Friends of Newtown Seniors (FONS) Oktoberfest on October 4 from 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm at NewSylum Brewing Company

Quassy Newtown Day September 30 & October 1 from 11am to 5pm

All-day ride passes are $10! 

Use promo code NEWTOWN23

For more information on hours, things to do, or any other information please visit: http://www.quassy.com

There’s something taking root and growing across the nation…kindness! KINDNESS GARDENS, an environmental initiative between the CVH Animal Sanctuary and civic organizations, work to beautify the land while increasing the number of truly native plants in each ecoregion. To date, 10,500 square feet of pollinator habitat has been planted in Connecticut and New York, creating a safe haven and source of sustenance for pollinators, beneficial insects and butterflies in community spaces.

In a new and exciting partnership, Kindness Gardens are now teaming up as an affiliate of Garden for Wildlife to expand the initiative to communities all across the country. Garden For Wildlife, part of the National Wildlife Federation, helps citizens discover how they can make a difference to wildlife and people by planting the right plants for the right place. "On behalf of Garden for Wildlife, I'm thrilled for our partnership with the CVH Foundation. We share a common mission to create pollinator and bird friendly habitats to help save our endangered wildlife, so the opportunity to leverage our plant donation program to accelerate the planting of Kindness Gardens across the country is a way to make a bigger impact much more quickly,” said Shubber Ali, CEO Garden for Wildlife.

The new affiliation was announced and celebrated in June at this year’s Catherine’s Butterfly Party. In addition to showcasing ecotype project perennials, Garden for Wildlife matched any plant purchased to establish a Kindness Garden at the children’s playground in Dickinson Park. As a result, Garden for Wildlife donated 225 ecotype pollinator plants for a Kindness Garden to be planted at Dickinson Memorial Park in Newtown, CT on Wednesday, September 27 from 10:00am-2:00pm.

Jenny Hubbard, President of the CVH Animal Sanctuary, looks forward to sharing these beautiful gardens with the Newtown community, “I am grateful Garden for Wildlife would launch our affiliation at Dickinson Park in Newtown. This beautiful space serves as the backdrop for so many quaint memories - times Catherine would meet friends, play with her brother or where she and I would spend summer afternoons. It’s seems most appropriate this beautiful park will now also provide safe haven to the endangered monarch butterflies and pollinators.”

Volunteers and representatives from the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary and Washington DC based, Garden for Wildlife, will be planting the Kindness Gardens and available for interviews. To learn more about the CVH Animal Sanctuary or Kindness Gardens, visit cvhfoundation.org.

This is an all-ages event! Monday, October 2 at 2 PM in the Periodicals Room.

Let’s create more warmth and smiles together. Join fellow book lovers and adorable Newtown-Strong Therapy Dogs in the Periodicals Room of the CH Booth Library! All ages are welcome. Please register in advance.

Memory Cafe at C.H. Booth Library on Monday, October 2 from 2 to 3pm.

A Memory Café is a welcoming place for people with changes in their memory and their care-partner(s) to come together.
Join us for some fall fun! We will craft, enjoy some seasonal refreshments, and meet Coco (a dog trained through the Exceptional Sidekick Therapy Dogs organization).

Please register in advance.

After a long hiatus brought on by the global pandemic, The Flagpole Radio Café returns to the stage for a full show, on September 23 at 7pm at the Edmond Town Hall, in Newtown, CT with guest artist Grammy Award-Winning singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III.

Tickets are now on sale at www.flagpoleproductions.org. All tickets are $45. If further information is needed, please contact Martin Blanco at info@flagpoleproductions.org.

The Flagpole Radio Café is an evening of engaging music and compelling comedy performed by an ensemble of local artists and changing guest artists. The ensemble comprises musicians Jim Allyn, Rick Brodsky, Howie Carlough, Cadence Carroll, Chris Durham, and Francine Wheeler, and actors Martin Blanco, Barbara Gaines, Kate Katcher, and David Wheeler

 Producer Barbara Gaines remarked, “We were on the cusp of presenting an anniversary show with Peter Yarrow when the world shutdown. In the wake of the pandemic there was uncertainty everywhere, but in our hearts, we had confidence that The Flagpole Radio Café would return. It may have taken longer than we expected, but we are so happy to be back.”

