Smokey Robinson, the Grammy® Award winning member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and "King of Motown," will be performing a one-night only benefit concert for Dana's Angels Research Trust (DART) on Friday, May 14, 2010, at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Conn. A Gala Cocktail Reception including celebrities will be held prior to the concert at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to the full Gala Reception and Concert start at $300 and are available by invitation only. Invitation requests can be made online at www.DanasAngels.org, by emailing tickets@danasangels.org, or by calling DART at 203-861-2063. Tickets for the general public to the concert only will be $95.00, $75.00 and $50.00 and will be available online at http://www.tickets.stamfordcenterforthearts.org.

The Smokey Robinson DART Benefit Gala and Concert will be co-hosted by Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford, who are long-time supporters of DART and who have co-hosted previous DART benefits. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served at the Gala reception preceding the concert and there will be a live and silent auction with fabulous one-of-a-kind items to bid on.

Dana's Angels Research Trust (DART) is a charity dedicated to funding medical research, education, and care for the treatment or cure of Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPC) and other similar genetic diseases. NPC is often called children's Alzheimer's. DART's efforts may help millions of people (adults and children) suffering from NPC, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's, heart disease, stroke, and other disorders that appear to be related to the metabolism of cholesterol. Although children and some adults worldwide are afflicted, research has been extremely limited primarily because of insufficient funding, the smaller population of those affected, and a lack of public awareness. Currently, children with NPC rarely live past their early teens, and there is no cure for NPC. Today, there are limited treatment options, with experimental therapies and medications being tried with hope that there will be progress. DART was founded by the Marella family of Greenwich. Two of the Marella's four children, Dana and Andrew, are afflicted with NPC.

For the Marella family, they knew their daughter Dana, from the age of five, who was a happy, caring and energetic child, had balance and learning difficulties. Over time, Dana's visual and cognitive abilities, and her balance became progressively worse. After years of searching for answers to her challenges, Dana was diagnosed in 2002 at the age of eight with NPC. In 2004, at the age of 5, Dana's brother Andrew, the Marella's 4th child, was also diagnosed with NPC. Today, Dana is in a wheelchair, no longer walks or talks and requires total care. She currently has issues with breathing and swallowing and is undergoing aggressive treatment for the disease. Her brother Andrew, now age 10 and seemingly normal, is also being treated.

The DART Benefit Gala and Concert on May 14 will feature the legendary Smokey Robinson, who has had more than 37 Top 40 hits for Motown Records and won a Grammy® Award for his song "Just To See Her" in 1987. Smokey was a 1988 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a 1991 recipient of the Soul Train Music Award for Career Achievement, a 1999 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, a 2006 Kennedy Center honoree, a recipient of a Doctorate of Music degree from Howard University (2006), a 2009 recipient of an Honorary Doctorate degree from Berkeley College of Music (for whom he also gave the commencement speech), a Songwriter's Hall of Fame honoree and a rare double-honoree of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (as a solo artist & member of The Miracles). Along the way, he's also amassed the love and respect of his peers, from being lyrically lauded by Bob Dylan (who referred to Robinson as "the world's greatest poet") to being lyrically cited by 80s Brit-pop band ABC (on the smash hit "When Smokey Sings"), the Beatles' George Harrison ("Pure Smokey") and the Tom Tom Club ("Genius of Love").

"We are thrilled to have Smokey Robinson perform for the DART Gala Benefit Concert," noted Phil Marella, co-founder of DART and the event organizer. "Smokey will perform two hours of some of his most beloved songs, such as Being With You, Ooh Baby Baby, Just To See Her, Tears Of A Clown, and Tracks Of My Tears, plus songs from his new album Time Flies When You're Having Fun. It will be an awesome and awe-inspiring evening."

To date, DART has raised close to $1.5 million toward the search for a cure for NPC. DART is particularly proud of its commitment to a unique therapy development approach for additional NPC treatments called SOAR-NPC or Support Of Accelerated Research. Working with other NPC families and organizations, SOAR has created a multidimensional collaborative drug development program searching for an effective cocktail treatment for NPC. The ambitious goal is to have at least two or three new NPC therapies ready for clinical trial in 2011. In addition, in January of this year, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended the medication Zavesca to treat NPC. Phil Marella of DART, Cindy Parseghian of the Parseghian Foundation, and Barb Vorpahl of the NNPDF spoke during the public portion of the hearing. The drugs sponsor, Actelion said the agency is expected to decide in March whether to approve Zavesca for treating NPC.

To order tickets for the May 14 Smokey Robinson DART Gala Benefit Concert or to learn more about NPC and DART, visit http://www.danasangels.org.

