Brown and white and asleep in the shade was S'Mores, a St Bernard dog, one of the Newtown-Strong Therapy Dogs. Sleeping beneath an awning during the Family Fun Fest held at Newtown High School on May 21, S'Mores, a large dog, attracted small company. Nicholas Buzaid, almost 2 years old, saw the furry bundle and dropped down next to him, leaning his head against S'Mores. The dog stayed comfortably in place as the young boy's actions drew in several other young children.

Many dogs and children filled the high school grounds that day enjoying the vendors, bouncy houses, food tents, crafts, games, music, and more during the Family Fun Fest & Craft Fair from 10 am to 5 pm. The event was presented by and served as a fundraiser for the Merryhill Child Care Center and the United Jewish Center of Danbury.

Dogs and games aside, the Touch-A-Truck event also drew a crowd as children and parents looked inside a large bucket truck from Newtown Arbor Services. Veronica and Dylan Hilario also played from a swing suspended from one of the Hilario's fleet.

Around the corner from the trucks and settled in the shade was Evette Modee, gently painting a Spider-Man design on Brandon Compolattaro's face.

Entertaining families that day were young adults dressed as children's characters from ctprincessparties.com. Among them were Erica Altieri as an island princess, Keri Carlson as a sleeping princess, Sabrina Strom as a snow sister, and princess and prince Melissa Macdonald and Bill McNally.

Joining the many messy faces enjoying a summer snack was Amelia Rose Peters, her ice cream cone dripping as she ate. Parents Kim and Greg Peters quickly helped her with the melting dessert.

Walking toward Wes Miller, with streams of bubbles coming from his bubble gun, was Mia Singer who picked up her five-pound pooch, Moose, and snuggled his furry little body against her cheek. In the nearby shade Teresa Land played an accordion with the Portuguese folk dance group School of Manuel Cipriano. With the school was Neide Mesquita, wrapping a red costume band around Julius Alves's waist.

According to merryhillcenter.com, Merryhill Child Care Center, Inc is a nonprofit organization licensed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Health Services. It opened in 1990 as a joint venture of the Fairfield Hills Hospital Management and New England Health Care Union

District 1199 to provide quality child care to state employees. When Fairfield Hills Hospital closed, Merryhill was disassociated from the State of Connecticut and became responsible for operating on its own accord. Since then, Merryhill has been operating as a private, nonprofit child care center. As a nonprofit, Merryhill relies on tuition and donations for its program's success and investing back into the center and classrooms. Contact the center at 203-426-9847.

The United Jewish Center is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). Located in the heart of Danbury, synagogue members come from all over the greater Danbury area. Contact office@unitedjewishcenter.org or call 203-748-3355 for more information.