Find the full schedule for Saturday December 6th here!

December is the last full breath of the year for 2025, and we are ready for lots of positive developments in 2026! Read on for all the news and happenings in the Alliance.

TALKING HONESTLY ABOUT THE HERITAGE HOUSE - FROM BOARD PRESIDENT, ALYSSA CARROLL

“Over the past few weeks, many of you have reached out with questions, concerns, and heartfelt stories about the Heritage House. I understand why this space means so much. It holds so many of our memories. Personally,it's the reason I studied film. I watched so many classics from the pews of the chapel. There have been concerts, gatherings, celebrations, and community milestones. It has been part of the rhythm of life here, and I feel that too.

Welcome to the brand new Community Newsletter! Westport has too much going on to squeeze into one newsletter, so we are now sending TWO : one at the beginning of the month that focuses on WWCA initiatives (town-wide projects and celebrations, new developments) and one on the 15th that highlights all other community activities (arts, culture, movies, business news, etc).

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, November invites us to pause, reflect, and give thanks: we’re grateful for the neighbors, volunteers, and local businesses who make our community vibrant year-round. This season reminds us how powerful connection can be — whether through lending a hand, sharing a meal, or supporting local initiatives that strengthen our shared home.

How long have you been serving as ED of the Essex Food  Hub? What  aspects of this role are you personally most passionate about?

 I've served as ED of Essex Food Hub since its founding in 2022. I came to the Hub—and the Adirondacks more than a decade ago—drawn by food and the farmers in this area. I am passionate about the tangible ways Essex Food Hub connects people with a sense of belonging and care through the food that our farmers thoughtfully grow and the delicious products that food entrepreneurs create from the harvest. I love the financial and logistical puzzles we solve daily to link growers and eaters. And there’s nothing like the smell of a cooler full of apples—it breeds contentment that grows as we send them off to new homes.

This year has been full of exciting changes for the Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance! Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to grow, celebrate new projects, and make our town even stronger.

It’s October! The shorter days are giving way to cold, clear nights filled with stars and Northern Lights. It’s time to bundle up in a sweater and join friends around a fire after a pristine day of hiking! We are truly blessed with an abundance of CATS trails to enjoy during leaf-peeping season: trails off the beaten track where one can easily find quiet and solitude.

Here we are, bathing in the clear light and cooler temperatures of September, after a very hot and sultry summer. This beautiful transitional time is always full of bittersweet beginnings and endings.

When and how did you arrive in Westport?

I moved to Westport in March of 2017, just before the growing season, to farm veggies and cut flowers.

Is Vagabond Blooms your first business?

Vagabond Blooms is my first personally owned business, yes! Aside from landscaping, painting, growing micros, edible flowers and cut flowers for friends and commercial, this seems like a true match for what I want to do.

The dog days of summer are here..and Westport is in the middle of a heat wave of activity and summer fun : not least of which is the 176th Essex County Fair on August 13-17! Check out their website for detailed schedules of each day. Everyone is excited about our 2nd Annual Town-Wide Yard Sale on August 9th from 9am-3pm, with the brand new Buy Nothing Sunday the next day : when items that don’t sell are offered for free at participating venues.

The Fourth of July is..tomorrow! And Westport’s celebration goes on all weekend, with fun events happening all over town and at our local businesses into the evening on both days. Want to be a part of the fun? Come volunteer for any amount of time! Go HERE to let us know if you are available.Stay cool and enjoy the celebration!Read about the weekend in the NEWS.

Welcome to July, Westport: the deepest, warmest, most magical and lazy part of summer, when we have the experiences we carry with us always with fondness and affection. Westport and Wadhams are ideal places to create such warm summer feelings, in residents and visitors alike: a calm day on Ballard Park or Lee Park Beach, listening to the waves wash in, watching an otter go for a morning swim, listening to the sounds of diners enjoying fine meals and drinks at the lakeside Portside Restaurant or the Westport Yacht Club. Perhaps you can bring your breakfast from Dogwood Bread Company to Ballard Park and settle in at one of the many picnic tables or Westport chairs, with your exquisite coffee from JAMBS Coffee Shop, or the Inn in Westport. Enjoy an evening of fine and convivial dining (before or after a Depot Theatre Production!) right in town at the Mountain Dog Tavern, Winton’s Tavern, or the Mill ADK, where you can also experience cutting-edge cuisine, cocktails, and world-class music and art. The options are varied and endless!

Ah, summer!! June has arrived, Westport! We are looking forward to a little more sun to sweeten all of the rain and cool temps of May. This is the time that the warm season really gets rolling, with full schedules at all the town businesses, increased hours, and days full of local music, great food, lectures, workshops and more. Stay up-to-date on all the happenings by regularly checking the WWCA Town Calendar, and if you have events you would like the public to attend, please enter them HERE ! If you have any trouble or questions about the process, email gowestportny@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to help.

Hello again Westport! As it turns out, there’s so much going on in this spring, that one newsletter can’t carry it all: so please read on for some vital additions to the schedule!

Happy May, Westport! the blooming month is finally here in all of its colorful glory, and along with it, a month of endless activity and rebirth. So let’s get right down to it. We’ve decided to retire the “Community Events Quick List” for now, because there’s nothing ‘quick’ about it! The town calendar is robust and has all the events listed that we usually mention. Please enter your events in our calendar HERE to be a part of the show! If you have any trouble or questions about the process, email gowestportny@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to help.

