Community Organizations
Future of Fairfield County: Darien

What Does Darien Envision for Itself in the Next 10 Years? Zoom Meeting, Presentation April 5

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The League of Women Voters of Darien is pleased to join the Darien Library and the Fairfield County Community Foundation in cosponsoring the first in a series of civic conversations on “The Future of Fairfield County: Darien.” — an announcement from the Darien League of Women Voters, Darien Library and the Fairfield County Foundation

The online series via Zoom will begin on Monday April 5, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Each discussion or conversation will focus on the future of Darien as part of Fairfield County and will include expert, forward-looking analysis of demographics and statistics in each of several areas. Most importantly, the series will focus on what the community envisions for their hometown during the next 10 years and beyond. The April 5 program will focus on the long-range economic outlook in the area, as well as the impact on environmental sustainability, and equity. During the discussion, attendees will identify key issues to examine in a follow-up session at 7 p.m. on April 22.

Arts & Entertainment
Charcoal drawing by Nancy McTague

Learn to Draw Flowers at Rowayton Arts Center Workshop, Starting Feb 19

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The Rowayton Arts Center is offering a new workshop, “Learn to Draw Flowers in a Variety of Media,” with Nancy McTague-Stock in the studio on four Friday mornings, starting Feb. 19. — an announcement from Rowayton Arts Center
The classes run from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon. A new medium will be introduced each week, giving students the ability to experiment with different rendering methods. The fee for the workshop is $135.

Architecture
Vanderbilt One James von Klemperer

James von Klemperer of Darien, Architect of Midtown Manhattan’s Tallest Office Building, to Speak at DCA

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Architect James von Klemperer, a longtime Darien resident who designed the recently completed Midtown Manhattan’s tallest office building, One Vanderbilt, will discuss that project as well as the 1720 Darien farmhouse where he lives. His online talk, “From Farmhouse to High Rise,” will be presented as part of Darien Community Association’s “New Information and Inspiration Virtual Presentations” at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association

One Vanderbilt is the first thing encountered by many Darien commuters as they emerge from Grand Central Terminal. There, a steel frame and concrete core support a much larger structure, which rises to 1,401 feet.

Talks-Panel Discussions-Presentations-Workshops
Stand Against Racism protest signs 2020

Parents Invited to Web Events on ‘Institutional Racism’ This Tuesday, Wednesday, June 23, 24

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Two online “community conversations” for parents, together titled “Current State of Affairs: Institutional Racism & Real Talk,” and sponsored by Darien organizations, will take place next week. Each one for parents of children in different age groups. Each conversation will be hosted on Zoom from 6 to 7:30 p.m. ‚ on June 23, 2020 for parents with children ages birth to 10 and on June 24 for parents of children ages 11 and up. — an announcement from the YWCA of Darien-Norwalk

Rashad Randolph will be a guest speaker, along with Lynn S. Sullivan, M.S. Ed., MA of Diversity Benchmark Consulting. The event is hosted by YWCA Darien/Norwalk in partnership with A Better Chance Darien and Council of Darien School parents.

Churches
Tom McElroy Darien Christian Science Church speaker

Darien Christian Science Church Sponsors Free Webinar May 28 on How Spiritual Discovery Leads to Healing

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The Darien Christian Science Church is sponsoring a free, online talk via Zoom, given by Tom McElroy, CSB, on Thursday, May 28 at 7 p.m.

The talk, entitled “Spiritual Discovery: How you can better the world,” can be accessed at zoom.us/webinar ID 933 238 675. — an announcement from the Darien Christian Science Church

You can also listen in by phone by dialing 301-715-8592 or 646-876-9923 and using the same webinar ID. The talk will focus on universal healing precepts found in the Holy Bible, especially in Christ Jesus’ life and teachings, and show how they are available for anyone to understand and experience through the lens of Christian Science. “Spiritual discovery is about understanding more of what God is and learning to see our lives and the world through God’s all-good nature,” McElroy says. “It’s about stripping away surface-level appearances in order to discern what actually IS.

