Take a Study Cruise of Norwalk Harbor Marine Life

Here's a slew of things to do in Darien and surrounding towns, too:

FRIDAY

• A special "Date Night" evening spinning class is taking place at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18 at JoyRide Cycling Studio at 25 Old Kings Hwy. "led by popular instructor Mo Prester.  During the ride, Dr. Adam Ofer, an OBGYN and NBC’s Today Show contributor, will speak about prevention and awareness of breast cancer.  JoyRide will donate the proceeds from this breast cancer awareness ride to The Whittingham Cancer Center in Norwalk.  The cost for two spots is $50.  Beer, wine and snacks will follow the ride." -- from an announcement sent by JoyRide

• Darien Library presents the movie  The Saphires (2012) at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18. "Starring Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, and Jessica Mauboy; Rated PG-13; 99 minutes. [...] Inspired by a true story, director Wayne Blair's debut feature The Sapphires follows four Aboriginal Australian girls as they are transformed into a soulful singing group by a kindhearted musician, and later travel to Vietnam to entertain battle-weary U.S. troops." -- from an announcement on the library website (with trailer) — PG-13, — 1 hr, 39 min. — Wikipedia — trailer — Rotten Tomatoes — IMDb — Facebook

• Oktoberfest comes to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on Friday starting at 6:30 p.m. "Enjoy seasonal Oktoberfest brews, dine on Oktoberfest favorites from Old Heidelberg, and enjoy live music from The Bavarian Boys. Ticket info can be found here.

• "Friends of the Darien Library cordially invite you to the Annual Meeting, Saturday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. Louise Berry, Director of Darien Library, will be interviewed by Ann Mandel and George Wyper about her thirty-five years of service to the Library and to the Darien community. Mrs. Berry will be retiring in February 2014. Learn about the year’s developments from Bruce Ferguson, President of the Board." -- from an announcement on the library website
  

• Learn how to write that novel in 30 days -- well, at least get a good start on it. Start at a workshop at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Conference Room at Darien Library: "[C]ome learn how to write your novel in a month. You will be joining thousands of writers across the country in this month long sprint. At the end of the month, you will have written 50,000 words -- which is a respectable novella length story! In this session, led by a twice winner of this writing challenge, you will learn: How to write a novel in 30 days; what National Novel Writing Month is; tools to help you write your novel." -- an announcement on the Darien Library website

• Take one of the Maritime Aquarium's Marine Life Study Cruises in Norwalk Harbor on Saturdays at 1 p.m. in September and October: "Cruise out for close encounters with crabs, fish, lobsters and always a few surprises when you come aboard the research vessel Oceanic. [...] Aquarium educators put participants to work in collecting and examining animals. [...] Tickets are $20.50, or $18.50 for Aquarium members. Maritime Aquarium Study Cruises are good for ages 8 and older. Space on the Oceanic is limited so advance reservations are strongly recommended. Walk-up tickets will be sold, space permitting. [...] Purchase tickets or get more details at www.maritimeaquarium.org or (203)852-0700, ext. 2206."

• "The 17th Annual Darien Family Fun Day, hosted by the Holly Pond School and open to the public, will take place at the Darien YMCA on Sunday, Oct. 20, from 12pm to 3pm.[...] This fun-filled event for pre-school and elementary school age children will feature pony rides, two magic shows by Amazing Andy, gymnastics for toddlers in the new gymnastics facility, professional face painters, a bouncy castle and obstacle course, games, crafts, bake sale, silent auction, and much more!  Tickets are available at the YMCA for $25 per family, and all proceeds will benefit the Holly Pond School." -- from an event listing on Darien Patch

• "Sunday, Oct. 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- 35 Pleasant St. in Darien. Pottery Barn furniture, Ethan Allen furniture, outdoor furniture, decorative pillows and accessories, gardening, toys and more." -- an announcement on Darien Patch

• Bruce Museum in Greenwich is offering a program designed for families and children to foster appreciation and understanding of art related to current exhibitions at the museum. On Sunday, the program will focus on the Bruce Museum exhibition Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close. Lessons, which focuse on portraits, will begin at 1:15 p.m. and repeat at 2:15 p.m. There will be printmaking activities in the Education Workshop. It's all free with museum admission.

• You can get up to 56 percent off of your bill at Aladin Indian Bistro, 36 Westport Ave., Norwalk, with this Groupon offer. The deal gives you a dinner for two for $35 or a dinner for four for $75. It's hard to say from the website when this deal actually ends, but you get 120 days to go there after you pay. As always, understand the fine print and don't buy it and forget to go. (This is not an advertisement and Patch gets nothing by alerting you to the Groupon deal.) Groupon also has offers for these other Norwalk restaurants (links go to the Groupon page): Paella Tapas Wine Bar and Restaurant, Pontos Taverna, Café Turnier, Silver Star Diner, and YoBamba Cafe.

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Traveling on I-95? Concerned about traffic? Here are links to the Connnecticut Department of Transportation traffic cams (“SB” means southbound; “NB” means northbound):

• CCTV #2 Greenwich SB north of Exit 2 -- north of Delavan Ave.

• CCTV #3 Greenwich SB north of Exit 2 -- south of Field Pt. Rd. on-ramp

• CCTV #4 Greenwich NB Exit 3 -- Arch St

• CCTV #5 Greenwich SB north of Exit 3 -- north of Davis Ave.

• CCTV #6 Greenwich NB Exit 4 -- Indian Field Rd.

• CCTV #8 Greenwich SB south of Exit 5 - Riverside Ave.

• CCTV #10 Greenwich SB south of Exit 6 -- Laddins Rock Rd.

• CCTV #13 Stamford SB Exit 8 -- Elm St.

• CCTV #14 Stamford NB south of Exit 9 -- Lockwood Ave.

• CCTV #16 Darien SB north of Exit 9 -- Darien Service Plaza

• CCTV #20 Darien NB Exit 12 -- Tokeneke Rd.

• CCTV #21 Darien NB south of Exit 13 -- Darien Service Plaza

• CCTV #22 Darien SB Exit 13 -- Rt. 1 (Boston Post Rd.)

• CCTV #26 Norwalk SB Exit 15 -- Stuart Ave.

• CCTV #27 Norwalk Rt 7 south of Exit 1 -- Connecticut Ave.

• CCTV #28 Norwalk NB Exit 15 -- Rt. 7

• CCTV #29 Norwalk SB Exit 16 -- East Ave.

• CCTV #30 Norwalk NB south of Exit 16 -- south of Saugatuck Ave.