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When the world comes to Westport later this month,  helpers are needed.

The group that for nearly 50 years has hosted United Nations officials and their families for a day in Westport each summer expects more than 300 people to visit town on Saturday, June 29. And organizers are looking for volunteers to help with the visit.

The United Nations Association of Southwestern Connecticut said it needs help setting up facilities, preparing and serving food, decorating, serving as hosts and cleaning up. Photographers also are needed for various venues.

The group’s annual “jUNe Day” commemorates the signing of the United Nations charter on June 26, 1945. Guests will be able to participate in an array of recreational activities and yours.

Opening ceremonies are planned at Saugatuck Elementary School at 10:15 a.m.

Expected to make remarks at the opening ceremony are Patricia O’Brien, U.N. under-secretary-general for legal affairs, and Joseph Verner Reed, under-secretary general. Welcoming remarks are planned by First Selectman Gordon Joseloff and United Nations Association President Bill Hass.

The annual event was started in 1965 by the association’s founder, the late Ruth Steinkraus Cohen. On the day of the visit, flags of many U.N. countries will fly on the downtown Post Road bridge that bears her name.

Activities include a soccer match between a U.N. team and the Westport Knights, a tennis tournament and a day of golf at the Longshore Club Golf Course.

Guests will also have free access to Compo Beach and town pools, and tours of the town, Earthplace and Wakeman Town Farm are planned.

To volunteer or for more information, call Bill Hass at 203-434-6609 or Michaela MacColl at 203-227-9461.

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The town’s annual Independence Day fireworks celebration will be held Wednesday, July 3, at Compo Beach.

The post-sundown event is organized by the Westport Police Athletic League and the Parks and Recreation Department and is sponsored by the toy manufacturer Melissa and Doug LLC.

Tickets are $35 per car and sales are limited. Tickets are available at Police Department headquarters, 50 Jesup Road, and the Parks and Recreation office, 260 Compo Road South.

Once tickets are sold out for Compo parking, shuttle passes will be available to transport spectators to the beach from satellite parking lots.

The rain date for the fireworks is Friday, July 5.

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The Conservation Department is asking residents to help identify and eradicate Mile-a-Minute Vine, an invasive, non-native weed that can grow up to 6 inches per day and overwhelm native plants in competition for sunlight and water.

The branches and stems of these annual weeds have triangular leaves that are 1 to 3 inches wide, with downward curving barbs. The weeds bear metallic-blue fruit in the late fall. “Sightings are common in Westport and therefore every effort to reduce further expansion is very important,” Conservation Director Alicia Mozian said in a statement.

“These plants were introduced accidentally or perhaps intentionally for ornamental or conservation reasons and have escaped into natural areas that are not managed. They spread due to their aggressive growth habit and out-compete and overcome the native plant species which results in a loss of our native plants and subsequent animal diversity.”

The vine thrives in sunny, moist, well-drained locations, but it can grow in shady, wooded areas, too. In Westport the plants are becoming more common, with large swaths seen on Turkey Hill Road South and Clapboard Hill Road.

The campaign to root out the plant is conducted in cooperation with the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group, a UConn-sponsored group which has been monitoring and removing Mile-a-Minute in Fairfield County since 2009.

Mozian suggested residents who see the plant report its location at http://www.mam.uconn.edu. Officials at UConn can verify the plant’s presence and homeowners can then remove the vine.

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’Tis the season … for spring pesticide spraying, by the town’s Department of Public Works crews.

The annual campaign to chemically mow down for weeds around local roads’ guard rails and areas overgrown with invasive weeds was launched Monday.

Anyone with questions regarding the sites of spraying or the substances being sprayed should contact the DPW’s Works, Highway Division at 203-341-5085.

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Ron Berler, journalist and Staples High School ’67 grad,  will speak tonight (Monday, May 20) on “Raising the Curve,” a book he wrote about spending a year in a so-called “failing” Norwalk school  — Brookside Elementary. The talk is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Westport Public Library’s McManus Room, 20 Jesup Road.

During his time at the school, Berler sat in on classes, strategy sessions and faculty meetings as the students and faculty worked to raise students’ failing CMT scores. He will discuss their challenges and triumphs during his talk.

Berler, having devoted much of his career to reporting on youth issues, wrote a weekly column for the Chicago Tribune about issues affecting children and served as editor in chief of NBA Inside Stuff, a pro-basketball magazine for teens. He also wrote about youth sports injuries for the New York Times Magazine and has authored one children’s book, “The Super Book of Baseball,” and edited another.

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the program, which is free.

For information, call 203-291-4800 or visit www.westportlibrary.org

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Westport Country Playhouse has added an extra performance for its current production of A. R. Gurney’s “The Dining Room” due to ticket demand, scheduled for Sunday, May 19. It is planned for 3 p.m. at the playhouse, 25 Powers Court.

The play, directed by Mark Lamos, the playhouse’s artistic director, is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, according to a news release.

Single ticket prices, starting at $30, are subject to change based on availability. Educators and students are eligible for 50 percent discounts, and senior citizen rush tickets are available at 50 percent on the day of the performance.

For information or tickets, call the box office at 203-227-4177, go to the playhouse or click here

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A staffer in the office of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, has been designated to help Westport residents and others in the 4th Congressional District who still have questions or continuing problems related to Hurricane Sandy.

The aide, Amy Lappos, is available to help with storm issues such as:

Questions or claims with the Federal Emergency Management Administration or the Small Business Administration.

Lack of an offer, etc., from the owner’s home insurance company.

Still displaced from home or other housing needs.

Amy Lappos can be reached at 203-333-6600 or Amy.Lappos@mail.house.gov.

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STAR Inc. Lighting the Way, a Norwalk nonprofit that helps individuals with developmental disabilities, will hold its eighth annual STAR Walk, Roll and Stroll fundraiser on Sunday, May 5, at Sherwood Island State Park.

Registration will begin at 10:15 a.m. The walk, which will commence at 11:30 a.m., will offer a 3.1-mile route and a 1-mile route, both of which are designed to be suitable for any ability, according to a news release.

The event will include an appearance by Erin Brady, Miss Connecticut USA 2013 who will be available for photographs and to meet friends and family members. It will also feature family-oriented activities such as a Fun Bus for toddlers, face painting, arts and crafts, music, drumming, lunch and snacks as well as dance performances and demonstrations from area organizations and businesses.

STAR 99.9 FM Radio and Storm, the Connecticut Sound Tigers mascot, will also be at the event, the release states.

Admission to the walk is a suggested donation of $25 per person, $65 per family or $100 or more in fundraising. Proceeds from the event will go toward STAR’s programs and services.

For information, visit www.starinc-lightingtheway.org or call Megan Johnson, a development associate at STAR, at 203-846-9581, ext 339.