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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
PRESIDENT’S NOTE
In the four-and-a-half years we’ve been publishing B&NC MAG, we’ve introduced you to over 200 of the most interesting people in the B&NC area!
We’ve focused-in on hugely famous stars, normally behind-the-scenes leaders of local charities and cultural institutions, authors and artists, trendsetters, and some otherwise unknown folks who we’ve included in order to bring attention to their good deeds or philanthropy.
In each instance, we’ve worked hard trying to go beyond the kind of facts you can find on Wikipedia…and to delve into each subject’s true personality and character. …We certainly hope that you readers finish each read with the feeling that you’ve really ‘gotten to know’ our featured subjects!
Getting to know each and all of these people…is the great joy of publishing B&NC MAG! It’s been nothing short of astonishing to discover how many fascinating folks - who we might otherwise pass in the supermarket without notice - actually live amongst us and share our community. And it is admittedly a thrill for me to have met and become friends with some of our local icons!
…Yet I would be remiss to not make particular mention of our Cover Feature stars in this January/ February 2025 issue of B&NC MAG…Marissa Winokur and Judah Miller. You can read all about them in the article starting on Page 100, but I just have to add that, notwithstanding their stardom, they are amongst the nicest and most gracious people we’ve ever encountered! Our mission is to be ‘Always Positive’…in this instance it was easy!
We continue to be particularly intrigued by the wave of stars of stage and screen who are migrating to the B&NC area…and promise to remain diligent in our efforts to introduce each of them to each of you!
Very Truly Yours,
Casey a rden Kaplan B&NC MAG PRESIDENT
+ YEARS in the business
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32 THE OCEAN CLUB: A TIMELESS GEM IN THE BAHAMAS
The Ocean Club, now a part of the Four Seasons portfolio, is the iconic resort known as the ‘Crown Jewel of the Bahamas’.
46
JED JOHNSON
THE BODACIOUS BARISTA AT STARBUCKS
Jed is the bodacious barista at the Starbucks on the corner of Elm and Park Streets in New Canaan. He personifies Starbuck’s mission statement, being: To nurture and inspire the human spirit one person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time.
54 SAM FERTIK / CARBON CUSTOM BUILDERS EXCEPTIONALLY EXTRAORDINARY!
Sam Fertik and his young family are now ensconced in the masterpiece home on Upper Shad in Pound Ridge built by his company, Carbon Custom Builders.
71 THE PERFECT PIED-A-TERRE 320 EAST 42nd STREET OFFERED at $739,000
A perfect jewel box apartment in a doorman building, with expansive East River views, and a top-notch renovation…
82 COBBLE COURT INTERIORS meets RIDGEFIELD’S HISTORIC OATLAND MANSION
A local couple decided to purchase the historic home and embark on a reimagining of the house and property…and Robert Rizzo from Cobble Court Interiors was brought on to implement the grand vision.
118
FIONA DAVIS SOUTH SALEM LOCAL PENS MANHATTAN’S MYSTERIES
Fiona is a New York Times bestseller and has just released her eighth book, titled The Stolen Queen set at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
126
JOE LAPORTA HEARD BUT NOT SEEN
Joe LaPorta is a mastering engineer…and Joe has won two Grammys for Record of the Year, been nominated 8 other times, and is now again nominated - at the 2025 Grammy Awards - for Best Engineered on Willow Smith’s album Empathogen!
132
MARK MOSELLO LET THERE BE LIGHT
Mosello’s Design Lighting By Marks has done more residential indoor and outdoor lighting in the B&NC area than any other concern, period. 100
139
MARISSA WINOKUR & JUDAH MILLER BACK HOME IN BEDFORD
Marissa Winokur is a star of stage and screen, most famous for having played Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of Hairspray and Judah Miller is a comedy writer who most recently wrote and was the showrunner for the television series called Bupkis Together, Marissa and Judah are amongst the elite of ‘Hollywood’ power couples… and in 2021, they bought a house in Bedford!
CLAIRE MILLERICK & BEN POWERS MARRIED IN RIDGEFIELD
Claire Millerick and Ben Powers were married at the Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield on September 21, 2024. Claire grew up in Ridgefield, and from the time she was young, she knew the Keeler Tavern was where she wanted to get married!
OUT & ABOUT CALENDAR
A Fresh Start for the New Year
Autumn is a great time to shop The Market’s generous selection of ripe local produce, bursting with flavor and nutrition. Enjoy a feast of fresh flavors – juicy red tomatoes, orchard‑fresh pears and apples, or a platter of grilled zucchini, squash and eggplant!
Ready to warm yourself with heartier fare? You’ll find the all the best ingredients at The Market – prime meats, fresh seafood and savory cheeses – to cook up something comforting and delicious.
Pair your meal with a robust IPA or light pilsner from our abundant selection. Followed, of course, by a delicious fresh from the oven treat from our Bakery!
Because every patient deserves thoughtful, compassionate care backed by an extraordinary team of professionals.
Stamford Health Medical Group
36 Grove Street, New Canaan
Cardiology
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New Canaan YMCA
564 South Avenue, New Canaan
Physical Therapy
Rehabilitation
Sports Rehab & Medicine
The Ocean Club
A Timeless Gem in the Bahamas
Nestled on the eastern edge of the aptly named Paradise Island, The Ocean Club is the iconic resort known as the Crown Jewel of the Bahamas. A quintessential luxury destination with a sparkling presence. Just three hours on a direct flight from New York. Making it the perfect place to escape for a weekend or a weeks-long vacation.
The resort is part of the Four Seasons portfolio, which means an award winning spa, highly attentive staff, extremely well maintained grounds, and the high-end and recently renovated rooms and suites for which Four Seasons is known. But the storied property also has the charm and character that comes with a decorated history.
Here, where the dazzling waters of the Atlantic meet the soft, white sands of one of the most exclusive corners of the Caribbean, The Ocean Club offers a seductive combination of understated elegance, old-world glamour, and contemporary style.
The Ocean Club’s
began with visionary Huntington Hartford, heir to the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, who sought to create a new kind of luxury winter getaway. One that didn’t fall into what he saw as the existing categories of ‘private and dull or public and cheap’.
In 1962, after two years and $20 million (a whole lot of money in 1962) in development, The Ocean Club was born, its opening marked by the star-studded Bal du Paradis gala, where Hollywood’s elite mingled with global aristocracy and world leaders. The guest list that evening included the likes of Walter Cronkite, Zsa Zsa Gabor, princes and lords from across the world, and five US Senators.
Indeed, The Ocean Club’s glamorous history is a veritable who’s who of 20th-century celebrities. Multiple scenes in the 1965 James Bond Thunderball were filmed on the property with Sean Connery, and then again with Daniel Craig as Bond in the 2006 Casino Royale - each contributing to the panache of the Martini Bar and its signature Vesper. The Beatles shot their iconic Help! movie onsite, and Whitney Houston performed for another star-studded gala in the early 2000s. And, The Ocean Club has been host to various high profile weddings, like Cindy Crawford’s and B&NC MAG locals Jim Dunning and Susan Magrino.
Through multiple renovations and updates the property has maintained an elegant but restrained British Colonial style, which has been fused with contemporary Bahamian chic design. The property is one of the most photographed and filmed beach resorts in the world - including by Slim Aarons, who was a B&NC local, and who’s best known for photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.
The Ocean Club
A British Colonial main house
offers an impressive backdrop to the resort’s modern amenities…and guests are welcomed - with drinks - in a large family room. In the lobby, there’s art by the resort’s resident artist, the renowned Jane Waterous, and a grand piano topped with silver framed black and white photos of some notables who’ve visited. Each of the low-rise wings of rooms and suites are set on unique courtyards or gardens. The original Hartford Wing, set around a gorgeous courtyard, features a sunken reflecting pool and lush plantings. The Crescent Wing’s 52 room renovation was unveiled in 2023 - with each of the well-appointed oceanview rooms overlooking a rolling lawn scattered with carefully positioned mature palm trees and ample hammocks for an afternoon lounge.
The resort offers lavish three and fourbedroom oceanview villa residences, which each include a private infinity pool — just perfect for those seeking the ultimate in privacy and exclusivity.
DUNE, a restaurant helmed by Michelin-starred chef - and B&NC local -
Jean-Georges Vongerichten,
sits atop a white-sand bluff in the central area of the resort, with sweeping ocean vistas and fantastic food. It’s sophisticated, but just the right amount of cool for a vacation.
The Ocean Club
The stunning beachfront location offers guests completely clear water and views of the mesmerizing blue of the Atlantic Ocean, while the extensive grounds boast amenities including three Har-Tru tennis courts with night lights, an advanced fitness center, and a spectacular oceanfront 18-hole golf course.
The resort’s exquisite grounds, spread over 35 lush acres, are lavish and yet completely refined, with the definite feeling of tranquility and privacy. Three pools offer just the right space for every guest to relax at their own pace. The Ocean Pool, which allows all guests to marvel at the ocean vista over a vanishing edge, is the centerpiece of the resort - installed as part of The Four Seasons’ transformation of the property - is situated between DUNE and the more casual Ocean Blu, with casual western-Caribbean fare. At the lagoon-style Family Pool, surrounded by tropical jungle plants, kids of all ages are happy splashing around in the refreshing waterfall. And anyone looking for a more tranquil respite can retire to the adults-only and very elegant Versailles Pool - which has views of the resort’s terraced Versailles Gardens, designed in the French Baroque style and installed by Huntington Hartford with imported remains of a 12th Century Franciscan monastery carefully reassembled by stonemasons.
The resort’s exquisite grounds, spread over 35 lush acres, are lavish and yet completely refined, with the definite feeling of tranquility and privacy.
And, of course, the beach is unmatched!
The clear water is a stunning shade of aqua blue - and known for being home to lots of sea turtles. The waves melodically lap against the expansive white-sand beach. Plush and well-spaced lounges are appointed by a team of beach attendants with an umbrella and a fresh bucket of boxed cold water that’s replenished throughout the day. Like each pool, the beach has a generous sun lotion station, with plenty of reef-safe sunscreen for every guest!
The Ocean Club
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N Bedford
JED
JOHNSON
The Bodacious Barista at Starbucks
He personifies Starbuck’s mission statement, being: To nurture and inspire the human spirit one person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time.
Jed is the guy with the giant smile, whirling around behind the counter making drinks, and greeting absolutely everyone who comes through the door with an enthusiastic ‘good morning’! He seems to know the name of almost every customer, can serve up their desired drink from memory, and has some specific pithy howdo-you-do for what seems like most of those who pass through. He is noticeably fit, and has a visage and hairstyle that makes him somehow look more like Michelangelo’s Moses than just another person you know. He is always a bright light - and always on!
