Kiwanis Club’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner & Social To Be Held Sunday

The New Canaan Kiwanis Club’s popular St. Patrick’s Day Dinner & Social is around the corner, scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 11 in St. Aloysius School’s dining hall. A community staple for years, the event features Irish dancing and is sponsored by New Canaan’s Hoyt Funeral Home, First County Bank, Bankwell, Kiwanis Division 20, Karl Chevrolet, Sperry DeCew, Nurenu Brand Marketing, Baskin-Robbins, Walter Stewart’s Market, Stewarts Spirits, NewCanaanite.com, Hawthorne Ackerly & Dorrance, Anam Cara School of Irish Dance and Harney Pender Keady School of Irish Dance. Tickets are $10 for children, those under age two are free, $15 for adults ($20 at the door) and are available at the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, 91 Elm St.; Walter Stewart’s Market, 229 Elm St.; Baskin- Robbins 103 Main St.

Winter Storm Hub: What’s Open & Closed, Snowfall Totals, Photos [UPDATED]

New Canaan Public Schools, Town Hall and New Canaan Library are closed Thursday as a winter storm that’s expected to create hazardous driving conditions bears down on the town (see more openings & closings below). The National Weather Service reported about 10.4 inches of snowfall as of 3:15 p.m. and issued a Winter Storm Warning that’s in effect through 1 a.m. Friday. Metro-North Railroad reported that a downed tree in the area of Talmadge Hill prompted the company to switch to bus shuttle service from Stamford for the New Canaan line starting at 2:58 p.m. By 6 p.m., Metro-North was reporting limited rail service on the branch. 

What’s Open

Franco’s Wine (opening at 8 a.m.)
Walter Stewart’s Market (open at 7:30 a.m.)
Stewart’s Spirits (opening at 9 a.m.)
Karl Chevrolet (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for service, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for sales)
Farmer’s Table (open 5 to 10 p.m.)
Joe’s Pizza (11 a.m. to 10 p.m.)
Real Estate Information Center (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
YMCA open as normal though some classes cancelled (updates here)
Teachers Who Tutor
LPQ
Dunkin Donuts
Starbucks
Gates (opening bar at 1 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m.)

What’s Closed

Rucci Law Group
Pet Pantry Warehouse
Halo Studios
New Canaan Racquet Club
Town Hall
New Canaan Library
New Canaan Public Schools
All Bankwell branches
Pryority Wellness
South End
SE Uncorked
La Pescaderia Fish Market & Arepa
elm restaurant (closed for lunch, dinner decision to come)
TD Bank
Salon 5 East
Ciel Eau Day Spa
Vineyard Vines
Candy Nichols
Jul’s Salon
Oxygen Fitness closed for remainder of Thursday

NewCanaanite.com has cancelled Thursday’s Community Coffee and the next one will be held Jan. 18. The library’s planned art exhibition opening has been moved to 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

10 Great Last-Minute Christmas Gift Ideas from New Canaan Shops [GALLERY]

We’re entering the home stretch of Christmas shopping in New Canaan, as most every holiday shipping date has past. For anyone looking for great last-minute gift and stocking-stuffer ideas, we’ve created the gallery above—covering everything from $5 squishies for the kids to a $3,600 six-liter bottle of wine for the grownups. Though it’s not meant to be exhaustive—for example, we left off favorites such as the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s gift cards, New Canaan Historical Society’s ornaments and Philip Johnson Glass House’s design store items—the gallery represents a good cross-section of downtown merchants. As Laura Budd from the Chamber’s offices above the Playhouse on Elm Street said: “From our office on the ’50-yard line’ and from our interactions with store owners and managers, we know that New Canaan shoppers have embraced the ‘Shop Local’ movement. We know this is in no small part due to the tremendous effort the local businesses put in to the ‘experience’ of shopping here in New Canaan.

Letter: ‘Thank You’ to the Stewarts from Meals On Wheels of New Canaan

The Meals on Wheels of New Canaan Board would like to wholeheartedly thank Alex and Doug Stewart of Stewart’s Wines & Spirits for partnering with us for our recent fundraiser. Stewart’s Wines & Spirits graciously offered to donate 10 percent of sales from November 15th to Meals on Wheels of New Canaan. The event was a huge success! Walter Stewart’s Market and Stewart’s Wines & Spirits are tremendous assets to our wonderful community. They are always giving back to local organizations and it is much appreciated by all.

Did You Hear … ?

I love Rock n roll – Joan jett The Blackhearts
Rock and Roll

 

We hear the Youth Group at the Congregational Church of New Canaan during its mission trip ran into rock star Joan Jett (“I Love Rock and Roll”) at an airport in Memphis, and that she and her group were good enough to pose with the local teens. (Side note: First Selectman Rob Mallozzi has seen the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame inductee perform live and has an autographed LP cover from her.)

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The town planner said during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission that he expects Grace Farms to submit its new application for a modified zoning permit by March 15. ***

A coyote and a medium-sized dog on Autumn Lane at about 6:45 pa.m. on Tuesday had what New Canaan’s police chief called “a close encounter” on Autumn Lane. The animal was frightened away by its owner, and the incident served as a reminder, Chief Leon Krolikowski said, “that coyote are active in the area and that they are not nocturnal. It is highly recommended that all dogs be supervised at all times and any food sources, such as bird feeders and pet food be contained and controlled.” Anyone with questions or concerns should contact Animal Control at 203-594-3510. ***

New Canaan’s first major league baseball player, Curt Casali, hit a home run in spring training on Tuesday.