Business

PHOTOS: New Canaan Holiday Stroll

By |

Scores of New Canaanites made their way to the village center Friday evening for what many called the very best Holiday Stroll they’d ever experienced. Shops stayed open late for the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce-organized event, offering bites to eat and something to drink as locals flooded a pedestrian-only Elm Street, taking in special deals, gingerbread houses in the windows, stage performances at the Pop Up Park area at South Avenue and a Kiwanis Club of New Canaan fire pit where kids munched on s’mores. Here’s a full list of Holiday Stroll events and offerings.

Business

Chamber: Community Support Needed To Fund Holiday Lights in Trees Downtown

By |

Business officials are calling for residents to help support a cherished holiday tradition in downtown New Canaan. The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce oversees the installation of white lights in trees downtown, and is in the process of switching over to a more environmentally friendly bulb. Though the light emitting diodes or “LED” bulbs last longer and use less electricity than regular bulbs, they’re more expensive upfront—an expense that, together with the costs of installation (150 hours of manpower), comes to some $21,000 per year, according to Tucker Murphy, the chamber’s executive director. “We used to tap the merchants for the funding, and it’s a significant expenditure every year,” Murphy said. “We want to let the general community know that if it’s something everybody helped with, it doesn’t always have to be on the backs of the merchants.”

Those wiling to help fund the lights can make a tax-deductible donation to the New Canaan Chamber Charitable Foundation, mailed to the chamber at 91 Elm Street, and online donations can be made here.