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GREENWICH
2020 contentsDECEMBER features vol. 73 | issue 12
50
25 SWEET, FUNNY & TOUCHING HOLIDAY TRADITIONS
We chat with some pretty creative Greenwich residents who share the festive ways that they’re making sure the Grinch (read: COVID) doesn’t get his way this season. by ria nn sm i th
58
ART WORK The new Bruce Museum is about to take center stage in Greenwich. We introduce you to the man at the helm, Executive Director Robert Wolterstorff. by ti mothy dum as
departments 12 EDITOR’S LETTER 14 FOUNDER’S PAGE Of Magic and a Jolly Old Elf
19 STATUS REPORT BUZZ Greenwich Historical Society photo contest
a smile on the faces of everyone on your list HOME Get comfy! Warm and fuzzy home finds DO Easy on-the-go workout GO What you need to know when you hit the slopes this season EAT Creative and fun ideas for festive holiday meals 40 G-MOM Get your holiday groove on! 43 PEOPLE & PLACES Greenwich Land Trust, Go Wild!; Greenwich Senior Center drive-through meals; Breast Cancer Alliance golf outing 49 VOWS Sanders–Croft
50
67 CALENDAR 71 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
Getting in the “spirit” of the season
72 POSTSCRIPT The simple pleasure of a traditional family outing
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DECEMBER 2020 / CRISTIN MARANDINO
love Christmas! On the day after Thanksgiving, the boxes filled with lights, ornaments, an assortment of snowmen, Santas, stars, stockings and God knows what else get hauled out of the closet. But this year, as I anticipated the holidays, a little bah humbug crept in. What’s the point? Everything felt so blah. Then one night a friend and I started talking about Christmas. And I found myself telling stories of Christmases past—traditions we had when I was a kid, funny stories about my mother’s major tree mishaps, and so on. That’s when it occurred to me: We need the holiday spirit now more than ever. But I think there’s been a bit of a paradigm shift when it comes to the 2020 holiday spirit. It’s now a sense of gratitude—being grateful for friends and family, for finding the silver linings (yes, there were some) in extremely stressful times. And instead of hopping from party to party or store to store, we have the opportunity to slow down, reflect and appreciate. A little too much It’s a Wonderful Life? Still feeling kind of Grinchy? Writer Riann
greenwichmag.com
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Smith is here to help. In “25 Sweet, Funny & Touching Holiday Traditions” (page 50), she talks to locals who are determined to create some festive magic, no matter how different the celebrations may look. They are a creative group and offer some great advice for the holiday-wary among us. As for me, I’ve gotten over my Christmas blahs and now look forward to decking the halls. I can tell you the story behind nearly every ornament on my tree, and there are a lot of them—a silver Hope ornament a friend gave me the year I cofounded the Celebrating Hope benefit, the goofy moose my brother sent when he was living in Minnesota, the handblown glass snowman I watched being made while on a trip to Vermont, the Lord & Taylor shopping bag my late mom (an avid L&T shopper) gave me. They all hold a memory of a person, trip or milestone. They all make me smile. This year I plan to take a few more beats before hanging each one. And, I suppose, that is precisely the point.
WILLIAM TAUFIC
LET’S DO THIS! I
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“Kids are very basic,” Joe observes. “If you give kids an answer they understand, they can live with that.”
t’s December 2020, the end of an awful year. But one thing’s fer sure: The Big Guy in Red will still be keeping an eye on our children (both naughty and nice), and he’ll still be coming to town. Like the rest of us this holiday season, he’ll just have to be more creative than ever. So we checked in with Joe Warren—retired senior engineer at Pitney Bows and former Darien selectman, proprietor of Wild Birds Unlimited, active volunteer fireman and, most important of all, longtime Santa’s helper. Hundreds of our kids have sat on his lap for the past twenty years at the Greenwich Junior League Enchanted Forest and for forty-five years at the Darien Sport Shop, where he’s just been booked again. Now things will be different, of course: Parents will have to make reservations, temperatures will be taken, and he’ll wear a mask with a beard on it that fits over his real beard if a parent wants him to. But outside of that, kids will be kids and Santa will be Santa, except for maybe a few new requests. “Surprisingly, Barbie is still reasonably popular over all these years,” says Joe, “but I’m not sure the American Girl dolls are going to hold up. At $80 to $90 a pop and all the paraphernalia, parents aren’t willing to add a new doll every year. For boys, no greenwichmag.com
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question, Legos are it —and video games. There’s something called Minecraft, essentially electronic Legos. You can go online and build a village using Lego blocks. All virtual.” One memorable request came from an eight-year-old girl who whispered in his ear, “Santa, all I want is for everybody to be happy.” Joe was some impressed. Later, when he was climbing back on the fire engine he’d arrived on, she ran over and grabbed his sleeve: “Now Santa, Santa, do you remember what I want?” “Yes, dear, you want everybody to be happy.” And she replied, “That’s right. That’s what I want. That, and an iPad!” Requests for pets are easy. “I tell ’em they’re going to get it—and the parents are looking at me like ‘How dare you!’ Then he talks about the responsibilities. “Who’s going to take the dog out for a walk at night? The kid says, ‘I will.’ How about when you’re sound asleep in bed? ‘Well, Mommy’ll have to do that.’ And what happens when you’ve run out of food and somebody has to go to the store? ‘Well, I’ll go.’ You can’t because you don’t have a driver’s license and you don’t have any money. And who’s going to train the animal when you’re in school being trained yourself? On it goes, until Santa says, ‘Maybe this year I’ll bring you a stuffed dog you can practice on until you’re older.’” »
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Santa’s helper Joe Warren with Maks Moffly at the Greenwich Junior League Enchanted Forest at the Stamford Hyatt in 2016.
Mommy’s house and toy trucks to Daddy’s?” Problem solved, until the little boy said: “And bring some presents for Daddy to his house and for Mommy at her house,” and, he added, “Uncle Harry wants some new socks, and those go under the tree at Mommy’s house!” “I don’t know who Uncle Harry was, but I know which house he was staying at,” says Joe. “That mother couldn’t get that kid off my lap fast enough.” Joe ends every conversation with children the same way: “Let’s make a deal. If I promise I will do the very best I can to bring you what you want for Christmas, will you promise me that you’ll be happy with whatever I bring you?” Then they shake on it. At age three, Joe’s grandson Ben was very comfortable with the fact that Papa Joe was Santa Claus. Seeing him in civilian clothes, he called him Papa Joe and in a red suit called him Santa. For Christmas Ben’s parents gave him a Thomas the Train set, telling him it was from Santa. So when Joe and his wife arrived for Christmas night dinner, the little boy came flying out of the playroom, so excited he was waving his arms and stuttering: “You can’t … greenwichmag.com
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just wait til … Wait,” he said to his grandfather, “just wait til you see what you brought me!” “Are you the real Santa?” a little boy asked Joe in the grocery store, looking up thoughtfully into the twinkly blue eyes above the bushy beard. “Well, I don’t know,” Joe answers. “Are you the real Johnny? Are we really talking to each other? Are you really having a good time?” “Are you Santa Claus?” a little girl in a restaurant wanted to know. “Well, what do you think?” Joe parries. “And before you think too hard, remember, you never know when somebody just might be going around making notes on that list.” “Nobody has more fun than I do. That’s a fact,” says Joe Warren, who’s all into the spirit of giving. There’s no charge for his Santa gigs, unless you’re moved to make a donation to the Noroton Volunteer Fire Department. And he whacks off his ponytail every two years for Locks of Love, which makes wigs for cancer victims. “Believe me,” Joe adds, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world that I get to do this.” It’s still a magical time of year. G
ANDREA CARSON
Children ask for other things they can’t have, like a car or motorcycle, and Joe convinces them that it’s no fun if they’re not allowed to use these things. “Kids are very basic,” he observes. “If you give kids an answer they understand, they can live with that.” But it’s a challenge every year to keep up with what they’re thinking about, so Joe has to get creative. Today every little kid seems to have an Elf on the Shelf, which they’ve named themselves. They ask Santa: “What’s my elf ’s name?” And Joe replies: “You know, I have a book back at the North Pole that has everybody’s name in it and their elf ’s name, but I don’t carry it with me, because it’s too large.” If asked where his reindeer are, he says that they’re at the North Pole where they belong until Christmas Eve. Because if he brought them along on every visit, they’d be worn out. “I make no bones about it,” he adds, explaining how he got to the Hyatt or the Civic Center. “I took a helicopter from the North Pole to Greenland, an airplane from Greenland to New York, then a train to Stamford, and a friend let me use his car. So if they see me driving around in a blue Chevy, they know why.” If a child is timid, he’ll say: “Oh, look. Your sweater is red just like mine! Come a little closer so we can see if they match!” Or “You don’t have to sit on my lap. Just come closer, so I don’t have to shout.” To break the ice, he remembers saying to an adorable three-year-old sitting in his lap: “May I ask you a personal question? Where did you get those beautiful eyes?” And without a moment of hesitation, the little girl looked right back at him and said: “Bloomingdale’s!” “Her mother had taught her that all good things come from Bloomingdale’s,” he says with a laugh. “I gotta tell you, I have a ball with these kids. That’s key to the whole thing.” Sometimes Joe might ask a child where he should put the presents. But once, a little boy said: “Well, Santa, Mommy and Daddy aren’t living together anymore, so there’s a tree at Mommy’s house and a tree at Daddy’s house.” “So how about I bring some toy cars to
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A MOMENT IN TIME 1
T YL ER SIZEMOR E
On the Front Line
THE GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S “THIS PLACE MATTERS!” PHOTO CONTEST DOCUMENTS THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES
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OVID-19 and the struggle for racial equality will most certainly define the year 2020. And, so, for its fourth annual photo contest, The Greenwich Historical Society encouraged residents to snap photos of the people and places that spoke to their hearts during this time. GREENWICH magazine’s art department selected the winning entries, which are now displayed at the Historical Society’s newly reimagined campus. “Now in our fourth year, the stakes were much higher for this contest in showcasing love of town and the character of our residents that consistently makes Greenwich a wonderful place to live,” says Greenwich Historical Society Executive Director and CEO Debra Mecky. “All of the photos will be stored in our archives for an historic record and will help us achieve our mission to create strong and meaningful bridges to future generations.”
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DAV I D KA PL AN
Good Question
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SEBASTIAN D OSTM ANN
Cos Cob Firehouse DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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buzz
GET LIT!
