New Canaan Woman Opens ‘Funky Monkey’ Children’s Games, Toys and Clothing Shop on South Avenue

A New Canaan woman who recently moved to town has opened a children’s games, toys, clothing and accessories shop on South Avenue, in the space known to generations of locals as the Sweet Shoppe. Amanda Cui said she visited New Canaan in November on a friend’s recommendation and moved to town earlier this month with her family, including her 2- and 7-year-old daughters. “I saw the stores and the neighborhoods and I liked it,” Cui said on a recent afternoon, standing between two kids’ stations—one for creating model ice cream sundaes, another for lip gloss—at the front of her colorful, eclectic shop. Funky Monkey opened Friday. “I saw that they don’t have this stuff.

Coming Sunday Oct. 25: New Canaan Chamber of Commerce 34th Annual Halloween Parade

The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce will put on its 34th annual Halloween Parade on Sunday, Oct. 25. The event kicks off at noon with families’ gathering in the Park Street parking lot to receive goodie bags (while supplies last!) with a 1 p.m. Parade kick off lead by Old Faithful, rain or shine. The “Party” at the Park Street lot will include fun for all. The School of Rock will serenade parade-goers with Halloween tunes such as the “Monster Mash,” “Werewolves of London” and “Ghostbusters” while Toddlertime Nursery School will host the Great Scirico, who will be creating balloon animals.

Biz on Biz: Mackenzie’s Enjoys Eating At Ching’s Table

For this installment of Biz on Biz—a chance for local business owners and workers to tell us about a favorite product or service from a fellow merchant—we caught up with South Avenue mainstay Mackenzie’s. When we decided to to take a look inside the newspaper, candy, greeting card, and office supply store, we spoke with owner, Jim Berry, to find out about his favorite places in New Canaan. Immediately Berry responded telling the New Canaanite that he liked all of the restaurants in New Canaan. “Well I like the restaurants,” Berry said. “They are all very good.”

Although Berry likes all of the restuarants in town, Ching’s Table would have to be favorite.

Meet Tahoe, New ‘Golden Boy’ of Mackenzie’s

Phyllis Weinstein did not purposely name her 10-week-old golden retriever ‘Tahoe’ because the puppy reminds her of a well-loved, recently deceased dog that for years greeted customers at the family’s iconic New Canaan shop, Mackenzie’s on South Avenue. Yet the name ‘Tahoe’ is similar to ‘Tango’—who died April 16 at age seven, days after an unexpected diagnosis of an aggressive cancer—and Weinstein said she’s pleased with the similarity. In fact, Weinstein said on a recent afternoon, the similarities already seem to go well beyond their names. “The interesting thing is that my dog Tango used to love to pick up a huge stick and carry it through the Mianus River Park [in Stamford], nobody could believe it,” she recalled. “So now we have this puppy just three days in the backyard, and he was turned away from me doing something, and when he turned back he has this huge branch and he’s walking through the yard.

Did You Hear … ?

To help promote the 2015 Books, Blues, and BBQ party to benefit the New Canaan Library, the event’s committee members are encouraging residents to post on the library’s Facebook page photos of themselves wearing a favorite cowboy hat. “Over the years, cowboy attire has become associated with this important fundraising event,” Holly Parmelee, committee co-chairperson, said in a press release. “It is common that party-goers come decked out in cowboy hats and boots. So we thought it would be fun to encourage community members to show their support for the library and the event by posting a photo of themselves wearing their favorite cowboy hat.” See the gallery above for some familiar faces around town that are already participating. ***

Some disturbing news here: We’re hearing that some residents of Spring Water Lane last Wednesday discovered ‘#WhiteLivesMatter’ flyers, in Zip-loc bags and weighed down with rocks, on top of their mailboxes.