Save the date for

Sparkle Weekend

Freeport’s Sparkle Weekend, sponsored by FreeportUSA, is coming Dec. 2-3. Activities include free horse-drawn wagon rides, a Parade of Lights, free hot cocoa, visits with Santa, and a Talking Christmas Tree. For the full schedule of events, see www.sparklecelebration.com.

Holly Jolly Fair

Dec. 2 and 3

The annual Holly Jolly Fair, hosted by the First Parish Church Congregational, 40 Main St., will be held Friday, Dec. 2, from 5-8 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday features a cake party, cookie walk, crafts, knitted items, jewelry, quilted items, soaps, honey, LuLa Roe clothing and more. Saturday highlights include a fish chowder and Italian sandwich luncheon, plus cookie walk, crafts, knitted and quilted items, jewelry, soaps, honey, LuLa Roe clothing and more. For more information, call 865-6022.

Travel for seniors

topic of club talk

Terry Carpentier of Dube Travel will be the guest speaker at the Freeport Woman’s Club on Friday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m., at the Freeport Community Library. Carpentier is knowledgeable about all types of travel and will share the ins and outs of travel for seniors, women, solo and handicapped travelers. A question-and-answer session will follow the talk. Refreshments will be served and the public is invited.

The Freeport Woman’s club will have available the newly printed booklet called “Let’s Have Tea” with sweet and savory recipes.

The Freeport Woman’s Club is a service organization that has been in existence for over 90 years. It meets once a month at the Freeport Community Library for a business meeting and program. The club’s fundraising projects include a spring bazaar and a bake sale on Election Day. Monies raised provide local scholarships, community improvements, donations to Freeport Community Services and support for women seeking career education. The monthly meetings include presentations on a variety of topics and are open to the public. New members are welcome. Contact Betty Duckworth, 847-0240 or [email protected].

Jazz concert to aid

homeopath charity

A jazz concert featuring Tom Porter on piano, Frank Mauceri on saxphone, Sam Sherry on bass and Michael Boucher on drums, will be held Saturday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m., at

The Barn at Windpointe, 18 Windpointe, Freeport. The concert has been organized by Dr. Wendy Pollack to benefit Homeopaths Without Borders to help train homeopaths in Haiti.

Porter, the former host of “Maine Things Considered” on Maine public radio, has more than 30 years of experience performing jazz piano on both sides of the Atlantic. Mauceri is a musical educator, improviser, composer and teacher. He is currently senior lecturer in music at Bowdoin College. Sherry has been performing on bass since 1974, and has played concerts on both coasts and in eight countries. Boucher has played drums as an avocation, in various jazz and R&B ensembles, since high school. For the past 10 years he has been playing in the Portland area as the drummer for the Mainestream Jazzmasters, and also with The Sidemen, a classic piano trio.

There are a limited number of tickets for this intimate concert. Call 370-8330.

Freeport Masons

cooking pork dinner

A roast pork supper will be served Saturday, Nov.19, from 5-6:30 p.m., at the Freeport Masonic Lodge on Mallett Drive. The menu will feature roast pork, mashed potatoes, assorted vegetables, home-made biscuits, dessert and a beverage. The cost is $9, and $4.50 for children under 12.

‘Nutcracker’ features

some local dancers

Freeport residents Poppy Griffin, Shea Boulanger, Caroline Empey, Spencer Empey, Madeline Gilbert, Sylvie Helman, Eloise Hutchinson, Lily Jessen, Christina Lapoint, Sydney Morrison, Mary Kate Murphy, Ella Oshetski, Eleanor Schmidt, Cordelia Selby, Madeline Smith and Lainey Trieu are among the dancers performing in Maine State Ballet’s 40th anniversary production of “The Nutcracker,” at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium Friday, Nov. 25 through Sunday, Dec. 4. Tickets are on sale through Porttix at 842-0800, or tickets.porttix.com, or at the Merrill Auditorium box office, noon-6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Tickets are priced at $21-66, and discounts are available for groups, seniors and children.

Last few shows

for ‘Letters at Sea’

“Letters at Sea: The Tale of the Ship Hornet,”” an original musical performed by Freeport High School students, will be performed Saturday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m., at the Freeport Performing Arts Center. The show is also scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m.

“Letters at Sea” has given students the chance to debut a show, originate roles and imagine something from the ground up. Students are designing the set, choreographing, designing costumes, lighting and playing actual historical figures. Last year, Holly Hurd of the Freeport Historical Society contacted Simon Skold, the drama teacher and director at Freeport High School, to discuss the idea of turning the story of Capt. Josiah Mitchell, a Freeport captain aboard the Hornet, a freight clipper on its way to San Francisco in1866, into a play. Skold soon started scenes for what became “Letters at Sea,” a musical following Mitchell, his wife at home in Freeport, and a reporter looking for his big break.

Tickets are $5-$10. All tickets for the Nov. 16 show are $5. They can be bought at the door or online at http://our.show/lettersatsea.

‘Gundalows & Gunpowder’

topic of history presentation

Alan Hall, a social studies teacher at Yarmouth High School and historian, will give a talk, “Gundalows & Gunpower: Approaching Freeport’s Early History from the Sea,” Thursday, Nov. 17, from 7-8:30 p.m., at the Freeport Community Library. The presentation is sponsored by the Freeport Historical Society.