TWO WOMEN GONE MISSING. FAMILIES IN TURMOIL. A CRIME THAT NEVER TOOK PLACE. HERE ARE THREE MUST-READS THAT WILL GRAB YOUR ATTENTION AND KEEP YOU TURNING THE PAGES WAY PAST YOUR BEDTIME by emily liebert
DON’T LOOK FOR ME BY WENDY WALKER
ANXIOUS PEOPLE BY FREDRIK BACKMAN
INVISIBLE GIRL BY LISA JEWELL
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ackman, the No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of A Man Called Ove, delivers an emotionally charged comedy about an almost bank robber who evaporates into thin air and the eight highly anxious strangers he leaves behind. Simply stated, it’s a crime that never took place. Apartment hunting isn’t a matter of life or death for most people. But when a failed bank robber storms into an open house and takes the eight strangers hostage, they’re forced to reveal hidden truths about themselves. There’s Zara, a bank director, whose life has been struck by tragedy, and now she’s fixated on frequenting open houses to see how regular people live and, also, to right a wrong that’s been plaguing her. Julia and Ro, a lesbian couple awaiting a baby, can’t agree on anything and fear that their future together may not be as successful as they’d hoped. Roger and Anna-Lena are retired and obsessed with finding a fixer-upper they can fill with Ikea furniture as a means of ignoring the fact that their marriage may be unrepairable. And Estelle, who’s eighty years old and lying about her daughter and husband.
wen Pick’s life is unraveling. He’s just been suspended from his job as a teacher on the heels of a sexual misconduct claim, which he vehemently denies. Not to mention that he’s a thirty-something-year-old virgin, living in his aunt’s spare bedroom. Across the street lives the Fours family, consisting of Mom, Cate, a physiotherapist, and Dad, Roan, a child psychologist. And they don’t particularly like Owen, especially after their teenaged daughter insists he followed her home from the train station. In the meantime, a young woman named Saffyre Maddox—who was Roan Fours’ patient for three years—is feeling forsaken when their therapy ends, and she’s desperate to maintain her connection with Roan. Surreptitiously, she follows him and ends up learning more than she expected about Roan and the Fours family, until Valentine’s night when Saffyre disappears. Unfortunately for Owen, he was the last person to see her alive. This is a shockingly twisted thriller about a group of people whose lives unexpectedly intersect when a woman vanishes that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. G
EDITOR'S NOTE If you like these suggestions, don’t forget this columnist’s own new book: PERFECTLY FAMOUS, a suspenseful thriller set in Connecticut. Makes a great gift for the readers on your list! greenwichmag.com
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CONTRIBUTED
hey call it a “walk away” when women disappear, eager to exchange their lives for a fresh start. Apparently, it happens all the time, just as it did for grief-stricken wife and mother Molly Clarke, when her car was abandoned miles from home and a note was found at a nearby hotel, leaving her family shattered. Molly clearly does not want to be found. Or so the story goes. But is that really what happened? Molly’s daughter, Nicole, isn’t convinced, despite their challenging relationship—especially when a new lead is introduced two weeks after they’ve stopped searching for her mother. Nicole finds out that there was another woman who went missing from their same small town and also unearths a covert and isolated property, bringing her closer to the truth about what happened the night Molly vanished. This story is “about a woman with a tragic past and seemingly bleak future. A woman who has a flash about walking away from her life. A woman who takes a ride from a man and his young daughter, who reminds her of the child she lost years before,” explains Walker. “Molly’s disappearance and her daughter’s desperate search to find her fill the pages with twists, turns and unexpected revelations. But at its heart, this is a story about grief, acceptance and the power of redemption.”
Gingerbread House
2020 Gift Guide Joe Knows Fish
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Luxurious pearls atop our blinis with a dollop of crème fraiche, perfect for holiday entertaining.
Gift Card The gift that’s always in good taste. Available in denominations of $25 to $500.
Fresh Seafood Shipped Nationwide A vast assortment of the freshest seafood, prepared to your specifications and shipped overnight.
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HO OLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS
We’ve had most of the year to become professional homebodies. Isn’t a season with shorter days and colder nights the perfect time to put our new skills to good use? Still, we could all use some help in lifting our spirits (bottled spirits are a great place to start). Here, a guide for everyone who’s staying in. After all, there’s no place like home for the holidays (and we know you’re not traveling anywhere, anyway).
shop / H O OLIDAY LIDAY GIFT GUIDE
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5
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS
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THE PART getting cozy never looked so good 1 UGG Fluffette slipper; $89.95. Nordstrom, The SoNo Collection; nordstrom.com 2 JOHN ELLIOTT Escobar heather gray lounge pant; $248. Mitchells, Westport; mitchellstores.com 3 TORY BURCH Striped poncho; $358. Greenwich; toryburch.com 4 JENNI KAYNE Shearling slide sandal; $325. jennikayne.com 5 KERRI ROSENTHAL Oversized patchwork cashmere hoodie; $448. Westport; kerrirosenthal.com 6 MOTHER DENIM Busy Doin’ Nothing socks; $24. Penfield Collective, Fairfield; penfieldcollective.com 7 EUGENIA KIM Maryn knotted headband; $145. modaoperandi.com 8 JOIE Jorja sweater; $328. Greenwich; joie.com 9 SKIN Double layer pant; $148. Soleil Toile, New Canaan, Westport; soleiltoile.com
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1 MITCHELL GOLD + BOB WILLIAMS Herringbone throw; $260. Greenwich; mgbwhome.com 2 SANTA MARIA NOVELLA Pot Pourri; $35. Navy Lobster, Greenwich 3 THE USB LIGHTER COMPANY USB rechargeable lighter; $38. Back 40 Mercantile, Old Greenwich; back40mercantile.com 4 JØRGEN RASMUSSEN Sheepskin throw 23.6” x 41.3”; $95. Design WIthin Reach, Stamford, Westport; dwr.com 5 TELLEFSEN ATELIER Wildflower mug; $55.Wee Mondine, Darien; weemondine.com 6 DIPTYQUE Small candle holder in gold by Osanna Visconti; $1,750. diptyqueparis.com 7 OLD MAN MCKITTRICK’S Hello Lily Rose candle; $42. Hickory & Tweed, Armonk; hickoryandtweed.com 8 CHRONICLE BOOKS Hygge & West Home: Design for a Cozy Life; $35. Eleish van Breems Home, Westport; evbantiques.com 9 FARMHOUSE POTTERY Fatwood fire starter bag; $32. West Elm, Westport; westelm.com
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS
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it’s all fun and games (and puzzles, lots of puzzles)
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1 PRINTWORKS Classic Domino set; $32. verishop.com 2 CHRONICLE BOOKS Gin Rummy playing cards; $14.99. Anthropologie, Westport; anthropologie.com 3 SMITH STREET BOOKS Bowie Bingo; $29.95. smithstreetbooks.com 4 RIZZOLI Tiger King puzzle; $14.95. Elm Street Bookstore, New Canaan; elmstreetbooks.com 5 CAVALLINI AND CO. Vintage succulents puzzle; $22. Terrain, Westport; shopterrain.com 6 AREAWARE Little puzzle thing; $15. areaware.com 7 SUNNYLIFE Mega jumbling tower game; $110. sunnylife.com 8 OMY Ultra washable markers; $17. maisonette.com 9 HYGGE GAMES I’m Not Saying You’re Stupid; $20. Beehive, Fairfield; thebeehivefairfield.com 10 JONATHAN ADLER Harlequin 2-in-1 game set; $25. jonathanadler.com
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the relaxing music and cucumber water are optional
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1 LE LABO Body scrub; $48. Greenwich; lelabofragrances.com 2 SERENA & LILY Positano linen robe; $128. Westport; serenaandlily.com 3 AESOP Gentle deep-cleansing duo; $100. Greenwich; aesop.com 4 SAVVY + GRACE Luxe hot water bottle; $29.95. Westport; savvyandgracewestport.com 5 TRIUMPH & DISASTER Ritual face cleanser; $30.Organachs Farm to Skin, Westport; organachsfarmtoskin.com 6 STRANGE BIRD Inner Light moisturizer; $78. Inner Light, Darien; innerlight-wellness.com 7 MZ SKIN Light therapy golden facial treatment device; $625. Bluemercury, Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Westport; bluemercury.com 8 JOANNA VARGAS Magic Glow Wand; $285. joannavargas.com
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS
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7 8 1 RIZZOLI The Perfect Kitchen; $55. Waterworks, Greenwich; waterworks.com 2 MATER Double bottle; $190. shophorne.com 3 FLOUR BAKERY Assorted frozen cookie dough; $89.95. Williams Sonoma, Westport; williams-sonoma.com 4 BRIGHTLAND The Duo, 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil; $74. brightland.com 5 CARL AUBOCK Hand beer opener; $195. The Glass House Design Store, New Canaan; designstore.theglasshouse.org 6 JULISKA Graham bar tool set; $198. Stamford; juliska.com 7 LSA Paddle tapas set; $145. The Perfect Provenance, Greenwich; theperfectprovenance.com 8 TERRA KAFFE TK-01 espresso machine; $775. store.moma.org G
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS
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by kim-marie evans
Ski School GOOD NEWS FOR SKIERS!
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HIT THE SLOPES THIS WINTER.
VLADSTAR/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
HOWEVER, IT WILL TAKE MORE PLANNING —AND DISTANCE— THAN USUAL.
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go DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE Most resorts are eliminating same-day lift-ticket sales. Some mountains, including all of those owned by Vail Resorts, require reservations in addition to a ticket. A lift ticket is not a reservation. Check websites for information on reservations, skier capacity and safety rules. This may be the year to buy a season pass, as many resorts will give reservation priority to pass-holders.
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DON’T PASS ON A PASS
The Epic Pass gives you access to all of Vail Resort’s mountains, including Stowe, Mt. Snow, Okemo, Park City, Vail, Beaver Creek and more. Passes are about $1,000 and include insurance coverage if the resorts have to close. (epicpass.com).
The IKON Pass is a comparably priced multimountain pass offering access to thirty-seven resorts in North America including Stratton, Jackson Hole and Aspen. As of press time, Jackson Hole and Aspen both announced they will require reservations for Ikon Pass holders. (ikonpass.com)
GET TECHSAVVY
Walking up to a lift ticket window is going the way of the pay phone. Even if same-day tickets are offered, you will have to purchase them online. And anticipating an influx of skiers arriving by car, many mountains are
also requiring reservations for parking. Most resorts, even smaller ones, are trying to go cashless and shift everything online—from pre-arrival reservations and transportation to lodging, tickets, lessons, food and beverages.
BOOK PRIVATE OR FAMILY LESSONS
Many resorts are eliminating or severely restricting group lessons. A big bonus of lessons is that you get to skip the lift lines which, due to rules prohibiting strangers riding on chairlifts and in gondolas together, could be pretty long.
RENT AND GO
On-mountain gear, ski and boot rentals may be hard to come by. So either rent at home or check into ski services like Ski Butler that bring rentals to you. Services like Vermont-based Kit Lender will rent and ship you everything from pants and jackets to goggles and gloves. skibutlers.com; kitlender.com
MAP IT OUT
Overall, insiders expect the 2020–2021 season to be quieter due to fewer, if any, international and corporate travelers. Resorts like Vermont’s Jay Peak that depend on Canadian skiers could have a lot more space on the slopes. Be strategic when choosing where to ski for the best experience.
PLAN TO DISTANCE
Every mountain is limiting capacity to some degree and will also require masks and social distancing. The most challenging place to carve out personal space is obviously the crowded cafeteria. Some mountains have expanded outdoor dining, or you can always BYOPBJ. Speaking of bringing your own, all Vail Resorts eliminated fullservice bars and will only sell beer and wine. This could be the year the bota bag makes a big comeback.