Producer Martin Blanco added, “Earlier this year, Barb Gaines and I saw Loudon Wainwright in a cabaret style show Kip and Sylvia Tonight on D Deck. The show was written by Tom Leopold who was a Flagpole… guest artist in 2019. Loudon was so excellent and versatile, that we both thought when Flagpole… comes back, he would make an outstanding guest artist. The time is at hand, and we are thrilled to welcome Loudon (our second Wainwright as his sister Sloan performed several years earlier) to our show and the historic Edmond Town Hall. Going forward, we should endeavor to have a different Wainwright appear on the show every year.”

 He continued, “This year, we are also participating in The Newtown Arts Festival. I was a member of the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission when both The Flagpole Radio Café and The Newtown Arts Festival were created. The two projects were never linked, but they sprang from the same impulse to cultivate world class arts events in Newtown. I am happy to officially have Flagpole… participate in this dynamic and ever-growing festival.”

Loudon Wainwright III was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1946. He wrote his first song in 1968, “Edgar,” about a lobsterman in Rhode Island. He studied acting at Carnegie-Mellon University but dropped out to partake in the Summer of Love in San Francisco He came to fame when “Dead Skunk” became a Top 20 hit in 1972.

His songs have since been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, his son Rufus Wainwright, and Mose Allison, among others. Wainwright has recorded 27 albums, including his 2009 Grammy Award-winning High Wide & Handsome.

In 2022 Loudon released Lifetime Achievement, an album of 15 original songs, that established his singular talent as our foremost six-string tragicomedian, not only undiminished, but hitting new heights. The orchestration varies from solo performance to trio work with his longstanding musical cohorts, Chaim Tannenbaum and David Mansfield, to Nashville and Memphis-style little big bands, to a full-blown string arrangement by Rob Moose. Loudon puts his latest achievement in the context of a lifetime of music making this way: “When I made my first record for Atlantic in 1969, I wanted to make not only a recording, but a document that captures a moment. Now, fifty years later, I guess I still want to make a testament of songs, and I like to think they might last a while.”

In October of 2020 Loudon unveiled the album I’d Rather Lead a Band, in which he is featured as a vocalist with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks. The 14-song collection of classic songs from the 1920s and ‘30s was widely acclaimed. During the pandemic, Wainwright produced a number of virtual shows, including The Special Relationship (presented by the Royal Albert Hall) and The Great Unknown, a musical tribute to his friend, the late George Gerdes. Also featured in that show were Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, and the members of Spinal Tap.

In Fall 2018, Loudon released Years in the Making a 42-song treasury of rare and unreleased “Loudoniana.” This 2-disc, 60-page hardbound audio-biography of his 40-year career includes orphaned album cuts, lovingly-made lo-fi home recordings, radio appearances, demos, live performances and beyond. It features appearances by Kate McGarrigle, Suzzy Roche, Bill Frisell, Van Dyke Parks, Chaim Tannenbaum, David Mansfield, and the Wainwright children Rufus, Martha, Lucy, and Lexie.

In 2017, Wainwright published his memoir, Liner Notes (Blue Rider Press), which led to appearances on Fresh Air with Terry Gross and WTF with Marc Maron. The New York Times said the book “makes your heart wobble on its axis.”

Wainwright also created a one-man theatrical show, Surviving Twin, which combines his songs and the writings of his late father. Initially developed as part of University of North Carolina’s Playmakers series, it focuses on fatherhood—both being a father and having one—and also explores the issues of birth, self-identity, loss, mortality, fashion, and of course, pet ownership. Surviving Twin has been performed in limited theater engagements and is available as a Netflix special, produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Christopher Guest.

Additionally, Wainwright has co-written with songwriter/producer Joe Henry on the music for Judd Apatow’s hit movie Knocked Up, written music for the British theatrical adaptation of the Carl Hiaasen novel Lucky You and composed topical songs for NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered and ABC’s Nightline. An accomplished actor, he has appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Christopher Guest, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe, and Judd Apatow. Wainwright has also starred on television in M.A.S.H. and Undeclared, and on Broadway in Pump Boys and Dinettes. More recently, he appeared in the film Pleased to Meet You (with fellow music legends John Doe, Aimee Mann, and Joe Henry), and the television series, Mosaic, directed by Steven Soderbergh. 

MONARCHS, MEADOWS, & MORE at the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary on September 24, 2023. 

From butterflies, bees, insects and birds, learn the incredible attributes of these pollinators, the plants they need to survive, and how we can all protect these dwindling species.

