The week before Thanksgiving in Bethel opens with a gallery show on P.T. Barnum Square and closes with a church bazaar on Greenwood Avenue that is now in its 57th year. In between, Bethel Middle School stages High School Musical, St. Mary School brings back Turkey BINGO, and the Bethel Toastmasters hold an open evening at the library. Here is what is on, day by day, from the town's own calendar of announcements.

Sunday, November 15: Fragile Currents opens

The Gallery at La Zingara, at 8 P.T. Barnum Square, opens Fragile Currents, a show of paintings by Marcio Arteaga, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Arteaga divides his time between his native Honduras and Bridgeport. The show pairs thick, textured impasto paintings of the natural world with canvases that set images side by side to suggest the fragile relationships inside a threatened ecosystem. It stays up through January 17, 2027, and can be seen Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.

Monday, November 16: Toastmasters at the library

Bethel Toastmasters is holding a guest evening called Fall Into Confidence at 6 p.m. at the Bethel Public Library. Visitors hear prepared speeches from current members, can try a short interactive speaking exercise, and have time for questions. Light refreshments are served. The club's website has more on how meetings work.

Friday, November 20: Turkey BINGO

The St. Mary School Turkey BINGO returns at 6 p.m. in the St. Mary School gym, 24 Dodgingtown Road. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and dinner is available to buy. Tickets are sold in advance online, and the cutoff to buy is 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 19.

Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21: High School Musical

Bethel Middle School students perform High School Musical in the Bethel Middle School auditorium on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m. Tickets are sold at the door: $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21: the 57th Christmas Country Bazaar

Bethel United Methodist Church, 141 Greenwood Avenue, holds its 57th annual Christmas Country Bazaar on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tables carry baked goods, gifts and Christmas decorations, and there is a silent auction and a raffle. Saturday adds selfies with Santa starting at 11 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children can work on crafts while adults shop. The bazaar also runs a fundraiser buying old gold and silver, so shoppers can leave with a check toward their holiday spending.

All month: a coat drive at Town Hall

Through the end of December, a donation box outside the General Purpose Room at Bethel Town Hall is collecting clean, gently used winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves for Apex Community Care in Danbury, which supports Bethel residents living with HIV and AIDS, mental health conditions and substance use disorders, along with their families.

Before you go

The addresses: La Zingara is at 8 P.T. Barnum Square, Bethel United Methodist Church at 141 Greenwood Avenue and St. Mary School at 24 Dodgingtown Road; the Toastmasters evening and the musical are at the Bethel Public Library and the middle school. The town posts the First Selectman's update every Friday on its website with the next week's notices, and the Turkey BINGO ticket cutoff on Thursday is the only deadline in the week.

Sources