Get out your red, white, and blue! The Flagpole Rally Committee is rallying around the flag, Tuesday, June 14, at 10 am. In celebration of the national Flag Day, as well as the 30th anniversary of legislation protecting Newtown’s flagpole from being removed from its middle of the road placement, Mae Schmidle, Dr John Reed, Dave Lydem, Tom and Toni Catalina, Dr Robert Grossman, Anna Wiedemann, and Corinne Speidel invite the public to join preschoolers from The Children’s Adventure Center in front of the Newtown Meeting House for a brief lesson on the history of the American flag. The children will have American flag key rings to hand out, too, as well as postcards of the Harrie Wood drawing that shows the erection of the first “Liberty Pole” in Newtown.

Rescuedirect.org, founded by SBC International businessman Peter D’Amico, Sr, to get needed funds into the hands of citizens of Hachinohe and Onahama, Japan, following the tsunami and earthquake, continues its fundraising efforts, Pete D’Amico, Jr, reminded me this week. One of the ways to support rescuedirect.org, (which, by the way, will send not only 100 percent of donations but an additional 10 percent donated by the senior D’Amico) is through the purchase of a T-shirt. The black T-shirts available in women’s or men’s small, medium, large, or extra large, feature a script heart over an all-red Earth, and are printed with the name of Hachinohe or Onahama. Pick one up when you are at the Newtown Youth Academy, or visit the website to order online.

It’s also not too late to take part in the Newtown Scholarship Association’s 19th Annual Jack Friel Memorial Golf Scramble, no matter how good or challenged of a golfer you are. The event takes place at the Whitney Farms Golf Club in Monroe on Monday, June 20. $180 per golfer gets you lunch, golf, reception, prizes, raffles, and dinner at The Stone Barn Restaurant. Call Mark Fries at 203-426-8507 or Jim Morley at 203-426-8966 for more details. The money raised goes to the scholarship fund, which to date has helped more than 1,000 students.

There was a great show of support for the proposed dog park in Newtown at Strutt Your Mutt, Saturday, May 21, up on the grounds of Fairfield Hills, I hear from Roseann Reggiano of Parks and Rec. “The weather was perfect — the sky did not open until the event was over. A great time was had by all and, all together, more than $5,200 was raised,” says Roseann. That brings the total amount raised for the park to just over $18,700. There is still a ways to go for the goal of $50,000 needed to build the Park and Bark, so don’t be shy about visiting newtownparkandbark.org to find out more and to make a donation. (Wouldn’t a cat park be easier? It would just be a bunch of soft chairs and scratching posts in a sunny field. I suppose we could throw in some couches for the cat owners to laze upon while waiting for their kitty’s playtime to be over.)

What’s all the ruckus on Scudder Road this week? Oh, it’s just Chris Taylor, tearing around as he prepares to head out for Mount Hood in Oregon. Chris has landed his dream job there, mom Angie tells me, as a chef at Timberline Lodge. So he is outta here! Good luck, Chris.

Jaime Vavrek stopped by to let me know that he raised $260 for Locks of Love this past weekend. Jaime set up a tent at a youth lacrosse tournament at the Yale Bowl on Saturday, and invited people to give him a summer haircut, one snip at a time. “Most people gave me $5, and I’d hold out a section of my hair and let them cut it,” he said. Jaime, a sophomore at Ohio Delaware University, had spent the school year growing out his hair. While there wasn’t quite enough hair to send to Locks of Love to be woven into one of the free hairpieces given to children who lose their hair through medical conditions, he is happy to be able to donate cash to the good cause. As you can imagine, random hair cutting does NOT culminate in a good look. (Newtown’s Heroes barbershop came to the rescue, though, and donated a free haircut to Jaime to shape up what was left of his hair after the event.) Now that his hair is stylish, Jaime is ready to get on with coaching at his Hot Shots Lacrosse Camp at Treadwell Park. The co-ed camp is for all skill levels, grades 2 through 8, and Jaime promises everyone will go home with all of the hair on his or her head. Sign up for Hot Shots through Newtown Parks and Rec.

I know that the warm weather makes it easy to just lay back in the hammock, but don’t forget to send any nominations to Nancy@thebee.com for the Good Egg Award. I know there are so many Newtowners out there who do so much and expect so little. Send me your idea for the person behind the scenes who deserves my Good Egg!

If boating, skiing, or swimming in Lake Zoar or Lake Lillinonah is your idea of a great weekend, take note that Saturday, June 11, from 9 am to 4 pm, traffic on Lake Zoar will be restricted one-quarter mile below Shepaug Dam for a disabled water-skiing event. The same restriction will take place July 9, July 23, August 6, August 27, and September 10. Lake Lillinonah will have restricted passage one-half mile south of Roxbury Falls, June 24 and 25, from 9 am to 4 pm, for a disabled veterans water-skiing event. So go slow, if you come upon these events.

Two local artists are being featured in the inaugural exhibition of a recently opened gallery and frame shop in Danbury. Sandy Hook resident Liz Alpert Fay and former Newtown resident (and still a neighbor, having moved only to Southbury) Kimberly Day Proctor are showing their nature-inspired art at Art & Frame of Danbury, 60 Newtown Road (within Route 6 Plaza), until July 23. While the collection is already on view, a reception is scheduled for Saturday, June 18, from 5 to 7 pm. Live music will be performed by Amanda Bloom and John Chapman, and all are welcome to catch up with Liz and Kim during the event or make time to see the collection between now and (almost) the end of next month.

This month is the full strawberry moon, coming up on June 15, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The moon was christened such, it seems, due to June being the month of the brief (but tasty) strawberry season. In Europe, the June full moon is known as the rose moon. Guess which flower is plentiful this month?

I’ll be hiding out beneath the shade of the nearest rose bush until the heat breaks. But I’ll keep my eyes open for any interesting goings-on around town. Be sure next week to… Read me again.