STAY CALM If all of this feels overwhelming, it’s because it is. Kristin Rust of Alterra Mountain Company, owner of IKON Pass, says the company is “trying hard to offer a customer service experience as close to normal as possible.” She also points out that everyone will need to be flexible, as the situation can change at a moment’s notice. Travel advisors can make the process easier and have access to reservations bundled with lift tickets that you might not be able to access independently. And most important, they can advise you on travel insurance. We worked with Stamford local Jordan Brady, owner of Journey Bound Travel Co., to research many of this season’s changes. Find Jordan at thejourneybound.com. G DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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home by megan gagnon
WARM & FUZZY
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3 1 MITCHELL GOLD + BOB WILLIAMS Kirby chair in sherpa, natural; $2,794. Greenwich; mgbwhome.com
2 RH Alpaca bouclé weave throw; starting at $299. Greenwich; rh.com
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3 INTERLUDE HOME Scarlett stool; $795. interludehome.com
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5 ROSEMARY HALLGARTEN Alpaca bouclé chalk stripe fabric white/navy; $258 per yard. Speckle, alpaca bouclé handpainted rug in cinder; $90 per sq. ft. Fairfield; rosemaryhallgarten.com
6 BOBBY BERK Faber platform storage bed; starting at $1,833. Beam, Brooklyn; beambk.com
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b ouclé is having a moment because it’s n ubby, textured and, most of all, c omfortable. it’s like a sweater that envel ops you. — aleXiS VarBero, Ceo , SCHWartZ deSigN SHoWroom
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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS
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Logan grey bouclé sofa; $1,599. cb2.com
MEG BROWNING ARCHITECTS
119 POST ROAD, FAIRFIELD, CT 06824 | 203-259-3333 | GARRETTWILSONBUILDERS.COM
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grand
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487 East Main Street • Mt. Kisco, NY
800-486-7553
LN# WC17260-HO5 CT HIC.0560846
From our doors to yours . . . wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season
Season's Greetings We design and build high quality wrought iron gates and railings, wood gates and fencing, automated gate systems, security cameras and entry systems, handcrafted stone walls, pillars, stairs and patios.
see our gallery of pictures at grandentrance.com DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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do
K R O W IT OUT
PULL/PUSH WORKOUT Four moves in sequence to balance and strenghten opposing muscle groups / 3 sets / 20 reps
PULL: TONES YOUR TRAPEZIUSES AND RHOMBOIDS MUSCLES WHILE PERFECTING YOUR POSTURE Stand or sit on the ground facing a stationary anchor point and attach the band. Straighten your arms out in front of you and move far enough away to create tension in the tubing. Squeeze your elbows back behind you while keeping your shoulders relaxed down away from your ears. Return arms to straight for one repetition. Make it harder by standing and do a squat each time you straighten your arms.
PUSH: WORKS THE PECTORALS, SHOULDERS, BICEPS, TRICEPS AND ABS, AND BALANCES THE UPPER BACK Do twenty push-ups. Starting from plank position, place your hands wide enough apart so that when you bring your chest to almost touch the floor, your elbows are directly over your wrists in a ninety-degree arm angle. To keep your neck in line with your spine, look above your fingers, not back toward your feet.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Buy exercise bands They are inexpensive, light and easy to pack. And while it may seem obvious, don’t forget the sneakers and workout clothes. The most common reason people don’t work out on the road is because they forgot their gear. Pro tip: Wear your sneakers for travel. It will save suitcase space.
Make a fun fitness playlist or download a music app like “RockMyRun” that will give you new music every day. You can select a BPM (beats per minute) that will match your cadence for indoor workouts and running.
PULL: THESE BANDED BICEP CURLS WILL TONE THE FRONT OF YOUR ARMS. (NO MATTER HOW COLD IT IS, YOU’LL WANT TO WEAR A TANK TOP TO SHOW OFF YOUR ARMS.) Stand with your feet shoulderwidth apart, arms straight at your sides, band handle in each hand and the tubing under your feet. Wrap tubing around hands if more tension is needed. Slowly raise your hands from your hips to your shoulders with palms up and away from the body, keeping elbows close to your ribs. Slowly lower your hands back to the hips for one repetition.
Connect with Nikki @nikkifitness on social media and download the NikkiFitness App— offering yoga with the kids (Squirrel Yoga for Sunshine), HIIT moves (Fit Travel Workout) and more.
PUSH: SCULPTS THE TRICEPS AND BALANCES THE PULLING BICEP CURL IN THE PREVIOUS EXERCISE Find a step, couch, chair or bed and take a seat on the edge. Place your hands next to your hips on the surface with your fingers pointing forward and toward your feet. Lift your hips up and forward, off the surface, and bend your arms at a ninety-degree angle to lower the hips towards the floor. Press back up by pushing into the hands to straighten arms, but without sitting down, for one rep.
NAZAROVSERGEY - STOCK.ADOBE.COM; GRACETHANG - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
by nikki gl or
YULETIDE CHEER ISN’T THE ONLY THING THE HOLIDAYS BRING. FAMILY TOGETHER TIME WITH IN-LAWS, SIBLINGS AND OTHERS CAN BE A BIT STRESSFUL. (AND ADDED STRESS IS THE LAST THING ANY OF US NEED RIGHT NOW.) FOR THOSE TRAVELING TO SEE FAMILY, SQUEEZING IN A WORKOUT TO BURN OFF TENSION CAN BE TOUGH. HERE’S A QUICK AND EASY ROUTINE YOU CAN DO ANYWHERE.
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11/12/20 8:50 AM
eat by mary k ate ho gan
FÊTE, DON’T FRET GO AHEAD AND CELEBRATE (SAFELY). YOU DESERVE IT!
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he holidays aren’t cancelled. In fact, most of us would welcome a chance to feel festive and gather with a few of our favorite people right about now. How to make that happen in the current times? A Zoom happy hour probably won’t cut it. So we talked to top caterers who’ve been dialing up the creativity as they plan small parties and dinners that follow all the guidelines. Here, they share ideas, recipes and advice for how to celebrate safely but with no shortage of good cheer.
MARCIA SELDEN CATERING & EVENTS Even with the weather getting cooler, Marcia Selden has been planning backyard events that call for over-the-top outdoor fun.
1. TAILGATE PARTY
For a family whose property has a big open lawn, the plan calls for guests to park their cars on the grass where there will be a big bonfire as well as four smaller wood firepits surrounded by Adirondack chairs. When people arrive, they’ll pop their trunks, where the caterers will place picnic baskets filled with charcuterie, guacamole and greenwichmag.com
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homemade chips and s’mores fixins, plus fleece blankets, hats and scarves. A vintage pickup truck with the back open will house steel tubs of iced beer, wine splits and sodas. Guests can pick up custom thermal cups with their names on them and fill them with mulled cider, mulled red wine or hot cocoa. Food will match the tailgate theme—chicken wings, chilis, pulled bbq brisket sandwiches and concession snacks.
CENTER PHOTO BY MICHAEL JURICK; ALL OTHERS CONTRIBUTED FROM FOOD DESIGN CATERING
above: Treats from Food Design Catering • Guests enjoy snacks and dinner from Marica Selden Catering at a movie-night party • Hamachi Crudo from Food Design Catering
AS GUESTS DROVE UP, THEY WERE HANDED A COOLER BAG FILLED WITH CRUDITÉ, CHEESES, CANDY AND MOVIE SNACKS, PLUS A MENU FOR THE NIGHT.
2. DRIVE-IN MOVIE You'll need a bigger space for cars to park for this theme, but then, the sky’s the limit. A recent party was held at the Polo Club grounds. As guests drove up, they were handed a cooler bag filled with crudité, cheeses, candy and movie snacks, plus a menu for the night. Later, waiters brought around trays with individual meals (wood-grilled
personal pizzas, fried chicken sandwiches, etc.) followed by Good Humor ice cream bars. Guests stayed in their cars or sat on the grass next to them, so they remained socially distanced. “Our clients are totally excited by this idea because it’s safe, socially distanced and fun,” says Robin Selden.
UP YOUR COCKTAIL GAME Specialty cocktails from Marcia Selden Catering The Perfect Pear Margarita 2 oz. of tequila 1 oz. of triple sec ½ oz. simple syrup ½ of a fresh lime 2 oz. pear nectar Dash of cinnamon Shake The Fire Side 2 oz. vodka 3 oz. pink grapefruit juice ½ oz. organic maple syrup ½ salted rim Rosemary sprig for garnish Bourbon Berry Smash 3 oz. bourbon 4 blackberries muddled with the juice of ½ of a lemon ½ oz. agave Autumn Sangria 5 oz. of white wine 1 oz. of Calvados (apple brandy) 1 oz. of apple cider Fresh apple slices
MICHAEL JURICK; ROSEMARY BY MARGO555 / STOCK.ADOBE. COM; PEAR BY BERGAMONT - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Pomegranate Mojito 3 oz. of light rum 1 oz. simple syrup 1 ½ oz. Pom juice Juice of one lime Fresh mint Bourbon Rosemary Cherry Old Fashioned 3 oz. bourbon 1 oz. rosemary simple syrup 3 Luxardo cherries Splash of orange juice
above: A retro night of food and fun at the Greenwich Polo Club
3. TURKEY DINNER PARTIES
4. APRÈS SKI
“We’ve designed five creative menus that include a Farm-to-Table, Latin, Osteria Italia, Asian Fusion and New Englander themes,” says Robin. Each menu features a snack, four hors d’oeuvres, an appetizer, two entrées, a starch and veggies and two desserts. The meals come with specialty cocktails as well as wine offerings. If desired, there’s a tabletop design complete with custom rentals and florals that coordinate with each theme.
One Marcia Selden client is planning a ski lounge– themed holiday party in a Greenwich backyard. Rented lounge furniture will be placed in socially distanced groupings “reserved” for each group of guests. The family has hired a doctor to do Covid-Redi tests on staff and guests. Guests will be given Russian hats and faux fur blankets to keep warm. The food? Cheese and chocolate fondue, separately portioned for each of the groups. Drinks will be poured from one of four bars made of ice and served in custom copper mugs. DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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eat
FOOD DESIGN 1. TABLE STYLE Decorating your table with seasonal fruits, garlands, chargers, pottery not only beautifies the spread but also fills in space. The current demand for seating that’s farther apart can leave some visual “holes” on your dining room table. So now is the time to get creative by filling it in with greenery and other natural decorative touches.
“AS EVENTS GET MORE INTIMATE, WE’RE STILL FOCUSED ON AMAZING FOOD.”
ONE STOP
2. ONE-BITE WONDERS “As the events get smaller and more intimate, we’re still focused on amazing food and amazing drinks, giving people something they don’t normally have,” says Gallia Batt of Food Design. The wow factor starts with the apps, and most can be individualized and served on little plates or spoons.
Most requested now: 1. Spoons of braised short ribs over sweet potato puree with avocado crema 2. Pan-seared foie gras over brioche French toast with roast pear and port syrup 3. Spicy tuna on warm sushi rice with ginger aioli. The chef also creates mini bowls, fully composed entrées in much smaller portions.
3. JAR BAR
4. TOP TAKEAWAYS
To keep people from lingering around a bar, prebatch cocktails and serve them in ball jars. That’s what Food Design does for its “drop-off” parties (where goods are delivered, but no staff will be working), and the pear margaritas with mini bottles of Casamigos have been a huge hit.
Gallia recommends giving guests a goodie bag or treat such as chocolate truffles to take home. “That leaves people feeling like the host went the extra mile; they have something to snack on later or for breakfast in the morning,” she says. “For one of our events last week, we gave a breakfast panna cotta with berries and granola in ball jars.”
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For the holidays, Food Design is collaborating with Winston Flowers and Smith Rentals. You pick one of three menus and floral tablescapes, plus rentals that all work together. “People want ease and comfort right now,” says Gallia. “The feedback we’ve gotten is that this was so easy. They feel like a pampered guest at their own party.”
