August 2024 Newsletter
Essex County Fair! Music! Theater! Swimming!
Essex County fair, photo by Catherine Seidenberg
It’s the Dog Days: the hottest ones, when the star Sirius, the “Dog Star” rises with the sun and, it was believed, added its heat to the sun’s to make everything hotter. Along with the heat comes the second chapter of summer: Abundance! Farms are in full tilt harvest mode, the Essex County Fair is on from August 14-18, there are more concerts in Ballard Park on Thursdays, movies in the Park on Mondays, swimming at Westport Beach, fine theatre at the Depot, a variety of Library presentations to feed your intellectual and creative spirit, Church suppers, and gosh, Westport! We have several places to get an awesome cocktail in the evening! Our town is HOT! Speaking of cocktails…
A Peek into the Story of the Mill
Photo Courtesy of The Mill
Catherine Ross Haskins and Taylor Haskins are deep into the journey of creating a contemporary cultural center (and mighty fine speakeasy) right in the heart of Westport, that offers cutting edge music, art and libations. When you enter the doors of the Mill, you will be transported and transformed. Catherine explains:
When did you first get the inspiration to create the Mill?
The building itself was an inspiration. Preserving a cavernous 11,000 square foot historic building that had been abandoned for 3 years required a vision that could see the remarkable craftsmanship from 1952 through layers of flour dust, processing equipment, and the wildlife that had nested in there. The removal of the machinery left giant holes in the floors and ceilings, which allowed new light to come into the building.
What is your overall aesthetic, purpose, or slice of life you are bringing to Westport?
The mission of The Mill is “to celebrate and support the creative work of world class contemporary artists and musicians through exhibitions, installations and performances which provide engaging, multi-faceted cultural experiences for visitors”. This is the thread that weaves throughout the building from our galleries, through our performance space, including our speakeasy, The Knock. When the giant grain equipment and metal platforms were removed from the back room, a magnificent cathedral-like space was revealed with an inherently beautiful sound. The walls were treated with locally sourced rough-sawn wood paneling to create a pure and vibrant listening experience. This summer’s curated music program abandons genre and features a diverse lineup of prominent practitioners of improvisational and experimental music.
Five internationally-renowned visual artists were commissioned to integrate sculpture, painting and stained glass into the building as it is being renovated. One example, Buisine, a 24 foot wide, majestic, faceted, and back-illuminated polypropylene sculpture was created on site in the performance space by artist Stephen Hendee. Enveloping the audience in light and color, the room exudes concert hall acoustics while retaining the feeling of an intimate gathering.
Our speakeasy The Knock celebrates the artist within each of our team members. Our craft cocktail menu is an ongoing and collaborative creative endeavor by our entire team, led by our head bartender Sadie Light. Our Knocktails highlight the colors and scents of the flowers and herbs grown for us by Jasmine Horn and are mixed with great care by bartenders Tabitha Murcray and Austin Martin. In the kitchen, Taylor’s eclectic food menu of international small plates aims to highlight the local and seasonal fresh ingredients available to us here in the Champlain Valley, and is plated artfully by Andrew Cziraki and Dexter Mathis in the kitchen. The Knock is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 5 until 9pm. The art is on view during The Knock hours.
How are the spaces being used in the building?
Four unique galleries will open on Friday, August 10th @ 4:30pm with an artists walk-through, featuring three solo exhibitions by painters Aubrey Levinthal, Vera Iliatova and Ellen Berkenblit. Weaving the thread between art and music at The Mill, Berkenblit’s abstract film, entitled “Lines Roar”, features a score composed by Zeena Parkins (legendary harpist for Bjork, Nels Cline and others). Parkins will perform solo on Saturday 8/10, and on Sunday Taylor and Catherine will moderate a conversation between Berkenblit & Parkins on the collaborative process. All events require reservations or tickets, please visit themilladk.com for more information.
Essex County Fair! August 14-18
Photo courtesy of the Essex County Fair
We all look forward to this event every August! In an era of disappearing carnivals, enjoy every minute of our small county fair. Come delight in farm displays, the maple sugar house, beer garden, K-9 show, the Victoria Circus, demo derby, harness racing, arm wrestling, evening concerts, and so much more! Rides! Cotton candy! Find out all the details HERE.
Movies and Music and Swimming, Oh My! Ballard Park
Photo courtesy of the Heritage House Photo Collection
So much delight to be had in Ballard Park this August! First of all, MORE CONCERTS! Coming up on August 8th: Ray Vega with his groovin’ Latin Jazz, and August 29th, everyone’s fave local band, Ploughman’s Lunch.
