Westport in Brief
EverythingWestport.com
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Quick Article Index . . .
Abraham Ngetich of
New York takes 1st in the 29th running of the Little Compton Road
Race.
Westport Rivers
Vineyard and Winery kicks off their Sunset Music Series.
Farmers’
Market has something for everyone in August.
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Abraham
Ngetich of New York takes 1st in the 29th running of the Little Compton Road Race. EverythingWestport.com Saturday, July 11, 2009 View
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The field
was fresh with new faces, and all top finishers didn’t participate last year. Salome Korgei
of White Plains, NY, third overall, paced the women to finish at 25:40, just
10 seconds off Claudia Camargo’s record, also set in 2007. She took the
women’s division title. 2007 was a
good year. Jessica
Cickay of Brookline, MA was on Salome’s heels, finishing 25:48, fifth overall. Women took
third and fifth overall, very impressive for a 4.8 miler against high quality
men. Smoke can
be seen from starter’s pistol (photo below) as the runners checked their
watches and sprinted off the starting line. Framed by the historic Brownell
House in the background, the monster field of over 540 runners had high hopes
of finishing well on a day of brilliant sunshine and cool temperatures. Ngetich had the lead at the gate and was never challenged during the 4.8 mile race, finishing almost a full minute ahead of second place finisher Moulton. Jeff Howley placed third for the men, 4th overall at 25:41. Julie Spolidoro of Marshfield, Ma finished third for the women and tenth overall at a time of 28:35. Joe Pascale, 86, of North Providence was once again the oldest finisher with a time of 1:12:09. Jake Wallack, 8, of Little Compton, RI was the youngest finishing 498th at a time of 59:00.
Larry Kidney, 60, was Westport’s highest winning runner, taking second place in the 60 - 69 age category, posting a time of 35:42. Click here for overall race results. Click here for age division results.
From the left: (1) 2nd
place overall - Patrick Moulton; (2)
1st place women - Salome Korgei; (3) 3rd place mens, 4th
overall - Jeff Howley; (1) Salome Korgei congratulating 2nd place womens, 5th overall - Jessica Cickay; and (5) 3rd
place womens, 10th overall - Julie Spolidoro.
54 Shilling,
Andrew 42 M Westport, MA 33:02
87 Chambers,
Mike 23 M Westport, MA 35:08
97 Kidney,
Larry 60 M Westport, MA 35:42
111 Leach, Sean 49 M Westport, MA 36:33
210 Amaral, Joe 50 M Westport, MA 40:25
241 Devine, Patricia 23
F Westport, MA 41:26 293 Camara, Victor 59 M Westport MA
43:15 321 Kidney, Mickey 58 F Westport MA
44:29 361 Dias-Mitchell, Lauri 49 F Westport MA
45:57 377 Chambers, Mariele 15
F WESTPORT MA 46:43
429 Sweetser, Cindy 49
F Westport MA 49:31
Above - Westport’s Sean Leach giving
it his all.
Little Compton
Fair packed them in! The annual road race opened the Little Compton Fair, a one-day
perennial favorite among area residents for years. Tens of hundreds turned
out to watch the race and then enjoy the food and fun under the sun on the
Commons. And you guessed it, a monster book fair filled the big top on the
church grounds.
View the
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EverythingWestport.com Saturday, July 11, 2009 View the photo album now for this
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Hundreds jostled and jammed to zero in on their favorite authors. Central Village traffic was gridlocked, and parking was impossible. You would’ve thought they were giving away 3G Blackberries. The Farmers’ Market attendees could only stare in awe. Reminiscent of Filenes Bargain Basement on Bridal Day, no mercy was shown in getting that most wanted book. And they went quickly. If you turned your back for a moment you lost out. So many books, so little time. Books play a central role In the
long, long tradition of Quaker
education, and their book fair is as much sharing this conviction as it is in
raising funds for the Religious Society of Friends. Books
are to be used and treasured, not discarded into a dust bin. On the ropes. With crates, boxes and bags in hand, and just hands alone, a throng of shoppers pressed the ropes before 11, and it wasn’t a moment too soon. Many Boston booksellers come down especially for this sale, and pick up several hundred paper- and hardbacks at a time for resale. They are shrewd, know what they want, and work hard and fast. You have to be quick to get that special book. “I’m a big reader,” Chris Feldman said waiting on the ropes for the whistle. The Fall River woman came prepared. “Last year was like Filenes Bargain Basement. This year I’m scoping out the titles in advance: mysteries, some novels, and certain authors like Vince Flynn, Lee Childs and John Sandford.”
From the
left: (1) Book buddies Cathy Senra (left) and Chris Feldman; (2) 30,000
titles waited patiently for their turn to be chosen; and (3) Cecelia of Fall
River had her hands full at checkout. The two tents were ringed by hundreds performing the same cerebral exercise. The big tops were aptly decorated as it was a circus-like atmosphere. The
Friends held the opening day of their 48th Annual Used
Book Fair from 11 a.m. to dusk on the grounds of the 190 year-old Quaker Meetinghouse at 938 Main Road. According to
Westport Meeting treasurer Deana Chase, over 30,000 books spanning
dozens of categories were collected and sorted over the past year. The book
fair is the main fund raising event of the Westport Monthly Meeting of the
Religious Society of Friends, which began in Westport in 1699. According to Dr.