“The funny thing is… I’m actually an introvert! When I’m here, I become someone who I hardly even recognize, a person who doesn’t really exist outside of this counter,” Jed reveals. “There’s some kind of energy that happens when I’m here.” And though it seems to all the customers that the energy in the room is Jed, for him there’s an energy that he gets from working alongside the team, always moving, and in a place where he can have quick and happy interactions all day long. Jed calls them “seconds-long friendships”, and says, “They’re just the right length for me! I mean - don’t get me wrong - I get invitations to holiday dinners and parties all the time, and someone even brought me Thanksgiving Dinner last year, which made my whole day. And there are some people that I’ve really gotten to know over the years. I’ve gotten to watch babies grow into teenagers and go off to college, and there are these two young moms that are best friends who I’ve known since they were best friends in middle school, and now I give little fake coffees to their two little boys. I do treasure those connections. …But there’s also this beauty in having the counter as this physical barrier where most of these relationships stay within these four walls - and are always in this orbit of happy.”
“ Happiness is a choice!”
Jed declares. “I wake up every morning and decide that it’s going to be a good day! I got divorced in 2008 and decided I was going to reset my life and become the best version of myself that I possibly could… and I’ve been working on that ever since. …I started working here at Starbucks around the same time. I didn’t take this job for the money, that’s for sure,” Jed laughs, “but I enjoyed doing this, and found a place where I could finally be happy while at work.”
Jed grew up in Norwalk but attended Darien public schools because his mother was a teacher in the Darien school system. “I’ve experienced a little bit of everything in my life and I know all kinds of people…but I’m definitely really comfortable with the kind of customer that’s coming into the New Canaan store,” Jed measures. “I’ve realized that people want consistency, and that most people here - where everyone is an expert on something - want expertise as well…so I became an expert on coffee. I’m comfortable providing valuable insight to people that are coming in and looking for it!”
Jed is frenetic. He’s constantly moving and gesticulating, and he talks fast. “The thing is, I taste a lot of coffee - so I know what I’m talking about. And I love coffee. But I can’t drink a ton of coffee because I’m a naturally really energetic person,” Jed sarcastically understates the reality. “I’d be off the walls if I had too much caffeine! …I usually drink an espresso in the morning and then a cup of decaf later on, and then it’s matcha after that for me. Matcha is my favorite drink, and I’ve turned a lot of people onto it who can’t deal with all of the caffeine in a typical coffee drink.”
Jed is the bodacious barista at the Starbucks on the corner of Elm and Park Streets in New Canaan.
Although Jed’s shift at Starbucks starts around 9 a.m. most mornings…Jed starts his day at 2 or 3a.m. each pre-dawn! “I think one of the foundations to being happy is being healthy, and I’m a bit of a health nut, and I’m really extreme in everything that I do,” Jed says succinctly. “So I’ve kind of become obsessed with all of the ways that I can make myself better. I wake up between 2 and 3 a.m. and I have a lot to do…and the mornings are my time! I’m an amateur stock trader and trade purely on analytics, so I do a lot of work on that when I can really focus…and I’ve done pretty well!”.
Quite open about his idiosyncrasies, Jed continues, “I’m type O blood and I think it’s really important to eat based on your body …and mine requires a lot of meat and protein. My day starts with a plain hotdog and sauerkraut for the probiotics, and over the course of the rest of the morning, between multiple workouts and an ice cold shower - as I’m influenced by Wim Hof - I’ll typically also eat some beef jerky, muscle clams, sashimi style tilapia, and whatever other proteins I can find.”
“I crave routine, and I need my body to always be moving. I love working-out and fitness in
general. And I’m a minimalist,’ Jed describes.
“I got rid of my car because I like simplicity. And about five years ago, when I was preparing to do some mountain climbing, I started rucking - which means carrying a heavy rucksack. Now, I carry a 70-80 lb backpack and wear 8 lb ankle weights for my mile-and-a-half walk to the Stamford train station to catch the 8:16 to New Canaan each morning.” Jed has completed the Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim hike, has climbed Mt. Washington, and says he’s “...never more than 3 months of stepped-up training away from being ready to go on any big climb.”
Peculiarly, Jed has chosen not to pursue the New Canaan store manager role or any other managerial role at Starbucks. “Like I said, for me the fun is making people’s day…not managing the people and the problems. I like what I do!”
Each barista at Starbucks is called a ‘Partner’, and the Founder and former CEO Howard Shultz has famously encouraged each barista to act like an entrepreneur, and to be Starbuck’s only public relations and marketing campaign.
…With anyone who’s got Jed Johnson working for them, that’s a winning strategy!
It says “Next Station To Heaven” on the sign at the New Canaan Train Station, and Jed is mixing matcha at Starbucks across the street. …Someday, Jed might just get the job of barista serving-up coffee at the ‘Pearly Gates’!
SAM FERTIK
/
CARBON CUSTOM BUILDERS
EXCEPTIONALLY EXTRAORDINARY!
Sam Fertik moved to Pound Ridge with his wife, Julie Levitt-Fertik, and their then two year old daughter Emily, in 2022 - looking for a super suburb to raise a young family…and a place to make a splash showcasing his Carbon Custom Builders next-gen building techniques and capabilities. …They’re now ensconced in the spectacular home Sam’s Carbon Custom Builders constructed on Upper Shad… Emily will start elementary school next year…and Sam and Julie are expecting a second child in May!
The Fertik’s home is a masterpiece of engineering, architecture, and design.
The home includes 7,000 square feet of living space - with 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, a massive dining room and even more impressive kitchen/pantry and adjacent family room, a living room, an office, a playroom, and gym - and an additional 4,750 square feet of basements, with a full machining and workshop and a hoist for lifting heavy objects from the basement to grade level, and an oversized 3-car garage.
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREA CERASO
The home is constructed utilizing insulated concrete forms, known simply as ICFs, which consist of a recycled plastic skeleton embedded in 2 panels of recycled EPS foam insulation, with a core of 8 inches of reinforced cast-in-place concrete, for a total assembly that’s 16 inches thick - and over 1,000 yards of concrete were employed in this build! This system, rated at R70, is at least 4X more energy efficient than the standard ‘stick-built’ wooden code-compliant equivalent.
Giant windows all around comprise an astonishing 50% of the total square footage of the house walls, yielding a tremendous flow of light and making the inside feel open and airy notwithstanding the super-thick concrete structure. All the glass is triple-pane and imported exclusively from Europe, and while no glass can be as energy efficient as the ICF walls, these windows are rated at R8 - or about 3X more energy efficient than a more standard top-of-the-line doublepane window.
LUNAWOOD thermally-modified Spruce siding dressing the exterior of the home is pre-baked to take the moisture out. It’s a great look - modern and country at the same time - and way more bug and mold resistant and maintenance-free than standard wood or manufactured siding.
The HVAC is based on a geothermal system, with radiant floors, as well as forced air for heating and cooling - and the additional cost of this set-up will be recouped, after accounting for tax credits, over only two years - with significant ongoing energy and maintenance savings thereafter.
The roof is entirely standing-seam aluminum, which is more resilient than a standard shingle roof - and will last decades longer. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
The water and air systems involve special filters and self-testing mechanisms that ensure the purest water and air supply possible. All plumbing materials have been screened to be as plastics-free as possible.
Lime plaster on interior walls works to passively sequester carbon and filter air. No potentially toxic glues or VOC paints are used.
Floors throughout the interior are American White Oak, and all millwork is custom-built with European White Oak and American Walnut.
All-in, the house is about 10X more energy efficient - and carbon neutral - than just about any other house in town! …And the whole thing is bug and rodent-free, with no organic material decaying in the walls, and absolutely free of toxins that seep from plastics and other inorganically manufactured products!
And the entire home is mastered with a SAVANT integrated smart home system that runs the USAI lighting system together with all security, visual media, sound, energy, and water and air filtering systems throughout the house.
“I’m a bit obsessive,” Sam admits - with a proud smile. “I believe that homebuilding is, ultimately, about the living experience in the finished product. Every homeowner wants, and deserves, the peace of mind of knowing their water and air are as pure as can be, and that they are as safe and secure as possible.”
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
/THE BACKYARD
THE BACKYARD at the Fertik house demonstrates the same attention to detail that Sam employs in everything he does. The 1500 square foot outdoor patio has outdoor lighting that can be adjusted to be appropriate for a small gathering around the fire pit or a large outdoor gala, and the hidden sound system is capable of pumping-out concert quality acoustics. The food and beverage facility includes a state-of-the-art BBQ, a wood burning Argentine grill, a top-of-the-line pizza oven, a sink, and ample counter space for food prep and service. The outdoor vegetable garden is set in a bed of attractive and functional Corten steel walls - instead of the less attractive and short-lifespan lumber usually utilized. And the outdoor walls and walkways are built with granite and local stone and, of course, superior concrete construction underneath.
“It’s all about the feeling and mood of your home,” Sam continues. “That includes your health and wellness. We use a lot of windows to bring-in a ton of natural light - but we also employ lighting systems that adjust to the circadian rhythm and project in a warm LED spectrum. Our homes are extra-quiet and calm.”
“While our building techniques can add incremental upfront costs, the extra expense is often recovered in energy cost savings rather quickly…and it’s the only way to produce the level of quality that is our standard,” Sam boasts.
“As a very rough rule of thumb, we can get a house done at a cost of approximately $1,000 per square foot - and all the costs are completely transparent to my customer.”
“…And I want to emphasize the way we work with clients,” Sam entreats. “While we think of ourselves as artists rather than builders, and prefer projects that we think are interesting and different…our mission is to achieve the customer’s vision. I often say ‘When our clients’ vision meets our approach, extraordinary homes are built.’”
“We seamlessly take any project from start to finish,” Sam commits. “We can find the land or fit the project to land you’ve already acquired. We have a lot of local knowledge and can take the project through the planning and approval process - without hiccups. We’re happy to work with the architect of your choice, or bring the right one to the table. As a construction manager or owner’s rep, we can take total charge of every aspect and detail of the project, but we’re pleased to have you as involved as you want to be. Importantly, we are a builder, not a contractor, and keep costs and delays down by working with our own team of highly qualified tradesmen and laborers. Most of our work is new build, but we take on substantial renovations as well. …We like to build cool projects for cool people…and make dreams come true!”
While Sam is incredibly focused on each and every project, Carbon Custom Builders expertly manages multiple large-scale projects. Currently, his team is building a 20,000-square-foot estate in Greenwich, featuring a guest house, tennis court, pool, spa, and extensive estate landscaping. Simultaneously, they’re also spearheading a modern architectural masterpiece perched on a cliff in North Salem, designed in partnership with the renowned firm Olson Kundig, with three more under development.