TABITAZN /STOCK.ADOBE.COM; PLACE SETTING INSET BY FOD DESIGN; JARS BY FASCINADORA STOCK.ADOBE.COM; CHOCOLATES BY DENISMARTSTOCK.ADOBE.COM
DINNER PARTY SHOPPING
5PH / STOCK.ADOBE.COM; FESTIVITIES; MELICA / STOCK.ADOBE.COM; VITALS / STOCK.ADOBE.COM
eat
FESTIVITIES CATERING 1. NOW SERVING Traditional holiday dishes can be presented in a new way. Take classics—such as chicken pot pie, beef bourguignon or coq au vin—and individualize them in a ramekin, suggests Roe Chalala of Festivities. For a beautiful presentation, fill a tray with cranberries and place the mini pot pies on top. If you’re serving individual apps, like charcuterie plates or little boxes of bites, customize them for your guests’ personal palates. Write a guest’s name on each box and include gluten-free crackers or vegan options when appropriate, depending on their preferences. With smaller numbers of guests, you can take more time to tailor things.
3. SET THE EXPECTATIONS
2. MAKE-AHEAD SPREADS
Telling guests what they can expect will help them feel more comfortable, whether it’s a family dinner or a small gathering with friends, says Roe. Email or call to let guests know the number of people invited and steps you’re taking to be safe. “Let them know ahead of time, ‘This is what we’re planning. I want everyone to be comfortable and enjoy being together,’” says Roe. Protocols change regularly. For the latest info, check the blog on festivitiesevents.com. G
Prep for more casual, impromptu get-togethers by stocking up. “I’m a firm believer in the party pantry,” says Roe. “Anything that makes it look special but is really easy,” This includes pretty cocktail napkins, little plates, nuts, chocolate-covered almonds, vodka in the freezer, wine in the fridge. To have a crostini bar ready in five minutes, she recommends taking a loaf of French bread and slicing it to keep in the freezer until you need it; have toppings like roasted peppers in your pantry. “If anybody comes by, we have the the toppings, the wine and I’m ready to go. You can say, ‘Let’s start a fire and sit with a glass of wine.’ The idea is to be as relaxed as your guests,” Roe says. “That’s the most important thing. If you’re running back and forth into the kitchen like a jack-in-the-box, your guests won’t have a good time."
“I,M A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PARTY PANTRY.”
MARCH/APRIL 2019 NEW CANAAN•DARIEN
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L a aL a
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THIS SEASON BRINGS A SLEIGH FULL OF NEW MUSICAL CHOICES
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ROMOLO TAVANI - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
-La On !
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g–mom
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APPLE MUSIC, SPOTIFY AND PANDORA
These services allow you to have an entire library of music on your device. They also offer pre-curated holiday playlists. A press of a button and I have Frank Sinatra’s Christmas Essentials filling the air. Spotify’s The Christmas Playlist lasts for hours and includes pretty much every holiday song you’ll want to hear. For the kids, Pandora’s Party On Santa playlist includes tunes from Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and other contemporary stars. Apple Music is available free for three months, then $9.99 a month (family plans are available). Spotify is free for a month and then starts at $9.99 a month. It also offers family plans, student plans for $4.99 a month and has deals with streaming channels like Hulu. Pandora is available free for a month. It offers a basic level free and packages starting at $4.99.
SIRIUSXM SATELLITE RADIO SiriusXM subscribers are able to listen online, on-the-go with the mobile app, and at home on a variety of devices including smart TVs, Amazon Alexa, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku and Sonos
speakers. Take advantage of the three-month free trial, and then give yourself a gift for the rest of the year (packages start as low as $8 a month). With commercial-free channels like Holly, Hallmark Channel Radio, Holiday Pops, Country Christmas, Navidad, Holiday Soul, Radio Hanukkah, Acoustic Christmas, Jazz Holidays, Rockin’ Xmas and Holiday Chill-Out, there’s something for everyone.
NEW HOLIDAY MUSIC Today’s artists bring a fresh spin on yuletide favorites and offer original holiday tunes that may just become the classics of tomorrow. Update your playlists by downloading these new releases.
A HOLLY DOLLY CHRISTMAS It’s been thirty years since Dolly Parton released a Christmas album. Trust me, this one was worth the wait. It includes a mix of classic covers like the playful “All I Want for Christmas Is You” with Jimmy Fallon and originals including “Christmas in the Square,” a song featured in the upcoming Netflix movie of the same name, in which Parton plays an angel. Duets feature Miley Cyrus, Michael Bublé, Willie Nelson and more.
THE LOVE OF VINYL
For a truly old-school holiday sound, nothing beats the warmth of vinyl on a turntable. The resurgence in the popularity of vinyl LPs means that even the new holiday music mentioned here is available on vinyl. Looking for a special gift for that hard-to-shop-for music fan? Check out artist websites and major retailers like Target for special releases with bonus songs available only on the vinyl release. If you don’t have a turntable, stereo manufacturers like Crosley offer affordable, hip, portable turntables (starting at $50) that can be bought everywhere from Amazon to Urban Outfitters in colors and styles to fit any room. This is the perfect opportunity to break out those classic holiday albums collecting dust in a closet.
MY GIFT Carrie Underwood gives us a special present with this holiday release. She treats us to classics
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like “Silent Night” as well as an original song penned by and performed with John Legend. Underwood has released holiday music in the past, but this is her first foray into a full album of holiday music. My favorite? Her “Little Drummer Boy” duet with fiveyear-old son, Isaiah.
A VERY TRAINOR CHRISTMAS Add a little pop to your playlist with Nantucket native Meghan Trainor. The “All About That Bass” songstress has debuted her first holiday album featuring both classics and original songs.
IT’S CHRISTMAS … CHEERS! Country artist Terri Clark brings a warm homespun feel with her newest album. And you don’t have to be a country music fan to enjoy it. Collaborations like “Let it Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” with Dierks Bentley, “Silent Night” with Vince Gill, “Silver
Bells” with The Oak Ridge Boys, and an original track “Cowboy Christmas” with Ricky Skaggs, will get everyone in the holiday spirit.
IT’S CHRISTMAS ALL OVER Rock around the Christmas tree with the group that brought you hits like “Iris” and “Black Balloon.” The Goo Goo Dolls’ first holiday album includes a mix of originals like “This Is Christmas” along with classics like “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Let It Snow.” G
Marianne Ho Barnum
Fiona Busch
Isabelle Busch
Donna de Varona
Thank you to everyone that supported the 2020 Women Who Inspire Awards. Congratulations to all our honorees! To view this years program, visit www.ywcagreenwich.org
Sachiko Goodman
Pam Ehrenkranz
Liz Longmore
Jane L. Snowdon
people&PLACES by alison nichols gr ay
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALISON NICHOLS GRAY 1
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GREENWICH LAND TRUST / Greenwich Polo Club
Movie Night! 7
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ochairs Stacey Higdon and Molly Schiff along with their dedicated committee put together a night to remember at the reimagined Greenwich Land Trust’s annual Go Wild! fundraiser. On a crisp October evening under the sparkling stars and a huge moon, families enjoyed their choice of one of two classic films, drive-in style, at the Greenwich Polo Club. Proceeds from the event support Greenwich Land Trust’s efforts to conserve open space, connect our community with the natural world and inspire the next generation of conservationists. gltrust.org » 1 Event cochairs Stacey Higdon and Molly Schiff 2 The concessions stand 3 The Falencki family 4 Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters 5 The Coughlin family with Margot and Jim Butler 6 The Frank family 7 The Philips family 8 The Scott Family DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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GREENWICH SENIOR CENTER / Greenwich Avenue 1 Deana Salerno, Lynn Mason, Lori Contadino, Laurette Helmrich, Kevince Pierre-Louis and Corinne Flax 2 Grilling 3 Deana Salerno passing a lunch to a member 4 Chef Teddy 5 Olga Mejia and Lori Contadino happy to see each other after such a long time 6 The pop-up kitchen outside the Senior Center 7 Volunteers ready to hand out meals greenwichmag.com
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Meals on Wheels
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he staff at the Greenwich Senior Center recently organized a drive-through meal pick-up event. Local seniors were smiling ear to ear under their masks when they arrived to the Senior Center on Greenwich Avenue and had the pleasure of scooping up a delicious meal of barbecue ribs, mac ‘n’ cheese, sautéed green beans and a lemon bar from Chef Teddy Torchon. At five dollars a meal, it was the best deal in town! greenwichct.gov »
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BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE / The Golf Club of Purchase
All Teed Up
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lue skies prevailed for a picture-perfect day at the annual Breast Cancer Alliance golf outing at The Golf Club of Purchase. All COVID precautions were in place, with guests in masks and a lovely luncheon served outdoors. Despite the smaller crowd due to gathering restrictions, the event raised $70,000 to support early-stage breast cancer research. breastcanceralliance.org G
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ELAINE UBIÑA
1 David Schwan 2 Harry and Kathy Clark, Dee and Pug Winokur 3 James Parker, Doug Hecker, Ken Mifflin, Paul Tramontano 4 Larry Haertel, Kenneth Mulreed, Diane and Angelo Milazzo 5 Virginia Filipelli, Cindy Biondi, Jane Sprung 6 Dom Napolitano, Chris Hurd, Berk Nowak, Dan Wadleigh 7 Tim and Suzanne Sennatt, Leah and Alain Lebec 8 George Ponte, Chris Fiordalisi, Carmine and Angelo Luppino
$1 MILLION! BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE THANKS
EVERYONE
WHO HELPED US TO REACH THIS CRITICAL MILESTONE WITH OUR ANNUAL LUNCHEON AND FASHION SHOW Special thanks to BCA’s event chairs and committee alongside our partners who helped create such a vibrant celebration: Carolina Herrera, Wes Gordon, JP Morgan Private Bank, DJ April Larken, Fairfield County LOOK, Fleurs De Prairie, Food Design, Marcia Selden Catering and Events, McArdle’s Florist and Garden Center, the Models of Inspiration, Moffly Media, Total Entertainment, Kate Walsh, Warren Tricomi and, as always, Richards. To learn more or make an end-of-year gift,
visit breastcanceralliance.org
vows by alison nichols gr ay
BRITTANIE DIANNE SANDERS & CHRISTOPHER HAROLD CROFT 1
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gala at the University of Pennsylvania set the stage—both literally and figuratively—for Brittanie and Chris. Chris’s band, Liberal Arts, was playing the event and the two struck up a conversation during the cocktail hour. After his performance, as fate would have it, Chris was seated next to Brittanie. A wonderful evening led to a romantic courtship. The couple dated for two years in Philadelphia before moving to the Washington, D.C. area. On New Year’s Eve, Chris planned the perfect proposal at the finest restaurant in Georgetown overlooking the water, with dozens of roses, candles and champagne waiting at their table. The bride’s uncle and aunt, Leonard F. Mills, II and Vickie Mills officiated at the ceremony at the Ritz Carlton St. Thomas, where the reception followed. In the hours before the beachfront ceremony, dark clouds came over the island, and it began to rain. The worst fear for any outdoor wedding seemed to be coming true; then, right before the ceremony was set to begin, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared and the sun came out just in time to lay down the rose petal aisle. The bride, daughter of Raymond Krozak of New Jersey and Elizabeth Mills of Greenwich, graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich and Drexel University. Brittanie is a senior account executive for Crelate in Maryland. The groom, son of Howard and Elizabeth Croft of Michigan, graduated from Flint Southwestern High School and the University of Pennsylvania. Chris is a software architect for Krozak Information Technologies, a Federal Defense and Intelligence contractor in Maryland. The newlyweds will (eventually) honeymoon in Morocco and end with a relaxing stay in Ibiza, Spain. They call Bethesda, Maryland, home. G
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1 Raymond Krozak, Elizabeth Mills, Chris, Brittanie, Elizabeth and Howard Croft 2 The newlyweds 3 The bride carried orchids and roses 4 Brittanie with her mother, Elizabeth, and her sister, Asia 5 The scene of the ceremony 6 Brittanie’s father, Raymond, walks her down the aisle 7 David, Chris, Daniel and Matthew Croft 8 Sealed with a kiss DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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GITUSIK - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
SWEET, FUNNY TOUCHING HOLIDAY TRADITIONS
With parties gone poof and plans out the window, this December may not be its most dazzling, but Greenwich more than makes up for it in spirit. We asked locals to share the homegrown, heartwarming, haute and hilarious rituals that make this season memorable, no matter what. Âť by riann smith
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those trees, which I paint gold and incorporate into my holiday decorating here in Greenwich. I add the leaves to garland on my dining room table, mantels and around my staircase banister. It makes me feel connected to my family and childhood and gives our house here a little Southern flair.”
