EVENTS: Mary Matteson to lead sing-a-long

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Mary Matteson

On Tuesday, December 5, the South China Community Church will offer a hymn sing-a-long at 1 p.m. Please come and join in singing many of your favorite hymns. Christmas hymns and festive holiday songs will also be sung. To add to the special gathering, they will have bells to ring and refreshments to enjoy after the sing.

New music director Mary Matteson is excited to share this special day with you. She is a retired music teacher who enjoys singing and making music with everyone.

EVENTS: Children’s Discovery Museum announces 2023 holiday programs line-up

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Santa waving from his home away from home at Kringleville, in Waterville, last season. (photo by Central Maine Photography staff)

The Children’s Discovery Museum is excited to announce its line-up of holiday programs for the 2023 season, which will include the Parade of Lights, Kringleville, Light Up The Town, Letters to Santa, and new holiday lighting in Castonguay Square.

Kicking off the celebration will be the annual Parade of Lights, coordinated by the Winslow Parks and Recreation department in conjunction with Winslow and Waterville Police Departments and Children’s Discovery Museum volunteers. The parade will take place on Saturday, November 25, at 6 p.m., and will flow down Benton Avenue, in Winslow, across the Ticonic Bridge, then proceed up Main Street, in Waterville.

Along the parade route is Castonguay Square, which will be ablaze with new lights and decorations this year courtesy of SkyBox Holiday and Event Lighting. Several thousand feet of string lights, in addition to multiple kinds of novelty lights, will adorn the trees in the square as well as the iconic Kringleville Cabin.

Santa will meet children at the Cabin at the Square this year, every Saturday and Sunday from 1 – 4 p.m., between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition to free meetings with Santa, local organizations will be on location to host activities and giveaways for children as they wait in line. Families can expect DJs, hot cocoa, winter princess visits, and more as part of the holiday celebration.

Kringleville is made possible with support from the city of Waterville, Central Maine Motors Auto Group, Selah Tea, and GoNetSpeed. Additional support comes from United Ag & Turf, State Farm and Chase Toys.

Along with Kringleville, the museum is working with Chris Bernier, of CTB Electronics, to host a city-wide light celebration. This year’s holiday season fills the entire town, as businesses and individuals decorate their properties with as many lights as possible. The registered parties will be part of a city-wide map for members of the community to drive or walk by each location to admire the decorations. Registration is currently open, available at Kringleville.org and the Kringleville Facebook Page.

Like last year, children are encouraged to write letters to Santa to leave in his mailbox outside his cabin or send through the Waterville Post Office. Santa will be responding to all letters, as long as the child’s
address is included in the letter. Information will be kept confidential by the Children’s Discovery Museum.

For more information and registration, visit www.kringleville.org or facebook.com/kringleville.

EVENTS: Rotary Club launches charity auction

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The 60th annual Waterville Rotary Auction with hundreds of gifts, services and unique items will once again be held online through BiddingOwl.com.

If you would like more information about the online auction Saturday, November 25, through Friday, December 1, 2023, please see our webpage for details: https://watervillerotary.com/. You may also actively bid and participate in the auction simply by visiting: www.biddingowl.com/auctions.cfmon. Bidding opens on November 25.

The Waterville Rotary Club hosts an auction each year in late November to benefit what Rotarians determine to be among the worthiest causes of the region. Every year, for more than half a century, this important community event has supported Rotary’s efforts to make a difference in our community.

Proceeds from the 2023 Online Auction will again go to benefit many important community programs.

This year, Waterville Rotary’s initiative focuses on the community’s greatest asset-children and youth. Among the many service projects that the club assists with, Waterville Rotary will support Kennebec Valley Community Action Program’s South End Teen Center.

One of the area’s critically important needs is providing safe and secure community spaces for youth and providing programming to develop skills, create healthy aspirations, and combat the current mental health and substance abuse crisis. The South End Teen Center offers these types of activities and helps young people develop leadership, self-esteem, and decision-making skills.

Rotary Club of Waterville thanks the business community for its support and contribution to the local community.

For more information about cash and/or item donations please call 649-2745.

For more information about the Rotary, visit the website at watervillerotary.com.

EVENTS: Recycled Shakespeare announces auditions

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Recycled Shakespeare Company (RSC) will hold auditions for their upcoming play Richard III on Sunday, November 26, 5 to 7 p.m., at South Parish Congregational Church, in Augusta, and Monday, November 27, 5 to 7 p.m., at Fairfield House of Pizza, in Fairfield.

