF can find its Guide To Giving here.  

This week, we're publishing our interviews with two candidates for New Canaan's highest elected office. Today we hear from Democrat Amy Murphy Carroll. We interviewed her as well as Republican Dionna Carlson at New Canaan Library on the morning of October 13th.

This week, we publish our interviews with two candidates for New Canaan's highest elected office, starting with Republican Dionna Carlson. We interviewed her as well as Democrat Amy Murphy Carroll at New Canaan Library on the morning of October 13th.

This week, we talk to Anne Tseng. With Jeff Fuhrman, she's one of two New Canaan residents who serve on the board of Make-A-Wish Connecticut and next Tuesday, they'll sit on a panel at New Canaan Library to talk about the organization's work in making life-changing wishes come true for children with critical illnesses, along with local Make-A-Wish parents and Dr. Stephanie Massaro, Medical Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and Make-A-Wish CT Chapter Medical Advisor. I will be moderating the panel, to be held 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 in the Jim & Dede Bartlett Auditorium at New Canaan Library.

This week, we talk to Ned Lazaro, associate curator of costume and textiles at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford. Lazaro is delivering a keynote address titled “What's the Uproar? The Dress that Rocked the ‘50s—The Scandal with the Sack” during a seated lunch with wine catered by Diane Browne, to be held 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society (tickets here). It's part of the NCM&HS's October4Design celebration—here's a calendar of events and here's an overview of related programming from Executive Director Nancy Geary.

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Matt Campbell. The Republican is seeking one of four four-year seats up for election. There's also a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term.

This week, we talk to Board of Education incumbent Brendan Hayes. The Democratic candidate is seeking to retain one of four four-year seats up for election. There's also a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term.  

This week, we talk to New Canaan CARES Executive Director Colleen Prostor. The organization has put together a talk next week that's sold out. There are dozens of people on the waiting list for fireside chat with Jennifer B. Wallace, author of “Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—And What We Can Do About It,” moderated by New Canaan Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. However, CARES is running two follow-up book talks, on Oct. 10 (for parents of middle and high school students) and on Oct. 17 (for parents of preschool and elementary school- aged kids).

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Matt Wexler. The Republican is one of eight total candidates seeking a seat on the school board Nov. 7. He's seeking one of four four-year seats up for election. There's also a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term.

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Giacomo Landi. The unaffiliated candidate is one of eight total candidates seeking a seat on the school board Nov. 7. He's seeking one of four four-year seats up for election. There's also a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term. 

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Josh Kaye. The Democrat is one of eight total candidates seeking a seat on the school board Nov. 7. He's in a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term. There also are four four-year seats up for election.

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Hugo Alves. The Republican is one of eight total candidates seeking a seat on the school board Nov. 7. He's in a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term. There also are four four-year seats up for election.

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Lauren Connolly Nussbaum. The Democrat is one of eight total candidates seeking a seat on the school board Nov. 7. There are four four-year seats up for election. There also is a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term.

This week, we talk to Board of Education candidate Lara Kelly. The Republican is one of eight total candidates seeking a four-year term on the school board Nov. 7. There are four four-year seats up for election. There also is a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term.