Letter: Farewell from Carriage Barn Arts Center Executive Co-Directors

Dear Members, Supporters, and Friends,

As the final exhibition of the season Va Va Vroom! The Art of the Vehicle has ended, so has our tenure as Executive Co-Directors of the Carriage Barn Arts Center. It is with heavy hearts that we inform you of our resignation, which was tendered to the Board of Trustees several months ago due to differing visions for the organization. These years have been some of the most rewarding in our careers. We have enjoyed collaborating with so many fine and talented artists, volunteers, and teachers, as well as prestigious jurors.

PHOTOS: NCHS Senior Internship Program, through the Lens of Kayleigh Pace

The Senior Internship Program (SIP) is opportunity for NCHS seniors to take what knowledge they’ve gained in four years outside of the classroom and into the real world for the last month of the school year. From May 18 to June 17, 80 seniors are dispersed throughout New Canaan and Fairfield County working in a variety of different fields such as medicine, retail, business, teaching and many others. The four-week program runs throughout the hours of the typical school day in which seniors work between 20 and 25 hours a week. Organized by NCHS College and Career Center Coordinator Susan Carroll, each of the students participating in the unpaid internship program are working at pre-approved worksites in fields that they are interested in partaking in the future. Kayleigh Pace, a senior intern for Jane Beiles Photography, took the pictures above (and Jane took a couple, too) to give a glimpse of what many interns are taking part in at their work sites.

Opening Reception for Local Artist Exhibition at Bankwell June 4th

As part of an ongoing effort to support local artists, Bankwell is featuring the newest collection of paintings by local resident Ceal Swift themed “Door County, USA” through August. The community is invited to view the exhibit anytime during banking hours, which are 9-5 weekdays and 9-noon Saturdays at the 208 Elm Street branch. The public is also invited to attend an opening reception for the artist on Thursday, June 4th, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Ceal is locally known as the former greeter of Gate’s, the Forest Street restaurant that her husband, Jeb, had operated for 36 years prior to their recent retirement. Ceal Swift has recently “entered a new journey” in life, creating acrylic paintings of landscapes and dog portraits.

Did You Hear … ?

A building permit application has been filed for a new, 8,600-square-foot home planned for 386 Weed St.—part of a large-scale project for a combined 7-acre parcel that had drawn some criticism from neighbors and originally included a 15,000-square-foot manmade pond that since has been withdrawn from the plan. The new home will include 40 rooms and will cost about $2.4 million to build, according to a building permit application filed May 15. The contractor on the project is Westport-based Coastal Construction and architect is Christian Rae Studio LLC of Easton. ***

Animal Control officers fined a Weed Street woman $90 for allowing her dog to roam after they saw her let a golden retriever off leash at Irwin Park at about 12:19 p.m. on May 22. The officers were in an unmarked car and watched the woman waiting for them to leave, which they did and then looped around to the far side of the park where they assessed the ticket for allowing a dog to roam (which now includes an additional $46 fine).

Letter: ‘Thank You’ to Community from New Canaan Society for the Arts

The New Canaan Society for the Arts would like to thank our community for its generous support of the successful Spring Gala, Monaco Grand Prix, held on May 16, 2015. The gala, featuring the exhibition Va Va Vroom, Art of the Vehicle, raised $33,000 which will be used to operate the Carriage Barn Arts Center and to provide exhibitions and programming for the public. Guests were greeted with champagne and savory hors d’oeuvres while serenaded by the sultry voice of Marie Michele, the lead singer for French jazz quintet, Oh La La. We would like to thank our attendees, members, donors and sponsors for their generous contributions. The Monaco Co-Chairs Karla Rimmer and Serena Gillespie would like to sincerely thank the event’s committee chairs Catharine Sturgess, Amy Reid and Laura McDaniel for their talent and energy to organize a successful and fun evening.