Kirkaldy, former long-time Westport resident and current Friends member, “it
all started out in 1962 when we needed money to fix a leaky roof at the
parsonage across the street. The Odd Fellows Library in New Bedford
kick-started the first year’s sale.” The Friends have
been doing it every year since. Categories
ranged from local history to travel, from humor to religion and philosophy,
from cookbooks to large format art books – and even sci-fi and Harlequin
romances. Books
were priced individually, from six-for-a-dollar paperbacks to hardbound first
editions and other gems separated out on the Better Books Table. A number of
families have donated entire libraries, so you never know what will turn up. In
the early years of the book fair, a first edition of “Moby Dick” found its
way onto the tables. It was reported that the volume was sold to a local area
bookseller for $425!
From the left: (1) rushing the rope at the 11 o’clock
whistle; (2) try squeezing through this isle; and (3) the big tops were
jammed with people from all over the area. The
opening whistle at 11 a.m. started people streaming into the tents and
meetinghouse in search of that special book. A light lunch and snacks were
available throughout the day to sustain browsers. The
first day of the fair ran until dusk on Saturday, but the books may be
purchased daily for the next two weeks on the honor system. In more than 40
years the fair has enjoyed fair weather, and Saturday was no exception with
brilliant sunshine and cool temperatures. But the book sale has gone on
despite rain, heat and even Hurricane Beulah! Better
hurry, these books are going fast! Westport
Rivers Vineyard and Winery kicks off their Sunset Music Series. EverythingWestport.com Friday, July 10, 2009
"Not to be missed!" Fridays in July and August 6-8 p.m. $5 per carload for parking. Click here for all the details. There’s a sort of magic that
envelopes you while sitting on Westport Rivers’ expansive lawn overlooking
the vineyard and watching the sun go down. So much so that hundreds are doing
it every Friday night. And for good reason. Free entertainment, outstanding
local wine selection, and a social setting unencumbered by the din of a busy
lounge. And what a venue! A broad
vineyard panorama over farm, fields and vineyard. From now to August 28th you enjoy an open air setting
every Friday night over wine and a picnic supper. Stop in for an hour. You’ll
be hooked! Click here to view their flyer for all the
dates and the entertainment.
For more information call them at 1 (800) 993-9695 or
visit their website at www.westportrivers.com. Farmers’
Market has something for everyone in August. EverythingWestport.com July 11, 2009
The Farmers’ Market art the Grange is in full summer swing as area vendors offer up the bounty of the land and the hand every Saturday morning. The Westport
Farmers Market & Craft Fair is open on Saturdays through September 26
from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm, and is held at the historic Westport Grange #181 at
931 Main Road in Central Village. View the photo album now for this
event 36 photos | Dial-up speed |
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speed | According to Ms. Easterly,
August featured events include the following: ·
On
August 8 the music duo of guitarists Jamie Ouellette and Andrew Pachecho will
do a set of their innovative bluesy material from 11:00 am to Noon. ·
August
8 will also feature weaver Polly Moss demonstrating the art of weaving on her
floor loom. Polly Moss makes a return appearance on August
22. ·
August
15 features Keith Wilder demonstrating how he makes wooden pens on a
lathe. ·
In
addition, the market features representatives from many area nonprofit
organizations who are available to talk about their work. These
groups include: Westport River Watershed Alliance; Westport
CoHousing; Westport Land Conservation Trust; Boy Scouts; and MA Audubon Allens
Pond Sanctuary. ·
The
market features the freshest seasonal produce: lettuce; corn; carrots; beets;
kale; apples; blueberries; raspberries; tomatoes; garlic; etc. Along with cut
flowers; hanging baskets; container gardens; herbs; pickles; herbal body
potions; jellies; eggs; bread; muffins; pies; etc. ·
The
artisans and crafters are the best southeastern Massachusetts has to offer.
Our roster of artisans changes from week to week so there’s always something
new to discover: quilts; watercolors; beach glass jewelry; woven
goods; pottery; organic cotton baby clothes; painted mail boxes and pails;
gourd designs; hand-made books and stationary.
From the left: (1) The Westport Fishermen’s Association raffle boat –
a Chog 16; (2) Beth Easterly – artist extraordinaire; and (3) the handmade
baskets of Sharon Owens. Take a break at
the Grange Cafe and sit for awhile with coffee and a fresh baked munchie. Got
questions, call 508-636-4427. - - -
- End - - - - © 2009
Community Events of Westport All
rights reserved. |
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Authors Robert Ludlum
would call it “madness;” Harlequin’s Kathleen O’Reilly, deliciously
intoxicating;” and the Greek poet Homer, “an epic struggle of colossal
proportion.” But whatever you call it the overwhelming crush of primed
shoppers rushing the Friends’ book tents at the 11:00 o’clock whistle was
stunning.
“I’m here for the
biographies,” said Chris’ friend, Cathy Senra, also of fall River.
“Especially on old movie stars.” Their hawk-like gazes scanned the ubiquitous
books’ spines, seeking out those they wanted and making mental notes of their
location; sort of like setting their internal GPS systems for quick
retrieval.
Part produce stand,
part crafters show, part garden shop, and all variety as the Westport Farmer’s
Market has something for everyone. “In addition, the market features
representatives from many area nonprofit organizations who are available to
talk about their work,” according to Beth Easterly, Market Manager. “These
groups include: Westport River Watershed Alliance; Westport
CoHousing; Westport Land Conservation Trust; Boy Scouts; and MA Audubon
Allens Pond Sanctuary.”
