Business

Preview: 50th Annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale

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It’s been a tradition for many New Canaanites over the past half-a-century, and this year’s New Canaan Village Fair and Sidewalk Sale is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet. Running 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, July 18, the event run by the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored this year by William Raveis, is an installment that organizers say will have all generations talking. “It’s the 50th year of the event, and what we always have appreciated is that during that time it’s always been called the Village Fair and Sidewalk Sale, because it is a fair as well—entertainment for all shapes and sizes,” Laura Budd, marketing associate for the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, told NewCanaanite.com. “That’s something that differentiates New Canaan’s event from other surrounding towns.” “We have over 115 confirmed vendors for the day. There’s no bad seat in the house.

Biz on Biz

Biz on Biz: Design Solutions Loves Gingerbitz; New Canaan Olive Oil Enjoys Pennyweights and Francos Wine Merchants

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For this installment of Biz on Biz, we caught up with two New Canaan businesses, Design Solutions and New Canaan Olive Oil. When we peeked our heads in Design Solutions we spoke with the owner, Pauline Dora and asked her about her favorite businesses in town. Pauline immediately commented that she loved all of the local businesses in New Canaan, but her favorite meal would have to be from Gingerbitz, the bakery across the street from her store on Elm Street. “Gingerbitz, they have great food,” Pauline said. When asked what she liked at the bakery Pauline told the New Canaanite that the salad was her favorite.

Caren Forbes

New Canaan’s First Annual ‘Pink Stroll’

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On Thursday October 9th over fifteen New Canaan stores will be hosting an inaugural “Pink Stroll.” The Stroll is designed as a way to celebrate Breast Cancer Survivors and raise awareness as well as funds for critical breast cancer services for residents of Connecticut and research. The event is a joint effort between The Chamber of Commerce, local merchants and Susan G. Komen Connecticut. The New Canaan Chamber partnered with Komen Connecticut as all funds donated support research and local breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs for women in Connecticut. Seventy-five percent of the money donated to Komen Connecticut goes to fund critical breast cancer services in Connecticut. The remaining 25 percent goes to fund national research programs. This is especially important as Connecticut has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the United States, with New Canaan being one of the top twenty towns in the state with the highest rates breast cancer.

Business

Here are 28 Current New Canaan Chamber Member Businesses That Also Belonged in Back in ’82

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Here’s a short list of sweeping economic crises that have affected, directly or indirectly, every U.S. business since 1982: Black Monday, savings and loan crisis, subprime mortgage crisis and Great Recession. Locally, success in business involves nimbleness and acumen, and far more than that—interpersonal skills, involvement, diligence and imagination. Recently, the head of an organization that’s central for many local businesses, the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, came by chance across a list of 28 current members that also were members back in 1982. “They’ve supported the chamber, supported the town and been here for a long, long time,” Executive Director Tucker Murphy said. “We want to congratulate them on that.”

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order (not every single business has been a continuous member of the chamber, though many—including Bob’s Sports, Karl Chevrolet, Walter Stewart’s and Stewart’s Spirits—have been):

Ann Taylor
Baskin Robbins
Bob’s Sports
Brotherhood & Higley
Congregational Church
Family Britches
Franco’s Wine
Healthfare
Hersam Acorn- New Canaan Advertiser
Hoyt Funeral Home
Hutchinson Tree Company

Karl Chevrolet
League of Women Voters
Merrill Lynch
New Canaan Board of Realtors
New Canaan Community Nursery School
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Library
New Canaan Nature Center
Pennyweights
Roger Sherman Inn
Silvermine Arts Guild
Stewart’s Spirits
Taylor’s Luggage
Visiting Nurse Association of New Canaan
Walter Stewart’s
Waveny Care Center
Whitney Shop

Ties to the local chamber run very deep for businesses such as Walter Stewart’s, recently recognized as Business of the Year.

Biz on Biz

New Canaan Biz on Biz: Pennyweights on The Candy Scoop

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[Editor’s Note: In this feature, we’re asking people who own a New Canaan business or work in town about personal favorites from other businesses here—products, services, decor, music, anything.]

By Michael Dinan

Though Kelly Sigg has owned Elm Street mainstay Pennyweights with husband Geoff for 14 years, it wasn’t until three months ago that a business arrived in town to capture both her heart and sweet tooth. “I love the salted caramel at The Candy Scoop,” Sigg told NewCanaanite.com when asked about her local favorites for “Biz on Biz.” “The mixture of the salt with the sweetness, it’s delicious,” she said. Sigg isn’t alone in that opinion. Megan Palladino, a 2009 New Canaan High School graduate and town resident who owns The Candy Scoop with big sister Lauren, said the shop’s “Lake Champlain Sea Salt Caramels” became so popular so quickly that they sold out.