Movie Mondays! Don’t miss this rare opportunity to watch movies under the stars in our beautiful park by the lake, at 8pm, with crickets softly singing. 8/5 : La La Land 8/12: A Star is Born 8/19: Yesterday 8/26: Grease
Take a dip at the beach! Westport Beach is now open every day with a certified lifeguard on duty from 11-5.
Other ideas for fun in the Park: --Stop and pause to remember Westport Veterans, at the Veteran’s Memorial. -Sit, relax and gaze at Lake Champlain from a Westport chair designed by Westport’s own Thomas Lee in 1903. -Bring a picnic and dine al fresco. -Tell time using the sundial. -On a hot summer day, imagine the winter sledding and ice skating yet to come!
Westport-Wadhams First Town-Wide Yard Sale August 10th!
Westport is joining the ranks of towns with annual yard sale extravaganzas. This will be a really fun day of finding and letting go of treasures! Visit https://www.gowestportny.com/yardsale for a digital map of selling locations. Also check this link after August 3d for a printable version of the map.
The day will include special happenings at other locations as well, including the Westport Federated Church, with its own garage sale of clothes, shoes, housewares, linens, furniture, etc from 8am-2pm, with Michigans being served from 11am-2pm. Mary Godnick’s Creative Kitchen Garden will be open for special you-pick hours from 9am-12 noon, where you can gather fresh organic veggies, herbs and flowers for your weekend table! Slow down and browse through the Bessboro Shop for beautiful and eclectic gifts and clothing, the Westport Library will be hosting their Story and Craft Time at 11am, the Inn in Westport will be open with coffee and home-made baked goods, JAMBS Coffee will be Jammin’ with coffees, baked goods and conversation in the morning, and again with fine drinks in the evening at JAMBS beer and wine bar. The Mountain Dog Tavern will be open from 8:30am-10pm, starting with a hearty breakfast, Winton’s Tavern will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, make a reservation at the Westport Yacht Club or drop by the Portside Restaurant for dinner and cocktails, get tickets to Zeena Parkins at the Mill and be transported by the small plates and cocktails at their speakeasy, the Knock. And don’t forget to get tickets to the Depot Theatre production Every Brilliant Thing for excellent professional theater entertainment in the evening!
Don’t Miss ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at the Depot Theatre! Ends on August 4!
CATS Celebrates Founder Chris Maron, August 24 at Echo Farm
Photo and text courtesy of CATS
Please join the Board Members of Champlain Area Trails for a Founders Celebration as we honor Chris Maron, the Founding Executive Director of Champlain Area Trails, who will retire later this year. You are cordially invited to this special evening in August, catered by Farmstead Catering. Click here to purchase your tickets. The tickets are priced at $150. Enjoy wine, beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and hearty appetizers crafted from locally grown ingredients at Echo Farm.
Order Discounted Lilacs through Flowers Plus! Till August 15
Property Flooded Out?
From the office of Senator Dan Stec: If you're a Warren or Essex County resident impacted by the recent thunderstorms and tornados, state recovery assistance is available.
New York State is providing aid to those at or below 100% of the Area Median income for emergency repairs of up to $50,000 with damage to their primary living residence resulting from these extreme weather events.
To apply for this relief, the webform is available here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx...
Expand your Mind at the Westport Library!
There’s something for everyone at the Westport Library this month! Author Tim Brookes explores endangered alphabets and the plight of the written word on Tuesday August 6th, at 6pm, Historian Connor Williams continues his lecture series ‘The Crisis of the Union, Then and Now’ on Tuesday August 13 at 6pm, and Jessie Furnia presents the Creative Aging Art Program on Saturday August 17 at 2pm. Reading and craft time continues on Saturday mornings at 11am.
Westport Federated Church Hosts Garage Sale, Turkey Dinner, and the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir
The Westport Federated Church is happening! Don’t miss their garage sale Saturday August 10th during the Town-wide yard sale from 8am-2pm, where they’ll be selling clothes, shoes, toys, housewares, toys, etc, and also serving Michigans from 11am-2pm. Jumping ahead, on September 8th the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir will delight us with a concert at 3pm. Advance Tickets $10 until September 7, at the door $12.
And..that’s all she wrote, Westport: We’ve run out of space, so will catch up next time around. Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and Instagram for up-to-date information, and always check the Town Calendar for specifics. Happy August and let’s all do the NO-MORE-HUGE-RAINSTORMS Dance!