EVENTS: Masons to hold annual pig roast August 19, 2023

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The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons invites the public to their second annual Pig Roast. Last year’s event was met with such enthusiasm they decided to repeat it again this year. Rural Lodge #53, of Sidney, was established in 1827 and has always maintained a strong community presence.

For those of you who are not familiar, they are a Service to Mankind Organization located at 3001 Middle Road, Sidney. They do such projects as Bikes for Books where they give away as many as 18 bikes per year. They also raise funds for Project Graduation for a local high school. They are also very active in a food drive for the Sidney Food Pantry. They also do what is called the Handy Brigade which gives assistance to the elderly and veterans in need. They try to be a beacon of charity and good will in the community.

So they invite one and all on Saturday, August 19, from 2 – 6 p.m., to enjoy a wonderful time and meal with them and perhaps some of your friends. The fare is all homemade and delicious. The course includes rotisserie pig, char-smoked turkey, potato, garden and macaroni salads and various drinks, cake.

The fee for this humanitarian fare is $12 for adults and $6 for children. So bring a smile and an empty stomach and enjoy the experience. This cause is great as mentioned above, and you will leave with a full belly and a full heart. If you are on the run they can do TO-GO plates for your convenience. Thank you to sponsors Fanado Pelotte Construction, O’Connor Auto Park, Cony Hannaford.

EVENTS: KLS&WCD to present award

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The community is invited to Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District’s Conservation Awards Celebration on Wednesday, August 23, from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. The banquet will be held at Beaver Lodge, in Hope.

This year’s Conservation Award Recipients are:

  • Brodis Blueberries, in Hope, will be awarded the Conservation Farm of the Year for 2023. Brodis Blueberries has been recognized recently from many achievements. Gwen Brodis and her husband Dick, purchased the farm from their parents in 1967. Ron and Sonja Howard are helping to manage the farm after Dick Brodis passed in 2016. Knox-Lincoln SWCD recognizes their achievements in conservation efforts ensuring soil health, water quality, moisture retention and a healthy habitat for wildlife. • Sharon G. Chadwick’s work with KLSWCD will be acknowledged with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Since 1996, Sharon G. Chadwick served on the Knox-Lincoln SWCD Board of Supervisors at first as an associate and then as a supervisor. Sharon lives with her husband, Gerald, at BenEva Farm, in Warren, and still operate as a conservation farm, raising commercial Black Angus beef. For several decades, Sharon helped with judging the Annual Poster Contest and at our Conservation Fair and Plant Sale. (See attached photo)

  • Shelby Chadwick

    Shelby Chadwick will be recognized with the 2023 Excellence in Conservation Education Award. Shelby, a second grade teacher at Camden-Rockport Elementary School (CRES), worked alongside the District to develop and offer our Pollinator Party program, which engages students through hands-on, place-based outdoor activities with pollinators and pollination.

 

 

EVENTS: Dawe’s artwork on display at Joe’s Flat Iron Café

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photo source: mainstreetmaine.org

After what feels like a long time waiting, MacKenzie Dawe’s art will be on display at Joe’s Flat Iron Café, at 65 Water Street, in downtown Skowhegan, until October 14. Out of seven nominees this past April, she was chosen as the winner of the 2nd Annual $500 Wesserunset Arts Council Youth Scholarship. When Joe Almand took over the former Paper Klip/Warren’s Office Supplies space where WesArts has had Youth Art Displays since 2019, he assured the Council that he would continue to welcome youth art in his café once it was ready to open.

McKenzie Dawe is a very talented student who will be entering her junior year in the fall at Skowhegan Area High School.

In 2021, she was part of the National Youth Art Month Digital Art Show at the Portland Museum of Art and also won seven first-place ribbons and one second-place ribbon for her art submissions from the Skowhegan State Fair, and the Clinton Lions Fair. She is a fantastic fan artist who has painted beautiful portraits of rocker Ozzy Osborne and the character Glenn Rhee from The Walking Dead TV series.

