Alexandra Floto, 5 of Westport, who attends Greens Farms Nursery School, stands in front of her self-portrait Friday in the Children’s section of the Westport Library. Celebrating the Week of the Young Child, the library held an opening reception for an exhibit of self-portraits created by children of local pre-schools. Each of the participating schools has a wall dedicated to the work of their students. The exhibit, now in its fifth year, was organized by Deborah White, children’s librarian, and will remain on display through April. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lynn U. Miller for WestportNow.com

Maria Calegari, an international ballet master instructor and former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, was guest today at the Westport Center for Senior Activities.  A native New Yorker, she was chosen at the age of 17 by choreographer George Balanchine to join his world renowned New York City Ballet Company. She was interviewed by Westporter John Brandt, formerly a dancer with Martha Graham. Asked by Brandt how she went from Bayside, Queens to Lincoln Center, she replied: “I was brought up listening to beautiful music. I had good motor skills. I found I loved performing.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Maria Calegari signs autographs today at the Westport Center for Senior Activities where she was guest speaker. She signed an early photo of herself when she was principal ballerina of George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet Company. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Maria Calegari, former principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet Company, leads the Westport Center for Senior Activities audience today in some exercises at the end of her talk. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

The Westport Country Playhouse will host a “2015 Season Kick-off Block Party” on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., offering a fun, party-like atmosphere with food trucks, games and activities, prizes, special ticket offers, and a look at the Playhouse’s “backstage experience,” an announcement said.

Guests enjoyed last year’s event at the Playhouse. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Admission is free and open to the public.

“Come party with the Playhouse,” said Elizabeth Marks Juviler, Playhouse director of corporate relations and special events. “To celebrate the start of our 2015 season, we’re throwing open the doors to the theater and offering lots of fun things to do, including self-guided tours and a scavenger hunt.”

Local food trucks, including Bodega, Christophe’s Crepes, LobsterCRAFT, and Skinny Pines Pizza, will be on site with their specialties available for purchase. Beaver Beer will provide a free tasting of their brews, and Shake Shack will offer complimentary custard. Music will be performed by the band David and Chenot.

By Susan Granger

For many years, Gustav Klimt’s shimmering “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” (1907) hung in Vienna’s Belvedere Museum. But viewers of this so-called “Mona Lisa of Austria” had no idea that Nazis stole the renowned painting from the estate of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer.

“Woman in Gold” is the true story of how elderly Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) and her struggling, young, Los Angeles attorney, Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), battled to retrieve what rightfully belonged to her family.

Daughter of a wealthy Jewish industrialist, Maria grew up in a cultured home, filled with art and music. But when Nazis forces took over in 1938, she was forced to flee with her husband (Max Irons).

Those are horrific memories she’d rather leave behind, but when she discovers the whereabouts of her aunt’s portrait, she reluctantly decides to return to her homeland to pursue ownership.

The Westport Arts Center today hosted the Westport PTA Special Education Committee for a presentation on reading and technology in the classroom, school programming, and tips to use at home with students. Speakers included Sally Joyce (above), a special education teacher and head of reading and technology for the Westport schools, and Deirdre Dempsey, a speech and language pathologist for the Westport schools. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo by Leslie LaSala

The newest recipients of an historical plaque from the Westport Historical Society (WHS) are the owners of the 1910-built house at 17 Evergreen Ave., Mark and Joelle Malec, who purchased the house in 2011. The plaque was presented by Bob Weingarten, WHS house, plaque historian. According to Weingarten, his research indicates that Frederick D. Ruland, president of the Westport Sanitarium Company, built the house in c.1910 as his residence. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Maria Calegari, an international ballet master instructor and former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, will speak about her life in ballet on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Westport Center for Senior Activities.

Maria Calegari:: ballet master. Contributed photo

A native New Yorker, she was chosen at the age of 17 by choreographer George Balanchine to join his world renowned New York City Ballet Company. 

She worked with Balanchine and Jerome Robbins from 1974 to 1994, performing and creating more than 40 soloist roles in their extensive repertory. 

In addition to her wide range of roles as a principal dancer live on stage, she appeared numerous times on public television in “Live from Lincoln Center.”

After a four-year absence, the Concours d’Elegance classic car show is returning to Westport, this time as a mini version called Concours d’Caffeine in the town’s Saugatuck area.

Winners at an earlier Concours d’Elegance event at the Fairfield County Hunt Club in Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com

The Board of Selectmen today approved closure of streets and use of town property for the event on Sunday, May 17 from 7:30 a.m. to noon. It will be held on Railroad Place, Franklin Street, and Luciano Park adjacent to the Metro-North Westport station.

Frank Taylor, executive director of the Fairfield County Concours Consulting Group, said the event, also sponsored by the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, will feature 30 to 50 invited cars, which will park in regular spots on Railroad Place.

The focus will be Connecticut automotive history, he said, explaining that Connecticut was “the birthplace of the automotive industry in the United States,” at one time hosting more than 200 brands of cars manufactured in the state.