Popular Winslow Gospel Reflection Group returns September 14

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The St. Joseph Center Gospel Reflection Group will resume on Monday, September 14, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Eight people will participate from the center, located on Garland Road, in Winslow, while all other participants will connect via Zoom.

The reflection group is open to all. Organizers can provide one-on-one technical assistance to help you set up. To obtain the link to the group or request assistance, email CSJsofLyon.Maine@gmail.com or call (207) 873-4512.

The meetings are hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon, in Winslow, who desire to reflect a “profound love of God and neighbor without distinction.”

In addition to the reflection group, the St. Joseph Center is also offering two other group meetings via Zoom.

“Becoming a Welcoming Community,” which explores how we can better follow the U.S. Bishops’ call for parishes to reach out in love and service to LGBT persons and their loved ones, is held on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m.

“Rose’s Room,” offering support for the family and friends of incarcerated loved ones, is held on the third Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. People of all faiths or no declared faith are welcome.

For more information or to participate in either group, call (207) 873-4512 or email CSJsofLyon.Maine@gmail.com.

Vassalboro Days slated for September 12 – 13

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The Double Dam Ducky Derby will be held Saturday, September 12, at the Mill at 1 p.m. Tickets are $3 each or 5@ $10 and will be sold that day at the VBA Tent at the Mill up until ten minutes before the race. Tickets may be purchased from Ray Breton (207-877-2005) or at the Mill on Sundays from10 a.m. – 3 p.m! Proceeds benefit the many activities of the Vassalboro Business Association.

The Scavenger Hunt will be available to work on beginning September 4 and copies will be available at the Maine Savings FCU drive thru window; The Olde Mill Store and on Facebook’s Vassalboro Community Events and Announcements Page. Entries must be brought to the VBA Tent on the lawn at the Mill Saturday, September 12 by 4 p.m. Winners will be called and prizes will be awarded!

The Tastiest Vassalboro Masonic Lodge Fried Chicken Baskets will be available from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., on Saturday, September 12, on the lawn at the Mill. Proceeds benefit their Bikes for Books and other programs that benefit the Vassalboro community! You may order your baskets for $6 each by calling 207-441-0378 from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., that day!

The Mill Craft & Vendor Sale and Yard Sale will occur on Saturday, September 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in or outside of the Mill. The Yard Sale will also be open Sunday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Several Raffles are going on!

Vassalboro Library – Chalk Fest around Vassalboro. The Chalk Fest drawings will officially begin September 5 with the start of registration August 29. Weather permitting these drawings will be viewed during V Days! Chalk Fest designs may be located at the North Fire Dept., the Town Office, Maine Savings FCU, the old Town Office across from the Maine Savings FCU, St Bridget Center, the Vassalboro Library, the Historical Society, and perhaps VCS!. Call Brian Stanley at the Library to register, get your supplies, reserve your site, and understand the “Rules” at 923-3233. vplibrary@gmail.com

The Library Book Sale will be held at the library from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., on Saturday, September 12, for $2/bag! Everything must Go! Great Deals and a great selection of books!

The Vassalboro Grange is having a Porch Pie Sale Saturday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (or until they sell out!). They are $10/pie or $2/slice. Preorders taken until the night before at 207-649-2765. The Grange is hosting an FREE Open Mic Coffee House from 7 – 9 p.m., on Saturday. Coffee is free!

The Grange is hosting “Music in the Park” (next to Old East School) from 4 – 6 p.m., on Sunday Sept. 13. (Rain date is September 20) Bring your own blanket, mic, & chair. For more info email weidnerholly@gmail.com.

The Historical Society will have the museum, Blacksmith Shop, and Harness Shop open from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday. Their new kids room will be open (Covid 19 permitting) Kids can use a typewriter and carbon paper, dial phones, play vintage games, and play with toys of yesteryear while listening to Victrolas play old tunes. Volunteers will help visitors find vintage photos of people, places, and things. Vassalboro schools’ graduations, Grange events, town records, family histories, Trolley and train info, and much more will be available.

Vassalboro’s Color Me Too Fun Run will begin at the Rec Fields on the Bog Rd on Sunday, September 13, at 9 a.m. Small groups will be released at intervals to make this a safe and fun event. Participants get sprayed with colored chalk as they walk/run the course and giant fans blow it off you after the event. Online Pre-registration is required. $25 each with a $2.50 fee. Each registered runner may run with 1 child under 12. https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Vassalboro/ColorMeTooFunRun (This event has been cancelled.)

