Around Town

‘My Favorite Time’: The Glass House ‘Summer Party’ Set for June 6

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A world-famous architectural wonder in New Canaan- the primary National Trust for Historic Preservation Site in Connecticut- is preparing to hold its sole annual fundraiser. The Glass House will host its popular event, “The Summer Party,” on June 6. The party brings together people through art, dance, architecture and food, according to Kirsten Reoch, executive director of The Glass House. “We modeled it on the 1967 ‘Country Happening’ that happened on our site when Philip Johnson hosted this party,” Reoch told NewCanaanite.com. 

“We took that idea of having a sort of summer daytime picnic event that combines our own recreation and community building with performance art and visual arts,” she said. The Velvet Underground played at that inaugural “summer party” at The Glass House in New Canaan, Reoch noted. The modern-day event features many works of art, dance and music, she said.

Around Town

A Race for All Kids Fighting Cancer: The Gracie Fund’s ‘Soap Box Derby’

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A New Canaan family will host an event in town this fall to support children and families facing pediatric cancer. Grace Falsetta, a New Canaan High School freshman, was diagnosed with leukemia in middle school. Soon after, she and her family launched the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children facing life-threatening cancer by supporting the people, programs, and organizations that care for them. After hosting a well-attended fundraiser in 2023, the NC Combine, Grace Falsetta — together with her twin sister, Isabella Falsetta, and their friend, Tate Salerno — came up the “Soap Box Derby.” 

“The NC Combine was great,” Grace Falsetta told NewCanaanite.com. “After that, so many kids wanted to get involved and we decided that we needed an event focused around kids.

Firefly Sanctuary

NCLT: ‘Firefly Sanctuary’ Closed for Restoration in 2026; Alternative Tour Set for July 1 at Waveny

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A hugely popular spot to watch fireflies during the height of their summer season will be closed this year for habitat and trail restoration purposes. The trail to the New Canaan Land Trust’s firefly sanctuary, located off of Sleepy Hollow Road, “needs some work due to water erosion on it,” according to Robin Bates-Mason, the nonprofit organization’s executive director. 

She continued: “There’s something called ‘water bars’ which are on trails and they direct water away. We’ll put them in diagonally and it’ll take the water off the trail before it can really build momentum and wash out the trail.”

The trees in the sanctuary also pose a risk for the public, Bates-Mason said. 

“We found that there were some trees in the meadow that needed to be addressed, making it not safe to have people up there at the moment,” she said. “One tree had a big limb come down that snagged on another tree, and it’s hanging over a walkway. We need to take down those trees before we’d be comfortable with anyone in the meadow.”

The time off also will give interns a chance to clean up and restore the meadow itself. 

“We’ll have our interns coming in this summer, and we’re going to be working getting some of the invasive plants out of the meadow,” Bates-Mason said.

News

‘The Community Is Very Concerned’: South Avenue Repaving To Start in September

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A long-running construction project in New Canaan is now expected to stretch into the 2026-27 school year, officials said Tuesday, raising traffic concerns for the town. The water company, Aquarion, four years ago began installing a 36-inch water main in New Canaan, leading to road closures and detours on the eastern side of town. The final stretch of that project will see construction crews install the pipe on South Avenue—a state road, Route 124—from Harrison Avenue to Farm Road, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. Typically, a construction company would allow some time between when the pipe is installed and the road is patched, and a full milling and repaving of the same road, Mann told the Board of Selectmen during its meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. (Usually, road projects are completed in two stages, where crews wait a season to a year before repaving in order to allow the road to settle, Mann said.)

Yet the company now said it plans to install the pipe this summer and immediately repave starting in September, he said.

Around Town

Local Nonprofit ‘Filling in the Blanks’ To Host Sixth Annual Gala on Sept. 27

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A local nonprofit organization serving children in need is set to host its major annual gala next month. On Sept. 27, Filling in the Blanks will host its Sixth Annual Plates with Purpose Gala at the Italian Center in Stamford. The purpose of the gala is to raise funds to continue the organization’s mission of fighting child hunger in local communities. “The gala is our largest fundraising event of the year, and it brings in a significant amount of money that goes straight to providing the weekend meals to the children,” FITB Special Events Coordinator Jennifer Moran said.