Around Town

‘How Lucky I Am’: New ‘Jim Bach Special Collections Museum’ Opens at NCM&HS

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Mark Markiewicz, an architect and member of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s Board of Governors, recalled on Wednesday afternoon how the widely anticipated new structure near the northwestern corner of the campus came to be. Addressing dozens of locals on hand for a dedication of the new building, Markiewicz said that 10 years ago, the Board “began to question the role of the Historical Society in New Canaan and quickly realized that the organization was in reality becoming a museum.”

“It was becoming a place that required public engagement greater than the existing … [Historical] Society offered,” Markiewicz told the gathering. “Thanks to our amazing [Executive Director] Nancy [Geary] and a very forward-looking Board of Governors, the campus blossomed during the ensuing years. Beginning with the highly popular terrace at the side of The Town House, the repainting of the buildings, to new paved walkways and seating areas, the pollinator garden, and of course the recent Bartlett Gallery [Center for New Canaan History], and the superb restoration of the Rogers Studio, the campus acquired a splendid glow, obvious to all. And so the stage was set to complete the northern edge of the campus.

Around Town

‘It’s a Really Nice Event’: Selectmen Approve 2025 Season for New Canaan Farmers Market

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved the dates for the upcoming New Canaan Farmers Market downtown. The Farmers Market will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays from April 26 to Dec. 20 in the Lumberyard Lot by the train station. “I am constantly told how great it is,” Selectman Steve Karl said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “You get over there and it’s like its own little microcosm.

Around Town

‘We Need To Think about How We Can Close That Gap’: BHA Shares Community Health and Well-Being Survey Results

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Though a high percentage of New Canaanites responding to a recent survey say they live in financial comfort, with most participating in high numbers in sports and faith-based groups and volunteering generously, nearly half (47%) are unsure or unaware of where to seek help for mental health issues, officials say. And an even higher percentage of respondents (55%) don’t know where to seek help for substance use issues, according to the widely anticipated results of the 2024 Community Health and Well-Being Survey. “We do understand that we don’t expect there to be 100% awareness around all of these issues, as most people would go seek help when they’re faced with that particular issue,” Nina Chanana of Chanana Consulting told about 100 people who attended the first public presentation of survey results, held Monday night in the Jim & Dede Bartlett Auditorium at New Canaan Library. 

She continued: “But we did feel that there were opportunities to raise awareness for some of the supports that are out here in New Canaan. … Those residents who indicated their concern about their own substance use were less likely to be aware of the supports around substance misuse available to them when compared to those who did not have any concerns. Respondents who reported poor mental health were also less likely to be aware of supports for adult mental health services in New Canaan than those who reported ‘strong’ or ‘good’ mental health.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police at 11:14 a.m. Tuesday received a report of two checks stolen from a South Avenue home and fraudulently deposited. 

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We hear the new Lombardi’s Ristorante & Bar (here on IG) that’s planned for Elm Street is on track for a March opening. ***

Now showing at the Playhouse movie theater on Elm Street: “The Brutalist,” “September 5,” and “Anora.” Coming next week is “Dog Man,” with “Captain America: Brave New World” to follow. Note that “Anora,” which has earned a “Best Picture” Oscars nomination, has screenings scheduled through Jan. 30 and it’s produced by former town resident Alex Coco. ***

Referring to the newly renovated and expanded New Canaan Police station, Chief John DiFederico told the Board of Selectmen during a budget presentation Tuesday that “we’re hoping to living there and operating out of there in June.” That would be several months ahead of schedule for the widely anticipated $29 million project, which officials say is on budget. ***

Here’s a 3-hour class that Silvermine Art School is offering on four Saturdays in February and March: “Forging a Bottle Opener.”

Around Town

‘Love Your Enemies’: Community Celebrates the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During Stirring Ceremony

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John Baluyut, a New Canaan High School senior, once believed that love could only happen between and among close friends and family. Yet after arriving in New Canaan, the ABC House scholar told a crowd of more than 150 people on Monday morning, he “learned that love is more than that.”

“Although the first month of moving here can be overwhelming, being in an environment that fostered love from people that were strangers to me a few weeks ago gave me an experience that I’ve never had before,” Baluyut told those gathered inside the United Methodist Church of New Canaan during a celebration of the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He continued: “It opened my eyes to the fact that love is more than a feeling from family and friends—it is a transformative force capable of mending broken relationships, bridging divides and making enemies turn into friends.”

Baluyut struck a note that would resound throughout the moving ceremony, organized by the Interfaith Council of New Canaan. It featured a welcome from the Rev. Gilbert Burgess of the Community Baptist Church, music from the Men’s Choir at Pivot Ministries, the trio of Khanisha Moore (vocals), Peterson Prime (piano) and Justin Merveille, and Nerva Altino of the Congregational Church of New Canaan, an interfaith prayer for peace led by Jennifer Zonis, president of the Interfaith Council, testimony from Baluyut and NCHS sophomore Dariel Ortiz, an invocation from the Rev. Martha Epsein of UMC, keynote address from the Rev. Richard Williams, pastor of Pivot Ministries, and benediction led by Monsignor Rob Kinnally of St. Aloysius Church. Those in attendance included the full Board of Selectmen—First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll, as well as other municipal officials, local clergy and representatives from ABC House of New Canaan, including Moore, the organization’s resident director, Executive Director Jamie Boris and Board of Directors President Liz Tuff.