Holiday Festival Returning On December 4

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Nov 25, 2005 12:00 am

Family Counseling Center will present its 20th Annual Holiday Festival on Sunday, December 4.

For 2005Â the event will return to Main Street and the immediate area. In years past the festival had moved from some of its traditional Main Street locations to sites in Sandy Hook Center, Newtown High School, and even the hall at Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Departmentâs main station.

The festival will actually begin on Saturday, December 3, when the traditional Holiday Festival Gala is held. This black-tie event is open to anyone who would like to attend.

Tickets are $100 and need to be reserved through the Family Counseling Center; call 426-8013.

The Gala will take place this year at La Fortuna, on Route 6 in Bethel. This event is a formal dinner-dance with silent and live auctions, dancing to DJ selections and live music.

On Sunday, The Holiday Festival will run from 11 am until 5 pm.

Edmond Town Hall, at 45 Main Street, will host an antiques show and sale in the gymnasium and a Victorian Tea in the buildingâs third floor Alexandria Room. The antiques show will open at 10 am.

The town hallâs auditorium will host ballet performances of Nutcracker Suite at 1 and 3 pm. Live music will be offered during the Victorian Tea by recital students from Newtown piano studios. The town hall will also be home to the Family Workshop and Photos with Santa this year.

The Festival of Trees will return also, and will be set up at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street. Located in the lower meeting room, this event allows visitors to purchase raffle tickets and take their chance on trees and wreaths decorated by local groups (garden clubs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, families) and even a few individuals, along with gift baskets donated by local businesses.

Trinity Episcopal Church, at 31 Main Street, will present its annual Advent Service of Lessons and Carols at 2 pm.

Perhaps one of the strongest attractions for the festival is the tours of private homes, which is also returning for 2005.

Five homes have been slated for the festival, two of which are on Main Street and one is on South Main. The fourth house is on Summit Road and the fifth home is on Deep Brook.

Histories of these homes will be provided in next weekâs issue of The Newtown Bee.

Two of the homes will be treated as decorator showcases. Joan Yarrow, from Victoria Yarrow Home DÃ©cor, has completely refurnished the Summit Road home (and will add greenery for the day of the festival), while Diana Baxter, owner of The Painted Bungalow, will furnish and decorate the main floor of one of the Main Street homes.

For residents who have been wondering about the interior of The Dana-Holcombe House, the brand-new bed and breakfast at 29 Main Street, owners John and Jane Vouros will open their home and business for the festival. In addition to seeing the beautiful rooms and carefully selected antiques and decorative accessories that adorn the home, Holiday Festival ticket-holders will have a chance to see pieces from the Vourosesâ personal collection of Newtown-related items.

Tickets for the 20th Annual Holiday Festival are $23 for adults if purchased in advance, or $25 on the day of the festival. Tickets are needed for admission into all festival events.

Tickets for children and seniors are $20, regardless of when they are purchased.

Advance tickets are available until December 2 at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; Drug Center Pharmacy, 61 Church Hill Road; Family Counseling Center, 121 Mt Pleasant Road; The Little Green Barn, 4 Washington Avenue; Mocha Coffee House, 3 Glen Road; and Newtown Savings Bank branches in Newtown, Bethel, Monroe, and Southbury.

On the day of the festival, ticket vendors will be set up at Edmond Town Hall and C.H. Booth Library.

The Holiday Festival is the annual major fundraiser for Family Counseling Center, Inc., a not-for-profit agency that offers counseling, support groups, education, and referral services to individuals and families in the greater Danbury and Southbury area. These are all available regardless of a personâs or groupâs ability to pay.

Contact Family Counseling Center for additional information or ticket purchases at 426-8103.

