Students from the Regional Center for the Arts in Trumbull participated today in the 11th annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration at the Westport Country Playhouse. They performed a spoken-word piece,“A World That Listens,” written by the performers, based on King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and directed by Wilheimine Hartog and Katier Sparer. Performers included Jahmelia Jarrett, Kaitlyn Oliva, Christina Boyle and Sarah Williams. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Tricia Rose, a Brown University professor, was keynote speaker today at the 11th annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration at the Westport Country Playhouse. She spoke on “What Would Martin Do in the Era of Post-Race Racism.” The event was organized by TEAM Westport (Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism), the Playhouse, and the Westport/Weston Interfaith Council. Rose is the Brown University Chancellor’s Professor of Africana Studies, associate dean of the faculty, and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

There was a large turnout today at the Westport Country Playhouse for the 11th annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) J.C. Martin for WestportNow.com

Westporter Harold Bailey, chair of TEAM Westport, welcomes guests today to the 11th annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration at the Westport Country Playhouse. A former IBM executive, Bailey is a trustee emeritus of Brown University, his alma mater, from which he also received an honorary Ph.D. He is also a board member of the Playhouse, and a founding member of the Stamford chapter of 100 Black Men. Bailey received the Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Community Leadership award in 2005. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

It was a full house at the Westport Library today as Mark Schenker, dean of academic affairs in Yale College, addressed the theme of homecoming in “Bettyville,” the 2017 WestportREADS selection by George Hodgman. The book tackles questions about the author’s identity as a gay man, as a writer and as a son as he travels home to care for his irascible mother. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Hope Ventricelli of the Westport Young Woman’s League (WYWL) today read a book in the popular “Biscuit” series to children at the Westport Library. It was the launch of a page-to-stage initiative by the Westport Country Playhouse, the library, and WYWL of a new, free-of-charge program, “Story Explorers,” which is intended to promote childhood literacy while also enhancing children’s experiences of attending the Playhouse’s Family Festivities shows. A musical production of “Biscuit” will be staged at the Playhouse on Sunday, Jan.  22, at 1 and 4 p.m., which is recommended for ages 4 to 8. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

A large crowd tonight attended a Pop Up art show at the Westport Arts Center featuring works by members of the Westport Artists Collective. Some of the artists will appear Friday at a 10 a.m. talk at the Center. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Xenia Gross for WestportNow.com

By Susan Granger

Chronicling the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and its intense aftermath, “Patriots Day” is a heavy-handed, by-the-numbers action-thriller about a community responding to an act of terror.

Assigned to duty on the finish line, feisty Police Sgt. Jimmy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) has a sore knee so he phones his wife (Michelle Monaghan) to bring him his knee brace.

Meanwhile, two Muslim rebels, Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze) and Dzhokhar (Alex Wolff) Tsarnaev, are calmly making nail-filled bombs and loading them into their backpacks.

When the explosions occur, there’s graphic carnage and predictable pandemonium, as first responders rush to help, inadvertently separating families by dispatching victims to different hospitals.

By James Lomuscio

The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) tonight unanimously approved a $5 million request from the Westport Library to help transform it into a state-of-the art information and community center.

An architect’s rendering of how the proposed Westport Library’s Great Hall will look in a forum set up. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The town appropriation puts the Library three-quarters of the way toward its planned $19.5 million project scheduled to begin Aug.1.

Russel Baris, who serves on the library’s board of trustees, said fundraising efforts have already netted a $1 million state grant and more than $9 million in private contributions, with $4.3 million still to be raised.

Baris stressed that the town’s contribution boosts final fundraising efforts.