King grant buys new truck for FCS

Freeport Community Services received a grant award from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation to replace the truck at the Community Center. The STK Foundation promotes strengthening and supporting communities, with a special focus on organizations and people who have less recourse to the usual channels for resources, focusing on community-based initiatives.

Paula Paladino, executive director, said, “We are so pleased to receive this very important grant award for a new truck from STK Foundation, as this is a critical need. Our 13-year-old truck is fully depreciated and a truck is essential for our day to day operations.”

Community Services Coordinator Sarah Lundin said, “Our truck is used to pick up donated food from local grocery stores and the Good Shepherd Food Bank, destined for our food pantry, which serves an average of 444 individuals every month.” During an average six months, FCS transports over 60,000 pounds of food from donations by local stores and the food bank to those in need.

“Additionally, our thrift store utilizes the truck to pick up donated furniture as well as offer delivery of furniture to those in need, who have no other way of getting it home due to lack of personal transportation,” Paladino said. “Having a safe and reliable truck means so much to our community and the services we offer to our neighbors. We are very grateful for this grant which helps us continue our vital mission here in Freeport and Pownal.”

Community Services will benefit from bag program 

Freeport Community Services, committed to the idea of “neighbor helping neighbor” through a variety of services, has been selected as a beneficiary of the Hannaford Cause Bag program for the month of May.

This Hannaford Supermarket program has been designed to support nonprofits like FCS. For every Fight Hunger bag with the message “This bag has helped feed someone in need” purchased at the Hannaford located in Yarmouth, FCS will receive a 25-cent donation to help fulfill its mission.

Services at FCS include emergency food, fuel, clothing, and utility assistance; a medical equipment loan closet; transportation services; a summer lunch program; a camp scholarship program; a children’s literacy program, and the Freeport Community Center.

“We are thrilled to be selected again for this opportunity to raise additional funds. We appreciate Hannaford’s commitment to the community. And, as our food pantry serves an average of 444 individuals every month, these additional funds will help,” said Executive Director Paula Paladino.

FCS has been providing critical support to the people of Freeport and Pownal since 1974. Visit www.fcsmaine.org for more information.

Beans (and more!) supper

The kick-off supper for 2017 at North Pownal United Methodist Church, 851 Lawrence Road, Pownal, will take place 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday, May 6. The suppers are a fundraiser for church events and are held the first Saturday of each month through November.

There will be three types of beans, hot dogs, coleslaw, brown bread, biscuits, potato salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, pickles, pickled beets, and pies galore. The hall is accessible to all. The cost is $8 for age 13 and older; $3 for 4-12; kids under 4 eat free. Questions? Contact Kim Drew at 837-2938.

Yoga for youngsters

Yoga for Toddlers and Preschoolers will be held at the Freeport Community Library, Tuesday, May 2, at 10:30 a.m. and every first Tuesday of the month by Yoga with Elizabeth.

Make-a-book workshop offered at FCL

A Make Your Own Simple Blank Book workshop will be at Freeport Community Library Monday, May 22 at 6 p.m. If you are inspired by this month’s artist book exhibit, why not consider taking the “Make Your Own Simple Blank Book” workshop? Artists Bonnie Faulkner and Suanne Williams-Lindgren will help you make a very simple, lovely blank book of your own that you can use as a journal, for notes, or as a mini-scrapbook. The workshop is appropriate for ages 12 and up. A $3 fee will be charged the evening of the workshop. Call the library at 865-3307 to register.

Freeport chorus to perform ‘Songs of Love and Loss’

The Greater Freeport Community Chorus will present its spring concert, “Love’s Great Ocean: Songs of Love and Loss,” May 6 and 7 in Brunswick and Cumberland. The 55 singers, residents of more than 15 Mid-Coast towns, are led by Director Virgil Bozeman and accompanied by pianist Kellie Moody. They will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Brunswick, 1 Middle St., and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Tuttle Road United Methodist Church, 52 Tuttle Road, Cumberland.

The centerpiece of the concert will be “Heavenly Hurt,” a setting of several Emily Dickinson poems composed by Alice Parker for choir, piano and cello. Performing with the chorus will be Karen Jung, principal cellist for the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra and music librarian at Bowdoin College. The seven movements of “Heavenly Hurt” range from the reflection of “There’s a certain Slant of light” to the despair of “There is a pain – so utter,” ending with the waltzing “The Love a Life can show – Below,” in which the cellist echoes the singers’ final word: paradise. The concert includes other touching renditions of songs about love, humanity, nature, and the universe. Also performing at the concert will be a small group of singers from the Vox Nova Chamber Choir. 

Admission is $10, with a family maximum of $25 at the door. For more information, visit the chorus on Facebook or at www.gfccsings.org.

Books are the centerpiece of library exhibit

During the month of May, the Freeport Community Library is hosting an exhibit titled “The Many Faces of Artist Books.” Local artists Bonnie Faulkner and Suanne Williams-Lindgren will display a variety of different types of beautiful, interesting and, in some cases, provocative artist books they have created.

Artist Books are works of art in the form of the book. Often published in small editions, they are also produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Artist books take many forms, including scrolls, fold-outs, concertinas and even loose items contained in a box. Artists have been active in printing and book production for centuries. The artist book is primarily a late 20th-century form especially popular during avant garde movements.

“Artist books,” says Stephen Bury, “are books or book-like objects over the final appearance of which an artist has had a high degree of control; where the book is intended as a work of art in itself.”

