The more I type entries into the calendar, the more I realize that I can’t be everywhere in the county that I want to be to attend its various events. I do, however, wish I could see what the reaches of the county has to offer. That’s why I’m asking my readers to step in. One a week, I will chose a submitted photo at random and put it on the blog along with a description of the event and what is going on in the photo. I’ll be taking all types of photos of community events, from fundraisers to tag sales to concerts. Interested? Send an e-mail to lposter@middletownpress.com with your photo and tell me all about your event. With some luck, your photo will be chosen for the blog that week. I’m looking forward to seeing what my shutterbug readers have to share – snap away!

There is plenty to do this week, believe me. My pick for Sunday has to be the B.O.M.B. fest, an all-day concert starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Durham Fairgrounds. Tickets are $60 at the gate. This was a tough pick for me, however, and the close runner-up is the Chester Lions Club annual antique tractor pull at the Chester Fairgrounds. For a $1 donation you can check out the excitement. What can I say, my dad is a former tractor pull champion, and we call that big entertainment where I am from.

Come Monday, you can have your pick of plenty of Memorial Day parades in the area. Check out our Let the Summer Begin special section for more information.

Now, I type in entries for things called "travel films" pretty often. I wish I knew more about what they are. Anyone know? Well, a travel film on Kentucky will be shown from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Arch Room of the Cromwell Belden Public Library Wednesday. No registration required for this free event.

Speaking of movies, “Love Happens” will be shown at 6 p.m. at the Brainerd Library in Haddam Thursday. What can I say, I love a good chick flick.

Come Friday, The Phoenix Theater Company will be presenting the 25th anniversary of Dan Goggins’ “Nunsense” at 8 p.m. at Town Hall Theater, 174 Main St., Deep River. Tickets $20 for adults, $18 for students and seniors and $15 for groups of 10 or more. I hear it's a riot. Check out the Weekend special section of the paper to read more about it. For reservations and information, visit www.phoenixtheater.us or call (860) 291-2988.

There's something for the whole family this weekend with The Community Kids Carnival at the Middlefield Community Center Saturday, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information contact Susan D’Orvilliers at (860) 349-2454.

This week, I decided I would visit Illiano’s and take part in a fundraiser for a good cause. A Relay for Life team was holding a fundraiser at the local eatery’s two locations, so Lauren and I made our way to the Washington Street Illiano's. Relay for Life is an annual event organized by the American Cancer Society. In cities across the nation, teams sign up to raise funds for cancer research. In an overnight event, team members walk around a designated route, usually an indoor track, through the entire event. In Middletown, the event will be held from June 12 to 13 at Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

We met with Connie Raymond, who is heading up Team Frani, named in honor of her sister, who died a year ago after a battle with lung cancer. Raymond also lost her mother, Pauline, and father, Dan, to the disease.

After reading about a Relay for Life meeting that was taking place locally in January, Raymond decided to get involved.

"I decided I wanted to do something so that other families didn't have to go through what ours

went through," she said.

Now Raymond is part of a large team of volunteers who are trying to raise money through Relay for Life to fight cancer. In fact, Team Frani grew so large -- to the maximum number of 15 people -- that a second team had to be formed, named Team Frani II. The second team now has 10 members.

The two teams set a combined goal of earning $3,000, which they had surpassed just before the Wednesday fundraising event. Of the 69 teams currently registered for the event, the first Team Frani is the third-highest in terms of amount raised, and of the 631 participants taking place in the event, Raymond's contributions put her in the top 15. All together, Middletown Relay for Life has earned $45,685.62 as of Wednesday.

"We've earned just over $3,000," Raymond said. "Not a lot over, just over."

"Everybody thought I was crazy for going with a goal so high, but I figured that if they tried so hard to beat it, I can try hard and maybe help the American Cancer Society find a cure," Raymond said. "Now I'm hoping to hit $5,000."

The group has been selling Relay for Life bracelets, cookies and candy to raise funds. They have also held car washes and bake sales, and have collection cans at South Side Market and The Wine Cellar. They will continue to fundraise at the Relay for Life event by having a raffle on a

"summer fun" basket. One nontraditional way they raised money was through Bunco.

I had never heard of Bunco, but Raymond explained that it was a dice game that her sister enjoyed playing. The eight-girl team her sister used to be a part of agreed to donate their winnings from the game for two months.

