Caffeine and Carburetors

Parks & Rec Unanimously Approves Oct. 17 ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ at Waveny

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After all four installments of a popular antique and specialty car show were canceled one year ago due to the pandemic, parks officials on Wednesday night approved ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ for Oct. 17 at Waveny. It’s founder and organizer, New Canaan resident Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets, “always does such an amazing job, and all the events that he has had in the past have been pretty problem-free,” Parks & Recreation Commissioner Laura Costigan said during the appointed body’s regular meeting, held via videoconference. “And I can’t think better way keep jumpstarting things after the pandemic than approving” the event, she said. The Commission voted 11-0 to approve it. 

Zumbach in proposing the event—and also noting that he hoped in the future for a possible Sept.

Francesca Segalas

After Lengthy Discussion, Parks & Rec Votes 8-1 To Have Kiwanis Sign Repainted

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Parks officials last week voted 8-1 to repaint the sign at the entrance of Kiwanis Park on Old Norwalk Road. The approximately 20-year-old sign—the first in what has become New Canaan’s standard for public parks, brown with white lettering—is “gorgeous” though also “old and faded and dilapidated,” Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Rona Siegel said during the appointed body’s regular meeting, held May 12 via videoconference. Recreation Director Steve Benko and Public Works Director Tiger Mann proposed retaining the brown post and frame of the sign while changing its inset to the same blue as a sign by Kiwanis Park’s swimming hole, and going over its lettering with white reflective paint. Commissioner Francesca Segalas—whose house is located 433 feet from the entrance to Kiwanis, according to Google Maps—led a 23-minute discussion about the sign. 

She opposed the change. “I know that every one of our park signs are brown with white writing and the Kiwanis sign, when we talked about it popping, we talked about just reflective white paint going where the writing is,” Segalas said.

Ed Libonati

New Location in Waveny Approved for Summer Theatre of New Canaan’s 2021 Season

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Parks officials on Wednesday approved a new location in Waveny for the Summer Theatre of New Canaan’s 2021 season. The organization’s 18th outdoor season, featuring a production of “Honky Tonk Angels,” will run near the southwest corner of Waveny’s main athletic fields, north of the main road through the park, following a unanimous vote by the Parks & Recreation at its regular meeting. 

Summer Theatre Executive Producer Ed Libonati said the area near a landmark pine tree opposite the parking lot for the paddle tennis courts and dog run turned out to be “an exceptionally great location for us.”

“We have an abridged season this year, a shorter one than normal,” Libonati told the Commission during its meeting, held via videoconference. “I was not sure how everything was going to turn out but it has turned out beautiful. We anticipate with the majority of the people being vaccinated that the protocol and the comfort level the health protocols and comfort level should go very well with the audiences. Obviously we have taken extreme care with protocols with our staff and everyone in our organization will be vaccinated who works with the Summer Theatre.

Government

Rec Director: Record-High Sign-Ups for Spring Tennis Clinics

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Recreation officials say they’re seeing a record number of sign-ups for the town’s spring tennis clinics. About 125 adults and nearly 300 youth signed up for spring tennis lessons, Recreation Director Steve Benko told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission during their regular meeting April 14. “For the spring session, that’s a record for us,” Benko said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “The good news is that they are working on the Mead Park tennis courts and we are hoping that by the first week in May, the courts will be open,” he said. The comments came during a general update from Benko and just 18 months after he found himself defending the tennis programs in the  face of criticism from some that the clay courts at Mead were under-used.

Government

Parks Officials Recommend Waveny Athletic Fields for Summer Theatre of New Canaan 2021 Location

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Saying a proposed location near the walled garden won’t work, parks officials last week suggested Summer Theatre of New Canaan figure out a way to put on its 2021 performances on the main athletic fields. Members of the Parks & Recreation Commission voted 10-1 at their April 14 meeting to have town officials and a designee from the appointed body work with the organization to arrange for a stage, tents and audience seats to be located near the southwest corner of Waveny’s main athletic fields, north of the main road through the park. “I think that field is amazing,” Chair Rona Siegel said during the meeting, held via videoconference. The area is flat, with good access to parking and restroom facilities, she said. It also will be visible to those using the park and especially motorists entering from Lapham Road, she said.