“I couldn’t be happier with the decision to have moved to Pound Ridge…and must say we’re really enjoying living in this great home!” Sam exclaims. “I invite anyone thinking about building a home to come by and have a look at what we can do…and how comfortable your new home can be.”
In today’s market, knowing the value of your home is more important than ever. The Houlihan Lawrence home valuation tool offers valuable insights on a home’s market value, the profiles of potential buyers and more.
Household Incomes
of BUYERS ARE
INTERNATIONAL HoulihanLawrenceTransactionsDatabase,includesallHoulihanLawrence buyersandallotherbuyersofHoulihanLawrencelistings.Percentagemay
perfect jewel box apartment, with expansive East River views, and a top-notch renovation…
Welcome to The Woodstock Tower,
an elegant doorman building, the charm of beautiful stained glass windows in the large impressive lobby, and great amenities - including a gym, a private courtyard, and private access to the twin Tudor City Parks right outside the building.
Only about an hour to the B&NC area
by car or train, only a short twoavenues walk from Grand Central Station, and with easy access to the FDR, the Manhattan Midtown location at 320 East 42nd Street is right in the center of it all…and unbeatable for anyone looking for an ideal pied-a-terre - or an apartment convenient to work for a full-time New Yorker.
Apartment 2218, high-up on the 22nd floor, boasts direct views of the iconic United Nations, the Tudor City penthouse used to film Spiderman and the rooftop Tudor City sign, and the East River - with Long Island City as a backdrop. It’s a corner unit, high above all neighboring structures, with Eastern and Southern exposures.
The
Apartment was completely redesigned by a top-tier Decorator and gut-renovated in 2020
with highest standards throughout. New floors, HVAC, lighting, and closets were installed. The new ultra-modern full kitchen has all top-of-the-line appliances, including a full-size SubZero fridge and freezer, a low-profile flat-countertop electric stovetop, a separate oven, and a microwave. The bathroom was re-done with every detail in mind, including a marble-walled glass-doored shower. One-touch custom window treatments were installed throughout. Custom built-ins in every closet afford ample space for clothes and belongings - a real luxury in Manhattan!
Distinctive casement windows are the real showstopper - giving the Apartment plenty of light - and served as inspiration for the custom steel-framed glass doors separating the living room and the bedroom - with a one-touch drop-down curtain to ensure complete privacy - and for the custom steel-framed glass sliding door to the bathroom.
Make Apartment 2218 at The Woodstock Tower your own…and all your dreams of having the perfect place in Manhattan come true! The interior design is exuberant and available with purchase, to make the whole experience ‘move-in ready’!
Every detail is bright, refined, and intended to optimize the space. The gray leopard-print Stark Carpet was custom ordered to fit perfectly in the living room. An Orit Fuchs painting hangs above the mid-century bed - which lifts to provide additional storage underneath.
Thank you to my incredible clients for trusting me with your real estate journey in 2024! It’s been a privilege to work alongside you, helping make your dreams a reality. If you know someone needing guidance, I’d love to offer my expertise.
Oatland
THE HOME SITS PROMINENTLY ON MAIN STREET – ACROSS FROM THE LOUNSBURY HOUSE
Built in the late 1800s as a summer estate for the Tuttle Smith family, and named Oatland this Main Street manor has long been a prominent fixture of Ridgefield…and one that’s served many purposes over its years of different iterations. After the Tuttle Smith family enjoyed the home, it was sold to another family that lived there for about three decades. Then, around 1940, the Schlumberger Oil & Gas Company purchased the large home to use as its executive office space while their research facility, the famous building atop the hill on Sunset Lane, designed by Philip Johnson, that now houses ACT, was being built. During that time, the servants quarters were reconfigured into office cubicles, but the main floor was kept largely intact. When their research facility was complete and Schlumberger no longer needed Oatland, the corporation gave it to the nextdoor St. Stephen’s church for $1! …And, over time, the Church created apartments for clergy, rented some of the second floor to the Ridgefield Department of Education for office space, and used the main floor’s large-scale rooms for events and entertaining. By 2020, the house was in need of significant repairs…and the Church decided to put it up for sale.
Ready for the next iteration, a local couple decided to purchase the historic home and embark on a reimagining of the house and property…and Robert Rizzo from Cobble Court Interiors was brought on to implement the grand vision. “The house was in disrepair… but had such incredible bones!” Rob shares. “Everything was
substantial and well-made. The millwork and mantles were still intact. The scale of the rooms was perfect, and the layout of the public rooms was actually great. And the house has an amazing presence! We welcomed the challenge and opportunity of undertaking the renovation and restoration of this magnificent edifice.”
Rob worked closely with the owners to realize the vision for Oatland, “The owners wanted the house and its interiors to be traditional… and respectful of the architecture of the house. It’s a Georgian Revival, and they felt strongly that it should look like one,” Rob explains. “My style is pretty traditional and classic anyway. I’m comfortable with brown furniture and love English-style interiors. We sourced from everywhere and designed some spaces around antiques or heirlooms that the couple had collected over the years.”
Cobble Court Interiors is a luxury interior design firm with offices and a home furnishings shop in New Canaan on South Ave. The firm does many whole-house projects locally in New Canaan, Darien, Ridgefield, Greenwich and Bedford, and is also known for some larger projects like the Presidential Suite at the Ocean House in Watch Hill and the private Hoggs Head Club in Ireland, as well as other prestigious projects all over the country and the world.
OATLAND’S FRONT FOYER
is an incredibly inviting space, filled with character, that serves as a comfortable entrance to the rest of the house and an introduction to the palette found beyond. “We used this amazing hand-screened and hand-painted George Spencer Royale Palm wallpaper that the owners had seen at a hunting lodge in Georgia, and that mustardy green/yellow color really drives everything else throughout the house,” Rob elucidates, “We chose a Georgian period library table with with original green leather top because of its amazing scale for the room. And we carefully preserved all the original dental molding, sweeping archways, and fabulous original pocket doors.”
TEXTURED
Rob is careful to note that all of his designs are informed by what the client wants - be it functionality or aesthetic - but adds that there is a very distinct ‘Cobble Court look and feel’ - that’s showcased at Oatland. Textured rooms, abundant with sumptuous fabrics and interesting patterns, completely layered, and yet never overwhelming and always grounded in cohesion. “I like to design a room that I want to walk into and enjoy completely. I never want to be overwhelmed by any specific element. The way I think about it is that there should be a feeling that’s created by having all of the pieces and elements together, and that no one item or area should be the main character. Everything should be wonderfully warm and inviting. Once I sit down I want to start to notice and appreciate each beautiful detail,” Rob says. True to form, at Oatland there are rich textures on almost every single surface, including grasscloth and fabric wallpapers, a Nobelist fauxwood grained wallpaper on the ceiling in the Garden Room, and decadent fabrics on custom sofas that are both visually and tactilely pleasing.
C LASSIC
Two large winged-back chairs in the living room are the perfect place to relax by the fire and read a book –but the room also has ample seating to be conducive to large-group entertaining.
“Because the house was built in the 1800s - when lifestyles were much different - and there were never really any major renovations to bring it into the modern era for family living - the biggest structural renovation was in turning what was the servants quarters and service kitchen in the back of the house into a large open space for the Kitchen, Family Room, and the intimate Breakfast Nook,” Rob adds. “A lot of the Kitchen design was rooted in having a semi-hidden Butler’s Pantry, which houses a special GE Monogram pizza oven that heatsup to 1600 degrees.”
“It’s a technique I employ in a number of projects to create an artistic and treasured focal point on a large wall that might otherwise be a difficult place for appropriate artwork,” Rob reveals.
UPSTAIRS,
Rob custom-framed two 58-inch fabric squares from the iconic final collection of Oscar De La Renta to adorn the large wall above the staircase.
And the is simply marvelous...
OUTDOOR SPACE
a true extension of the living spaces and designed for family living and entertaining at any scale. One of the owners is an avid gardener, and has quickly transformed the front and backyards into a lush and private respite with an impressive array of blooms.
“We were excited about building a home for our family that would have the best of both worlds - downtown living and a large private property - and to have a home that could be a fun project that we’d make our own!” the owners shared.
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Dreams Built Here
Whether you are looking to re-imagine an existing home, or create a brand new project from the ground up, we can turn your dream into a reality info@drakebuildersllc.com
Premier Comfort's David Singer & Victor Tonndorf
CHOOSE THE RIGHT CLUB
MARISSA WINOKUR & JUDAH MILLER
Marissa Winokur is a star of stage and screen, most famous for having played Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of Hairspray - for which Marissa won the Tony for Leading Actress in a Musical…and she is currently starring in a Broadway reprise ofHairspray that Marissa has written, directed, and produced, called Mama I’m A Big Girl Now - with plans to take that production worldwide after the Broadway run.
PHOTOS: ANDREA CERASO
Judah Miller is a comedy writer who most recently wrote and was the showrunner for the television series called Bupkis, starring Pete Davidson - who’s also recently moved to Bedford.
Together, Marissa and Judah are amongst the elite of ‘Hollywood’ power couples …and in 2021, they bought a house in Bedford!
“This is the house I grew-up in!” Marissa announces. “My father was an architect and built this house in 1965. He bought these five acres for $8,000 - but, unfortunately, didn’t buy all the adjacent land that was for sale, because he couldn’t afford it - and we moved up from Manhattan. I was the youngest of four and we all went to Fox Lane. …My parents sold the house in 1999. …Then one night in 2021 - and I was one of those people who was going crazy washing vegetables during Covid - I’m lying in bed with Judah in our house in L.A., and I have an impulse - and I believe that there’s all sorts of energy in the universe - and I looked up the house on Zillow and, sure enough, it had just been listed for sale! We called up and bought it the next morning. …
For me, Bedford has always been ‘home’! It’s just awesome to live in the energy of my childhood!”
This is the house I grew-up in! My father was an architect and built this house in 1965.”
Marissa is over the top, volume up, upbeat, and gregarious. Her positive energy fills the room… and no one needs to ask her a question to get her started…
“I’ve always been an actress and a singer,” she proclaims. “I was the youngest of four kids, so the genesis is probably based in my wanting more attention! I always felt like an oddball growing up…but I embraced that I was different. I went to Fox Lane and took every opportunity I could find as a kid to get up in front of an audience. I’ve always been pretty fearless! I even worked as an usher at the Bedford Playhouse, just because it was a job ‘in theater’ and because I got to watch all the movies at the same time. When it was time to go to college my dad said the regular path was a waste of time and money in my case, and that I should instead go to work on my craft…and I enrolled at the American Music and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan. At 20, I landed the role playing Jan in the Broadway production of Grease!”
