Around Town

Friday Evening: Women’s World Cup ‘Viewing Picnic’ Planned for Pop Up Park

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Though plans to install the Pop Up Park downtown permanently through the summer have been indefinitely suspended, one local organization is moving forward—with blessings from all parties—with a Women’s World Cup “viewing picnic” to be held Friday evening at South Avenue between Morse Court and Elm Street. The New Canaan Soccer Association is encouraging locals to wear red, white and blue and attend the event that it organized and for which it secured town approval last month. Three big-screen TVs will air Australia vs. Nigeria at 5 p.m., followed by the United States vs. Sweden at 8 p.m.

“Please bring your own food and drink,” the association says.

Faces of New Canaan

Faces of New Canaan: Wendy Lowy Sloane

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Even without a nationally syndicated radio show that in about two weeks will reach a five-year milestone, Wendy Lowy Sloane is a great candidate for a “Faces of New Canaan” profile. A resident of the town since 2002, Lowy Sloane is not only deeply involved in the community—she’s spent several years as parent coordinator at her kids’ schools and as team mom for youth sports, and whose own kids have been in the New Canaan YMCA program for years (her son made the freshman NCHS team)—she also carries a sincere and abiding love for New Canaan people. Those people include small business owners who help make the town go—she specifically mentions Barbara Cleary who 13 years ago prophetically “sold” Lowy Sloane on a vision of herself in the town, as well as Caren Forbes and Chef Luis Lopez, whom she calls “Cheffy”—as well as elected officials who wear multiple hats (Rob Mallozzi, Nick Williams, Tucker Murphy) and perhaps most of all, close friends discovered here who have become, she says, “my family.”

We learned all of this, as well as how Lowy Sloane got into the field of journalism, spanning a celebrity-filled TV career in Manhattan—during an interview (transcribed in full below) in the window at CT Sandwich Company on a recent morning. Many thanks to Wendy for her time and candor. One final note before our interview: Readers can find podcasts of the show, “What’s Up With Wendy,” here on the 1490 AM—WGCH website (the anniversary special airs Jan.

News

Bucking ‘In-Town’ Trend, Realtors Turn to New Canaan’s ‘Upper East Side’

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Kelly Kraus says that when she came to New Canaan in 1999, prospective homebuyers moving here overwhelmingly wanted homes on four-acre lots north of town. Then in 2004, the sale of a home at 110 South Ave. (and soon after, another on Brooks Road), kickstarted a trend of tearing down and building anew “in town”—call it above Farm Road to about St. Mark’s, and as wide as a walkable distance to the business district. Realtors hyper-focused on that geography—driven by the tastes of prospective residents as well as New Canaanites already here who were seeking to downsize to more manageable properties after, say, their kids moved out, Kraus said.

Around Town

Pop Up Park: New Canaanites Gather to Cheer on U.S. Soccer Team

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The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. To pause the slideshow below for captions, just move your cursor over it, article continues below. [acx_slideshow name=”Pop Up Park World Cup 2014″]

 

As the sun set on New Canaan’s Pop Up Park (set up between Morse Court and Elm on South Avenue), hundreds of New Canaanites gathered around three flat-screen TVs beneath and around a white party tent early Sunday evening to cheer on the United States Men’s National Soccer Team as they took on a strong Portuguese team (ranked #4 in the world) in a thrilling group showdown of the 2014 World Cup. (New Canaan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tucker Murphy estimated that more than 500 residents were at the park at its height.)

Prior to kickoff, activities such as a raffle for a custom-designed USA blazer and other prizes were in full swing as piles of pizza boxes were devoured by hungry soccer fans. The event was a joint effort of the New Canaan Soccer Association with support from the Local First Fund of the New Canaan Community Foundation, Town of New Canaan, the chamber, Realty Guild and ESPN.

Around Town

Mallozzi: ‘Come on Down and Join Us’ Sunday at Pop Up Park for U.S.-Portugal World Cup Match

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FIrst Selectman Rob Mallozzi on World Cup 2014 Pop Up Park
 

The United States opens World Cup 2014 at 6 p.m. (local time) Monday versus Ghana. The group from which the United States must advance, Group G, also includes Germany and Portugal—a set of teams that some have dubbed the “Group of Death” for its prowess (while others argue Group B is more difficult, with defending champions Spain, Netherlands, Chile and Australia). The U.S. squad has been ranked #13 overall by FIFA, while Germany is #2 and Portugal #4. Americans that many will recognize from the World Cup roster include DaMarcus Beasley, Brad Davis and Clint Dempsey. The question of who will advance will be open at 6 p.m. this Sunday when the United States plays its second group match, versus mighty Portugal.