Auditions will consist of individual and group cold readings, but you may come with a memorized piece if you wish. If anyone would like to audition but cannot do so at these times, please call 314-4730 in advance to discuss alternatives. All parts will be offered by Friday, December 1. RSC also seeks people to do tech and stage work, costuming, props, and concessions. Please come to audition or call to join the crew. People of all skill levels and abilities are invited to participate with this grassroots community theater company.

The play will be performed in Fairfield, Waterville, and Augusta, February 23 through 25. Table Read will be 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, December 21, at Fairfield House of Pizza. All actors are responsible for learning their lines before Blocking rehearsals begin on Saturday, January 6. Rehearsal schedule is basically Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m., in Augusta, and Wednesday 5:30 to 8 p.m., in Fairfield.

Richard III is the tragic story of a tyrant who rises to power through his cunning charm which does not stop at murder. “Plots are laid” as characters build alliances, break the bonds of friends and family, and strive to maintain the kingdom as England nears the end of the brutal War of the Roses. One of Shakespeare’s often performed plays, this production by RSC is reduced to 90 minutes with script editing by Becca Bradstreet and a directorial team of Lyn Rowden, Shana Page, and Murray Herard.

For more information contact 207-314-4730 or see, like and follow Recycled Shakespeare Company on Facebook.

EVENTS: Festival of Wreaths to benefit Winslow Community Cupboard Food Pantry

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by Dave Carew

The Festival of Wreaths – a raffle-benefit for Winslow Community Cupboard food pantry – will be held on Friday, November 24, from noon to 8 p.m., and on Saturday, November 25, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Winslow Congregational Church, 12 Lithgow Street, Winslow. Admission to the event will be a $1 donation; raffle tickets will be 50 cents each. Food and beverages will be available for sale and there will be a very special appearance by Santa Claus!

Featuring more than 50 wonderful Christmas and holiday wreaths, the raffle-benefit will seek to raise urgently-needed funds for the food pantry, which has served more than 20,087 food-insecure households in Winslow, Waterville, and surrounding towns so far in 2023.

According to Operations Manager Bruce Bottiglierie, Winslow Community Cupboard – which also operates a Mobile Food Pantry that directly serves locations in Waterville, Skowhegan, Fairfield, and more than a dozen other local towns – has experienced a 39 percent increase in the number of households needing food-pantry service this year. The Festival of Wreaths is sponsored by Healthy Northern Kennebec.

For more information, please contact Bruce Bottiglierie, Winslow Community Cupboard, at 207-616-0076 or WinslowCupboard@Gmail.com.

Family Festival of Trees scheduled for Elks Lodge

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Alfond Youth & Community Center and Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce combine efforts to present Festival of Trees this holiday season, continuing a proud tradition reinvigorated last season, with a change of venue to the Waterville Elks Lodge.

Participation in this year’s event continues a fabulous holiday tradition. At the same time, money raised supports families in the community experiencing food insecurity through the services of Alfond Youth & Community Center and funds workforce development services and assistance through the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, meeting a need existing throughout our region.

Who doesn’t love a beautiful holiday tree? Imagine nearly 60 trees, each uniquely decked out in holiday cheer. This wonderful family tradition will be held at Waterville Elks Lodge 905, 76 Industrial Rd., Waterville from November 17-19 and November 24-26. Hours on both Fridays and Saturdays will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 19 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 26 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Festival of Trees will provide a magical experience that the whole family can enjoy. Admission for ages 12 and over is just $2 per person; children 12 and under are admitted for free. Purchase and drop your individual tree tickets (just .50 each) into the bucket of your favorite tree and you could go home with a beautifully decorated tree complete with all the gift cards and merchandise displayed. Tree winners will be drawn at 5 p.m., Sunday, November 26, and notified that evening. Trees will be available for pickup the following Monday and Tuesday.

This year’s 50/50 experience has also been enhanced by increased prize amounts, with a maximum payout of $10,000 daily. Winners will be drawn each day and you do not need to be present to win.

Please join us for this wonderful holiday experience. Whether you visit to view the trees on display or are willing to volunteer some time to help staff the event, it will be time well-spent – and you will be helping support your community through your participation.

It takes a substantial number of volunteers for an event of this magnitude. Slots remain open, particularly for the weekend of November 24-26. For more information about volunteering for a shift, or shifts, please visit www.festivaloftreesmaine.net. If you are interested in registering as a group, please contact Maddie Rock, volunteer coordinator at mrock@clubaycc.org.

