Dudley Road Sunset ~ Photo by Catherine Seidenberg

We’re right in the deep heart of summer, and it’s time for the Essex County Fair! All of our local farms are overflowing with abundant flowers and produce, farmer’s markets are bustling, Ballard Park is alive with music on Thursday evenings, the Depot Theatre productions are in full swing, and all of our local venues are alive and filling the summer nights with music, games, art and fun ways to socialize. That’s summer in Westport: culturally vibrant, bountiful and festive!

SHOUT-OUTS AND REMINDERS:

~ Mark your calendars! Triple Green Jade Farm graces us with a bi-weekly Pop-Up Market in Ballard Park! stop by and stock up on Wednesday, July 29, August 12, August 26, September 9 and September 23, from 9am - 1pm!

-Don’t forget! CCE offers Range of Motion Classes every Wednesday from 2-3 pm at the Essex County Youth and Agriculture Building Conference Room! (6 Fairgrounds Way).Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in strength and endurance exercises, and stretching, in a group class: it makes a huge positive difference in your physical and mental health! Just show up (no need to pre-register). Questions? email Samantha, or call 518-962-4810 x 4401.

~ You can ALWAYS submit your business information to our Business Directory! Let your future clients find you HERE!

~And on that note, please submit your events to the town calendar so the rest of the community can find you too!

DON’T MISS THE ESSEX COUNTY FAIR, JULY 29-AUG 2!

Get fired up for the 177th Essex County Fair! Since 1848 the Essex County Fair has been treating Westport and Essex County to a late summer bonanza of thrilling rides, entertainment, agricultural displays and contests, local artisans, vendors, and so much more. This is shaping up to be a banner year, with Jamie Lee Thurston performing on Friday, July 31! Get your tickets!

Help make the historic grandstand accessible to everyone! Underway this year is the Grandstand Accessibility Improvement Project, which will make the grandstand wheelchair accessible in time for July 29th of this year. The Essex County Agricultural Society, a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit, is inviting the community to help match their Cloudsplitter Foundation Challenge Grant and raise $5,000 in local donations. All donations are tax-deductible. Support accessibility here!

VOLUNTEER FOR THE ESSEX COUNTY FAIR!

The fair needs community volunteers this year to keep the festival running smoothly, and to welcome visitors to Westport!

Whether you can give a few hours or several shifts, you are welcome to join the team and add to the fun! As a thank-you, volunteers who work at least a 4 hour shift will receive a meal voucher to use at any participating food vendor. To volunteer, please call (518)962-8650 or send us an email.

GET READY FOR THE WESTPORT-WADHAMS TOWN WIDE YARD SALE,SAT AUGUST 8! REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AUG 2!

It's coming right up! Time to clean out all of those spaces and sell your stuff! And fill it back up with new stuff!

Free Stuff Sunday is the next day, when all items that didn't sell will be left curbside, or in a designated area by participating households.

Please respect sellers by abiding by parking rules, and only visiting during event hours.

SIGN UP BY AUGUST 2!

Stay tuned for an online map of selling locations, and a printed map will be available at Creature Comforts, K&D Deli, the Bessboro Shop and various other locations to be announced.

WESTPORT FEDERATED CHURCH HOSTS CHICKEN BBQ ON JULY 16TH

NEW MAINSTAGE SHOW OPENS AT THE DEPOT THEATRE JULY 23,AND THE DARK NIGHT SERIES CONTINUES!

Come enjoy this “Sharp, funny and unexpectedly tender comedy”, from July 23 -August 9! This play “invites us to reflect on how communities respond when certainty cracks. It’s funny, thoughtful, deeply human, offering humor not as an escape, but as illumination”. Get your tickets!

Next weekend, the remarkable young artists of the Depot Theatre Academy return to the Main Stage with RIDE THE CYCLONE: High School Edition.

Six teenagers. One fateful roller coaster ride. A story that’s funny, poignant, unexpected, and filled with unforgettable music.

Presented in concert as part of the Depot Theatre’s Dark Nights Series, this special event showcases the next generation of theatre artists in one of today’s most talked-about contemporary musicals.

Friday, July 17 & Saturday, July 18, 7:00 PM. Depot Theatre, Westport, NY

Two performances only. Reserve your seats today!

The Depot Theatre Dark Nights Series is sponsored by Chazy & Westport Communications.

LEARN SOMETHING EXCITING AT THE WESTPORT LIBRARY!

WEEKLY

Mondays, 7pm: Film Festival! Get cozy in a library sofa and take in a flick with friends and neighbors! Suggested $5 donation, $10 for families

Tuesdays 1-3pm: Craft Group meeting

Thursdays 4-6pm: Writer’s Group meeting

SPECIAL EVENTS

Wednesday July 22, 7-8pm: Jennifer Moore and Friends Present “a Mostly American Music Sampler”.

Wednesday, August 12, 7pm: “Cider in 18th Century America”, presented by early American scholar and historian Mark Turdo.

Tuesday August 18, 6:30-8:30pm: “When in the Course of Human Events - the American Revolution at 250” Lecture by Connor Williams.

DON’T MISS ANYTHING AT THE MILL THIS SUMMER!

“George”. Image courtesy of the Mill ADK.

The Mill continues to cut all the edges with music acts, a piano series, a yoga series, and a completely refreshed artistic palette this season. You simply can’t miss spending as many summer evenings as possible here, enjoying their excellent vegetarian fare in their new outdoor seating, or indoors in their stunning and palatial music venue and speakeasy.Peruse their website for full details of all events and tickets! The Knock is open 5-9 Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Are you or a friend planning a trip to Westport? Check out the Apartments at the Mill! Three lovingly and brilliantly restored and appointed quarters await you.

LEARN ABOUT RACHEL CARSON’S LIFE AND LEGACY AT SNOWFORT, SUN JULY 19!

Essex native Zak Breckenridge. Image courtesy of Snowfort Books

MONTHLY EVENTS

• Fiction Book Club ~ Sunday, Aug 9, 4pm. Featuring “Whistler” by Ann Patchett.

  SPECIAL EVENTS

• Rachel Carson: Writer, Scientist, Philosopher ~ Sunday, July 19, 4pm. Talk by Essex local scholar Zak Brekenridge.

We are YOUR Alliance! Follow our Website, Facebook Page and Instagram. Follow all the happenings on the Calendar. Have a friend or neighbor who would like to know what’s going on in town? Don’t forget to subscribe and forward this email!

-Newsletter Editor: Catherine Seidenberg