Spring Cabaret

There are still a few seats left for Thursday and Friday night’s performances of “A Spring Cabaret: A Performing Arts Time Machine” presented by the Windham Raymond Performing Arts Alliance. The performances will be held Friday, April 1, at Raymond Elementary School and Saturday, April 2, at Windham Primary School. Both shows will be held at 6:30 p.m. and will feature 25 high school students from Raymond and Windham performing songs and scenes that will take you from Biblical times to present day. The cabaret is being directed by Janelle LoSciuto and appetizers and dessert will be served. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and can be purchased by calling 893-0455.

Beauty and

the Beast

It is finally here…the annual production of the Jordan-Small Middle School Drama Club. Each year, these musicals have proven to be incredible, and I enjoy them thoroughly. Now that my kids are on stage and I have become involved in the trenches, I am overwhelmed with how much work goes into these productions. Under the excellent direction of Marilee Dunklee, Mary Thornton and Patricia Valley, there are 75 students participating, both on and off stage. The groups of parents who build sets, type programs, prepare food, sew costumes, play in the pit band and perform countless other duties are also essential to the success of these plays. Most importantly, however, are the kids. It is so rewarding to watch them on their first rehearsal in January and to see them now. They are truly amazing and very talented.

This year, they will be performing “Beauty and the Beast, Jr.,” on Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at JSMS. Tickets are available at the door and are $5 for adults and $2 for children under five. Treat yourself to a fun evening and come watch our stars shine.

Visit Vladivostok

After discovering photographs of Vladivostok taken by her husband’s grandfather over 90 years ago, Valley Road resident Veronica Haskell became intrigued by Vladivostok, an important port city in Russia. She traveled there in the summer of 2010 and will share her experiences of that trip as well as some of these photos in a presentation called “Discovering Vladivostok: Following the trail of Merrill Haskell.” This will be a fascinating presentation given with a personal touch and will be held at the Raymond Village Library on Sunday, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

School Budget

It is that time of year again; we must pass a school budget for next year. Many hours of work have gone into preparing the budget, which includes a 3.1 percent increase. Superintendent Sandy Prince presented the budget to the School Board last week and now it is time for our input. A public forum will be held on April 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Raymond Elementary School. Please take time to familiarize yourself with the budget and then prepare your comments and questions for that meeting. The School Board will vote on the budget on April 13 and the public will vote in June.

Library Helps Pantry

Instead of charging mandatory late fees when overdue items are returned, the Raymond Village Library’s preferred procedure is to direct you to the “conscience jar” to make a donation. However, throughout the month of April each year, the library supports the families using the Raymond Food Pantry by asking patrons who are returning overdue items to please bring in a donation for the pantry instead.

The Pantry currently has needs for facial tissue, bathroom tissue and paper towels. The contents of the “conscience jar” for the month of April will also be donated to the Raymond Food Pantry. If you do not have any overdue items but would still like to contribute to the Raymond Food Pantry’s needs, feel free to drop your donation off at the library and it will be delivered for you. This is one of the many ways the library coordinates with other community organizations and your help is appreciated.

Also, April 10 begins National Library Week and you are invited to go to the library especially if you have not had a chance to visit in a while. There are lots of new books, DVDs, audio books, magazines and some wonderful new programs for children and adults. Drop by and check it out, you will be pleasantly surprised at what is available for you at your library.

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