Cultural Events

Historical Society Holiday & Beyond Events Planned

Published: Dec 05, 2025 9:36 am

Newtown Historical Society will hold its Holiday Open House in conjunction with Newtown Holiday Festival on Sunday, December 7.

From noon to 4 pm, The Matthew Curtiss House at 44 Main Street will be dressed in timeless holiday décor. Visitors will be invited to sit by the fire and enjoy a cup of warm cider.

The society will also formally introduce its new holiday ornament, a replica of The Matthew Curtiss House. The ornaments are $15 each and supplies are limited.

This is a free event. A ticket for the Holiday Festival is not required to enter, however, donations to the society will be gratefully accepted and will help maintain the historic house museum.

Cozy New England Tea

Readers are invited to a Cozy New England Tea hosted by Newtown Historical Society on Saturday, January 17, 2-4 pm, at Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street.

Bigelow Tea is co-sponsoring this event and will have a speaker offer a presentation on the history of tea and share samples. There will also be a presentation on the part the meeting house has played in Newtown’s history.

Tickets are $35, space is limited, and registration is required. Send an email to office@newtownhistory.org to request the registration link or for additional information.

Colonial Sewing Series

In conjunction with America 250 — the year-long celebration of this country’s semiquincentennial next year — the historical society will present a three-part hands-on sewing series during which participants will learn to make their own 18th century-style garments.

Guided by local sewing instructor Melissa Houston, students will construct pieces such as a petticoat and bedgown, while exploring the clothing and craftsmanship of Colonial New England. Beginners are welcome.

Sessions will be Saturdays, January 31, February 28, and March 28, at Newtown Community Center, 8 Simpson Street. Each will run from 10 am until noon, and participants must attend all three sessions. Space is limited to 12 students.

Cost is $50 for the full series.

For additional information or to register, send email to abigail.m.simes@gmail.com.

Newtown Historical Society will introduce its limited edition ornament during its Holiday Open House this weekend.—Newtown Historical Society photo

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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.

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Propaganda is the systematic dissemination of information, often biased or misleading, to shape public perception and behavior toward a specific political cause or point of view. I'm not asking for Newtown Bee to editorialize, but providing context, where appropriate, to provide the reader with a more holistic view of the facts seems like a reasonable practice, particularly when encouraging the reader to decide what to believe/not to believe. Absent that context, this feels biased and misleading and intended to shape public perception.

The Newtown Bee reported what was said at a Newtown Interfaith Council meeting. Whether Mr McGillicuddy agrees with what was said or not, reporting what occurs at a public meeting is not "propaganda." Presenting what was said without editorializing is encouraging the reader to decide what to believe or not believe, and is standard for reporting at a community newspaper like The Newtown Bee.

"Abducted by ICE". You mean, when law enforcement enforces the law? This is propaganda passed off as a news article.

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Historical Society Holiday & Beyond Events Planned

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