According to the historical society, Hall will focus on the transition from Freeport’s earliest colonial settlements in the 18th century into the early days of Freeport’s industrial and shipbuilding economy of the early 19th century, from the 1750s to the 1840s. In addition to using the rivers and streams as an early transportation network, the colonial residents of the town relied upon mill sites, landings, salt hay marshes and stages for drying fish to support their earliest economic activities. From the Cousins River to the Harraseeket estuary and Bunganuc Creek, the waterways provided the most reliable means to move food, supplies, lumber, and people in and out of the new town. This maritime lifeline remained essential to the development of the town until the railroad arrived in 1849 shifted Freeport’s economic center inland.

Admission is $5 for non-members of the historical society, and free for members. For more information, see www.freeporthistoricalsociety.org.

The 1960s are back

at ‘WFCP Radio Hour’

The Freeport Players’ “WFCP Home Time Radio Hour,” returns to the Freeport Performing Arts Center “studio,” Friday-Sunday, Dec. 2-4. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The show features live music, all-new comedy sketches, and more. The players are joined by musicians Rob Babson (Delta Knights, WFCP Orchestra) and friends, backing the show’s singers on 1960s rock, soul, folk and country. The show also features the Sound Effects Ladies.

Tickets are $15 at the door, or save $5 by purchasing tickets online at www.fcponline.org or at Maine Wicked Goods Mercantile, 304 US Route 1 South, Freeport.

Launch date set for

cultural plan sessions

The Freeport Town Council and the Freeport Arts and Cultural Alliance invite all those interested to attend a Cultural Plan Launch meeting, Friday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m., at the Freeport Community Center.

The alliance hopes to develop a cultural plan for the town, and seeks input at the meeting. Following that meeting, Freeport Arts and Cultural Alliance will call meetings in December to seek input from different elements of the community, including government and civic organizations.

Free film

“A Royal Night Out,” a recently released film, will be screened Thursday, Nov. 17, at 1 p.m., at the Freeport Community Library. Rated PG 13, the film takes place on V.E. Day, when Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are allowed out of Buckingham Palace to join the celebrations. Actors include Rupert Everett as the King, Emily Watson as the Queen, Sarah Gadon as Princess Elizabeth and Bel Powley as Princess Margaret.

Lioness-Lions host

annual fair, lunch

The Freeport Lioness-Lions 19th annual Holiday Craft Fair and Fish “Chowdah” and Chili Luncheon will be held Saturday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m., with lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Harraseeket Grange, Elm Street in Freeport.

The fair will feature homemade knit items, stained glass, canned goods, jewelry, crafts and more. There will be hourly drawings and free coffee available. On the lunch menu are chowdah, chili, hot dogs, corn bread and homemade pies.

For more information, call Cindi at 798-0047 or Martha at 865-6188.

Jingle Bell Run

aids arthritis research

The 5K Jingle Bell Run/Walk will be held on Sunday, Dec. 4, at Mast Landing School, 116 Mollymauk Lane in Freeport. Registration is at 9 a.m., with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Participants in the run or walk will raise money for the Arthritis Foundation to help find a cure for arthritis.

The Jingle Bell Run/Walk began in 1984 to raise awareness of the country’s most common cause of disability, while also raising funds for research, health education and government advocacy to improve the lives of people with arthritis. To celebrate the season, participants form a team by inviting their friends and family members to join them. Participants tie jingle bells to their shoelaces and many wear holiday costumes.

Those interested can register at www.jbr.org/freeport, and save $10. To learn about sponsorship opportunities, contact Tom Bringle at [email protected] or call 603-724-6080. Jingle Bell Runs will also be held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Dec. 11 and Concord, New Hampshire, on Dec. 18.

For more information, see www.arthritis.org.

Citrus orders due

Monday for fundraiser

The Freeport High School senior class selling citrus fruits this month to help provide safe, chem-free senior week activities in June. Fundraising also provides scholarships to allow members of the class to participate in those class activities.

A large box of navel oranges (contains some seeds) costs $44, small box, $26. A large box of red grapefruit costs $39, small box, $25. A small box of tangerines is $33. A small variety box is $65. Large boxes are approximately 36-40 pounds, and small boxes are approximately 18-20 pounds. Orders are due by Monday, Nov. 21. Delivery will likely be Dec. 15-18.

Find the order form on the FHS website under Class of 2017 news. For more information, contact Beth Sutherland, [email protected] or 415-5787.

Toys for Tots

collection starts

Caleb Stephens, financial adviser with Edward Jones, is supporting the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program by using his office as a drop-off location for this year’s toy drive.

Local residents can help needy children in the area by bringing in a new, unwrapped toy to the office, at 5 Depot St., Suite 24, Freeport, during regular business hours, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Friday, Dec. 9.

“With the holiday season around the corner, we are all getting ready for the festivities,” Stephens said. “And as this is the season of giving, now is a great time to remember the less fortunate in our community.”

Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company, provides financial services for individual investors.

Woman’s Club has

grant to award

The Freeport Woman’s Club is looking for a candidate for its 2016-2017 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 questions and further information, call Virginia Boyles at 865-3973.

Upcoming meetings

Active Living Committee, Thursday, Nov. 17, 7:30 a.m., Town Council Chambers.

Freeport Sewer District, Monday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m., treatment plant, 43 South Freeport Road, Freeport.

A full schedule of meetings and agendas is available at www.freeportmaine.com.

The First Parish Church’s annual Holly Jolly Fair always draws a crowd, as this photo from a previous year shows. This year’s fair will be held Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3.