Because she knew that Illiano's did fundraising events in the community, she asked if they would be willing to support the cause and they agreed to donate part of their earnings for the day. Many members of Team Frani were planning on attending the fundraiser, and Raymond said that members of her sister's softball team would be stopping by after their game that evening.

Though the event is fast approaching, Raymond said that fundraising doesn't stop.

"It's 365 days a year that we fundraise," she said. After Aug. 1, we fundraise for next year."

Raymond's daughter, Raianne, also attended the fundraiser. The Middletown High School 2008 graduate said she participated in the event throughout high school in honor of her grandparents.

Members of Frani's family, including her husband and her three children, ranging in age from 14 to 20, are planning on walking through the overnight shift at the event.

Though this is her first year taking part in the event, Raymond said "This is something I'm going to try every year."

After the Raymond said their goodbyes, Lauren and I were able to try some of the Illiano's fare and do our part to give back. She had some cheese pizza slices and I had the broccoli bread, and we were both very happy with our selections. It was delicious, and she's the food blogger, so you know it's true.

We got the chance to speak to our waitress, Gemmina Magnano. She has been a waitress at Illiano's for the past six years, and said she has known the restaurant to frequently participate in fundraising events by making donations of gift cards and pizzas. She also said she was glad to be taking part in the Relay for Life

fundraising.

"It's really nice," she said. "My fiance's father passed away from cancer, and I'm all about helping out."

We also got to meet Magnano's coworkers, Ryan Lancia and Brittany Dorflinger, who let me snap some shots as they tossed dough to form a crust and served pizza, respectively.

I was quite glad to meet the Raymonds and learn more about Middletown's upcoming Relay for Life. After an afternoon spent at Illiano's, I'm glad to say I now have a new favorite pizza place and an uplifting story to tell.

To learn more about Team Frani, click here.

Hi all. So there is plenty going on in the coming week, and boy do I wish I could do it all.

Let's start with Friday night. The comic musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is being staged at 7 p.m. at East Hampton High School. For $10, you can see a cast of actors perform in a mock spelling bee. But not just actors get in on the fun -- they bring audience members onto the stage as well. My work buddy Jeff wrote a review on the performance, and advised the whole newsroom to attend. He had a blast, and I wish I could make it.

This certified bibliophile loves a good book sale, and the Durham Public Library is having its P.A.L.S. book sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. There's nothing like getting a few new gems for the shelves and supporting a local library in the process.

On Monday, The Middlesex County Historical Society will present “A Songwriter from Connecticut: The Civil War Era Music of Henry Clay Work” at 7 p.m. in the Hubbard Room at Russell Library. Work, a Middletown native, will be discussed and his music will be presented. It will be an interesting dip into Middletown's history through one of its gifted sons.

Another "historic" event will take place Tuesday, when the Portland Historical Society will host Sharon Smith, author of “Connecticut’s Civil War - A Guide for Travelers” at its monthly program meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Portland Library. Civil War buffs really have it made this week with these two events.

The May program of the East Hampton Art Association will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the East Hampton Community Center, 105 Main St. Wednesday. The program for the evening will be presented by Terry Oakes Bourret of Durham. She will be doing a color mixing demonstration on mixing greens for plein air painting. There is a suggested donation of $4 for non-members. I did a lot of en plein air painting growing up (mostly because I was a very sloppy fingerpainter). But in all seriousness, art keeps the creative mind alive, and I'd suggest painting to even the most notice stick-figure drawers (yours truly included).

Now, there have been a lot of events in the calendar recently raising funds for Relay for Life. One in particular is a fundraiser to be held at Illiano's in Middletown Wednesday, where from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., a portion of sales will be contributed to Relay for Life. Supporting at cause and getting some good food in the process -- there's nothing wrong with that!

As Memorial Day is fast approaching, many parades and ceremonies honoring those who have passed are coming up in the calendar. One of the earliest such events is a veteran's memorial ceremony. Members of the American Legion and VFW of Durham are decorating the grave sites of U.S. Veterans in the three Durham cemeteries Thursday. All veterans are encouraged to participate and will meet at the Durham Town Hall at 6 p.m. Keep an eye out in the calendar for Memorial Day events near you.

So what are you doing this week?

This week, I was lucky enough to find an incredible event literally right around the corner from the Middletown Press office. I attended the St. Sebastian Festival, which was held this weekend at St. Sebastian Church as part of a celebration of the church's patron.