POWER OF THE PEN
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Patrick Mele Interior Designer and Owner patrickmele.com
ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT
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Erin McCall Amazon Human Resources Talent Specialist
4 SANTA BABY!
Ginge Cabrera Co-owner townhousegreenwich.com
forward to. We usually spend the holidays in a foreign country that is accessible to his extended family living around the globe. Last year on Boxing Day, we rode camels in Morocco and watched snakes dancing in the square. This year will be a lot less exotic, but we’ll still make it an event with snowmobiling, skating or igloo building in the backyard with friends who are like family.”
SOUTHERN CHARM
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Jordan Rhodes Founder glimpseguides.com
“My husband is British, so Boxing Day, which we call Family Fun Day, is a tradition we always look
“I grew up with huge magnolia trees at my home down South, and every December my mom sends leaves from greenwichmag.com
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“Christmas was always over the top at my house. My mom had a Santa Mantel, and when my husband, Jimmy, and I started a family, he started giving me Santas. I’m talking pub Santas, sports Santas, beach Santas … between what I’ve inherited or been gifted, I have a couple hundred of them, ranging from two inches to three feet. They go in every room, plus stairwells, windowsills, bathrooms, any open corner. It sounds psychotic, I know, but as the youngest of six, it’s about recreating that big ‘wow’ I had on Christmas morning. When we moved from backcountry to Old Greenwich, I had to put three-quarters of them in storage. The quarter I kept go on display, because it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. When my kids got older they told Jimmy they were afraid to tell me they no longer believed in Santa, because I still do!”
KYLE NORTON
“My favorite tradition is to write out my Christmas cards. Now more than ever, I feel a written card—not a digital one—is really meaningful. Usually, I’ll have some sort of wintry cocktail and some Brenda Lee playing as I write in a cozy nook. My good girlfriend Hayley Sarno is a super-talented artist who did my store’s logo and also designs my cards. Some years my inspiration is places I’ve traveled to, but right now it is simply friends and family and togetherness. Since everyone is so focused on home right now, I’ve never been busier workwise, and this tradition gives me a chance to slow things down, pull out my good pen and take a moment to wish people well in the year ahead.”
5 TASTE OF HOME
William Hood CEO of William Hood & Co. and board member vitaminangels.org “I first had sticky toffee pudding in boarding school in England at the age of eight, and it was comforting when I was away from my family. Now when we go to England with the kids, we always have a competition of which pub or restaurant has the best sticky toffee pudding. Twice a year, on Thanksgiving lunch and Christmas dinner, I make it for the whole family. You make the sponge cake, and each time you serve it, you heat up the sauce, which has brown sugar and a lot of
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A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
Emma Jane Pilkington Goergen
GARVIN BURKE
Interior designer and owner emmajanepilkington.com “Last year we flew to my native Australia for Christmas—where I hadn’t spent Christmas since 1982— and wound up in the middle of the wildfires. We were supposed to go to Sydney but couldn’t because of the fires,
so we stayed the whole time in Melbourne, in my father’s family cabin that’s been there since the early 1900s on a fly-fishing river. You could still see and smell the smoke; it had traveled that far. My father quickly decided with surrounding people in the area to fundraise to save the rivers at their source in the mountains, where the fires were drying them up and destroying the ecosystem of trout and other wildlife. It felt like the true meaning of Christmas, neighbors coming together in a time of need. This year our new tradition will be donating to keep those rivers alive.”
WORST GIFT WINS
VINTAGE FINDS
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BEATLE MANIA
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Amy Balducci
Melissa Hawks
Pamela Frisoli
Owner wellappointedhouse.com
Interior designer and owner trovarehomedesign.com
“My girlfriends from the city have a longstanding holiday tradition called the Re-gifting Dinner. We are each assigned to a friend, and we all show up at a fun restaurant to hand them the most hideous, hilarious gifts we have accrued through the years, from cat sweaters to half-used candles that have melted into Salvador Dali creatures. The person who brings the funniest gift gets treated to dinner. We may do a Zoom version this year.”
“Just before the holidays get in full swing, one of my favorite traditions is a visit to the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop. The thrift shop fills its shelves with all holiday donations collected throughout the year. I collect 1950s mercury glass ornaments, the bigger the better. My children love the vintage nativity scene pieces that fill our mantel. A trip to this wonderful shop that supports Greenwich Hospital’s mission is not to be missed.” »
Realtor compass.com “When I was growing up, our local radio station would play the Beatles 24/7 on Christmas while the deejays had the day off. My parents danced to the Beatles the first night they met, so the Beatles on Christmas became a family tradition. When I host the holidays in Greenwich, Paul, Ringo, John and George are still invited. The kids are developing an appreciation for the most famous band of all time, and the adults are so burned out on Christmas carols by the 25th that a little ‘Hey Jude’ is a welcome relief.” DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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Children’s Home, which cares for orphaned children in Haiti (danitaschildren .org). When we first hosted this event five years ago, we stuffed stockings for twenty-five children in one dorm, but the Greenwich community has responded so generously over the years that we are now able to stuff stockings for all 100 kids. This tradition led our family to take annual trips to the orphanage, and also led us to welcome our new son, Andre, into our family. We met him on our first trip in 2017; and after he graduated from high school in 2019, he joined our family to attend Norwalk Community College. This experience has taught our family that one small generous act can grow and take on a life of its own in the most beautiful way.”
SOMETHING FISHY
10 Alfred Eskandar President and COO Salt Financial “Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve is my favorite meal to cook. I think of it as an entertainer who finally gets a big crowd. I start with a gin martini and go to town with shrimp cocktail and ricotta and anchovy crostini, followed by steamed mussels with shallots, fennel, garlic, crushed tomatoes, wine and saffron, an intermezzo pasta course with shrimp or scallops or a clam sauce, and broiled lobster tails and a whole Arctic char as entrées. I skip the baccala and cheat with Fjord, which has the freshest fish and makes it so easy. I always start with their marlin dip, which knocks out one of the seven right there.”
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Mia Pepin Creative Consultant “It’s so not Greenwich, but the day after Christmas we rent this 1970s ski cabin called “The Norman Rockwell Suite” at the Casablanca Motel in Bromley for like a hundred
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bucks a night. It’s the size of a laundry room, and there’s a blanket hanging on the wall of Norman Rockwell painting his self-portrait with a pipe. We love it, because we can just be ridiculous. We let our son drink orange drinks and eat junk food for breakfast. Then we ski, pack a picnic and hang by the fire pit at the bottom of the hill. Ten minutes away there’s a chi-chi resort but there’s no scene. It’s not fancy; it’s low-key; it’s families who don’t take themselves too seriously.”
12 Jeannie Cunnion
Author and Speaker jeanniecunnion.com “Our family hosts a stocking stuffing party—socially distanced and outside this year—to benefit Danita’s
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Angela Kilcullen
Registered Yoga Teacher “All the go-go-go of the season can be overwhelming, so I started an annual tradition called Om for the Holiday with Kaia Yoga. We’re doing a workshop on December 11—most likely virtual this year—to help each other breathe, unplug and recharge, with aromatherapy oils sent to your home. It’s grounding for me to help people feel centered and truly connect to the meaning of the holidays.”
ANNAPUSTYNNIKOVA - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
FAMILY FUN
PEACE WITHIN
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Ashley McCormick CEO and Creative Director ashabyadm.com “For me, the holidays represent home, tradition and treasured time with family—trimming the tree with my daughter, Annabel, baking cookies and playing Christmas music ... putting wreaths on every window, collecting beautiful gift wrap and ribbons, and helping my mom cook a Noche Buena Cuban meal on Christmas Eve.”
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Heather Georges
SNUGGLE UP
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KELLY STUART
Dancia Rose Callahan Owner themonogramstudio.com “My thing is giving Sherpa blankets to friends and
Honorary Chair and CoChair Antiquarius
family every December, because it’s like giving someone a hug. Especially now with COVID-19, when we can’t be close like we have been in years past. It’s funny, because I give the blanket to the wife, and the husband takes it. It’s a cozy, snuggly thing to have by the fire or take outside by a fire pit. I may add a discreet monogram, but I never include the year, because it gives it a shelf life. And who really wants to remember 2020?”
“Every Christmas my children know that I’ll be dragging them to The Nutcracker. I’ve supported the New York City Ballet and cochaired its Nutcracker benefit and have been going since I was a child, so it’s been important to me for a really long time. I suspect they’ll have a virtual production this year, and I’ll make a nice lunch, whether we’re here in Greenwich or elsewhere,
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and we’ll find a way to incorporate The Nutcracker. It sort of cements Christmas for us and has become a Georges family tradition.” SHARING IS CARING
17 Izabela O’Brien
Founder and President thefearlessangelproject.org “We do an Eastern European tradition on Christmas Eve known as “oplatek.” Oplateks are flat, tasteless wafers embossed with a Christmas scene. Each person receives a wafer and shares a piece with others at the dinner table. The sharing of the wafer is sharing all that is good with life. It is a time to tell each other, ‘I love you; I care about you; and I forgive you’ and can bring relief when a worry or dispute is resolved. It is rewarding to see friends new to the tradition receive as much enjoyment from oplatek as I do, regardless of their faith or ethnicity. Equally important is the Polish tradition of having an extra place setting at the holiday table, in case there is a knock on the door and someone shows up who has nowhere to go. The seat may stay empty throughout the dinner party; however, it is symbolic for our daughters to witness that there is always an extra seat at our table and no one should be alone on Christmas Eve.” »
19 Nancy Dearing
OVER-THE-TOP DECOR
18 Andrea Sinkin
Interior Designer and Owner andreasinkindesign.com “Each year I try to top the prior year’s holiday décor, and the more bling, the better. I had seen the work of Lance Jackson of parkerkennedyliving.com all over social media and had pinned, saved and stalked it. I even looked for people who
“A friend of mine started The Chop twenty years ago. We all go to Jones Family Farms in Shelton to chop down our Christmas trees the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Every year the group got bigger, and we started pulling in our friends and the grandparents. We used to do a big tailgate in this part of the property called The Valley with vats of hot cider, mac ‘n’ cheese and chili. Now they’re a little stricter and things have changed, but we still love going and the kids, who are now teenagers, still love running into the fields and choosing the perfect tree. They are always incredibly fresh. Jones supplies the saws, but I’ve learned to bring a tarp for dragging the tree to the baler, a blanket to put on top of the car for traveling, a rope to secure the tree on the car, and a thermos full of hot cider.”
tagged him after they bought one of his conversationstarting, glittery, opulent, indulgent and ridiculously awesome wreaths, so I could get joy from seeing them installed in people’s homes. This year I realized I had the perfect spot for one in my dining room. Lance asked me about things important to me: obviously Barbies (I mean, is there anything else?) along with my mom’s vintage angel collection, my husband’s and my initials, our wedding on New Year’s Eve, our disco-ball decor, our daughter’s love of unicorns, our nautical vibe, my obsession with accessories and jewelry … and magically tied in our family’s observance of Hanukkah and Christmas.”
