It’s Secret Santa time

Secret Santa of the Kennebunks is an organization that has been helping families fulfill children’s Christmas wishes since it began over 30 years ago. The organization has received gift requests for children from families experiencing financial difficulties in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel. The Secret Santa trees, bearing gift request tags, will be out in the community from Nov. 25 through Dec. 9.

Each tag on the trees represents the Christmas wish of a local child whose family is struggling financially and cannot afford to buy gifts this year. Secret Santa Trees and tags can be found in all three town halls, Louis T. Graves Memorial Library, Kennebunk Free Library, local branches of the Kennebunk Savings Bank and Quest Fitness Center.

Participants can take a tag from the tree and purchase the specific requested gift. Return the gift with the tag to any tree location, unwrapped. Secret Santa sees that the gifts are delivered to each family in time for Christmas. Return the gift and tag to any participating location by 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13. The deadline is necessary to give the Secret Santa elves time to fulfill all the gifts on tags and purchase any gift that has either not been taken or not been returned. Gifts received after Dec. 13 are likely to duplicate gifts that have already been purchased by volunteers and will be unusable.

Secret Santa also gratefully accepts monetary contributions. These enable volunteers to shop for the gifts not donated by the community but requested by a child. To make a donation please make checks payable to: Secret Santa P.O. Box 301, Kennebunk, ME 04043.

Secret Santa relies on the assistance and generosity of caring people and businesses in our community. To help make a local child’s Christmas wish come true, please take a tag and buy a gift. Be a Secret Santa.

Renown storyteller comes to Kennebunks

Deborah Eve Freedman, renown storyteller, will visit Mornings in Paris Cafe from 1:30 to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 4. Morni9ngs in Paris is located at 21 Western Ave. in Lower Village Kennebunk. Freedman will tell he fairy tales for adults based on their life story. Admission is free and refreshment will be available from the Mornings in Paris menu.

For more information, email wepoets5@gmail.com.

MWA plans annual art show

Maine Women in the Arts will usher in the holiday season with its annual show in conjunction with Kennebunkport’s Prelude festivities. The show features a variety of original fine art including paintings, sculpture, photography, and ceramics. In addition, the show offers a selection of handmade crafts made by these artists including jewelry, ornaments, cards, home décor, wood carvings, prints, books authored and illustrated by members, and much more.

The show, scheduled for Dec. 5-8, is held at the Masonic Lodge, 10 North St., Kennebunkport and admission is free.The show offers the annual MWA raffle to support its scholarship. Each of the participating artists offers an item to create a basketful of handcrafted items for a lucky winner to enjoy.

There is a special opening reception on Thursday, Dec. 5, 5 to 7 p.m. with live music and refreshments. This is an opportunity to have first choice of the beautiful artwork and handmade crafts. The show continues Friday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The objective of Maine Women in the Arts is to promote and give exposure to Maine artists and their work in all media. Maine Women in the Arts is a statewide, nonprofit organization, founded in 1977, by and for individuals in the fine and performing arts. The aim is to promote and give exposure to artists’ work in all media – visual arts, music, theater, poetry, literature and dance. It is open to both men and women.

For more information, visit www.mainewomenarts.com.

Girl Scouts to host new member sign-up events

Girl Scouts of Maine announced that it will host new member sign-up events for potential members and volunteers at locations throughout the state every month.

The events will bring together girls from kindergarten through third grade and their caregivers, and allow them to discover why Girl Scouting is important to the development of girls, how it relates to the success of young women today, and the important role that adults play.

“Girl Scouts helps girls develop their full potential,” said Joanne Crepeau, CEO of Girl Scouts of Maine. “When a girl becomes a Girl Scout, she grows into a young woman who is self-confident, strong and compassionate. She learns how to build and maintain healthy relationships. She becomes more aware of the world around her and uses her skills and talents to make her world a better place.”

The new member sign-up events are just some of the many events that GSME will be holding this year. List of sign-up:

Nov. 21, Alfred Elementary School, Alfred, 6 p.m.

