Presidents' Note

May is traditionally a busy month - the days become longer and the sunny weather lures us outside as nature springs back to life!

One of our most anticipated events of the year is our Spring Gala which is being held on May 11th. This is our Eighth Annual Newcomers Gala and this year our theme is “Denim and Diamonds”.  Come in your favorite denim and wear your flashiest bling.  There will be live music, a beautiful setting and wonderful food and drink!  We hope that you can all make it to this great celebration.  It’s a perfect opportunity to reconnect with all of the members you met during the year – and meet some new!   The Gala committee has been working hard to make sure this is a first class event, and we are so fortunate to be gathering in the spectacular Keeler Tavern Museum this year. 

If you’re not able to make it to the Gala, there are still many  other things to do this month.  Our popular Foreign Exchange is meeting on May 9th at the Tusk & Cup,  Evening Book Club is reading The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closet, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin  and will come together on May 16th to discuss; and on May 23rd is Ladies Night In!

We Hope you’re enjoying the beautiful spring weather and taking time to get out and enjoy our wonderful town.  See you at the Gala!

At last spring is in the air!  It won’t be long before the daffodils and crocuses start to make their appearance, and not a moment too soon.  March brings with it renewed energy and the need to start socializing more.  There are many exciting Newcomers events this month; we hope to see you at some of them.

Our Camp and Preschool Fair is on March 5^th from 9:30 – 11:30 am and 7:00 – 9:00 pm.  There will be several choices of camps and preschools there, so come prepared to chat and inquire about the perfect fit for your child/children.

On March 13^th, we are having a hospitality coffee at the Watershed Gallery, newly opened in Ridgefield.  Come feast your eyes on their new show, “Living on the Grid,” and tempt your taste buds with coffee and treats from local bakeries.  Add to that some stimulating conversation and you have a wonderful morning to look forward to.

If you like to go out in the evening, try Couples Night Out.  This month we will kick up our heels doing ballroom dancing at the Fred Astaire Studio, with a cocktail hour to begin the evening.  If   you have yet to try Winetasters or Yoga, this may be your month!  Take an evening away from home and go to Ladies Night or Book Club.  You may be surprised at how much fun you have!

Although February is the shortest month of the year it can often seem the longest…

With cold, grey days you may be ready for a pick-me-up!  Here are some fun events to add to your calendar that will have you smiling and socializing in no time!

On February 21^st at Luc’s Café join Newcomers for Ladies Night Out.  This intimate bistro is a favorite with delicious food and a wonderful ambience that will have you feeling as if you were on holiday in France in no time!  A wonderful way to have a time-out for you – join us for a wonderful evening.

For those of you who have lived abroad, travelled abroad or are interested in travelling abroad join us for an informal morning of coffee and conversation with the Foreign Exchange Club.  A wonderful way to connect with others who have experience in the International Community and a lovely way to make friends this group has many remarkable tales to tell, is welcoming and meets once a month!  So mark February 27^th from 10:00-12:00 down in your calendar!

An event not to be missed is our annual Camp & Activity Fair!   This ever-popular event is a great opportunity to learn about the amazing and numerous summer options for your children, toddlers through teens.  It will be held at the Ridgefield Recreation Center on March 5th from 9:30-11:30am and from 7:00-9:00pm with upwards of 30 vendors present.  Yes there will be entertainment for the wee ones during the morning session!

Happy Holidays!  Ridgefield has lit up Main Street for the holidays and our town looks festive and magical.  December promises to be a fun-filled month full of holiday activities with something for the entire family.

As has become our tradition, we will be hosting a Santa Party at the Ridgefield Recreation Center on December 8th.  This event gets the whole family involved in the holiday spirit by turning the table and giving the kids the opportunity to give Santa a gift to take to kids who don’t have as much as we do.  Please join us in our effort to have a little fun while giving back!

For the third year, our Hospitality committee will be hosting a Holiday Cocktail Party at Sagi Cucina in downtown Ridgefield.  This popular event will be a great opportunity to come together and share the holiday spirit with old friends as well as new.  Space is limited so be sure to mark it on your calendars and RSVP quickly!

A super morning activity for the kids is the gingerbread house decorating event. Held in the Pfeiffer’s barn, which has been decked out for the holidays, children will have a magical time with frosting and sweets as they decorate gingerbread houses to take home.    

