Stew Leonard’s generosity adds to successful community event at Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Westport.

Patty Kondub, Neighbor
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The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 399 and Auxiliary hosted a fabulous “Fish Fry Friday” fundraiser on September 15th, to kick off a fall season full of community engagement.

“First to thank for the success of our fundraiser is Stew Leonard’s, who generously supplied the fresh cod and coleslaw. Stew’s donation helped us raise money that we can put towards our new A/C compressor which happened to break down this week,” said VFW Quartermaster Phil Delgado.

“All of us at Stew Leonard’s are so happy to be able to support the VFW and our community,” commented Beth Leonard Hollis.

Over 100 fried fish fans enjoyed an evening of great food and fun. “This is the most delicious fish-n-chips I have tasted. It melted in my mouth like butter,” exclaimed Mike Krysuik, a VFW Auxiliary member and author of the book “The Big One.” Krysuik’s father, Frank, was a member of Post 399 and a WWII Silver Star and Purple Heart recipient.

“What a great way to spend time with the community supporting our veterans. The Westport community rallied and embraced ‘Fish Fry Friday.’ We are all truly humbled and grateful for being a part of this wonderful community and are looking forward to future events,” noted Auxiliary President Joan Evon, a Johnson & Wales University Culinary Graduate who put her talents to work in the kitchen.

Next up for VFW Post 399 at 465 Riverside Avenue is hosting its 39th straight monthly Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, September 20. The VFW calendar includes being the acoustically perfect site (with water views) for “Jazz Night” every Thursday, participating Saturday the 23rd at the Westport Library’s “Volunteer Day,” and being a venue to visit on Saturday the 30th for “Slice of Saugatuck.”

“We are excited and honored to host or participate in these wonderful events to support our veterans and community,” explained Delgado. “There has been no shortage of community involvement over the last 103 years,” wrapped up the Navy veteran.

For more information please visit. https://vfw399ct.org

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Pianist, composer, and writer Ethan Iverson was a founding member of The Bad Plus, a game-changing collective with Reid Anderson and David King. The New York Times called TBP “Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-60’s jazz and indie rock.” During his 17-year tenure, TBP performed in venues as diverse as the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, and Bonnaroo; collaborated with Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, and the Mark Morris Dance Group; and created a faithful arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and a radical reinvention of Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction.

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Kenny Wessel, Rale Micic, Sylvia Cuenca, Essiet Essiet and Greg Wall  – Jazz at the Post, VFW Post 399 465 Riverside Ave., Westport, CT

  Kenny Wessel, known throughout the world for his adventurous solo voice, unrelenting swing, and sensitive accompaniment skills, has become an audience favorite here in Westport. Ken is also very interested in creating and investigating points of intersection between jazz and Indian music and has performed and recorded with musicians from various parts of the globe.

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