BOE Listens To Health Insurance Presentation

NMS Career Day Gives Students A Glimpse Into Potential Careers

Fire Reports | December 10-17, 2025

NIC Finalizes Gathering Plans, Speaks With Parent Connection

Panacea Twixtmas Returning To Aquila’s Nest

My darling, You were the best GRANDmother a child could ask for. You created so many great memories & traditions that I have passed down to your Great grandchildren. You brought joy into every room you stepped into. Your laughter, singing, whistling and the signature Rockettes high kicks, is something I will always hold in my heart. There was something about walking into your home and being greeted by your beautiful face. *kiss on each check* followed by HELLOOOOOO Darling! The classical music playing softly in the background and your love and comfort made your home, a safe space. Somewhere, where love knew no boundaries. It was so much more than a home. I aim for the same in my home, and play the classic music 24/7, but it will never be the same. I pray I can be 1/4 of GRAND, you put in GRANDmother. You were so resilient. You found the positive in every situation. I look up to you so much. I remember begging Mom and Dad for years to change my name to “Carmen”. They didn’t officially change my name, but eventually started calling me “Carmenita” as I am a little you. THE HONOR. You were there for me, no matter the day or hour. You were always the one who would talk me through whatever hard situation I was going through. When my baby passed away, I refused to talk to anyone for 3 weeks. Except for you. You said to me “Better days are coming, babes. There’s always a rainbow after the storm”. Of course, you were right, because you are GRAND. I picture you in heaven dancing and laughing with him. Uncle Jay playing the money game with him. To know you are with your children again & with mine does bring me some joy. Twas the night before Christmas & New Year’s Eve, will never be the same. Another tradition you created. A memory that will last forever. Not just with me, but for generations to come. It may not be the same, but we won’t let it die. It will live on, in your name. To be your first GRANDchild was a blessing. I could write an entire book about you & all the amazing things about you. Even though we were robbed of time together & it makes me angry, I know I will see you again. This isn’t a goodbye, but a “see you later”. Just like we ended every phone call. Ciao, darling. I love you. MWAH MWAH! Love your GRANDchild, Kimberly aka Carmenita

Carmen Accashian

Unfortunately, I think this is likely to get worse, not better... Based on both public comments and private conversations, I’m increasingly concerned that our newly elected First Selectman intends not just to install these cameras, but to expand their use for full-blown enforcement and fines. Try getting a straight answer out of him about the long-term plan and you quickly realize how vague the responses become. Tyler is absolutely right to raise the privacy issue. These systems don’t just “catch speeders” — they quietly build a database of where we drive, when we drive, and who is in our vehicles. Once that infrastructure is in place, it becomes very easy to justify expanding its scope: more cameras, more locations, more uses, and eventually more automated enforcement. If Newtown is going down this road, residents deserve clear, written answers to some basic questions before anything is expanded: What limits will be placed on how and where cameras are used? Will footage and plate data be used only for speed enforcement, or for other investigations too? How long will data be stored, and who can access it? What safeguards will prevent vendors and individuals from abusing this information? Without firm, enforceable rules in place, “just a few cameras to slow traffic” can turn into something very different over time. I support safe roads — but not at the cost of unchecked surveillance and vague promises from our leaders. You try getting straight answers out of our First Selectman, myself and others have not been able to...

Discusses Traffic Cameras

I had to hold back a laugh at the idea that 7:30 pm is apparently such a late-night hardship that we’re already talking about moving meetings earlier. For a lot of residents, 7:30 is the earliest they can realistically get to Town Hall after work, family obligations, and the rest of real life. Shifting BOS meetings to 7:00 might make the calendar look tidier for those in the building, but it makes participation harder for the people who pay for the building. If the new First Selectman’s week is already booked solid and evening meetings feel like a strain, that’s not a reason to move the goalposts on public access—it's a reminder that the job is supposed to be demanding. Public service means accommodating the public, even when it’s inconvenient.

Walczak Adjusts To New Role, First Board Meeting

Real people were just in a frightening car accident. To immediately frame their misfortune as rhetorical ammunition against new housing — affordable housing included — feels less like concern for “health and safety” and more like opportunistically using a scary moment to support a pre-existing position. If we’re going to debate this proposal, we should do it honestly: with data on traffic volume, accident history, engineering recommendations, and the town’s housing needs, not by seizing on a single crash as proof that 300 apartments are inherently unsafe. Newtown deserves a thoughtful, fact-based conversation about growth, safety, and affordability — one that doesn’t turn other people’s bad day into a political talking point.

How Many Accidents Will It Take?

To add context that did not occur at the meeting would not be an accurate representation of the meeting and would, in fact, be editorializing to shape public opinion. The editorial staff here do not consider ourselves to be final arbiters of what the truth is (and if we did, it would make us partisan and biased), and we would need to provide a source for any dissenting information (sourcing all information in an article is literally Journalism 101). There were no such sources present at the meeting in question, and so it would not be appropriate to include such information in an article about the meeting. Dissenting voices appear in meeting stories when there were active participants with dissenting opinions, such as during public participation or the words of a council member who disagreed. It should be noted that the Interfaith Council, like many local boards and commissions, conduct meetings that are open to the public. This was not an article on the actions of the Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants, or on immigrants, or on ICE's actions in the community, where including other voices or perspectives would be appropriate. We appreciate your opinion, but we stand by our meeting coverage and consider this discussion closed.

NIC Speaks With Danbury Unites For Immigrants, Discusses 12/14 Service

<< Dec 2025 >>
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
30	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31	1	2	3

Log In

Holiday Festival Returning On December 4

Leave a Reply Cancel reply