In case you didn’t get in enough artisan crafts shopping during the Newtown Arts Festival, the Newtown based and women-owned Equestrian Hill Farm event planning is presenting the Autumn Harvest Event at Edmond Town Hall, Saturday, October 4, from 9 am to 4 pm. Nearly 21 area vendors have registered so far, so get your shopping bags ready to go.

Maybe a tag sale is more up your alley. Nunnawauk Meadows has a two-day event going on this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 27 and 28, from 9 am to 3 pm. Don’t worry if it’s a rainy day, because the selection of jewelry, household goods, games, linens, China, and more is set up inside the Community Room at 2 Nunnawauk Road. Bonus: there’s a bake sale, too.

Pat Hubert, author of the recently published Major Philip Ulmer, a Hero of the American Revolution, got some great news this week. The first shipment of her book sold out in London, England, and a second shipment was airlifted to London and Edinburgh, in order to satisfy the buying frenzy of folks there. (I guess readers in the UK want to know all about the heroes who won freedom for Americans.) Lisbon, and Sydney, Australia have also received their first shipments of Pat’s book. “I’m just blown away with the whole idea that Major Philip Ulmer’s book has already traveled halfway around the world,” says Pat. Luckily, there’s no need to travel overseas to get your copy of the book  — you can order it on www.amazon.com.

Speaking of books, if you are clearing your shelves to make room for Pat’s book and others, the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library would appreciate your donations. The Fall Book Donation Day is set for Sunday, October 19, from noon to 5 pm. Bring books, CDs, DVDs, LPs, and computer games you no longer need to the back parking lot of the library at 25 Main Street, and volunteers will be happy to take them off your hands. You can get a tax receipt for your donations, too.

Have you walked and rewalked all of your favorite hiking trails? Well, the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, in conjunction with Aquarion, the DEEP, and the Nature Conservancy, is building a new hiking trail in Redding and Easton. They could use some help, though, so a work day is scheduled for this Saturday, September 27, beginning at 9 am. Various teams will work on projects like bridge building, treadway clearing, blazing, and side hilling. To volunteer, visit www.ctwoodlands.org. PS — Saturday is also National Public Lands Day, if you need another reason to get involved.

You are planning to attend the chbMakers Open House on Saturday, right? Stop by the C.H. Booth Library, anytime between noon and 4 pm, and discover all kinds of hands-on demonstrations by community members anxious to share their knowledge with you. The programs are for all ages, and adults will have as much fun as any kid. From low-tech needle arts to high tech 3D printers, the library is the place to learn — no surprise!

The last clay workshop, mask making techniques, has been set for Saturday, October 6, from 1 to 3 pm, at HealingNewtown, 14 West Street, Newtown (lower level of the Newtown Congregational Church). Led by Karen Pinto and Rosiland Liljengren, the workshop will concentrate on a mask making technique for hand building with clay. No experience necessary. There is limited enrollment and reservations are required. Students under 16 must be accompanied by a participating adult. All materials and supplies provided. Access //www.eventbrite.com/o/healingnewtownhttp: or 334-637-7812 to register. Contact director Valerie Culbertson at artshealingnewtown@gmail.com for further information.

All aspiring artists and wordsmiths, ages 19 and under, are reminded that the deadline for New Stories for Newtown, sponsored by the C.H. Booth Library, has been extended to October 31. That gives you a few extra weeks to tweak your best work, before submitting it. This is a chance to see your work published in one of two books, alongside famous authors and illustrators. Volunteer judges will review the submissions, and special recognition will be given to pieces judges deem worthy of silver or gold recognition. For details and an entry form, go to www.chboothlibrary.org.

Newtown resident Cindy Hedrick is feeling mighty proud of her son, Matt Bach. Matt finished in first place in the Cambridge, Md. Inaugural Ironman Maryland competition, last Saturday, September 20.  In case you are wondering what Ironman is, it involves a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2 marathon. And no, there is no break in between the races! Congratulations to Matt and all of his supporters.

Okay, all you lonely work at home people. You are invited to a Work From Home luncheon, Thursday, October 2, from 11:30 am to 1 pm, at Sweet Mango, in the Plaza South, South Main Street. Contact Greg Pategas for more information, at 914-414-5164 or 203-270-6688, or at greg.pategas@att.net. This social lunch group is geared for both men and women who need to step away from solo work in the home environment, network, and have some fun. (If you’ve been attending other Work From Home luncheons, please note that the upcoming one is not on a Friday, as it usually has been.)

Newtown High School senior Portia Baudisch is our new intern at The Newtown Bee. Portia has had a foot in the journalism world since participating on Sandy Hook School’s Foot Print Post, and currently writes for the high school’s Hawkeye. She’s planning to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. Look for her first story in next week’s edition of The Bee. I hear she has the scoop on what the Newtown Middle School students are planning for this year’s My Favorite Scarecrow Contest.

You can bet I’ll have the scoop on what’s what, next week. Be sure to… Read me again.