“Grease was a great gig, but I’m a person who wants to take everything to the top…so I moved out to L.A. to do TV and movies,” Marissa continues. “I was the only person that looked like me and I celebrated that! The chubby diva…auditioning against a field of plain boring girls! I got a lot of work, including a standout role in American Beauty. Norman Lear even developed a TV show with me in a lead rolebut that never got produced. …And then, at age 26, I was diagnosed with cervical and uterine cancer…”
“I got the call for Hairspray from Marc Shaiman in 2001, while I was still being treated for cancer. I didn’t tell anyone, because I feared they wouldn’t want to invest in me and because I didn’t want to ruin the character by being generally identified as the sick girl,” Marissa admits. “But then I realized I could inspire other people by telling my story…and ever since then I’ve worked with just about every cancer organization trying to convey the message that ‘you can be OK’! I’ve got a lot of energy and a lot of life, and found the zen of accepting that whatever happens in life…is great! I’m pretty fearless!”
“Doing Mama I’m A Big Girl Now, together with my co-stars from Hairspray, Laura Bell Bundy and Kerry Butler, is the culmination of my journey over the twenty years since that fountainhead,” Marissa proclaims. “I love being a strong woman with strong girlfriends - who all support each other! I think there’s a need for hard comedy and escapism. And I believe the play will strike a chord with almost everyone. Kind of like appearing on Dancing With The Stars! Moms come with their grown daughters to kind of explain their own histories. Laura, Kerry and I brought the show to Lisa Dozier Shacket to produce, and when Hairspray producer Doug Meyer joined in on the project, we went full bore. It took a lot of effort, but at the same time it was so much fun that it felt effortless. Good art is very powerful. It can do a lot of things! This show brings joy!”
While Judah is pleased to play the role of supporting actor when it comes to Marissa, he’s a standalone superstar in the world of comedy writing. “I grew up in Alamo in San Francisco’s East Bay area and was Pre-med at UC Berkeley…but down deep I always wanted to go into showbiz,” Judah recalls. “Right out of school, I got a job working in the mailroom at William Morris in L.A., and got swept up for a couple of years in becoming an agent …but one day my boss called me in and told me I ‘wasn’t enough of a killer to make it in the agency business’. By that time I’d determined that I really wanted to be a writer. So I got a computer and started to write! I wrote a spec script with my brother, and we were hired by Phil Lord and Chris Miller to work on a cult hit animated show called
As I continued, writing on my own, I got as much TV work as I could possibly handle. I feel absolutely fortunate to have been able to work with comedy legends like Lorne Michaels, Judd Apatow, Seth MacFarlane, Danny McBride, Mike Judge, and Steve Levitan. I’m currently working on a screenplay for Bradley Cooper. It’s always a bit of a carny existence not having steady work, but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!”
“I think I’m funny,” Judah reflects, “...but I’m usually the quiet guy in the room.
My writing is much funnier than I am in real life. I’m certainly much more of an introvert than Marissa - we’d be way too annoying otherwise! I view myself as being kind of scrappy - but only as a writer…I bring my car to the dealership to change plates!” ...Marissa breaks-in to sing Judah’s praises, saying, “Judah can come in with a strong point of view and his humor is based in truth, but his work almost always expresses a definite optimism. His humor is usually dry, but he has the ability to write in a variety of tones and, unlike many other comedy writers, understands that women can be funny too! And while he’s being quite honest about not being handy, when he’s in the role of being a showrunner he’s quite capable, takes definite charge of everybody and everything, and gets the best out of everyone.”
The couple met way back when Judah was still in college at Berkeley. “I went with Sally Struther’s daughter to go see the production of Grease in San Francisco and got backstage afterwards,” Judah explains. “I wasn’t too suave about it when I announced to Marissa that I thought she was ‘a star’ and that she was destined to emerge as a leading lady on stage and screen. …Four years later, I was working at William Morris and Marissa came to the office to meet with my boss. I was wearing a suit and tie and Marissa didn’t recognize me or remember that we’d met…maybe even after I told her I was the guy who predicted the stardom she was then achieving.” …As Marissa picks-up the story saying, “I may not have remembered him, but I certainly noticed him! I asked his boss ‘who’s your assistant’ before he tried to get reacquainted, and I was thrilled when he asked me out on a date. When he called to follow-up, he said he was going to Vegas for the weekend with some of his buddies…and asked me to join him! …We’re the same age and get along really well, but before I even started to think of him as my boyfriend, he said ‘we should get married’! …I was all in!”
“Despite my cancer surgery, we were able to have our son Zev through a surrogate,” Marissa says with the huge smile of a proud mama. “He’s 16 now. …He’s a great kid, does really well in school, and - although we don’t know where he got it from - he’s a real athlete. He’s determined to become a tennis pro and, completely on his own initiative, after three years training at IMG Academy, he is now finishing high school at Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai, California.”
Sometimes, these two creatives write side-by-side. Judah comments, “Marissa is actually a brilliant writer. She often dictates fully-formed comedy, practically shouting it out at me! And she edits everything I write before I send it out. Her opinion helps me so much. She’s brutally honest with me!”
…It’s as if Mel Brooks and Bette Middler got together…and yet Judah and Marissa each humbly blush at that comparison. “I’ve been obsessed with Mel Brooks since I was a little kid. He’s the master, and everything I’ve done has been informed by him. We have the same sensibilities and comedic bent. But I can only aspire to pioneer in humor as he did, or leave behind the kind of body of work that he boasts,” Judah tributes. And Marissa remarks, “I’m incredibly flattered. Bette was an inspiration to me growing up. And I do share a small part of the cult following in the gay and lesbian community that Bette first championed. I’ve even been the Grand Marshall at the NY and LA Pride Parades. But Bette was a real movie star, and I’ve yet to land a leading role in film like hers playing C.C. Bloom in Beaches and singing Wind Beneath Your Wings as the theme song.”
If we’re going to wax on about my career,” Marissa continues, “I’ll say that I’m most proud of what I’ve done to empower other women - and as a plus-size role model. I paved the way for other cute chubby girls to believe that they don’t have to play the sidekick. Women come up to me all the time to say ‘you changed the way I saw myself’! Even Rebel Wilson told me that when she saw me
in Hairspray it made her realize that she could do musical theater.”
Judah and Marissa are a fun pair!
…And pressed to determine a guest list of the folks - dead or alive - they’d put together for a fantasy dinner party at their home in Bedford… Judah sets forth, “Mel Brooks, Robin Williams, Madeline Kahn, Gary Schandling, Alan Zweibel, and architect John Lautner - because he would totally understand this house!” …And Marissa adds, “My father. Ethel Merman - because my dad loved her and used to go to garage sales to collect her albums, and I would spend endless hours trying to emulate her sound. Isabella Rosalini - I’m obsessed with her!
Gilda Radner. …And Don Walters, my 7th Grade teacher in East House at Fox Lane Middle School - who heard my voice and picked this chubby girl out of anonymity, saying ‘why aren’t you in the choir’, and who then gave me the support and encouragement to dare taking the lead in the 8th Grade show!”
Salem View Farms
SOUTHEAST/NORTH SALEM, NY NORTHEAST CAPITAL FOR EQUESTRIAN SPORT
Salem View Farms, 400 acres of high open fields and stunning views, holds a strategic location with close proximity to a complete season of Northeastern FEI rated horse show venues and CSI 2*- 5* events from April through October. Old Salem Farm, HITS Saugerties, Silo Ridge Masters, the Greenwich Polo Club in Conyer’s Farm and the Hampton Classic are part of this impressive lineup. The property also has access to an extensive trail system and is home to the Golden’s Bridge Hunt.
This like-minded community brims with a diverse choice of restaurants, entertainment venues, and shopping options and is only a little over an hour from NYC. Access to major airports facilitates travel for European and national competitions. Five Olympic showjumping riders and highly successful trainers call this area home. Permits are close to being completed for this community that cherishes the equestrian lifestyle.
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Call Sally for a private tour.
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FIONA DAVIS
SOUTH SALEM LOCAL PENS MANHATTAN’S MYSTERIES
Fiona Davis didn’t start writing historical fiction until she was 49…but It seems like it’s what she was born to do!
Fiona is a New York Times bestseller and has just released her eighth book, titled The Stolen Queen, set at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each of her novels is based in, around, and about one of New York City’s iconic buildings, including, in order of publication, The Dollhouse set in the Barbizon Hotel for Women, The Address set at The Dakota, The Masterpiece set at Grand Central Station, The Chelsea Girls set at the Chelsea Hotel, The Lions of Fifth Avenue set at the New York Public Library, Magnolia Palace set at the Frick Museum, The Spectacular set at Radio City Music Hall, and now The Stolen Queen.
Fiona was born in Canada and the family moved around a bit because of her dad’s work as a chemical engineer. She graduated from Brick Township High School in New Jersey. She pursued a minor in English at William & Mary, but moved to New York to start working as an actress right after college. “I worked as an actress for about ten years,” Fiona recalls. “I was in a couple of shows on Broadway, including one that was nominated for a Tony. I was in several soap operas and commercials, and worked with a theater company called Willow Cabin where we produced three shows each year. I enjoyed the work, but I didn’t like the lack of control, the way life changes on a whim with each audition and you can’t plan ahead.”
PHOTOS: ANDREA CERASO
“So, in my thirties, I took one of those Meyers Briggs tests that tells you what you should do with your life,” Fiona says, recognizing with a smile that it sounds like too convenient of a plot line, “and it said I should be a journalist or a cop! I didn’t think working as a police officer in New York City was quite my style, so I enrolled in the Masters degree program at the Columbia Journalism School. That’s where I learned how to do research and how to shape a story. After graduation, I edited and wrote for a theater magazine, and then, over the course of about fifteen years, eventually developed an emphasis as a freelance writer focusing on health and women’s issues for magazines like Oprah and Women’s Health.”
FIONA DAVIS
“One day I came across the old Barbizon Hotel for Women on the southeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street. The Barbizon Hotelsometimes referred to around town as The Dollhouse – catered to women only, and had a long history as a women’s oasis and incubator. A place where future icons like Joan Didion, Grace Kelly, and Sylvia Plath stayed when they were just starting out. In 2005, the building was converted into luxury condominium apartments, and I learned that a dozen or so of the long-time residents still lived there. I was curious as to what it was like when these women – who paid around $300 a month in rent – shared the elevator with the guy who bought the $17 million penthouse. I thought it would make a good article,” Fiona says.
