Around Town

‘Holiday Stroll’ Coming Friday and Saturday [Q&A]

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This year’s Holiday Stroll kicks off at about 5 p.m. Friday and rolls into Saturday, all day. (Note that The Glass House Design Store will be open with a 10% off sale from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, with Prosecco served during a special presentation at 4 p.m. by store manager and buyer Dominica P. Baharian.)

We put some questions to Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the popular event. 

Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: The 2024 Holiday Stroll is set for this Friday and Saturday. Before we get into the details, please give our readers an overview. What is the Stroll and what makes it so popular?

Business

Attention Local Businesses: Registration Open for NCHS ‘Senior Internship Program’

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Registration is open through Nov. 1 for local businesses and organizations seeking to participate in one of New Canaan’s most popular programs for high school seniors. Some 98% of New Canaan High School’s 324 seniors are expected to participate in the internship program that runs for the last three-and-a-half weeks of the academic year. The unpaid Senior Internship Program will see participating NCHS seniors earn .25 school credits for working 25 hours per week—typically between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.—from May 20 to June 13, 2025, organizers say. “This brings a wonderful opportunity not only for our students but also the hosts,” Senior Internship Coordinator Kelly Delmazio told NewCanaanite.com.

Business

‘A Great Addition to Our Town’: Connecticut Breast Imaging Center Opens on Vitti Street

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. A new location for breast imaging opened in town last month. 

Connecticut Breast Imaging – which has several locations across the state – has expanded into New Canaan with a new location on Vitti Street. 

The new imaging center opened on June 2 and one week later, held an open house fundraiser for a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve survival rates and quality of life for those impacted by breast cancer through better prevention, early detection, treatment and cure. “Our June 9 Open House Fundraiser was a huge success,” said Shawn Barto, administrative manager of Breast Imaging Services. “We were able to donate $2,500 to the Breast Cancer Alliance.”

The new center provides services such as mammography, breast ultrasound and breast biopsies. 

“We also offer same day appointments as well as same day reads by our highly regarded breast imagers,” Barto said. 

The center is “a great addition to our town,” Executive Director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, Laura Budd said. 

“We were very lucky that the ownership group decided to expand into New Canaan,” she said. Before the new center opened, many residents were forced to travel far distances for checkups, officials say.

News

Sidewalk Sale Draws Bargain-Hunters Downtown [PHOTOS]

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Scores of bargain-hunters and local business supporters descended on downtown New Canaan on Saturday for the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Sidewalk Sale & Village Fair. Kids, families and grownups moved through pedestrian-only sections of Elm, Main and Forest Streets under comfortably warm, overcast skies during the popular sale, which runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to New Canaan’s local brick-and-mortar stores and nonprofit organizations such as New Canaan Unplugged, Fire Company No. 1, League of Women Voters (which registered 13 new voters), and the Democratic and Republican Town Committees, pop-up vendors sold a wide array of clothes, home goods, crafts and other items.

“We had a very smooth setup,” Chamber Executive Director Laura Budd told NewCanaanite.com. “All the stores and organizations got here early and the shoppers followed right after. We’re really thankful for the weather — the one thing we can’t control — because I think people will stay longer and enjoy the day in town.”

Budd specifically thanked the town Department of Public Works crew “who do such an amazing job with the setup and cleanup.”

Business

‘Sidewalk Sale’ Set for Saturday, July 20 [Q&A]

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One of the community’s most anticipated summer traditions—the annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale downtown—is coming Saturday, July 20. We put some questions to Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, ahead of the big sale. 

Here’s our exchange. ***

What are some of the highlights of this year’s Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, July 20? The event is special because it reflects a full community effort. Along with great deals from amazing retailers you can check in with some of our favorite non-profits, hear music from local bands, enjoy food from many of our restaurants and cafes and the YMCA will have its amazing Family Entertainment Zone at the Elm/Main intersection. 

What happens on Friday, the day before the official Sidewalk Sale?