Newtown residents were prolific, celebrated, artistic, and visible in myriad ways during the past 12 months, even if pandemic life stretched into its second year. While COVID safety guidelines continued to keep much of life slower or otherwise subdued, many managed to nevertheless share their talents with the community.

One of the most recent stories shared was the very successful run by Sasha and Jim Allen on NBC-TV’s The Voice. The Newtown residents advanced to the semifinals of the popular singing competition’s most recent season. They were the first father-son duo for the program, and Sasha made television history when he became the first openly transgender singer on the NBC series to make it past the competition’s Battle Rounds.

While the Allens may have finished competing during the semifinals on December 7, they were part of a pre-recorded ensemble performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” that aired on December 14.

They are just two of a multitude of people Newtown Bee readers were introduced to during the past 12 months. Among the first stories shared was the introduction of Newtown’s First Baby of 2021. Ivy Jeanfaivre earned that honor when the third child of Callie and Gary Jeanfaivre was born on January 7, joining two older siblings.

Pat Salvo shared the story of how he and his wife Diane founded Ross’s Responders, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization named for their late son that encourages people of all ages to be active in training first responders, volunteering, and showing kindness to others. One of the organization’s first acts was to facilitate the donation of 13 refurbished automatic external defibrillators to Newtown Police Department.

The one-room Middle Gate Schoolhouse was given a new coat of exterior paint and received some much-needed interior repairs in the spring. Newtown Historical Society received financial and service donations to offer its historic building on Cold Spring Road some much-needed updates.

In July, readers met a small but mighty cat — Benny Brightwater — who was being cared for by Kitten Associates. A feline with multiple medical adversities, Benny and his family — including sisters and mother — were fostered to Rachael DeMaida, who worked with specialists to improve Benny’s mobility. By October, Benny and sibling Ellington were formally adopted by an Ellington couple; and fellow sibling Cornelius Crumbpickle was adopted by a local couple. Luna, the mother, is still being fostered.

Local authors were prolific, with many books published during the past 12 months. Charles Rafferty published his 16th, 17th and 18th published works this year; Andrea Zimmermann, her second novel (and fourth published title); and author Justin Scott collaborated for the first time with his wife, Amber Edwards, for the October release of their murder mystery.

Ida LaVerne Blackwell and Jenny Hubbard each published memoirs, and former Newtown educator E.C. Hanson released his first horror collection. Former Newtown resident Lorraine Hurley also checked in this year, releasing her debut cookbook.

Speaking of writers, Newtown Bee readers have been treated since May to a new occasional offering. “For The Love of Gardening” is a new column from master gardener, former drama teacher, and longtime Newtown resident Sydney Eddison.

Betty Presnell continued her one-woman bottle and can drive. Launched last year to initially recoup the losses of the canceled Nunnawauk Meadows Residents Association Annual Community Tag & Bake Sale, Presnell has since covered that, and continued collecting and redeeming bottles and cans from friends, neighbors, and strangers she has connected with through Facebook and stories in this newspaper. To date she has made donations to American Cancer Society, Families United in Newtown, The Juvenile Diabetes Association, and Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Holiday Celebrations, Seasonal Events

The cautious return of holiday celebrations was witnessed in 2021. American Legion Post 202 hosted its second “Taps Along the Housatonic” Memorial Day event, and VFW Post 308 held a ceremony to pay tribute to members of the military who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

That holiday weekend kicked off with a big win for Jillian Hoag, who was the first place winner of The Great Pootatuck Duck Race that Saturday. Rainfall during the week prior to the event led to a last-minute change of plans — winning tickets were picked from a barrel, rather than Lions Club members risking rubber ducks, and themselves, in the raging Pootatuck River — but the event was still enjoyed by those who attended the event, which was filled with vendors, organizations, entertainment, and food offerings.

Labor Day Weekend continued at Dickinson Park on September 5 with the annual Panacea & Friends concert. In addition to the live music enjoyed by multiple generations, this year’s concert and food drive for FAITH Food Pantry also honored the life of Bridget Seaman, a Newtown Bee employee and longtime supporter of the town’s food pantry who died unexpectedly in April.

The 2021 Labor Day Parade was canceled — organizers decided in late July that it would not be safe for a second year to have crowds marching down and others lined along the town’s parade route — but a small offering was planned. Rob Emmerthal invited tractor owners and enthusiasts to join him for the second annual Labor Day Tractor Parade.

Following a one-year hiatus, Newtown Arts Festival returned to Fairfield Hills in the autumn. Organizers said a record number of artisans, attendees, and sponsors spent at least part of the weekend of September 16-18 at the signature event of Newtown Cultural Arts Commission.

October saw the return of The Great Pumpkin Challenge, which for the 11th year presented a large display of carved pumpkins on Main Street while also raising funds for The Hole in The Wall Gang Camp.

