North Canaan welcomed change, embraced tradition

Christian Allyn, right, led an informative tree planting at North Canaan Elementary School on Arbor Day. The students added a northern catalpa to the school’s arboretum.
Photo by Riley Klein
Christian Allyn, right, led an informative tree planting at North Canaan Elementary School on Arbor Day. The students added a northern catalpa to the school’s arboretum.
NORTH CANAAN — The times they are a-changing in North Canaan.
With a fresh selectmen administration, a nod from voters to permit cannabis licenses, and a range of new business development in town, the revitalization of North Canaan was in full swing in 2023.
The municipal election drew considerable interest last year with 58.5% of registered voters turning out to make their voices heard. Brian Ohler, former state representative (R-64), won the open seat of first selectman against Christian Allyn. Jesse Bunce joined the board and Craig Whiting was reelected to a fourth term as selectmen.
“We have our own vision now and it’s going to take a little bit to implement that. But I’m confident with Craig and Jesse we can work together and we can be the team that North Canaan needs,” said Ohler during the first meeting of the new board.
On voting day, North Canaan narrowly approved recreational cannabis sales in town. A 17-vote margin was confirmed by recount and has subsequently opened the door for prospective marijuana entrepreneurs in the Northwest Corner. A rough timeline from the Planning and Zoning Commission aimed for February 2024 as the target to have regulations in place.
The revitalization on Railroad Street continued last year, and neon lights from Colonial Theatre’s marquee once more brighten downtown North Canaan. The historic movie house had been shuttered since 1997 except for an extensive refurbishment and brief revival in the early 2000s.
Now the excitement is returning. In April, Lenore and Marc Mallett and David and Stacey Fiorillo, two Salisbury couples, purchased the old theater, rolled up their sleeves, and plotted a future designed to bring life and activity back to downtown Canaan.
Union Station’s lights are shining a bit brighter, too, since the November 2023 opening of the Art Bar & Cafe by owner Chris Tripler. The wine bar features local artists in its Community Gallery.
Art Bar & Cafe manager Melanie Teardo said the addition to downtown North Canaan brings “something unique to the area. Definitely nice to have a little bit of night life around here.”
She said it creates “a sense of community” among local artists. “You don’t have to be an expert painter to be a part of it.”
Ilse Coffee opened a cafe in the old location of Jim’s Garage on Railroad Street. The light-filled and airy space is a testament to the dedication of its founders, Rebecca Grossman and Lucas Smith. They transformed the old garage into a bright and cozy spot for coffee lovers, an open-concept space that showcases their entire production.
“This is kind of where the journey started,” Grossman said, “so it’s a very cool coming home.”
Eagle Scout candidate Dylan Deane completed the creation and installation of four directional signs across town. The high-quality blue road signs direct motorists to points of interest as they enter North Canaan.
“It went from paper to reality,” Scout Deane said as he thanked numerous sponsors that contributed to the project. “Sometimes I thought it would never happen.”
Despite the change, timeless town traditions persevered throughout the year. Students of North Canaan Elementary School (NCES) added a northern catalpa to their school’s arboretum on Arbor Day. For the 33rd year, NCES celebrated the annual tradition before a crowd of relatives and loved ones.
For the 59th time, Railroad Days rolled into Union Station for 10 days of summertime splendor. The celebration included a full menu of events ranging from train rides to bed racing and just about everything in between.
Led by Grand Marshal Charles Perotti, the Parade of Canaan marched through the center of town on July 15, showcasing 24 fire companies from across the region along with local businesses and organizations. Floats from Great Falls Brewery, William Perotti & Sons, United Ag & Turf, 711 Racing Team, and the Railway Express captivated crowds as they flowed down Main Street.
Some change in 2023 was met with resistance. A proposed 20-lot subdivision along the Housatonic River has sparked outcry from environmentalists seeking to conserve the Wild and Scenic River corridor.
“This proposal perplexes me and saddens me. To commit 20 houses to be built on Honey Hill river frontage would allow the developer to take private financial advantage of a public resource that the Housatonic River Commission worked to protect for 40 years,” said Tom Zetterstrom.
The public hearing on the subdivision application will continue in 2024.
Ruth Franklin and Ileene Smith in conversation at Congregation Beth David in Amenia.
