Is it my imagination, or did all of the maple trees outside of C.H. Booth Library suddenly dump their leaves in the gutters this week? Looks like foliage season is going to be swift this year.

The Third Annual Jesse McCord Lewis Memorial Fundraiser will take place Saturday, October 24, at Bricks & Barley in Shelton, from 6 to 8 pm. Admission is $10 and includes a happy hour-type buffet, with a cash bar. There will be raffle items and a 50/50 drawing, as well. Proceeds benefit a scholarship in Jesse’s name at the Valley Community Foundation, awarded annually to a graduating senior from Shelton High School. Jesse McCord Lewis was one of 20 first grade students who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12/14. For more information, contact Sarah Adantis at adantis@echs.com.

Treat yourself to Boo-tiful Bouquets available at wickedly low prices at the Lions’ Club Great Pumpkin Race this Saturday, October 17. (The Sixth Annual Great Pumpkin Race takes place from 10 am to 2 pm, behind Edmond Town Hall. Find details in our online Calendar section at newtownbee.com.) Members of Town & Country Garden Club will sell handcrafted seasonal bouquets, featuring pumpkins and gourds. Most of the bouquets will be priced under $10, I’m told, and proceeds will be donated to the Lions and to the Newtown Hook & Ladder Fire Company, in appreciation of the firefighters assistance in watering the plants in the traffic islands throughout this very dry summer and fall.

Gordon Williams, the Lions’ organizer of this racy event, is pleased that Beautiful Babies, Newtown Strong Therapy Dogs, the Chamber of Commerce, Cullens Youth Association, Pack 270, NYA Sports & Fitness Center, and Shaolian Studio of Martial Arts are among those with booths at the Great Pumpkin Race. So it’s more than a race, you see: it’s an absolute fall festival of fun!

Silvermine School of Art will be celebrating the art of Japanese flower arrangement, or Ikebana, with a series of exhibits, workshops, and demonstrations this weekend. Considering this is a disciplined art form involving floral pieces, it isn’t surprising that a member of Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown has become engaged in the practice. Sandy Motyka of Newtown will have at least one arrangement during the Connecticut Sogetsu Ikebana Study Group’s 40th anniversary celebration at Silvermine, 1037 Silvermine Road in New Canaan. The special event will include a two-day display of at least 20 floral arrangements and large group works, Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18. For those who make the trek on Saturday, the group will also be offering a hands-on workshop, at 1 pm ($25; call 203-966-6668 for a reservation), a free demonstration at 2 pm, and then a wine and cheese reception from 4 to 5:30 pm. The exhibit of floral arrangements is free of charge. It will be open on Saturday from 10 am until 6 pm, and Sunday from noon to 4 pm.

Caraluzzi’s Market, 5 Queen Street, is hosting The Animal Center’s Feed A Stray For A Day Cat Food Drive, through October 25. The Animal Center is requesting donations of Friskies or Purina brand wet and dry cat food, though all donations are greatly appreciated. Bins are located inside of the store. For more information, contact info@theanimalcenter.org.

You can stop by the office of The Newtown Bee, as well, if helping animals is on your mind. A box is set up just inside the doorway, supporting the animal shelter on Old Farm Road (just before the dog park). The shelter needs Fromm dry dog food, freeze dried liver treats or chicken tender treats, Milk Bones, large Kong toys, squeaky toys, choke chain collars of all sizes, Friskies cat food, kitty litter, and catnip toys. Cleaning supplies such as bleach, ammonia, paper towels, towels, laundry soap, and large black garbage bags are needed, too. If you can’t make up your mind, a gift certificate to the local stores will allow the staff to shop for items needed. Drop off the shelter donations between 8 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, through October 31, at 5 Church Hill Road.

Congratulations to local realtor Barbara Frey of Barbara Frey Real Estate, who was named Newtown’s Realtor of the Year by the Newtown Board of Realtors at an October 6 Realtor Leadership Conference at Foxwoods.

This Saturday, October 17, is the annual Methodist Church Craft Fair at Reed School from 10 am to 4 pm. Among the many vendors, this is the sixth year for T.J. Designs, bringing handcrafted jewelry, angel sun catchers/Christmas tree ornaments, oil diffusers, note cards, Autism pins and scarves, and organic homemade apple butter. Proceeds from sales benefit Families United in Newtown (FUN) events, and the Autism Action program.

A catty friend of mine is wondering, with all the hard work of smoothing out Queen Street underway, why workers don’t leave out a couple of the excessive speed humps along that road? (Not to mention, the eyesores of multiple yellow warning signs posted along the short road — also a blight on Key Rock Road, for the same reason.)

If you’re a young person in grades 6, 7, or 8, and wrestling with what to do in your free time, here’s a thought: The Newtown Youth Wrestling Association is offering a free Introduction to Youth Wrestling Clinic, Monday, October 26, from 6:30 to 8:15 pm. The clinic/open practice will take place in the B Gym, at Newtown Middle School, 11 Queen Street.

I’ll be wrestling with what news to bring you next week, knowing that you’ll make time to… Read me again.