THE RUNDOWN: May in Westport is mind-bogglingly, and delightfully full of events! Here’s a few: National Walking Month brings various organized walks all over town (in the calendar, prefaced by WALKING MEETUP) the 2nd Annual Westport Chair Trail Opening Night Stroll is on May 9th, the Snowfort Books Grand opening is on May 17th, the Westport Federated Church is hosting its first Dinners of the season on May 9 and May 15, the CATS Grand Hike is May 10, Flowers Plus!, in partnership with the Westport Federated Church, is hosting a fundraising Spaghetti Dinner for the inaugural town bench in honor of Westport resident Artie Dodge on May 9th, and the annual Memorial Day Celebration in honor of our Veterans is taking place on Monday, May 26, 9am, at the Ballard Park Veterans Memorial Garden. May 23d is the deadline to register for the venerable Tanneberger Tournament at Westport Golf, and if you are itching to hear the tunes of Meadowmount magic, Mountain Lake PBS is airing Meadowmount music previews every Monday till may 18th.

When did you start Juniper Hill Farm, and what are your goals?

Juniper Hill was started in 2007. Hard to believe this will be our 18th season. Our main goals are to feed as many people ADK -grown vegetables as want to eat them. We currently do 9 farmers markets, on farm CSA Pickup, online ordering, and a vast network of wholesale accounts, restaurants, other farms, all throughout New England. We started with 1 acre and have grown the farm to over 100 acres in organic management.  We focus on about 4 acres of greenhouse production with tomatoes and greens being some of our most popular items during the season. We sell and grow 12 months a year with a large cold storage facility that allows us to hold carrots, cabbage, radish, potatoes, celeriac, parsnips, beets into May. Our greenhouses are planted to spinach and salad mix for winter harvest. Even in the -20 temps we got this year the right varieties of spinach are hanging in there. 

Photos courtesy of Haas Stone and Steel

Tucked away on the edge of Westport is Haas Stone and Steel, a group of skilled craftsmen who are reviving the traditional trade of fine heritage- quality metal and stone work. This quote from their blog captures their philosophy and practice:

“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, 'See! This our fathers did for us.” ~ John Ruskin

Spring is sneaking in upon us. Or is it rushing? Every moment, every hour and day are full of shifts and changes: dry snow wet snow no snow and ice. The Canada Geese overwintered on Lake Champlain and sing a wall of sound in the evenings. Now Robins and other songbirds are joining in the chorus during the daytime. Fickle March brings the yearly reminder to pay attention: to each shifting moment, each opportunity to revel in what is before us.

In Westport, the lovingly maintained ice skating rink (thank you Scott and Deb and team!) will thaw, and the sap will start to run (yay, maple syrup!) in the sugar bushes. We get to enjoy a surprise bunch of artistic performances this month, from the staged play reading at the Heritage House on March 9th to the rescheduled (thank you, blizzard!) Ricochet Duo at the Hand House on March 8 and 9, regular and impromptu performances at the Mill on Fridays and Saturdays, and a simply stunning schedule of lyceums, movies, live music and exhibitions at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall and Whitcomb’s Arts. And don’t forget the regular Monday night movies at the Library, which is such a fun and companionable event!

Chazy & Westport Communications: A Legacy of Connection and Innovation

Since our founding in 1905 as a small independent telephone provider in rural northern New York, Chazy & Westport Communications has been dedicated to connecting communities and fostering local prosperity. In 1952, Gerald R. Forcier expanded our vision by acquiring key regional telephone companies. By 1959, the merger of these companies formed Chazy & Westport Telephone Corporation, setting us on a course to continually innovate—from pioneering digital switching to introducing cutting-edge fiber optic technology.

Transforming Rural Communities

We’ve played a pivotal role in turning towns like Westport, Wadhams, Chazy, West Chazy, and parts of Altona into vibrant, connected communities. Our state-of-the-art fiber optic network isn’t just about delivering high-speed internet—it’s a lifeline that supports remote work, online learning, and thriving local businesses. We’re proud to have shattered the isolation once felt in rural areas, allowing families and professionals alike to plant roots and prosper.

We’ve made it to February! The turning of the year rocked us with many major transitions, and we are now in Saint Valentine’s month, a reminder to renew our commitment to love ourselves, one another, our unspeakably beautiful planet and the beauty we are so fortunate to be surrounded by every day. Of course, partaking of a little chocolate always helps!

January offered us so many enriching and fun activities, and this month is no different! The Library is a real center of congregation, with writing groups, yarn craft groups, lectures, concerts, the Monday night movie series, and the 6 week Aging Wisely series by the Prevention Team of Ticonderoga. The Mill continues to add movies, an endless variety of cutting edge music, fine art, cocktails, culinary delights, ‘Knocktail’ classes and even Tarot readings. Snowfort has new books coming down the pipeline, as well as Date Night on Feb 14, so you can drop off the kids and enjoy a night at the Mill, and everyone is happy! Champlain Area Trails is constantly adding new hikes, book clubs and bird watching opportunities, too many to mention here: stay tuned on their website and our online Town Calendar.