Congregation Beth David in Amenia hosted a conversation on the enduring legacy of Anne Frank, one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures. Ruth Franklin, award-winning biographer and critic, shared insights from her highly acclaimed book “The Many Lives of Anne Frank” with thought-provoking questions from Ileene Smith, Editorial Director of the Jewish Lives series. This event, held on July 23 — the date Anne Frank would have turned 96 — invited the large audience to reconsider Anne Frank not just as the young writer of a world-famous diary, but as a cultural symbol shaped by decades of representation and misrepresentation.
Franklin and Smith dove right in; Franklin reading a passage from the book that exemplified her approach to Anne’s life. She described her work as both a biography of Anne Frank and a cultural history of the diary itself, a document that has resonated across the world.
“The diary,”Franklin explained, “has been appropriated in ways that sometimes obscure the reality of who she was and the historical context of her life.” By weaving together different perspectives, including testimonies from those who knew Anne or whose lives were shaped by her, Franklin sought to rehumanize a figure who has, for better and worse, been turned into a symbol.
Franklin’s book examines the many faces of Anne Frank that have appeared in the public consciousness: the girl whose diary became a universal symbol of the Holocaust, the teenage diarist whose words offer an optimistic glimpse of humanity, and the historical figure whose Jewish identity has at times been obscured in favor of a broader, universal message. Franklin highlighted how Anne’s legacy was shaped by her father, Otto Frank. Many of Otto’s decisions have been viewed as controversial such as removing passages that could have alienated potential readers. While often criticized, Franklin suggested that his editorial work was driven by the desire to reach the broadest possible audience.
“I think we have to be so generous in thinking about Otto Frank and the choices that he made,” said Franklin. “He made the decision that he wanted the diary to be read by the greatest number of people possible. He wanted Anne’s message to go out into the world and work, as he said, against prejudice, understood in the widest possible sense. The Anne Frank House today in Amsterdam is carrying on his mission in making Anne’s story relatable and accessible and comparing it to many other different kinds of prejudice around the world. Not everybody agrees with this approach, but that’s what he decided to do.”
The conversation turned to a quote from author Cynthia Ozick, who argued that Anne’s story has been “vulgarized, distorted, and infantilized” in adaptations of the diary, particularly those created for mass consumption. While acknowledging the validity of Ozick’s concerns, Franklin pushed back. The desire to make Anne’s story accessible to a global audience, Franklin suggested, began with Anne herself, who rewrote her diary with an eye toward future readers who might not understand her specific historical context.
The conversation also delved into the profound grief and ambivalence Otto Frank must have felt as he worked to preserve his daughter’s legacy. Franklin’s expressed deep empathy for him, burdened with making Anne’s diary into something more than a personal testament. “He was working with a tragic loss, with an immense responsibility,” Franklin noted.
The evening’s discussion expanded to include the contentious debate over the graphic version of Anne Frank’s diary, which has been banned in several U.S. states. Critics of the graphic adaptation have condemned it for including depictions of Anne’s developing sexuality, citing them as “pornographic.” Franklin pointed out that this outrage stems from “the intersection of homophobia and anti-Semitism” in today’s political climate, highlighting how Anne’s legacy continues to be embroiled in ongoing cultural and political struggles. “The books that are most frequently banned in the country right now are those that have to do with LGBTQ content.This is a serious issue of the Republican Party persecuting gay people and trans people more generally,” said Franklin.
Smith pointedly asked Franklin about what is widely considered the most famous quote from the diary: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Franklin responded, “In many ways, Anne Frank was an optimistic person and that quote is an accurate reflection of who she was. At the same time, that quote is incomplete. It actually comes in the middle of a much longer passage in which she describes feeling hopeless about the future of the world.” Franklin continued, “That quote is often dismissed by Holocaust scholars or other people who have said with a lot of confidence that if Anne Frank had survived the camps to write about it, she would no longer have believed that people are truly good at heart. My own position, which is the perspective I adopt in this book, is that none of us can know what a surviving Anne Frank would have thought about anything at all, and it is irresponsible to speculate about it.We simply can’t go there. “
As the conversation concluded, the room was filled with a sense of reflection and appreciation. The crowd was invited to continue the conversation in the Community Room, where Franklin signed copies of her book, which were available through Oblong Books. Her visit left attendees with much to ponder about how we interpret history, memory, and the cultural artifacts that endure.
