Chocolate Buffet Benefit

Satisfy your sweet tooth at a Chocolate Buffet at Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Confections, 174 Lower Main Street, Freeport from 3 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 9. Indulge on platters of decadent chocolates, such as rich raspberry creams, sea salt caramels, pecan turtles, chocolate covered blueberries, and many more.

Tickets cost $20 per person, beverages included, and proceeds benefit Open Gates Equine Rescue of New Gloucester. To purchase tickets in advance, contact Linda at LWalker7@maine.rr.com or 749-9028. Advance ticket sales are encouraged; however, tickets will also be available at the door.

History Barn ?Open House

The next monthly New Gloucester History Barn Open House will be held on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon. The History Barn is located behind New Gloucester Town Hall, 385 Intervale Road (Route 231). Permanent and temporary exhibits pertaining to local history are on display, and admission is free.

Shaker Christmas Fair

The Shaker Christmas Fair will be held on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, Route 26, New Gloucester. Gifts for all ages in the 1816 Trustees’ Office and the Merry Christmas Garage will be available for sale. Features will be Shaker holiday baked goods, cheese, pickles, wreaths, Shaker apples, free cider pressing and a traditional Advent barbecue lunch.

Cinder Conk on Coffeehouse stage

Cinder Conk weaves frenzied accordion riffs by Matthew Schreiber with the warm double bass counterpoint of Xar Adelberg to create a sound that’s energetic, gripping, winsome and haunting. Their musical style is described as Balkan, Eastern European, and original.

The duo will perform Saturday, Dec. 1, at the New Gloucester Village Coffeehouse, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the New Gloucester Congregational Church community room, 19 Gloucester Hill Road. Admission at the door is $10 for adults; $5 for seniors and children. Coffee is free, and munchies are available by donation. For more information, call 926-3260 or 967-3755.

Wreath Making ?for Kids

Children can learn how to make a balsam wreath for the holiday season at one of three classes to be held at Pineland Farms on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, Dec. 4, 5 or 6 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Please arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to buy tickets and get to your program.

The class costs $5 per person. Purchase tickets at The Market and Welcome Center, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester. For more information, contact Paula Letiecq at 688-4800, ext. 15, or pletiecq@pinelandfarms.org.

Holiday Story Time

A Holiday Story Time will take place at the New Gloucester Public Library, 379 Intervale Road at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 6. Light refreshments will be served, and Baxter the Cat will make a special guest appearance.

Thanks from the Caring Community ?of GNG

The Caring Community of GNG would like to express sincere gratitude and appreciation for all those who helped, in many ways, to provide Thanksgiving food baskets to 85 individuals and families in our community.

A huge thank-you goes to the many families and individuals, as well as to the following groups who sponsored families or made donations to make the Thanksgiving food baskets possible: American Legion, GNGMS National Junior Honor Society, St Gregory’s Church, Gray Congregational Church, Gray Country Day Care, Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers, Tender Hearts Family Child Care, Eastern Star, Good Shepherd Methodist Church, MedTEch Media, Curves of Gray, Link’s Variety, Crossroads Community Church, OTT Communications, GNG Optimist Club, GNGHS Community Service Club and Brakey Energy, Inc.

A belated thank-you goes out to all the bakers who helped to make the October bake sale a success, as well as a thank-you to all the folks who purchased the baked goods. The money raised goes toward purchasing items for Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets and Christmas gifts for children up to 18 years of age who attend school.

The Caring Community of GNG is currently preparing for Christmas and welcomes monetary donations as well as individuals, groups or businesses interested in sponsoring a family for Christmas. For more information, contact Christina Foster at 233-0828 or at winkers92@yahoo.com. Donations, which are so appreciated and greatly needed, can be sent directly to CCGNG, PO Box 1244, Gray, ME 04039.

New Gloucester residents Cheryl Doyle, Ryan Mitchell, Scott Doyle, Mark Stevens and Hale Fitzgerald are about to board the party bus for a return trip to Commercial Street in Portland after having toured four breweries. Stevens started his new business Maine Beer Tours two months ago, and it is rapidly gaining in popularity. The bus was at capacity with 13 people on the Nov. 16 tour.