This weekend in Norwalk: Ben Stiller behind the soda table at Stew Leonard's, Benny and the Jets closing the beach series, and free backpacks at the library

Morning, Norwalk. Back to school season has arrived in the form it always takes here, which is a lot of people handing out backpacks. Ben Stiller is doing a meet and greet at Stew Leonard's on Saturday afternoon, which is a sentence that reads strangely until you remember he has a soda brand now. The Third Taxing District closes out its Sunday concert season at Calf Pasture with an Elton John tribute band. And the library is handing out free backpacks on Saturday, which is the least glamorous and most useful thing on this list.

Best for families this weekend: the free backpack giveaway at the Norwalk Public Library on Saturday from noon to 3 PM, and Robert Rivest's mime and storytelling show at the same library Thursday afternoon, free and built for kids who cannot sit still.

The Sheffield Island Lighthouse ferry, departing 90 Water Street (South Norwalk). Two sailings a day at 10 AM and 2 PM through August 30, roughly three hours round trip with about an hour and a half on the island. The Seaport Association wants you at the dock 30 minutes early, and on a boat that is the only way back off an island, that is less of a request than it sounds. Every passenger needs a ticket regardless of age. Ticketed, all ages, outdoors. Details.

90 minute guided house tour at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Avenue, 2 to 3:30 PM, running through September 6. The long version of the tour, which is worth it if you have never actually been inside the thing you drive past every week. Ticketed, all ages, indoors. Details.

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Unearth a Story with Robert Rivest at the Norwalk Public Library, 1 Belden Avenue, 3 to 3:45 PM in the Full Auditorium. Rivest bills himself as The Human Cartoon and works in mime, physical comedy and improv, building stories out of whatever the room throws at him, which this summer means dinosaurs and paleontology. Free, families welcome, indoors. Details.

Mahjong for Beginners, Session 4 at the Norwalk Public Library, 1 Belden Avenue. The fourth session of the summer run, and the tables have regulars by now. Beginners are still the point, so a late start is fine. Free, adults, indoors. Details.

Next Stop Comedy at Spacecat Brewing, 57 Chestnut Street. A touring standup showcase in a brewery taproom, which is the correct venue for it. Ticketed, 21+, indoors. Details.

Speed Dating, ages 30 to 35, at Jacob's Pickles, 100 North Water Street (SoNo). Structured, finite, and over in an evening. Ticketed, 30 to 35, indoors. Details.

Wall Street Place is finally letting people move in, roughly twenty years after the project started. Neighbors have called the half built, insulation wrapped shell at 61 Wall Street the Tyvek Temple since about 2017, when the original developer died and construction had already stopped. The project dates to 2004 and has collected foreclosures, lawsuits and a bankruptcy along the way. It brings 155 apartments plus retail to a block that has been waiting on them since before some of the new tenants could drive. Source: The Hour.

An outside engineering firm reviewed the Manresa Wilds traffic plan and told the city to move the guard gate. Creighton Manning, with project manager Amanda LaRosa, recommended pushing the construction gate farther onto the site so trucks stop stacking up on public roads, requiring monthly construction traffic reports to the city, studying a roundabout on Longshore Avenue, and running a pedestrian crossing study on Woodward Avenue. The number that explains the concern: a projected maximum of 586 vehicle trips per hour on a weekend evening, more than one and a half times what Woodward Avenue carries on a weekday evening now. The Turbine Hall event space alone is drawn at 90,000 square feet, with room for 18,000 standing. Build out runs at least a decade. Source: NancyOnNorwalk.

The plaza in front of police headquarters is on its way to being named for Harry Rilling. The Police Commission voted unanimously this week to approve naming the plaza at Monroe and South Main for the former mayor, after the City Council's Land Use and Building Management Committee did the same on August 5. Police Chief James Walsh cited "exceptional service, leadership, and lasting contributions." Mayor Barbara Smyth put it more plainly: "He's really dedicated his life to the City of Norwalk." The full Council still has to hold a public hearing before it is official. Source: NancyOnNorwalk.

Ben Stiller at Stew Leonard's, 100 Westport Avenue, 1 PM. He is here for Stiller's Soda, his own brand, and Stew Leonard's is calling it a meet and greet and the first stop of a retail tour. Stew Leonard Jr. met him at the Yonkers store last December and came away calling him down to earth, which is the kind of review that gets you booked in Norwalk. Go early. That store was built as one winding one way path, which is charming until 500 people want to stand in the same spot. Free, all ages, indoors. Details.

Books, Bags and Beats back to school mixer and backpack giveaway at the Norwalk Public Library, 1 Belden Avenue, noon to 3 PM in the Full Auditorium. Free backpacks, music, and a room full of parents doing the same errand you are. Free, families welcome, indoors. Details.

Cruise and tour to Sheffield Island Lighthouse, departing 90 Water Street (South Norwalk). The guided version, with the lighthouse tour included rather than just the ferry ride. Ticketed, all ages, outdoors. Details.

Sea Ray Showcase at MarineMax Norwalk, 130 Water Street (South Norwalk). A boat showcase on the water in a city that takes its boats seriously. Free to look, all ages, outdoors. Details.

Benny and the Jets at Calf Pasture Beach, 1 Calf Pasture Beach Road (East Norwalk), 5 to 7 PM. This is the last one. The Third Taxing District's Sunday series ends here, an Elton John tribute band on the sand to close out a season that ran from July 12 and skipped a week in early August. There is no rain date, and there is no next Sunday either, so the usual "we'll catch the next one" does not apply. Bring a chair. Free, all ages, outdoors. Details.

AuthorSpeak with Dr. Anthony L. Oliver at the Norwalk Public Library, 1 Belden Avenue. The library's author series, in the room where they do these well. Free, adults, indoors. Details.

The city's 12th tax sale since 2003 is Monday, August 24 at City Hall, 125 East Avenue. Norwalk had collected $5.2 million in back taxes ahead of it, which is the part that actually matters. Details.

The 48th Oyster Festival returns to Veterans Memorial Park September 11 through 13, with Lita Ford on Friday, Parmalee on Saturday, and JUMP: America's Van Halen Experience on Sunday. Details.

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Cooper

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