One of the first Semiquincentennial events in town will take place this weekend, when Danbury Community Band performs “Icons of American Music” at Newtown Congregational Church. Presented by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission and Danbury Music Centre, the concert will honor the 250th anniversary of the United States — and the 90th anniversary of Danbury Music Centre — with a program featuring the music of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, and Dave Brubeck. The concert is free with contributions gratefully accepted. The church is at 14 West Street, and reservations are not needed.

Speaking of which, local organizers are still open to suggestions and requests for Newtown Celebrates 250 events. Two formal meetings with representatives from multiple clubs, organizations, and town leaders have been conducted, with many ideas already proposed. Residents, community groups, schools, civic organizations, historical societies, and local businesses are all invited to help plan and participate in upcoming events. The committee welcomes ideas for historical exhibits and lectures, community festivals and performances, student projects and educational initiatives, volunteer opportunities and civic programs, and local heritage tours and commemorative activities. A new tab has been added to the Town of Newtown website; visit newtown-ct.gov and click on the blue bar near the top of the page where it says America 250 (it’s been added to the bar that already hosts buttons for Government, Public Safety, Education, etc). If you’re interested in participating or submitting an event proposal as part of Newtown’s America 250 programming, that’s a good place to see if someone else has already proposed something similar. If you’d like to take the next step and start planning something, send a note to Newtowncelebrates250@newtown-ct.gov. Who knows? Maybe your idea will rise to the top of those raised during the next committee meeting, March 19 at Newtown Community Center.

This week I’m presenting a Good Egg Award to Caitlyn Bellesheim, a member of Trinity Episcopal Church’s youth group. Caitlyn recently reached out to the church’s Mission and Outreach Commission, looking for a volunteer project for her senior year of high school. Working with advisors at school and on the suggestion they consider the hydration project Dorothy Day Hospitality House had, Caitlyn reached out to local honor societies and offered a trade of one hour of community service time for two cases of water.

Caitlyn secured 80 cases of water for Dorothy Day House to give out to their clients. I understand Dorothy Day said it was the largest single donation they had received of water, a basic necessity many take for granted. Well done Caitlyn!

Congratulations to the 17 Newtown students with art accepted into the tenth annual “Artists on the Rise” exhibition at Brookfield Craft Center. I unfortunately did not hear about this year’s exhibit or its opening reception until after last week’s paper was published, but the good news is the presentation is on view until March 29. It features original art created by high school students in the greater Danbury area, with clay/ceramic, digital, drawing-mixed media, drawing-single media, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, sculpture-other than clay/ceramic, painting-mixed media, painting-single media, photography, printmaking, wood, and video all accepted.

Further congratulations to the following Newtown High School students who received honors last weekend: Camryn Egan, first place in Fine Craft; Sophie Almeida, second place in Ceramics; Violet Assante-LaBash, second place in Drawing; Estelle Skerik, second place in Drawing-Mixed Media; and Katherine Allen, third place in Painting. Eileen Celli, Maya Chaudhary, Alli Holden, Indigo Land, Lily McCrory, Chloe Minter, Lillian Padilla, Benjamin Raver, Payson Stewart, Jeremiah Stone, Nicole Temoche, and Morrigan Thorflyn all had work accepted into the show. Visit brookfieldcraft.org for details including gallery hours and location.

Additionally, if you haven’t made time to visit Still River Editions in Danbury in recent months, you are running out of time to check out “Brad Stanton: Light And Lines, Figuratively.” Brad’s photography has been featured in a one-artist exhibition at the gallery since mid-January. The former longtime Newtown resident was also the featured artist at Newtown Municipal Center a few months ago. The current collection, among his first presentations of fine art following a 45-year career in commercial photography, highlights figure studies. Still River Editions, at 128 East Liberty Street in Danbury, is open weekdays between 8:30 am and 5 pm.

As we head toward the end of this week and the second consecutive month with a Friday with 13th, I can’t help but be a little suspicious (but I can’t help it — black cat here!) or careful.

Bruce the Spruce is looking beyond the weekend. He doesn’t have time to slow down for silly superstitions, he’s already looking forward to St Patrick’s Day, as his current outfit shows.

As we head toward Easter I don’t think it’s too early to remind people: please do not gift rabbits to children (or anyone) as an Easter gift. Animals should not be gifts. Their arrival should always be carefully considered and planned for. The Hartford Courant had a good story last week about Everybunny Counts Rabbit Rescue, which was the first standalone, licensed domestic rabbit rescue facility in Connecticut when it opened its brick and mortar facility in Ellington in March 2024. Everybunny President Becky Bernardo told The Courant rabbits are being abandoned “at a high clip and about 75% of rescues come through animal control officers or caught by volunteers after the rabbits have been dumped.”

Domestic rabbits cannot survive in the wild. Rabbits are the third most popular pet in the country, and in Connecticut at least, rabbits have the same protections as cats and dogs. Last week the rescue facility was caring for 67 rabbits, with about 40 of them staying with fosters until space opens for them in Ellington. There are also rabbit rescue organizations in Seymour, Norwalk, and Stafford Springs. Between those four, the majority of in-state rabbit rescues reportedly fall to them because most animal control facilities are not set up to care for rabbits. As of March 2, Becky said, the four organizations had received over 300 rescue requests just since the beginning of this year.

So please, my friends, go with a chocolate bunny or a stuffed rabbit that can be snuggled with for years. I’d be thrilled with a catnip-stuffed bunny, but that’s me. I’d also be happy if you’ll just remember to hop this way next week, when it will be time to … read me again.