Applications are currently being accepted through March 25 for this summer’s 43rd Westport Fine Arts Festival, the Westport Downtown Merchants Association (WDMA) announced today.

Categories for the juried show scheduled for July 16 and 17 are in oil, watercolor, photography and digital art, mixed media, printmaking, sculpture, drawing with pastel, pencil or ink, glass, ceramics, jewelry and wood.

According to the WDMA, the festival is one the area’s most popular art shows, drawing collectors from throughout New England and New York.

It was voted by Art Fair Source Book as one of the top 100 crafts shows in the country, attracting thousands of visitors each year to its venue along the Saugatuck River.

Winfield Street Espresso & Panini Bar has opened at 4 Railroad Place opposite the Metro-North Westport station in space formerly occupied by Bonjo coffee. Owner Breno Donatti, a Norwalk resident, also owns Winfield Deli, 69 Winfield St., Norwalk, which opened in 1925 by the Buono family who still own the building. Donatti is the prior owner of Bistro 7, Wilton. He said the Westport shop offers Bonjo espresso and coffee, daily baked fresh pastries and breads, and specializes in three lunch sandwiches made with their homemade ciabatta, overstuffed Italian combo, mozzarella caprese and a Parma prosciutto with mozzarella. He said both the Norwalk and Westport locations offer catering services. Pictured is manager Venlich Aguilar. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The larger-than-life historical figure Theodore Roosevelt and his relationship with his youngest son Quentin killed in a war that his father championed will be explored Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Westport Library.

Eric Burns: at earlier Library appearance (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Westport author Eric Burns will read excerpts from and discuss his latest nonfiction book, “The Golden Lad: The Haunting Story of Quentin and Theodore Roosevelt,” a probing look into the personal side of the former president and Rough Rider who continues to fascinate historians and readers.

In addition to serving as president more than a century ago, TR as he became known, was revered as a Spanish-American war hero, the man who reformed the New York Police Department, busted the largest railroad and oil trusts, passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, created national parks and forests, won the Nobel Peace Prize and built the Panama Canal.

But according to Burns, it was the cause Roosevelt championed the hardest—America’s entry in to World War I—that would ultimately cause his downfall. His youngest son, Quentin, would die in an air fight.

Views of the Pearl Restaurant and Bar, which opens Monday at 5 p.m. in space occupied for 19 years by the Splash Restaurant at the Inn at Longshore at Longshore Club Park in Westport. Steve O’Shea, a marketing representative for the new eatery, describes the restaurant as “sophisticated casual fine dining in a seasonal atmosphere serving delicious, healthy American cuisine.”  Greenwich-based designer Bilal Barakat said the restaurant seats 65 in the main dining room and enclosed, temperature-controlled porch,18 at the bar and additional seating on the patio beginning in the spring. Pearl is co-owned by Westport resident Marc Backon and Antonio Ninivaggi. Ninivaggi also owns Toto’ Mediterranean Restaurant, formerly called Osianna, 70 Reef Road, Fairfield. Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Westport Country Playhouse has received a $15,000 grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation for general operating support of the nonprofit organization’s 2016 season, Playhouse officials announced.

Michael Ross: “funding will allow continued world-class theater.” Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

The nationally recognized professional theater serves an estimated annual audience of 60,000.

“Westport Country Playhouse is profoundly grateful for the support of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation for our 2016 Season,” said Michael Ross, Playhouse managing director. 

“This vital funding will allow us to continue to produce world-class theater, offer a broad array of enhanced programming, and serve as a cultural gathering place for the entire region.

Westport artist Enid Munroe today shared her insights on her life as an artist, her process and technique, and her works of art with guests at the ArtSpeaks event at the Westport Arts Center. Daughter Alexandra Munroe, curator and scholar, led the question and answer session with her mother.  Daughter Olivia Munroe, an established local artist and teacher in Fairfield County, also joined the special event.  The exhibition, “Artist & Alchemist, “ is on view through Feb. 27.  Pictured (l-r) Olivia Munroe, Enid Munroe, Alexandra Munroe, with longtime family friends Maggie Moffitt and her mother, Butzi Moffitt. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Leslie LaSala for WestportNow.com

Fans of David Bowie will come together on Tuesday, March 8 at the Westport Country Playhouse for an evening to celebrate his life and music, according to Westport best-selling author Jane Green, who is producing the event.

David Bowie: event will benefit AIDs chariity. Contributed photo

Set to begin at 7 p.m., the event will benefit Keep a Child Alive, Bowie’s charity of choice, she said. All tickets are $25.

“There are many of us lurking behind closed doors, silently grieving a man whose music we loved, a man who gave so many of us permission to stand outside the mainstream during those awkward teenage years,” Green said.

“This is a chance for us to come together and celebrate someone who had tremendous impact on so many of our lives.”

The house and cottage at Westport’s 223 Hillspoint Road, opposite Elvira’s in the Old Mill section, were demolished today. The house, built in 1910, is a 2-1/4 story colonial and has 2,606-square feet. Built in 1920, the one-story cottage has 504 square feet. The structures are situated on a .24-acre waterfront property that changed ownership in September 2014 for $2.9 million. View is the side of the house which faces the water. (See Westportnow July 4, 2015) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Creative types have a history of toiling into the wee hours of the morning for their art and inventions. 

So, it comes as no surprise that the second Westport Library Maker Madness set for Saturday, March 12, will offer the same hours for creators.

The event starts at 8 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m. Sunday, March 13, library officials say.

Held throughout the library, the program features maker workshops and lots of hands-on building for children ages 11 and up, as well as adults.