Around Town

‘Art in the Windows’ Kicks Off Downtown Thursday

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Dozens of New Canaan shops will stay open late Thursday, as live music, artist receptions, wine tastings and other special events are held throughout the business district to mark the launch of Art in the Windows. Residents are invited to stroll the streets of New Canaan from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for the 10th annual Art in the Windows. A record-70 stores are participating in this year’s event, featuring photos, paintings, sculpture and mixed media pieces from as many artists, 31 of them New Canaanites (see gallery above), according to Hilary Witmann, executive director of the Carriage Barn Arts Center. The Waveny-based nonprofit organized the event, which is sponsored by Bankwell, New Canaan Board of Realtors and Hutchinson Tree Care Specialists, in partnership with the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. “It’s great that we have more stores than ever and a lot of New Canaan artists, which is one of the things I really wanted to bring in this year, in addition to the great artists who are members of the Carriage Barn and exhibit in a lot of shows,” Witmann told NewCanaanite.com.

Around Town

New Downtown Stroll to Kickstart ‘Art in the Windows’ on May 22

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Three springs ago—her first in New Canaan—Serena Gillespie found herself walking downtown when she noticed, and felt moved by, works of art in storefront windows. Attracted to a display that included peonies flowers, Gillespie made inquiries and discovered that she was experiencing Art in the Windows. That’s how she came to find out about the Carriage Barn Arts Center (home of the New Canaan Society for the Arts), which organized the event. “For me, art has always had to connect with me personally,” Gillespie, now president of the art center’s Board of Trustees, recalled on a recent evening as fellow board members, Carriage Barn staff and business owners gathered at the Waveny property during a kickoff/planning gathering for the Seventh Annual Art in the Windows. “If it talks to me and brings back a memory, that’s when it connects with me.