Russell Berrie Foundation honors difference makers with award

Race against the clock for deal on state and local tax deductions

Police: Truck carrying portable toilets collides with motorcycle in Sayville

NJDOH warns public of potential measles exposure at Shakira concert at MetLife Stadium

 Violent brawl at Deer Park Tanger Outlets raises safety concerns among shoppers

Police: 12-year-old boy fatally struck by pickup truck in Flower Hill

newyork

Emily Knapton

Mark7AML425_2025-04-25-07-22-12

It is finally Friday and it's time for Main Street, Connecticut. This is a chance to showcase our local towns and cities and the things they have to offer. This week we are in Fairfield. News 12 Connecticut's Mark Sudall is at the Fairfield Theater Company. What a great day for this, Mark. Oh, it is beautiful out here today, and they're hoping to have a big turnout tomorrow night here at the theater company for the pink pop-up party to benefit the Norma Free Breast Center. And joining me this morning is Molly Milano. Thank you so much for being with us. What do you want us to know about tomorrow night's event here? There's so much to know. I'll start. We are raising money for the patients of the Norma Free Breast Center. We are a fundraising arm of the Bridgeport Hospital, and what we do is we have events and sporting events all over town, and the money that we raise from these events goes directly to our patients, to our underserved patients who are unable to pay for their treatment, whether it be lack of insurance or no insurance or anything. So it's a really, really good cause, and we love doing it. So I know it's been going on for over 10 years now, this pop-up party and you're strong. You've raised tens of thousands of dollars for this, which is amazing. So tell me, are people going to dress up for this? So here's the deal. It's a 1980s prom theme. So if you're coming and you love a good dress up party, yeah, dress up. In 1980s prom garb and make sure you have really big hair, the hairspray, we'll see that it's going to be really fun. People will dress up. Yeah, I am. I don't think I have enough hairspray for that one. I don't know. I don't know. I feel we could slick it back. a weirdo, so I mean this is so important what you're doing I mean really changing lives. Yes, yes it is. We even have a couple of funds that we put money into for women who went and men, by the way men do get breast cancer too. We have these funds where if somebody is going through treatment and they are unable to. Work we can actually help pay their heating bill or their electric or get their groceries. It's a really good local charity that helps women right here in our town. So that's one of the best things you can feel good about when you come and support the Norma Free Breast Center where your money is going. It's going locally to help people that live in the same town as you and not a lot of. that that is really great and it's 7 o'clock tomorrow. So 7 to 11 tomorrow night you can buy tickets at the door. There are a couple of different ticket prices, but when you buy your ticket, your dinner and your drinks are completely paid for. We have two food trucks. We have the Mike Cusado band who's also local. Yes, they definitely are going to be 80s style styled up. I hear there might be. Outfit change. I don't know. I'm kind of excited to see what's going to happen. There's an intermission where I've got to get up and talk while they go back and change into more fun outfits. So we love them. Thank you so much for the time today, a great event and we hope that they have a great turnout coming up tomorrow night. Dara, it sounds wonderful. I'm just so glad that they didn't ask for my 80s prom picture, so that would be that would be a rough one.

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Mark8AML425_2025-04-25-08-26-03

It is finally Friday and it's time for Main Street, Connecticut, a chance to showcase our local towns and cities and the things that they have to offer. This week we are in Fairfield and News 12 Connecticut's Mark Suddall is at Ponakale Pasta. Mark, sounds like a great place. Oh, let me tell you what, there, the food smells amazing. Just look at these amazing dishes in front of me here and I'm gonna get to eat all of it. I can't wait. Joining me this morning is Stanton Lesser and Marty Levine. They're the owners of the restaurant. How did you come up with this idea? You've only been open for a few weeks, huh? First of all, welcome to Ponticali Pasta, Mark. Yes, we're glad to have you here. This is kind of Marty's idea to have a fine casual, all made in-house pasta that people can come and enjoy. Everything here is made in-house, including our pastas, and um. It was Marty's idea and we decided to open up here in Fairfield, and we've been open about 3 weeks and I think people are loving it and we're glad to have you here. Glad to have you try some of our pasta and the wine and come and enjoy yourself. All right, so what are the, you want to hold this? What are the dishes that you have here? I'm so this is our squid ink pasta again. The pasta is all made here. It's got shrimp and peppers and it's got a kick to it. Yeah, I'm gonna make a mess of that as well. This is tagliolini with lemon butter sauce and um yes uh-huh. Oh. Oh, And the, this is our rata pizza I like Barrata. It's a really good cheeserata from uh UC uh cheese Company in New Haven. Oh really, yeah. Mm mm mm mm. Now, Pardon me. Um, what I think is interesting that you do here, let me grab that, is, um, Not many restaurants do do the wine flight, but you have that, huh, right. Marty has curated all these wines. They're all from Italy, from small producers, and the idea is that you can come and find something that you like. Nothing is, you know, overly fancy. It's all by the glass, although you could buy a bottle. Very different grapes and Appalachians and things people might not have heard of, not typical Pinot Grigiochianti, which people are very familiar with, not that there's anything bad about those wines, but it's more a sense of discovery and, you know, wine appreciation and nothing intimidating about it. Just try flights of wine and find your favorite, and that's the go to you'll have when you come to. And where do you get the wines? Various distributors, one in particular out of Norwalk. He's an expert on Italian wine. He imports all this stuff from small producers, so I aligned with him as well as a couple of other distributors. I actually like the whites a little bit better. That's just me though. That's the whole point. You come and find. Thank you both for doing this this morning. Great stuff, Dara. I'm gonna see if I can maybe bring something back to the folks at the station, but I don't know the way things are going here might not be anything left. I hope there are leftovers, Mark. Absolutely please come share and I can just imagine how good that smells.

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News 12 is checking out all of the hot spots in Fairfield on this Main Street segment.

Main Street Connecticut: Showcasing the top spots of Fairfield

News 12 is checking out all of the hot spots in Fairfield on this Main Street segment.

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