As one young friend of mine noted, it was “parking pandemonium” at The Creamery Monday evening. Apparently everyone in the next few counties has been chomping at the bit to get the first lick of delicious ice cream at Ferris Farm, after a long winter of denial. Cars packed the parking lot and lined Route 302 on opening day, as friends, neighbors, and visitors patiently waited in line, chatting and enjoying the bucolic view and changing their minds as the line wound closer to the order window. Bada-Bing? Maple Walnut? Cowabunga? Mint Chocolate Chip? So many flavors, so little time… but it is just the beginning of the season.

It is the season to be building, as well, and Steve Nicolosi, a partner with Hawleyville Development, LLC, tells me that his company is ready to put a shovel in the ground at 23 Barnabas Road in Hawleyville. The company has received approval for construction of a 7,500-square-foot mixed retail building there, and will be applying to the building department for a permit May 1. Why have my ears pricked up over this? Well, Steve is keeping his fingers crossed that the USPS is going to select 23 Barnabas as the new site for the Hawleyville Post Office. “The USPS has clearly shown interest,” said Steve, “and indicated they are in a rush. We have spent two years in negotiations, then finally got the documents for the procedure, and now they want to hurry up.” Because his company should be ready by mid-May to start building and are aiming to have the property ready for lease by late 2008, he is hoping that the postal service will prefer the Barnabas Road site over the others recently reviewed by the government agency. “They are supposed to decide within 120 days of getting the application, and that time is almost up,” he said. I sure hope they stick to their own rules and don’t keep Steve on pins and needles past the deadline. Could the ongoing saga of Hawleyville Post Office actually be coming to a conclusion? Stay tuned…

You don’t have to wait long for lots of fun and games, though. The grand finale of the C.H. Booth Shakespeare celebration takes place this Sunday, April 27, with a Shakespearean Festival for the whole family. Featuring live music by The Reel Thing with period dancing, a performance by the C.H. Booth Library youth group Mask & Wig Players, Elizabethan games, tasty treats like dried fruits, cheeses, and cider, and possibly, I hear, a visit from HRM Queen Elizabeth I, there will be lots to do and see. There will be great crafts to make, too, YA librarian Margaret Brown tells me, like a jester’s rattle and beautiful paper roses. I think I’ll saunter over and join in the merry making. The Bard would approve.

If Dave Lydem looked a little steamed on Wednesday afternoon, he had good reason to be. The town’s “Keeper of the Flagpole” had to pull another sign off the flagpole on Main Street, and this time someone had not only posted a pair of corrugated plastic signs on the historic monument, they had used a large amount of packing tape and wire (!!!) to secure the disrespectful postings in place. Residents (and nonresidents) are reminded that the flagpole is private property, and that it is illegal to post anything on that monument. Rest assured if there is ever anything hanging on that flagpole, it isn’t being done with permission.

Residents from all over Fairfield County, including Red Apple Committee members Sandy and Brett Whitton of Newtown, have been putting the final touches on The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s ninth annual Red Apple Awards Dinner, a gala that was scheduled there for Thursday, April 24. The Red Apple name acknowledges the important work of this fundraiser in supporting educational opportunities for underserved children. Funded in part by the Red Apple, the aquarium delivers hands-on science and environmental education to more than 130,000 students per year, making these programs available to schools and students who otherwise would not be able to afford them. I hope Sandy and Brett had fun during the event and were successful in helping more students enjoy the sights, sounds, and educational offerings of the aquarium.

The Newtown Police Department and Dunkin’ Donuts of Newtown are teaming up to support Special Olympics Connecticut’s Tip-A-Cop program. On Saturday morning, May 3, visitors to the Queen Street coffee and donut shop will find local police officers behind the counter, taking orders instead of giving them, and collecting tips for Special Olympics Connecticut (SOCT). There will also be SOCT torch run merchandise available for purchase during the event, with all proceeds to benefit SOCT. The Tip-A-Cop event is in preparation for the SOCT Summer Games and its Torch Run, which will be coming through Newtown on Friday, June 6, preceding the SOCT Summer Games that weekend. Want to help even more? There is a link from the Newtown Police Department’s home page (newtown-ct.gov; Town Departments, then click on Police), or contact Officer Jeffrey Silver at SilverPD@yahoo.com or 426-5841 to find out how you can help Officer Silver and the NPD become leading Torch Run fundraisers.

The recent topping off ceremony at St Rose — when the final I-beam, covered with more than 1,000 parishioners’ signatures and carrying an American flag and a Vatican flag, was welded into place and then topped with an evergreen tree — was a monumental moment in the renovation and expansion project at the Roman Catholic parish on Church Hill Road. For those wondering where the tree and flags went, project foreman Kevin O’Neall told me this week that everything is fine, the flags and tree just needed to be pulled down because with the decking down and the next section already covered, “We needed to move the flags and that tree.”

We send congratulations this week to the New Port Richey, Fla., area, where former Sandy Hook resident Ruth V. Smith is now residing. Seems the good Ms Smith has been selected as a semifinalist for the 24th Annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest coming up this weekend; by the time this issue of The Bee hits the stands, in fact, the show will already be in progress. The event, April 23–26, is at the Paducah Expo Center in Paducah, Ky., and will feature 395 quilts from around the United States and 11 other countries on display. Ruth’s quilt, “For the Love of Lilies,” measures 91 inches wide by 106 inches long, and represents hundreds of hours of work. It was chosen from a field of 798 quilts, and will compete this weekend against others in its field. Regardless of how the quilt finishes in competition, all semifinalist quilts will become part of the permanent collection in the Museum of the American Quilter’s Society. Good luck Ruth — your former hometown is rooting for you!

As always, I hope you will continue to root for me next week and…. Read me again.