Shout Out - Picture Perfect Event, Georgetown Factory, and Ridgefield Library Highlights -

Shout Out – Picture Perfect Event, Georgetown Factory, and Ridgefield Library Highlights

Picture Perfect Event

By Gerri Lewis

Beth Schneider, board member of the Wilton Arts Council (WAC) and Chair of FOCUS ’24, likes to tell the story of a shy boy whose older and younger brothers were the shining stars of the family because they excelled at sports. The middle brother’s talents leaned more toward the arts and because he hadn’t yet found his stride, he was timid and lacked confidence. When he received a call saying his entry won a prize in FOCUS, the annual photography exhibit organized by WAC, his mother said it was as if someone flipped a light switch on.

There have been so many positive stories over the twenty-three years of FOCUS which is one reason Schneider keeps pouring her energy into the yearly event.

Last year sixty-six photographers from nineteen different towns in Connecticut and New York participated in FOCUS, which is open to adults, high school students and youths (from the time they can hold a camera through eighth grade.) Schneider worries that they lost some momentum with the kids, a group she has a soft spot for, due to the hiatus they were forced to take during the pandemic. This year, WAC received a generous grant from the Wilton Kiwanis Foundation in order to focus on luring more high school and youths to participate in FOCUS ’24.

For many kids, she says, this is a life changer when they find their talents recognized. Schneider has helped organize the event for the past 20 years and what keeps her going is the transformation she sees in the young people who participate. One young entrant went on to have a one-person show in Wilton which Schneider calls, “quite a big first for an eighth grader.” Even those who don’t win take pride like the youth whose most prized possession is her name tag from the reception listing her as PHOTOGRAPHER. “This can change a kid’s life,” says Schneider.

Photographers may enter their photos on March 15 and 16, 2024. The exhibit runs from Saturday, March 23 through Friday, April 26, 2024. A reception with an awards presentation is open to the public at Wilton Library on April 5 from 6:00-7:30. Complete entry details can be found on the Wilton Arts Council website (www.wiltonarts.org.)

The Wilton Arts Council (WAC) is the official arts agency for the Town of Wilton and organizes FOCUS annually with the goal of showcasing photographers’ work and promoting appreciation of the photographic arts.

In the Heart of Georgetown

By Kate Perry

The Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill has been an anchor in Georgetown since it was first built to house the burgeoning G&B Wire business in the early 1800s. The charming village of Georgetown, located where Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, and Wilton meet, was a mill town since those early years up until the late 1980s when the mill shut its doors. After redevelopment plans fell apart during the 2008 financial crisis, the property languished in the courts for over a decade until the Town of Redding, where the mill and the commercial area of Georgetown are located, regained ownership. Fast forward two years, and a dedicated committee has been working to develop remediation plans (there’s a lot less clean-up needed than most think!), stabilize the buildings, and improve site aesthetics, culminating in a well-researched annual report that was released to the town this past winter. The committee’s report, spearheaded by town resident and committee chair Amy Atamian and supported by the local nonprofit Georgetown Village Restoration, Inc., lays out specific — and realistic — recommendations for the next five years in anticipation of a more comprehensive redevelopment in keeping with the town’s ideals and community needs. Among the recommendations are allowing public access with a pond-facing park, making incremental improvements to the historic mill buildings, and reconnecting the site to both Georgetown’s Main Street and Branchville, a Ridgefield hamlet, all of
which would benefit the area in the more immediate future.

The committee, along with many residents in the area, envisions turning the wire mill property into a community asset yet again through careful, thoughtful planning. While it will take time and patience to get there, there is much hope to be found in the unique Wire Mill property in the heart of Georgetown.

A Place for Everyone

By Gerri Lewis

With seven hundred daily visitors, 190 monthly programs and sometimes feeling as busy as Disney World on spring break, the Ridgefield Library is where you might attend Medicare workshops, lectures on AI, art and culture programs, multi-genre book clubs, tech and STEAM makers classes, small business programs, and even chair yoga. In 2023 alone, one thousand children let their imaginations run wild in the award-winning summer reading program. A quick look at the library webpage tells it all—there is something for everyone of all ages.

This year marks the tenth anniversary since the opening of the “new” library. The ambitious undertaking expanded it to 44,000 square feet at a cost of approximately twenty million dollars and was meticulously planned from inception to shovel in the ground.

The outcome, a state-of-the-art library whose designers had enough foresight to create a space that would work well into the future. Planners also included a restoration of the original 1903 Morris Building, never losing sight of the historical vision that started in 1795 with just 150 volumes. Today’s library is a hub of technology that mainstreams checkout and returns. Movable shelving creates multi-use spaces and allows for expanded programming and events. It’s also a place to sit in a quiet corner to read or to bring a toddler to listen.

Director Brenda McKinley says the expanded library was made possible by dedicated Ridgefielders like Marcie and Peter Coffin, the 2024 honorees of the Hope H. Swenson Visionary Award, “who believe in the transformational power of the library to enrich the community it serves.”

Peter, a principal at Doyle Coffin Architects, served on the library board for ten years, was chairman for seven years and helped usher the new library through its inception to its completion. He continues to serve on the advisory committee and most recently helped with the Miller Terrace Outdoor space. Marcie, an executive vice president of risk management at Fairfield County Bank, is an active community volunteer, giving time to the library, SPHERE, RVNAhealth and serves on the police commission.

“Today libraries are so much more than books. In my perspective, the library
is truly an intellectual and cultural center for all of Ridgefield from young to old,”
says Peter.

The Great Expectations Gala honoring the Coffins will be held on Saturday, June 1. For more information contact: jglindenburg@ridgefieldlibrary.org