Join the Westport Writers’ Workshop on September 18th from 6:30-9 PM at the Fairfield Museum for “Sips & Scholarships”, a fundraiser and silent auction to benefit our outreach programming. As part of our mission, Westport Writers’ Workshop is committed to providing scholarships and free writing workshops to underserved communities. We have completed and planned workshops with Connecticut Institute for Immigrants and Refugees, Homes with Hope, STAR, Center for Family Justice/AWARE, and the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities. Additionally, we offer a free workshop for moms of children with disabilities and a veterans’ writing group. 

Help us celebrate these amazing communities! We’ll have light bites and literary-themed tasting tables. Harry's Wine and Liquor Market is generously curating and providing our wine tastings as well as offering WWW 10% of all wine sales made that night, so it’s the perfect opportunity to stock up for fall and holiday hosting! 

BLUES ICON ANNOUNCES SHOW IN WESTPORT, CT!!

We are delighted to announce that Mark Naftalin & Friends are coming to VFW Westport on Saturday November 8th, 2025! Noted keyboardist, producer and radio host, Mr Naftalin rose to international renown as the keyboardist with the influential Paul Butterfield Blues Band, with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

For this appearance, Naftalin's band of "Friends" features guitarist/vocalist Paul Gabriel (Blue In The Face, Paul Gabriel Blues Band, Connecticut Blues Society Lifetime Achievement Award); singing harmonicist Mark Zaretsky (Cobalt Rhythm Kings, The Chicago Dawgs/Finalist 2025 Connecticut Blues Challenge) and guitarist/vocalist JD Seem (Faster Things - Allman Brothers Tribute, Southern Fried, JDs Jam at The Granite).

Pathbreakers in the 1960s blues boom, the inter-racial Butterfield Band opened doors for blues masters like B.B. King and Muddy Waters, and Naftalin went on to record and/or concertize with a host of blues stars, including Michael Bloomfield, James Cotton, Lowell Fulson, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Percy Mayfield, Carla Thomas, Irma Thomas, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, and many others. 

Living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area, Naftalin produced more than 1,300 blues radio broadcasts on three FM stations and more than 30 blues festivals. His Blue Monday Party, a weekly blues show and dance in the Bay Area (1979-83) featured more than 60 blues artists and groups and was the scene of 86 live radio broadcasts and three TV specials. 

In 2002, Mark and his wife, Ellen, moved to Westport, which is Ellen's hometown. His monthly broadcast, The Mark Naftalin Show, is now in its tenth year on Bridgeport's WPKN (89.5 FM, streaming world-wide at wpkn.org). 

Advance Tickets are on sale NOW at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/buy-tickets-here/mark-naftalin-friends

The VFW Westport is located at 465 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT. 203-227-6796 https://vfw399ct.org