Cultural Events

Weekend Holiday Events

Published: Dec 01, 2023 7:30 am

Newtown traditionally spends the first weekend in December celebrating the holidays, and 2023 is no different. Tree lightings begin Saturday, a number of groups are hosting special fundraisers, and the Newtown Holiday Festival returns on Sunday, December 3.

The following is a listing of holiday-related activities planned for this weekend. See our Community Calendar for the listing of regular meetings and other special events.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1

Sip ‘n Shop, 5-9 pm, Newtown Community Center, 8 Simpson Street, $25 general admission, $45 VIP (early entrance, specialty cocktails, food/appetizers, door prizes), shopping with vendors, wine and beer tastings, food, music, and more; 203-270-4349.

Sandy Hook Christmas Tree (& More) Sales, 6-9 pm, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue main station, 18-20 Riverside Road, Christmas trees, wreaths, pine roping, cemetery boxes and more available for purchase, presented by and a benefit for fire company, Thursdays-Sundays to December 24 or while supplies last; 203-270-4392, SandyHookFire.com.

(Read more here: SHVFR Planning Tree Sales, Sleigh Rides)

POSTPONED: Ram Pasture Tree Lighting, 6:30 pm, Ram Pasture, due to expected inclement weather this event has been postponed to December 8.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2

63rd Annual Newtown Rotary Pancake Breakfast, 8 am-noon, Edmond Town Hall (Alexandria Room), 45 Main Street, $10 adults, $5 children, all-you-can-eat breakfast includes pancakes cooked by Rotary members, also Butcher’s Best sausage, Maple Craft Foods syrup, BD Provisions coffee, and milk, juice and hot chocolate; newtownCTrotary.org.

Greens & Gift Sale, 9 am-noon, Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street, annual holiday sale by The Garden Club of Newtown will again offer fresh wreaths decorated by hand, boxwood trees, centerpieces and more.

Sandy Hook Christmas Tree (& More) Sales, 9 am-9 pm, see additional December 1 details.

Friends of C.H. Booth Library Holiday Sale, 9:30 am-5 pm, C.H. Booth Library (meeting room), 25 Main Street, gift-quality books for all ages, jewelry, stocking stuffers, toys, jigsaw puzzles, media, and other gift items, proceeds benefit C.H. Booth Library, event continues December 3; boothbooksale.org.

Newtown’s Family Scavenger Hunt, 2 pm start, Newtown Youth & Family Services, $25/team, teams of up to six people will travel around town to find clues and complete tasks while competing for a prize, fundraiser presented by and to benefit Newtown Youth & Family Services; 203-270-4335, newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org/Special-Events.

A Christmas Celebration: The Singing Principal and Carol Sing, 3:30-6:30 pm, Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road, children’s program by The Singing Principal (3:30-4:20, reservations required), then caroling in the sanctuary (4:30-5:30, all ages, no reservations needed), all will then be invited to bundle up and walk down the hill to Sandy Hook Center for 6 pm tree lighting; 203-426-9998, churchoffice@newtown-umc.org, numc.us.

2023 Sandy Hook Center Tree Lighting, 4-6:30 pm, Sandy Hook Center, business district centered around intersection of Church Hill Road, Washington Avenue, Riverside Road and Glen Road, activities begin at 4, Santa visits and karaoke begin at 5, tree on corner of Washington Avenue and Riverside Road will be lit at 6, caroling to continue, nonperishable donations requested for FAITH Food Pantry (each donor will be entered into raffle to light the tree), hosted by Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity; SandyHookVillage.com.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3

Sandy Hook Christmas Tree (& More) Sales, 9 am-6 pm, see additional December 1 details.

Drop-In Holiday Buttons, 11 am-1 pm, C.H. Booth Library (chbMakers’ Corner), 25 Main Street, all ages invited to learn how to press a button with a holiday theme during ongoing event; 203-426-4533.

