Darien Morning Briefing: Dec. 29, 2011

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 29, the 362nd day of 2011, two days before New Year's Eve.

Town Hall offices will be closed on Friday, Dec. 30 for the New Year's Day holiday.

HEADLINES

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults:

• Festival of Lighthouses Display . From our events listing: "through Jan. 16, 2012, Aquarium visitors can follow these homemade beacons through the galleries and then cast a vote for their favorite.  The lighthouse with the most votes wins $1,500." 
• The Catherine Lindsey Actors/Playwrights Workshop will present a series of workshops at Darien Library in February, March and April. "Interested playwrights should submit ten pages of their scripts to Robert Cusack at robert.cusack1@att.net by Feb. 1, 2012. [...] The workshops will allow the playwrights to refine their scripts, which will then be submitted to the Darien Library Selection Committee. On Sunday, June 10 at 2 p.m., the Actors/Playwrights Workshop will present the first public-staged reading of selections from the plays in the Library’s Community Room."—from the Library website.

Kids:

• Drop-in Baby Laptime at Darien Library: 9:30 to 10 a.m. in the Storytime Room: "Pre-walking babies and caregivers participate in a lapsit storytime," the library website states.
• Create a video about a book you like, and enter it in the StoryTubes competition to win a prize. This week, Darien Library will have video equipment available for kids and teens from 5 to 18 years old to create their video, which can be entered into a competition from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20. The video equipment is available today from 1 to 6 p.m.
• Happy Zoo Year: Half-price admission at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport: "Viktor, our adorable tiger cub born in 2004, is all grown up and he’s come home for the holidays.  Help us welcome him back to Bridgeport and, while you’re at it, say hello to our two new maned wolves, two new Canada lynx, baby pronghorn, and rare chacoan peccary piglet, too!"—from the
• JAN. 28-29: Cinderella on stage—Get tickets now: Darien Town Hall Auditorium, 4 p.m. Presented by the British Amateur Theatre Group as a benefit performance for the YWCA Darien/Norwalk. Tickets are $10 in advance (available by calling the YWCAat (203) 655-2535 or online at YWCADarienNorwalk.org) or $12 at the door.

TEENS

The Depot: Closed all this week

Darien Library:

• 3rd Annual Darien Library Teen Writing Competition: There is "$100 for the winner in each age group and category, You will also have the opportunity to meet with published authors and have your work printed and read by a large audience. And can you imagine putting this on your college applications?" Poetry, fiction and nonfiction are all accepted. If you have any questions, call Erica at 669-5225. [...] To enter email your entry along with the application form to teenstaff@darienlibrary.org beginning on Jan. 1.  Participants have until Feb. 28 to enter for a chance to win cash prizes.  An awards ceremony will conclude the competition on Saturday, March 31."—from the Darien Library website.
• Create a video about a book you like, and enter it in the StoryTubes competition to win a prize. This week, Darien Library will have video equipment available for kids and teens from 5 to 18 years old to create their video, which can be entered into a competition from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20. The video equipment is available today from 1 to 6 p.m.
• JAN. 28: Talent Competition of bands and other acts from Darien High School. The free event will feature free food. "A $350 first prize and $150 runner up prize will be offered to the best acts, chosen by members of the Darien Teen Advisory Board (Caroline Farrington, Katherine Feehan, and Dylan Gabriel ). Come to see all of your friends perform or come and be in the show! If you are interested in being an act, talk to any of the judges, Caroline Farrington, or Danielle Tilford."—from the Darien Library website. Here's the application form to download and fill out.

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked: 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8:45 p.m. (1 hr. 27 min.) —IMDb—trailer—trailer—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes
• War Horse: 2, 5 and 8 p.m. (2 hrs. 26 min.)
  
  

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

All meetings take place in Town Hall, 2 Renshaw Rd., unless otherwise noted.

No meetings are scheduled for today.

FORECAST as of 9:04 p.m., Wednesday (update)

• Thursday: "Increasing clouds, with a high near 37. West wind between 10 and 14 mph."
• Thursday Night: "A slight chance of light rain after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. West wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent."

INTERSTATE 95 TRAFFIC CAMS

See also Darien Patch's "Traffic & Gas Prices" page.

• Stamford: southbound, Exit 8 - Elm St.

• Stamford: northbound, south of Exit 9 - Lockwood Ave.

• Darien southbound, north of Exit 9 - Darien Service Plaza

• Darien northbound Exit 12 - Tokeneke Rd.

• Darien northbound, south of Exit 13 - Darien Service Plaza

• Darien southbound, Exit 13 - Rt. 1 (Boston Post Rd.)

• Norwalk southbound, Exit 15 - Stuart Ave.

• Norwalk Rt 7 south of Exit 1 - Connecticut Ave.

• Norwalk northbound, Exit 15 - Rt. 7

TIDES & TIMES

• High tide: 2:16 a.m. (7.1')
• Low tide: 8:37 a.m. (0.2')
• Sunrise: 7:18 a.m.
• High tide: 2:36 p.m. (6.9')
• Sunset: 4:33 p.m.
• Low tide: 9:00 p.m. (-0.1')

Forecast obtained from the National Weather Service; tide information obtained from saltwatertides.com (calibrated to Long Neck Point).