The Goza Latin Jazz Band, specializing in Latin America rhythms on violin, guitar, horns, percussion and vocals, entertained tonight at the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Guitarist David Giardina, a 1970 Staples High School graduate, was back home tonight leading the Goza Latin Jazz Band in a performance at the Westport Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) J.C. Martin for WestportNow.com

Guests at the Westport Levitt Pavilion for the Pereforming Arts dance tonight to the Goza Latin Jazz Band. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) J.C. Martin for WestportNow.com

The owner of the house at 79 Myrtle Ave. is the newest recipient of a Westport Historical Society (WHS) historical plaque. Bob Weingarten, WHS plaque historian, presented the plaque to Nick Visconti who acquired the house in March and is the process of renovating the five-apartment dwelling. According to Weingarten, the 1913-built house, known as the Berrell-Borden House, was built by Rose B. Berrell for Hope Lewis Borden. Visconti said he is also the owner of two historic properties, built in the 1700s, at 85-87 and 104 East Ave., Norwalk. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

In conjunction with the Westport Country Playhouse production of “The Invisible Hand,” engineer, writer, academic and Staples High School graduate Haris Durrani was interviewed tonight at the Playhouse by Staples teacher Cathy Schager about his new novel “Technologies of Self.” The book is about a young Muslim man finding his way in New York City after 9/11. Durrani, who is attending Columbia Law School, holds a master’s in history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor’s in applied physics from Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Marcia Logan for WestportNow.com

Antoine Bleth today paints a mural at the entrance of his new restaurant, Le Penguin, a French bistro that opens late next month at 15 Myrtle Ave., Sconset Square, in space formerly occupied by Blue Lemon. “I’m an artist and musician primarily but have been in the restaurant business for 35 years,” he said.  Co-owner of other prominent restaurants with business partner Anshu Vidyarthi, Blech said he sometimes plays piano in his jazz band named Antoine Bleck. “I’m a crooner too in the style of Charles Aznavour and other popular French singers,” he said. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

UPDATE Meredith McIver, who today acknowledged she wrote Melania Trump’s Cleveland GOP convention speech that included passages from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama, has a Westport connection—her sister lives here.

Meredith McIver: says she wrote speech. File photo

Although there is no record of her owning property here or having registered to vote here, several internet record searches show she used her sister’s Westport Beachside Avenue address in the past.

Several reports today said McIver currently lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and that she is a registered Democrat.

Town records show Karen McIver, 69, also a registered Democrat, owns the Westport property used in the past by Meredith McIver, 65. The New York Times reported that Karen McIver is Meredith’s sister.

The cast of the Westport Country Playhouse production of “The Invisible Hand,” a riveting and relevant new thriller by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar, author of Broadway’s “Disgraced,” rehearses for Tuesday night’s first preview performance. The play, a recent off-Broadway production, is based on an American futures trader who finds himself kidnapped and held hostage in Pakistan, knowing the only way to get home is to do what he does best: play the market like his life depends on it. “The Invisible Hand” opens on Saturday and runs through Aug. 6. Pictured (l-r):  Eric Bryant, Jameal Ali and Fajer Kaisi. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Susan Granger

Taking ‘helicopter parenting’ to a new extreme in “Captain Fantastic,” Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) is raising his six children off-the-grid in the Pacific Northwest forest.

Ten years ago, Ben and his Buddhist wife, Leslie (Trin Miller), became survivalists, teaching their kids to be self-sufficient, stalking and killing game and homeschooling them in philosophy, history, literature, science and five languages.

Subjected to strenuous exercise, they sleep in a yurt, do chores in adjacent tree houses and teepees, and play musical instruments around a campfire at night. Unconventionally counter-cultured, they ignore Christmas, celebrating Noam Chomsky Day, honoring the leftist ‘60s icon.

Each child has a unique name: Bodevan (George MacKay), Kielyr (Samantha Isler), Vespyr (Annalise Basso), Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), Nai (Charlie Shotwell), and Zaja (Shree Crooks).

Mitchells of Westport tonight hosted a reception for New York Times best-selling Westport authors Jane Green (l) and Lauren Weisberger to celebrate publication of their new books—Green’s “Falling: A Love Story” and Weisberger’s “The Singles Game.”  Weisberger is best known for her 2003 debut novel “The Devil Wears Prada,” later made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Green has had 16 New York Times bestsellers and her books have been published in more than 25 languages. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com