Arts alliance eyes virtual kiosk

Freeport Arts & Cultural Alliance is seeking proposals to build the website component of its virtual kiosk. The virtual kiosk will provide information about arts and cultural events; present directories of arts and culture assets and resources in Freeport; and facilitate conversation about the needs of Freeport’s arts sector. The virtual kiosk will be the online presence of Freeport’s arts and culture sector, consisting of a website, Facebook page, email communication and other social media.

The nonprofit Freeport Arts & Cultural Alliance formed earlier this year with the purpose of bringing people together to experience, share, teach, learn, create and participate in the arts and culture of the community. The formation arose out of discussions initiated more than a year ago by Freeport Players, Freeport Economic Development Corp., local artists, organizations and business leaders.

A public gathering in April of artists, representatives of arts organizations, local businesses and other interested people identified a strong interest in a consolidated approach to get the word out about Freeport’s arts and cultural activities. Developing a virtual kiosk is the first step in addressing this need.

RFP documents are available at www.FreeportArtsAndCulturalAlliance.org. Proposals should be submitted by email to info@fcponline.org or by mail to Freeport Arts & Cultural Alliance, c/o Freeport Players, PO Box 483, Freeport, ME 04032, Attn: Elizabeth Guffey. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m., Dec. 30, 2015.

Mobile food bank makes stop

Good Shepherd Food Bank’s food mobile arrived at the Freeport Community Center On Dec. 9 and distributed food, including fresh produce, meat and non-perishable items, to people in need in the Freeport and Pownal area. The food mobile visits communities with a demand for emergency and supplemental food that has outgrown the capacity of local food pantries. This distribution was made possible through the generosity Freeport Community Services.

Good Shepherd Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Maine and provides for those at risk of hunger by acquiring surplus and purchased food and distributing that food to more than 400 partner agencies across Maine. For more information about Good Shepherd Food Bank, visit www.gsfb.org, call 782-3554, see www.facebook.com/feedingmaine or www.twitter.com/feedingmaine.

For more information about the food mobile distribution, contact Sarah Lundin at 865-3985.

Town holiday hours

All town offices, including the library and recycling center, will close at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 24. The Town Hall will be closed from noon-1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17, so that employees can attend a holiday luncheon at the Public Safety Building.

Masons cooking baked ham

The Freeport Masons will host a baked ham supper on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 5-6:30 p.m., at the Masonic Lodge on Mallet Drive in Freeport. The menu will feature baked ham, mashed potatoes, assorted vegetables, homemade biscuits, dessert and beverage. The cost is $9, and half-price for children under 12.

Tickets available for Flavors of Freeport

Tickets are now on sale for Freeport’s biggest event of the season. Flavors of Freeport, now in its ninth year, will take place Friday, Feb. 19-Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016.

It opens on Friday with the Flavors of Freeport Ice Bar at the Hilton Garden Inn, featuring frosty beverages, ice sculptures and snow machines. There will be outdoor fires and live music from Motor Booty Affair. The highlight of Saturday evening’s festivities is FreeportUSA’s signature event, the Chef’s Signature Series, featuring bites from some of Maine’s best chefs, local brews and other beverages.

Tickets for either Friday or Saturday night are available for $27.37. Guests can purchase tickets to both Friday and Saturday night for $43.19. Tickets include entrance to the Ice Bar and Motor Booty Affair performance on Friday or Ice Bar and Chef’s Signature Series on Saturday. Small bites and appetizers are included at Friday’s event, while generous samples from some 25 restaurants will be offered on Saturday. All event attendees must be 21-plus and should have valid photo ID. Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com/e/9th-annual-flavors-of-freeport-tickets-19911412571.

Additional weekend events will be added to the Flavors of Freeport Facebook page as they are announced. For more information, call 865-1212 or see www.freeportusa.com.

Dog licenses available

Dogs 6 months and older are required to be licensed by law. Registration is available at the Freeport Town Hall or online at www.doglicensing.com. All dog licenses expire Dec. 31 of each year and must be renewed no later than Jan. 31 of each year. The fee is $6 for a spayed or neutered dog and $11 for unspayed or not neutered dog. After Jan. 31, a late fee of $25 per dog also will be charged.

Rabies clinic Jan. 23

A rabies clinic is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23, from 9 a.m.-noon, at the Freeport Town Hall. Dogs and cats are invited. Rabies vaccines are $15 per animal.

Freeport residents can also license their dogs during the clinic. For more information, call the town clerk’s office at 865-4743, ext. 122 or 123.

‘A Gateless Garden’ book signing set

Freeport Community Library will host a book signing for “A Gateless Garden: Quotes by Maine Women Writers,” on Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The book was edited by Liza Bakewell, with photography by Kerry Michaels, both Freeport residents. It features 100 quotes from 1800 to the present and 100 black-and-white photos from across the state. “A Gateless Garden” features a potpourri of Maine women writers’ meditations on community, collectivity, landscape, gardening, love, desire and family.

Food for Fines

During December, overdue charges at the Freeport Community Library will be eliminated from borrowers’ accounts in exchange for donations of non-perishable food items that are comparable in value to fines. For example $1 in fines equals one can of food. All proceeds collected will go to the Food Pantry at Freeport Community Services.

Residents should alert the library staff when they bring the non-perishable food items in to be sure the donations are applied to borrowers’ accounts.

Step-up grant

The Freeport Woman’s Club is looking for a candidate for its 2015-16 Step Up Grant, a $1,000 gift for a woman over the age of 21 from Freeport or Pownal who is seeking occupational training and is experiencing financial need. Criteria for selection of the applicant are based upon financial need, clarity of goals, educational program and references. For more information, call Virginia Boyles at 865-3973.

Book illustrator coming to library

Portland artist Blue Butterfield will be the featured guest Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 6:30 p.m., at Freeport Community Library. She is the illustrator of a new, special edition of “Christmas in Maine,” released by Islandport Press of Yarmouth, featuring intricate woodblock print illustrations. The book captures the same holiday themes as the 1941 book by Pulitzer Prize-winning Maine poet Robert P. T. Coffin. The evening will include readings, as well as a printmaking demonstration.

Butterfield grew up in Bar Harbor and lives in Portland. She is known for her woodblock calendar, “A Year in Maine,” which is in its ninth year of annual production.

Shoemaking exhibit continues

The Freeport Historical Society’s exhibit, “Cobblers to Capitalists: Two Centuries of Freeport Shoemaking” continues through Jan. 15, 2016, at Harrington House, 45 Main St.

Shoemaking was an important industry in Freeport for more than 100 years beginning with the Davis brothers’ factory on Beech Hill Road in 1872, and ending with the final pair of shoes manufactured in town by Eastland Shoe in 2001. The exhibit describes the history of shoemaking in Freeport, starting with the early itinerant cobblers. A donation of $3 to support the work of Freeport Historical Society is suggested.

Copy the Story Link