Darien Community Association’s 2019 Academic Lecture Series on Global Issues, “Turkey at a Crossroads”, begins Thursday, Jan. 3 and runs each of five weeks through the end of the month. —This article combines announcements from the Darien Community Association with information on the DCA website. First Lecture, Jan 3: ‘Turkey and the Neighborhood’
The first lecture begins at 10 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 3 with a timely talk by Steven Cook.
Popular instructor and longtime Darien resident Donna Holt is at the Darien Community Association to teach two different classes to learn and play Mah Jongg based on your ability. Mah Jongg: Learn to Play classes
Try this four week session with longtime Darien resident and instructor Donna Holt.
Beginners will learn the basics: how to identify tiles and understand the Mah Jongg card, and how to select and strengthen a winning hand. Rules and strategies of play as well as game etiquette will be covered. Please order your 2018 card at nationalmahjonggleague.org once class is confirmed. This class is offered on four Tuesdays (Jan.
The Darien Community Association (DCA) is offering Bridge 3 classes starting in January. Bridge 3 will pick up where Bridge 2 left off starting with a review of basics. The new topics will include Stayman and Jacoby Transfers after NT openings. Also covered will be basic defense and play of the hand. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
Each class begins with an oral lesson followed by play of the hand.
New Canaan edged out Darien in the second annual competition between community foundations for the title of “Most Generous Town.” The two towns collectively raised more than $150,000, with New Canaan edging out Darien by a margin of a few thousand dollars. Residents in Darien and New Canaan supported either the New Canaan Community Foundation or the Community Fund of Darien to help their town win the title. Donations came in between the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving, and Giving Tuesday – a six-day span that included online and mobile giving, as well as events held at local stores and restaurants. “We could not be more pleased — our two towns more than doubled their giving from last year’s inaugural event,” Lauren Patterson, president & CEO of the New Canaan Community Foundation, said in a news release. “We are all winners in this friendly competition, giving back to our communities.”
Funds raised will support local nonprofit organizations, touching a range of programs from the arts to seniors, human services to behavioral health, the environment and much more.
On Sunday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. the Darien Community Association’s Duo Piano Group will perform their fall concert, “Celebrating 70 Happy Years!” with family fun for all. Join them to celebrate with refreshments, cupcakes and balloons. The DCA Duo Piano Group is an enthusiastic group of accomplished amateur pianists who play together for fun and to continue their musical education. They perform twice-yearly concerts to help support the mission of the DCA.
A book talk and signing with Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize winner for A Visit from the Goon Squad. is part of the Darien Community Association’s holidays fundraiser on Tuesday, Dec. 4. Egan’s latest novel, Manhattan Beach, is 2018’s One Book, One New York winner, praised as “Egan’s most remarkable accomplishment yet … a magnificent achievement” (The Boston Globe) and “Immensely satisfying … Egan works a formidable kind of magic …” (The New York Times). — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
Manhattan Beach is a haunting and propulsive World War II-era novel which tells the intertwined stories of Anna Kerrigan, a Brooklyn Navy Yard diver, her father Eddie Kerrigan, a longshoreman turned small-time gangster, and Dexter Styles, Eddie’s inscrutable and connected boss.
The Darien Community Association recently hosted an evening reception for local businesses, families and foundations who sponsor named college scholarships through the DCA. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
The association’s need-based college scholarship program for Darien High School graduates is now in its 77th year. The DCA is the largest provider of scholarships at DHS. Of the scholarship program, Executive Director Amy Bell said, “Since its inception, the DCA has awarded more than $2 million to over 1300 DHS graduates, including funding for returning college students.” Students who receive DCA scholarships can reapply each year. This past spring, the DCA awarded over $60,000 in scholarship grants.
The Darien Community Association is offering a “cheese and wine tasting luncheon” on Thursday, Nov. 1 with Ken Skovron of Darien Cheese and Fine Foods. If you want to go, you’ll need to register and pay by noon on Tuesday. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
Skovron will lead you through a delectable selection of eight cheeses with a variety of textures and flavors, including recommendations for the holidays at the Darien Community Association. The event takes place from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Thursday. Megan Ruppenstein of Four Forks prepares the perfect accompaniment: her delicious seasonal salad of arugula, figs, roasted delicata squash and toasted pecans, with an orange cinnamon vinaigrette.