On Sunday, the Rec Committee will hold a yard/vendor sale; have drone races in the back soccer field; and have cotton candy and other food available for sale at the Rec Fields most of the day!

The Rec Committee will sponsor a movie night on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m., featuring Jumanji!

Lemieux’s Orchard – All weekend will have apples, donuts, and the corn maze!

Participants at all events are encouraged to wear a face covering.

Cruisin’ for a Cure in September

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Bikers everywhere are invited to join Cruisin’ for a Cure, a motorcycle ride to support the American Cancer Society, on Saturday, September. 19.

Funds raised will support pediatric cancer research. The event begins at L-A Harley-Davidson, 839 Main St., Lewiston. Registration starts at 9 a.m., and the poker run will begin sharply at 10 a.m. The last stop on the run will be at The Pit Bar & Grill Bar & Grill, 838 Lisbon St., Lewiston, where there will be great food, drinks, prizes and more. All bikers are welcome!

The donation to participate is $25 per poker hand for solo riders or $35 per poker hand for two and up. The first 50 people to sign up will get a free poker hand at the event. Register or donate online at https://bit.ly/ Cruisin ForA Cure2020.

Skowhegan chicken BBQ slated

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Join the on Saturday, September 19, and enjoy the famous, better than ever chicken barbecue. This event will be curb side pickup only.

Meal includes deliciously prepared half chicken (half breast, full leg, thigh) basted with their signature sauce. Along with the chicken they will provide a roll and butter, potato chips, Steve Snack’s Whoopie pie, and Boston Market cole slaw. All of this for $14 per meal. Pick up is at the Skowhegan Chamber of Commerce parking lot between 4 – 6 p.m. Please indicate your time for pickup.

Payment for dinner can be made through Eventbrite website at the link below. Or, send your check for payment to Skowhegan Lions Club BBQ, PO Box 916, Norridgewock, ME 04957.

Business breakfast to feature “Advocacy Refresher”

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Tim Walton, founder, and president of Walton External Affairs will deliver a talk entitled “An Advocacy Refresher” as he explores why the Legislature matters to you and your business, as well as how a bill becomes a law.

This informative presentation will be the focus at Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s September Business Breakfast. This month’s breakfast will be held on Thursday, September 10, from 7:15 to 9:00 a.m. in the Waterville Country Club Banquet Room at 39 Country Club Road in Oakland.

Walton External Affairs is an Augusta, Maine-based firm with an excellent reputation for strategic focus in the areas of government, business, and industry relations.

With a notable career spanning over twenty-five years, Tim has earned the reputation of being an effective, resourceful, and responsive voice for those he represents. He is well-known and highly respected for his commitment to customer service and client satisfaction.

Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce holds monthly informative presentations on a variety of educational business topics. Cost of the Business Breakfast is $20 for members, $27 at the door and for non-members. Breakfast is included with the reservation.

To register, e-mail Cindy@midmainechamber.com or call 207-873-3315.

Albion Library book sale

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Albion Public Library

The Albion Public Library will host the annual book sale on Saturday, September 5, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The sale will be held at 17 Main Street, across the street from the library. Come and fill up your book shelves!

B2B Showcase canceled for 2020

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Board member Emily Cates and Editor Roland Hallee sit at The Town Line’s booth at the Business-to-Business Showcase in 2019. (photo by Eric Austin)

Due to the closing of the Colby campus through the end of the year and the large gathering restrictions currently in place, it became necessary for the Mid-Maine Chamber to postpone the Business-to-Business Showcase to 2021.

According to Cindy Stevens, program director at the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, the showcase will be rescheduled, most likely to the usual late March date, assuming gathering restrictions are lifted by that time. In the event that Colby’s fieldhouse is not available an alternate venue is under consideration.

While no exact date has been announced at this time, all booth reservations will be honored, and all pre-paid deposits or payments applied to that event.

Once a date has been determined, the chamber will re-communicate to all participants with additional details.

Stevens concluded, “while we regret having to cancel this event for 2020, it is out of an abundance of concern for the health and well-being of everyone.”