Dawe wants to continue her current skills but move on from using traditional mediums such as colored pencils, watercolors, oil paints, acrylic paints, and oil pastels to using animation, sculpting, pottery, and three-dimensional design tools. Therefore, MacKenzie used the scholarship money to order mediums that will develop and expand her skills, such as sculpting compounds and tools, a drawing tablet, jewelry beading supplies, needle feltng supplies, fine-detail miniature paint brushes, and miniature drawing art pens. She said, “My intentions are to further develop my range of mediums I can work with and my desire is to create a career from my art, like being a content creator and/or designer.”

EVENTS: VCS annual school supplies drive

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Help the students at Vassalboro Community School by donating to the 5th annual school supplies drive by drop off, on Saturday, August 19, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., at the North Vassalboro Fire Station, on Rte. 32. Supplies may be dropped off at the Maine Savings Federal Credit Union, on Main Street, in Vassalboro, or the Vassalboro Town Office, on Main Street, if people want to donate and drop off prior to the actual event on August 19. FMI, contact Don Breton at 313-3505, or dlbreton@roadrunner.com.

EVENTS – Red Cross: Donation shortfall may impact blood supply

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The American Red Cross has seen a shortfall of about 25,000 blood donations in the first two months of the summer, which makes it hard to keep hospital shelves stocked with lifesaving blood products. By making an appointment to give blood or platelets in August, donors can keep the national blood supply from falling to shortage levels.

Right now, the Red Cross especially needs type O negative, type O positive, type B negative and type A negative blood donors as well as platelet donors. For those who don’t know their blood type, making a donation is an easy way to find out this important personal health information. The Red Cross will notify new donors of their blood type soon after they give.

The Red Cross needs donors now. Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

All who come to give throughout the month of August will get a $10 e-gift card to a movie merchant of their choice. Details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Movie.

Upcoming blood donation opportunities Aug. 16-31:

Augusta: Monday, August 28, 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Augusta Elks, 397 Civic Center Drive, P.O. Box 2206;

Gardiner: Saturday,August 19, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Knights of Columbus, 109 Spring Street;

Waterville: Friday,August 18, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Best Western Plus Waterville Grand Hotel, 375 Main Street;

Winslow: Wednesday, August 30, noon, – 5 p.m., Winslow VFW, 175 Veterans Drive.

PHOTOS: China Community Days enjoys another successful year (2023)

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(contributed photos)

Folks enjoyed the festivities on Saturday night.

14 teams entered the scavenger hunt.

85 cars participated in the car show.

64 children took part in the fishing derby, even though she caught a turtle.

One of the many cardboard boats.

Vendors displayed their wares at the ballfields.

There were 44 teams entered in the cornhole tournament.

 

EVENTS: 52nd Annual Blueberry Festival coming to Winslow

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One of Maine’s all-time most popular, beloved, and downright yummy summer events – Winslow’s annual Blueberry Festival – is coming this year on Saturday, August 12, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., to the Winslow Congregational Church, 12 Lithgow Street, Winslow. Admission to the festival grounds is FREE.

Nearly 750 blueberry pies and “all things blueberry” baked goods will be available for sale. Blueberry pies ($15 each; 2 for $25) may be picked up at the church anytime from 3 to 7 p.m. the previous evening (Friday, August 11) or the day of the festival (Saturday, August 12) from 7 a.m. until they are sold out.

Blueberry Pancake Breakfast

Kicking off the 52nd Annual Blueberry Festival on Saturday will be a delicious Blueberry Pancake Breakfast, from 7 to 10 a.m. Cost of the breakfast will be $7 per person and $5 for children ages 12 and under, payable at the door.