“I did a ton of research but almost all the long-time residents, who were in their 80s and 90s, didn’t want to be interviewed. Then I realized it might make a better book than an article,” Fiona says, with hindsight proving her theory. “In my story, a resident who’s a nosy journalist starts digging into the background of one of her neighbors and a mystery ensues. As I’ve done in each of my books, the story is set in dual timelines - in The Dollhouse I wove the circumstances and tales of the women in 2016 with those of the residents during the ‘Golden Age of the Barbizon in the 1950s. And I used the story to address the ways that women’s voices and agency have changed over time – and the ways in which they haven’t. I didn’t tell anyone I was working on the book while I was writing it, but figured I’d keep going and see what emerged.”
“Each book and each story has had its own way of coming into being,” Fiona reveals. “When The Dollhouse was about to be published, I passed by The Dakota and thought it would be a fascinating building to write about, and began my fairly exhaustive research process, where I try to learn everything I can about the building and the people in it. In the case of The Dakota, I met with Andrew Alpern, who’d written an incredibly detailed and elaborative book about the building and who is considered the leading expert on the edifice - and maybe on New York City’s architectural history in general. I met with residents and people who’d worked in the building, I reviewed floor plans of each apartment, I toured as many apartments and
as much of the building as I could. I use the factual history as a kind of scaffolding, and then layer a fictional story and characters over it. The Address weaves together the tale of The Dakota from the time when it was a lone fortress, standing alone on the West side of Central Park amidst ‘rocks, swamps, goats, and shanties’ - as one newspaper in the 1800s described the neighborhood – and then one hundred years later, from the point-of-view of a decorator who is stripping a Dakota apartment of its glory in order to install floor-to-ceiling mirrors and shag carpeting for one of the newly-minted millionaires moving in. I always include a mystery to keep the reader turning the pages, and let the two timelines collide.”
“Finding the story in each building is kind of organic. Each building reveals a unique history of its own, and there are always surprises. Did you know that the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street has a 7-room apartment that was designed for the superintendent and his family? Or that the painter John Singer Sargeant co-founded an art school that operated on the top floor of Grand Central Terminal?” Fiona says. “I usually do research for four or five months, then write the first draft, which takes about four or five more months. I’m looking to see if the mystery holds up from beginning to end, and that there are no holes. I do about ten rounds of revisions, and then my agent does an edit, before I send the manuscript to my editor. I’m proud to say that Dutton/Penguin Random House has been my publisher from the start. They’re wonderful to work with and the entire team is incredible. Finally, I write the author’s note, where I try to make it very clear what’s fact and what’s fiction, as I know readers of historical fiction love to go down the same rabbit holes I did while researching.”
About her most recent release, The Stolen Queen, Fiona says, “It’s about mummies and secret curses, and reclaiming women’s proper role in history. Part of the story takes place in 1978, when an associate curator at the Met Museum named Charlotte is unwillingly teamed up with a over-eager young assistant. The story also jumps back to 1930s Egypt, when Charlotte was a young archaeologist. I love the way both ancient art and pop culture are embodied in the Met Museum, between the Egyptian Art Collection and the Met Gala, also known as the ‘Party of the Year’.”
Fiona spent two weeks in Egypt as part of her research. “In the novel, Charlotte is enthralled with the story of Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was regent to an infant pharaoh and ruled successfully for twenty years, and then after her death she was erasedher images were actually hacked out of reliefs, her sculptures destroyed. At first, it was believed that the acts were ordered by the pharaoh because he was angry at being usurped, and the Met catalog from the last century even describes Hatshepsut as a ‘vain, ambitious and unscrupulous woman’. Later, a new theory came about, which the curator discovers during the course of the novel. I like to say that Hatshepsut was ‘revered, erased, reviled …and then restored’.”
In real life, Fiona spends the work week based on the Upper West Side and then escapes for weekends and most of the summer to what she calls her ‘forever house’ in South Salem. Her boyfriend, Greg Wands, writes thrillers. “We met one cold and rainy November night at Shakespeare & Company on the Upper West Side. I was doing a book signing, and Greg introduced himself – it turns out we shared the same publicist and publisher. We got a drink, and that was that. Not long after, I was looking for a weekend house and found the perfect one in South Salem,” Fiona says. “During Covid we spent most of the time at the house, set up on opposite ends of the dining room table, and that’s still pretty much how we work. Things really flow for us when we’re up here. We both like being able to look up and ask for a synonym or bounce the way something sounds off the other person.”
About her life as a B&NC local, Fiona details, “On Saturday, we hit the Gossett Brothers Farmer’s Market on Route 35 – and our regular stop there includes a standing order for coffee cake from Sharon of Sharamel. We like to cook at home most nights when we’re up here. But when my very English mom visited last month, we took her to the Horse & Hound in South Salem for a pint… which she loved. Greg and I also love to hike in the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.”
Not surprisingly, Fiona reads a lot. “I loved Agatha Christie as a kid, and I adore Edith Wharton, the way she starts a sentence making you think one way and then, with the turn of a phrase, bends it to imply the complete opposite. I do read a lot of historical fiction, and think Kate Quinn is one of the best in the genre. I also like Geraldine Brooks, Dolan Perkins Valdez, and recently finished a book by Evan Friss called The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore, which emphasizes the importance of bookstores. And while I’m on that topic, let me give a shout-out to our local booksellers, like the Reading Room in Katonah, Booksy in Pound Ridge, and Elm Street Books in New Canaan. It’s exciting that a new bookstore is opening in Bedford, as well. I’ve also been lucky to speak at a number of our local libraries, including those in Lewisboro, Bedford, and New Canaan, and the librarians and staff have been so supportive of me and my work. And I love the book series they have going at the Bedford Playhouse.”
“I also have to mention how extraordinary it is that we have so many prominent female authors living in the area,” Fiona declares.
“Lynda Cohen Loigman, Susie Orman Schnall, Amy Poeppel, Ann Leary, Wendy Walker, Jimin Han, Elise Hart Kipness. Some of us even have an occasional writers’ lunch and get together on an informal basis to share ideas and talk shop.”
Four years into her career as an author, at age 53, Fiona was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. But with proper treatment, exercise, and medication, Fiona is doing well and is working hard on her next book, which is set at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Upper Manhattan. “As well as writing novels, I’m also focused on drawing attention to Parkinson’s and acting as an advocate. I serve on the Patient’s Council of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and included a character with Parkinson’s in my book set at Radio City Music Hall - The Spectacular. Since then, I’ve had so many readers come up to me at book talks and signings and share their story as a patient, care partner, or relative, which has been truly rewarding,” Fiona says.
Fiona is looking forward to the upcoming book tour for The Stolen Queen. “I’m very grateful to be able to connect with readers all over the country. And I don’t regret any of the crazy turns that got me to this place…actress…journalist…columnist…each career switch brought me closer to what I really love…which is to write novels. I just didn’t know it yet.”
FIONA DAVIS
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JOE LAPORTA
HEARD BUT NOT SEEN
Joe LaPorta is a mastering engineer - which means that he’s the guy who puts the final touches on an audio recording. And, though the mastering engineer is - particularly since the disappearance of credits being printed on an album coverinvisible to the listener, the subtle changes the mastering engineer makes can make all the difference in how a recording is received by listeners. …Joe is heard but not seen!
Mastering engineers are only eligible to win Grammys in 5 of the 65 award categories…and Joe has won the Grammy for Record of the Year for Miley Cyrus’ Flowers and the Grammy for Best Engineered for David Bowie’s final album Blackstar, been nominated 8 other times, and is now again nominated - at the 2025 Grammy Awards taking place in Los Angeles in January 2025for Best Engineered on Willow Smith’s album Empathogen!
Joe has mastered tunes for Shawn Mendes, Future, Foo Fighters, J. Cole, and Jelly Roll, to name just a few big stars, but he’s also a giant in the Contemporary Christian space. And he’s the ‘go to’ for quite a few top artists, including Keith Urban, who, as Joe says, “...is way involved! The artist is always in control…it’s their vision. But sometimes the artist wants to attend the session in person, and other times I work with their team remotely and don’t actually get to meet the artist. The downsides of my business are that I always have to be available, artists and mixers often set tight deadlines that I have to meet, there isn’t much flexibility with working remotely as I need to be in my studio to get the best results, and…that I don’t share in the residuals!”.
Joe lives in Armonk with his wife Tara and their two sons, Jayden who’s 12 and Justin who’s 9. But Joe grew up in North Salem, and traces his start in the music industry - and meeting Tara - to his days at North Salem High School. “I used to make rap beats on a four-track cassette recorder and put together recordings with other local rappers,” Joe recalls. “At some point during my senior year in high school, my friend and I started a label and secured what’s called a production and distribution deal with a subsidiary of EMI Records. They would only make 5,000 or so copies of each release, but it was really cool to go to the mall and see our albums on display!”
I’m just in love with music.
I like rap and rock and EDM and jazz. And I’m totally intrigued by the way music is made,” Joe declares.
“I went to NYU for a Bachelors in Music Technology, and had an internship at a mastering studio called The Lodge. I was given a ton of responsibilities very early on and once I realized I could do it, I was on my way. My internship turned into a job for the first eight years of my professional career. Then, in 2013, I joined Sterling Sound, which is the preeminent mastering studio in the world. We have studios in Nashville and where I go to work in Edgewater, New Jersey. I work in a specially-built listening room - that, among other things, is built on springs to avoid any interference or distortion caused by the music output or any vibration or sound happening outside the room. The sound I’m listening to has to be a perfect production of what’s recorded. …And when I’m listening, I can tell if there was a dip in a particular frequency range, or if there’s an issue in the room where the sound was recorded.”
“My job,” Joe explains, “...is to take the work of the recording artist and the mixer who’s already assembled the multi-tracks of the recording…and make it better! There’s no room for error! I can make a recording feel more balanced, more dynamic, more striking, and more pleasing. And while people say I ‘have the ear’, it’s also my musical intuition that I’m bringing to the table. …When I’m mastering, I see the music like an array of colors, and what I’m doing is filling-in colors or shades that are missing from the picture. Accentuating something, or turning down the bass or some other facet of the way a song is recorded. Most often, my personal comments are drum related, as the drums are almost always the backbone of the creation. …All of these subtleties can help take an artist’s work to the next level.”
“I listen to music all the time,” Joe comments. “I often listen to my current projects while I’m commuting, and I’m mostly thinking about how I could improve on what it is that I’m hearing. I’ve got the Sonos system in my house blaring until it’s time for the kids to go to sleep. …And whether it’s a concert, wedding, or even snow blowing my driveway - to protect my ears - I’ve got earplugs in!”
