Butter-making family program
Meet the Holsteins at the Pineland Farms dairy barn and learn how to churn their milk into butter, just as people did in the old days. This family education program, to be held on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 10-11:30 a.m., is open to all ages. It will be repeated on Saturday, Nov. 19; Tuesday, Nov. 22;and Wednesday, Nov. 30, from 10-11:30 a.m.

Purchase tickets for $5 per person at The Market and Welcome Center, 15 Farm View Drive. For more information, call 650-3031 or email education@pinelandfarms.org.

Skiing in Maine talk

Reporter and outdoor enthusiast Scott Andrews will present “Skiing in Maine” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Meetinghouse, 389 Intervale Road. The free talk is sponsored by the New Gloucester Historical Society. Refreshments will be  available.

Natural body care products workshop
Laura Fralich will lead a natural body-care products workshop from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 12, at Norumbega Yurts, 380 Woodman Road. Participants will make lip balm, hand salves, face and hand scrubs from bees wax and other natural materials. The workshop will be limited to eight participants, and the cost is $20. Materials will be provided. To register, contact Julie Fralich at 653-4823 or j.fralich@gmail.com.

Hard cider tasting
Hard cider meister Noah Fralich will host a fall open house and tasting at Norumbega Cidery, 380 Woodman Road,  from 1:30-4:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12. All four varieties of his hard ciders will be available, as well as freshly pressed cider. Lonnie Dogs will be on site, too. For more information, call 370-2027.

Prayer flag workshop

Sharon Vandermay, president of the Maine Modern Quilt Guild, will lead a prayer flag workshop, from 10 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Nov. 19, at Norumbega Yurts, 380 Woodman Road. Prayer flags are created with simple designs and hung outside – preferable in a high location. It is said that the positive energy of the flags, coupled with the natural energy of the wind, quietly harmonizes the environment, impartially increasing happiness and good fortune among all living things.

Workshop articipants will make their own squares for a prayer flag. The cost is $20, and materials will be provided. To register, contact Julie Fralich at 653-4823 or j.fralich@gmail.com.

Help fill the train

The Caring Community of Gray-New Gloucester provides residents of both towns with holiday meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as gifts for children 18 and under. The deadline to apply for Thanksgiving has passed, but the deadline to apply for Christmas assistance is Friday, Dec. 9. Applications are available at all G-NG schools, both town offices and the Gray Public Library.

CCGNG is sponsoring a Fill the Train effort from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, as a fun way to help neighbors in need. All are welcome to come to the Gray Plaza and fill one of the Narrow Gauge Railroad cars with donations of gifts, wrapping paper, ribbon and tape; or monetary donations. The items will be used to provide meals at Christmastime to those in need and for gifts for children. As a thank you, hot chocolate and treats will await you. For more information, contact Christina Foster at winkers92@yahoo.com or 233-0828.

Sharon Vandermay, left, and Ellie Fellers, both of New Gloucester, stand againt a backdrop of one of Fellers’ quilts and Vandermay’s prayer flags, which are on display at Norumbega Yurts, 380 Woodman Road.