I was telling my good friend Leah, who happened to be visiting me this past weekend, about the event, and it certainly piqued her interest. You see, Leah has studied and worked in Italy for more than a year and returned to the states only a few months ago. She couldn't resist the temptation of the much-discussed desserts and Italian food at the event, and I was glad to have her accompany me and graciously allow me to show off the city in which I work.

Upon arriving Saturday on a perfectly warm and cloudless afternoon, we milled around the area of the church yard populated with carnival rides and met some local people. We first met Cindy Mann, who attended with her children Gianna, 4, and Tyler 11, as well as her fiance, Julius Thomas, all of Middletown. I snapped some photos of Gianna taking a fun tumble down an inflatable slide. Her favorite ride was the helicopters, she told me.

We also met Joe Serrano and his wife, Tammi, of Middletown, who were reviving a tradition at this year's festival with their children, Anthony, 5, and Nicholas, 8 months.

"When I was a kid I used to come here," Serrano said. "This is my first time coming here since I was a kid." We watched as Anthony gleefully navigated an "Alice in Wonderland"-themed funhouse, somewhat jealous because Leah and I were both in agreement that it looked like much fun, and that our funhouse days had certainly come and gone.

We then met Kelly Nowotynski, her daughter, Alexis Riley, 4, Nicholas Amenta and his daughter, Elizabeth, 5, all of Middletown. They were headed for the car ride, and I snapped some shots as the girls raced round and round on matching motorcycles.

Upon leaving the carnival rides area, we set our eyes on a dunking booth, and I couldn't resist taking a few more shots. We met Michael Vecchitto, who was one of the day's many volunteers. He was thoroughly cold and wet by the time we made his acquaintance, and we waited patiently to watch the dunking. Too bad we were both in the splash zone when it happened!

By this time we had worked up a sufficient appetite, especially because we were in the food area of the church yard and there were so many delicious smells mingling in the midway. Many different restaurants were on hand with booths, providing some staple items. We spoke with Joanne Camp, of Middletown, a member of St. Sebastian Church who said she has been coming to the festival "for as long as they've had it."

"I like just being out and seeing the people," she said. "And eating." She got our attention. We asked what the best thing to have was, and she said the sausage grinders were good, but a bit on the spicy side.

As a journalist, I spend a lot of time tracking down good stories, so I love it when a good story tracks me down! Leah and I were all set to grab some grinders and test the advice for ourselves when I was flagged down by Michael Hennessey, who told me that he and his friends, Mark Tuttle and Brian Vandeventer, all of Portland, had given their wives the day off and taken their children for what Hennessey called "Daddy daycare."

Hennessey, originally from Middletown, was familiar with the event and thought it would be "a good distraction to tire the children out a little bit."

"This is a fantastic family fun event," he added. Each father came with two children. The Hennessy children were Brynn, 6, and Caden, 3, the Tuttle children were Mason, 4, and Mara, 2, and the Vandeventer children were Leah, 4, and Chase, 1. As I recorded ages, Leah was quick to correct her father's report and inform me that she was, in fact, 4 and a half, and Brynn added that she was 6 and a half. Let the record show these half years, I say! (How cute?!)

After saying our goodbyes, the older Leah and I bought some tickets and were set off of our sausage grinder path when we realized that fried ravioli was a possibility. And boy was it good, and just this side of too rich. With an excess of tickets -- like I didn't have that planned all along -- we needed to purchase desserts. On a hot day like that, there was no other option for me but Italian ice. I spoke to the vendor, who told me that he probably forms 300 scoops each day of the festival. I guess I wasn't the only one needing an ice-cold treat! Leah was happy to find a pastry called sfogliatelle, which she hasn't seen for purchase since a trip to southern Italy many months ago. Delighted, she peeled off ribbons of her pastry and recounted her many happy memories of Italy. We made our way down Washington Street, enjoying our desserts and reflecting on a happy afternoon spent at the festival. Clearly this time I wasn't the only one who left the event with a story to tell.

As usual, there is plenty to do in Middlesex County this week.

“Julie and Julia” will be shown at 6 p.m. at Brainerd Library Thursday. I’ve been dying to see this movie, but I’ve never found the time to see it. My mother-in-law and my work buddy Lauren both swear by it, so it must be great.

In Middletown Friday, at the Green Street Arts Center, 51 Green St., you can see “To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey,” the documentary that won filmmaker Reaghan Tarbell the Best Feature Documentary in 2008 at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival. A $5 donation is suggested for the event where Tarbell will be introducing the documentary.

