LIFE

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Avon Volunteer Fire Department held a somber service remembering those who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

For many Avon High School students, their new Principal will be a familiar face. Kristina Wallace was previously Assistant Principal, then Principal, at Avon Middle School, starting back in 2019. Now in her current role at AHS, effective July 1, 2026, she replaces Dr. Stephanie Lockhart, who moved to a central office leadership position in Hartford.

Italy on the Farm came to the pastoral fields at Sub Edge Farm July 26, as part of an ongoing series presented by the farm and DORO Catering & Events. Held on the Avon portion of the land Sub Edge leases, several dinners are organized each growing season, and the series is now in its 10th year.

Pastor Brian (full title: Rev. Dr. Brian R. Rajcok, PhD), the lead pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church on Lovely Street in Avon, thinks psychedelics can be a pathway to the divine. “Psychedelics have been used for thousands of years for spiritual purposes,” he says. “It’s not just a discovery from the ‘60s. It goes back to the peyote ceremony, the ayahuasca ceremonies. And what can indigenous spiritualities teach Western people? That’s something I think could be really va

The warm, sunny early evening of June 20 at Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center proved to be the perfect setting for the fourth Annual Juneteenth Celebration. The free event and largest of its kind in the Farmington Valley was supported by four local towns that banded together, Avon, Farmington, Granby and Simsbury. The towns were represented by tents set up by their local libraries.

Local police departments once again participated in the Connecticut Law Enforcement Torch run this June. Now in its 40th year, the event involves three days when local officers along 10 different routes – or legs– run through their towns. Those legs ultimately converge for a final run to kick off the Connecticut Special Olympics Summer Games.

America’s birthday at 250 years is also referred to as its semiquincentennial and it has been celebrated across the country, all throughout the year. Valley towns have been busy with multiple activities, from readings of the Declaration, to historical lectures, to plays and reenactments, to grand festivals with fireworks or parades. They have commemorated this historic event in ways as unique as their towns.

A little rain didn’t prevent General George Washington from leading the 2026 Memorial Day Festivities in Avon, an event that also featured Betsy Ross and other historical figures.'