Introducing the Westport Chair Trail!

UPDATE: Join us for Westport Chair Trail Opening Night & Community Stroll on May 10, 6-8pm at the Heritage House! Thanks to you, our generous donors, we have met our campaign goals and built nine chairs for the inaugural Westport Chair Trail '24 summer season! Any additional donations will support artists' paint reimbursement, crosswalk paint, and promotional materials like rack cards and postcards! Donations can now be made directly via https://www.gowestportny.com/ and designated "Safe Roads." Thank you!

The webpage and trail map are now live! https://www.gowestportny.com/chair-trail

Our Phase One project budget is $2,500 to cover the construction of up to six extra-large Westport chairs, plus paint and any installation costs. Unused or extra funding received from this fundraising phase will be utilized for Phase Two, as well as monies held for ongoing five-year annual costs to maintain the chairs after installation. Thank you for contributing to….

A Westport Safe Roads & Arts Initiative featuring a Westport Chair Art Stroll

Westport-Wadhams is utilizing arts and a groundswell of community stakeholders to install custom community-painted Westport Chairs at key locations in town, creating both authentic Westport-style pride of place for locals and surprise and delight for visitors alike! The 2024 launch of the Westport Chair Trail and future hopes of installation of vibrant crosswalk designs are part of a multi-layered, multi-year effort to calm traffic down through the enhancement of Westport’s visual and cultural experience, following in the footsteps of excellent projects established by the Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance and its Flowers Plus Committee.

PHASE I: A Westport Chair Trail will feature an art “trail” of larger-than-life Westport Chairs that are custom painted by the community. The Westport Chair Trail serves as a prominent town-wide reminder not to rush, but to move slow & steady through Westport. It will also be a pedestrian-friendly attraction (and an amazing photo-op for tourism!) available as an online/downloadable trail map that features the locations, the artists’ statements, and Team themes. Each chair’s design and installation is the responsibility of the selected Teams of community members to bring it to life.

The culminating celebration will be a community-wide Opening Night unveiling event starting with opening remarks at the Heritage House. The community is invited to then collectively participate in the inaugural Westport Chair Trail by touring the sites together, hearing from teams/artists.

Timeline: Late-winter chair construction commissioned and team designations (who & how many), Spring: Teams receive chairs and paint, Late Spring–Early ‘24 Installation & Celebration. Save the Date: Friday, May 10, Opening Reception at the Heritage House!

The Westport Chair Trail is intended to increase drivers’ awareness and pedestrian safety, building a more Walkable Westport while adding to our town’s artful beauty, touching on our past, present, and future. These chairs will be placed throughout town from Spring to Fall for several years. 

Your financial contribution through GoFundMe will help achieve this goal! If you prefer to send a check, it can be made out to:

Contact Jen Williams if you’d like to join or lead a community team to paint a chair, recommend a location to place a chair in town, or make any other suggestions! Watch Facebook’s “What’s Happening in Westport” for progress updates.

Thank you!