You’ll find in our community calendar that there are events for children and grown-ups alike. This Saturday, there is a great event for the kiddies to attend, but something going on later that parents will enjoy. The Moody Elementary School PTA will sponsor Touch a Truck at Van Buren Moody Elementary School, 300 Country Club Road, Middletown, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $3. Children will be allowed to touch, climb on and ask questions about their favorite trucks. Also, the Middletown Spartans Football club will be on hand to catch and throw footballs with the children, and Rocky, the mascot of the New Britain Rock Cats, will sign autographs. What a great time for kids! For adults, however, the Connecticut Lyric Opera and Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra are double billed at the Middletown High School Performing Arts Center, 200 LaRosa Drive, Middletown. They will be performing both the two-act opera “I Pagliacci” and the one-act opera “Gianni Schicchi” starting at 7:30 p.m. Single adult tickets are $25 each. Student and group prices are available. Checks should be made out and sent to the Greater Middletown Concert Association, P.O.Box 2622, Middletown, CT 06457, and tickets will be mailed or held at the door for purchasers. Reservations for tickets by credit cards or checks will also be taken at www.greatermiddletownconcerts.org, by phone at (860) 347-4887 or (860) 346-3369 or by e-mail at bmwa@aol.com.

While some events in the calendar do cost a bit of money, here’s an event that will be totally free and totally fun: A family music festival will be offered at The Parklands at Wadsworth Mansion, 421 Wadsworth St., Middletown, at 1 p.m. Sunday. The event is being sponsored as part of National Foster Care Month. Rumor has it that New Haven’s famous Cupcake Truck will be there!

So what are you doing this week?

There was plenty going on at Middletown High School today to keep the town busy. While a meet was taking place just outside the school at its track field, indoors a four-part community event was taking place. The vocational agriculture department at the school played host to a pet adopt, a dog washing, a Girl Scout cookie sale and a plant sale, which took place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I should mention something off the bat: I have never been to Middletown High School. I got the address from our community calendar and popped it into my GPS. Not recognized? What? I then tried to find it on Google Maps, my tried and true friend. No luck. I was able to find some directions on the Middletown Public Schools website, but I was afraid I was going to have to call my work buddy and Middletown native Cathy Avalone to get some directions if I got lost! Take my advice: If you're heading to MHS any time soon, ask a friend for directions.

I was able to find my way though, but I still had the task of finding the vo ag department. After asking a group of teens, I found I had parked on the opposite side of the building. I walked until I saw -- wait, was it really, oh yes, it was -- a horse. And a donkey. I couldn't help but be surprised. Back home, my daily commute involved passing at least a handful of cows in a field,

but since I've moved to the East Coast, I've hardly seen any livestock. But there they were, and I was thus pretty sure I had arrived.

I first made my way over to the room where the pet adoption was taking place. There I saw three little puffballs who were stealing the show. They were three 8-week-old kittens who were put up for adoption by Nancy Newman, of Middletown. The mother cat, a feline Newman rescued named Boots, gave birth to four kittens that Newman brought to the high school for adoption. By the time I had arrived, Newman had given a female kitten, who will be named Maggie, to a family, and Jacob Myjak, 14, would be taking home a

male cat as a Mother's Day gift. I'm sure his mom will be thrilled! These kittens were beyond words adorable, and I had to have proof -- especially because our editor, Viktoria Sundqvist, is a big fan of cats. Myjak and fellow MHS vo-ag student Nick Fullam, 14, were kind enough to bring all of the kittens out of their carrier and let them play while I snapped some photos.

There were two adults cats for adoption as well, and I got to speak with Amanda Thompson, MHS animal sciences teachers, and Debbie Bagley, a representative from Connecticut Association to Assure Love and End Suffering, or CATALES. CATALES is a non-profit organization that helps find homes for cats in need, and they were hoping to place two of their cats at the event. I was able to better acquaint myself with Wilson, a 2-year-old cat who recently had a large tumor removed from his side. According to Bagley, someone had expressed interest in adopting Wilson, and I was glad. Bagley said that the older animals aren't often adopted, which is awfully sad.

I did, however, hear a great story about an older animal being rescued when I met Brad Gould, of Middletown, and his sons Ben, 13, and Alex, 17. They brought their pup Margo, a four-year-old, to the event to be washed. The family had rescued Margo from Southern Hope Animal Rescue League in Roswell, Ga. According to Brad Gould, the dog wasn't adopted because it was an older dog and had a lazy eye. Good to know Margo has a happy home now! And my, what a mild-mannered dog. She didn't fuss at all as Thompson clipped her nails and vo ag students Elizabeth Giguere, 16, Dimitria Gomes, 15, and Kristen McQuillen, 17, gave her a bath.

