We’ve been learning about pretzels in recent weeks here at Bee Publishing Company. Lynn Remson started the conversation recently, when she shared her recipe for the traditional snack. Her recipe card includes notes that an Italian monk “many years ago” made a simple bread to remind his brother monks that Lent is a time of prayer. He reportedly rolled his bread down into strips and then shaped them in the form of arms crossed over the heart, creating a prayerful gesture. Another source tells us it was around 610 AD that a Christian Italian monk created that first soft pretzel. The pretzels were given as a reward to children who learned their prayers.

Some say the treat’s name comes from the Latin word pretiola, or “little reward.” Others believe the name comes from the Old German brezitella, derived from Latin bracchiatus, or “with branches,” or Greek brakhion, “an arm.” Further, The Baker’s Guild used the pretzel as a symbol in the late 12th Century. Baking a pretzel was necessary to become a master baker. All we know is, according to a calendar in our Production Department, National Pretzel Day will be celebrated on April 26. So the ladies in our Production Department have once again given Bruce the Spruce a new seasonal update. Through the end of the month our artificial three-foot-tall tree is henceforth responding to his new name, Bruce the Super Pretzel Spruce.

April is recognized as Soft Pretzel Month (again, according to our calendar), although National Pretzel Month is apparently observed in October. Managing Editor Shannon Hicks is working on her pretzel recipe ahead of a special event later this year. Something tells me we’ll have our fill of pretzels by the time autumn rolls around.

April is also recognized as (among other things) Poetry Month and I’d like to take one more moment to celebrate all those who participated in last weekend’s poetry reading at C.H. Booth Library. Shari Merrill coordinated a very nice program for Sunday afternoon, and a few dozen people were in the meeting room to enjoy 45 minutes of readings. Reporter Jenna Visca was the first to read, followed by a young writer who happily compared herself to a beluga whale, and the enjoyment continued from there. Retired Newtown Bee Editor Nancy K. Crevier and current Newtown Poet Laureate Lauren Clifford were also featured on Sunday, among others. Please try to take some time this month to walk through the collection of signs in front of the library at 25 Main Street, where the poems accepted for this year’s Poetry Walk are on display.

I feel like I should try to introduce a poem about ducks here, but I don’t want to insult those who are good at their craft with my feeble attempt. Instead I’ll remind everyone that it’s Duck Race Tickets time. Newtown Lions Club members began selling tickets last weekend for The 2025 Great Pootatuck Duck Race, which will return to Heritage Park in Sandy Hook on Saturday, May 31. Tickets are $10 this year, and one way you can purchase them is at varying locations around town upcoming weekends. I understand this week’s sales are planned for Friday, April 11, between 5 and 7 pm at Hawleyville Liquor Store on Barnabas Road and Yankee Wine & Spirits on Queen Street. Lions Club members also plan to be out on Saturday, hanging with Eunice and her crew from 8 am until noon at Bagel Delight. Other Lions will be set up at Sandy Hook Food Truck Frenzy & Craft Fair, the special event being presented by Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue at their main station on Riverside Road from 11 am until 5 pm.

Unfortunately, one special local event has been canceled. California Fire Relief, a dance to benefit CaliforniaStrong.org was being planned for Saturday, April 12, at Newtown Congregational Church. The event has been called off, but those who would still like to support the efforts of those rebuilding their lives after the extremely destructive wildfires that ravaged southern California for more than three weeks in California can still do so. California Strong is a program of Southeast Ventura County YMCA, dedicated to providing support to all Californians following disasters. The organization was going to be the beneficiary of Saturday’s fundraiser, so if you’d still like to help with a donation, visit californiastrong.org. The organization has been in place since 2018 and promises 100% of all donations go directly to families in need. Additional information about the organization and its work is available at that website.

I’ve also learned — and this is online exclusive because the information arrived after we went to print Thursday morning — that Saturday’s Food Truck Frenzy has been postponed. The members of Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company were really hoping to hear some good news on the weather front, but when Thursday morning rolled around and the forecast was not improving for Saturday, they decided to put their plans for the family-friendly event on hold. I’m told the company is hoping to reschedule within a few weeks. You know I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.

We will be introducing a new column next week. Newtown Conservation Commission members are ready to present “Invasive Insider,” a quarterly presentation. The purpose of the column is to help homeowners identify the many invasives that are threatening private and public properties and our forests. The first column next week will talk about the threats invasives pose to our properties and our community. This fledgling column focuses on Japanese Barberry, a shrub easily identified in spring along property borders and in our woodlands. Future columns will report on additional invasive plants, their identification, methods of control, and proper disposal.

Next week also will be time to vote in the 2025 Newtown Bee Peeps Diorama Contest. Voting will open by noon Thursday, April 17 through our Facebook page, and it will remain open until noon Friday, April 18. The rules are the same as years past: just give the thumbs up on the photo of your choice to indicate a vote for your favorite diorama. The creator of the Peeps Diorama with the highest number of Likes (or Loves, if one really strikes your fancy) by noon Good Friday will win Peep-le’s Choice honors. We’ll share the winner online Friday afternoon and in print the following week.

Concurrently, staff members at 5 Church Hill Road will also be casting ballots for their favorite diorama. Unlike our Facebook friends, who can vote for as many of the dioramas as they’d like, our in-house voting follows the traditional one-ballot-per-election standard. The winner of this year’s in-house voting will also be announced shortly after noon next Friday.

I really need to put my thinking cap on and figure out what I’m going to do for this year’s contest. That, and I need to start collecting my thoughts to share in this space so that you have something enjoyable to read when you come back next week to ... read me again.