“A Chris Coogan Christmas Concert” tonight at the Saugatuck Congregational Church featured jazz pianist and vocalist Chris Coogan with the Chris Coogan Quintet as well as a solo performance by special guest, vocalist Michele Grace.. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) J.C. Martin for WestportNow.com

The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce tonight sponsored the Fairfield County Chorale carolers on a tour through Saugatuck area restaurants. The Boathouse was the first stop on the annual event, now in its third year. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Westport Library will open at noon today because of the weather.

Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe tonight offered congratulations and best wishes to Ken and Linda Smith, longtime Westporters who are moving to New Jersey to be closer to their daughter and family. “Their departure is going to leave a hole in our community,” said Kathie Bennewitz, who worked as a volunteer with the Smiths on various town projects. The reception was held at the Westport Historical Society, one of the nonprofits supported by the Smiths. Linda Gramatky Smith is the daughter of the late Hardie Gramatky, painter, author, and illustrator of “Little Toot” fame. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

An independent film by a Westporter, starring a Westporter, and partially filmed in Westport premieres Wednesday, Dec. 28 in Bridgeport.

Jason Byrd: Westport photographer.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

“Desolation Angeles/Rise of the BOAS” stars Neal Smith, a Westport resident and the founding drummer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Alice Cooper. (See trailer here.)

Jayson Byrd, a Westport-based photographer, financed the two-hour black-and-white production and wrote the original screenplay.

It took him three years to complete the film, shooting at more than 30 Connecticut localities, including Westport, according to a news release.

By Susan Granger

“Guilt is a tireless horse. Grief ages into sorrow and sorrow is an enduring rider,” wrote Dean Koontz - a quote which perfectly describes the tone of Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea.”

Even before this story begins, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) has suffered unimaginable tragedy. Now his beloved older brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler), a Cape Ann fisherman, has died, and Lee has been named guardian of Joe’s teenage son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges).

That means surly Lee, who has been working as an apartment janitor/handyman in Quincy, outside Boston, must return to his hometown of Manchester by the Sea, the working class suburb whose tight-knit residents view him as a social pariah.

While Lee wants to do right by his family, he’s reluctant to move back to a place that’s filled with painful memories and the inevitability of running into his foul-mouthed ex-wife (Michelle Williams), who has re-married and is expecting a baby.