Food Drive - Free Child ID Cards - Health Info

10am - 3pm

Bushi Ban Martial Arts & Fitness

842 Derby Ave - Seymour

Admission is a non-perishable food item.

BREAKFAST WITH THE EASTER BUNNY

Saturday April 3^rd 8 am to 11 am

Pancake Breakfast with bacon, coffee/Tea and Juice

Adults $5.50

Child $3.50

SPRING RAFFLE BASKET EXTRAVAGANZA

We are raffling off over 50 different baskets worth over $25 each

We will also be having a Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings including dessert and coffee

April 24^th

Turkey dinner will be served between 5:30 and 6:30 pm with the Basket drawing just after dinner

Cost for the Dinner is $10 for Ages 10 and up. Kids will be $5

Raffle Baskets Tickets are available now they are $1 a chance

TASTE OF POLAND PIEROGI SALE

Every Friday Morning 9 to 11 am and Friday Night 5 to 7 pm

Every Sunday morning 11 to 12 noon Last Day Good Friday April 2

Choice of

Potato and Cheese

Sauerkraut and Onion

Cost $6.00 a Dozen

To inquire please call Teresa Kregling @ 203-881-2027

The following outdoor art festivals are held rain or shine, and free public admission

I hope all is well. The 7th Annual Bob Cooke Memorial Trek Against Skin Cancer will take place at The Lisman Landing Marina in Milford on May 23rd from 2pm-6pm.

Deacon Dick Sennett will be the guest speaker on Monday evening, March 15, beginning at 7:00 PM as Saint Ann Parish in Milford presents Having a Beer with Thomas Merton, the closing session in this year's series on Winter Wellness.

Poet, artist, peace activist and mystic, Thomas Merton is considered by many the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. In his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, Merton traces his journey to Catholicism and his decision to enter the Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Deemed a spiritual masterpiece, the book has been translated into more than twenty languages. A contemplative and a man of prayer, Merton was a scholar and a writer who corresponded with the best-known activists, politicians, artists and theologians of his time. But behind the towering intellect and the international credentials, as Deacon Sennett will discuss, was a very approachable man of God.

Dick Sennett was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate of the Archdiocese of Hartford in 1982 and was assigned to Saint Mary's Parish in Milford, where he continues to serve even in his retirement. A veteran traveler and tour host, Deacon Sennett has also led more than twenty pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

The public is invited to attend this special presentation at Saint Ann Church, 501 Naugatuck Avenue in Milford. For further information call 203-874-0634.

Public Allies is a national movement grounded in the conviction that everyone leads. We believe that everyone can make a difference, and work to inspire more citizens to believe in themselves, step up and act. Throughout our nation's history, lasting social change has always resulted from the courageous acts of many, not just the inspiration of the few. We believe the leadership needed is already resident in communities - it's only a matter of finding, cultivating, and connecting these leaders. We're the ones we've been waiting for.

Public Allies Bridgeport 2010 has chosen to support affordable housing in the South End Bridgeport Community. In collaboration with Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, seven Public Allies from the greater Bridgeport area will be working together to raise awareness and funds for two affordable housing units on Lafayette Street.

The campaign, Buy a Brick - Build a Home, will consist of three major aspects. On April 10th, we will be hosting a Help-Portrait (www.help-portrait.com)-style event calling all community members to come pose for their personal portrait! Pictures will be printed on-site, and community models will sign releases and write a short biographical paragraph for us. The portraits, mixed with scenery shots of the South End, will be displayed gallery style at our major fundraising event. www.bntweb.org

Fundraising will begin mid-February with the sale of personalized bricks to pave the pathway between the two houses.

On May 20th, the campaign will culminate at the Buy a Brick, Build a Home House Party! Join us from 6-9pm for the Who's Your Neighbor portrait gallery, live entertainment, food and drinks! And don't forget to buy your brick before you leave!

Public Allies is a ten month non-profit apprenticeship program affiliated with AmeriCorps that focuses on leadership development. www.publicallies.org

For more information, please contact Public Allies Bridgeport at bridgeportpact@gmail.com.

What: Lenten Fish Dinners (Fridays)
Where: First Congregational Church of Stratford - 2301 Main St., Stratford
When: Each Friday during Lent, February 19 - March 26
Menu: Fresh Fish: Baked or Fried, Crab Cakes, Fried Clams, Fried Scallops or Fried Shrimp. Each dinner comes with a choice of baked potato, French fries or coleslaw and a dessert and beverage.

Cost: Seniors just $8, Adults $9 - $13. Children under 10 eat free!