Declan Procaccini, a board member with Embrace Hope, is concerned about rumors that the 100 percent volunteer Sandy Hook-based nonprofit has shut down. Not true, we are told! The organization, originally established in 2013, continues to offer equine therapy, free of charge, to children and other individuals who have been victims of trauma, and is thriving. Certified therapist Mary Poupon is working with the Sandy Hook Equestrian Center at 5 Morgan Drive in Sandy Hook to provide therapy sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. Again, the therapy is free of charge. For further information or to arrange a session, contact Embrace Hope at 203-364-7000.www.newtownbee.com) to keep track of who will be performing in each series.www.newtown-ct.gov.

Cafe Xpresso, 150 South Main Street, has a novelty tea on the menu these days. Cheese Tea anyone? I'm told that it is the latest food craze. According to a press release from Cafe Xpresso, "The cheese used in cheese tea is cream cheese - a little sweet and a little salty - combined with sweetened cream. It forms a tall, frothy head at the top of the beverage, sort of like whipped cream. The teas are often matcha, black, and fruity." How can you tell someone has indulged in a Cheese Tea? The frothy moustache is a giveaway "because shops tell customers not to use straws so they can taste both flavors of the drink at the same time." I'm all for adventure; maybe they'd serve a cat the cheese minus the tea, do you think?

If you're an early bird walker at Fairfield Hills, get ready to step aside for the runners taking part in the annual Rooster Run & Walk, Saturday, June 23. Runners start the race at 8 am from the Municipal Center, where the race also ends. If you want to join in and haven't registered, don't fret; on site registration is available until 7:45 am on Saturday. The miles you put on will benefit the Newtown Scholarship Association.

There's another Flagpole Barn free concert this Saturday, June 23. Celebrate the first official weekend of summer with music by the Merchants of Rhythm. Sounds like dancing shoes are in order. BYOC - Bring your own chair! Donations are appreciated and go towards the band. Anything additional gets donated to support the arts in Newtown. The concert takes place in the barn, located in the back of Jennifer and Michael Guman's home on the corner of Main Street and Church Hill Road. Please use the Church Hill Road driveway entrance. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and you'll hear music from 7 to 9 pm. Find out more at Flagpole Barn Facebook page.

In between the race and the music, maybe you can squeeze in support for the Rally for Humanity outside Edmond Town Hall, 4 to 6 pm, on Saturday. The rally organizers hope to bring attention to the separation of children from parents at the US-Mexico border.

Two annual music programs will be returning to Dickinson Park within the week. The Summer Jam Children's Concert Series will return to the bandshell at 50 Elm Drive for a sixth season with performances on Tuesdays, at 6 pm, beginning June 26. The series, a program of Newtown Parks & Recreation, is free. Summer Jam will open with a return by Joanie Leeds and The Nightlights. Following a break for Independence Day the following week, the series will return on July 10, and then continue weekly through August 7. These shows will be approximately one hour each.

Then, on Thursday, June 28, the Summer Concert Series begins, with the park as the site for a performance of rock, folk, and bluegrass by Unclaimed Baggage. That series will also take a break the following week but will resume on July 12 with a show by The Locomotives, who play folk, rock, and blues covers as well as their own tunes. Thursday evening concerts will be about 90 minutes each. Guests for either concert series will need to bring their own seating. Check our Community Calendar each week on page A2 or on the Calendar page of our website (

The Annual Pony Rides For Jessica Rekos event to support the Jessica Rekos Foundation will take place at the Second Company Governor's Horse Guard grounds at Fairfield Hills, Saturday, June 30, from 11 am to 4 pm. It was originally scheduled in May, but was twice rescheduled due to stormy weather. You'll find pony rides, horse shoe painting and other equine-related crafts, hair braiding, face painting, children's entertainment, bake sale, refreshments and food, and a raffle and a silent auction at the event.

Among the numerous camps and activities offered this summer by our Newtown Parks & Rec Department is one from Paint, Draw, & More! of West Redding. Full days of art camp at Reed Intermediate School are July 16-20, July 23-27, and July 30-August 3, from 9 am to 3 pm. Ages 5 to 8 and 9 to 13 are welcome to register for classes, including drawing, painting, mask making, sculpture, and more. Campers should bring a lunch, snack, and smock. Cost for a week is $304. To register, call Newtown Parks and Recreation at 203-270-4340 or visit

Our cheeks are a little red for not recognizing Audrey Grasso in the June 15 "Way We Were" photo! Audrey, second from left in that picture, was one of our own, a Bee reporter. Margot Hall provided info on the individuals seated at the desk, identifying them as James Smith, Audrey Grasso, Joan Crick, and Mark Cooper. Margo recalls that Mark later became sanitarian selectman in Southbury. Many thanks to Margot for this update.

There was no doubt about the season early this week, when 90-plus degree temperatures and high humidity tamped down activities and even caused an early school closing on Monday. Summer officially begins with the longest day of the year on June 21 (or began, should you be reading this after Thursday). More temperate weather kicks off the real summer, but don't you worry - there will be plenty more sweltering days in the coming weeks as Mother Nature reminds us who is boss. Keep cool; and remember that Parks & Rec welcomes all to purchase passes for Treadwell Park pool and the beach at Eichler's Cove. Not to mention, the library is a good place to cool off on a hot day, and you can get in some quiet reading, too.

It's not quiet everywhere in the library, though. There is plenty of bustle in the sorting room. Volunteers with the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library know that it is really not that long until the gigantic, annual book sale gets underway on July 7. They are busy packing up the boxes and boxes of books and other exciting items (all to be sold at amazing bargain prices). Speaking of boxes, the Friends are hoping that dealers and others will attend to a special request regarding the tradition of lining up boxes outside the Reed School venue. "Because of the late school closing, we are telling the dealers on our e-mail list that they can't line up their boxes during the week of 6/25 (last year they started lining up placeholder bags and boxes two weeks in advance). We're saying no to placeholders before the 30th," Toni Earnshaw, the Friends' publicity director, tells me. It's nice to be first in line at this incredible book bonanza, but hang onto your placeholder this year, please.

I hope you'll hold a place in your heart for this column next week. Be sure to... Read me again.