March Newsletter 2024
Cole Island in March. Photo by Catherine Seidenberg
Want to be in the next newsletter? Send us an email at info@gowestportny.com
Happy March, Westport! Spring is very sneaky this year: she seems to have had a hand in almost every month of winter. Birdsong has continued to grace our mornings, and it grows louder and more varied with each rising sun. Our town is also getting ready to burst into growth! Just for starters, the Total Solar Eclipse is happening on April 8, and along with this three minute celestial miracle, we will witness the population of our towns expand beyond our imaginations, and fill with bustling activity: March is our time to make final preparations. In honor of Women's History Month, the Westport Library is hosting a lecture about Anne Hampton Northrup on March 19. Whitcomb's Garage in Whallonsburg is undergoing another exciting transformation, farmers are starting their seedlings, and as a brand new 501c3 nonprofit, the Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance is poised to create big changes in our town life: and we would love to have YOU jump in and join our efforts to create a flourishing and cohesive community!
Help Westport and Wadhams Thrive!
The new Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance is looking for your financial support to help cover the expenses of the three community-wide events:
Memorial Day Celebration (purchasing flags)
Independence Day Celebration (fireworks, parade, kids activities)
Winter Holiday Festival (lights, wreaths, activities)
When we come together to celebrate important holidays, it makes living here feel good.
Any amount, large or small, makes a powerful impact. Please join us in our mission to help our community thrive as a welcoming, positive environment. Your generosity will make a significant difference! Thank you.
Flowers Plus! Grows Big Plans
Westport is becoming more beautiful and liveable every day, thanks to the Flowers Plus! Committee, and volunteers like YOU! Here are some highlights for the coming season:
-Saturday April 6, 10AM, Westport Town Hall: The FP! Committee is sponsoring a Lilac pruning talk courtesy of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Don't know what to do with the gangly old Lilac Grandma planted? Master Gardener, Tricia Best will share tips and methods for pruning and reviving old lilacs!
-FP! Will be raffling a new, unfinished Lee Westport Chair to raise money for their efforts around town. Watch their Facebook page for details soon!
-FPs major project this year will be the planting of dwarf Lilac hedges in a couple locations on Main Street in Westport, with more planned for next year. The goal is to help establish a sense of place, provide some floral beauty (and scent!), and to remind trucks and vehicles that they have arrived in a small town and it's time to SLOW DOWN. They will also be offering an opportunity for families to donate a park bench with a memorial plaque in memory or appreciation of a friend or family member. Watch Facebook for more details soon!
-Volunteer and have fun! There will be opportunities to help tidy all of the gardens planted last year, so they are thriving and neat in time for Mother's Day and Memorial Day. Additional planters will grace the Wadhams Bridge this year, and they will purchase a watering cart to make it easier for volunteers. Watch Facebook for dates and times to volunteer!
Get Ready for the Total Eclipse
The Eclipse is in the news! No doubt everyone is seeing more coverage of the coming eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024, which is coming up fast!
The Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance (WWCA) is working on a calendar of activities planned in town that weekend and on Monday. Please stay tuned for more information! Our focus is to ensure a safe and pleasant experience for our residents and their guests.
Please give some thought to how you can prepare for the weekend, and especially for Monday the 8th. Inns and motels in the area are full; AirBnBs and other rentals are also totally booked. Family and friends will be filling the homes of Westport residents, so town will be busy in general. The wild card will be Monday, as no one knows how many people will arrive in town for the main event: we may have lots of visitors in our area! The map below from the www.greatamericaneclipse.com shows some estimates … please note the estimates for Plattsburgh! Check out the other sites as well for comprehensive Eclipse information.
Please consider the following in preparation for the eclipse on Monday:
- If you have appointments scheduled for that day, consider rescheduling as there could be considerable traffic, particularly in Plattsburgh and perhaps Elizabethtown since both are right on the center line of the Path of Totality.
- Gas up the car so you won’t get caught in a bind
- Stock up on necessary provisions; again, traffic to Plattsburgh and E’Town might be much busier than usual.
- If you don’t have to go anywhere on Monday, stay home and enjoy this once in a lifetime celestial show!
- BE SURE TO USE ECLIPSE GLASSES! Glasses are being sold at the Bessboro Shop (with all proceeds going back to the WWCA) and glasses may be available at the Wadhams and Westport Libraries.
Stay tuned for the calendar!
Also, if you have visitors in town and you are looking to keep them busy for a few hours over the weekend, there will probably be volunteer opportunities to help out with activities. If you want to volunteer your family, please reach out to the WWCA at info@gowestportny.com and we’ll put them to work!!
Prepare for Big Chairs!
