Continued congratulations to Laura Lerman, who will be formally named a Class of 2024 CT Arts Awards Connecticut Art Hero during an induction ceremony in Hartford on April 2. We had a nice story in print and online about that new accolade for our friend, who also shared some exciting news during her interview for that story: The current exhibition at The Gallery at Newtown Municipal Center, “SCAN’s Color in Winter” has been extended to March 21 to give the members of that artists collective a little more time for their work to be viewed and admired.

The next presentation at The Gallery at Newtown Municipal Center will be the annual K-12 Visual Art Show, opening Monday, March 31, and remaining on view until Friday, April 11. Laura said she didn’t want to ask an artist to present their work for just three weeks, which is why she offered the extension to SCAN. The week of March 24-28 will be changeover time, with Newtown Public Schools art educators given that time to fine-tune how they would like the collection to be presented.

Newtown resident Doug Calderone continues to expand where his art can be seen. Readers are reminded that Doug was a self-employed, right-handed carpenter and artist until he suffered a massive stroke in 2023 which left him unable to use his right hand. He also has aphasia, which severely limits his speech. As part of Doug’s rehabilitation he began teaching himself how to paint using his left hand. It has slowly evolved into his own unique style, often featuring penguins, a favorite subject of his. His work has been in multiple exhibitions at C.H. Booth Library and a few local businesses. A large painting featuring Scooby-Doo dropped within a Newtown landscape can be seen outside the western wall of Sentimenti on Queen Street.

Now he is sharing some of his work with fellow patients of The Neurovation Center in Sandy Hook. Doug is a regular participant of neurofeedback there. He now has a collection of his work on view there, dubbed “A Wall of Inspiration,” which he hopes will encourage others who have had setbacks or challenges in their life to keep trying and never give up.

Sentimenti is also carrying something new from artist Michelle Rosenthal. Readers probably remember the beautiful watercolor Michelle did for our 2024 holiday cover, “Newtown’s Winter Steeples,” which depicted the familiar view of the Congregational church, meeting house and Episcopal church steeples, as well as our Main Street flagpole, as seen from Castle Hill. We and Michelle all heard so many nice compliments about that image. She has now turned the work into blank greeting cards of at least two sizes, and a print, which can all be purchased at the 5 Queen Street store.

The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library were delighted to learn last week that The Boston Globe’s Globe Magazine has included their annual book sale in its exclusive Spring Arts Preview of 30 can’t-miss events in New England, calling the sale “One of the largest and most well-run book sales in the country.” Be sure to mark your calendars for the 49th annual sale this July 11-15 at Reed Intermediate School.

A few weeks ago I mentioned “Keys for a Cause,” a new fundraiser for Newtown Youth & Family Services. Tickets weren’t on sale then, but someone must have heard my promise to start caterwauling if they didn’t go on sale soon because I received a note last week that tickets are indeed now available. The new Mental Health Awareness Month fundraiser is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, 6:30-9:30 pm, at NewSylum Brewery, 36 Keating Farms Avenue. New York NY Dueling Pianos will bring their comedy-based dueling piano show to town that night. Their performers sing and play everything from Taylor Swift, Jimmy Buffett and Garth Brooks to Queen, Jerry Lee Lewis, Metallica and just about everyone in between. All are invited to enjoy the food, craft beer (21+), and live music. The evening will also include raffles. Tickets are $65 — which covers the food and drinks in addition to the music — and available through NewtownYouthAndFamilyServices.org.

With Lent having returned last Wednesday, we are within one of the holiest seasons of the year. Here at 5 Church Hill Road, it also means we are in pre-plan time for the 2025 Newtown Bee Peeps Diorama Contest. Lynn Remson won both the in-house trophy and 2024 Peep-le’s Choice honor with her amazing “Peep-Go-Round” last year. We know we’ll have at least four entries again this year. We’d love to also see creations by readers, which happened last year when Suzie Sims-Fletcher shared photos of her “RaPEEPzul” as a comment on our Facebook post about the contest. If you’re not the creative type but do enjoy admiring the creativity of others, pencil Thursday and Friday, April 17-18, on your calendar. The 24 hours between noon Thursday and noon Friday will be the voting period for this year’s competition, which will again be done through Facebook. The winner(s) will be announced early Good Friday afternoon.

Nathan Settevendemie is a winner this week. The eighth grade student of Mabelle B. Avery Middle School in Somers was crowned the 2025 Connecticut Spelling Champion on March 9, after he correctly spelled “polonaise” during his 13th appearance at the microphone that afternoon. Nathan will now represent Connecticut in late May at the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. This will be his second trip to Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Port Washington, Md., having also been crowned the state champion two years ago. Newtown resident and 2024 Connecticut Champion Hayden Hughes earned second place this year. Well done Nathan, Hayden, and every student who rose to that challenge.

Tuesday was a special day for Jeff Williams. Our sales rep met his future wife, Justine Joy, on a blind date March 11, 1989. Jeff was from Greenwich and Justine lived in Sandy Hook. Jeff’s best friend needed a ride to see his girlfriend and arranged the blind date, thus setting off a lifelong romance. They dined at Pizza Palace and saw the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels from the Edmond Town Hall balcony. Justine and Jeff then dated for six years before marrying in 1995, and they’ve lived in Milford since 1998. Their enduring love story could not have been scripted any better.

Keeping things in-house for one more minute, let’s give a big cheer for reporters Sam Cross and Jenna Visca, who also celebrated something fun on Tuesday: they became certified FrogWatch Volunteers! I saw how excited they were to learn about frogs and get their certificates, so it came as no surprise that they braved the stormy weather late last Wednesday to go to the Peabody-Beardsley-Maritime FrogWatch Chapter virtual training at Newtown Community Center. They joined others to learn all about the personal benefits and scientific outcomes of frog watching, as well as the many kinds of frogs that can be found throughout Connecticut. The girls then had to put their knowledge to the test and pass an Amphibian Call and Volunteer Training Assessment they took last Friday. They learned they passed and received their certificates on Tuesday, so now the girls can go out into the field and start collecting data as soon as they hear the frogs start calling.

I hope you’re inspired to share fun notes like this with me. I can be reached at mountain@thebee.com or through Facebook (@TopOfTheMountainCat). I love collecting tidbits and weaving them together so that you can return each week and … read me again.