I made my way past the Girl Scout cookie booth -- trying to resist my ever-present urge to buy a box of those delicious thin mints -- and tried to find my way to the plant sale. My, what a big high school! I figured I'd ask for directions before I lost my way, and so I met Kadijah Smallwood, 15, a vo ag student, who not only showed me to the plant sale, but gave me a tour of the department.

I then met Nan O'Brien and Darlene Przekopski, who were helping to man the sale. Przekopski said that last year, the sale made $4,000, but they were on track to net more than that. "This year seems to be much better," Przekopski said.

I also met Lisa Schuerholz-Winters who, along with co-president Jan Cooke, run the MHS PTA/Partnership. According to Schuerholz-Winters, this is the PTA's only fundraiser. They use the money collected to fund many endeavors in the school, including giving mini-grants to teachers for educational projects and putting photo banners throughout the school.

"We have a brand new high school," said Schuerholz-Winters, "There's lots of space to fill."

While the plant sale funded the PTA and vo ag department, the dog wash funded the vo ag department alone. I asked those volunteering at the event how long the plant sale had been going on, but no one seemed to know when it began because it had been going on for so long. They were able to trace it back to 1999 for certain, but said that it could possibly have been going on long before that.

I also got to speak to Rebecca Isaacson, a plant sciences teacher at MHS, who told me a bit more about the sale and the program. The vo ag program is divided into four parts -- plant sciences, animal sciences, natural resources and agricultural mechanics. There are 120 students in the program, and about 20 students were on hand helping out that day.

Apparently, of the many plants available for sale, MHS students grew 60 percent of them. The rest of the plants were brought in from Pine Ledge Gardens in Portland. According to Isaacson, the grower there is a graduate of the MHS vo ag program, which I thought was pretty cool.

These plants were impressive, too, and selling like hotcakes. I spoke with Allison Young and her niece, Olivia Watson, 6, who were shopping for Mother's Day plants. I asked Olivia which was her favorite, and after little deliberation, she pointed to a bright pink flower with a deep red center. She helped her aunt pick out more plants and the duo filled a large tray of flowers.

I asked if there were any houseplants available and, much to my chagrin, there were none. Sorry apartment, now flowers for you! To be honest, I almost doubled back to ask after one of those adorable kittens, but I'm not sure hubby would have been too happy with me if I had. I didn't leave empty handed, though, because I took with me some great pictures and, as always, a story to tell.

There are fantastic things happening all over this county, almost every single day. Every Wednesday night, I will be picking my favorites out of the community calendar in the hopes that readers might check out what, in my humble opinion, is the best that central Connecticut has to offer.

On Thursday, you can stop by Oddfellows Playhouse, where the Teen Repertory Company will be tackling “The Oresteia,” an ancient Greek trilogy by Aeschylus. Oh yeah, they’re doing the whole darn thing. You can see a preview by Julie Anne Rancourt in our Weekend section Thursday and decide if you’re interested. The playhouse is located at 128 Washington St., Middletown, and the play starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.

The town of Chester is coming alive Friday night for May Daze Night. For the 19th year running, The Merchants of Chester will open up their many galleries, shops, studios and restaurants for guests. The event takes place from 5 to 8 p.m.

Saturday is busy as can be in Middlesex County. Personally, I’m hoping to stop by the Mother’s Day PTA/Vo-Ag Plant and Flower Sale. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., all types of take-home nature will be available at the Vo-Ag Center of Middletown High School, located at 200 LaRosa Lane, Middletown. A great gift for mother, for sure, but also not a bad idea to bring some life to that living room.

Take mom bird watching Sunday, as the New Haven Bird Club will be hosting a bird watch, completely for free, at Cockaponset State Forest in Killingworth. Sure, you have to get up at 8 a.m. for this event, but it’d be totally worth it, I’m sure.

This Monday, in fact every Monday, you can go to the open mic night at The Buttonwood Tree, located at 605 Main St., Middletown. Sign up at 7:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. event. A $3 to $5 donation is suggested. They say “anything goes” for this open mic night, so be prepared for a variety of entertainment.

