Where Weston Goes When It Gets Cold: A Fireplace at Lachat and a New Piano at the Library
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"The Farm does not have a heated space for folks to gather in the winter months." Lachat Town Farm put that line in writing in the FAQ for its education center when it explained why it wanted to build a new building on Godfrey Road. The farm had looked at insulating and heating the historic Dairy Barn and decided it would ruin the barn's character. The first floor of the pre-Revolutionary David Godfrey farmhouse holds only a small crowd.
That problem shapes Weston's late fall more than most residents might guess. The town has two-acre zoning and no busy commercial boulevard, so there's no restaurant row to fill the evenings once the farm stands close. Between Halloween and the tree lighting, the calendar runs through a handful of public rooms. The newest of them were built or bought for exactly this purpose.
The week this post goes up shows the handoff. On Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, Lachat is holding an adults-only Halloween reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death." The reader is Daniel Gerroll, the British actor and Weston resident. Each night starts at 7:00 around the fire pit, with hot toddies, wine and beer from the Lachat Bar and Halloween chocolates from Westport's chocolatieree. At 7:30 the group walks out to the candlelit barn for the readings. Tickets are $35, and the event is 18 and over. You can register for Friday or for Saturday.
Once the readings end, the farm's November events move indoors to the Daniel E. Offutt III Education Center, the heated room the FAQ was asking for.
The Offutt Center opened on Sunday, September 3, 2023, with a ribbon-cutting. Weston Today reported that people around the farm had already started calling it "The O.C." Carol Baldwin, president of Friends of Lachat, told the outlet, "It's a lovefest!" The building has a large gathering room with a stone fireplace, a demonstration kitchen, an art studio and classroom, a pantry, public restrooms and an AV system.
The money came in stages. CT Insider's coverage of the opening describes an initial $2 million from Offutt's charitable trust, another $1 million matched by the trust once Friends of Lachat raised $1 million, and Town ARPA funds to finish the job.
The farm also set limits on the building. The Lachat Town Farm Commission chose not to allow private rental events anywhere on the farm, the new center included, partly in response to neighbors' concerns. The kitchen meets commercial standards because the Weston Westport Health District requires that for cooking classes where participants taste the food. The farm's FAQ still makes room for "a fundraising dinner, such as a farm-to-table event, to support the farm." That FAQ dates from when the building was still a proposal. If you're hoping to book the space for a private event, check the current policy with the farm.
So the O.C. is a public room. It isn't a party venue, and its November calendar shows what that means in practice.
Across town at the Weston Public Library on Norfield Road, the new arrival is an instrument. On Sunday, November 8, at 4:00 p.m., pianist Anthony Ratinov opens the Friends of the Weston Library's Sunday Soundscapes series. Weston Today reports that the concert will be the first public performance on the library's new Estonia grand piano. It's also a preview of Ratinov's upcoming recital at Carnegie Hall.
This is a return visit. Ratinov played Soundscapes two years ago in a program of Beethoven and Haydn trios. He studied at Yale and Juilliard and has won awards at competitions including the National U.S. Chopin Competition. Admission is free, but seats are limited, so reserve through Eventbrite. The suggested donation is $20 for adults and $10 for students, and it helps keep the series going.
Weston has no downtown music venue, so a free Sunday afternoon with a Carnegie-bound pianist on a new concert grand is about as close to a concert hall as the town gets.
| Room | Who runs it | What happens there this season |
|---|---|---|
| Fire pit and candlelit barn, Lachat Town Farm, 106 Godfrey Road | Lachat Town Farm | Poe readings, Oct. 30 and 31 |
| Weston Public Library, Norfield Road | Friends of the Weston Library | Sunday Soundscapes debut of the Estonia grand, Nov. 8 |
| Norfield Grange, 12 Goodhill Road | Listed on the Town calendar | Wreath Decorating Party, Nov. 23 |
| Offutt Center, Lachat Town Farm | Lachat Town Farm | Thanksgiving Community Feast, Nov. 26 |
| Weston Middle School pool | Town of Weston | Weekend public swim |
The pool belongs on the list for the same reason. It's one of the few heated public spaces in town open on weekends. Public swim runs Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the Town's October 2 bulletin.
Taken in order, the season moves into progressively warmer rooms as the weather cools:
Two of these dates need more than a line.
Molly Healey's Lachat event page lists her earlier work, including the Westport spot Manna Toast and the meal-delivery business Hemma Kitchen. It also says she plans to open Hemma Café in Weston Center in summer 2027. The page describes a Weston local who wants "a community meeting place where Weston residents can come to socialize, nourish themselves, and simply relax." It notes that hemma is Swedish for "home." The café is an announced plan with a target season, not an opening date. For now, the November 14 dinner is billed as a sneak peek of the menu.
That puts a farm-to-table fundraiser at Lachat on the farm's calendar right alongside a preview of what could become Weston Center's next everyday gathering spot. It also connects to another idea in town. Weston Today reported this month on a preliminary proposal to move the c. 1790 Old Post Office and General Store to the Weston History & Culture Center grounds, possibly for a coffee shop, gift shop and gathering place. We covered that building's backstory in After Weston's 250th Calendar Runs Out, a 1790 Building Is Still on the Table. Two separate efforts point toward the same missing piece: a casual, everyday place to meet in the center of town.
Lachat's feast is meant for anyone who would otherwise spend the holiday alone. The farm asks that it not be used for large groups of friends or big families, and registration is capped at four per group. The meal is served family-style by the fireplace in the Offutt Center. The farm provides turkey, sides and dessert, and guests are asked to bring apple cider or a bottle of wine to share. AMG Catering is preparing the food, with partial sponsorship from the Family of Brian Gordon and the Howard & Katherine Aibel Foundation.
Registration is $25 per person, children under 12 are free, and the table seats 75 at most. Sign up online or call 203-984-8403 by Friday, November 20. If cost or transportation is a problem, the farm points guests to Weston Social Services.
None of this could happen at Lachat before 2023. The farm's FAQ says it had no heated space for winter gatherings and no adequate public bathrooms, relying instead on porta-johns.
The Town's 2026 paving program is set to run through late October or early November, weather permitting. Asphalt Repair Solutions is doing the work, and the Town says to expect minor delays in work zones. The 13 roads on the list are Beaverbrook, Greenlea, Hidden Meadow, Deer Path, Bradley, High Meadow, Ladder Hill South, Narrow Brook, Scatacook Trail, Humble, Wildwood, Powder Horn Hill and Shinnecock Place. As of Patch's October 18 roundup, residents were still waiting to hear the order the roads would be done in. If your route to Godfrey Road or Norfield Road uses one of them, leave a few extra minutes on a weekday.
For more on how the farm runs in warmer months, see our earlier piece on Devil's Den and Lachat Town Farm, and our Weston neighborhood guide for the rest of town.
If you're weighing how a Weston home a short drive from Lachat or the library fits into this winter's market, Jennifer Lockwood would be glad to talk it through. Request a complimentary market consultation.
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