Still a bit starstruck about getting to work with entertainment giants, Joe tells about having been a guest at a dinner thrown by the Foo Fighters…with Johnny Depp, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Tony Hawk all in attendance! As to who Joe would have over for a fantasy dinner party of his own, Joe remarks, “My list would consist of some of my biggest influences in different genres of music… James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, King Tubby & J Dilla!”
Photos: Advanced Photographix
LET THERE BE LIGHT
“God said let there be light, and there was light! …But there still wasn’t really great indoor or landscape lighting until I came along!” says Mark Mosello in his typically irreverent and jocular manner. …But he can back it up - with his more than 50 years of lighting up Westchester and Fairfield Counties as his proof!
Mosello’s Design Lighting By Marks has done more residential indoor and outdoor lighting in this area than any other concern, period. And his 23 Banks Design Group has a long history of completing sophisticated and simple residential redesigns and renovations, on time and on budget. Mark exclaims, “At 77, I know a few things about lighting, but you know I still focus on each job like it was my first. I want to light up my customers’ lives!”
Mark grew up in Yonkers, the youngest of three boys, raised Catholic in a working class family with an Italian father and Jewish mother. He lived near Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course, and as a young kid he made cash collecting lost golf balls and selling them, and Kool-Aid, to the golfers. He graduated from Lincoln High School and, at the age of only 17, married his first wife…and welcomed their daughter, Pauline, into a world…where Mark needed to immediately start making a living!
“I got a job working as a Shop Boy for a rough and tumble guy named Luca Cappelli, who was an enterprising electrical contractor expanding into development - and the father of the White Plains developer Louis Cappelli. I spent a decade working my way up and in every capacity of Luca’s organization, and learning everything there is to know about doing electrical work of every kind,” Mark recalls. “I was in the Electrical Workers Union and, in 1969, I got viral meningitis and spent two weeks in the hospital. When they sent me a $16,500 check for workers comp…I went into business for myself.”
“I started driving around to jobs in a 4-door Chevy with an extension ladder tied to the passenger side of the car. Then I bought an old milk truck and converted it to my purposes,” Mark smiles remembering his hardscrabble start. “My first job was putting in an exhaust fan, I had to go back four times to finish the work, and I got paid $15, but I made sure I got it right. I put a crew together, and then another and another, and I developed a pretty successful business doing electrical contracting, and eventually I expanded into roofing, landscaping, masonry, and carpentry.”
“In 1971, I was working on an interior renovation job in Scarsdale and, for no particular reason, I took particular notice of the splendid Magnolia that was the center attraction on the front lawn. I suggested to the homeowners that I light-up the tree…which was a novel idea at the time! I hadn’t seen it done, I just imagined how great the tree would look, and knew I had the know-how to do it right. The homeowners were hesitant about the $300 cost, so I offered to install the lighting and only collect the fee if they were thrilled with the result. …They were! …Then a neighbor saw it and called to get the same…and outdoor lighting has been a principal focus of my business ever since!”
“I’m proud to say my work always stands out! When someone drives by a house and landscape I’ve lit up, there’s a substance, balance and professionalism that’s just right!” Mark proclaims.
“AND I DO ALMOST AS MUCH INDOOR LIGHTING AS LANDSCAPE WORK,”
Mark continues. “With good indoor lighting I can change the mood and feeling of a home. Sometimes even some small lighting adjustments will warm a room or make a whole house feel more inviting and welcoming. Beyond the color and intensity of the light inside the house, installing proper lights to highlight art, or to backlight a bar, or uplight a ceiling, can change your living experience.”
Adding finally, “And, beyond lighting, with my 23 Banks Design Group, also based in Bedford, I still do all kinds of high-end landscaping, masonry, and carpentry.”
Running Design Lighting By Marks and 23 Banks Design Group has Mark running
around Westchester and Fairfield like the Eveready Bunny…but, like Superman, he always shows up when you need him. He’s with his third wife, Laurie, and has four biological children and four stepchildren. He and Laurie recently sold their own estate in Waccabuc - and there’s a rumor that Taylor Swift was the buyer! - and he and Laurie now reside in South Salem. He gets out for an occasional round of golf…but is almost always talking about a job or, worse, having to leave golfing early to make sure his guys got it right lighting up some customer’s property.
Good lighting can be transformative. …In the B&NC MAG area, Mark Mosello is the man!
Claire Millerick & Ben Powers
Married in Ridgefield
Claire Millerick and Ben Powers were married at the Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield on September 21, 2024. Claire grew up in Ridgefield and went to the Ridgefield public schools. She drove by the Keeler Tavern most days, had school field trips there, and even had her senior portrait done in the gardens. …And from the time she was young, she knew the Keeler Tavern was where she wanted to get married!
Claire and Ben met at the Southport School, a special school for kids with dyslexia and ADHD, where Claire and Ben were both working at the time, and where Ben is now the Executive Director. They’d been professional colleagues for three years before they finally admitted that they liked each other and decided to go on a date…and just four months later Ben popped the question on a beach in the Florida Keys! “As soon as we started dating I knew Claire was the one for me!” Ben smiles. “We were house-sitting at Claire’s parents in Ridgefield and while I was playing with the dog in the backyard, I looked up and caught a glimpse of her through the kitchen window …and I had the very clear realization that I was in love!”
“I say ‘coincidentally’, earlier that same day Ben and I had driven by the Keeler Tavern and I’d mentioned to Ben that
‘ That ’ s where I want to get married one day !’”
Claire shares.
“We wanted the evening to feel like an intimate dinner party for our closest family and friends, and ended up having about fifty guests. My sister Charlotte Whatley is a wedding planner and she helped us out a lot!” Claire recounts, On wedding morning, Claire got ready at the Fountain Inn and walked from there to the Keeler Tavern. “Some of my favorite photos from the day are the ones of me walking down Main Street in my gown!” The ceremony was held in the Keeler’s Sunken Garden, which was in full bloom on a nice cool fall day.
“We’d called each other ‘partners’ from the beginning of our relationship,” Claire explains, “…and I didn’t really resonate with the idea of being ‘given away’, so I walked down the aisle alone - and had my parents, Carol and Michael Millerick, and my sister, waiting for me in the front to give me a big hug.” Ben reflects, “We chose not to do a first look, so the first time I saw Claire was when she was walking down the aisle towards me… it was such a special moment!”
The couple had a close friend from Southport School officiate the ceremony, and exchanged custom vows…
Claire: Our love story has moved fast , but I have never doubted that we are soulmates . Ilovedknowingyouas a coworker , and then I loved falling head over heels for you, and now I love building a life together.
Ben: There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t reflect about how I am the luckiest. It’ s fitting we ’ re getting married at a museum, because you are such an exquisite and unique creation , and I feel like the luckiest that I get a lifetime to appreciate you.
A live string orchestra performed for the ceremony and through the cocktail hour, which was held in a tent on the Terrace, and followed by the reception in the Garden House. “The whole affair was really lively and elegant and sophisticated, and centered around the dinner. And it was heartwarming to see the way our two families got together,” Claire says, glowing with the memory. To add personal touches to the evening, Claire’s mom made the wedding cake and Claire’s aunt, Bonnie Kaehler, did the artwork that was printed on each napkin. The color scheme was autumnal, with lots of Sunflowers and Rhenunculas filling the room. Ben made a speech, the couple shared a first dance, and Claire danced with her dad to Tupelo Honey. “We hired a watercolor artist to create on-the-spot portraits of our guests as favors to take home and remember the evening by…and now we love hearing from our friends and family how cherished those portraits are,” Ben relishes.
At the end of the evening, the couple walked right down the street to spend the night at the Fountain Inn. The next day the newlyweds left for a celebratory weekend in Cape Cod. And, while B&NC locals are reading this, the couple will be honeymooning in St. Lucia.
CREATING HOMES TO FALL IN LOVE WITH!
Stephanie Loda R.E. Photography
Out & About Out & About
Martha Stewart Christmas Tree Lighting
1. Marisol Maldonado, Rob Thomas, Michael Kelly, Cristi Cohen, Karyn Kelly, Ann Leary
2. Sunny Harum, Ross Mathews, Wellinthon García-Mathews, Patch Darragh
3. Beth Crowell, David Neville, Laura Yaggi, Christopher Gavigan
4. Martha Stewart, Casey Kaplan, Jonathan Bell, Grace & Fred Bronstein
5. Joey Angelo, Eric Clement, Arsha Cazazian, Illona Angelo
6. Lindsay Werbitt, Cara Barrett, Renea Dayton, Tyler Drexler
7. Andy Yu, John Needham, Beth Crowell, Dawn Bowman, Laura Yaggy
On Friday December 6, Martha Stewart hosted a fabulous Christmas tree lighting at the Bedford Post Inn. Merriment flowed, as did adorably themed cocktails like a mezcal hot apple cider and mulled wine being cooked and served in an outdoor kitchen. The collaboration included Martha overseeing the holiday decorations that were erected in the Farmhouse area of the Inn, and contributing a tree cut down from her own property from her Christmas tree farm.
To kick off the festivities, Martha Stewart officiated the lighting of the towering tree at dusk with a countdown, followed by joining in with local carolers for a few songs. Later on, a champagne tower surprised and delighted an onlooking crowd.
Bedford & New Canaan Magazine was enlisted as the event’s media sponsor – and the most recent issue of B&NC Mag, with Martha Stewart on the cover in her Katonah home in front of her own Christmas tree, was displayed throughout the Inn.
Out & About
New Canaan Halloween Block Party
A family friendly New Canaan Tradition with trick or treating on Elm Street and music, courtesy of New Canaan’s own School of Rock.
1. Sam, Amanda, and Emma Nelson and Mike Walters
2. Anthony, Alexandria, Abigail, Anthony, and Collins Sillo
Mystery at the Meadowlands Darien Community Association
Guests enjoyed an old Hollywood Whodunit Mystery at the DCA’s Meadowlands!
Rachel Horowitz, Hannah Pretorious, Alexa Sherpa and Julia McDonnell
4. Ray DeCastro, Robyn DeCastro, Jenn Bannerton, Megan Solis, Kevin Bannerton, Rafael Solis, Katherine Type, Nicholas Type, Amy Sarbinowski, Joseph Sarbinowski
5. Liz Melaugh, Kate Noble, Kathleen Leuthold, Sandy Schmidt, Kelly Andricopoulos, Meghan Shain, Caitlin Gleason, Alisson Kiss, Sarah Wood
Hard Headed Comedy @ Bedford Playhouse
Hard Headed Comedy brought an unforgettable night of laughter with a stellar line-up of comedians.