Come Wednesday, I’d say you ought to check out the whole day of activities the Middletown Salvation Army has planned. From a $10 charitable pasta dinner, to an open house and all-day silent auction, 515 Main St. will be full of activity from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

So what are you doing this week?

So this Saturday I found myself taking a very scenic drive from the Press' downtown Middletown office to the Westfield Fire Department's annual chicken barbecue.

Talk about well-attended! I had to circle the lot twice before a parking spot became available. At various instances during my time there, the line stretched clear out the door, sometimes 20 deep, full of hungry locals waiting to take a seat. It was a veritable barbe-queue. Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

I was first introduced to Pete Murphy, the treasurer of the Westfield Fire Department who, along with Fred Jones and Harold Holmes, chairs the annual event.

According to Murphy, this year marked the 46th year that the fire department has brought barbecued chicken with all the fixin's to the community. The event, which Murphy said nets about $4,000 each year, serves more than 1,000 dinners. About 600 diners have their meal in the fire house, while around 400 dinners are made to go. The space seats about 200 people, which means about three seating during the 4 to 7 p.m. event. Yikes!

According to Murphy, the event has developed quite a following in the community.

"Everyone pretty much comes back year after year," Murphy said.

I asked Murphy how many of the members of the department it took to put together such an event.

"All of them," he said, laughing. He said that whoever was available turned out either Saturday to man the event, or Friday to set up.

"It's a nice community event, and I look forward to it," said Murphy, who has been with the department for almost 30 years.

I asked Murphy if I could sneak back to the barbecue pit and see where the magic happens. Surprisingly, he said that the chicken is all barbecued in a pit behind Third Congregational Church on Miner Street and driven back to the fire department.

I was then introduced to Chief John Lockwood, and he and Murphy talked to me about which people currently dining at the event had attended the longest. It was then that Lockwood introduced me to Stan Atwell and his wife, Laura, with whom I was seated. Atwell was the former chief of the fire department in Middlefield. Atwell, who spent 55 years as a fire fighter, said that area fire departments come out annually to support the event.

When asked what the best thing at the event was, both Laura and Stan were in agreement -- it was all about that chicken.

Accompanying the chicken were rolls, coleslaw, potato salad and cranberry sauce, all of which was served family-style at each table. Asking for a heaping helping of side dishes, I met Sue and Larry Brown, who were attending the event for the first time.

"It's nice to see everybody," Laura Atwell said. "It's a typical small-town get together." She added that she particularly looks forward to the homemade desserts.

Wait. What? There is dessert involved? I'm definitely getting my $9 worth at this event. It is then that I saw volunteers carrying large trays packed with slices of pie. I was getting ahead of myself, though, because I had gotten so wrapped up in talking that I didn't realize I hadn't gotten a plate. Stan Atwell was nice enough to flag someone down for me, and within minutes I had literally half a chicken laying on a plate in front of me. No, seriously -- half a chicken. It was enough to make this veteran member of the clean plate club shake in her boots.

As the Atwells finished their meal and said their goodbyes, their seats were quickly filled by Lou and Janet Amenta, Middletown residents and long-time barbecue attendants.

I asked the two couples what the best community events were in the area, and both Amentas and Browns were agreed that the Westfield Memorial Day Parade was incomparable. I may just have to stop back at the end of this month!

After I finished my meal, Krysta Holmes (the daughter of one the event's chairs), brought around the dessert tray. I asked her what the most popular piece of pie at the event was.

"The chocolate pie," she responded. "That's why I don't have any left." I was content with a piece of pecan pie (my first ever, to tell ya the truth), and it was delicious.

It should be mentioned that the wonderful meal was not my sole source of entertainment. Dinner came with a show in the form of a line of volunteers packing up take-away dinners at lightening speed. Seriously, they were so fast that it took me a few shots with my camera to get their hands in focus instead of blurred across the frame. I had to stop by the table and ask about the undertaking. Fire Marshal Art Higgins, manning the side dishes station, stood behind a big plastic container of coleslaw. It was big, like, I put my Christmas decorations in a similarly sized container, and I really really like Christmas. Higgins said the event tears through about 350 pounds of coleslaw, 300 pounds of potato salad and 550 chickens. Can you imagine?

As I parted the event, I saw a group of youngers and accompanying parents dining on a spread blanket on the grass next to the fire house and stopped for some photos. One of the parents said she planned for the picnic because the barbecue is usually so full, and it was such a beautiful day out. It was picnic weather, I agreed, and I then made my way back to my car for a windows-down drive home with a full belly and a story to tell.