EVENTS: Lincoln County Dems to discuss dark money in politics at Nov. 16 meeting

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 The Lincoln County Democratic Committee (LCDC) will hold its next hybrid meeting on Thursday, November 16, at 7 p.m., at the American Legion Post #42, 527 Main Street, in Damariscotta, and online via Zoom.
The main program will feature a discussion on dark-money funded extremist groups that are active in Maine politics. The guest speaker will be Maurice T. Cunningham, Ph.D., J.D., author of Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization and a former associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Since retiring from that post in 2021, Cunningham has continued his research into dark money in politics, authoring two reports on the dark money threat to public education for the Network for Public Education, Merchants of Deception: Parent Props and their Funders and “A Citizen’s Guide to the School Privatization Movement” (forthcoming).
Cunningham will talk about the involvement in local elections by dark-money funded extremist groups such as Moms for Liberty (M4L), a national organization that has helped organize book challenges in schools around the country over the past year, efforts largely centered around books written by and about LGBTQ+ people and people of color. The civil rights and racial justice advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center recently classified M4L as an “extremist” anti-student inclusion group. M4L recently formed its first chapter in Maine, based in Kennebec County.
All Lincoln County Democrats and other progressively-minded voters or seasonal visitors are welcome to attend. Pre-registration is not required to attend the meeting in person but is required for non-voting members who wish to receive the Zoom link, phone-in details and reminder emails. Register at https://lincolncountydemocrats.com/meet before Noon the day of the meeting to ensure access. They will also do their best to accommodate last-minute registrations.
LCDC voting members will automatically receive the Zoom log on information and reminders by email. Those interested in becoming a voting member must be a registered Democrat in Lincoln County and may make their interest known by indicating such at the in-person meeting, on the meeting registration form https://lincolncountydemocrats.com/meet, or by emailing info@lincolncountydemocrats.com.
Information about the committee, its meetings and other activities may be found at https://lincolncountydemocrats.com.

EVENTS: Bella Ann fundraiser

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Children’s Discovery Museum in Waterville

A beautiful afternoon of live music awaits you! Bella Ann will be performing her original music along with some select covers. Guest artists will play a few songs before Bella hits the stage for her first headlining show, on Sunday, November 12, at the Children’s Discovery Museum, 7 Eustis Parkway, Waterville, beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15.

There will be a silent auction with artisan goods. Popcorn and baked treats will be available for sale. All money raised will go toward the production costs of Bella’s debut EP. Every little bit helps to make a dream come true!

Please consider making a donation if you are unable to attend the event by copy and pasting the URL below into your browser. https://cusol.ficrowd.net/campaign/bellaannmusicfundraiser.

EVENTS: Thank you for your service!

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Boynton-Webber  American Legion Post #179, in South China, will be hosting a turkey dinner for veterans, and one guest, on Wed­nesday, Nov­ember 8, starting at noon, at the South China Legion Hall, at 79 Legion Memorial Drive, South China.

EVENTS: Lincoln County Dems to discuss positive aging

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The Lincoln County Democratic Committee (LCDC) will hold its next hybrid meeting on Thursday, October 26, at 7 p.m., at the Newcastle Fire Station, 86 River Rd., in Newcastle, and online via Zoom.

The Maine Council on Aging has launched a new anti-ageism movement in Maine called the Power in Aging Project. The goal of the project is to build a more age-positive culture in Maine through conversation and action. Don Harden of Portland, a founding board member of the Maine Council on Aging and coordinator of the Power in Aging Project, will lead a discussion on positive aging during the LCDC October meeting.

“When you look at yourself as an older person, what do you see?” asked Harden when explaining the topic to LCDC Executive Committee Member Barbara Cray of Westport.

“It turns out that what we think, feel, and believe about getting older matters. If we live with positive beliefs about our own aging, research has found that we’re likely to live 7.5 years longer than those who believe aging is about disease and decline. So, why are so many of us worried about aging and being old? We’ve been brainwashed by ageism,” Harden explained.

All Lincoln County Democrats and other progressively-minded voters or seasonal visitors are welcome to attend. Pre-registration is not required to attend the meeting in person but is required for non-voting members who wish to receive the Zoom link, phone-in details and reminder emails. Register at https://lincolncountydemocrats.com/meet before Noon the day of the meeting to ensure access.

They will also do their best to accommodate last-minute registrations.

LCDC voting members will automatically receive the Zoom log on information and reminders by email. Those interested in becoming a voting member must be a registered Democrat in Lincoln County and may make their interest known by indicating such at the in-person meeting, on the meeting registration form https://lincolncountydemocrats.com/meet, or by emailing info@lincolncountydemocrats.com.

Information about the committee, its meetings and other activities may be found at https://lincolncountydemocrats.com.