Iconic actor, author and advocate Michael J. Fox launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 after publicly disclosing his 1991 diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Since then, the Foundation has been leading the charge on finding a cure for PD and accelerating the development of improved therapies for the 6 million people worldwide living with PD today. New Canaan Library welcomes two key leaders from the Foundation, Fayga Brisman Taylor and Lynn Hagerbrant, who will speak about the renaissance taking place in Parkinson’s research and therapeutic development today, including breakthroughs through the landmark MJFF-sponsored Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). This event is available both in-person and via zoom. Those who would like to attend virtually should indicate that preference in the “notes” section of the registration form.
National planning expert Jeff Speck has spent his career studying what makes cities thrive and has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability. From economists, epidemiologists, and environmentalists to preservationists, planners, and parents, all agree that walkable communities are better in just about every way. Speck explains why walking is useful, particularly regarding land-use, zoning, transit, and parking, and then focuses on how, by sharing examples of places where walking is safe, comfortable, and interesting.
Award-winning photographer Emily Kelting presents an intimate view of the “most photogenic country in the world,” with photographs of the beautiful landscape and humanity that is often missed by tourists. Through the lens of a camera, Kelting takes us through her travels to Myanmar in January 2020, the heartbreaking military coup in February 2021, and the joy of the relationships she forged during her visit. Audience members will learn about Kelting’s activism through art, and the importance of friendship that spans continents. Emily Kelting is an artist, landscape designer, writer and avid ice skater who has presented her many talents in venues around Connecticut. She is a proud exhibiting member of the Rowayton Arts Center, Carriage Barn Art Center, owner of her landscape company GreatScapes, and founder of Ice Skating for Everyone.
New Canaan Library’s widely anticipated green is now open to the public, officials say. Patrons of New Canaan Library can now approach and enter the new building from the corner of Main and Cherry Streets, and the green itself connects the campus to the downtown in a new way, said Vice President of Operations Cheryl Capitani. “We’re really excited about the green being open,” Capitani told NewCanaanite.com. “It’s a step that really, for a lot of us, makes us feel part of downtown in a way that we haven’t felt before. So that connection is exciting for us.
The celebrated new New Canaan Library is seeing high use and traffic from residents of all ages, availing themselves of features such as quiet work spaces, programming, café, reading areas, rooftop terrace, business center, MakerLab, garden, community events and computer stations. With the creation of the green overlooking Main and Cherry Streets, a range of outdoor areas will soon join that list. Yet one of the most-used features of the new library has been its plentiful—and always booked-out—meeting rooms.
“It’s been overwhelming,” CEO Capital Campaign Major Gifts & Endowment Ellen Crovatto told NewCanaanite.com Monday morning on the library’s main floor, as patrons moved through the nearby stacks. “The response has been great and people are using the rooms at a very, very high rate.”
The library has had 7,000 room bookings in the new building since it opened in February. The meeting rooms—five smaller (four to eight people) in a row on the second floor, with a series of larger conference rooms nearby—are “in demand constantly,” Crovatto said.