Darien Community Association is making improvements in its four-acre bird sanctuary on Middlesex Road, with help from a $18,500 grant from the Darien Foundation. These include a pondless waterfall for the birds and butterflies, as well as additional trees, benches and equipment. — an announcement from the Darien Foundation
This second round of grant funding will improve the sanctuary’s ability to attract birds via the availability of cascading water (now installed), and the new trees will provide additional cover and food. After planning, consultation with experts and with funding from the DCA Board of Directors, DCA volunteers launched work on the bird sanctuary in 2011: clearing invasive plants, establishing walking trails, and planting native bushes attractive to bees and butterflies. The goal was to build a successful, authentic bird sanctuary and native plant garden, with shelter, food, water and nesting sites for birds — so that the DCA could play a part in helping to restore native plant and declining bird populations, while also providing the community a beautiful open space as well as an opportunity for wildlife and conservation education.
The Darien Community Association Women’s Luncheons will feature Dick Woods on “Long Island Sound: A User’s Guide” for their luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 12:15 p.m. at the DCA. Dick and Robin Woods have been exploring the waters and shores of Long Island Sound for over a half-century, both by boat and by car. As a native Californian, he was struck by Long Island Sound’s more user-friendly nature. What it lacks in spectacular vistas and awe-inspiring force it more than makes up for with its quiet beauty, accessibility and many treasures for the day-tripper or cruising sailor.
Darien Community Association’s art lecture series on sculpture concludes Oct. 25 with a talk by Joan Pachner on David Smith’s works. Presenter Joan Pachner, author of David Smith (1906 – 1965), will speak at 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct; 25 at the Darien Community Association (DCA). The lecture will begin promptly, and a luncheon will follow. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
In 1933 David Smith altered the course of American sculpture by welding together pieces of metal, a process used on car assembly lines, not in artist studios.
Learn how to put your garden “to bed” by dividing plants, lightly pruning various shrubs, and updating winter pots at the Darien Community Association Greenhouse Group’s annual Free Fall Gardening Workshop next Tuesday, Oct. 16. Novice gardeners will be given tips; experienced gardeners are welcome to just help out. This event is free to all. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
The workshop takes place Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the formal garden of the DCA Meadowlands, located at 274 Middlesex Road.
The Darien Community Association (DCA) will offer their next financial workshop – “Understanding the New Tax Law” on Friday, Oct. 19 from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
During this educational financial workshop, we will discuss how the new tax laws may impact you, including the following major themes: new tax rates and brackets, deduction changes, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), estate tax and child tax credit, 529 savings plan and ABLE account change. Also: retirement provisions, small business/pass-throughs and how to assess your situation and position your portfolion. This session will be led by Karen Goersch, CPA, CRPC®, APMA®, Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial. Coffee and pastries will be offered.
Jane R. Becker, European paintings, collections management associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will continue Darien Community Association’s art lecture series, “Human form in Space: Sculpture,” on Thursday, Oct. 11. On the heels of a year that marked the 100th anniversary of sculptor Auguste Rodin’s death, major sales of Camille Claudel’s work, and the opening of the Camille Claudel Museum in France, Ms. Becker will examine the interactions of both the lives and the art of these two late nineteenth-century figures. The sculptor Camille Claudel’s inventive and empathic representations of the human body are little known in this country. She was Rodin’s student, lover, sometime collaborator, and muse.
Creativity workshops continue on Wednesday, Oct. 10 with a flower arranging workshop, “Fun Fall” at the Darien Community Association. — an announcement from the Darien Community Association
Enjoy making your own arrangement with the guidance of Diane Schlinkert and Allie Callan, both Darien residents and experienced floral designers from the New York Botanical Garden certificate program. Materials will be provided; please bring your own hand clippers if you have them. Class will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. at the DCA.
