Greenwich Library welcomes author, and more

The road closures will allow visitors to stroll through the Old Greenwich business district and discover shops and more.

First Light, which Richard Fulton of the Old Greenwich Merchants Association says is a more than 20-year tradition, will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 3.

Roads will be closed shortly before the festival to allow for assembly. Greenwich Police Department officers will be on hand to direct traffic.

Elected officials unanimously approved the closure and did not wait the traditional two weeks for their next meeting to get public comment. Coach Janet Stone-McGuigan said she doesn’t believe it was necessary because First Light is an ongoing city activity.

But the popular carriage rides won’t be returning to Sound Beach Avenue. The seller told Fulton that the demand was too high during the first light last year and that it was not healthy for the horse to take so many rides.

This year’s event will feature a giant snow globe for selfies as well as a bouncy house that looks like a gingerbread house.

“We’re going to have tons of stuff,” Fulton said, including live music. free nuggets from Garden Catering and a nightclub inside Upper Crust Bagel Company.

Money raised by the recent Art on Sound Beach Avenue will fund the addition of more than a dozen 4-foot tall spruce trees to the area which will be decorated with lights.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Fulton said.

Downtown

Described as “a Halloween-centric community event” by its organizers, the 2022 Greet and Treat will bring Greenwich Avenue to life for the spooky holiday.

The event is sponsored by Greenwich Mom and Greenwich Magazine. It will offer a kids’ zone, a family Halloween costume photo contest, and business tricks or treats. Stamford Health is the presenting sponsor.

The event will take place on Greenwich Avenue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., October 29.

“The day will bring families together for festive fun while fostering connection for the community,” Greenwich Moms said in a statement.

Food trucks will also be on site – Dough Girls, Neil’s on Wheels and more.

Kathleen Silard, President and CEO of Stamford Health, added: “As a resident of Greenwich, it is truly heartwarming to see how Greenwich Moms provides our children with a fun and safe way to celebrate Halloween and that we are able to hold these types of public events again.”

For more information, visit www.greenwichmoms.com.

Greenwich Center

For a fundraising luncheon, celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich will step out of the kitchen and onto the stage as the keynote speaker.

Person to Person, a non-profit organization providing services throughout Fairfield County, will host Bastianich on October 27 at Greenwich Country Club. P2P called her “one of the most recognized names in the culinary world,” noting her Emmy-winning work on public television, her best-selling cookbooks, and her work as the owner of “a thriving restaurant and entertainment business”.

Bastianich will be joined in the conversation over lunch by Debra Ponzek, James Beard Award winner and owner of Aux Délices.

“Their conversation will range from how Lidia’s love for food inspired her to start a series of successful businesses to her time spent as a child in a refugee camp in Trieste, Italy,” said declared Person to Person in a press release.

Guests at the fundraising luncheon will be able to enjoy a gourmet three-course meal and get a copy of Bastianich’s latest cookbook, “A Pot, A Pan, and a Bowl.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bastianich has donated pasta and sauce to thousands of families through Person to Person affiliate food pantries.

“I’m honored to be part of this year’s P2P Transforming Lives Luncheon,” she said. “The incredible work Person to Person does to provide people with essential services like food and financial assistance is life changing. As someone who was forced to leave home at age 9 and create a new life, I can relate to many families that P2P helps.

The non-profit organization helps Fairfield County residents in need through its three food panties, clothing center, social assistance, financial opportunity center, emergency financial aid, college scholarships and summer camps.

Tickets can be purchased at www.p2pHelps.org/TLL

Downtown

For this year’s Greenwich Reads Together, locals focused on ‘Olga Dies Dreaming’, an acclaimed debut novel by Xochitl Gonzalez.

And now, Gonzalez will take part in a lecture at the Berkley Theater at the Greenwich Library at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Registration is required at www.greenwichlibrary.libcal.com/event/9294826. There will also be a book signing with copies of the book available for purchase through Diane’s Books.

The event will also be broadcast live.

Greenwich Library called the bestseller “a bold, thought-provoking novel about resilience and the diaspora that challenges readers to examine their ambitions and at what cost the pursuit of American success may come.”

Additionally, she will be part of a student conversation at 4 p.m. Tuesday with kids in grades nine and up, discussing the process of creative writing and how her own experiences as a teenager influenced her writing. Registration is required at www.greenwichlibrary.libcal.com/event/9751206. Pizzas and other refreshments will be served.

Greenwich Reads Together is a community-wide reading experience involving a book and usually ending with an event with the author.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com

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Neighborhood Notes: Greenwich Library welcomes acclaimed author