FRY IT UP
20 Sebastian Boulan
“I joined the Fried Turkey Fraternity five years ago after serving a traditional oven-baked bird alongside
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a fried one, and no one touched the traditional one. We’ve fried a turkey every Thanksgiving and Christmas since. It’s not glamorous. You’re working outside with the equivalent of a large high school Bunsen burner tripod, a cauldron and a propane tank; but it cooks three minutes per pound, and the Bayou kit on Amazon is really good. Just buy your oil in bulk from Costco, don’t fill the cauldron too high, and don’t drop the bird in wet or frozen, or it will shoot out like a cannonball through your neighbor’s window.” FREEZING TIME
21 James Ritman
Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Newmark “The past few years, my family, my sisters’ families and our parents have been doing the Mannequin Challenge on New Year’s Eve in Florida. Before the kids go to bed, we all pick a spot in the room we’re celebrating in, freeze in a pose and capture it on video with the Black Beatles song in the background. It’s a fun time stamp to have, especially for the kids and their cousins. If we can’t all be together this year, we might each do the challenge at home and splice together a video so it looks
LANCE JACKSON OF PARKER KENNEDY
OH, CHRISTMAS TREE!
GET CHILLY
22 Christine Lavin
movie that I love. My mom loves to cook, so she made a cool binder with some of our favorite recipes; and my dad made a puzzle out of an image of my mom’s quilt, and we all worked on that together. I’ve done a portrait of my daughter and woven in themes about her as an Aquarius and a
writer. In return, my daughter made me a handmade gift card to a crystal shop in Nyack. Of course, I love the crystal shop, but really I was just so blown away by this piece of art she created. It takes things up a notch and makes you feel really thought of, beyond just spending dollars.”
24 Erica D’Antonio
Jewish Women’s Circle Cochair, Chabad of Greenwich
Greenwich YMCA Senior Director of Initiatives “On New Year’s Day, my husband, three sons and I do a Polar Bear Plunge at Tod’s Point. Yes, it’s freezing, especially when there’s snow on the ground; but you look over and see a seven-year-old doing it or a woman twice your age doing it, and it’s like, ‘Okay, just put on your big girl pants—actually, take them off, and get in there.’ It wakes up your body, clears your mind and renews your spirit.”
“My favorite holiday tradition is picking out a few presents with my daughter during Hanukkah and driving to the holiday drop-off at Neighbor to Neighbor. She goes in, and for her it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a big deal for a lot of people. There’s eight nights of Hanukkah, but I don’t need eight gifts. This feels better than gifts.’” KEEPING IT REAL
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AT THE ART OF IT ALL
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Richard Upton
Lauren Clayton
ICON International Executive Vice President of Operations
Artist, Graphic Designer and Owner studio162.com
DON HAMERMAN
NEIGHBORLY LOVE
“My new favorite tradition is giving New Year’s resolutions the middle finger. What’s the point? We all disappoint ourselves trying to live up to impossible expectations. Instead, I’m having a small group over, and we’re going to drink fabulous champagne and love ourselves just as we are. Because, Honey, just making it through 2020 is accomplishment enough.” G
“We do a lot of handmade gifts. This past Christmas I made myself, my husband and the kids sweatshirts that are bleached with these really cool designs that have motivational words that I’m often telling my son or my daughter. My husband compiled some of our iPhone videos into one family home DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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T R A s on u m a e n o rt d y l y th by k imo by t og raph t pho
T , R F E F B L O TOR L R I T ERS O W E E M OLT WH E W MAN RUC O T E B N E I E G TH TH EUM A D W S A E U E L M ND N A R AG greenwichmag.com
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W Who was the most influential artist of the twentieth century, Picasso or Matisse? “Duchamp,” says Robert Wolterstorff, who last year succeeded Peter Sutton as executive director of the Bruce Museum of Art and Science. In May, as the museum sat in coronaviral abeyance, we decided it was time to affably interrogate Wolterstorff: Who is he? What are his tastes? Where does he plan to steer the new Bruce, once its shimmering $60 million expansion is complete? Ordinarily, we would pace the galleries with him, walking and talking; he would be the slender man with the thick silvery hair, casually shedding erudition as he went. But for now the only persons at the Bruce were masked construction workers, and so Wolterstorff talked to us by phone from his place in New Haven, where he was holed up with his wife, Mari Jones, and their two young-adult children. Marcel Duchamp is not everyone’s cup of tea. He’s the fellow who put a urinal on a pedestal and titled it “Fountain” (1917). Justly or not, a panel of 500 art experts voted Duchamp’s plumbing fixture the most influential art work of the modern era, ahead of Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.” Duchamp claimed his art works were not about pleasing the eye so much as about the play of ideas. Certainly, the idea that art could be chosen rather than created was
revolutionary, as was the idea that mundane, mass-produced objects like urinals, bottle racks and snow shovels could qualify. Absurd? Sure. And yet it’s difficult to conceive of Andy Warhol’s soup cans or Jasper Johns’ flags or Damien Hirst’s shark without Duchamp having reimagined what art could be. Duchamp is one of Wolterstorff ’s heroes; another is Yves Klein, who had a similar element of prankishness in his work. Once, Klein exhibited an empty gallery as a work of art. Today his bestknown paintings are solid blue from corner to corner, and they sell for millions. When Wolterstorff was a young man, he chanced upon Klein’s “Leap Into the Void,” a 1960 trick photograph of a nattily dressed Klein diving from a rooftop into a suburban Paris street. It’s an arresting image, all right—it looks like a documentary shot of a suicide, though the artist himself perversely insisted the photo is about flight. Wolterstorff says, “For me, great art is art that unsettles, that leaves you with questions rather than answers. And it’s art that changes art itself, that pushes the bounds of what art can be. From the beginning, I was interested in art that is sometimes as surprising and destructive as it is creative.” Do these leanings foretell the direction of the new Bruce? Not really. Wolterstorff turns out to be a man of intriguing contradictions. Though greenwichmag.com
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forged by modernism, he gazes with equal intensity at the old world: His favorite painter is Titian, the Renaissance superstar, and his doctoral thesis at Princeton was on Robert Adam, the Scottish neoclassical architect. Closer to our own era, he can declare the onetime critical punching bag Norman Rockwell “still misunderstood” despite his twenty-first century rehabilitation. (Of course, Rockwell was always popularly beloved, whatever the critics thought.) The biggest surprise in Wolterstorff ’s background is that, early on, he had no intention of studying art at all. At Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he majored in biology. But misgivings crept in. Being a biologist meant being stuck in a lab, when what Wolterstorff really loved was the life of a naturalist, a passion fed by his own boyhood frog-catching excursions and by the books of conservationist Gerald Durrell. (“I read his books still—probably about three a year.”) But his art-love lay dormant. In 1970 his father, Nicholas Wolterstorff, a renowned Christian philosopher then based at Calvin, took his family on sabbatical to Great Britain. When the school year ended, all seven Wolterstorffs piled into a Volkswagen camper and toured Europe. “We saw cathedrals and art museums, and I hated most of it,” Wolterstorff admits. “It represented boredom and sore legs and paintings of naked women and museums I didn’t understand. But it had an impact, somehow.” In college, at his brother’s urging, he took a course in the modernism of Vienna and Berlin, studying the new-fangled painters, architects, filmmakers and composers of 1890 to 1930— Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Emil Nolde, Paul Klee, Adolf Loos, Fritz Lang, Arnold Schoenberg—and suddenly the fuse ignited. “The course was revolutionary for me. It blew my mind. It introduced me to the idea of the avant-garde, a little cadre who wanted to explode the old in order to bring in the new.” Wolterstorff quotes with a laugh the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro’s radical prescription for artistic rejuvenation: “Burn down the Louvre!” After graduating from Calvin, Wolterstorff earned his master’s in art history at Williams College and interned at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (The PMA’s large Duchamp col-
CONTRIBUTED
lection enabled Wolterstorff to gain a nuanced appreciation of the artist, however strange that might sound to those acquainted only with the urinal.) At the PMA a new career path opened before him. Where he had envisioned becoming an academic, he now began to think of himself as “a museum person.” Academics, like biologists, tend to focus on a narrow area of study, where museum curators get to go from one capacious subject to another—the sort of “big picture” approach that appealed to Wolterstorff. Next came a master of fine arts and a doctorate in art history from Princeton University, and the odd choice of studying Robert Adam. Or was it odd? Wolterstorff turns out to be an architecture buff, dating from his father’s designing the family’s mid-century modern house in Grand Rapids. Also, with so many students focusing on either the Italian Renaissance or European modernism, Wolterstorff had Adam happily to himself: “I have this little perverse streak—I like to do what others aren’t doing.” Though Robert Adam stood firmly in the neoclassical current of the eighteenth century, he managed to be pioneering as well. He introduced the concept of “movement” in architecture—a sense of “rise and fall, advance and recess”— meant to suggest the diversity of landscape; and he designed furniture and fixtures to scrupulously match the architecture, a practice we imagine to have begun with Frank Lloyd Wright. Robert Adam tells us something about Wolterstorff ’s eye: It discerns that even “traditional” artists could be boldly modern in their day. This explains why Wolterstorff loves specifically late Titian, whose subject matter turned dark and his brush strokes bizarrely coarse, “flaring into each other like smoke,” according to Titian scholar Mark Hudson. “It would be centuries before paint was used with that degree of rawness and immediacy again.” Three times during our interview, Wolterstorff used the word “nihilistic” to describe the art he gravitates to, but each time he retracted the word as not quite right. It IS a slippery word, but applied to art it suggests a storming of established values, as Titian did in the 1570s and Duchamp did in the 1910s. In 1998 Wolterstorff won his first director-
ship, at the eminent establishment Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine. Henry Austin of New Haven designed the Italianate villa in 1858 for Ruggles S. Morse, a luxury hotelier, and his wife, Olive. The brownstone exterior and four-story tower give the house a handsome but heavy air, but the interiors, by Gustave Herter, glow with Victorian exuberance—stained glass windows, gilded mirrors, carved cherubim, painted frescoes. (Herter would later design interiors for the Grant and Theodore Roosevelt White Houses.) “I think historic houses are underestimated for how intellectually interesting they are,” Wolterstorff says. He regards them as artworks that exist on many planes—as objects that you can explore in all their spatial and decorative variety, but also as pieces of cultural history. On the other hand, historic houses don’t really change; after eleven years in Portland, Wolterstorff yearned for the multifariousness of museum work. In 2012 he became executive director of the Bennington Museum in Vermont, known for its large collection of Grandma Moses paintings. The museum was founded in 1852 as a historical society, and its art side evolved incidentally, as citizens bequeathed furniture and paintings. Despite the Moses collection, the museum’s emphasis remained on history, and it was struggling. Wolterstorff told the board, “You have to focus on art now rather than history, because art is where it’s at, it’s what’s flying high in museums, and it’s where the money and the glam is.” By happy coincidence, Wolterstorff learned that Bennington was sitting on a gold mine of modern art history. Helen Frankenthaler, David Smith, Jules Olitski, Kenneth Noland, Anthony Caro and Tony Smith, among others, either summered in Bennington or taught at Bennington College, making the town a vibrant Mecca of abstract artists in the Sixties. To celebrate that heritage, Wolterstorff and company created the Bennington Modernism Gallery, “and it brought new energy to the museum; it made us look more hip and modern.” Two shows struck a particular chord: Alice Neel in 2014 and Milton Avery in 2016. Each painter was representational (rather than abDECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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Robert in 1993 in front of the part of the Hermitage Palace (now the Hermitage Museum) that was commissioned by Tzar Nicholas I and constructed 1842-51. The portico is supported by massive Atlantes figures cut from gray granite.
