Community News: Fairfield dog festival, and its bone bar, returns

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Mr. Stanco leads a group of Lancers in ultimate frisbee on the turf field as part of Notre Dame Fairfield's Passion Day.

Pia Del Cegno and Brooklyn Gonzalez display a painted Kindness Rock in the art room as part of Notre Dame's Passion Day.

Notre Dame Fairfield students gather around a fire pit to roast marshmallows during Passion Day.

Sofia Greene

Notre Dame High School recently hosted its annual Passion Day, which gives students the opportunity to participate in a day of bonding and shared experiences with Notre Dame faculty members.

This year, students were able to hone their athletic skills in a basketball training clinic, roast marshmallows, paint Kindness Rocks, try their hand at calligraphy, play ultimate Frisbee and bake pizzelle cookies. A variety of additional offerings were provided for students to take part in throughout the day.

The Rotary Club of Fairfield recently thanked everyone who donated during the 2023 Fairfield Memorial day parade. The organization was able to raise more than $4,000 to benefit local veterans organizations.

"We were so pleased to see so many individuals donate to our veterans," Sean Flynn, president of Fairfield Rotary, said.

The town and Fairfield Chamber of Commerce are looking for vendors for the annual Fairfield Sidewalk Sale and Street Fair, which will be held rain or shine 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 15 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 15. A merchandise preview will be July 13.

More than 50 Fairfield businesses are expected to participate in this year's event, setting up stands and offering a variety of merchandise along the Post Road from the Heritage Square Shopping Center to the Promenade at the Brick Walk. Admission is free.

Sherman Green will feature activities for children and families, including an inflatable bounce house.

There will also be live music at multiple venues scattered throughout the downtown. A full event line-up will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Limited sponsorship opportunities still exist. Businesses and vendors interested in either participating in or sponsoring this year's event should contact Mark Barnhart at [email protected], or Mary Alice Limperopulos at [email protected] at the Office of Community & Economic Development for more information.

The Southport School is hosting its annual pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the school's campus, 214 Main Street, Southport.

Free and open to the public, the event also includes lawn games, live music and hands-on firetrucks. The breakfast happens before the Blessing of the Fleet parade.

This year the nonprofit roundtable will also host a meet and greet on the front lawn of The Southport School. Each of the nonprofits will have an info table during the pancake breakfast so people can learn about the group and how to get involved.

The Southport School is a private day school for neurodiverse children in second through eighth grade who have language-based learning differences and/or ADHD.

Pet Pantry Warehouse, a family-owned and community-based pet supplies retailer, will once again host Fairfield Dog Days at Old Town Hall Green, 611 Old Post Road.

It will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 25. This year's beneficiaries include Operation Hope Fairfield County (operationhopect.org), Adopt-a-Dog (adopt-a-dog.org) and Team Woofgang & Co (woofgangco.org). In addition to a bone bar and ice cream "pawlor," the event will include a scavenger hunt hosted by Rock, Paper Scissor Custom Events, Dog Lovers Lure Coursing, Sniffari, a doggie beer garden, an animal communicator, face painter, caricature artist and food trucks.

The Fairfield Police Department, including the K9 and Mobile Command Unit, and Fairfield Fire Department Touch A Truck will also be there.

Attendees will be able to pick up free treats from a variety of pet food vendors as well as an opportunity to shop local small business vendors. For more information, please visit Pet Pantry online (ppwpet.com), subscribe to the PPW email list, and follow along on social. Event details will also be available at each of the retail locations.

Friends of Fairfield Rugby have announced the Women's Rugby Team at Fairfield University has signed its first player recruit in the team's history. Sofia Greene, a resident of Guilford, has committed to play for the Division II Tri-State Conference team beginning in the fall season.

Greene joins the Lady Ruggers as a fly-half with experience playing for Shoreline Spartans Rugby and the Waveny Rugby Club.

Greene began her rugby career at 16, after years of developing her athleticism as a soccer and basketball player. She credits her rugby knowledge and IQ to her father, Jonathan Greene, a former rugger at Fairfield Prep, Castleton University, and with the Fairfield Yankees, who coaches boy's rugby with Shoreline Spartans.

The Friends of Fairfield Rugby is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2010 that is committed to the continued success and growth of the Fairfield University Rugby Club. Its members include Fairfield University alumni and supporters of the university's rugby club.

A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held to celebrate the completion of Fairfield University's new Austin, Texas campus.

The event introduced the new campus to the local community, including Texas-based Fairfield University alumni, and community partners, who toured the 21-bed simulation center, and simulated rooms for ICU, obstetrics, pediatrics, and med-surg, an operating room, home care suites and skill labs. Officials also spoke at it.

The expansion of Fairfield University and the Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies to Texas establishes an additional nursing pathway through Fairfield University, and addresses the needs of the national healthcare system. Fairfield's Austin campus initial program offering will feature Fairfield Egan's full-time, 15-month accelerated second-degree baccalaureate nursing program, which provides a unique opportunity for students with a non-nursing bachelor's degree to pursue a bachelor of science in nursing degree in an accelerated format.

The first cohort of students were admitted in May, with a second cohort to begin in January.

In addition to Ascension Seton, Fairfield Egan's clinical partnerships include Baylor Scott & White Health, and Central Texas Veterans Health Care Systems.

At the completion of this program, students are eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Exam to become registered nurses. The SDNU program has been at Fairfield Egan for more than two decades and is fully accredited by Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.