Westport’s Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts will celebrate its 32nd summer of free entertainment under the stars beginning Sunday, June 26.
The Beach Boys will perform in a benefit concert Friday, Aug. 5 at the Levitt Pavilion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Beach Boys and Dave Mason will perform at separate ticketed events in August to raise funds for the Levitt, an announcement said.

The season will run through Sunday, Aug. 28, and offer more than 50 nights of free entertainment with a different format each evening to suit all ages and tastes.

The theme of each night: Sunday, Jazz and Big Band; Monday, mostly dark; Tuesday, Potpourri; Wednesday, Children’s Series; Thursday, Classical and Cabaret; Friday, Party Bands; Saturday, Blues/Folk/Rock.

The Connecticut Press Club tonight hosted a talk at the Westport Historical Society by journalist James Lomuscio who has just published a book about the 1940s flooding of the village of Valley Forge in Weston to make way for a Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. reservoir. The publisher of “Village of the Dammed,” University Press of New England, says it tells the story of the “historic rise and fall of one New England town, with sweeping implications for environmentalism and the sanctity of open spaces facing the onslaught of modern development.” Lomuscio is a contributing editor of WestportNow. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

CBS announced today that its on-again, off-again movie about Martha Stewart is back on and timed to take advantage of a heavy dose of Martha planned for the fall.

CBS originally planned to air the unauthorized, made-for-television movie about Stewart’s rise-and-fall during last month’s crucial end-of-season ratings period.

But the network pulled “Martha: Behind Bars” in April, a month after Stewart was released from a minimum-security prison for women in West Virginia.

Stewart still maintains a home in Westport (although it is rumored to be on the market) as well as a studio here but is spending her house arrest term at her estate in Bedford, N.Y. She will complete her sentence in early August.

The Westport Public Library tonight unveiled two drawings by the late Westport illustrator Hardie Gramatky, perhaps best known for his �Little Toot� children�s books, for its children�s area. The drawings, which had been rolled up in storage, were framed with funds provided by the friends and family of Westporter Howard Matson in honor of his mother, Rita, who died last October. Shown at tonight�s ceremony are: (l-r) Linda Gramatky Smith of Westport, Hardie Gramatky�s daughter; Maxine Bleiweis, Library director, Howard Matson, and his daughter, Lesley, 11, who will be a sixth grader in the fall at Bedford Middle School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Rep. Christopher Shays welcomes Staples senior Anna Horowitz to the U.S. Capitol today. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photoStaples High School senior Anna Horowitz went to Washington, D.C. today to be honored for winning the 2005 4th District Congressional Arts Competition.

Accompanied by her mother, Lisa, Anna attended a reception for her and other winners at the U.S. Capitol as guest of Rep. Christopher Shays.

Her artwork will hang for one year beside works from other congressional districts in the passageway between the House office buildings and the Capitol.

Anna, who submitted a pastel entitled �Self Portrait,” was named winner in the competition held last month at the Westport Arts Center.

There were 57 pieces submitted by high school students from 11 schools in the 4th District. (See WestportNow May 16, 2005).

Malachy McCourt, the garrulous Irish actor and writer—not to mention a character in his brother Frank’s Pulitzer Prize-wining memoir Angela’s Ashes—is scheduled to bring a touch of the old sod to the Westport Country Playhouse on Sunday, June 19.
Malachy McCourt: to discuss Irish folklore. Contributed photo

McCourt has been booked to host a 5:30 p.m. symposium dubbed “Irish Folklore on Stage.” It’s an opening act of sorts to the musical “Finian’s Rainbow,” the curtain for which rises at 7:30 to officially usher in the Playhouse’s 75th season, all in its new digs.

Free and open to the public, Playhouse officials say, the symposium will provide the audience with McCourt’s insights and observations about the musical followed by questions from the audience.

An actor of stage, film and television,  McCourt is also the author of “A Monk Swimming,” “Singing by Him Song,” “Danny Boy,” “Voices of Ireland,” “Harold Be Thy Name:  Lighthearted Daily Reflections for People in Recovery,” “The Claddagh Ring,” “Bush Lies in State (a collection of published columns) and “History of Ireland.”

Artist at work: Alan Fontaine holds one of his many collages that wil lbe on display at Barnes & Noble Booksellers next month. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) James Lomuscio for WestportNow.com By James Lomuscio

At 88, veteran shutterbug Alan Fontaine has yet to give up on his muse. His quest for the artistic in the most unlikely of places still consumes him, whether it’s through the lens of his camera or his mind’s eye.

The longtime Westporter finds beauty in old torn posters, random rocks in Central Park, the innards of computer hard drives, flattened soda cans he finds along Westport’s Main Street, cracked and mildewed old furniture, even car parts he ferrets out of junkyards.

“The rustier the better,” says Fontaine with the conviction of one who spies a creative treasure trove in detritus.

“I’ve been collecting things all my life, and I’ve always been interested in things that have age,” he said.

Karen Silver Bloom: gets magazine spotlight. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) photo � Mary Engelbreit’s Home CompanionWestport artist Karen Silver Bloom is featured in the June/July 2005 issue of Mary Engelbreit�s Home Companion magazine.

The six-page feature, �Bloom where you�re Planted,� showcases Bloom’s whimsical shadow boxes, created by arranging unusual vintage toys and collectibles, often enhanced with her own pen and ink or watercolor illustrations. The magazine notes that her boxes are reflected in the decorating style of her home.

Bloom’s work is currently on display at Frank J. Miele�s Contemporary Folk Art Gallery,1086 Madison Ave., New York, as well as at Zoe and Floyd Gallery, 23 Bank St., Seymour, Conn., through June 26 as part of its Garden Art Show. The shadow boxes will soon be available at the Westport Historical Society gift shop.

Her work can be viewed on her Web site www.karensilverbloom.com.