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Va Va Vroom: Carriage Barn Arts Center Embraces, Celebrates Waveny Heritage in Upcoming Exhibition

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Since starting as co-directors of the Carriage Barn Arts Center 18 months ago, Eleanor Flatow and Arianne Kolb have noted how visitors to the Carriage Barn gallery react strongly when they learn of its original function at Waveny. Though locals tend to know well the grounds, mansion and individual outbuildings at the park, Kolb said, the way that those pieces fit together and tell the story of the Lapham family—the longtime owners of the property through the first half of the 20th Century, who kept horses, carriages and cars in the Barn—animates the familiar landscape and structures in new, profound ways. “When we explain what the space was used for, people have an ‘a-ha’ moment, where it makes sense in the bigger picture,” Kolb said. Starting next month, Carriage Barn Arts Center/New Canaan Society for the Arts will pay homage to that heritage in a new exhibition. “Va Va Vroom!

Around Town

SLIDESHOW: NCCF’s ‘I [Heart] New Canaan’ Photo Contest Entries

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More than 30 residents, including several talented photographers, gathered in the gallery area at Bankwell on Elm Street on Thursday to mark the installment of the New Canaan Community Foundation’s “I [Heart] New Canaan” photo show. The first-ever show from the nonprofit organization asked locals to submit pictures that captured what was special to them about New Canaan, and scores of photographers came back with more than 120 entries, said NCCF Executive Director Cynthia Gorey. “We are so pleased to promote the ‘I [Heart] New Canaan’ idea,” Gorey told the crowd during a brief break in the wine-and-cheese event. “We love New Canaan the Community Foundation is an important part of this town. This was just an idea that came into our minds and we said we’d see if we get any photos, and were astounded by how many we got and how wonderful they were.”

The photos were judged by professional art appreciators from Carriage Barn Arts Center, Silvermine Arts Center and New Canaan High School.

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New Canaan Nonprofits Participating in ‘Giving Day’

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On Thursday, some 18 New Canaan nonprofit organizations will participate in a 24-hour fundraising blitz known as Giving Day. Hosted by the Fairfield County Community Foundation under the slogan “Give Where You Live” and with a goal of raising $1 million on a single day, Giving Day invites donors to give at least $10 to as many charities as they can. The organization that has the most individual donations will win an extra $25,000, while the organization that raises the most money will get another $20,000 (more information on prizes is available here). We asked participating local nonprofits to send us a single sentence communicating to NewCanaanite.com readers why they’re a great candidate for a donation on this day. Here are the New Canaan nonprofits, according to the Giving Day website, with their responses (those agencies that have not yet responded can email me directly at editor@newcanaanite.com and I will update this story):

A Better Chance of New Canaan: “The mission of the ABC of New Canaan is to offer capable minority youth the opportunity to learn in a superior educational program while also preparing them to assume positions of responsibility and leadership in American society.”
Carriage Barn Arts Center/New Canaan Society for the Arts: “Please support the New Canaan Society for the Arts/Carriage Barn Arts Center on this Fairfield County Giving Day and help us fulfill our goal of providing exceptional art exhibitions, accessible children’s art education, and cultural programs.”
Filling in the Blanks: “Your support will allow FILLING IN THE BLANKS to provide over 300 hungry children with meals on the weekend.”
Future 5: “Now with over 100 active members, Future 5 is helping motivated, low income high school students stay on track and connect to their full potential.”
Getabout
Hungry Kidzz: “We provide weekend bags of food during the summer, a 4th of July ‘Freedom (barbecue) Box’ and 1000s of holiday stockings in December.”

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan readers voted by a 7-to-2 margin in favor of a proposal that would see the Pop Up Park in the final block of South Avenue in place continuously from Memorial Day to Labor Day. ***

Four longtime New Canaan friends and NCHS grads gathered to cheer on the Rams last Monday during the varsity boys basketball team’s Senior Night game vs. St. Joe’s. Pictured at left—standing in front local legend Wilky Gilmore’s jersey—are Tad Keating, Monroe Trout, Rob Lenihan and Matt Ready.

Around Town

Carriage Barn Arts Center Calls for Entries to ‘The Art of the Vehicle’

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The directors of a popular arts center located in the heart of Waveny are calling for entries for a new exhibition that’s designed to celebrate its historical 19th Century converted gallery by putting a spotlight on modes of transportation. “Va Va Vroom! The Art of the Vehicle Prospectus” will open April 19 at Carriage Barn Arts Center. The exhibition “celebrates the rich history of vehicles, cars, planes and trains set within the historic context of the Lapham Family, the original owners of the Waveny Estate,” said Eleanor Flatow, co-director of Carriage Barn Arts Center with fellow New Canaanite Arianne Kolb. “In addition to telling the story of vehicles at Waveny through old photographs and didactic material, the exhibit will feature approximately 90 pieces of art selected by our guest curator—art and automobile curatorial expert Marianne Brunson Frisch—along with vintage motorcycles and racing posters.”

The exhibition may coincide with a 2015 installment of Caffeine & Carburetors (approvals at Waveny pending).