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The Lighting of New Canaan’s Menorah, a God’s Acre Tradition

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At 6 p.m. Sunday a New Canaan tradition will continue, as families of all denominations as well as town dignitaries and clergy from the area will gather to celebrate Hanukkah atop God’s Acre with the annual lighting of the menorah. The first light of the menorah will shine Sunday evening to signify the start of the holiday, with another light to shine each night until the eighth light, representing the miracle of Hanukkah in which a small amount of oil burned for eight days and nights, helping a small band of Jews defeat the oppression of the Syrian Greeks in Israel. “Hanukkah is in many ways a celebration of religious freedom,” Rabbi Levi Mendelow of Chabad New Canaan said. “I think that here in America and in New Canaan, celebrating Hanukkah is an incredible thing because it is a place of incredible religious freedom. And the fact that the Jewish people are able to celebrate openly and happily in a community that welcomes it is really a very special thing and very meaningful.”

Sports

Kids and Teens Bring the Heat at NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Competition

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Connecticut girls and boys from ages 6 to 15 kicked off the 2015 NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Competition on Saturday, August 15. The competition was held at Water Tower Field in New Canaan, headed up by Chairperson for NFL Local in New Canaan Craig Hunt. “This is called a local competition that we are doing now,” Hunt said. “These go from June until the end of September. The sectionals start in October…in Cheshire Connecticut; and from there they go to the nationals.”

College-bound 2015 NCHS grad Clark Newlove, who was on hand to help out, said the experience can be amazing for participants.

News

‘We Won It for Him’: Taben Leads New Canaan Field Hockey Over Darien for FCIAC Crown

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Two weeks ago this Saturday, field hockey was the last thing on Isabel Taben’s mind. That evening, the Rams senior co-captain’s father Charlie suffered a heart attack. It was Isabel who ran into the street to flag down the first responders after they called 911. The medics saved his life. Charlie was rushed to the hospital, where he ultimately recovered from cardiac arrest.

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Mead Park Mystery: The Colonnade

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It looks to be something out of ancient Greece or Rome or even the Old South rather than New Canaan. The colonnade that sits amid the Mead Park tennis courts on a perch overlooking Mead Pond serves no other function these days than as a picturesque background for pre-prom or family photos. A relic of some bygone era, many patrons of the park pass it by every day, oblivious to its significance. So what exactly was it for? The history of the colonnade dates back to the Great Depression, which according to the New Canaan Historical Society’s publication Landmarks of New Canaan, was actually a period of substantial growth for Mead Park.