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Big Plans for the New Levitt Pavilion

Big Plans for the New Levitt Pavilion

Envision a beautiful, fresh, outdoor entertainment venue right in downtown Westport. Imagine enjoying amazing performances under the stars complete with food from a concession stand and restroom access at the new and improved Levitt Pavilion. These visions are finally on the road to becoming reality.

Over the summer, both the town of Westport and the state of Conn. agreed to put large sums of money towards the remodeling of the Levitt Pavilion, the entertainment venue located behind the Westport Library.

Construction is expected to begin at the end of September or the beginning of October and the whole project is scheduled to be ready in time for the 2013 performance season.

The total cost of the renovations will be $6.7 million. The town granted the project $1.1 million and the state allotted $450,000. A request for another $500,000 from the state is still waiting to be approved. The remainder of the costs will be earned through fundraising and donations.

“The money is minimal for the amount of entertainment it will provide for our town and even neighboring towns,” said Representative Town Meeting Moderator Hadley Rose.

These funds will be put towards redoing the entire infrastructure of the Levitt Pavilion. This is a priority for the town because the original Levitt stage was over 35 years old and for the past six years, a temporary stage had to be used because the original pavilion was demolished six years ago.

Renovations, designed by architect Peter Cadoux, will include a covered entrance area with a concession stand, restrooms, and stairs and a ramp leading up to the level of the lawn seating. There will also be a sound booth in the center of the lawn. The temporary stage will be replaced with one including dressing rooms, performer space, restrooms, and a roof made out of a fabric that can be twisted to change shape if needed.

Although the Levitt is undergoing physical changes, the most important aspect of the facility will remain the same.

“What’s most important is 50 nights of free entertainment. That’s the reason the pavilion is there and the reason it will continue to be there,” said Stuart McCarthy, project manager of the Levitt Pavilion renovation.

 

Learn more about the renovations here.

 

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Zoe Brown, Editor-in-Chief
When it comes down to it, managing schoolwork can be tough to handle. Think about being someone who can manage double the work. Zoe Brown ‘16 does just that. Brown performs a stunning job juggling her status as a good student, Editor-in-Chief of Inklings and her position as the co-president of TAG (Teen Awareness Group). But as Brown painfully put it, she never goes to bed before 12 and often her associations embezzle half her free time. Being impressive like Zoe comes with long hours of time and commitment. Not everything fell into place for Brown from the start. Brown was forced to move to Westport in eighth grade after her father found a new job in Greenwich. This was especially agonizing for her after growing up in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania for 14 years. The transition was tough going into the new school system. “It was terrible. I hated it. I was in this place where I was denying to myself that I would have to live here for the rest of my childhood and so I didn't branch out and make an effort to find a place,” she said. Luckily, Brown’s love for writing set her up for three great years on Inklings, where she made many of her friends she still has today. Also this past summer Brown visited Columbia and Boston University, helping her with everything from feature design to investigative reporting. After high school, Zoe hopes to study journalism and communications. But for now, she is set with the interesting people she meets on the job. Brown had a fun time interviewing an actor at an event held at Oscars Deli, saying how “he was very enthusiastic about the interview which made it fun.”

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