Cultural Events

Local Semiquincentennial Events Continue

Published: Jul 17, 2026 9:55 am

While the apex of the 2026 Semiquincentennial celebrations occurred ahead of and on July 4 — coinciding with the adoption of The Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress — local events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of this country’s founding continue.

Admission is free for all events unless noted.

*Movie Night Under The Stars will then be presented Thursday, July 30, at 8 pm, on the fields of Fairfield Hills, where a patriotic outdoor screening of Disney's Miracle will be offered. Popcorn and snacks will be available for purchase. Attendees will need to provide their own seating.

Newtown Community Center and Newtown Police Department will then co-host National Night Out, returning to Fairfield Hills on Tuesday, August 4. From 5:30 until 7:30 pm, all ages will be invited to the annual event that celebrates community, this year with an America 250 theme.

Attendees will meet local first responders and explore vehicles, dance to DJ selections, and take part in family-friendly activities including face painting and crafts, view K-9 demonstrations and more. There will be giveaways and at least one food truck on site.

Booth Library Events

For younger residents, C.H. Booth Library has two Colonial Cooking classes planned this month. Created for ages 7-11, the 60-minute classes feature common dishes prepared by Colonial families over 250 years ago. Programs begin at 2 pm.

Both are full but waitlists have been started. Visit the library, at 25 Main Street, to be added to the waitlist. Parents must remain within the library during these programs.

Ginger Molasses Cookies and Baked Apples is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21; Johnny Cakes and Mac & Cheese is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28.

“The First Ladies and Their Styles,” will be presented by Toni McKeen on Tuesday, July 21, at 7 pm via Zoom.

JFK once famously said "Nobody seems to care what Lyndon and I wear" at a Dallas breakfast. With all the attention on the 250th anniversary of this country, and the Founding Fathers, McKeen thought it would be fun to focus on the First Ladies and their styles, including their wedding gowns.

Registration is required and available at chboothlibrary.org.

C.H. Booth Library is also presenting a special exhibition. “Newtown: An American Town,” in the Mary Hawley Gallery and Annex third floor, celebrates America's 250th birthday by exploring the intersection of local and national history through the words of The Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address.

Residents are invited to become a part of the exhibit by sending their picture to be added to a growing collection of "The People of Newtown" featured on one wall within the exhibition.

NCAC Exhibits

Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC) is presenting two exhibitions at Newtown Municipal Center this month.

“Newtown in 1776. Celebrating the Nation's 250th anniversary," a collaborative effort with Flagpole Photographers Camera Club and local photographer Bill Glass, opened July 1. The exhibition presents small snippets of what it was like to live in Newtown in 1776 through photographs, a multi-media collection of posters, and QR codes that connect with Newtown Historical Society’s website.

The exhibition is on view weekdays until July 31.

A second exhibition, “History & Current Quilting — With The Quilt Shop by Lois” is also being presented by the cultural arts commission this month, in display case at The Municipal Art Gallery.

‘A Music Event’

Newtown Congregational Church will host a special event in October.

“Our Country’s 250th Anniversary: A Music Event” will take place Sunday, October 4, at 2 pm, at the West Street church.

The event will include performances and sing-alongs of patriotic music and contemporary American music. Readers will also share portions of famous historic speeches.

Local musicians and readers have been contacted; additional volunteers to lead the music and/or read speeches are welcome. Contact Rich Collins at 203-240-7465 if interested.

Light refreshments will be offered.

Donations will be accepted and forwarded to a veterans organization TBD.

Volunteers are also sought to help with set-up and/or breakdown before and after the presentation. Contact Collins for more information.

On Tuesday, July 14, ten days after America’s 250th birthday, local families gathered at Newtown Community Center for a special “Crafternoon.” Emily Minto proudly shows off the glitter jar she made that afternoon. —Bee Photo, Cross

Nolan Coelho works on his rocket shop, one of the crafts available to children to make during the July 14 program at Newtown Community Center. Attendees were also able to make a star with ribbons if they wanted. —Bee Photo, Cross

Jocelyn Foster made a rocketship and a glitter jar during the July 14 crafternoon that continued local Semiquincentennial observances. —Bee Photo, Cross

On Saturday, July 11, The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary invited the public to its blueberry patch and gave out free pints of blueberries to those who stopped by. Those who received the free pint also received a recipe for a colonial-era blueberry grunt. Pictured from left is CVH Animal Sanctuary President and CEO Jenny Hubbard, CVH Events Manager Jillian Reilly, and Amanda and Ben Tsai. —Bee Photo, Glass

While the apex of the 2026 Semiquincentennial celebrations occurred ahead of and on July 4, local events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of this country’s founding continue.

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Bruce, welcome to the conversation. Your recent statement after the storm — admitting that you should have communicated “faster, more completely, and more personally” — was fine as far as it went. But this is not just about one storm. It is about a pattern. You ran on openness, responsiveness, and transparency, even saying that “evasive answers or silence are unacceptable in government.” The problem is that Newtown residents have been dealing with exactly that silence from you since you were elected. Newtown’s Emergency Management page says the town, together with the Office of the First Selectman, provides “critical public information and warning” during emergencies. The town also rolled out CodeRED cellphone registration on March 24, 2022 so residents could receive emergency information directly. So where were you when police were searching for missing 23-year-old Kateri Doty in January? Where were you during the brush fires near the Newtown town line in April? Where were you on April 22, when state police and Newtown police were searching for two people who fled an I-84 crash and a canine search moved into the Church Hill Road area? Residents should not be hearing about a missing person, wildfire conditions, or police tracking dogs moving through backyards from Facebook, neighbors, or kids in town. They should be hearing from their town government. This is not really about whether you personally press the CodeRED button. Or how many task forces you have created. It is about leadership. You are the First Selectman. You are responsible for making sure the town communicates clearly, quickly, and visibly when public safety is involved. So yes, it is nice that you have finally acknowledged the problem. But the public did not need this storm to figure it out. We have been saying it for a long time. Bruce, you were missing when the town needed to hear from you. The question now is whether this storm finally woke you up, or whether this is just another late apology followed by more silence.

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Local Semiquincentennial Events Continue

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