Clamdigging around Rowayton

Field Trip Guides wanted for the Farm Creek Nature Preserve. The Norwalk Land Trust "Creekers" are guiding Norwalk fourth grade classes on field trips to Farm Creek. Ten classes have been scheduled for one-hour field trips during May and June. Three guides are needed for each class. Guides receive training from Marny Smith, Kathy Siever and Peggy Holton and are asked to commit to guiding at least two field trips. The Farm Creek Nature Preserve, just off Sammis Street, consists of 16 acres on the Farm Creek tidal estuary emptying into Long Island Sound and includes the former trolleyway to the Roton Point Amusement Park. Call Marny (203-866-8728) or Kathy (203-838-2749) if interested in volunteering.

Parents are invited to enjoy a night out while the Rowayton Arts Center provides an evening of krazy kool fun for their children (ages 3 to 12) tonight at 6:30 p.m. Beginning with a pizza party, the evening of themed building and games with Legos® will be held from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in RAC's studio at 145 Rowayton Ave. Registration is limited to 20 participants (must be potty trained -- no diapers). The fees are: 1 child in family $45, 2 children in family $55, 3 children in family $70. Registration and payment required by end of day today. For information, please call 203-866-2744.

The 11th Annual Miles for Myles Fun Run/Walk (5km, 3.1 miles) sponsored by the Myles M. Beringer Foundation, will be held Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Rowayton Community Center. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the race begins at 9 a.m. -- rain or shine. Registration fees on the day of the race are $25 for adults and $15 for children. This year's T-Shirt design includes "The Little Engine That Could" from the story Myles loved. These 100 percent cotton tee shirts will be distributed to the first 200 registrants. In January of 1999, after the death of their son Myles from a sudden heart arrhythmia, the Beringer family established The Myles M. Beringer Foundation which directly funds local projects to improve the lives of children, and provides funding for pediatric cardiac research at Yale New Haven Hospital. To date, the Foundation has raised more than $215,000. Everyone is invited (after the race) to the awards ceremony. Awards will be given for top male and female finishers in: 9 & under, 12 & under, 15 & under, 18 & under, open (19-35), open (36-59), over 60, and single, double, and triple jogging strollers. No dogs or bikes, please! The race will begin at the Rowayton Community Center located at 33 Highland Ave. For information, please visit www.milesformyles.org.

The Rowayton Arts Center will present awards for works in an exhibit of drawings, prints, pastels, mixed media and computer art by some of Fairfield County's finest artists during an opening reception on Sunday from 4-6 p.m. The exhibit will continue through June 13. The RAC gallery at 145 Rowayton Ave. is open from 12-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1-4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is free. For information, please call 203-866-2744.

Summertime in Rowayton is upon us and Bayley Beach Parking Permit Applications are available at the Rowayton Library, Rowayton Hardware and the Rowayton Market or can be downloaded from the Internet at the Rowayton Civic Association's (www.rowaytonct.com) and the Rowayton Library's (www.rowayton.org) websites. Parking permits will be required upon entering Bayley beach beginning May 29 and thereafter for the summer. If you wish to apply in person for your Bayley Beach Parking Permit, you may do so on Monday, May 24 from 6-9pm at the Rowayton Community Center, 33 Highland Ave. There is a late fee of $25 for all applications postmarked after May 31. For information, please contact Andrea Woodworth, Sixth Taxing District Clerk at 203-854-5066.

Come join in for a fun way to raise money for childhood cancer research. On Saturday, May 29 from 4-6 p.m., the Rowayton Barbershop will be hosting the second annual fun(d) raiser, called "A Hair-Brained Idea" where crazy kids and wacky adults will be getting wild hairdos; it's Mohawk madness. Come and get a wild haircut for a $20 donation or buy a Hair-Brained Idea tee shirt for a $20 donation or, raise $100 in donations and get the tee shirt and haircut and your name entered into a drawing for a $101 gift certificate to Brendon's 101! Then, on Sunday, May 30 at noon, march in the Rowayton Memorial Day parade with The Hair Brained Idea group and rock your crazy hairdo! All proceeds go to the Tommy Fund @ Yale New Haven Children's Hospital.

Farm Creek Sightings:

If you go to Farm Creek at low tide, and if you are lucky (and sneak up very quietly), you can see the exposed mudflats teeming with Fiddler Crabs. Right off the concrete walkway, the crabs scurry for cover in their burrows. "Fiddling" their big claw, the males seem to posture in a defensive gesture. These reclusive crabs are beneficial to the wetlands because they aerate the substratum when they sift through sand for microbes, fungus and decaying detritus. They discard what is not edible in a ball outside the entrance to their burrows. Look for these balls next to their burrowed holes. And yes, it is still springtime in the marshes. Sightings are by Susan Edwards. For more information about Farm Creek Nature Preserve, please visit www.norwalklandtrust.org.

At the Rowayton Library

--In support of Shakespeare on the Sound, PlayTalk@ the Rowayton Library will present a lecture on "Othello" with Mark Schenker on tonight at 7. This program is made possible -- in part -- from a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council. Copies of the play are available at the Rowayton Library. Wine and cheese reception will be held prior to the lecture and the library's infamous "trivia quiz" will be held at the end of the lecture. Prizes are donated by Shakespeare on the Sound. Courtesy reservations please.

--ScrabbleTime for Everyone (the original Connecticut board game) @ the Rowayton Library, Last Monday Afternoons every Month -- this month: May 24 at 3:30-5 p.m. Join your neighbors for a good game of Scrabble (6 tables set up for Scrabble). All materials are provided. There are tables for younger players with Scrabble Junior, as well. Players are seated on a first-come/first-serve basis. Players of all ages are welcome.

--Come join the local bookgroup at the Rowayton Library for BookTalk for Adults -- the Reader, the Writer, and the Detective -- the Eternal Triangle, Wednesday at 7 p.m. This session's book is Ruth Rendell's "Wolf to the Slaughter." Multiple copies are available at the library. Dessert and discussion with leader Marsha Bonsavage, This program is made possible -- in part -- through a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council.

All programs at the Rowayton Library are free and open to the public. For more information and courtesy reservations, please call the Library at 203-838-5038 or visit www.Rowayton.org.

Send information for Clamdigging to clamdigging@rowayton.org.