Arts & Entertainment
Online Paint and Sip Southwestern Landscapes Susan Fehlinger RAC

Online ‘Paint and Sip’ Southwestern Landscape Class for Cinco de Mayo From Rowayton Arts Center

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The Rowayton Arts Center (RAC) is excited to jump into the world of Zoom in order to deliver an online “Paint and Sip” experience to all who yearn for some creative fun on Cinco de Mayo! — an announcement from Rowayton Arts Center
The Zoom class will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. RAC Instructor Susan Fehlinger will lead participants through a Southwestern landscape painting using a palette knife only. The challenge, the fun and the laugh factor should be high as participants navigate this new platform together. The fee for the class is $25.

Education
Bruce Museum STEAM activity

For Kids in Grades 1 to 5: Bruce Museum Has At-Home STEAM Activities You Can Find Online

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While closed to the public for now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bruce Museum in Greenwich is posting weekly activities involving STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Math) for kids in Grades 1 through 5 stuck at home. From the museum’s announcement:

Manager of School and Community Programs, Corinne Flax has created weekly STEAM activities for families with children at home. These weekly activities will focus on basic STEAM concepts. Learners will get the chance to design, test, modify, experiment, hypothesize and much more. A little about the series, At Home STEAM Activities:

●     The series is for children ranging from 1st through 5th Grades.  Each activity can take as little as 30 minutes or as much as an entire afternoon, depending on the interest level of your learners.

Darien Community Association
Speakers Darien Neighbors DCA Feb 2020

CNN Commentator, Hedge Fund Founder, Business CEO in Latest ‘Darien Neighbor’s, Global Players’ Speaker Series

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The latest “Darien Neighbors, Global Players” speaker series includes SE Cupp, a commentator with a show on CNN; Steve Mandel, the founder of the Lone Pine Capital Investing hedge fund; and Ian Murray, founder and CEO of Vineyard Vines. The three-lecture series starts on March 31 and concludes on April 28 at the Darien Community Association. Tickets are on sale now. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association

Darien Community Association’s executive speaker series highly-acclaimed series returns with leaders and innovators who call (or have called) Darien their home. You may know them as friends and neighbors — but they are also some of the most successful leaders and innovators in their respective fields.

Government & Politics
Jayme Stevenson Terrie Wood discussion

Jayme Stevenson and Terrie Wood in Public Discussion on State Issues Saturday, Feb 29

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Everyone’s invited to join hosts First Selectman Jayme Stevenson and state Rep. Terrie Wood for a morning cup of coffee and a conversation about the state budget, and how proposals in the new state legislative session would impact Darien. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, recently announced his proposed budget for the 2020 legislative session, which includes initiatives that have people talking. Tolls, transportation, health, education, and other issues are being debated in Hartford and require our attention and response. The discussion takes place from 9 to 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 29 at the McGuane (pronounced “Mik-gwan”) field house behind the Noroton Heights Fire Department on Noroton Avenue.

Business
Warren Tuttle wide for facebook

Marketer Warren Tuttle of Darien Speaks on ‘Open Innovation’ Wednesday to Darien Men’s Association

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Warren Tuttle, a Darien resident who marketed many of the kitchen products you’ve seen on shelves marked “As Seen on TV,” will speak Wednesday morning to the Darien Men’s Association about “Open Innovation.” Warren’s talk at the DMA’s meeting begins at about 10:45 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the Darien Community Association, 274 Middlesex Road, Darien. Here’s the DMA announcement:

For those familiar with Smart Spin, the television direct response mega-hit kitchenware product [and if you’re not familiar with the name, check out the picture in this article], Warren Tuttle was the person behind the scenes helping to orchestrate its overnight success. Teaming with a Boston based inventor, Tuttle selected an explosive path to market.