Nov. 25, Dayton Consolidated School, Dayton, 6 p.m.

For more information about Girl Scouts or for a full list of sign-up events, visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org or call 888-922-4763.

Library announces Tech Time dates

Kennebunk Free Library will host its Tech Time program 10 a.m. until noon to provide assistance to people who have questions regarding technology. The December Tech Time dates are Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27. For more information, call 985-2173.

Libray plans Earthquake Engineering

Science experiments can often be messy, gross, and funny, but they are always amazing. Visit Kennebunk Free Library on Monday Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. to experiment with Earthquake Engineering. The kids will attempt to design and build a tower that could survive an earthquake. The program is open to kids ages 5 and up, registration is required.

The event is free and wheelchair accessible. Kennebunk Free Library is located at 112 Main St., Kennebunk. For more information and to register, call 985-2173 or visit the www.KennebunkLibrary.org.

Church on the Cape to host concert, carol sing

As part of the Kennebunkport Prelude festivities, Church on the Cape in Cape Porpoise will present its annual Sounds of Christmas Concert and Carol Sing on Saturday, Dec. at 2:30 p.m.

The one-hour program is a seasonal favorite, with a chance for participants to sing their best-loved Christmas carols, as well as to enjoy the music of the Senior Choir, Trinity Trio (Nancy Chamberlin, piano; Susan LaVerriere, violin; Janice Stover, organ) and the Song Sisters Trio.

This year there will be a special quest soloist, soprano Kelley Hollis. Hollis recently returned from London where she recorded Arnold Rosner’s “Requiem” with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. In 2014, Hollis was a finalist for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center and in 2011 Kelley received an encouragement award at the district level from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

The concert is free to the public. The church is located at 3 Langsford Road in Cape Porpoise and is handicapped accessible. Parking is on the street or in the far end of the Bradbury Market parking lot, behind the church.

Dog licenses available in Kennebunkport

Dog licenses for 2020 are available in the Kennebunkport town clerk’s office. By law, all dogs must be licensed by Jan. 1 of each year. Be sure to bring the dog’s current rabies certificate. A neutered/spayed dog license fee is $6; otherwise it is $11. Residents may register dogs in person, online or through the mail. Call the town Clerk’s office at 967-1610 with any questions or visit our www.kennebunkportme.gov/town-clerk/pages/dog-licenses.

Beginning Feb. 1, 2020, there will be a late fee of $25 per dog assessed when the dog is licensed. The town clerk’s office encourages residents to register early to avoid waiting in line.

Kennebunk planning bicentennial celebration

The Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee has reserved town facilities for June 27 for Kennebunk’s Bicentennial Celebration.

Individuals or organizations that have a project or event that they’d like to take place to coincide with the bicentennial event, should submit the Kennebunk Bicentennial Application for Endorsement form to the town clerk for consideration. Only those events endorsed by the Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee will be allowed to occur on that date.

Benefits of endorsement: Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee endorsed projects or events receive the following: Permission to use the official bicentennial logo, letter of endorsement from the Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee, eligibility for inclusion in bicentennial promotional materials, including newsletters, social media, and on the Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee website.

Endorsement criteria: The applicant must show that the proposed project or event meets the following required criteria and at least one of the recommended goals or characteristics outlined below. Priority will be given to projects that meet multiple goals. All requests for endorsement must be submitted using the official Kennebunk Bicentennial Application for Endorsement form.

Projects must: Be relevant to the Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee’s mission, open, accessible and inclusive, achievable and executable without committee staff support, not occur between the hours of 2 and 7 p.m. on the night of June 27, 2020.

Projects should: Commemorate Kennebunk’s history, culture or natural environment, be engaging and inspiring to people of all ages, create a legacy for the future.

Exclusion clause: The Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee reserves the right to reject or revoke an endorsement for any reason.

For more information, visit www.kennebunkmaine.us/bicentennial.