Other Great “Festival Festivities”

In addition to the “all things blueberry” pies and other culinary delights, festival patrons will enjoy a Lobster Shore-Dinner raffle; a silent auction; a Blueberry Café; live classical, pop, folk, and blues music from musicians Josh Bickford (11 a.m. church organ concert), Ritchie Bartolo, Will McPherson, Noah Carrett, Jake Hickey, and others; local crafts vendors; a yard sale; children’s activities; a FREE BOOKS for kids table; an agricultural exhibit featuring goats; a firetruck and police car, and more.

More about the 52nd Annual Blueberry Festival

A beloved community favorite since 1972, the Blueberry Festival raises funds to empower the local humanitarian/Christian-service work of Winslow Congregational Church, celebrating its 195th birthday this year.

Everyone seeking a wonderful opportunity to gather and enjoy a treasure trove of “all things blueberry” is cordially invited to attend this year’s Blueberry Festival!

For more information about the 52nd annual Blueberry Festival, please call (207) 872-2544 or visit: https://winslowucc.org/blueberry-festival/.

EVENTS: Free benefit concert in Windsor

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Downeast Brass

The Downeast Brass will be presenting a free concert on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, at the Windsor Town Hall, to benefit the Windsor Veterans’ Memorial Fund. The show features the life and music of Frank Sinatra through slides, narration, live music, comedy, and dance.

The program lasts about an hour and a half and includes local singers, musicians and dancers. It starts at 7 p.m., in the upstairs auditorium of the Windsor Town Hall. There is an elevator available, and refreshments will be provided by the Windsor Ladies Aid. Please come enjoy hit tunes from the ‘40s and beyond while supporting Windsor veterans.

EVENTS: Washington Challenge slated for Aug. 6, 2023

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Washington Recreation’s Annual Washington Challenge, will be Sunday, August 6. Registration will take place from 7 – 7:50 a.m., and the Fun Run starts at 8 a.m., and the 5K starts right after.

Registration for both races is at the back parking lot of the Gibbs Library, 40 Old Union Rd., in Washington.

The 5K will be out and back on the Bill Luce Rd. The Fun Run will start at the monument out to Prescott School and back to the library. It is the Washington Challenge because there are hills on both courses.

Registration fees: $5 for 5K; $1 for Fun Run. T-shirts while they last and door prizes. Medals for 5K winners in all categories: male & female: 0-15 16-19 20-29 30-39, 40-49 50-59 60-64 65 and up. Fun Run Medals for first, second and third places, for both male and female.

They will also be selling our 50/50 raffle tickets as a part of the fund raiser for creating hiking trails in Washington. Tickets are $2 and a single winner will be drawn at the Axiom Broadband Festival, August 12. The winner gets half of the total pot, the Washington Recreational Trails the other half.

So put on your running shoes and come race the Washington Challenge. Walkers are welcome to walk the Fun Run.

EVENTS: Second annual Somerset Scrub Club connects Maine students with careers in healthcare

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JMG, in partnership with Redington Fairview Hospital, Somerset Career & Technical Center, and Western Maine Area Health Education Center, is thrilled to announce the second annual Somerset Scrub Club, a transformative 4-day camp from Monday, August 7, to Thursday, August 11, aimed at introducing students to careers in healthcare. This career exploration opportunity is open to students entering grades 8 to 12.

Somerset Scrub Club Details:

Date: Monday, August 7 to Thursday, August 11, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Skowhegan Area High School (media check-in at the main office)
On-Site Contact: Katie Wood, Regional Director (kwood@jmg.org)

Throughout the four days of the Somerset Scrub Club, participating students will engage in hands-on activities, interactive workshops, and insightful seminars led by experienced healthcare professionals in careers that include athletic trainer, certified nursing assistant (CNA), dentist, medical assistant, EMT, phlebotomist, registered nurse, and more. Students will travel to Kennebec Valley Community College and Redington-Fairview General Hospital on Tuesday, August 8, to learn more about the programs and opportunities offered. On Thursday, August 11, students will hear from staff at Lifeflight of Maine, which will land a helicopter, weather permitting.

For more information, contact Katie Wood, Regional Director at JMG, kwood@jmg.org.