Waterville Rocks! returns for fifth year with the Rustic Overtones

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Rustic Overtones are a seven piece rock band from Portland, Maine with a discography that spans 20 years. The bands unique version of indie rock is strongly influenced by soul music, garage punk, jazz and psychedelic music of the ‘60s and ‘70s. (contributed photo)

Waterville Creates!, one of Maine’s leading arts and cultural organizations with a mission to promote Waterville as a vibrant destination in central Maine, has announced the fifth consecutive year of Waterville Rocks! will happen thanks to a virtual Livestream Facebook concert with Rustic Overtones on Friday, August 28, at 7 p.m. This free concert will be streamed LIVE from the Waterville Opera House and available on Facebook.

The series of free and family-friendly outdoor concerts has in the past featured regional acts, including Enter the Haggis, The Mallett Brothers Band, and The Ghost of Paul Revere, in downtown Waterville’s historic Castonguay Square. Waterville Rocks! is hosted by the Waterville Opera House and sponsored by local businesses, organizations and patrons of the arts. The series is designed to provide free cultural programming for the community and offer a new way to animate downtown Waterville. The 2020 virtual Waterville Rocks! sponsors are Kennebec Savings Bank, Colby College, and MaineGeneral Health.

“It was obvious due to COVID that an in-person series of concerts just would not be possible given the limitations on gathering sizes and lack of touring groups performing during the pandemic,” says Tamsen Brooke Warner, executive director of the Waterville Opera House, the organizer and host of Waterville Rocks! “COVID has forced our organization and those like ours around the world to rethink how we serve our communities and remain fiscally solvent during a time when we cannot gather in person or sell tickets. This Livestream Event is our first serious foray into the world of streaming performances and we are looking forward to getting back in the business of entertaining, if only virtually for the time being.”

Waterville Rocks! is presented by the Waterville Opera House and Waterville Creates! and made possible by the generosity of Kennebec Savings Bank, Colby College, and MaineGeneral Health.

For more information visit: https://www.operahouse.org/shows/2020/4/24/rustic-overtones-in-concert.

Taste of Waterville canceled due to large gathering restrictions

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Plans for return in 2021

Restrictions on sizes for large gatherings into the fall have resulted in the cancellation of Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s 28th Annual Taste of Waterville scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 11, at the Head of Falls, downtown Waterville.

This year’s event had been moved due to construction on Main Street and the anticipation of increased limits for gatherings. According to the Department of Economic and Community Development, increases beyond the 100-person limit for outdoor gatherings are not expected for the remainder of the year.

President & CEO of the Mid-Maine Chamber, Kimberly Lindlof said, “It is with profound sadness that we announce the cancellation of this long-held tradition. However, as with other area events and exhibitions forced to adjust schedules, the health and safety of our attendees is of utmost concern. We will take this time to make next year’s event bigger and better – so watch for information regarding Taste of Waterville 2021 at Head of Falls.”

Committee Chairman Shawn Michaud added, “I love this event, and share Kim’s disappointment. However, the Chamber Taste of Waterville Committee will continue plans for next year’s event, with ample time to develop a format featuring cultural foods and demonstrations focused on the ethnic diversity of the area. The program will continue to be an adult-focused day-long event with a variety of food options, ethnic entertainment, and informative walks, along with live entertainment, beer/wine gardens and brew samples. Entertainment and activities will be announced in early summer 2021.”

For more information as it is determined, visit www.tasteofwaterville.com.

A quiet summer afternoon at an outdoor concert

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Enjoying a warm, sunny August afternoon, about 30 people attended a concert at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, on August 16. (photo by Carla Gade)

by Mary Grow

A concert presented by Bill Berlinghoff at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, on August 16. (photo by Carla Gade)

Over two dozen area residents listened appreciatively to folksinger Bill Berlinghoff as the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, held its first public event since March.

Berlinghoff sang and played guitar and banjo on the library’s south lawn. His repertoire includes songs composed and/or made famous by such Maine people as Jud Strunk, Dave Mallett (Mallett’s The Garden Song, also known as Inch by Inch, had audience members singing along) and Gordon Bok, as well as several songs by Berlinghoff.

Berlinghoff’s songs are listed on his website, www.billberlinghoff.com, for people who would like to hear some of them and read the lyrics.

Another well-received number was Jan Harmon’s The Lobster License Plate Song,”composed in 1988 to recognize Maine’s addition of a red lobster to its license plates. The song is copyrighted, so it can’t be reproduced here; again, interested readers can find it on the web by looking up the title.

Carla Gade and Miranda Perkins, the new librarians at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, are planning other public events this fall as long as the weather allows continued outdoor gatherings. Watch for notices on the library’s signboard, in this newspaper and elsewhere.