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Did You Hear … ?

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For the first time ever, May Fair will open its rides to visitors on the Friday night of the weekend that the hugely popular event runs. “Friday Night Lights” will run from 5 to 9 p.m. on May 8—featuring just the rides, a performance stage and select food vendors Baskin-Robbins, Joe’s Pizza and Chicken Joe’s—and the full, cherished annual fair running about 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. the following day, said Richard DePatie, parish administrator at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. “We’ve been talking about it, off and on, for a number of years, and weather is a factor,” DePatie told NewCanaanite.com. He explained that in recent years, foul weather has caused organizers to hit pause on May Fair for periods of time on the selected Saturday, and that affects how much money can be raised (the fair benefits charities through the St.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Congratulations to New Canaan’s Mitch and Erin Hoffman on the birth Monday of twins Brody Merrill and Cole Francis Hoffman. See the slideshow above, where the newborns are pictured on their own as well as with big brother Maddox. Son of the New Canaan High School varsity baseball coach, Maddox autographed baseballs for his new siblings. ***

“Everybody asks me, ‘How do you sleep at night, chief?’ And I say, ‘Like a baby: I sleep for two hours, wake up crying, then sleep some more.’ ”—That’s what New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski told the Town Council on the subject of overtime spending, during the legislative body’s March 25 meeting. ***

Congratulations to the New Canaan High School Debate Team, which sent three pairs of students to Saturday’s state finals at Wilton High School, and senior co-captains Casey Manzella and Steven Singer won the state championship varsity division.

Around Town

‘Doing Good’: St. Mark’s Launches Accessible Outreach Program; Open Door Shelter Is First Beneficiary

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The funds that support St. Mark’s Episcopal Church’s outreach program long have come primarily from one of New Canaan’s iconic and most treasured community events: May Fair. The 500-plus volunteer effort to organize and operate May Fair is intense and weeks-long—so much so that many New Canaanites with typically demanding schedules are excluded from participating in the celebrated fundraiser, according to members of St. Mark’s Outreach Commission. And according to one commission member, Miki Porta, many perfectly wonderful volunteer opportunities—such as giving a weekend day to help build a house somewhere in the county—are equally demanding of scarce available time.

Around Town

Boy Scout Project Improves Access to Land Trust Parcel

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By Mark Peiser

A Boy Scout Eagle Project, completed in October, now provides improved access to the New Canaan Land Trust’s Colhoun Parcel. The project includes a safer entrance gate and a designated parking area, making it easier for members of the community to access the parcel. Gifted in 1974 by Dick and Didi Colhoun, the parcel is located on Davenport Ridge Road, just west of Skyview Lane, and is the New Canaan Land Trust’s third largest with 21 acres of undisturbed woodlands and meadows. Chris Schipper, president of the Land Trust, said, “The Colhoun Parcel is a key part of the Land Trust’s ‘Gateways of New Canaan’ Stewardship Program. At the crossroads of New Canaan and Stamford, Colhoun is a lead parcel for our Gateways program.

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Town Inks Lease with St. Mark’s for New Canaan Food Pantry Space

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Town officials on Tuesday approved New Canaan’s first-ever lease agreement with the longtime host of a local food pantry that increasingly is in demand. Under the agreement, New Canaan retroactive to Jan. 1 and through Dec. 31 will pay $1,200 per month to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, then $1,250 per month for the next calendar year.