Patriot grave marking, a new events planner and other news from Darien

DCA names new events manager Susan Graham has been named as the new private events manager for the Darien Community Association. Graham is a longtime Darien resident and graduate of Villanova University. She brings extensive special events, marketing and nonprofit experience to the position, most recently in her leadership role with Hackers for Hope, a cancer charity, according to a release from the DCA. Her career also includes running her own small business and various positions in the magazine industry, most recently at "Modern Bride." She has served as a volunteer for several town nonprofits and is on the Darien Parks and Recreation Commission. She takes over from Laura Boulton, who managed and helped grow the DCA's private events business as an independent contractor since 2014, when the DCA moved away from its previous exclusive caterer model. Boulton leaves the DCA to focus on her own event planning business, the release said. Annual meeting and free lecture Sylvia Reiss will talk about the stone walls of Connecticut at a free discussion set for noon March 26 at the Museum of Darien, 45 Old King's Highway. The lecture, which is open to the public, follows the 11:30 a.m. annual meeting, which is open only to Museum members. All members are encouraged to attend the annual meeting to discuss highlights of the past year, plans for the coming year and to vote in new board members. RSVP for the Stone Walls of Connecticut lecture by March 23 by calling 203-655-9233 or emailing ukremer@museumofdarien.org. To find out more, visit museumofdarien.org. Film screening, discussion on drug use prevention Thriving Youth Task Force, Silver Hill Hospital and YWCA Parent Awareness will sponsor a free film screening of "Don't Wait," an award-winning film from the nonprofit Addiction is Real about substance use prevention and early intervention. The screening is set for 7 p.m. March 22 at the Darien Library, 1441 Post Road, Darien. The film, which focuses on proactive parenting, gives insights on why it’s essential for parents to talk to their kids early and often, how to best approach conversations about substance use and what to do if you spot the signs of drug and alcohol use in your child. The 52-minute screening will be followed by a discussion with Erin Kelley, executive director of Addiction is Real, and a mother featured in the film who will share her personal experiences with addiction. Register at www.communityfunddarien.org/tytf-programs-and-events. Patriot grave marking Good Wife's River Chapter of National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will hold its annual Patriot Grave Marking at 11 a.m. March 21 at the entrance to the Noroton River Graveyard on Post Road. The group will place flags to honor the 11 Revolutionary War patriots buried there and give a brief biographical sketch of each. Good Wife's River Chapter regent Karen Kreitzberger Polett said in a release that the group places flags at the graveyard "to honor Sharon Kells who, in 2016, first began the clean up of Darien's abandoned cemeteries. She started with Noroton River because she noticed that it was overgrown with weeds and poison ivy when she walked her dog along the area in front of the cemetery. She lived across the street. "Sadly, Sharon died on March 22, 2020, and our DAR group meets to honor her memory and to thank our DAR sister Tracy Root who has now retired to Florida with her husband. Currently, Jim DeMark is Chairman of the Darien Cemetery Committee which now has a small budget to keep this and other abandoned cemeteries grass cut, branches removed etc.," she wrote. Newsies take the stage Darien High School’s Theatre 308 will perform the hit Disney musical "Newsies" March 16 to 18 at the high school, 80 High School Lane. "Newsies" is inspired by the true story of the New York City Newsboy Strike of 1899, when a group of newsboys banded together to take action against Joseph Pulitzer, William Hearst and other newspaper publishers who raised the price charged to the newsboys selling papers on the street. The show is directed by Tim Sorensen, assisted and vocal directed by Kim Sadler, and choreographed by Emily Frangipane and Kelsey Kaminski. Technical direction and set design are coordinated by Chris Andrade, and costumes are designed and executed under the guidance of Amy Raskopf. The pit orchestra is directed by Jon Grauer. Shows are 7 p.m. March 16 and 17 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 18. Tickets are $10 for students/seniors and $20 for general admission. Dean's lists Darien residents Maxwell Romeyn and Catherine Vogt were named to the Dean's List at Hamilton College for the 2022 fall semester. To be named to the Dean's List, a student must have carried a course load of four or more graded credits throughout the semester and earned an average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale. Tufts University in Medford, Mass., recently announced the dean's list for the Fall 2022 semester. Among students earning dean's list honors areAndrew Butcher, Devin Hart, Alex Hu, Andrew Lin, Kaitlin Necakov, Janse Schoonmaker, Niall Sheridan, Julianne Teitler and Saskia Zimmerman, all of Darien. Dean's list honors at Tufts University require a semester grade point average of 3.4 or greater.

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