Big news, and I mean BIG! The Westport Chair public art project is building a more Walkable Westport while adding to our town’s artful beauty, touching on our past, present, and future. These chairs will be placed throughout town from Spring to Fall for several years. Thanks to the dozens of neighbors who are contributing their art skills, excellent carpentry, funds, and ideas! There’s still time to add a couple more chairs to the 2024 trail, opening this May. Donate below and please send ideas my way! Ps: Regular sized chair on right for reference.
Federated Church Cooks up St Patrick's Day Breakfast
March 2nd
Join your neighbors on the morning of March 2nd for a Shamrock breakfast extravaganza at the Federated Church! and stay tuned for eclipse meals in April!
April 6th, 8AM-11AM breakfast buffet ,11AM-6PM Michigans and Chicken and Biscuits
April 8th, 11AM-6PM Michigans and Chicken and biscuits
Hear the Story of Anne Hamilton Northrup at the Westport Library March 19
Celebrate Women's History Month at the Westport Library Association with this ground breaking lecture by our own Connor Williams!
Depot Theatre Welcomes New Artistic Management Team
The Depot Theatre is pleased to announce the appointment of Beth Glover and Karen Lewis to provide artistic leadership as the Theatre's new artistic production management team! Find the details HERE !
Winter Wednesdays to Host Safe Banking for Seniors Presentation March 6
Come and join Winter Wednesdays at the Heritage House this coming Wednesday the 6th from 11-2 for this special presentation by Medara Sherman of Champlain National Bank. Enjoy great company, snacks and beverages while learning how to avoid financial scams for you and your loved ones.
Historical Society Organizational Meeting
March 11
Photo courtesy of the Westport Heritage House
If you love local history, don't miss this third meeting of the revived Westport Historical Society, Monday March 11, 6:30 PM at the Westport Heritage House. Questions? Contact Town Historian Phil Mero at philmero@westelcom.com or just show up!
Continue the Discussion! Next BVSD Board Meeting March 14
Join the next BVSD Board of Education meeting on Thursday, March 14, 6PM at the Lakeview Campus in Westport.
Celebrate the One Year Anniversary of the Mountain Dog Pub!
Wadhams Library Hosts Eclipse Lecture with Astronomer, March 13
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 7:00 p.m: Columbia University Astronomer Jacqueline van Gorkom will describe fun and safe ways to watch the eclipse and perhaps even explore some interesting things to look at if it turns out to be cloudy that day! She will review what a solar eclipse is, why total solar eclipses are a rare phenomena, and their role in some myths. Jacqueline van Gorkom is an astronomer who watched her first total eclipse in 2017. She studies galaxy evolution by observing them with radio telescopes. She has been teaching at Columbia University for more than 30 years. Free and open to the public.Questions: 518.962.8717 www.wadhamsfreelibrary.org FREE ECLIPSE GLASSES are available at the library
Bring Your Friends and Family to the Wadhams Library Benefit Brunch! Sunday April 7
Celebrate the New Iteration of Whitcomb's Garage on March 8!
We are very excited to announce that Whitcomb’s is evolving into a drop-in-hang-out space complete with living room and an expanded gallery. Come to co-work, relax, use the internet, have a meeting, or sip coffee/tea by the stove... buy your lunch at River and Rails Deli and bring it over. The Grange Manager’s office will now be located at Whitcomb’s.
On Friday, March 8 from 7-10pm, we’re celebrating this transformation with a BYOA party - Bring Your Own Art! Original or not. Weird or beautiful. Large or small. The important thing is that you love it and it has some meaning to you. We’ll create museum labels on the spot so we know who brought a picture and why. Called the “Living Room Project Exhibition”, it will be the first gallery show in our new space and it will run for 6 weeks. Yes, there will be drinks and even a special musical surprise!
This transformation is also an exciting step towards our larger goal of becoming a welcome center – or information hub – for both locals and visitors. We will offer a glimpse into our community for those passing through - directing them to local businesses and nearby hiking trails and giving them a flavor of local history.
For more information contact Laurie House, Whitcomb’s Arts Chair at whitcombsarts@thegrangehall.info
THE PARTY - March 8, 7-10pm. Drop your art off early if you have a large piece or can’t make the event. We’ll be open Wed – Fri (March 6, 7, 8) from 12 -5p for drop off. 1598 NYS 22 across from the Whallonsburg Grange.
WHITCOMB’S RE-OPENS: March 12. Hours will be Tues, Thurs, Fri from 10am – 3pm. (We’ll add Saturdays if we can pull together a rotating group of volunteers to keep the doors open.)
SPECIAL EVENTS COMING UP:
April 21 – “Holding Our Own: Embracing End of Life Issues”.
May through June – Multi-media gallery exhibit “This Will Be Fun: The Creativity and Art of Ted Cornell” Details coming soon.
We especially encourage community members to get in touch if they have an event or ongoing group they’d like to establish and lead at Whitcomb’s.
See you in the Living Room with your art!