Memorial Day, Relay For Life, Lobsterfest! Three big weekends in a row. The unofficial start of summer is upon us now that we have passed through another Memorial Day weekend (and a swimmingly fun duck race, too). Relay For Life returns this weekend to Newtown Youth Academy on June 1. Remember that this year’s event moves to Friday night, and the Survivors & Caregivers Reception is also Friday night. Count on plenty of the usual fun — and tears, as we honor those who continue to fight all forms of cancer as well of those who we have lost — and fundraising for American Cancer Society during the event, the first half of which runs from 5 pm until midnight and is open to the public. Bring your walking shoes, and plenty of energy (and money for donations, all of which will go to ACS).

Memorializing a special person in the life of the Hawleyville Post Office, Charlie Speidel, Postmaster Mark Favale has created a keepsake box mounted in the lobby. Mr Speidel, who died at age 88, May 20, was a longtime customer and a key supporter of the Save Hawleyville Post Office movement in 2009, and provided the post office with new flags for many years.  As the collage notes, Mr Speidel was not only the “Keeper of the Hawleyville Post Office Flag” but a businessman, veteran, world traveler, and “photographer extraordinaire.” He will be greatly missed by the community and the post office staff, said Mr Favale.

If Hospice co-chair Marg Studely can hobble over to the Waterview in Monroe next Wednesday morning, June 6, on her broken ankle, I bet you can, too. That’s where the Newtown Hospice Chapter is hosting its 23rd annual fundraising breakfast to support Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut. The breakfast runs from 8 to 9 am, and if you haven’t yet purchased a table to host seven guests ($100) you can still go. Walk-ins are welcome for $12 per person. To find out more, call Marg at 203-426-3651; and don’t forget to wish her well!

Rumor has it a certain television and movie star may have visited Newtown this week. I’m not saying who exactly, but the actor who loves punking people and has had issues with his occasionally off-key Twitters (final hint: the former Mr Demi Moore) may or may not have been spotted at The Big Y on Tuesday. Eagle-eyed resident Cleo Conk said it “sure looked like him, and [he] quickly dodged me when I stood there with my mouth open.” Who knows? Stranger things have happened — and have been witnessed — in Newtown.

You are probably more likely to recognize this up and coming star. If you haven’t already met the woman who has been single-handedly organizing the Beautiful Baby Contest since its new incarnation in 2009, you can put a face to the name of Lois Barber next week. Lois will be a guest on Better Connecticut, a program on WFSB Channel 3 that airs weekdays at 3 pm. Lois is scheduled to be on the show on Wednesday, June 6. She will be there to talk about the 4th Annual Beautiful Baby Contest, which officially opens for voting on Friday, June 8, but continues to accept new entries. Lois is also working on expanding the contest to a statewide level, and will be holding a fundraiser at Sports Authority next month. Tune in to find out what she’s planning for the event this year, which is again serving as a fundraiser for Home For Our Troops. If you haven’t already entered your favorite toddler into the 2012 friendly competition, give Lois a call at 203-270-8017. The winner and their parents will be treated to a chauffeured ride in the Newtown Labor Day Parade along with a growing gift basket of goods and services.

Next weekend will be the 25th Annual Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Lobsterfest. Firefighters (along with the Ladies Auxiliary, and plenty of friends and family members) will be serving up lobster or steak dinners — or surf and turf, for an additional fee — that include potato salad, corn on the cob, chowder, and your first drink, on Friday and Saturday, June 8 and 9, at the company’s main station on Riverside Road. Burger or hot dog dinners are available too, as is a raw bar. Dinner will be served on Friday from 5 to 9 pm, and on Saturday from 4 to 9 pm. Full dinner tickets are $24 in advance (available at The Bee’s office, the fire marshal’s office at Newtown Municipal Center, the Sandy Hook main station, and from all company members). At the door, tickets will increase to $26. Surf & turf and kids’ meal (burger or hot dog) tickets will be available at the door. I’m fasting already to get ready for the feasting.

Boy Scout Troop 770 will be the recipient of donations through My Place Restaurant, next Tuesday night. If you plan on eating in or picking up food to take out on June 5, any time after 6 pm, and you mention that you would like to help the St Rose Boy Scouts, the Queen Street restaurant will donate a portion of your bill to Troop 770’s ongoing efforts to provide activities that support the mission of the Scouts.

Two artists from Newtown have been accepted into “Plight of The Pollinators,” an international juried art exhibition that open this weekend at Blue Horse Arts and Jay Foster Music Studios in Watertown. Glass artist Heidrun Morgan and painter and mixed media artist Ginger Hanrahan will both have works in the show, which will have its opening reception on Friday, June 2, from 7 to 9 pm, and then remain on view until June 22. The show is intended to raise awareness of the environmental issue of pollination, the pollinator, and the decline of this critical life cycle by building a dialogue between the arts and sciences communities. Artists included in this exhibition hail from across the United States as well as Austria and Australia. The gallery is at 250 Porter Street (call 860-417-3243 or visit www.BlueHorseArts.com), and a portion of the proceeds from sale of anything in “Pollinators” will benefit the environmental studies program at Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury. Okay. Now I feel just a little guilty about chasing down the moths and butterflies. But who can resist?

St Rose of Lima will host its annual carnival on Church Hill Road parish grounds this month, Tuesday, June 26, through Saturday, June 30. As in past years, the popular carnival will feature rides and carnival games from 6 to 10:30 pm each evening, as well as a kiddie tent with face painting and coloring. Food will be plentiful, and will include burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, a dessert booth and fried dough, along with nightly specials from local restaurants. In addition, the St Rose Home and School Association will offer another round of its Friday Bingo Night on June 29. Doors will open at 5:45 and games begin at 6:30. Admission is $17 per person, which includes all regular and some special games. Carnival food will be available through student waiters. Proceeds from this year’s carnival will again be used to support parish programs and outreach.

Every week is a carnival of information at the Top of the Mountain, so be sure next week to… Read me again.