Yuja Wang performs with the TMCO and Andris Nelsons.
Sunday, July 20 was sunny and warm. Nic Mayorga, son of American concert pianist, the late Lincoln Mayorga, joined me at Tanglewood to hear Yuja Wang play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16. I first saw Wang on July 8, 2022, when she filled in for Jean-Yves Thibaudet on the opening night of Tanglewood’s summer season. She virtually blew the shed down with her powerful and dynamic playing of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Nic was my guest last season on July 13, when Wang wowed us with her delicate interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. We made plans on the spot to return for her next date in Lenox.
As we found our seats there was a buzz in the Shed. A huge crowd had gathered. Nic went for tall cans of cold mineral water — essential. The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra was on stage. The door opened, and out stepped Wang in a brilliant shear and sparkling silvery light dress befitting the warm day. Conductor Andris Nelsons followed. They greeted concertmaster Nathan Cole, and settled in.
The first movement, an Andandtino -Allegretto - Andandtino, is one where a 22-year-old Prokofiev distinguishes himself as an entirely new breed of concerto composers. It is far from typical. There is no conventional drama between opposing forces of piano and orchestra — just a light, gentle phrase with intentionally muted strings (pizzicato) and clarinets, giving way to Chopin-like left-hand figures from the piano, and a lengthy, divine melody in the right. There is beauty in this.Wang is in charge.
She transitioned to a faster march section that evolved into an extended solo played with great precision and attention to detail. The soloist had the floor until a raucous return of the full orchestra, followed by a pianissimo recollection of the opening. The two great forces now united, everyone was on the edge of their seat.
The second movement is a Scherzo: Vivace. Here, Wang showed her mastery over one of the most challenging sections — a relentlessly demanding moto perpetuo where the soloist must play unbroken sixteenths, both hands, in octave unison. Nic agreed that one must see this type of playing live to fully appreciate the artist. The orchestra added wonderful, subtle color and counter moods to this virtuoso spotlight. Wang’s command of the minutest shifts in tempo was astounding. The piano, here, produces melodies but also becomes a percussion instrument of the highest order.
In the third movement, an Intermezzo: Allegro moderato, the soloist gets a breather from the speedy tempos — but not quite, as she must alternate between delicacy and great force in figures while the orchestra layers a backdrop of a heavy march. Wang displayed her versatility here, commanding the tone, volume and moods as dictated by Prokofiev’s adventuring. Tempos changed. Everything changed. Yet throughout, each mini stanza and bar stood out — authentic, independent, real. Likely exactly what Prokofiev had in mind, but likely to elude all but the finest musicians.
In the Finale: Allegro tempestoso, Prokofiev reverts to the more conventional opposition-of-forces theme — the piano trying to overwhelm the orchestra in a barrage of flittering bright passages offset by heavy-handed chords. Wang chose a more collegial approach here. She was firm but polite; it never felt like a struggle. This made the transition to the next idea — where clarinets and violas offer a contrasting tranquility — smooth as silk. The solo piano continued with elements of Russian folk music, joined by the orchestra, building intensity before another solo piano display, and then a traditional buildup to a sweeping conclusion.
I glanced over at Nic’s joy and bewilderment. A standing ovation was followed, with encore performances of selections from Sebelius’s 13 Pieces for Piano, Op. 76, No. 2: Etude; Schubert’s “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” D. 118, arranged by Liszt; and Horowitz’s Variations on a Theme from Carmen.
Prokofiev’s debut of this concerto in 1913 did not go over quite as well. Some in the audience expressed displeasure at his ideas, hissed and rushed out. But Prokofiev expressed his displeasure at their poor taste, played an encore nonetheless, and fanned the flames. Sometimes a genius from one generation is misunderstood in his time but vindicated generations later by audiences and musicians of a different era. Such is the case with Prokofiez, who had the last laugh. Yuja Wang has her place in this saga. That she performs with the young musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra shows her generous nature and kind heart — she cares about the future of classical music.
If you are curious and like to travel, Wang will play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 again several times this season: Nov. 13 at The Philharmonie de Paris; Dec. 4 and 5 at The Konzerthaus, Vienna; and Dec. 12 at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. I highly recommend it.