38th Newtown Holiday Festival, 11 am-4 pm, along Main Street, annual holiday event with offerings for all ages including Festival of Trees, Historic House Tours & Holiday Tea, Nutcracker Suite performances, Outdoor Holiday Market, Cookies with Mrs Claus, Family Magic Shows, Historic Trolley Tours, and more, presented by and a fundraiser for Newtown Youth & Family Services; 203-270-4335, newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org.

Friends of C.H. Booth Library Holiday Sale, 11 am-5 pm, see additional December 2 details.

The Nutcracker Suite by Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice, performances at noon and 2 pm, Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, tickets $15/door for performance only, or $15-$20 for full Newtown Holiday Festival ticket (see details in separate listing), special holiday performance by NCCB students suitable for all ages; 203-270-4335, newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org.

Newtown Historical Society Holiday Open House, 12-4 pm, The Matthew Curtiss House, 44 Main Street, free, historical society’s headquarters will be decorated in traditional style, with warm cider served by the fireplace, donations welcomed for historical society; 203-426-5937, newtownhistory.org.

Drop-In Beaded Wreath Ornaments, 2-4 pm, C.H. Booth Library (chbMakers’ Corner), all ages invited to learn how to create a wreath ornament, all materials provided; 203-426-4533.

“Songs for the Holiday Season,” 4 pm, Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street, $10 adults, $8 seniors and students, holiday concert by Newtown Choral Society will include songs from Africa, Denmark and Ireland, also traditional songs of the season, jazz interpretation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with bassist Amber Harris, also guest percussionists Howard Schuster and Jason Voegeli; 203-313-3064.

People began crossing Washington Avenue between the two trees in Sandy Hook Center soon after they were lit for the first time in 2022. Sandy Hook will have the honor of hosting the first tree lighting event this year, on Saturday, December 2. —Bee file photo

One of last year's entries in the Holiday Festival Gingerbread Competition. —Bee file photo

Garden Club of Newtown member Jeannette DelVento helps Jillian Cruwys during last year's Garden Club of Newtown Greens Sale. The event returns this weekend to Newtown Congregational Church. —Bee file photo

A Grinch ornament looks out from the tree decorated by the DeBlasi family for last year's Holiday Festival-Festival of Trees. The Holiday Festival returns on Sunday, but the Festival of Trees will open on Saturday. —Bee file photo

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How do you propose tapping the brakes, Dave? 8-30g already trumps any local regulations- you don't have a brake pedal to push. Brookfield, Trumbull and now Ridgefield have a clear case for a moratorium based on the development (thanks to 8-30g) that has already occurred. I don't see a clear case for Newtown to request a moratorium... yet.

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Nobody is suggesting shutting the doors on new neighbors. What neighboring towns are doing, and what we should be doing too, is to tap the brakes on all of the multi-family residential development proposals so that we can spend 6 months updating our regulations such that if you want to build dense residential housing here, XX percent of it needs to be affordable (we will never make any headway on increasing our percentage of affordable housing otherwise, short of 8-30g), and the rest needs to be done in as low an impact manner as possible. Low impact on traffic, health & safety, the environment and on the cost of town services.

Hey, there you go! Richard solved it. Thanks, that seems so easy- we'll just get rid of the 2nd amendment and the Supreme Court. Seriously, the 2nd amendment doesn't create violent criminals or mental illness. The Supreme Court doesn't create violent criminals or mental illness. The problem is not the tools, but the criminals & the mental illness. The state of Connecticut seems to be focused on the tools, like Richard, while ignoring the users of those tools.

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Ned, please familarize yourself with 8-30G, and then please share the unique flaws that may be helpful in formulating a denial An 8-30g project can be denied only on very narrow grounds – i.e., if it presents health, safety or other concerns that exceed a town’s need for affordable housing. According to the TOG website, “projects cannot be rejected for incompatibility with a Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD); density; traffic congestion; height; aesthetics; concerns of neighbors or the community; and failure to comply with local zoning regulations.” 8-30g proposals are rarely denied by planning and zoning officials because the burden of proof on appeal is on the town. Appeals are costly, but a municipality can be successful in a court case if it has sufficiently established that the concerns leading to denial are factual and substantive.

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Weekend Holiday Events

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