Tiny Timber

The annual municipal Christmas tree lighting of Tiny Timber will take place Sunday, Nov. 25, at New Gloucester Town Hall, 385 Intervale Road.

Tree lighting and caroling with the Gray-New Gloucester High School Chorus will start at 4:30 p.m. Cocoa and goodies will be served after at a library open house.   For more details, contact librarians Suzan or Carla at 926-4840.

Shaker Christmas Fair

The annual Shaker Christmas Fair at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1.

Specialties include Shaker baked goods – wheat bread, beer batter bread, cinnamon-raisin bread, Sister Frances’ famous fruitcakes, fresh-baked herbal biscuits, cookies and more. A wide selection of gifts and holiday items will be available, including Shaker cooking herbs, herbal teas, pickles, jellies, old-fashioned candy, maple syrup, pickles, cheese, woodenware, furniture, antiques, baskets, knit goods, toys, ornaments, decorated balsam wreaths, hot cider and  homemade doughnuts.

Proceeds from the popular White Elephant Room rummage sale benefit local food pantries.

A 50/50 raffle will be held and lunch plates will be available while supplies last.

Opportunity Farm

The Rev. Linda Gard, a volunteer archivist, is looking for issues of Opportunity Farm newsletters published in the 1920s and on to expand the New Gloucester Historical Society’s collection.

The historical society is also looking for photographs from Opportunity Farm’s century of existence, and they’ll scan them if you’d like to keep the originals. For more details, contact Gard at 30 Gloucester Hill Road, New Gloucester, 04260, or pastor@ngucc.org.

Meanwhile, the historical society’s archives and library will  be open from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 1. Local history buffs and family genealogists are invited. The archives and library are located at the New Gloucester Meetinghouse, 389 Intervale Road (Route 231), next to Town Hall.

Udderly Amazing Cows

Explore the dairy barns at Pineland Farms to learn about Holstein cows and how the farmhands there care for them, and try your hand at milking a cow. The Udderly Amazing Cows program will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, and is open to all ages. Admission is $5 per person. Tickets are available at the Education Barn, 100B Valley Farm Road. Contact the education department at 650-3031 or education@pinelandfarms.org for further information.

Holiday assistance

How would you like to make someone’s holiday season a little brighter this year by providing gifts for area children at Christmas? Or making a monetary donation? The Caring Community of Gray-New Gloucester coordinates holiday assistance for families in need in the towns of Gray and New Gloucester.

Sponsors adopt a family through the CCGNG for Christmas and provide gifts for children 16 and under. In the past, sponsors have included neighborhoods, families, civic groups, school groups, individuals, businesses and churches. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor for Christmas can contact Jancy at gngcaring@gmail.com.

Monetary donations are needed and greatly appreciated. Donations can be sent to CCGNG, PO Box 1244, Gray, ME 04039. For more information or questions, contact Christina Foster at 233-0828 or winkers92@yahoo.com. And you can also find information at CCGNG’s Facebook page.

The deadline to apply for Christmas assistance is Saturday, Dec. 1. Applications are available at both Town Halls, the Gray Public Library, and all SAD 15 schools.

Decorated balsam wreaths and many other Christmas seasonal decorations will be
for sale at the annual Shaker Christmas Fair on Saturday, Dec. 1.