Once Around the City: Time to dump the stumps

NORWALK, Conn. – Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is Sunday, March 30, but there’s another opening day at hand as well: Monday, March 31, marks the 2014 opening of the yard waste site at 15 S. Smith St.

No report yet on who will throw out the first branch.

The site will be open 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Yard waste may be brought loose or bagged, and all containers except brown paper leaf bags must be emptied and removed.

All passenger vehicles must display a Norwalk Resident Pass. Residents will be required to have the 2014 Resident Pass beginning April 1. No exceptions will be made.

For more information, visit the website or contact the Customer Service Center at (203) 854-3200.

K-5 parents: See if it all adds up

A team of teachers from Norwalk Public Schools, led by District Math Specialist Craig Creller, will host a Math Night on Monday, March 31, at the South Norwalk Branch Library, 10 Washington St. There will be a choice of two sessions, 6 to 7:15 p.m. or 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.

A light dinner will be served prior to the presentations of the Go Math program and the overview of ThinkCentral and assignments. Chomebooks will be available for parents to view their child’s information and scores. A question and answer session will round out both sessions.

This free event is hosted by The Norwalk Education Foundation, Norwalk Public Schools, Norwalk Public Library and The Norwalk Early Childhood Council. Child care is available for children ages 3 and up, but you need to pre-register. Registration for the event is available online or by calling (203) 899-2790, ext. 15903. Sessions will begin promptly. Please allow time to park.

Himes to visit Fairfield County Makers’ Guild

U.S. Rep Jim Himes (D-Greenwich) will visit the Fairfield County Makers’ Guild’s new space at 327 Main Ave. in Norwalk from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 31. The space provides Guild members with courses, workshops and a place to work on projects and collaborate. The space contains a “tool library” including 3D printers, a milling machine, a drill press, and other tools for artists and inventors to use.

Metro-North riders: Save the date

MTA Metro-North Railroad executives will be available to the public from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at Stamford Station across from the ticket office. The event is one of a series of informal meetings the railroad is having in an effort to engage customers in a dialogue with senior management, including the new President Joseph Giulietti.

Another session that might appeal to Norwalkers will be held from 7 to 9 a.m. May 1 at Grand Central Terminal, Main Concourse.

‘Glee’ won’t likely cover this one

This comes to us courtesy of community volunteer Elsa Peterson Obuchowski, who will be raising her voice with the Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6, in the world premiere of “Child of War.” The piece is dedicated to “the girl in the picture” from the famous Vietnam War photo — Kim Phuc — whose village was napalmed early one morning in 1972.

The composition was commissioned by John Marshall Lee, a choir member who has met Kim Phuc and participated in her activism for peace and healing for children who are victims of war.

Wrote Obuchowski, “As John says, ‘I came away from that meeting awestruck by the reality and sincerity of her spirit of total forgiveness for the suffering she had encountered…’”

“Child of War” was composed by Jin Hi Kim, a Guggenheim Fellow in music composition and an internationally acclaimed player of the komungo (Korean fretted zither). The program will include John Rutter’s “Requiem.”

The concert will be held at the Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $10 for students/youth. You may purchase tickets directly from the Quick Center by phone or online.

Tree Festival returns to Cranbury Park May 17

The Connecticut Tree Festival, an annual spring tribute to leafy greenery, is set for Saturday, May 17, in Cranbury Park.

The Festival is a family-oriented day of entertainment and education dedicated to advancing the place trees occupy in the vitality of our ecology, according to a press release.

The event assembles up to 40 exhibitors on a U-shaped midway. On the periphery tree care specialists offer children rides to the treetops in cherry-pickers or securely strapped in a rope harness, all under supervision. Face-painting, scavenger hunts and arts and crafts have been arranged as additional activities for the younger set.

Everything is free to the public – admission, parking, door prizes, and lunch, the release stated. Exhibitors pay nothing and no one sells anything during the Festival.

The Wolf Conservation Center of South Salem, N.Y., is returning to the festival, as are Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, Earthplace of Westport and Connecticut’s Search and Rescue dog team. Appearing for the first time is the Art Academy of Weir Farm in Wilton with a booth on the midway and a display of arboreal art called “A Celebration of Trees” in the neighboring Gallaher Mansion.

If householders bring sample leaves or twigs, certified arborists are on-site to help identify trees, foliage or unusual conditions. Look for signs that read: “Ask the Arborist.”

The festival runs rain or shine between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A mid-day ceremony will recognize individuals and organizations committed to the urban forest. An Eastern Redbud tree will be planted in honor of the late Dick Aime, a long-time member of the Norwalk Tree Alliance.

Those who would like to contribute funding in support of the festival —individuals, corporations or associations — can do so online.