Artist books are made for a variety of reasons – often to make art interactive, portable, movable and easily shared. Many challenge the conventional book format and become sculptural objects. The concept may be to make art accessible to people outside of the formal contexts of galleries or museums.

Faulkner graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor of Science in art education and a minor in book arts. In 2011 she received a Master of Fine Arts from Heartwood College of Art. Faulkner taught art for several years in both public and private schools. She is a prolific calligrapher and has taken several workshops in England with master calligraphers. Creating, designing and making artist’s books has been her passion for several years and she incorporates many surface design mediums and techniques in her work such as monoprint, block print, paste paper, stencil, calligraphy, watercolor, gouache, acrylic inks and others. Faulkner has been making mostly autobiographical books focusing on inner reflections and her lifelong connection with the natural world.

She loves to make pop-up books or books that have the surprise of movement, as well as working with miniature books. Recent autobiographical book themes have focused on the great blue heron, United Society of Shakers, dragonflies, dreams, and the heroine’s journey, among others. Faulkner also works with fused glass, is working on a series of glass mandalas, and has created a few multi-media books that include glass elements. She is on the boards of the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts, Bickford Education Center, and Heartwood College of Art. She is also a studio monitor at Artascope Studios in Yarmouth.

Williams-Lindgren has taken numerous book arts and mixed media workshops throughout the years at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, MECA, USM, and other settings. Retirement opened the door to Williams-Lindgren pursuing her love of art. She is happiest creating, whether it is an artistic book, a collage, a delicious meal or a lovely garden spot. In 2014 she launched the Edible Book Festival at the Freeport Community Library with librarian Belinda Stewart. She is a member of the Kate Cheney Chappell Book Arts critique group and serves as an adviser for the Maine Crafts Organization.

The exhibit at the Freeport Community Library can be viewed during library hours. 

Annual book sale at FCL

Freeport Community Library will hold its annual book sale May 6-11, during library hours.

A huge selection of fiction and nonfiction books will be for sale. There are quality classics and children’s books to be found, as well as a variety of DVDs and CDs. Book lovers can expect to find bargains on books by their favorite authors, books about history, art, cooking, and gardening. There are books on almost every topic.

The sale hours are Saturday, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. -7:30 p.m.; and Tuesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit library programs and services. Donations of books, CDs and DVDs will be accepted through May 5 during library hours. For more information, see freeportlibrary.com or call 865-3307.

‘Needs Assessment’ results to be released

The public is invited to attend a Community Night 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, May 17, to discuss and offer input on the results of the “Community Needs Assessment for Low-Moderate Income Population” conducted in 2016 for the towns of Freeport and Pownal by Planning Decisions, Inc. FCS Executive Director Paula Paladino said, “We’re very excited to release this report to the public and look forward to the community sharing their perspective at the Community Night.”

FCS, in conjunction with the Freeport Housing Trust, released the report, which is available at www.fcsmaine.org. The findings in the report are organized around six themes that emerged during three focus groups conducted in March 2016, as well as interviews with service providers, including school administrators, General Assistance, and local churches.

The primary purpose of the report is to identify the unmet needs of the low-to-moderate income population in Freeport and Pownal, including those served and not served by Freeport Community Services and Freeport Housing Trust. A second purpose is to provide an analysis of housing needs. There are 600 households in Freeport and Pownal earning less than $25,000 per year, including 330 households living below the poverty level. In Maine, 63 percent of Mainers experiencing hardship in the last 12 months had to go to a food pantry or soup kitchen and 60 percent went without food. Other hardships include the inability to pay full rent or mortgage, falling behind on heating bills and/or car repairs and paying more than half of monthly income for housing.

FHT is a community-based nonprofit whose mission is to provide safe, decent and affordable housing opportunities for lower and moderate-income households of Freeport. FHT owns 149 units of rental housing, including 82 rental units in four family properties and 67 units of senior housing in three housing communities. FCS provides and coordinates essential direct services such as emergency food, fuel, and utility assistance. Together, the two organizations provide services to several hundred households in Freeport and Pownal. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2q1wc8g.

Freeport potter showing work during Maine Pottery Weekend

The first weekend in May is pottery weekend in Maine. Ceramics studios around the state open their doors to the public in what will be the sixth year of this event.

Included will be John Bourassa Pottery Studio, 29 School St. in Freeport, (712-5984), which will be open Saturday, May 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It’s a chance to watch creativity at work and see the spaces where the magic happens. Meet the potters, peek in the kilns, maybe try the wheel or paint a plate, and shop for fine handmade pottery from the hands that made it. 

For more, see www.mainepotterytour.org, or contact Lori Watts at 622-1003 or email info@finemesspottery.com.

Final nature program at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park

On April 29, take a stroll with a ranger to enjoy the best that Wolfe’s Neck has to offer this season. The stroll with a knowledgeable guide will unveil nature coming out of winter hiding. This one-hour program includes a walk and talk in the beautiful natural setting that is Wolfe’s Neck State Park.

Park admission is $1 for ages 5-11, $4 for Maine residents 12-64; $6 for non residents 12-64; $2 for nonresidents 65 and older; children under 5 and Maine residents 65 and older are free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2oX8h8X.

Send community notes for Freeport, Pownal and Durham to tritownnotes@gmail.com.

Freeport Community Services staff are looking forward to retiring their truck after getting a new one funded by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. From left are Paula Paladino, Debbie Daggett, Kim Hudak, Marian Desrosiers, Sarah Lundin, Susan Dyche and Travis Philbrook.