Two Christmas tree lightings

The Upper Village Christmas tree lighting ceremony, to be held beside the public works garage on Upper Village Street, New Gloucester, will occur at 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 28.

The annual town Christmas tree lighting of Tiny Timber, the smallest municipal tree in the United States, will take place on Sunday, Nov. 29, 4:30 p.m., at the New Gloucester Town Hall, 385 Intervale Road. All are invited. Holiday music will be provided by the Gray-New Gloucester High School Chorus. Free refreshments will be served at the adjacent public library. The History Barn will be open for public view.

Lose your blues with a funky band

With great blues, swing, soul and an infectiously funky backbeat, The Blutonics will dance your blues away. This Village Coffeehouse concert is set to start at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Vestry Community Room of the First Congregational Church, 19 Gloucester Hill Road, New Gloucester.

Admission at the door is $10. Call Julie Fralich at 926-3161 for more information.

Free Christmas concert

Coastal Winds Concert Band, the Freeport area’s community band, will be performing at the First Congregational Church, 19 Gloucester Hill Road, New Gloucester, on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. A carol sing-along will be included in the program, and refreshments will be served afterward. A free-will offering for the church’s emergency fuel assistance fund will help our neighbors stay warm this winter. Call 926-3260 for more details.

Lobozzo participates in theater production

Noah Lobozzo, the son of Allan and Mary Lobozzo of New Gloucester, assisted with the production of “Marie and the Nutcracker,” the fall 2015 main stage theater performance at Bates College. The production, which ran from Nov. 5-9 at Schaeffer Theatre at Bates, gave students a firsthand glimpse into the playwriting process.

Lobozzo is a 2014 graduate of Gray-New Gloucester High School.

Last call to see special exhibit

The next monthly History Barn Open House, sponsored by the New Gloucester Historical Society, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m.-noon. This will be the final opportunity to see a special exhibit on the 250th anniversary of New Gloucester Congregational Church. The History Barn is located behind the New Gloucester Town Hall on Route 231. The public is welcome, and admission is free.

Shaker Christmas Fair

Holiday treats await you at the annual Shaker Christmas Fair, a decades-old, annual nostalgic shopping tradition to be held at the world’s only active Shaker Community. The fair will take place at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Specialties will include Shaker baked goods – wheat bread, cinnamon-raisin bread, Sister Frances’ famous fruitcakes, fresh-baked herbal biscuits, cookies and more. Additional offerings include a wide selection of gifts and holiday items such as Shaker culinary herbs and herbal teas, pickles, jellies, old-fashioned candy, Shaker biscuit mix and Shaker pancake mix, maple syrup, pickles, cheese, woodenware, furniture, antiques, baskets, knit goods, toys, ornaments, fresh-cut Maine Christmas trees and decorated balsam wreaths, hot cider and homemade doughnuts. Proceeds from the White Elephant Room, a second-time around “garage” sale, will benefit local food pantries. Lunch plates will be served, too.

Christmas food baskets available

The Caring Community of Gray-New Gloucester coordinates the distribution of holiday meals to individuals, families and senior citizens who find themselves in need at Christmas. For those requesting a Christmas meal, pick up an application and return the completed form in a designated CCGNG box no later than Tuesday, Dec. 8, at any of the following locations – all Gray-New Gloucester schools, the Gray Public Library, and both town halls. Application forms are available at the guidance office of both the G-NG middle and high schools and at www.msad15.org/community/caring-communities.

Sponsors and donors are needed. Sponsors “adopt” a family or individual and provide all the fixings for a holiday meal. Christmas sponsors can also provide gifts to children 18 and under. The CCGNG matches sponsors with families or individuals. For more information on being a Christmas sponsor, contact Mike Marcotte at gngcaring@gmail.com.

If you prefer to donate money, send a check to CCGNG, P.O. Box 1244, Gray, ME 04039. Direct any questions you may have to Christina Foster at 233-0828 or winkers92@yahoo.com.

Phil Morse of Seashore Trolley Museum, a guest speaker at the Nov. 19 New Gloucester Historical Society program, shows a restored stained glass window from a trolley named Narcissus that traveled through New Gloucester and other towns as part of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, which operated from 1914-1933. The Narcissus is undergoing a complete renovation, and the 20th Century Electric Railway Foundation will match, dollar-for-dollar, donations made to the Narcissus Project Fund, to a maximum of $40,000.

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