For more ideas, take a look at the In the Loop article this month – there are so many events in our area designed especially for the holiday season.  

On behalf of the entire Newcomers Club Board we wish you and your families a very Happy Holiday Season and the very best in the New Year!

The holiday season is fast approaching but the month of November is about thanksgiving.  For those of you who have moved to Ridgefield from abroad – Thanksgiving is a holiday where families and friends gather together over a meal to celebrate just that… family, friends and all we are grateful for.  When I lived in the UK it was the one “American” holiday I always missed the most.  The anticipation of the day, the preparations for the meal, the multiple trips to the shops for forgotten grocery items, the chill in the air, the chatting of those cooking, the sound of team sports on the TV, the delectable smells coming from the kitchen.  It was all so exciting and what was such a relief was the fact that there was nothing “commercial” about it.  A day/evening to gather together, eat, chat, laugh and just BE.

Everyone on the Board of Newcomers wishes our members and their families a wonderful Thanksgiving!

October promises to be another great month with lots of activities planned.  For our new members we would like to invite you to our Newcomers Hospitality Coffee on October 18^th.  This is a casual morning gathering to welcome you to our group.   You will have the chance to learn more about the club, meet other members and have a good chat!  If the daytime event does not work for your schedule then on October 6^th we are at the Aldrich Museum for our Couples’ Night Out event.  If you have not had the chance to explore Ridgefield’s Contemporary Art Museum this is a great way to do so with an Oktoberfest twist.   What if you work late during the week?  How about trying out Cooking Club?  On Sunday October 14^th the cuisine of Greece will be explored.  With fabulous food, music and conversation what a fabulous way to spend a Sunday!

A favorite activity for anyone in Ridgefield is the annual Halloween Walk in downtown Ridgefield.  Children, adults and even pets dress up in costume to parade the streets and do some trick or treating.   Bring the whole family for a wonderful morning at this Main Street festival!

Please check out all of our activities on the events calendar.  If you are interested in an activity that is not offered please let us know.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our gatherings!

Lori & Trish

presidents@ridgefieldnewcomers.org

We wish to welcome both our new and returning members!  We hope everyone enjoyed the summer and look forward to autumn in New England.  Autumn is a wonderful time of year in the Northeast - if you are new to the area you are in store for a real treat, as there is so much to do in and around Ridgefield.  As Newcomers of Ridgefield you will make wonderful friends, attend a wide variety of fun events, and discover what makes Connecticut such a wonderful place to live.

We are thrilled to be serving as your Co-Presidents this year, along with our talented Board and Activity Chairs.  All of us have been active in Newcomers and are both excited and proud to give back to the club that has been such an important part of our lives.  We have a lot of exciting events planned for the year ahead, including some fabulous September kickoff events such as Wine Tasters (a fantastic way to meet people while sampling some scrumptious wines) on the 15^th of September; book club on the 27^th; and our Open House on September 20^th.

We encourage you to attend our annual Open House, as it’s a great way to meet Newcomers’ members and to learn about the different clubs and activities that we offer.  At the morning session we will have Children’s entertainment provided by Judy’s Music from the Enchanted Garden, and the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra will entertain us at the evening session.  If that does not entice you, we will also be serving fabulous treats. 

If any member would like to become more involved by chairing an activity, or has an idea for a new one, we are always happy to hear your ideas to make our club even better.

We look forward to seeing you!

Lori & Trish 

Wow, it’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of our Newcomers year already!  We’ve had so much fun as Co-Presidents of the club this year, and we hope that it has been as great a year for all of our Newcomers! 

This year, as has every year, brought change to the club:  we initiated a new website, added several new activities, and augmented some of our standard activities.  We received lots of great feedback from those of you who participated in the survey that we sent out in April – we should see Newcomers change further still based on those results.  Thanks to everyone who helped shape our future!

As we prepare to hand the reins over to our new team, we would like to take a moment to thank all of the awesome volunteers who make Newcomers the success that it is – we couldn’t do it without the dozens of people who dedicate their time and efforts to Newcomers.  So, a special shout out to all of the Activity Chairs who worked so hard at creating great events for us each month,  to our incredible Board members, many of whom will continue to contribute their time to the club next year.  We couldn’t have done any of this without you!  And to our new Board members, thanks in advance for stepping up to get involved at a different level – you will have so much fun with this dynamic group!

