NEIGHBORHOODS
What’s going on in your part of Greenwich
Cos Cob
To teach the community more about the benefits of electric cars, the town of Greenwich will hold a familyfriendly event called the “Electrify Your Life Expo” that will offer test drives of evehicles.
It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 18 at the Cos Cob train station. It is free.
The town Conservation Commission is organizing the expo to promote e-vehicles, e-bikes and a technique called e-landscaping, which uses quiet and emission-free lawn equipment. A robotic lawn mower will be demonstrated that can cut the grass while people sleep. There will be Segways and hoverboards there, too.
Audi, Hyundai, Nissan, Kia and Tesla will take part in the informative event, which include a display of electric cars available to test drive.
The EV Club of Connecticut will give a to talk about the range of electric vehicles, many of which can travel farther before needing a charge, including the new Tesla, with a range of more than 400 miles.
“Buying an (electric vehicle) is the best way to immediately lower your carbon footprint,” the Conservation Commission said in a statement. “Electric bikes are commanding more of the twowheeled market and visitors will be able to feel the difference in this emerging technology that provides a whole new experience to commuting and running errands.”
For kids, a remote car obstacle course will be set up. Experts will be on hand to answer questions, and there will be live music and food trucks.
To test drive a vehicle, bring your driver’s license. To make a donation to support the event, visit www.patronicity.com/project/electrify_your_life_expo#!/
The expo is jointly produced by the Conservation Commission, the town Sustainability Committee , the EV Club of Connecticut, Quiet Yards Greenwich, Pedal Greenwich, Live Green, Clean Cities and Wilton Go Green.
Central Greenwich
The nonprofit Greenwich Green and Clean is holding a Community Cleanup Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 18 to begin work to improve the waterfall on the Greenwich High School campus.
The volunteers will meet at the eastern corner of GHS, facing East Putnam Avenue.
All ages are welcome at the cleanup. Volunteers are encouraged to bring heavy-duty gloves to wear while removing invasive plants. Some gloves will be available on site. Also, wear long pants and socks to protect against poison ivy.
This cleanup will kick off the first phase of the waterfall project, a townwide initiative designed to “reimagine the waterfall and the surrounding natural area.”
“The goal is to preserve, protect and beautify the environmentally sensitive site on the GHS campus,” Green and Clean said in a statement. The project is a public/ private partnership of the Board of Education, the Greenwich Sustainability Committee and the residents and businesses of Greenwich.
In addition to Green and Clean, other partners include the Green Fingers Garden Club, the Greenwich Athletic Foundation, the town’s Conservation Commission, the Board of Selectmen, the town Sustainability Committee, the Greenwich Tree Conservancy and Sam Bridge Nursery and Greenhouses.
To learn more about the project and to register, visit www.greenwichgreenandclean.org. Walk-ups are welcome.
Downtown
The Greeneich Concours d’Elegance welcomed more than 8,000 visitors from June 3 to June 5 for an outdoor celebration of car culture at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park.
“The picturesque Greenwich harbor set the stage and we were thrilled to host, engage and entertain so many car lovers this past weekend,” said Matt Orendac, vice chair of Concours Group at Hagerty, which ran the event. “We’re convinced more now than ever about the value of bringing the car community together. Whether our guests came to enjoy the fun cars of their youth on Saturday or to see the finest cars ever built on Sunday, it’s evident that car culture is both alive and thriving.”
The three-day event opened with a “grand tour” for cars entered in the concours. Also, a 1952 Hudson Hornet, which was just inducted into the National Historic Vehicle Register, was unveiled and on display throughout the weekend.
There were 125 vehicles showcased as part of the Cars and Community Event on the second day. And on the final day, 140 historically significant vehicles were celebrated in 18 classes. Judges selected a Vignalebodied 1948 Packard Convertible Victoria as the best in show.
The weekend also included a kids zone with more than 600 youngsters enjoying racing simulators, games and more. Also, 240 visitors took test drives in classic cars from the Hagerty Learning Garage, including a 1960 Plymouth Fury, 1963 Lincoln Continental, 1970 Dodge Challenger and a 1971 Ford Bronco.
Cos Cob
The Greenwich United Way recently launched a pilot of its Math Champions program at
Cos Cob School, in an effort to build on the success of its Reading Champions program.
Reading Champions is the largest volunteer-driven early literacy program in town. Working in partnership with the school district, it has provided reading help to more than 4,000 elementary students across the district over the last 13 years.
Math Champions seeks to help students achieve academic benchmarks and goals through volunteer-led support in math. The program, like Reading Champions, runs from kindergarten through fifth grade.
As part of the pilot program, 40 Cos Cob School students are matched with volunteers, who are parents of students from Greenwich Academy, Greenwich High School and other public schools.
“The addition of Math Champions to Cos Cob School has been a vision we have had for a few years,” princiipal Gene Schmidt said.
Volunteers connect with students to play interactive math games, employing key concepts until the students master them. The sessions take place during and after school every week. Volunteers are trained by the Greenwich United Way.
To volunteer or learn more, visit www.greenwichunitedway.org