Arundel Conservation Trust opens Welch Woods Trail

“Building community, one board at a time,” said Tanja Schoenbrod, Arundel Conservation Trust’s trail master as she had guests in attendance on Thursday, Oct. 24, sign a board to become part of one of the trail’s boardwalks as a way to commemorate the opening of the group’s first trail. Guests included Arundel Town Manager Keith Trefethen, Arundel Selectman Velma Hayes and Rep. Henry Ingwersen, plus Tom Bradbury of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, Jack Reetz and ACT board members.  The group heard opening remarks by board members Joan Hull and Leia Lowery followed by official greetings from Ingwersen and poetry by board member Sam Hull at the trailhead, followed by cutting the official Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce grand-opening ribbon on the project.

More than 25 in attendance then walked the half-mile loop through the woods, over the newly constructed boardwalks in spots, to a clearing on the bank of the Kennebunk River. Reetz, a founding ACT board member, with a little help from his friends, made the trek on the town of Kennebunk’s beach wheelchair, which has large inflatable wheels also appropriate for trails. On a fall afternoon as the maple leaves continued to fall, the group had hot cider and cider doughnuts thanks to the volunteers who
trekked in a portable stove and pop-up picnic supplies for the occasion.

Year-round, the trail is an easy hike that leads to a view of the Kennebunk River on land once owned by avid outdoorsman Richard Welch. Welch donated land to the conservation trust when he died in 2017. The trust plans an official dedication this spring of a plaque commemorating Welch and his generosity. Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 330 in Arundel built two benches for the areas. There are also log “stools” cut from a fallen tree nearby to complete the picnic area.

Dogs are welcome on leashes and patrons are asked to pick up after their pest. Parking is available in a small lot off River
Road, located about a quarter-mile past Durrell’s Bridge Road. For information on the Arundel Conservation Trust, a chapter
of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, visit www.arundeltrust.org.

Members and patrons of the Arundel Conservation Trust, including Arundel Town Manager Keith Trefethen, Arundel Selectman Velma Hayes and State Rep. Henry Ingwersen, plus Tom Bradbury of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, Jack Reetz and ACT Board members, officially opened Welch Woods by cutting the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce ribbon on Thursday, Oct. 24.

Library reveals December’s featured exhibit

Kennebunk Free Library announced its exhibit for December 2019, A Time Remembered: Pictures and Drawings of the Past the works of Gerald and Linda Stone. The public is invited to view the exhibit Dec. 3 to 30 at 112 Main St., Kennebunk, during regular library hours when the gallery is not in use for library programs.

Gerald was born in Dover, New Hampshire. Thanks to his father, Gerald’s art education started with discipline: work on art before going outside to play ball. You have to keep at it to improve. Through high school he loved drawing sports figures. University of New Hampshire mechanical drawing classes led to working as a draftsman for architectural and engineering firms. Later in life, Gerald owned The Stone Sign Shop, designing and building signs, hand lettering vehicles and working in gold leaf. Many of the signs are still in use. This work was enjoyable, but he has returned to the freedom of pastel, watercolor and pen and ink.

“Living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where you are surrounded by history, planes, ships, submarines, beautiful beaches and ocean give me so many subjects to draw and paint,” Gerald Stone said.

Linda’s art education started with her father, too. He was a carpenter who became blind but continued working with wood. Linda helped him by cutting wood with a band saw.

“That began my love for wood and creating,” Linda Stone said. “In 1990 I began designing primitive art. I didn’t start painting until retirement in 2012. I love the beauty and lines of automobiles. I also love antiques. It was an easy choice to paint these old cars and trucks abandoned in the fields and beside old barns. After visiting the automobile museum in Boothbay Harbor, I decided to add antique auto accessories like oil cans, gas pumps and garage signs to my art objects.”

Together Linda and Gerald inspire each other to put in the time and improve. Whatever they paint, they find peace in comfort in it, encouraging each other to “dare to share” their work with others.

The public is invited to an artist’s reception on Friday, Dec. 6 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the library.

 

 

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