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A Dinyar Wadia masterpiece; reimagined 1930 Tudor estate with all the allure and convenience of new construction. Arrive through a stone pillared drive into the world of yesteryear with grace & style. Prime private location on park-like property with sweeping lawns and all the amenities. Exterior amenities include a covered back porch, pool, pool house with vaulted ceiling, outdoor brick fireplace, tennis court, gardens, specimen trees, professional landscaping, level lawns, outdoor lighting and 4 car garage.
6 BEDS, 10 BATHS. $6,895,000
3.
6. Erin Maguire, Luz Michelle, Liz Glazer, and Oscar Collazos
Out & About
Ridgefield Academy/ Landmark Preschool 50th Anniversary Gala
Ridgefield Academy/Landmark Preschool celebrated their 50th anniversary on Saturday, November 2nd, at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills. Nearly 175 current and past parents, faculty, staff, and friends gathered to honor this important milestone in the school’s history.
Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, donors, auction winners, and attendees, more than $200,000 was raised. Event proceeds will support tuition assistance, allowing future generations of students to benefit from the personalized, comprehensive education the school has provided for five decades.
1. Michael Scully, Natalie GabathulerScully, Diana and Marc D’Agostino
2. Back: Megan Maloney, Alysa Wakin, Alison Davis, Brittny Howell, Andrea Alvarez. Front: Elizabeth Tong, Jenny Zhang, Rachel Sondheimer, Liz Smolenack, Claudia Morgan, Jessica Brooks, Danielle Van Riper
3. Jim Heus, Rachel Sondheimer, Tom Main
4. Philip Van Riper, Melissa Heus, Danielle Van Riper
5. Kaye Hale and Douglas Malton
Out & About
On Friday, November 15th, following a yearlong construction project, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum celebrated the reopening of the Sculpture Garden with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
2.
3. Gail Gluckman, Diana Bowes, Eric Diefenbach, Neil Marcus, Julie Phillips, KK Streator, Amy Pal, Kristina Larson, Cybele Maylone, Claude Amadeo Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Sculpture Garden at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Darien Chamber’s Annual Awards & Holiday Cheer
1. Julie Phillips, Gail Gluckman, Kristina Larson
Eric Diefenbach, Eddie Marshall, Cybele Maylone, Diana Bowes
4. Michelle Donzeiser, Amy Daniels, Brandi Maniscalco, Kesti Aysseh, Missy Dye, Jennifer Erdlen, Susan Demark
5. Kesti Aysseh, Suzanne BrannanEmployee of the Year and Bill Jensen
6. Hugh Demark, Jim Demark, Sue Demark, Jared Demark and Susan Demark
The Darien Chamber’s Annual Awards and Holiday Cheer event, celebrating Chamber members and dedicated volunteers who’s hard work and commitment make all the difference.
Out & About
B&NC Wicked Party
A little good ‘ole fashioned fun! Bedford & New Canaan Magazine threw a Wicked-themed party at oHHo in Bedford followed by a private screening at the Bedford Playhouse. Costumes were strongly encouraged! To embellish the festivities, local vendors were brought in with themed activities, decor and bites. Margie Nugent, the owner of Making Faces, was quite the hit with kids and adults as she helped lots of little girls transform into the Glinda of their dreams! Dan Reardon, from Drs. Orders Baking Co created custom Glinda and Elphaba hand-decorated cookies. Cotton Candy Time spun pink and green cotton candy for everyone. And themed games and photo booths were enjoyed by all!
1. Gustavo & Ela Sanabria, Casey Kaplan, Neil Schultz, Carol Kurth, Amy Wayne
2. Gary & Joyce Corrigan
3. Amanda Huntington, Casey Kaplan, Mike Keane
4. June Hersh, Daisy & Allison London
5. The Pearson Family
6. Jill Brooke, David Hochberg, Stacy Geisenger
7. Margie Nugent paints the face of a young party-goer
8. Dan Reardon’s Drs. Orders cookies
9. Casey Kaplan and Helaine Smith
10. Paul Carden, Fernando Silva, Joy & Reese Gregory, Casey Kaplan, Monica Tran
Out & About
The Prospector Gala at The Prospector Theater
November 20th 2024 marked the 10 year anniversary of The Prospector first opening its doors. To celebrate a decade of competitive and inclusive employment for people with disabilities, The Prospector hosted a sparkly Gala!
2.
Blossom Hill’s Holiday Bazaar @ Carriage Barn Arts Center
Blossom Hill’s Holiday Bazaar showed the incredible power of women-owned businesses uniting for education and peace — strengthening their impact across 14 schools and programs.
Wicked with Special Guest Dan Micciche at Bedford Playhouse
A sold-out screening of Wicked, featuring an exclusive discussion with Broadway’s Dan Micciche, offering insights into the musical’s legacy and its transformation from stage to screen.
1. Kennedy Blaire, Ryan Wenke, RJ Mitty
EJ Greczylo and Brad Bellagamba
3. Cindy Mann, Dillion Tepfer, Kris Mann
4. Rosy Nimroody, Ann Reed, Mahshid Nasseri
5. Jason Bennett, Ellen Badanes, Alan Badanes, Danika landers, Lauren Nussbaum, Shiva Sarram
6. Dan Micciche and Jennifer Funigiello
Out & About
Person 2 Person Annual Holiday Toy Store
1. Kelsey Jensen, Quinn Jensen, Carter Jensen, Kelsey Priebe, Hunter Priebe, and Warren Priebe
2. Malcolm Willis, Hilary Willis, “Finley Willis, and Hudson Willis
3. Abby Stinchfield, Bea Stinchfield, Oliver Dennis, and Andy Stinchfield
4. Lance Munger, Wesley Munger, Jack Loop and Paula Loop
New Canaan Holiday Stroll
5. Chantal Huskins, Jeff Boulanger & Elyse Miller
6. Front: Cecilia Huss, M’Liss Conetta, Amy Gold & Martha Parizot.
Back: Cathy de Graaff, Lisa Koorbusch, Jeremy Leone, Liz DeCanio & Judy Marzen
7. Daniel Lopez, M’Liss Conetta & Zoraida (Zory) Cabrera
On Friday December 6th, New Canaan kicked off the Holiday Shopping season with their annual Holiday Stroll. On December 12th, Person 2 Person held its annual “Holiday Toy Store,” in Darien, ensuring its clients have gifts for their children during this special time of year. The event was made possible thanks to the kindness of local residents and businesses who donated toys, books, board games, gift cards, and money!
Out & About
5th Annual Peppermint Parade in Katonah
Santa Claus came to Katonah on a sleigh on a truck, escorted by vintage cars and the Katonah Fire Department. This was the 5th Annual Peppermint Parade put on by the Katonah Chamber of Commerce and was co-sponsored by the Katonah Village Improvement Society.
1. Grace Amerling, Stephanie Scott, Cormac Lio, Eileen Sullivan, Frankie Cuiffo, Teryn Kendall, Meghan Crystal and Eleanor Hershey
2. Chase and Hailey Peterson
3. The parade
Westchester Land Trust Winter Open House
Westchester Land Trust hosted a Winter Open House at its Sugar Hill Farm headquarters in Bedford Hills on Thursday, December 12. Dozens of supporters, Board members, volunteers, and community members gathered for a warm and festive evening. There was a volunteer appreciation ceremony to recognize the many people that help with the land trust’s work.
4. Doug Mancinelli, Rosemary Mancinelli, Tim Murphy
5. Susan Leighton, Allison Turcan, Ellen Best & Lisa Cohn
Out & About Out & About
Mather Homestead Fall Harvest Festival
The Mather Homestead sixth annual Fall Harvest Festival welcomed families for old fashioned fun on October 26.
1. The Noble Family
2. Jessica, Cliff, Quint and Tuck Merrill
3. Zara Hardy, Mari Finn, Rob Hardy, and kids
North Salem Open Land Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration
300 members and guests gathered at Staysail Farm, celebrating 50 years of land conservation. NSOLF accepted the NY State Senate 2024 Empire Award and was also able to secure funding for the next Preserve — 168-acres of land in North Salem!
4. Hilary and Paraic Sweeney, Roberta DiBlasi
5. Ken Lippmann, Lydia Hatch, Lois Lippmann, Duncan Dayton
6. Michael Handler, Anita Zander, Robert Kotch, Debora Handler, Elizabeth Almeyda
7. Shari Soward, Elizabeth Almeyda, Teri Mendelsohn, Pete Harckham, Pam Pooley, Peter Kamenstein, John Baker, Carol Goldberg, Warren Lucas, Ken Jenkins
WOMB Music Project Sips Sounds & Ceremony
The event raised awareness about Serenity Music Org and the WOMB Music Project, a compilation album to aid in the birthing process and to help create a calming sensory experience in environments where women are healing from womb trauma and PPD.
2024 Katonahween Parade!
The KVIS Katonahween Parade in Katonah, New York was a spooky success! From creative costumes to festive fun, the community brought the Halloween magic. Huge thanks to everyone who joined in and made it unforgettable. An estimated 800 people filled Katonah Ave.
The Games Afoot
Bedford Playhouse presented Ken Ludwig’s thrilling mystery-comedy The Game’s Afoot, where murder and intrigue disrupted a festive weekend at a Broadway star’s castle.
2. Charlie Colaco Curry, Fiona Foster
3. Clockwise: Ben Thielen, Garrett Thielen, Helena Thielen, Brittany Lowrey
4. Trent Dawson, Josh Pickel, Ann Alford, Isabel Murphy, Cristi Andrews, Trey Ellett, Edward Watts, and Jessica Capshaw
1. Lee Triffon, Jacqueline Paolino Gadigian, Kory LaFalce Farzam, Arielle Kebbel
Out & About
Over 50 holiday-themed riders and BRLA families and friends gathered along Bisbee Lane and Succabone Road for some spirited FA LA LA for the 2nd annual BRLA Tinsel Trot. Culminating at the Sutton Clocktower, the horse processional and crowds enjoyed hot cocoa courtesy of MAST Market.
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1. Lindsey, Emma and Charlie Daily 2. Lauren, Brian and Trey Queally
3. Ed, Jennifer, Rhodes and Collins Notebaert
4. Thalia Stamatelos, Arsha Cazazian, Eric Clement, Meghan Carleton, Milly Young
5. Julia Fosina and Renzo Tapia
6. Muffin Dowdle and George D’Ambrosio
BRLA Tinsel Trot
The New Canaan Nature Center transformed into a Winter Wonderland filled with fun holiday activities for the entire family! There were photos with Santa, a Holiday Model Trains exhibit, marshmallow roasting, crafts, and more.
