Community news: Darien softball team wins championship; theater bus returns; volunteers check water quality

The girls softball team went undefeated in the district tournament in July to take home the winning banner and become the 2022 District 1 Champions.

The district has softball teams in Darien, New Canaan, Redding-Easton, Rowayton, Weston, Wilton and Ridgefield. For more information, visit www.ctdistrict1.com.

‘The Music Man’ takes the stage for three shows

The Musical Theatre workshop will present its production of “The Music Man” in the auditorium at Darien High School.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and again at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The cost is $10 for adults, and $5 for children and senior citizens. All tickets are for general admission seating. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

DCA’s Theater Bus returns in the fall for ‘Funny Girl’

The Darien Community Association’s theater bus is returning this fall, offering residents a ride to New York City to enjoy a Broadway show at a discounted price.

The bus will run on Oct. 26, taking participants to see “Funny Girl” at the August Wilson Theatre at 245 W. 52nd St. in New York City.

The private bus will depart at 8:30 a.m. from the DCA’s building at 274 Middlesex Road, with a 7 p.m. return time.

The cost of the bus ride and theater ticket is $200 for DCA members and $235 for nonmembers. To register, visit dariendca.org.

Registration open now for Road Race, Family Fun Day

Registration is now open for the 42nd annual Darien Road Race and Family Fun Day.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at Pear Tree Point Beach in Darien.

To register, visit runsignup.com. The event is organized by The Community Fund of Darien.

Community grants offered to fight youth vaping epidemic

Communities are invited to apply for grants to help curb the youth vaping epidemic. The funds can be used to implement substance use prevention strategies.

“Tobacco control efforts are largely conducted through Local Prevention Councils or LPCs, municipal health departments and school systems, with different levels of investment that depend on local community resources and grants such as the LPC grant,” said Marc Donald, executive director of the Bridgeport-based Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership.

Although cigarette use has declined, vaping has continued to rise at a steady rate in southwestern Connecticut. School surveys conducted in the region in 2021 found that a quarter of high school students are vaping and two-thirds of those reported vaping marijuana.

Most youth are unaware that most vaping products contain tobacco and mistakenly believe that vaping is safer than traditional cigarettes, advocates said.

“In order to continue this important work, members of the community are invited to apply for an LPC grant every year and we are now accepting applications for the next fiscal year,” Donald said. “We look forward to working with our community partners to ensure youth have healthy and productive futures.”

Anyone in Region 1, which encompasses Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston, Westport, Easton, Bridgeport, Trumbull, Monroe, Fairfield and Stratford, can submit an application for consideration by noon Aug. 19.

Since vaping has been identified as the problem substance, all LPCs will focus efforts on reducing vaping rates by 5 percent by 2025 among 12- to 18-year-olds as well as increasing public awareness of vaping risks and prevention.

“The LPC efforts in educating the youth and the community have been accepted positively,” said Danielle Arias, program coordinator for The Hub, a state-designated regional behavioral health action organization serving southwestern Connecticut.

“There are youth who are working with their LPCs on addressing vaping and working together to get their peers educated as well as connected to resources and as a result there are more youth who understand the dangers and choose to quit vaping,” Arias said.

The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, in collaboration with the regional behavioral health action organizations, annually funds over 150 community-based LPCs.

For more information on the grants and how to apply, visit www.thehubct.org or contact info@thehubct.org.

The Hub will hold a virtual question-and-answer session on the grants from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 3. To register, visit www.thehubct.org/events.

Citizen scientists check quality of coastal waters

The Darien Coastal Commission, with the help of the Men’s Association, is working to check the quality of the coastal water in town.

These citizen scientists are conducting the 2022 biweekly water sampling to check for pollution in various places in Long Island Sound.

Volunteers Gary Banks and Robert McMullan set out at dawn July 12 on calm waters to collect water samples from Darien Harbor, Cove Harbor and the Scotts Cove/Zeigler/Fish Island areas.

The wind and waves picked up by the end of the trip as the volunteers left Scotts Cove, but they were undeterred.

The water samples are tested for temperature, clarity and levels of salinity, nitrogen, chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen.

The data becomes part of the Unified Water Study, which is funded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s, Long Island Sound Study and administered by Save the Sound, a nonprofit organization.

The oxygen levels in all of the monitored areas are above 5 mg/l, which is a level accepted as protective of the Sound’s coastal marine life.

The data will be gathered and analyzed after the current season ends.

The 2022 Long Island Sound Report Card gave Darien’s coastline, as a whole, an averaged rating of C. Some of the enclosed bays, such as Holly Pond, indicate a need for improvement.

Updates about the work sampling will continue to be posted as the season progresses.

For more information about the quality of local water and the water study, visit soundhealthexplorer.org.

Undies Project hosts ‘Hilarity for Charity’ fundraising show

The Undies Project will hold its seventh annual charity fundraiser event — dubbed “Hilarity for Charity.” — at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10.

It will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, which is also known as the Fish Church at 1101 Bedford St. in Stamford.

The organization’s mission is to provide new underwear to men, women and children in need.

The nonprofit got its start by helping one organization back in 2015, and it is now supporting 41 nonprofit organizations in providing people with this basic need.

The event is expected to be bigger and better than ever before. The organization is planning a special night with comedian Christine Hurley, who is known as the “Queen of Boston Comedy.” Radio host and podcast host of “What’s the Story?” and “Cook and Comic,” Kim Berns will be the emcee for the evening.

Hors d’ oeuvres, and desserts will be provided by Aux Delices. There will also be a silent auction.

Tickets are $95 per person and go on sale Aug. 1 at https://e.givesmart.com/events/s3d .

The Undies Project donates underwear to the nonprofit organization Person to Person in Darien for distribution to those in need.

Rowayton Arts Center hosts show with local artists

The Rowayton Arts Center will host an opening reception for a new exhibit called “Photography and Sculpture” from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 31.

The reception is free and open to the public. The exhibit, featuring work by local artists, will be on view through Aug. 28.

The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekends.

The nonprofit center celebrates the study, creation and appreciation of the arts through classes, exhibitions and events, all of which are open to the community. The gallery and the center’s school overlook the Five Mile River.

There is space for regional artists to exhibit their artwork, and there is also a classroom for workshops, and classes at all levels that are offered to children, and adults.

For more information, visit rowaytonarts.org and follow the center on social media at @ro waytonarts.