Collectively we have served on the board for a total of 5 years, so stepping down will truly be a big change for us, but we will continue to enjoy Newcomers and all that it has offered and will continue to offer us!  It is a great honor to pass the torch to Lori Goodman and Trish Breede, who will take over for us at the end of June.  While Newcomers takes a break during the summer, the Board is busily planning for the year ahead.  Look for emails during the summer announcing special events, in particular the annual gathering at CHIRP in August. 

In the meantime, enjoy our beautiful town and all of the great new friends you’ve met this year.  We look forward to seeing you at one of next year’s many gatherings!

Our Newcomers year is starting to wind down, but don’t tell our Activity Chairs that!  They are still busily planning lots of great year-end events to keep the momentum going.  May is traditionally a busy month – everything springs back to life, including Newcomers!  Not only do we have the Seventh Annual Newcomers Gala “Celebrating the Arts,” our calendar is chock full of great activities to get us out and meeting fellow Newcomers.  So don’t let up yet – get your pen ready to fill in your calendar!

The Gala is always the most anticipated event of the year for Newcomers ~ we hope that you can all make it to this great celebration.  It’s a perfect opportunity to reconnect with all of the members you met during the year – and meet some new!   The Gala committee has been working hard for months to make sure this is a first class event, and we are so fortunate to be gathering in the spectacular Aldrich Museum again this year.  Proceeds from the event will benefit the Ridgefield Public Library, which offers fantastic programs for children, teens, and adults, including movies, music performances, children’s reading hours, educational and community programs, and so much more.  We’re pleased to be able to raise money for all of the fabulous programs that they offer us every day.

If you’re not able to make it to the Gala, there are still lots of other things to do this month.  Men’s Golf is eagerly awaiting their tee time for Saturday, May 6^th; the ever popular ladies game night, BUNCO, has its monthly gathering on May 9^th; Evening Book Club is reading Unsaid, a novel by Neil Abramson and will come together on May 17 to discuss; and Weekday Tots will meet for a picnic at Ballard Park on May 18^th.

Hope you’re enjoying the beautiful spring weather and taking time to get out and enjoy our wonderful town.  See you at the Gala!

 In the spirit of adventure, a few of our activities will explore areas outside of Ridgefield this month: 

• Men’s Night Out will be taking to the road and traveling a short distance to Mount Kisco for go-kart racing at Grand Prix-NY on April 6^th. 
• Weekday Totswill travel to Norwalk to visit the FINtastically RefurFISHed Norwalk Maritime Center on Friday, April 13^th. 
• Hiking will really go on an adventure on April 29^th and couple a great hike with a beautiful sculpture park at Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, NY, about an hour drive from Ridgefield – a real treat for the senses in so many ways! 

For those who prefer to stay local there’s more than enough to keep you busy:

• Ladies’ Night Outwill hit Main Street and meet at the Bissell House for appetizers and drinks on Thursday, April 12^th. 
• Couples Night Outwill try out one of the newer restaurants in town and meet at Tre for a lovely assortment of appetizers, cocktails, and especially good fun, on Saturday, April 14^th. 
• Family Fun will trot up to Stony Meadow Farms on April 22^nd to experience a working horse farm, where they will have pony rides, do crafts, and tour the farm.

We are always looking for something to celebrate in Newcomers, and we always seem to find a good reason to do so!  This month we will celebrate our most special group of Newcomers – our newest members! 

• Hospitality will host the fourth annual “New” Newcomers Cocktail Party on April 28^th at the Keeler Tavern.  This special evening gives our newest members an opportunity to meet each other in a more intimate setting.  

If you still have time after all of the great activities offered this month, stroll through town and reacquaint yourselves with the great shops, restaurants, museums, parks and everything else that Ridgefield offers!  We are so fortunate to have so much available to us right here in town, much of it within walking distance - from hardware store to sweet shop from book store to boutique and then a short stroll to a museum.  It’s so important, especially these days, that we show our support to the fabulous array of merchants that we have right here in our quaint little town.

Happy Spring!