The wine at the Newtown Forest Association’s September 6 Sunset Wine Tasting Fundraiser must have been excellent. Even a sky full of lightening the latter part of the evening could not drive off the many supporters in attendance. Instead, the small room sheltering the auction donations became a full house, as did the nearby gazebo. Party on, foresters!

Uh, oh. Awkward moment. The Bee reported last week that Labor Day Parade Grand Marshal Sydney Eddison was tossing flowers to paradegoers as her convertible transported her down Main Street. But while brushing about the ankles of NFA supporters at Holcombe Hill last Saturday night, I overheard Sydney explaining that she was not throwing blossoms. Tucked out of sight beneath the bouquet she carried was a stash of Ticonderoga pencils and it was pencils, not flowers, that paradegoers received, along with the admonishment to “Write On, Newtown!” Looks like a reporter will be going for new glasses, any day now.

In case you missed the NFA opportunity to imbibe and support a good cause, the Newtown office of William Raveis Real Estate is hosting a “Wine and Cheese In The Barn” behind 50 Main Street, next Wednesday, September 17, from 4 to 7 pm. The fundraiser will support breast cancer research. There is a suggested donation of $20 per person, payable at the event.

After a few days of construction chaos at the Route 302/Main Street intersections, it is smooth sailing for travelers on Route 302 between Newtown and Bethel. The even surface must be highly appreciated by bicyclists and runners, who no longer have to worry about potholes or missing chunks along the sides of the road. Just be sure to keep an eye on the speedometer — it’s pretty easy to exceed the limit on that lovely new roadbed.

Talk about a work ethic: Joe Summo has just celebrated working 30 years at The Newtown Hardware Store. Joe started as a youngster when the hardware store was located in the Queen Street shopping center, next to Bordenko’s meat market, and has evolved through the years, sharing his knowledge of all the products and services of the store.

You may have caught a glimpse of this flag at 3 Curry Drive.  Richard English had it aloft all this week, commemorating the anniversary of 9/11. Each of the thirteen red and blue stripes is made up of the names of all those lost that day during terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers, in the field in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon.

Jessica Horvath reminds me that she run the Sensory Story Time program at the C.H. Booth Library, benefiting children who may have a challenging time taking part in the more traditional story time setting. “We are entering our fifth year this fall,” says Jessica, and she hopes that people are aware of the special program. Sensory Story Time uses a variety of means to engage all of the senses. This program takes place in the library meeting room, Saturday mornings, October 4 to November 1, from 10:30 to 11:30 am. Parents must remain with their child throughout the hour. Registration forms for Sensory Story Time are available at the Children’s Department circulation desk.

Newtown resident Spencer Taylor is pretty proud of his mom. Spencer and wife Claudia recently accompanied his mother, Dr Barbara Olin Taylor, to Hamden Hall Country Day School, a private school in Hamden, for the dedication ceremony of the Barbara Olin Taylor Learning Commons in the school’s Swain Library. Dr Taylor, a lifelong education advocate, also received the school’s inaugural Medal of Distinction.

Carol Koty, a chef at Masonicare at Newtown’s Lockwood Lodge, has earned a place in the 2014 World Food Championship in Las Vegas. Carol will be competing in the World Burger Championships division of the November 13–15 event, a national cooking competition that culminates with the top winners gathering to compete in three rounds of competition each November. The stakes are high: winners of each category will pick up $10,000, while the overall World Food Champion will take home a $100,000 prize. Carol recently qualified for the trip to Vegas with her grand place finish in the Cookmore Food Champ Challenge-Burger Contest, where she grilled up her winning recipe for Korean Bulgogi Burgers. She created the recipe as a tribute to a dish she had years ago in South Korea. It is intensely seasoned with savory and spicy Asian ingredients, and topped with fresh vegetables. A Stratford resident, Carol began her culinary journey just seven years ago when she entered a pie-making contest on a whim and won. The experience proved to be career altering, and she soon became “addicted to cooking and competing,” she said. She has been a chef at Lockwood Lodge since February. We wish her the best, and know of a group of hungry Bees who are usually ready to do taste tests, if she needs to do some practice rounds before November…

Newtown Woman’s Club has introduced its 2014 Christmas ornament. The 27th in an annual series, this year’s pewter ornament features the Dayton Street Bridge.  The ornament has once again been produced by Woodbury Pewterers, Inc, is still an oval measuring roughly 2 inches high by 2½ inches wide, and the price remains $10 each. Ornaments are available for purchase at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; Everything Newtown, 65 Main Street; Queen Street Gifts & Treats, 3 Queen Street; and The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road. Proceeds will be donated by the club to local civic organizations. Earlier ornaments can also be purchased at the library, says Mary Antey, who continues to co-coordinate this project with fellow Woman’s Club member Lorraine VanderWende.

I’ve got my eye on the Newtown Arts Festival for this coming weekend. The fun begins with the Rooster Ball, Friday evening, under the tent up at Fairfield Hills — tickets at www.NewtownArtsFestival.com. Then on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm (10 am to 5 pm for the Artists Market), the soccer field at Fairfield Hills will be transformed into a bonanza of literary, musical, visual, and just plain fun art, by and for artists and anyone, of any age, who loves art. Admission for the day is just $5, and free for children under the age of 12. Come one, come all, and see what the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission has in store for you.

I promise I will have more in store for you, as well, if next week you make it a point to… Read me again.