There was a crowd at Newtown Day this past weekend to enjoy the food trucks, beer garden, vendors, and bounce houses — not to mention admiring Hawleyville Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s newest piece of apparatus — but the local fun is not yet over. Look for Parks & Rec’s Fall Carnival, Friday through Sunday, October 19 to 21, on the Fairfield Hills campus. Rides, games, food, and lots of family fun is on the schedule. Friday’s fun will be from 6 to 10 pm; Saturday, 2 to 10 pm; and on Sunday, the carnival will be open from 1 to 5 pm. Find out more at newtown-ct.gov/parks-recreation.

Speaking of Newtown Day, Melissa Beard recognized her former Middle Gate teacher, Maria Smith, near The Newtown Bee’s tent at Newtown Day on October 6. Our education reporter was swift to ask for a picture of the impromptu reunion! Both women were all smiles after greeting each other.

It’s Dog Shelter Month, and if you would like to donate items like giant Kong toys, Iams dry dog food, leashes, paper towels, cleaning supplies, etc, there is a box located just inside the front door of our office, 5 Church Hill Road. Drop off your donations anytime during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

Jazz is not what comes to mind when some people think of Joni Mitchell. But that is exactly what Mitchell considers her music to be, says Leslie Ballard, flautist and vocalist for Joni Mitchell’s Jazz (and Newtown native). The seven-member group will celebrate Joni Mitchell’s 75th birthday by playing to audiences at Edmond Town Hall Theatre, 45 Main Street, on Saturday, October 13. Doors will open at 7 pm, tickets are $20, a wine bar will be available, and guests will be invited to record comments on a video e-greeting birthday card that will be sent to Mitchell in time for the music legend’s birthday on November 7. Proceeds will the ETH Restoration Fund, earmarked for the theater of the historic building at 45 Main Street. Visit edmondtownhall.org for additional details and reservations.

The Newtown Police are hosting open houses for the 3 Main Street location and the proposed 191 South Main Street location this Saturday, October 13, and Saturday, October 27. Stop by either location — or both — between 10 am and noon. You’ll learn why Newtown desires a new police headquarters and get a chance to see the space proposed for that project. Now is the time to ask questions and get answers!

If October has you thinking of pumpkins, you aren’t alone. The Great Pumpkin Race, presented by the Newtown Lions Club and sponsored by Newtown Savings Bank, is slated for Saturday, October 20, from 10 am to 2 pm, behind Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street. The annual event includes pumpkin races and pumpkin decorating contests along with food, music, and other entertainment. Pumpkin judging starts at 11 am and races begin at 11:30 am. The final hours of the Newtown Lions Club car raffle will also be held at Edmond Town Hall on the same day, from 9 am to 1 pm. The winning ticket will be held at 1 pm. More information about the day is available on the club’s Facebook page, Newtown Lions Club (CT).

Our town’s Deputy Fire Marshal Steve Murphy went to Ireland last week with his wife, Melissa, for the couple’s 25th anniversary. But sometimes, it seems, you can’t leave home. While traveling in Ireland, the Murphy’s came across a couple of Newtowns there! Now, here at the paper, we have often received press releases for Newtown, Penn., but none from Ireland, so far. (Had they traveled a bit further, I understand, they may have come across Newtown in the county of Powys, Wales or New Town in Edinburgh, Scotland.) By the way, congratulations to the Murphys!

During resident Dianna Pategas’s interview for her new job at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, she learned that each Halloween, the staff does reverse trick-or-treating. The staff dresses up and visits the kids who can’t leave the hospital for trick-or-treating. Candy and edibles are not allowed, of course, so the staff comes up with other treats — like pillowcases. “Adding a little color and personalization to the room of a kid who is stuck in the hospital for (sometimes) weeks at a time is one of the small things we can do to make their stay a little brighter,” Dianna noted in a recent Facebook post. When she mentioned that CCMC would be need to be gathering up those room brighteners to her mom, Charlotte Cooke of Nampa, Idaho, and told her that they needed at least 120 pillowcases, she thought it was just a passing conversation. Lo and behold, her mom ran with the idea, and beginning in August, Ms Cooke and her quilting group (of which Ms Cooke is the youngest, at age 73...) started sewing like crazy. So what did Dianna recently receive at her doorstep? A box filled with beautiful pillowcases to distribute. So now Dianna is laundering 120 pillowcases, ironing, folding, and tying each with Halloween ribbons, so the teams at Connecticut Children’s can deliver smiles to kids and families who have landed in the hospital on October 31.

You’ll find Dianna and Team Connecticut Children’s in the 5K this Saturday at the Hartford Marathon; and Newtown runner Kevin Hoyt will be supporting them in the marathon, as well. To support the hospital, visit connecticutchildrensfoundation.org/event/eversource-hartford-marathon-team-connecticut-childrens/.

Equal parts ghoulish and charming, autumn and Halloween decorations are beginning to pop up all over town, from smiling scarecrows and colorful chrysanthemum displays to life-size skeletons clambering over a fence. Looks like Newtown is getting in the spirit of the season. You know, too, that this means our Newtown Middle School students are getting ready for the annual Scarecrow Contest. Students will have their creations set up on the school’s lawn on Queen Street the weekend of the 20th — and the public gets to vote on their favorite. Check out our story in this week’s issue, and get ready for a frightfully wonderful contest.

Halloween also means a celebration on Main Street when trick-or-treaters descend to gather goodies. To help out, Dere Street Restaurant tells us it will act as a collection location for candy and will evenly distribute those contributions the week of Halloween to each participating Main Street home. Stop by Dere Street during regular hours, Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, or 5 to 9 pm, with a bag (or more!) or wrapped candies. Your donation will be a big help to those Main Street homeowners who often welcome 2,000 or more (that’s not a typo) costumed revelers on October 31. Dere Street, 33 Main Street (at the corner of West Street) will accept candy donations through October 29.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom. My mouth has been full all week long, trying to visit as many of our local eateries as possible for Newtown/Sandy Hook Restaurant Week, which runs through Sunday, October 14 . Our town offers so many good places to eat out, there is sure to be somewhere to suit your tastes — any week. Meanwhile, you still have time to check out the specials being offered by some of this year’s Restaurant Week participants at newtownsandyhookeats.com/specials. Bon Appetit!

I’m filling my mouth this week, but I’ll be filling this column with news for you next week. So be sure to... Read me again.