Kennebunk Portside Rotary Club has begun a monthly program for members to donate an item of the month to Community Outreach Services.

Working with Community Outreach Services Executive Director Mark Jago, the club identifies an item of current need for the food pantry and members collect donations all month for delivery to COS. This month’s item was low sodium soups and the club donated 50 cans/boxes. Prior months focused on paper towels and bags of coffee. COS is located at 19 Park St., Kennebunk, and stocks fresh and nonperishable foods available to any size family.

Astronomical society schedules June meeting

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England will hold its monthly meeting 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 3, at The New School in Kennebunk. A business meeting, also open to the public, commences at 7 p.m. The New School is located at 38 York St. (Route 1 south).

The June meeting agenda includes: Bernie Reim’s What’s Up for the Month and Astro Shorts, where attendees and members share questions, activities, news and observations.

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England is a local association of amateur astronomers that meets monthly at The New School. Meetings are on the first Friday of each month. All those interested in astronomy are welcome, from stargazers and hobbyists, to serious observers, astrophotographers, and those interested in astronomical theory. The general public is also most invited and welcome.

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England also hosts Star Parties at its Talmage Observatory at Starfield on Route 35 in West Kennebunk.

To see any last-minute changes to the June meeting, visit www.ASNNE.org. For more information, including directions and events, or to contact the club, also visit www.ASNNE.org.

Historian will discuss Kennebunk Poor Farm

In the 18th and 19th centuries, even into the 20th century, most Maine towns had poor farms.

These were properties owned and supported through taxes which took in and cared for children and adults who could not take care of themselves. On Wednesday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m., Town Historian Kathy Ostrander Roberts will be at Kennebunk Free Library to share information about the Kennebunk Poor Farm.

The Kennebunk Poor Farm was on Cat Mousam Road and ran from 1825 to 1936. The building was torn down in 1959, but those who died there are still buried in unmarked graves on the site.

Ostrander Roberts has spent years learning who these individuals were and how they were cared for. It is both a heartwarming and sad tale.

The program is free and wheelchair accessible. Kennebunk Free Library is located at 112 Main St. in Kennebunk. For more information, call 207-985-2173 or email kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

‘Loon Lessons’ discussed at library

The call of a loon is a familiar summer sound for many Mainers. But how much do people know about the birds? On Wednesday, June 29 at 6 p.m., biologist James Paruk will be at the Kennebunk Free Library to discuss loons and his book “Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver.”

Paruk is a professor in the Biology Department at St. Joseph’s College of Maine. He is a senior scientist at the Biodiversity Research Institute’s Loon Center for Conservation. Paruk has studied breeding loons in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Maine and non-breeding loons in California, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Maine. He also spent seven years monitoring the health of a population of loons off the Louisiana coast in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

For more information, call 207-985-2173 or email kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

‘Moon in Full’ author to visit library

Author Marpheen Chann will be at the Kennebunk Free Library on Tuesday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss his new book “Moon in Full.” A signing will follow the discussion, with books available to purchase at the event.

According to a library news release, “Moon in Full”  is a contemporary coming-of-age story, shines light on one young man’s search for truth and compassion in a complicated era as it unwinds the deep-seated challenges we all face finding our authentic voice and true identities. Author Marpheen Chann’s heart-warming journey weaves through housing projects and foster homes; into houses of worship and across college campuses; and playing out in working-class Maine where he struggles to find his place.

“Adopted into a majority white community, Chann must reconcile his fears and secret longings as a young gay man with the devoutly religious beliefs of his new family. Chann, a second-generation Asian American, recounts what he has learned, what he has lost, and what he has found during his evolution from a hungry refugee’s son to religious youth to advocate for acceptance and equality.”

“Chann,” according to the news release, “is a politician, thinker, author, and speaker on social justice, equity, and inclusion. As a gay, first-generation Asian American born in California to a Cambodian refugee family and later adopted by an evangelical, white working-class family in Maine, Marpheen uses a mix of humor and storytelling to help people view topics such as racism, xenophobia, and homophobia through an intersectional lens.”

