Girl Scouts of Connecticut announced that February 22 to 24 was National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend, and across the state, Girl Scouts will be delivering their cookies starting March 2. Whenever you begin feasting on your goodies, make sure to check the box for a golden ticket. This year, Girl Scouts of Connecticut hid five golden tickets in boxes. People who find tickets will receive 12 cases of Girl Scout Cookies — six cases, twice in one year. The cookie program runs until March 31. And if anyone in Newtown finds a golden ticket, we want to know about it! E-mail [naviga:u]editor@thebee.com[/naviga:u] if you find one. Happy eating!

Newtown United Methodist Church [naviga:u]hosted its first Methodist Mardi Gras event last weekend[/naviga:u], and more than a dozen members of the Sandy Hook church accepted the invitation to share their talents. What really made me purr this week was hearing that in place of an admission fee, those attending the event were encouraged to offer donations for FAITH Food Pantry. By the end of the evening, NUMC’s narthex had ten full grocery bags ready to be delivered to the nonecumenical pantry this week. To see photos shared by co-event organizer Barb Sibley and read more about the celebratory evening, see this week’s Religion page.

My purring paused for a few minutes last week after reading about a “ridiculously large” bee recently spotted in Indonesia. Last week, CNN reported that Wallace’s Giant Bee, missing since 1981, has been rediscovered in the jungles of Indonesia. The big bee has a wingspan of 2.5 inches and is about the size of a thumb. Now there’s an intimidating bee! Welcome back, Wallace.

Cats should not be accused of lacking empathy: so gather your empty bottles and cans, because there are dogs in need of your help. Newtown resident Michele McLeod is helping Furry Friends Foster & Rescue, a nonprofit organization that rescues high-need dogs primarily from municipal Connecticut pounds, with a bottle/can fundraiser at Your Healthy Pet, 61 Church Hill Road. All the proceeds will benefit the dogs’ medical care. Ms McLeod says donations are accepted through Sunday, March 10. For more information, visit [naviga:u]furryfriendsct.org[/naviga:u].

Newtown Middle School Reading/Writing specialist Patricia Bowles knows where to get her news — and news of her students. “Please renew my subscription for 2 years. Love getting my Bee each week and seeing my middle school student’s accomplishments!” she tells us. Thank you, Patricia. We appreciate your support!

We are ready for some hometown brew! Lots of residents found their ways to Newtown’s first brewery, Reverie Brewing Co, on Church Hill Road this past weekend, when the facility held its soft opening. First reports: great beer! Grand opening is this weekend, March 2 & 3.

Newtown resident and actor Anthony DePoto will be featured in the Connecticut premiere of God Help Us on Sunday, April 7, at The Palace, Danbury. God Help Us stars TV veteran extraordinaire Ed Asner as a wise and wisecracking deity who confronts two political pundits (played by DePoto and Karen Robinson). Conservatives versus liberals… Red States versus Blue States… Pelosi versus Trump… It’s the perfect fodder for a political comedy. Reserved seating only. Tickets and info at [naviga:u]bit.ly/2AUdWVr[/naviga:u] Questions? Call the box office at 203-794-9944.

I understand that Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses were featured February 22 on the horse lover’s podcast [naviga:u]becauseofhorses.com[/naviga:u], with host Elise Gaston Chand. These little horses and owner Debbie Garcia, of Gainesville, Fla., visited Newtown after 12/14, bringing comfort to children at the Fraser Woods Montessori School and to families and children at C.H. Booth Library in January 2013.

[naviga:u]Allareacodes.com[/naviga:u] has analyzed 15 million consumer complaints released by the FTC over the last three years (2016-18), for the States Most At Risk For Tax Season Scams and reports that Connecticut ranked number 7, with 2,323 FTC complaints per 100,000 people. The study notes that Fairfield County (Bridgeport) is number 46. “The analysis revealed phone scams increase by 20 percent in March and April as compared to January, so consumers should be on alert. The IRS has stated repeatedly that they will never call to demand immediate payment, will not ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone, and will not threaten with the police or lawsuits. If you suspect the call is a scam, the IRS urges consumers to call them directly at 800-829-1040.”

Scams are no laughing matter, but good laugh is good for a lot of things, including education. Check [naviga:u]newtowneducationfoundation.org[/naviga:u] to find out if tickets are still available for this Friday night’s Evening of Comedy at Edmond Town Hall, sponsored by Newtown Education Foundation. Alexandra McHale will be the featured comedienne. Alexandra has appeared on The Jay Leno show, among many other venues. General admission tickets are $50, or $55 if you take a chance on getting them at the door. You’ll have fun and support education in Newtown as well.

Here’s some more fun for this weekend: the pasta dinner and coffee house return to Newtown United Methodist Church on Saturday evening, at 5:30 and 8 pm, respectively. Dig into meal of pasta, then stay to enjoy great local bluegrass/country/folk music. Adult dinner tickets, $10; seniors, $9; kids, $3.50. It’s $4 more for the entertainment later if you’ve gone to the pasta dinner, or $5 otherwise. For information, call 203-426-9998.

Dinosaur lovers will love the new exhibit coming to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. “T. Rex: The Ultimate Predator” will open to the public starting Monday, March 11. Members will be able to preview the exhibition starting on Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 10. Exhibition highlights include a massive life-sized model of a T. Rex with patches of feathers as well as reconstructions of a fluffy, helpless T. Rex hatchling and a four-year-old juvenile T. Rex; a “roar mixer” where visitors can imagine what T. Rex might have sounded like; a shadow theater where a floor projection of an adult T. Rex skeleton will come to life; a magnetic wall where visitors will be tasked with placing various tyrannosaur family members in the correct time period; a life-sized animation of T. Rex in the Cretaceous; a tabletop Investigation Station featuring real data from fossil specimens, CT scans, and microscope images; and an interactive, multi-player virtual reality experience. Sound pretty cool to me. The museum is at 79th and Central Park West. Call 212-496-3306 for information.

You know what else sounds pretty cool to me? When you say you’ll... Read me again.