Learn from the very best experts in the field…a rare opportunity to meet one-on-one with the top entomologists, ornithologists, lepidopterists and pollinator protection organizations in the state.

• Collect monarch migration data by tagging monarchs. 
  Monarch Watch, a national citizen science will be leading tagging and release efforts at the sanctuary. Did you know monarch butterflies are on the endangered species list or that only 3-5% of monarch butterflies survive in the wild? Monarch tagging helps scientists track these precious pollinators in hopes of improving their migration journey now and into the future. One of our tagged monarchs was even spotted all the way in Florida!
• Explore the world of butterflies! 
  Connecticut butterfly specimen displays from Peabody Museum and Monarch marking from expert Victor Demasi, Lepidopterist. A world-renowned superstar in butterfly expertise, Mr. Demasi has been cited in numerous articles, studies & publications while his artwork can be found on murals and private collections.
• Get in the thick of it!
  Meadow net sweeping and insect discovery with Entomologist, Dr. Rayda Krell. Gather the meadow creatures and learn how to identify which insects make the sanctuary meadows their safe haven and why they are so important.
• Get out your binoculars (or borrow ours) and “Explore the birds that call the sanctuary home”
  Ken Elkins of CT Audubon’s The Coastal Center at Milford Point. Learn how birds assist in pollination, their migration schedule, and how many different species reside at the sanctuary.
• Up Up and Away!
  Launch pollinator plant seed bombs into the air that scatter across our meadows
• And that’s not all…get crafty at our art station!
• Local artist Kim Hossler will teach drawing pollinator flowers and seed heads
• Butterfly Puppet Making by Adelka Polak of Sova Dance and Puppet Theater*
• Catherine’s Craft Corner – create your very own butterfly or insect masks
• Bring it from our Sanctuary to yours 
• Protect Our Pollinators selling native pollinator plants for sale
• Homegrown National Park

Free for all ages. All participants must register. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Cancellations due to weather will be posted on our website.

Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, 8 Commerce Rd Newtown

Today officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Congratulations to Sandy Hook resident Samantha R. Hatcher and Newtown High School students Andrew J. Arena and Adrian D. Totir, for achieving this esteemed honor!

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 320 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence. 

Learn more here

Voices Reunion Concert at Edmond Town Hall on Thursday, September 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. 

Voices, Atlantic Recording Artists, will perform progressive rock music from well-known artists, and original compositions.

Opening for them is The New Desperation.

Learn more and purchase your tickets: $15 in advance and $20 at the door -  click here

Newtown First Selectman Rosenthal is seeking residents to volunteer to fill a vacancy on the following board:

4th Annual Scarecrow Contest 

Lights Out CT on Thursday, September 14, 6:00 PM - in-Person and via Zoom

Millions of birds pass through Connecticut every spring and fall on their way to and from their summer nesting grounds. Because our state is located along the Atlantic Flyway, many birds use our shorelines and green spaces to rest and refuel during their trip.

But light pollution has wreaked havoc on our night sky. Artificial light emitted by our homes, buildings, street lights, bridges, and other structures can confuse and disorient birds, causing them to land near buildings, crash into windows, and/or circle around for hours until they drop from exhaustion. The result is catastrophic: Nearly 1 billion bird deaths in North America each year.

Craig Repasz, our presenter, is a Co-Found and Co-Chair of Lights Out CT, advocating for legislation on the state and local level as well as educational outreach across the state. For more information: www.lightsoutct.org

 Register to save your seat(s) in the room and to receive the Zoom link: chboothlibrary.org

C.H. Booth Library invites you to read to a dog on Monday, September 11 at 2 PM 

Let's create more warmth and smiles together. Join fellow book (or magazine) lovers and adorable Newtown-Strong Therapy Dogs in the Periodicals Room of the CH Booth Library! All ages are welcome. Please register in advance.

Trucks are rolling again on Labor Day!

Newtown F.A.I.T.H. Food Pantry volunteers will be walking the parade route asking for donations to stock their shelves! 

Monetary donations are always welcome or choose from the suggested list of needed items.

Click here to view the requested items. 

An evening of music to benefit Ben's Lighthouse, with special guests and a feature performance by Molly Ringwald on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:00 pm.

Front row VIP ticket includes a post-show champagne toast with Molly Ringwald.

Presented by Ben's Lighthouse

Purchase your tickets HERE.