If the Old Masters have a “soulful heft” that has been lost, PERHAPS THE MODERNS HAVE AN URGENCY AND A DIRECTNESS THAT WE WILL SOON REDISCOVER. In any case, Wolterstorff predicts, “COVID WILL CHANGE HOW WE LOOK AT ART.”
LEFT “St. Petersburg is a dream for anyone who loves neoclassical architecture,” says Robert. Here, he stands in front of the General Staff building commissioned by Tzar Alexander I, designed by Carlo Rossi and completed in 1829. RIGHT Robert, with members of the Attingham Summer School class of 1996, on the roof of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England. The program studies the life, history, architecture and collections of the English Country House.
dream house in Greenwich and started an art collection with a charcoal drawing by Matisse. Richter preferred art that “I could enjoy without a translator,” and this meant buying works by modern masters as various as van Gogh, Picasso and John Singer Sargent. “I can’t believe every night when I get home what I have waiting for me,” he says. “I pinch myself.” In recent years he hit upon the idea of gifting his house and art collection to the town as a museum. “Museums that are homes, like the Frick, are my favorites,” he tells us. But Richter soon saw that his idea was unworkable in residential Greenwich, and so he went looking for a future home for his art. He considered the Bruce tepidly. When Peter Sutton made his pitch, however, it wasn’t for art, but for money to build. “I don’t want to do that,” Richter thought at first; art was a much more interesting gift than money. Still, he found Sutton’s logic irrefutable—the Bruce needed the wing to attract the art—and he was impressed by the architectural renderings that Sutton showed him. He also liked the downtown, parklike setting—a house museum at the center of everything. “So, to Peter’s and my surprise, I said yes.” Richter pledged $15 million toward a worldclass art wing. Thus catalyzed, the Bruce began receiving promises to donate collections of staggering quality, collections that include work by Winslow Homer, Camille Pissarro, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Edward Hopper, greenwichmag.com
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For me, GREAT ART IS ART THAT UNSETTLES, that leaves you with QUESTIONS RATHER THAN ANSWERS. AND IT’S ART THAT CHANGES ART ITSELF, that pushes the bounds of what art can be. From the beginning, I was interested in ART THAT IS SOMETIMES AS SURPRISING AND DESTRUCTIVE AS IT IS CREATIVE.
CONTRIBUTED
stract) with a genius for color, and each suffered neglect during the abstract-dominated midcentury only to be canonized later on. “These exhibits changed our destiny,” Wolterstorff says, noting the shows’ popularity and rapturous reviews. (“‘Milton Avery’s Vermont’ is as close to a perfect show as mere mortals can mount,” wrote the Wall Street Journal.) “Our vision was that we were a museum about Vermont art,” Wolterstorff says. “We saw that that was our unique niche.” When he left Bennington last year, the museum was riding high, in the pink of financial health. Wolterstorff seems ideally suited to lead the Bruce. Not only has he successfully run a “blended” museum, but his scholarly experience precisely fits the Bruce’s blend of art and science. He arrived just as the Bruce was preparing to more than double its size, to 70,000 square feet. “The old building was holding them back,” Wolterstorff notes. “The weird thing is that it’s an art museum, but it had no permanent gallery space. That’s a disincentive for people to give great art. Why give your Monets, if you know they’re going to be in the basement most of the time?” The centerpiece of the new Bruce will be the William L. Richter Art Wing, a luminous block of cast stone and glass; groundbreaking took place in October. Bill Richter, a modest, intelligent man who earned his fortune investing in distressed companies (he cofounded Cerberus Capital with Steve Feinberg in 1992), built his
RIGHT Robert with his wife, Mari Jones, in front of the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum was commissioned in 1632 by The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. FAR RIGHT Robert and Mari in a highly decorated black and white interior in the Amber Fort, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud, Andrew Wyeth and David Hockney. Wolterstorff is equally excited about gifts of Native American art and Chinese antiquities and hopes yet to attract a collection of African art. Richter’s own art, some of it, will no doubt go to the Bruce as well, now that he is preparing to let go of his collection. How does that feel? “Bittersweet,” Richter says, “like saying farewell to old friends—but knowing they’ll have a good home, with excellent care, and be enjoyed by thousands of visitors.” The new Bruce will also feature an elegant lobby and courtyard, a 240-seat lecture hall,
and a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. The whole of the existing museum will be given over to the science galleries and to an education wing donated by Steven Cohen, the hedge fund manager and art collector who recently bought the New York Mets, and his wife, Alexandra, through their charitable foundation. But what will the new Bruce look like exhibit-wise? Should we expect a notable break from the illustrious reign of Peter Sutton? During his eighteen years at the Bruce, Sutton mounted art exhibits of international stature, beginning with a show of seventeenth century Dutch painting, his own field of expertise.
CONTRIBUTED
BELOW Reunion of the 1985 and 1986 graduating classes of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Members gathered around the retired head of the program, Sam Edgerton, and his wife Dottie. Every one of these graduates became a significant scholar, director, art dealer, curator or educator in museums.
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(That show included a painting by Johannes Vermeer, Wolterstorff notes, the only Vermeer ever exhibited in Connecticut.) And the Bruce’s shows had remarkable range, from Alfred Sisley to Chuck Close to Charles Addams. Under Wolterstorff, there will be no burning down the Bruce. The eclecticism will continue. But the accent will fall on modernism more than it already did, for three reasons: It’s in Wolterstorff ’s wheelhouse, it excites museum-goers, and most Greenwich collectors collect under the “modern” rubric. (Let’s stipulate, however, that Wolterstorff ’s conception of modernism is broad: It embraces just about anything made after 1850.) As he did in Vermont, Wolterstorff will also highlight the “local.” He notes especially our region’s ties to heavyweight modernists: Robert Motherwell lived in Greenwich, Helen Frankenthaler in Darien, Arshile Gorky in Sherman, Edward Steichen in Redding; Milton Avery and Sol LeWitt grew up in Hartford; and Jasper Johns, at ninety, is still at work in Sharon. Where possible, art and science will keep mingling, one illuminating the other. Wolterstorff mentions, for example, an exhibit he’d like to put on about the science of seeing, using pointillism and other styles of painting to illustrate it. The Bruce Museum re-opened, carefully, in June, using reservations and timed ticketing. But because the pandemic still hangs over us, Wolterstorff cannot help but contemplate art and mortality. Is there a better place to do this than a
Wolterstorff seems ideally suited to lead the Bruce. NOT ONLY HAS HE SUCCESSFULLY RUN A “BLENDED” MUSEUM, BUT HIS SCHOLARLY EXPERIENCE precisely fits the Bruce’s blend of art and science.
museum, where the spirit of life abides long after the artist who captured it has fled the scene? He’s thinking specifically of a favorite art writer, Peter Schjeldahl, who is gravely ill with cancer. Just before the virus struck, Schjeldahl visited the Prado and spent a long time gazing at the Diego Velázquez masterpiece “Las Meninas” (1656). This scene of the Spanish royal court is “radiant,” Schjeldahl notes, but quite soon all the life behind that radiance will drain away: The empire is in decline; the pretty girl at the center of the painting will become Holy Roman Empress but die at twentyone; and Velázquez himself, pictured gazing insouciantly at the viewer, will be dead in four years, possibly of the plague. “Schjeldahl was asking, ‘Why are the Old Masters still, ultimately, deeper and more profound than the moderns?’ And his thesis is because they had death looking over their shoulder constantly.” If the Old Masters have a “soulful heft” (as Schjeldahl puts it) that has been lost, perhaps greenwichmag.com
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the moderns have an urgency and a directness that we will soon rediscover. In any case, Wolterstorff predicts, “COVID will change how we look at art.” He points to the conceptual artist On Kawara, who would make a painting a day, consisting of nothing more than the date neatly lettered in white against a solid color background; often the painting would be paired with a framed sheet of newspaper from that day. Kawara, who died in 2014, resolutely did not speak about his art, but his oeuvre is rooted in the idea of survival: He himself survived the bomb-ravaged Japan of his youth. “I had never appreciated them,” Wolterstorff says of Kawara’s date paintings, but now he sees them anew. “They’re an incremental record of a life. They say, ‘I’m alive.’ And isn’t that what we’re all about—raising your hand and saying, ‘I’m alive and I want to be counted?’ This idea, for me, is becoming more profound in the time of COVID. We’re here on this earth for a very G brief time.”
BRUCE MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH WITH AMBASSADOR LOEB: CARLA MUIS
Robert with Charles M. Royce, Bruce Museum Trustee • With former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, John L. Loeb Jr. • With Grace Kim, William L. Richter, and James B. Lockhart III, the Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees
EMILY MASON (AMERICAN, 1932–2019), ASK THE EAST, 1968. OIL ON PAPER. © 2020 EMILY MASON STUDIO / LICENSED BY VAGA AT ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NY.
“SHE SWEEPS WITH MANY-COLORED BROOMS”: Paintings and Prints by Emily Mason November 22, 2020–March 21, 2021
BRUCE MUSEUM
1 Museum Drive | Greenwich, CT 06830 203-869-0376 | www.brucemuseum.org
GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIET Y PRESENTS
A N T I Q UA R I U S DECEMBER 2–4, 2020
TOGETHER AT HOME The Greenwich Historical Society’s premier annual fundraiser celebrating design, decorative arts, architecture and landscapes, presented in a new content–rich virtual format.