Out & About
“The Space We Exist In”
1. Steve Ross, Ashley Paltauf, Patti Ross, Lori Berisford
2. Peter Tauck, Shereen Abdel-Meguid Ridgefield Playhouse Fall Gala with Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton
4. Lisa Levinger and Nelson Louie
5. Carolyn Kennedy, John Kennedy, Christopher & Christina G Murder Mystery DinnerJacob Burns Film Center
Ridgefield Playhouse held their Fall 2024 Gala featuring Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton. Attendees experienced
concert by Elvis Costello, all
raising funds for the Playhouse.
3. Heather Gaudio, Rachael Palacios, Larry Ossei-Mensah, Clara Nartey, Deborah Dancy, Kim Dacres, Patrick Alston and Christine Romaniello
Opening Heather Gaudio
Curated by Ghanaian-American curator Larry Ossei-Mensah, the exhibition brings together seven visual artists exploring how space is shaped by human experience. On view through January 18th. Held in the Jane Peck Gallery at JBFC, all proceeds
Out & About
Merry Mather at the Mather Homestead
The Mather Homestead Foundation celebrated the holiday season and the generosity of their donors with a holiday event in the Elizabeth W. Chilton Center which included a performance by the Soundwaves, Darien High School’s a cappella group.
1. Eliot Jacobs, Phillip Jacobs, Lisa Thorén, Peter Thorén, Heather Raker
2. Kevin Gray, Adria Bates, Janet Olmsted, Jonathan Olmsted, Joellyn Gray
3. Ania Janis, Cliff Merrill, Michael Janis, Jessica Merrill
Shine Bright Bedford
An event that was fun for all featuring the Tree & Menorah lighting, caroling, luminary display, holiday market and Fezziwigs at the 1787 Court House and an appearance by Santa!
4. Poppy Gavigan, Chase Hyland, Maggie Eleck
Out & About
8. Shine Bright Luminary Display on the Bedford Village Green
Mather Homestead kicked off the Christmas season with their Wreath Making Workshop. Guests created beautiful wreaths using natural greens and assorted baubles while sipping on champagne and nibbling on goodies from Saucy Spoon.
Merry Meadowlands: A Holiday Home and Market - Darien Community Association
1. Britney Bazlawski, Haley Cozza, Laura Lynch
2. Claudia Sheehan, Alison Feeley, Amy Keating, Joann Corney, Lyle Carter, Gayle Appleby
Mather Homestead Workshop: Holiday Greenery
3. Sarah Lyden, Lisa Frye, Margaret Arrix, Debbie Murray, Karen Elders
4. Kelly Lesko, Heidi Heaney, Laurie Waldron, Stacy Book and Susan Graham
5. Jocelyn Kaoutzanis, Caroline Jennings, Lauren Stever, Joana Nassa, Jenn Garcia-Alonso
6. Meg Hetherington, Emily Chard, Lis Drew
The
The fundraiser saw the historic nonprofit decorated by Browne & Co, The Linen Shop, Nielsen’s, and Palmer’s Market. Local shops were open while guests mingled and shopped.
CALENDAR of LOCAL EVENTS
January 4 @ 11am PRESENT LAUGHTER BY NOËL COWARD
The Ridgefield Playhouse
January 7 @ 7-9pm
SCREENING + Q&A: BATTLE AT VERSAILLES
Bedford Playhouse
January 9 @ 7-8pm ADULT MOVEMENT AND MEDITATION WITH DR. KATIE
Darien Nature Center
January 9 @ 6:30-8pm
HARVEY SCHOOL UPPER SCHOOL PREVIEW NIGHT
Harvey School, Katonah
January 9, 16, 23, 30, and Feb 6 @ 10am GLOBAL ISSUES
SPEAKER SERIES: INDIA TODAY
Darien Community Association
January 9 - May 11 WEN LIU:
TAME TANGLE EXHIBITION
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield
January 10 @ 7:30pm JAY PRINCE & FRIENDS IN CONCERT
Lewisboro Library
January 10 @ 6pm NEW CANAAN SPORTS TRIVIA NIGHT WITH TERRY DINAN
New Canaan Museum & Historical Society
January 11 @ 4-6pm OPENING: LIVING COLOR FEATURING YUKO NISHIKAWA, DEBBIE HESSE & COURTNEY ALAN ROSSY
Yellow Studio, Cross River
January 12 @ 9-1pm REFLECT & RENEW: A HALF DAY MINI RETREAT WITH GROUNDED MEDITATION
Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan
January 14 @ 7pm LIFECHANGERS: CLARA BINGHAM
Bedford Playhouse
January 15, @ 6-7pm KMA ADULT COURSES: PHOTOGRAPHY, HISTORY, AND FASHION
Katonah Museum of Art
January 15 @ 6:30-8:30pm BOOZY CANDLE MAKING WORKSHOP
Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan
January 15 @ 7pm
EMPOWERING
NONPROFIT BOARDS: INFLUENCING POLICY & DRIVING CHANGE PANEL
DISCUSSION
Hosted by the Mount Kisco Child Care Center
Hotel MTK, Mt. Kisco
January 16 @ 7:30pm
HOUSATONIC
HABITAT CHARITY
COMEDY SHOW WITH ADAM FERRARA
The Ridgefield Playhouse
January 20 @ 3pm 29TH ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER
KING, JR. DAY CELEBRATION
The Ridgefield Playhouse
January 21 @ 7-8pm LECTURE WITH
A sampling of what can be found online at: www.BedfordNewCanaanMag.com
... the largest amalgamated calendar in the region - and your free resource for all things local! Be sure to subscribe for free to our emails as well to receive regular highlights in your inbox on what’s happening in the community that you don’t want to miss!
January 24, February 1 & 8 @ 9am SATURDAY SERIES
ACTIVITIES FOR AGES 2-4 AND GRADES 3-5
New Canaan Country School
January 24 @ 7-9pm
LISTEN TO THE MOVIE: PURPLE RAIN WITH ROB CAVENAGH
Bedford Playhouse
January 24 @ 8pm THE MARTIN SEXTON ABBEY ROAD SHOW
The Ridgefield Playhouse
January 25
OWL MOON NIGHT HIKE
New Canaan Nature Center
January 25 @ 8pm ANDERS OSBORNE
The Ridgefield Playhouse
January 26 @ 7:30pm JIM BELUSHI & THE
FEB
February 1 - March 5 45TH ANNUAL JURIED PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan
February 3 @ 4-5:30pm
LEATHERMAN FILM
SCREENING AND Q&A
February 5 @ 6-8pm THE M FACTOR: SHREDDING THE SILENCE ON MENOPAUSE Bedford Playhouse
February 5 @ 10am-12pm GRATEFUL GATHERINGS WITH FLOWER POWER: A NEW COMMUNITY SERIES AT LOUNSBURY HOUSE WITH SOAR TOGETHER Lounsbury House, Ridgefield
February 6 - March 9 FIDDLER ON THE ROOF ACT of CT, Ridgefield
February 6 @ 7-10pm GALENTINE’S PARTY WITH FRIENDS OF KAREN Coliseum, White Plains
February 8 @ 7-10pm MYSTERY AT THE MEADOWLANDS Darien Community Association
February 8 & 9 @ 10am-3pm MUSCOOT FARM’S WINTER FESTIVAL
Muscoot Farm, Katonah
February 9 - March 3 YOUNG ARTISTS 2025 EXHIBITION
Katonah Museum of Art
A sampling of what can be found online at: www.BedfordNewCanaanMag.com ... the largest amalgamated calendar in the region - and your free resource for all things local! Be sure to subscribe for free to our emails as well to receive regular highlights in your inbox on what’s happening in the community that you don’t want to miss!
February 10 @ 3-4pm
WEST POINT BAND WIND QUINTET PERFORMANCE
Pound Ridge Library
February 13-20
LOVE ME TENDER: BIG SCREEN ROMANCES SERIES
Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville
February 13 & 14 @ 1pm
VALENTINE’S DAY AFTERNOON TEA
Caramoor, Katonah
February 15 @ 8pm THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND
The Ridgefield Playhouse
February 21 @ 5:30-7:30pm POLAR BEAR PICNIC
Grace Farms, New Canaan
February 21 - 22 @ 8pm
DIONNE WARWICK
The Ridgefield Playhouse
February 21 - March 9
TERRA NOVA
(OBIE AWARD WINNER)
PRODUCTION
Powerhouse Theatre, New Canaan
February 22 @ 4-6pm
OPENING:
CAROL BOUYOUCOS & TINA SCEPANOVIC
Yellow Studio, Cross River
February 22 @ 4:30-6pm
MUSIC AT GRACE FARMS
ANDROMEDA TURRE
Grace Farms, New Canaan
February 26 @ 7-8:30pm BLACK HISTORY
MONTH LECTURE:
CHARLES YOUNG, FIRST BLACK NATIONAL PARKS
SUPERINTENDENT
Mather Homestead, Darien
February 27 @ 8pm
THE FAB FOUR
USA MEETS THE BEATLES
The Ridgefield Playhouse
February 28 @ 7-8pm
PLATON AND THE DEFENDERS: HEROES OF THE GLOBAL FIGHT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Grace Farms, New Canaan
HANNELORE KAPLAN
ONE-OF-A-KIND ON OENOKE
Step into a realm of timeless elegance with this oneof-a-kind Georgian colonial. Inspired by New York City’s Gilded Age, this home is a celebration of artistic heritage and meticulous craftsmanship. The home’s brickwork and gabled slate roof pay homage to an era of grandeur. Quality is paramount, with premium materials gracing every surface. Soar with 10’ high ceilings on the main floor, amplifying the sense of space and luxury. A gourmet kitchen is a culinary haven with a breakfast dining nook that gracefully opens out to a serene courtyard. On the main floor, there is a full bathroom that is convenient to the family room adjoining the kitchen, while an elegant powder room in the entry foyer is thoughtfully located closer to the formal living room and paneled library. The second floor features five graciously proportioned bedrooms with sumptuous en-suite bathrooms An additional 3,300 sq ft of basement space, already outfitted with a full bathroom, awaits your imagination: transform it into a family room, gym, home theater, or golf simulator. A sun-drenched, expansive third floor is a potential art/dance studio or playroom. This Georgian colonial isn’t just a home; it is a legacy to cherish. 5 BEDS, 7.5 BATHS. $5,495,000
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Angela Rizzi, Naples, FL
Denise Walsh, Fairfield, CT
