People were for sale by Barbara Lalicich of Niagara Falls, Ontario at CraftWestport today. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

It was a full house at the Westport Center for Senior Activities today as the Friends of the Center with a generous donation from AT&T presented the last in the Cultural Series II for this year.  The Theatre Artists Workshop gave a play reading of “Over the River and Through the Woods,” a heartwarming and humorous intergenerational play of grandparents and grandson. Pictured (l-r) are director Carole Schweid; Richard Leonard; Nadine Willig; Jeremy Funke; Bob Adrian; Wendy Long and Molly Garbe. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Staples Players cast members Jack Bowman, Claire Smith, and Jack Baylis ready for the Players production of “Hello Dolly!” opening next weekend. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays Nov. 14 and 15 and 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays Nov. 16 and 22 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Sunday matinees are $10 for senior citizens. For tickets and information, go to www.staplesplayers.com. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo by Kerry Long Photography

By Susan Granger

With “Interstellar,” visionary filmmaker Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight,” “Memento”) has created a speculative, mind-bending sci-fi adventure through the celestial space-time continuum.

Sometime in the future, Earth is dying and famine is rampant. An aeronautical engineer-turned farmer (Matthew McConaughey) is secretly recruited to pilot a NASA spacecraft through a wormhole near Saturn to find a suitable place for Earthlings to colonize.

He’s reluctant to leave his family but leads his crew (Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi) on what becomes a spectacular thrill ride, encountering incredible beauty and inconceivable terror.

As years pass, his now-grown daughter (Jessica Chastain) realizes that in order to see her father again, she must solve an essential equation involving time, gravity and space.

“Always a Bridesmaid” by Westport artist Nina Bentley was one of 75 works featured tonight in the Westport Artists Collective Pop-Up Art Show at the Westport Arts Center. Scores attended the event, which also offered toasters and various bread products in keeping with the pop-up theme. The works can be seen through Sunday. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Scenes from tonight’s pop-up art show by the Westport Artists Collective at the Westport Arts Center. Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com and contributed photos

Westporter Ramin Ganeshram (r), author of “FutureChefs: Recipes by Tomorrow’s Cooks Across the Nation and the World,” was on hand today for a book signing at the last outdoor Westport Farmers Market of the season. Pictured with her is Sophia Hampton, a member of the Staples culinary team who was Ganeshram’s editorial intern and a contributor to the book, published this month by Rodale Books. The book features a curated collection of 150 recipes drawn from the experience and kitchens of young cooks from across the nation and the world. It also includes one by Sarah Rountree, a recent Staples graduate. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Picture This of Westport/Nylen Gallery, 606 Post Road East, will relocate to 772 Post Road East into the space formerly occupied by Great Cakes, according to owner Wendy Nylen (above).  She said the current location will close on Nov. 15 and reopen at the new location on Nov. 19.  Picture This Gallery, in business since 1983, has been in its current space since 1992.  Nylen, having managed the business from 1990 to 1999 assumed ownership in 2007.  Nylen said the business is relocating because “we had the opportunity to secure a long lease in a great building that offers better visibility for our business.”  Nylen added, “I invite friends, old and new, to join us on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 5-7 p.m. for a gallery warming party to celebrate our new home.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Westport Center for Senior Activities today hosted a concert by Westporter Sarah Ferro, which she titled “Autumn in New York.” It included songs by Kander and Ebb, Sammy Cahn, Kurt Weill and Harry Chapin, among others.  Fellow Westporter Heather Hamilton from the Saugatuck Church staff accompanied her on the piano.  They told the audience that this was like a dress rehearsal for their show on Saturday at Manhattan’s The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, 61 Christopher St. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Members of the Westport Artists Collective were busy at the Westport Arts Center today preparing for the annual Member Pop-up Show opening with a reception on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m.  The show will feature smaller works (18-inches by 18-inches or less) from artists from Fairfield County. The works will be on display until Sunday at 5 p.m. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com