Just when they thought they had made it through the winter, Town Players of Newtown opened the doors to their theater and were greeted by a very unwelcome sight in their lobby. A pipe froze recently, creating damage to the interior of the Orchard Hill Road building. The lobby needs a little bit of assistance, as does the local theater group, by way of donations. The Players had to cancel their entire 2020 season due to the pandemic, and were already looking at a truncated 2021 season. As an incentive, those who make a donation or who purchase a season ticket will receive access to this year’s virtual shows. Visit newtownplayers.org for details.

Congratulations to Newtown’s Kyle Roche, a pitcher for the Franklin & Marshall baseball team in Lancaster, Pennsylvania! He tossed six innings, allowing only two hits and striking out nine in the team’s 7-0 victory over Johns Hopkins in the second game of a double header on March 21. We also see that Kyle was named to the @D3Baseball Team of the Week.

I’m thinking Todd Ingersoll should get a boatload of Good Egg Awards. Did you know that to date Ingersoll Auto of Danbury has donated over $100,000 to the NHS musical programs, as well as other school donations over the years? That is pretty awesome, so Todd, here you go: You are a Good Egg!

Even though the magic show with Ed Popielarczyk at Edmond Town Hall on Saturday is sold out, I am hoping the audience that attends will see a trick we’d all love... Can he make COVID disappear?

Is there anything more delicious than a fish fry? Don’t forget that the St Rose Annual Knights of Columbus Friday night fish fry continues this Friday evening, from 5 to 8 pm, and finishes up the Lenten season on Friday, April 2. Fish dinners (or the eggplant rollatini option) are just $10 per adult, $6 for kids. There’s no indoor dining this year, though — just curbside or online orders. Visit kofc185.org/fish-fry to order your meal.

You have most likely read the recent interviews in this paper with the three candidates for the 112th District special election, Republican Tony Scott, Democrat Nick Kapoor, and Independent William Furrier. Here’s a chance to perk up your ears and hear from them. The three candidates will be interviewed separately by WMNR Fine Arts Radio co-founder John Babina, a Monroe resident. The pre-recorded interviews will air on Sunday, April 11, at 6 pm. Voters can tune in to 88.1FM or stream the program via wmnr.org/listen.

Newtown Cultural Arts Commission emphasizes good news this week: The commission is planning a 2021 Newtown Arts Festival. The dates for this year’s event have been set for the weekend of September 17-19. There is a lot of planning ahead for the commission, but it’s welcome news as we continue to step into spring and cautiously exhale from a very long winter.

Lovers of local art have plenty to look at the next several weeks. The Society for Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) “Color in Winter and into Spring” show is on view at the Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, through the end of April. This is a great way for the art organization to show off the talents of its members — and some of the works are for sale. If you don’t get your fill of art appreciation after a visit there, stop by the C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, where celebrated Newtown artist Ruth Newquist has a collection of paintings on display through April 23. You’ll find Ruth’s works on the second floor of the library. (Ruth and her husband, the late Larry Newquist, founded SCAN 50 years ago, incidentally.)

The National Wildlife Federation reminds me that spring is the time to get to work on your pollinator-friendly gardens. Planting a variety of native plants, so that at least one kind is blooming in each season, brings nourishment for pollinators — like bees and butterflies — all year long. Check out more information on native plants for the area at nwf.org.

Fear not if you won’t have your taxes done in time for an April 15 filing date. This year, filing at the federal and state level has been pushed out to May 17, giving extra time to figure out taxes in this extra confusing year.

Did you miss buying cookies from the Girl Scouts at one of the sales held around town earlier this month? It is not too late. On Sunday, March 28, Girl Scouts plan to offer a drive-through opportunity at the Newtown Middle School on Queen Street, and are scheduled to have a booth at the Queen Street plaza Dunkin’ Donuts from 8 am to noon, according to the latest information received.

The Newtown Bee in-house “Peeps Diorama Contest” is in the works for next week. Employees are feverishly constructing dioramas featuring at least one Peeps rabbit or chick, for delivery by first thing Good Friday morning. Staff will vote for the favorite diorama, and the winner captures the rights to the Peeps Diorama Contest Trophy at their desk — and bragging rights — for one year. But we’ll be looking to Newtown Bee Facebook followers to join us for “The 2021 Peep-le’s Choice Award” on April 2. We will create and post an album of this year’s entries, and then voting will run from mid morning until mid afternoon that day. The Bee staff member whose diorama gains the largest number of Likes by the time polls close will pick up that second honor.

Now that the snow has (for now) disappeared, it’s easy to see the beautiful pavers lining the walkway at C.H. Booth Library. Many of the pavers honor or are in memory of a special person. This brick tribute is an ongoing fundraiser for the library, so if you have been puzzling over what to give Mom for Mother’s Day, Dad for Father’s Day, a high school or college grad, or just someone you want to celebrate — this is a great and lasting idea. Each brick requires a $100 donation, which is tax deductible. You can put in your order for a paver at chboothlibrary.org, selecting Give to the Library. Donations support the many programs and services the library provides.

I’ll be paving the way to next week’s column, word by word, so be sure to... Read me again.