Around Town

New Canaan Family Fourth at Waveny [PHOTOS]

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Despite a little rain in the morning, the New Canaan Family Fourth came off in fine style on Saturday, as thousands of town and nearby residents unwound and socialized around picnicking, relaxing, reading, eating, drinking and otherwise enjoying one of the community’s most cherished annual traditions. With plenty of help from New Canaan Police Department officers and Community Emergency Response Team volunteers, residents found their way to open areas on the grass running away from Waveny House overlooking the corner by the old mulch pile on Lapham Road where the fireworks fly to mark Independence Day in New Canaan. While small children enjoyed inflatable bouncers, others bought refreshments from the Exchange Club or Garelick & Herbs, interacted with NCPD officers, NCVAC EMTs and other emergency responders and got comfortable for an always-impressive show. The Family Fourth is funded entirely through the sale of passes ($35) and generous donations. After a shortfall of about $15,000 last year hit the self-sustaining fund that puts on the event, the committee that oversees the Family Fourth called for more residents to purchase passes and support the show. Through Tuesday, some $48,742 in passes and donations had been collected, against an estimated expense line of about $70,000, officials said.

Around Town

$24,000 in Entrance Passes for Waveny Fireworks Sold So Far; Safety Tips

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Though online sales for passes to the Waveny Fireworks once again are showing increases year-over-year, the volunteer committee that runs the event is urging more residents to purchase the passes so that the Family Fourth may remain financially viable. Through Monday, $24,100 in entrance passes had been sold, against expenses for last summer’s event of about $70,000, according to Tom Stadler of the Family Fourth Committee. The group reported at its July 16 meeting that to-date overall sales had nearly doubled, and that a handful of residents had made very generous donations above-and-beyond the baseline $35 fee for a pass in order to support the Family Fourth, a cherished New Canaan tradition (tickets are available here for this year’s fireworks, to be held on Saturday, July 4). Even so, a misonception that the event is supported by the town (it isn’t, the Family Fourth fund is entirely standalone) still prevails. Plans are underway to launch social and online media campaigns to drum up support for the event and to hand out a flyer to residents who walk into Waveny on the day, encouraging them to support the fireworks through a donation to the fund.

Government

Officials To Decide Whether To Allow Lawn Signs in front of Town Hall

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With a renovated and expanded Town Hall re-opening and increased foot traffic expected at 77 Main St. as more municipal departments move back in through the summer, officials are opening the question of whether promotional signs should be allowed on its front lawn. A drop in requests to place lawn signs out front of Town Hall in recent months may be attributed to the recent construction there, and landscaping plans call for a more park-like feel that may not lend itself to signage, officials said Tuesday during the Board of Selectmen meeting. Though rules are in place about just what events or causes can be promoted on Town Hall’s front lawn (local), what types of organizations it’s meant for (mostly nonprofit) and what styles of signs may be used, the town has never set a cap on how many signs can be put there at one time, officials say. “My personal opinion is that we have a beautiful Town Hall—Keith Simpson and the Beautification League are doing a wonderful job in designing a landscape,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during the meeting, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department.

Around Town

After Waveny Fireworks Lose $15,000, Family Fourth Organizers Urge Residents to Buy Passes

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New Canaan Family Fourth 2014 at Waveny
Coming off of a year that saw a cherished annual summer tradition lose nearly $15,000, members of the volunteer committee that oversees the self-funded Family Fourth are urging residents to support the fireworks and community gathering at Waveny. Contrary to what many presume, the event (to be held this year on Saturday, July 4—tickets here and find an informational flyer at the end of this article) is not funded by the town, and greater numbers of family passes must be sold in order for it to remain financially viable, according to Tom Stadler, a member of the New Canaan Family Fourth Committee. “It’s not free, and it’s not paid for by taxes,” Stadler said. “The only way to put [the fireworks] on is to sell the family passes and by donations. We have some very generous people, there are no tax dollars coming in, and everybody we use in town from Recreation to Fire to Police to Highway to Parks, we pay them out of a standalone fund for the day.”

He added: ““My appeal is for everyone to buy a pass to help support it.

Around Town

‘An Extremely Committed Volunteer’: High Praise for Tracey Karl as She Steps Down from NCHS All Sports Booster Club

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Tom Stadler recalls vividly the first time he met Tracey Karl. It was more than a decade ago, and the pair stood atop the hill at Conner Field, watching 9-year-olds play in a baseball game that had dragged on for nearly three hours. Stadler, then president of New Canaan Baseball, recalled saying out loud that the game had been going on too long. “And she says, ‘Yes, it’s too long,’ and so we started this conversation and she says what about this and that, and I said, ‘Tracey, would you like to be on the baseball board?’ It was the first time we’d met and I didn’t know her from Adam.”

In characteristic fashion, Karl said ‘Yes’ to the demanding volunteer position and went on to make lasting changes to the organization that have streamlined and otherwise operations, all with a goal of improving the youth sports experience for New Canaan kids. “I think the world of Tracey,” Stadler said.