GREENWICH WINTER ANTIQUES & DESIGN SHOW PRESENTED ONLINE BY INCOLLECT
HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING WORKSHOP
HOLIDAY HOUSE TOUR
With decorating & entertaining guru Eddie Ross
Celebrating the work of designers Patrick Mele, Charlotte Barnes, and Heather Georges
HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE
PRESENTED BY QUINTESSENCE
Curated local and popup boutiques for festive shopping
DESIGNER PANEL DJ Carey of CT Cottages & Gardens in conversation with Architect Douglas VanderHorn, Landscape Designer James Doyle and Designer Amy Aidinis Hirsch
Plus, daily email content celebrating Greenwich retailers, entertainers & designers, a special festive gingerbread kit, our annual Festival of Tabletop Trees and candlelit Bush-Holley House tours.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
greenwichhistory.org/antiquarius Patron and All-event passes available now
calendar ART & ANTIQUES ALDRICH MUSEUM, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, 438-0198. Tues.-Sun. aldrichart.org
GERTRUDE G. WHITE GALLERY, YWCA, 259 E. Putnam Ave., 869-6501. ywcagreenwich.org
AMY SIMON FINE ART, 1869 Post Rd. East, Westport, 259-1500. amysimonfineart.com
GREENWICH ARTS COUNCIL, 299 Greenwich Ave., 862-6750. greenwich artscouncil.org
BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 Museum Dr., 869-0376. brucemuseum.org
GREENWICH ART SOCIETY, 299 Greenwich Ave. 2nd flr, 629-1533. A studio school which offers a visual arts education program for kids and adults. greenwichartsociety.org
CANFIN GALLERY, 39 Main St., Tarrytown, NY, 914-332-4554. canfingallery.com CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS, Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah, NY, 914-232-1252. Caramoor is a destination for exceptional music, captivating programs, spectacular gardens and grounds, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. caramoor.org CAVALIER GALLERIES, 405 Greenwich Ave., 8693664. cavaliergalleries.com
Iced Coffee with Friends, oil on canvas, 48 x 48
CLAY ART CENTER, 40 Beech St., Port Chester, NY, 914-937-2047. clayartcenter.org
Flinn Gallery Through Wednesday, January 6, The Flinn Gallery will be hosting a new exhibition, Heidi Johnson, Animal Attraction, co-curated by Ellen Hawley and Karen Sheer. The animal species and objects of Johnson’s surreal worlds inhabit large-scale canvases. Her playful oil paintings layer ideas, flatten dimensions and compress time. The artist lives in Patterson, New York, and works from her studio in the Bronx. She grew up in Rhode Island and holds a BFA from Tufts University and a diploma from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she was awarded the Traveling Scholar prize among several other prestigious awards. Johnson exhibits widely in the U.S. and internationally in Sweden, Norway, Australia and Canada. Her artwork is held in numerous private and public collections. In-person viewing at Flinn Gallery is available by appointment. Greenwich Library, 2nd floor, 101 West Putnam Avenue. flinngallery.com
( for more events visit greenwichmag.com )
CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKING, 299 West Ave., Norwalk, 899-7999. contemprints.org
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DISCOVERY MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM, 4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport, 372-3521. discoverymuseum.org FAIRFIELD MUSEUM AND HISTORY CENTER, 370 Beach Rd., Fairfield, 259-1598. fairfieldhistory.org FLINN GALLERY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 622-7947. flinngallery.com
GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 47 Strickland Rd., 869-6899. greenwichhistory.org KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, Rte. 22 at Jay St., Katonah, NY, 914-232-9555. katonahmuseum.org KENISE BARNES FINE ART, 1947 Palmer Ave., Larchmont, NY, 914-834-8077. kbfa.com LOCKWOOD-MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM, 295 West Ave., Norwalk, 838-9799. lockwoodmathewsmansion.com LOFT ARTISTS ASSOCIATION, 575 Pacific Street., Stamford, 203-247-2027. loftartists.org MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 N. Water St., S. Norwalk, 8520700. maritimeaquarium.org NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase, NY, 914-2516100. neuberger.org PELHAM ART CENTER, 155 Fifth Ave., Pelham, NY, 914-738-2525 ext. 113. pelhamartcenter.org »
12 th Annual Greenwich Reindeer Festival
Virtual Greenwich Holiday Stroll
NOVEMBER 27–DECEMBER 22
DECEMBER 1–24
SAM BRIDGE NURSERY & GREENHOUSES
OVER 100 MERCHANTS THROUGHOUT
Hosted by
437 North Street, Greenwich Monday–Saturday; 8:30am–5pm
Reindeer Festival Hosted By
Reindeer Stable Sponsor
Reindeer Sponsor
Featuring
Greenwich, Village of Old Greenwich, Byram, Glenville, Cos Cob, Riverside
Premier Media Sponsors
Media Sponsors
Virtual Holiday Entertainment Sponsor
NURSERY & GREENHOUSES, LLC EST. 1930
Created and Produced By
Community Sponsor
#GreenwichReindeerFestival
#VirtualGreenwichHolidayStroll
G re e n w i ch r e i nde e r F e s t i val . com
calendar CURTAIN CALL, The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Ave., Stamford, 329-8207. curtaincallinc.com DOWNTOWN CABARET THEATRE, 263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport, 576-1636. dtcab.com FAIRFIELD THEATRE COMPANY, On StageOne, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, 259-1036. fairfieldtheatre.org GOODSPEED OPERA HOUSE, 6 Main St., East Haddam, 860-873-8668. goodspeed.org
Greenwich Holiday Stroll The Stroll Must Go On! This year’s Greenwich Holiday Stroll, amidst the COVID pandemic, becomes a new event in this new era. Folks can enjoy the first ever Virtual Greenwich Holiday Stroll, 24 Days of Holiday Shopping & Dining, Tuesday, December 1 through Thursday, December 24. To learn more visit greenwichreindeerfestival.com. ROWAYTON ARTS CENTER, 145 Rowayton Ave., Rowayton, 866-2744. rowaytonarts.org SAMUEL OWEN GALLERY, 382 Greenwich Ave., 325-1924. samuelowen.org SILVERMINE GUILD ARTS CENTER, 1037 Silvermine Rd., New Canaan, 203-966-9700. silvermineart.org SANDRA MORGAN INTERIORS & ART PRIVÉ, 135 East Putnam Ave., 2nd flr., Greenwich, 629-8121. sandramorganinteriors.com STAMFORD ART ASSOCIATION, 39 Franklin St., Stamford, 203-325-1139. stamfordartassociation.org STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 203-977-6521. stamfordmuseum.org UCONN STAMFORD ART GALLERY, One University Pl., Stamford, 251-8400. artgallery.stamford.uconn.edu
WESTPORT ARTS CENTER, 51 Riverside Ave., Westport, 226-7070. westportartscenter.org YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven, 432-2800. britishart.yale.edu YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven, 432-0611. artgallery.yale.edu
CONCERTS, FILM & THEATER ARENA AT HARBOR YARD, 600 Main St., Bridgeport, 345-2300. websterbankarena.com AVON THEATRE FILM CENTER, 272 Bedford St., Stamford, 661-0321. avontheatre.org
GREENWICH LIBRARY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 6227900. greenwichlibrary.org JACOB BURNS FILM CENTER, 364 Manville Rd., Pleasantville, NY, 914-7737663. burnsfilmcenter.org
AUDUBON GREENWICH, 613 Riversville Rd., 869-5272. greenwich.audubon.org AUX DÉLICES, 231 Acosta St., Stamford, 326-4540, ext. 108. auxdelicesfoods.com BOWMAN OBSERVATORY PUBLIC NIGHT, NE of Milbank/East Elm St. rotary on the grounds of Julian Curtiss School, 869-6786, ext. 338 BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 Museum Dr., 869-0376. brucemuseum.org CLAY ART CENTER, 40 Beech St., Port Chester, NY, 914-937-2047. clayartcenter.org CONNECTICUT CERAMICS STUDY CIRCLE, Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Dr. ctcsc.org
FAIRFIELD MUSEUM AND HISTORY CENTER, 370 Beach Rd., Fairfield, 259-1598. fairfieldhistory.org GARDEN EDUCATION CENTER, 130 Bible St., 869-9242. gecgreenwich.org GREENWICH LIBRARY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 622-7900. greenwichlibrary.org KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, 26 Bedford Rd., Chappaqua, NY, 914-232-9555. katonahmuseum.org STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 977-6521. stamfordmuseum.org
LONG WHARF THEATRE, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven, 787-4282. longwharf.com RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, 438-9269. ridgefieldplayhouse.org RIDGEFIELD THEATER BARN, 37 Halpin Ln., Ridgefield, 431-9850. ridgefieldtheaterbarn.org SHUBERT THEATER, 247 College St., New Haven, 800228-6622. shubert.com STAMFORD CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford, 325-4466. stamfordcenterforthearts.org WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE, 25 Powers Ct., Westport, 227-4177. westportplayhouse.org
LECTURES, TOURS & WORKSHOPS ALDRICH MUSEUM, 258 Main St. Ridgefield, 438-0198. aldrichart.org DECEMBER 2020 GREENWICH
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Greenwich Historical Society Greenwich Historical Society’s Antiquarius will have a virtual look this season. The theme, Together at Home, will celebrate decorative arts, antiques, architecture and design. And fan-favorite events such as the Holiday House Tour, Holiday Boutique, Greenwich Winter Antiques & Design Show, Festival of Trees and Candlelit Evening Tours of Bush-Holley House will happen in a new fashion. To learn more about this year’s Antiquarius, visit greenwichhistory.org. »
calendar KIDS’ STUFF / ALDRICH MUSEUM, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, 438-4519. aldrichart.org
DECEMBER 2020
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREENWICH, 4 Horseneck Lane, 869-3224. bgcg.org
AUDUBON GREENWICH, 613 Riversville Rd., 869-5272. greenwich.audubon.org
BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 Museum Dr., 869-0376. brucemuseum.org
AUX DÉLICES (cooking classes), 23 Acosta St., Stamford, 326-4540 ext. 108. auxdelicesfoods.com
DISCOVERY MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM, 4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport, 372-3521. discoverymuseum.org
BEARDSLEY ZOO, 1875 Noble Ave., Bridgeport, 394-6565. beardsleyzoo.org
DOWNTOWN CABARET THEATRE, 263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport, 576-1636. dtcab.com
EARTHPLACE, 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, 227-7253. earthplace.org
MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 N. Water St., S. Norwalk, 852-0700. maritimeaquarium.org
GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 39 Strickland St., 869-6899. hstg.org
NEW CANAAN NATURE CENTER, 144 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, 966-9577. newcanaannature.org
GREENWICH LIBRARY, 101 W. Putnam Ave., 6227900. greenwichlibrary.org IMAX THEATER AT MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 N. Water St., S. Norwalk, 8520700. maritimeaquarium.org KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, Rte. 22 at Jay St., Katonah, NY, 914-232-9555. katonahmuseum.org
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RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, 438-5795. ridgefieldplayhouse.org STAMFORD CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford, 325-4466. palacestamford.org
STAMFORD MUSEUM & NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 977-6521. stamfordmuseum.org STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN, 303 West Ave., Mathews Park, Norwalk, 899-0606. steppingstonesmuseum.org WESTPORT ARTS CENTER, 51 Riverside Ave., Westport, 222-7070. Visit westportartscenter.org WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE, 25 Powers Ct., Westport, 227-4177. westportplayhouse.org G
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postscript photog raph by julie bidwell
ALONG FOR THE RIDE T
imes have changed, but simple pleasures remain: getting a lift on Dad’s shoulders, choosing the tree, enjoying a crisp winter day. Photographer Julie Bidwell captured this sweet scene at family-favorite Sam Bridge Nursery. All of us at GREENWICH magazine wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, love and laughter. G
Have a photo that captures a moment in Greenwich? Send it to us at editor@greenwichmag.com for a chance to win $100. Please write photo submission in the subject line. greenwichmag.com
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