Trick or Treating also returned in full this year, with thousands of people returning to Main Street on October 31. Local officials had deemed the pandemic too dangerous to allow the traditional throngs of people to go shoulder-to-shoulder for hours in 2020.

Also back was the Newtown Holiday Festival, the annual major fundraiser for Newtown Youth & Family Services. Multiple events took place along Main Street on December 5; additional special events were also presented in the week before and after that focal date.

A day earlier, Rotary returned to Edmond Town Hall’s Alexandria Room to offer its 61st Pancake Breakfast. The Garden Club of Newtown also offered its annual event on December 4, moving its Holiday Greens Sale into the gymnasium of 45 Main Street, where they and their customers had more space to move around in for that group’s big fundraiser.

New Hires & Retirements

Sandy Hook resident Jennifer Nash began her tenure as the new assistant director of C.H. Booth Library in March.

Former CHB Library Assistant Director Beryl Harrison’s retirement was then celebrated in June. COVID-19 had prevented a gathering in 2020, when she had planned to step down after 30 years of service.

In September, Newtown Forest Association formally announced its first executive director. Trent McCann of Stamford has been hired to lead the otherwise volunteer organization dedicated to preserving more than 1,400 acres of land in Newtown.

Also that month, the fifth time was the charm for The Garden Club of Newtown. Following multiple delays due to the pandemic, the club celebrated its 65th anniversary with a gala luncheon at Rock Ridge Country Club.

While not a paid position, Newtown native Maureen Crick Owen was elected in early 2021 as president of the Connecticut Cemetery Association.

Art, Entertainment

Giving back and supporting teaching the arts is at the heart of what Newtown artist Meagan Ferriter has been doing through her studio, Limekiln Studio. Readers in March learned about Ferriter, and how her art studio’s sales support humanitarian projects in Russia and Dominica.

Newtown native Rick Kuhn released his second paperback, Newtown Scenes: The Paintings of Rick Kuhn. The second collection of original paintings to be captured in book form, the release celebrates the former resident’s love of his childhood hometown through acrylic paintings depicting the town from the 1960s through 2020.

Members of The Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society visited Newtown twice this year. The first visit was in April, for a paint-out event along Main Street, followed in June by a two-day show and sale — and continued on-site painting — at the historic Budd House property.

Newtown native and illustrator Ryan Ames was one of six Western Connecticut State University Master of Fine Arts candidates to have work featured in the university’s annual MFA Thesis Exhibition. While the public could not visit the exhibition in person (COVID…), an online presentation allowed everyone to nevertheless view the works of all candidates. The collection was later presented at Blue Mountain Gallery in New York as well.

Also during the summer, the town dog park had a colorful mural added to its landscape. Lindsay Fuori, who had received a grant from Newtown Cultural Arts Commission for the project, spent approximately 60 hours working in weather ranging from scattered rain to 90 degrees. The completed mural was unveiled on August 16.

Indoor exhibitions continued at C.H. Booth Library and Newtown Municipal Center, although in yet another nod to the pandemic, they opened and closed without celebratory receptions.

Aquila’s Nest Vineyards in Sandy Hook also hosted its first outdoor collaboration with The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut.

Ellie Boyd embodied an important step toward normalcy when she spoke to nearly three dozen people gathered in the lower meeting room of Newtown Meeting House for the first artist program hosted by The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown in 13-plus months. The pandemic had forced the cancellation of dozens of SCAN artist demos, workshops, and exhibitions. It tiptoed back into public programs by hosting small members-only events before opening programs up to the public again.

The 69th Stardust Revue, the annual performance by students of Lathrop School of Dance, returned to the stage of Edmond Town Hall in June. Indoor movies returned the following month, with limitations, of course.

For the first time in its history, Edmond Town Hall offered screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the musical comedy horror cult classic that was not exactly a box office smash upon its initial release 46 years ago. Audiences responded, many in costume and bearing props, to three screening opportunities in mid-October.

Readers this year also met recent Newtown arrivals Sophie and Paul Tiesler. The two began the year exploring their new hometown while also preparing for a first: the actors were preparing to co-star in a theatrical production together.

Resident actor Brett Boles also checked in this year, after he began offering a new video series on TikTok he described as spilling “the tea about why certain musical theater songs work so well from a songwriter’s perspective, all in 60 seconds or less.”

Live theater cautiously stepped back on stage this year. Town Players of Newtown opened their 2021 season in May with a one-night-only cabaret fundraiser. Keeping the audience numbers reduced, and asking all guests to wear masks, the event opened The Little Theatre for the first time in over a year. Productions of The Elephant Man and The Fantasticks were then presented to close the abbreviated season.

NewArts also returned to in-person performances this year, offering an outdoor cabaret at Newsylum in August and then two weekends of A Christmas Carol performances at Edmond Town Hall Theatre.

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Associate Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.