Politics & Government
UPDATE: Show on: 'Nutcracker' at Noon, 3 & 5:30 PM Sunday
The Senior Center and Town Hall are closed as of noon Saturday but as of now, performances are still on for "The Nutcracker" at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The Darien Arts Center's performances for "Scenes from the Nutcracker" will be "at noon, 3 p.m. and a 5:30 p.m. show has been added as a reschedule of yesterday's 5 p.m. [show]" which was cancelled, according to Diane Farrell, a publicist for the organization.
Update 3:06 p.m., Saturday:
The 5 p.m. showing of scense from "The Nutcracker" has been cancelled by the Darien Arts Center because of the snow. No decision has been made on the noon and 3 p.m. Sunday shows, according to Diane Farrell, a publicist for the arts center.
Original article, Friday:
Although Darien Town Hall and the Darien Senior Center will close at noon Saturday due to the snow storm, Darien Arts Center performances of the Nutcracker are still expected to take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
If the weather is worse than expected, those performances might still be cancelled Saturday morning, said Diane Farrell, a publicist for the Darien Arts Center.
Decisions have yet to be made on the 5 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday and 3 p.m. Sunday performances. By about midday Saturday, the Darien Arts Center expects that decision to be made, at least for the 5 p.m. performance.
See the Darien Arts Center's Facebook page and Twitter account on Saturday and perhaps Sunday for the latest updates on whether those performances will go on.
The holiday craft workshop for kids, which was to take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Darien Arts Center, has been cancelled, Farrell said. That cancellation has also been announced on the Arts Center's Twitter feed.
The town Department of Public Works can't keep parking lots plowed well during snow storms, according to Darren Oustafine, the town's assistant director of public works.
Oustafine said in an email at 3:28 p.m. Friday that Town Hall would be closed, but the Arts Center appealed to Jerry Nielsen, acting first selectman while Jayme Stevenson is out of town, and Nielsen agreed to allow the performances of the Nutcracker for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Farrell said.
As of 4:56 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service's Darien-specific forecast calls for 2 to 4 inches of snow during the day. Overnight Saturday to Sunday, more snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected.
First Selectman Jayme Stevenson announced the closures of Town Hall and the Senior Center in a forwarded email from Oustafine sent at 3:28 p.m. Stevenson forwarded it to news organizations at 4:29 p.m. with the message, "FYI."
Here is the text of Oustafine's email:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
DPW Policy is to follow the Board of Ed for building closures on weekends. For this storm event, Board of Education will not make decision until later this evening and therefore the DPW cannot rely upon their decision and still disseminate information before close of business on Friday. BOE is leaning towards opening buildings for the morning but we have no definite answer.
Our weather service is calling for a coating to 1” of snow between 6 AM and Noon. After that snow is predicted to increase to a total of 3 to 6”. After midnight, storm is predicted to change to sleet and rain (into Sunday). The DPW cannot maintain parking lots while a storm is in progress. Public roads and railroads must remain our primary focus.
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Our decision is to close town hall and the senior center at noon tomorrow (Saturday, 12/14/13) until Monday morning. There are no activities scheduled at senior center or Town Hall except Arts Council [also known as the Darien Arts Center]. Arts Council has performances scheduled (not shown on town hall schedule).
Thank you.
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