New Canaan Woman Launches ‘Grounded Meditation’ on Grove Street

New Canaan’s Diane Nickelberg Barnett, a career real estate attorney who established her own practice in Queens, N.Y. 20 years ago, came to find meditation and yoga because her work was highly stressful and she sought balance. She started teaching meditation and yoga 10 years ago, in New York City, at RBS in Stamford and through private lessons. Then one year ago, Nickelberg Barnett thought about starting her own permanent meditation business near home, and began looking for a location. She found the perfect one. “This is for anyone who has a stressful life,” Nickelberg Barnett said on a recent morning from Grounded Meditation, a serene space located in “the tower” at Pryority Wellness, a holistic wellness center at 45 Grove St.

Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan Fire Department and NCPD Animal Control officials at 10:51 a.m. Saturday responded to a report of a dog who’d wandered into a storm drain in the area of Country Club and Lambert Roads. They arrived to discover that a young Newfoundland had crawled back out, to reunite with its owner. ***

The Building Department on April 20 received an application from the 136 Main St. to do some $50,000 of interior renovations at the former Barolo space, slated to open this spring as Spiga Café, an Italian restaurant. Work in the 4,100-square-foot space includes installation of a new bar and equipment, pizza oven and lighting.

Did You Hear … ?

Boricua Soul Trailer
 

1996 New Canaan High School graduate Toriano Fredericks is about halfway to his $15,000 goal in an online fundraising campaign in support of his vision for a food truck in the Durham area of North Carolina that features “bold flavors mixing Southern Soul, Caribbean Flair and Euro-African Roots.” Tori is a fellow Parade Hill Road native and we absolutely wish him the very best of luck in his venture. His “Boricua Food Truck” (nicknamed the “The Soul Patrol,” you can “like” his business here on Facebook) is named “from the Taíno name for Puerto Rico, Boriquen, Boricuas were the natives who lived in what is known today as Puerto Rico,” the business’s website says. “Puerto Rican Boricua means ‘Brave and noble lord.’ Borinquen means ‘Land of the brave and noble lords.’ ” Check out the video above for more of Toriano’s story, and click here for information on how to back his venture through Kickstarter. Good luck, Tori! ***

Firefighters at 7:17 p.m. last Thursday responded to a report of a fire at the Playhouse on Elm Street after a smoke detector in the lobby was triggered.

‘VIP First Look’ at Halo Studios on Grove Street [SLIDESHOW]

Halo Studios LLC on Thursday evening hosted a “VIP First Look” event at its new health and wellness hub on Grove Street, attended by dozens of professionals across a wide spectrum of health-related fields, local community and business leaders, media members, prospective clients and more. With its mission of improving the collective health of greater New Canaan, Halo features open studios, suites and kiosks occupied by permanent as well as “fractional” tenants that share space (scroll through photo gallery above to meet some in each category). Encouraging socialization as well as support to pursue a healthier lifestyle, Halo offers services on an á la carte basis including a boutique fitness center, personal training, free weights and locker rooms and experts in yoga, Pilates, massage, nutrition, physical therapy. Standing near the organic café and water fountain that greet visitors entering Halo from the covered parking area at the Racquet Club building, owner Peter Lane of NCLC said “the great thing as you look around is that it’s really the wellness experts that are going to occupy the studios.”

“That’s where it’s very impressive,” Lane said. “Their businesses are all going to be here in collaboration with each other and all in the name of wellness, and that to me is powerful.