Newtown Cultural Arts Commission is hosting a micro-exhibit of oversized photographs this month. The art is the work of Lauren Patrignelli, who is a tax clerk within Newtown Municipal Center as well as a part-time employee right across the street at Newtown Community Center. She began noodling with photography, she told NCAC Chair Laura Lerman, a few years ago, when she started taking photos with her phone while walking her dog. She soon traded in her cell phone camera, first working with her daughter’s Canon PowerShot and then her own Sony Mirrorless. She also joined Flagpole Photographers Camera Club, and has had her work involved in some of their exhibitions. Six of her photographs were installed at The Newtown Municipal Center Art Gallery last week, and will remain on view through the end of the month. They can be enjoyed weekdays when the building at 3 Primrose Street is open, and the few nights during the week when Town board and commission meetings are held.

Staying within the municipal center and current displays for just another minute, Chand Ahuja reached out last week. Chand is the owner of 1 Great Ring Farm Road, part of the land where the former Sandy Hook farm of the same name was operational from approximately 1825 until the mid 1990s. He and his family have been growing vegetables and raising chickens and in recent years, the Ahujas are now in their first season as “a small micro flower farm,” growing and offering local flowers, both annuals and perennials. Chand was excited to receive an invitation, he said, to have the farm featured in a tabletop display at Newtown Municipal Center. Great Ring Farm is among other local businesses and organizations with displays near the northern entrance at 3 Primrose Street. The farm has been given two weeks to share its information, which gives readers until July 14 to learn more about the local farm through the display.

Shannon Hicks was at Newtown Senior Center last week, covering the Wedding Celebration event featured elsewhere in this week’s print edition. While there, she couldn’t help but smile when she wandered across this sign. The suggestion to be kind is one that can be appreciated by all ages!

Ahead of this week’s observance of Independence Day, local American Legion Post Commander Donna A. Monteleone offered a reminder to everyone in the area about the local post. American Legion Post 202 serves Newtown and Brookfield, and works with many regional posts as well. She and other leaders of 202 would love to see new members of all ages. The Post welcomes veterans who have served honorably. Students who are veteran family members may also be eligible to join, particularly those who are working on special projects and/or earning community service hours, according to Donna. Upcoming events for the post are an appearance in the Newtown Labor Day Parade and the next Kids Fishing Derby, both in September; the group works and does fundraising events year-round. The post meets the first Wednesday of each month — except July — so the next meeting is scheduled for August 2 at Newtown Community Center. Meetings begin at 7 pm. Interested? Contact Donna at DAMonteleone78@gmail.com or 203-577-9568 for additional information or an application.

In this week’s Did You Know? … Did you know our local ambulance corps is among the last all-volunteer emergency medical organizations in the state? Readers are invited to visit 6 Washington Square (within Fairfield Hills) on Sunday, July 16, from 11 am to 3 pm, for a Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps Open House & Celebration. The free public event, happening inside the bays rain or shine, will feature light music, refreshments, and at least three food trucks ready to serve in excess of 100+ people. There will also be a hospitality table to greet everyone, offering details on opportunities to train and/or volunteer for the NVAC’s EMT program and its next EMT certification class, which will begin in September. Members will also be leading guided tours of the facility, and instructors including former long-time Chief Liz Cain will run a community CPR class for friends and family from 1-2 pm in the air-conditioned training room. Learn more by visiting newtown-ambulance.org or find NVAC on Facebook by searching for NewtownEMS.

There was something sadly ironic about the return last weekend of air alerts due in large part to the wildfires still being battled in Canada. Summer is the time when we are traditionally able — and encouraged! — to get outside for fresh air. As we learned just a few weeks ago, when the air is filled with fine particles from fires, many people’s bodies will try to stop the toxins of the fires from entering the body by way of a runny nose, cough and/or watery eyes. Keep an eye out for those symptoms. Find something to do indoors if they return and, as much as none of us want to return to their use full-time, keep high quality masks handy for days when the outdoor air gets to be too much for you. According to some experts, the haze of the wildfires may continue to create alerts occasionally all summer and even into autumn.

Do you know a woman in business who has made a difference, inspired others, and forever positively impacted the lives of others in the community? The Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce Women’s Business Council (WBC) wants to meet them! Each year, the WBC selects a local woman to receive the Heart of Women Award, and nominations are open for this year’s honoree. Our former first selectman Pat Llodra and former Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson have both been honored, as have directors of The Women’s Center, an elementary school principal, a hair stylist, and others who have demonstrated the spirit of creativity, innovation, and initiative by responding in a proactive manner to an issue, concern or event that affects the lives of others. Nominations are open until July 21, and full details can be found at danburychamber.com. All nominations received will be reviewed by members of the WBC Heart of Women Selection Committee. The 2023 Award recipient will be announced August 9, and then celebrated during this year’s Heart of Women event in November.

While the 4th of July is now past, I’m sure this coming weekend will still provide an opportunity for those who were conservative about their fireworks budget to mount a grand finale. But please consider all the pets in your neighborhood and consider they have been under siege since the beginning of last weekend, and have probably been stressed enough. It really makes a cat look forward to a decidedly quieter Labor Day — the next stop on our holiday calendar. In the meantime, I hope you won’t forget to come back every week during the summer and … read me again.