WOODBRIDGE — The Jeremy Saxe 2nd Annual Memorial Volleyball Tournament will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday at Amity High School, Newton Road.
The tournament, in memory of Jeremy Saxe, an Amity graduate who died in September 2008 of an undiagnosed genetic heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, raises money for a foundation that promotes education in Nepal.
Saxe was captain of three Amity sports teams, participated in many service events, and won many academic awards. After a semester in Nepal, he planned to return to aid its residents. The tournament raises funds for Jiwanko Saathiharu: Jeremy Saxe Foundation for Education and Development, a non-profit organized by friends, colleagues and family, Lafayette College, District of Columbia, American University and Nepal to carry out Saxe’s desire to promote development through education. Its primary mission is to promote building of high quality schools in underdeveloped countries and to award scholarships to underprivileged children and students.
The tournament is $10 for players; $5 for attendees. Players should submit names to be added to teams or team rosters by e-mail to jsvbtourney@gmail.com or at Facebook page Jeremy Saxe 2nd Annual Memorial Volleyball Game. To volunteer, or for information, e-mail jsvbtourney@gmail.com. Donations can be sent to Jeremy Saxe Foundation c/o SDV 1952 Whitney Ave., Conn. Hamden, 06517.

A special, live performance of “The Snowmaiden” will kick off the Stratford Center Holiday Festival at 4 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Stratford Library.
The free event precedes the town’s gala tree lighting and choral programs at Stratford Center.
“The Snowmaiden” is a classic Russian folk tale told in toy-theatre style with two dimensional marionettes, organizers said. It’s about a child made out of snow who delights her village before retreating into the forest, promising to return again each winter. The dances and songs that follow the story are adapted from Russian folk music and the library performance, presented by the acclaimed Purple Rock Productions, will feature live music with guitar and balalaika as it celebrates children, friendship and the change of the seasons, organizers said in a statement.
“The Snowmaiden” is recommended for families with children ages 3 and up.
The holiday program is free and open to the public but seating is limited and reservations are suggested. For more information, call the Stratford Library Children’s Department at 203-385-4165, or visit www.stratfordlibrary.org.

Shown: The Purple Rock Productions' "The Snowmaiden."

The service of the state's Korean War servicemen, 314 of whom gave their lives and 80 of whom are still MIA, was "honored and recognized in a ceremony Monday that unveiled and dedicated the state’s new Korean War Memorial sculpture," according to a statement from the Senate press office.

“It has been five long years since many of us embarked on the journey to create a lasting tribute to Connecticut’s Korean War veterans, a tribute that will stand in the concourse between the Legislative Office Building and the Capitol,” state Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, shown, former co-chairwoman and current vice chairwoman of the General Assembly’s Select Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said in the statement. “And while some of us have been working and waiting for this day for five years, most of you here have been working and waiting for this day for a lot longer.”

More than 250 veterans, servicemen and women, their families and public officials, attended a ceremony hosted by Slossberg in honor of more than 30,000 Connecticut veterans who served in active duty in Korea.

The sculpture was an idea of Korean War vet Mark Gordon and created by artist Clayton Fuller of Massachusetts, the statement said.

And you can too, along with folks who know a lot about the town of Orange

The Orange Land Trust will hold a guided walk of the Triangle Trail at 10 a.m. Nov. 21.
Participants should meet in the parking lot off Mapledale Road.
The walk will include the Wepawaug River Ravine area, including the site of the mill that made cloth for Union soldier’s uniforms. That area was once the industrial center of the town of Orange, organizers said.
Indian artifacts, such as arrowheads and shards of pottery, also have been found near the Wepawaug in that area.
Walkers will also be able to enjoy the newly completed renovation work done in the Wepawaug Ravine by Boy Scout Peter Olson and his fellow scouts in Troop #925, organizers said.
Olson’s Eagle Scout project was to replace deteriorated cedar railing and do other remedial work in that area.
The walk is less than 2 miles in length and should take about an hour. The terrain is moderately difficult in a few places, but generally not difficult, organizers said.
There will be coffee, cider, and pastries available at the parking lot location. For more information, call Judy Ode at 799-6321.

And you would be right

Three area libraries have invited knitters of all ages to participate in the first ever Tri-Town Knit-a-Thon to help people stay warm.


The hosts are the Stratford Library, the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library of Monroe and Trumbull’s Fairchild Nichols Memorial Library. Participants will knit or crochet scarves and hats to benefit area children’s charities with regular meetings held at all three libraries, organizers said.


Knitters should plan to bring their own supplies and may knit at scheduled meetings or at home, organizers said. All contributions should be dropped off to one of the three participating libraries no later than Dec. 15.


In Stratford, knitters are welcome to meet at 3:30 p.m. Mondays in November in the Children’s Department Book Nook, organizers said. Other meeting times can be found at http://www.3townknit.wordpress.com/. For more information, call the Stratford Library at (203) 385-4165.

Shown in photo: Stratford Children's Librarian Tess Beck, at right, with young knitters, l to r, Liza Marsala and Gillian & Helena Gerardi