Freeport Players sets annual meeting

All interested Freeport residents are invited to attend the Freeport Players’ annual meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 6:30 p.m., at the Freeport Community Library. It’s a costume party and potluck supper. Those who arrive in costume will be eligible for a door prize. Extra costumes from the Players’ costume collection will be available for those who want them.

There will be a celebration of the previous year’s production season, including accomplishments made during the 25th anniversary year. The upcoming production season will be announced.

For more information and to RSVP, email [email protected] or call 865-2220.

Writers-poets group meets Jan. 14

Upstairs at the Azure, the writers and poets group, will meet Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m., upstairs at Azure Cafe? on Main Street. The meeting will be devoted to planning next month’s program as part of the FebFest celebration of Freeport cultural arts. The February meeting will be open to the public and will present the reading of stories, poems and essays, chosen to represent the work of these Freeport writers. There will be no admission fee, however a donation of $5 to defray expenses will be welcome. For more information, contact Gar Roper, [email protected] or call 272-3641.

FebFest schedule taking shape

Freeport artists, organizations and producers are coming together to present a month-long series of events that showcase Freeport arts and culture. Visual, performing and culinary arts are all represented in a full range of events, including art shows, the Open Stage Coffee House, Freeport First Friday Concert, staged readings and theater from Freeport Players and others, poetry recitations by Freeport High School students, readings by Freeport authors, film screenings, an author talk at the library, and Flavors of Freeport.

FebFest has also received a boost from the Davis Family Foundation, which has awarded $5,000 to the event. The Davis Family Foundation is a public charitable foundation established by Phyllis C. Davis and H. Halsey Davis of Falmouth, to support educational, medical and cultural/arts organizations located primarily in Maine. The foundation was established following Davis’ retirement as president of Shaw’s Supermarkets Inc. The foundation has provided over $49 million in grants since its grant-making activities began in 1986.

More information about the festival and up-to-date event listings are available at the FebFest Calendar of events, www.FreeportFebFest.com. New events continue to be added to the calendar and will continue to be updated.

Organizations, individuals and businesses with arts/culture events, workshops, demonstrations, etc. happening in Freeport in February that they would like to include in the FebFest promotions should contact Elizabeth at [email protected] for more information. The schedule so far:

All of February: Art Guild Of Freeport Art exhibit, Freeport Community Library.

Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m., Freeport Community Library author talk with Ellen Cooney.

Feb. 6, 6 p.m., First Friday featuring Tom Acousti, hosted by MASISTA and Freeport Community Services.

Feb. 7, 7 p.m., Eric Bryant Open Stage Coffee House, Freeport Community Library.

Feb.13, 7:30 p.m., Freeport Players “Love Letters,” by A.R. Gurney, Freeport Community Center.

Feb.18, 7:30 p.m., Freeport Writer’s Group Eclectica (readings).

Feb. 19 and 20, 7 p.m., “To Have & To Hold,” a serious comic play by Gar Roper,

Freeport Community Library.

Feb. 20, 5-8 p.m., FreeportUSA presents Flavors Of Freeport, Hilton Garden Inn.

Feb. 27 and 28, 7 p.m., Greater Freeport Community Chorus and Freeport Players Cabaret Night, Merriconeag School.

Oscar Film Series at Nordica

Nordica Theatre, at 1 Freeport Village Station, will host an Oscar Film Series starting Thursday, Jan. 15. Each Thursday at 7 p.m., a different Oscar-winning film will be shown. The series will play for six weeks, ending on the Thursday before the 87th Annual Oscars show on Feb. 22. Admission is $6 or $30 for all six films. For more information, call 865-9000 or see www.nordicatheatre.com.

Community chorus invites new singers

The Greater Freeport Community Chorus, directed by Virgil Bozeman, will begin rehearsals for its spring concerts Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Merriconeag Waldorf School, 57 Desert Road, Freeport. Registration will run from 5:45-6:30 p.m., with the rehearsal to follow. Rehearsals are held on Sundays from 6:30-9 p.m. at the school.

The Greater Freeport Community Chorus is an adult, mixed-voice group whose members are residents of about 20 midcoast towns. No audition or previous experience with choral singing is required. All singers are welcome, but the chorus is especially in need of tenors.

Membership dues of $70 cover the cost of music and other expenses. Dues are waived for high school students. New singers are welcome to attend a couple of rehearsals before deciding whether to join and pay dues.

The spring concerts, “Simply Sondheim,” are scheduled for May 2 and 3.

For more information, call 666-8817, visit www.gfccweb.org or find the chorus on Facebook.

Bean supper at First Parish

A baked bean and pasta supper will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, from 5-6 p.m., at the First Parish Church, 40 Main St. On the menu will be three kinds of baked beans, macaroni and cheese, American chop suey, hot dogs, rolls, pickles, cole slaw, homemade pies, beverages and more. The cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children. Profits support outreach programs.

Looking for news

Now that the holidays are behind us, the Freeport News column will be waiting to hear from schools, organizations and churches in town. Everyone likes to learn about events, special accomplishments and town news. Send information to [email protected] or call 233-8422.

Student’s art on display

Portrait drawings by Alice Chesley will be on exhibit at Freeport Community Library during January. The 16-year-old Pine Tree Academy student has loved art for as long as she can remember, and began drawing in earnest at age 11. A self-taught artist, she will have 15 pen, charcoal and pencil drawings on display. This is Chesley’s first exhibit of her work.

Author to debut new mystery series

Maine author Lea Wait, an Agatha Award finalist for her “Shadows Antique Print” mystery series, debuts a new “Mainely Needlepoint” series with the January 2015 release of “Twisted Threads” in time for her book talk at Freeport Community Library on Monday, Jan. 12, at 6:30 p.m.

“Twisted Threads” features Angie Curtis, an unlikely heroine who runs a custom needlepoint business in the fictional Maine town of Haven Harbor. Angie left Haven Harbor when she was 18 to escape her mother’s legacy. Now it’s 10 years later, her mother’s body has been found, and Angie’s pulled back into a world she’d thought she’d left behind.

In addition to her two mystery series, Wait will also be sharing from “Uncertain Glory,” her latest historical fiction book for young adults, which is based on a real boy who owned and ran Wiscasset’s newspaper at the beginning of the Civil War in April 1861 and went on to become a major figure in Maine journalism.

Wait, a fourth-generation antiques dealer, has been writing mysteries for adults and historical fiction set in Maine for young people since she left corporate America in 1998 and moved to Maine. To learn more about her, see www.leawait.com.

Dog licenses expiring

All dog licenses expire Dec. 31 of each year. Dogs 6 months and older are required to be licensed by law. Registration can be done at the Freeport Town Hall or online at www.doglicensing.com. Bring proof of the rabies vaccination and spay/neutering. The cost is $11 or $6 if the animals are spayed or neutered. Dog license renewal can be done anytime up until Jan. 31. After Jan. 31, a late fee of $25 per dog will be charged.

Upcoming meetings

• Active Living Task Force, Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:30 a.m., Town Council Chambers.
• Shellfish Conservation Commission, Thursday, Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m., Freeport Community Center.
• Special Projects Committee, Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:30 a.m., Town Hall.
• Winslow Park Commission, Monday, Jan. 12, 6 p.m., Freeport Town Hall.
• Project Review Board, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m., Town Council Chambers.
• Coastal Waters Commission, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m., Freeport Community Center.
• A full listing of upcoming town meetings and agendas is available on www.freeportmaine.com