Darien Community Association
Susan Thornton on China

Recent Diplomat Susan Thornton to Speak on China-U.S. Relations on Monday, Feb 3 at DCA

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Susan Thornton of the Yale Law School will deliver the final lecture of this year’s Darien Community Association 2020 Academic Lecture Series on Global Issues,  ”China’s Global Reach,” at 8 p.m., Monday, Feb. 3. She will speak about “China – U.S. Relations.” Before the lecture guests are cordially invited to a wine reception starting at 7:30 p.m.

Currently Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale, Thornton also serves as Senior Fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center. In 2018 she retired from the State Department after a 28-year diplomatic career focused primarily on East and Central Asia. In leadership roles in Washington, she has worked on China and Korea policy, including stabilizing relations with Taiwan, the U.S.-China Cyber Agreement and the Paris Climate Accord.

Darien Community Association
Neysun Manhboubi

DCA Speaker Series on China’s Global Reach Continues Thursday With Talk on ‘Belt and Road Initiative’

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The fourth speaker in the Darien Community Association Academic Lecture Series on Thursday, Jan. 30 will be Neysun Manhboubi, whose topic will be “China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Paving the Way to a New Global Order?”

— an announcement from the Darien Community Association

As a Research Scholar for Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania, his primary interests are in administrative law, contemporary law, and

Chinese law. He hosts the podcast for UPenn CSCC which includes conversations on Chinese politics, economy, law, and society with faculty, visitors and guest speakers. Prior to coming to the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Mahboubi was a trial attorney for the Federal Program Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, a law clerk for Justice Douglas P. Woodlock of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and taught at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, University of Connecticut School of Law, and at Yale Law School. He has also taught and done research at the Peking University of Law.

Talks-Panel Discussions-Presentations-Workshops
Flower arranging class DCA Jan 2020

Flower Arranging Workshop on Wednesday at DCA — Register by Noon on Monday

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Creativity workshops continue on Wednesday, Jan. 22 with a flower arranging workshop at the Darien Community Association. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association

Bring positive energy into your new year! We will be using repurposed wine bottles as vases with lovely white and green flowers. Enjoy making your own arrangement with the guidance of Allie Callan, a Darien resident and experienced floral designer from the New York Botanical Garden certificate program.

Talks-Panel Discussions-Presentations-Workshops
Yuen Yuen Ang thumbnail DCA lecture series

Third Talk in DCA’s ‘China’s Global Reach’ Lectures — on China’s Present ‘Guilded Age’

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Corruption across cultures and over time will be the topic of the third talk in the Darien Community Association’s Winter Global Series, “China’s Global Reach: Challenge and Change Under Xi Jinping.” — an announcement from the Darien Community Association

It will take place at the Darien Community Association at 10 a.m., Friday, Jan. 24.  (Please note the change to Friday morning is for this one event only). Yuen Yuen Ang is a political scientist and China specialist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her second book, “China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption,” to be published in May, will be the topic of the Friday, Jan.

Community Organizations
Winter Grace Farms

Grace Farms to Host Panel on How Public/Private Partnerships Combat Modern Slavery

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Grace Farms Foundation today announced its upcoming public panel, “A Framework for Freedom,” which will discuss the critical role that public-private partnerships play in eradicating modern day slavery. — an announcement from Grace Farms Foundation
Hosted during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the event will address the importance of collaboration between organizations and local and federal law enforcement in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting human trafficking crimes. Grace Farms Foundation’s Rod Khattabi, chief accountability officer & Justice Initiative director, and Alina Reynolds, general counsel & senior advisor to the Justice Initiative, will be joined by Lt. Terry Blake of the Norwalk Police Department and Donna Hubbard, a human trafficking survivor. “It is vital that organizations like ours work in tandem with law enforcement agencies to provide the knowledge, resources, and tools necessary to effectively investigate human trafficking,” said Khattabi. “Collaborative efforts that educate the public and simultaneously support both local and global law enforcement strengthen our ability to fight this crime and increase the likelihood that one day we’ll live in a world without it.”
The Foundation’s Justice Initiative works to eradicate the multi-billion-dollar industry of human trafficking and forced labor through training, policy, and advocacy.