Around Town

New Canaan Music Festival Brings Full Day of Music to Nature Center

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. The inaugural New Canaan Music Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 19, at the New Canaan Nature Center, bringing what organizers call a full day of live music, food, children’s activities and community events to town. Festival director Michael-Louis Smith said the event has been about five years in the making. A lifelong musician who has organized concerts and other music festivals, Smith said he had been looking for the right opportunity to bring a festival to New Canaan.

62 Main St

Doppio Marks First Year on Main Street With a Focus on Food, Community and Growth

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. Doppio, the Italian restaurant at 62 Main St., is celebrating its first year in New Canaan, marking a milestone its owners say has been defined by a warm reception from the community and a transformation of the longtime restaurant space. Owner Joseph Barresi said the first year has gone better than expected, with customers embracing the restaurant’s approach to Italian dining. “We’re really happy with the way the town received us,” Barresi said. “A lot of our customers, when they come in, they really embrace what we’ve done.”

Doppio occupies a space that had housed a restaurant for roughly 30 years before Barresi and his brother Louis Barresi took it over.

SoundWaters

NCHS Student Launches Fundraiser to Support Marine Life Education

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club

A New Canaan High School student is spending part of her summer raising money to help more students gain access to hands-on education about the Long Island Sound. Sofia Brooks, a rising senior at NCHS, launched a fundraiser Aug. 1 to benefit SoundWaters, a Stamford-based nonprofit focused on protecting the Long Island Sound through environmental education and community programs. Brooks has set a goal of raising $5,000 by Aug. 31. Brooks said her connection to SoundWaters began nearly two years ago, when she participated in two of the organization’s SoundWaters Research Intensives programs. 

The two-week programs, held at SoundWaters’ Harbor Center, give high school students the opportunity to conduct hands-on marine research using professional-grade laboratory equipment, she said.

New Canaan train station

Bus Crashes into Platform Canopy at Train Station, Causing Nearly $20,000 in Damage

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. New Canaan is pursuing an insurance claim after a Metro-North Railroad bus crashed into the canopy at the historic New Canaan Train Station last month, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage, officials say. During an update at the Aug. 4 Board of Selectmen meeting, Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann said the crash occurred July 25, a Saturday. “This time it really got hit,” Oestmann told the selectmen, noting that while buses have previously scraped mirrors against the canopy, this incident caused substantially more damage.

South Avenue

Town Aims to Complete Most South Avenue Paving Before School Starts

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. New Canaan officials said last week that they are optimistic that the majority of paving on South Avenue can be completed before students return to school, though the timeline depends on the successful testing of the newly installed Aquarion water main. During a Department of Public Works update at the Aug. 4 Board of Selectmen meeting, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said Aquarion has finished installing the new water pipe, which is now being filled, chlorinated and tested. If the line passes testing, the town plans to move quickly into the paving phase.