There is a lot happening this weekend. From the EverWonder-Land & The Mad Hatters Tree Party event presented by EverWonder Children’s Museum (reservations were requested by calling 203-364-4009) from 10 am to 2 pm at Holcombe Hill Preserve to The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary’s Catherine’s Butterfly Party, from noon to 4 pm on the Fairfield Hills campus, there is plenty just on Saturday alone. Catherine’s Butterfly Party will include adoptable animals, educational presentations, food trucks, live music, and so much more. And don’t forget: Check our online calendar, newtownbee.com/calendar, so you don’t miss an event. (If you are reading this on Monday and missed the June 10-11 Sandy Hook LobsterFest hosted by members of Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue ... You know now to check our calendar and read my column every week, of course. If you’re reading this before Friday, head toward Sandy Hook’s main fire station and enjoy a dinner at the two night event! Editor John Voket will be performing opening sets both nights.)

As the Friends of C.H. Booth Library continue to prepare for this year’s Annual Book Sale, it’s time to take a pause. Volunteers will be doing final prep and organizing for a few weeks, so donations will be put on hold from June 20 until July 17. The book sale is planned for July 8-12 at Reed Intermediate School. Buy books during the sale, and hang on to those you’ve been meaning to give away until after the sale. The Friends will be ready to start sorting and planning for next year soon enough.

Ahead of Flag Day, the local contingent of state representatives and our state senator have — in cooperation with BSA Troop 270 and Newtown VFW Post 380 — been collecting worn American flags so that they can be disposed of in a dignified and respectful way. The delegation has arranged for two drop-off locations, available through Monday, June 13: C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; and Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street. Residents may also drop flags off at the VFW Post on Tinkerfield Road. Flags can be dropped off in any condition throughout the year. The Newtown Bee office, 5 Church Hill Road, also maintains a year-round drop box for flags ready for retirement. Additionally, this Sunday — June 12, from noon to 2 pm — the legislators will join members of BSA Troop 270 for an in-person collection at C.H. Booth Library.

Newtown resident Elissa Altman recently announced that her James Beard Award-winning narrative blog, Poor Man’s Feast, has returned and is now on Substack. The relaunch is allowing the site to be interactive and create a community of paid and free subscribers. To learn more about Altman, visit her author website at elissaaltman.com.

I admit, I still haven’t walked off all my winter weight, but I hope no one mistook this bear, pictured near where Glen Road crosses Silver Bridge to Upper Paugussett State Forest and shared by Jim Wright, with my shiny black coat. Jim shared that this happy bear was enjoying lunch in his backyard last Friday. “It resembles, at least in size, the bear that passed through our yard last September, and the bear that came to lunch and destroyed two bird feeders two years ago in May. Maybe we will catch on that bird feeders in certain times of the year are not a good idea,” Jim said in an e-mail. My bet is the bear thinks bird feeders are a wonderful idea.

Did you know five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn — will be sequentially aligned and visible at dawn this month? According to NPR, this is the first time the planets have aligned since 2004, and after this month it will not occur again until 2040. On June 24 viewers should be able to make out the waning crescent moon between Venus and Mars. Far out.

Given the recent news from Byrd’s Books of Bethel, I’m telling myself I have at least two loyal readers at Housatonic Valley Waldorf School. Remember the bookmark contest I shared news about in May? All entries have been judged and selected, and winners have been announced. Winners receive 25 copies of their bookmark in print and a $25 gift certificate to the store. Each runner-up gets a $10 gift certificate. Winners included two Housatonic Valley Waldorf School students: Aum in the third to fifth grade category and Rowena, a seventh grade student, won the adult category. Congratulations to these readers and budding artists!

The celebration of United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, which marks “70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms, and the Commonwealth,” according to the Royal Family’s website, royal.uk, was marked everywhere … Including at Megan Circle here in town. The neighborhood attendees, pictured, gathered to cheer as “the queen” rode on the back of a pick-up truck around the cul-de-sac, hand up and waving of course. Megan Circle resident Debbie DeBlasi submitted the picture and information about the celebration. “Any excuse to have fun and start the summer!” she said.

An event offered by Two Coyotes Wilderness School, which has a location in Newtown at Sticks and Stones Farm, caught my eye. Until June 17, all members of the community can access a free streaming link to watch the documentary Inhabitants: An Indigenous Perspective. Then on June 18, Two Coyotes Wilderness School is offering an opportunity to join a facilitated community discussion on Zoom to discuss the film. “Our staff has been investigating our responsibility to those who were forcibly removed and yet continue to survive and struggle for sovereignty,” an announcement reads. “We offer this documentary screening out of a desire to welcome our wider Two Coyotes community into these conversations.” Inhabitants follows five Native American Tribes as they restore their traditional land management practices, according to an announcement. The streaming link is vimeo.com/553983264, and registration for the June 18 event is available online at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMesCTmzs8zFLgq-nD7m4p7jdjOrv28zAwDps-2K1q9j4Byg/viewform.

Marci Benitez, owner-operator of Fun Kuts, a hair cutting salon specializing in children’s cuts in downtown Sandy Hook, is semi-retiring after nearly 20 years and is seeking an ambitious entrepreneur to take over the business. She will continue to service her clients in Newtown and the surrounding areas and she plans to assist or coach the new owner while transitioning her clientele. Marci hopes to stay working in the shop on a part-time basis and pass it over into capable hands who will carry on the tradition of this local family business. Are you who Marci is looking for? Call 203-512-2670 or 203-746-7272.

The last day of the 2021-22 school year is almost here. I can practically hear the students (and educators) counting the days down to June 16. We wish all of Newtown’s students and educators a fantastic last week of school.

I’ll be as happy as a student leaving school next Thursday, if you promise next week to ... Read me again.