Start your day in Wilton with GOOD To Go, GMW‘s highlight of quick stories, local announcements and events, things worth knowing and anything that helps make your Wilton day better. Have a news tip, item or something Wilton should know? Fill out this form to tell GMW.

GOOD To Watch/Attend: Upcoming Town Board/Commission Meetings and Events

Friday, July 3: Town Hall Offices Closed for July 4th Holiday

Monday, July 6: Board of Selectmen Meeting at 7 p.m. at Comstock Community Center, Rm. 31 and via Zoom [agenda] [Zoom link]

Wednesday, July 8: Water Pollution Control Authority Meeting — CANCELED

GOOD To Give Back(pack): Trackside Teen Leading Backpack Drive for Circle of Care’s Kids Fighting Cancer

Wilton High School student and Trackside Teen Center teen Elyse Pencu is spearheading a community-wide Backpack Drive to help children fighting cancer.

From July 1-15, Trackside Teen Center has joined forces with Circle of Care to help fill backpacks for children undergoing cancer treatment. They’re asking the community to pitch in and help lighten the load for families of these brave kids in preparation for the 2026-27 school year.

There are two easy ways to make a difference:

  • Visit Circle of Care’s Amazon Wish List to choose items that will be sent directly to Circle of Care.
  • Purchase any of Circle of Care’s wish list items (or similar items) and drop them in the outdoor bin by Trackside’s front door (15 Station Rd.).

GOOD To Remember: Former Wiltonian Looks Back on 1976 July 4th Parade Float

George Ebbert sent GMW a clipping from the July 2, 1976 “Bridgeport Post” about the float he and other Wiltonians built to commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial. Credit: George Ebbert

With Wilton about to celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary), we heard from former resident George Ebbert, who chaired a committee that made a float for Wilton’s parade marking the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976.

“It was to be a replica of the George III statue that once stood in Battery Park in New York, and for which Wilton has achieved some notoriety,” Ebbert wrote in an email to GMW.

That statue had been torn down in July 1776 and chopped into pieces, which were being sent to Litchfield to be melted into bullets for the Revolutionary army. But some of those pieces got ‘lost’ along the way, only to turn up on occasion in Wilton. (One such piece is in the Wilton Historical Society’s collection.)

“Creating a life sized prancing horse with rider atop and large pedestal was not an intuitive task. It took several months before I was finally satisfied with the basics. Fortunately as parade day approached, a bevy of talented Wiltonites came forward to help finish the details,” Ebbert wrote. “So on July 4, 1976, George was proudly displayed on the streets of Wilton. A flyer was created and distributed along the parade route to remind those watching of their heritage. Does anyone remember the little cannon on the float that fired black tennis balls into the crowd?”

The statue was the centerpiece for Wilton’s Bicentennial Ball held December 1976, even though it had been “ravaged” by some barn mice. And while the statute was sent to the town landfill the following year, it was recognized by Smithsonian Magazine, Ebbert said.

“Building the float was one of the many pleasant memories from my 20 years as a Wiltonite. Nancy and I have since migrated to Florida. I am now 92, of sound mind, in good health and await the call from the Wilton Town Fathers to begin work on the Tricentennial float, whatever that might be,” Ebbert added.

GOOD To Know: Traffic Info for July 4th Fireworks

Road traffic for the July 4th events will be particularly strict this year, with road closures and bridge work at Cannon Rd. and Honey Hill Rd. complicating typical detour routes. Wilton Police have issued specific details for people with parking passes at the lot surrounding the Wilton High School Sports Complex as well as pedestrian pickup directions.

Parking lots will open at 5 p.m., and Rte. 7 will close to non-passholders at 7 p.m. The fireworks display is expected to start around 9:30 p.m., weather permitting. Rte. 7 will reopen to normal traffic at 10:30 p.m. After the show, all lots will be directed along predetermined exit routes, and pedestrian pick up will occur only at Allen’s Meadow fields. 

Kristine Lilly Way is closed to traffic in the area of the tennis courts. Passholders are asked to enter the complex using the designated entrance for their selected parking lot. There will be no other way to access parking areas other than these listed below. No vehicles will be permitted into the event or parking area at the conclusion until Rte. 7 is reopened.

Cider Mill Parking Lot:
* Enter from School Rd.
* Exit: cars will be directed North on School Rd. to Ridgefield Rd.

Pump Station Lot:
* Enter from School Rd.
* Exit: cars will be directed south on Rte. 7

Tennis Courts Parking Lot:
* Enter from School Rd.
* Exit: cars will be directed south on Rte. 7

Accessible Parking (Tennis Courts):
* Enter from Catalpa Rd.
* Exit: cars will be directed north on Kristine Lilly Way, through the high school campus to Rte. 7 north

Wilton High School Junior Lot:
* Enter from Catalpa Rd.
* Exit: cars will be directed north on Kristine Lilly Way, through the high
school campus to Rte. 7 north

Board of Education Lot:
* Enter from Catalpa Rd.
* Exit: cars will be directed onto Catalpa Rd., through the high school campus to Rte. 7 north

Pedestrian Pickup After the Event: To pick up someone at the conclusion of the fireworks, enter the area from Rte 7. southbound by Olmstead Hill Rd. All vehicles will be directed to Allen’s Meadow Field where pedestrians may be picked up.