For more information, call 207-985-2173 or email kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

Graves Library to host Secret Gardens

Graves Memorial Library announced that its Secret Gardens of Kennebunkport will be held again on Saturday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain or shine).

Six homeowners have agreed to open their private gardens for this one-day only event to help raise money for the library. Tickets are $40 each and they can be purchased in advance online via Eventbrite or at the library at 18 Maine St. On the day of the event, tickets will only be sold at Kennebunkport Consolidated School at 25 School St.

A map will be provided on the day of the tours to all ticket holders to reveal the secret locations of the six participating properties. Visitors will experience a variety of garden styles and plant types amid natural settings hidden from view behind stone walls, seaside cottages, and privacy hedges.

Secret Gardens features colorful perennials and annuals, a scenic pond, woodland sculptures, ocean views, a Zen-inspired rock garden and trellised blooms. All proceeds for the event benefit Graves Memorial Public Library.

For more information, call 207-967-2778.

World Affairs Council president plans discussion

Bill Hall, of the World Affairs Council of Maine, will be at the Kennebunk Free Library on Tuesday, June 14, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the war in Ukraine. He will provide a brief overview of Ukraine’s history, talk about the current situation in Ukraine, and discuss American and European responses.

Hall is president of the World Affairs Council of Maine. He was an intelligence officer in the U. S. Air Force and spent nearly 18 years overseas, in Asia and Europe. Bill graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in politics and from the University of Virginia with a master’s degree in foreign affairs. He lives with his wife, Nancy, on Peaks Island.

For more information, call 207-985-2173 or email kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

Kennebunk Artisans Marketplace returns on May 28

The Kennebunk Artisans Marketplace will open at Kennebunk’s Waterhouse Center.

The marketplace provides shoppers with a wide variety of items created by more than two dozen Maine-based artisans. A juried application process is utilized to ensure a high level of quality and diversification for all items being sold. The marketplace is open each Saturday from May 28 through Oct. 1.

For a complete list of approved vendors and their products, visit  https://www.kennebunkmaiine.us/artisansmarketplace. The Waterhouse Center is located at 51 Main St. in Kennebunk. Vendors could change from week to week.

Softball league seeks ballplayers

The Kennebunk 50-plus Co-Ed Softball League is about to enter its sixth season. The league is designed for players minimum age 50 and in a co-ed format, with emphasis on having fun, playing safe and enjoying each other’s company. In 2021, players ranged from their mid-50s up to and including those just over 80 years old. Players included those with prior softball experience, along with those with just a little or many years in the past.

All games and practices are held at Lloyd Nedeau softball field, in West Kennebunk, near Clear Crossing Road.

With the 2022 season just around the corner, the league encourages new and returning players to register, especially those looking to enjoy a team activity and exercise in the outdoors.

Umpired games will be held each Monday, starting June 6 at 5:15 p.m., in order to accommodate most anyone’s work schedule. We also offer all players weekly Friday morning practice sessions, starting at 9 a.m., June 3 for warm-ups, batting practice.

Those interested can register at the Kennebunk Parks & Rec Department website, www.kennebunkrec.com. For more information, call Dan Peacock, at 207-899-8708.

The league is open to all residents and currently includes several players from neighboring towns.

Poetry reading offered at museum

WePoets & Verse founder Madeleine Tunison, with Patricia Davenport and Quincy Moy, announced that several Portland poets will read at an upcoming Bohemian Sunday Poetry Reading scheduled for June 5. The event will be held 1 to 3 p.m. at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk.

Patrons will hear Shana Genre, Meghan Sterling and Katherine Hagopian-Berry read selected poems. They will be joined by local poets from the Kennebunks. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.wepoets.weebly.com.

Seashore Trolley Museum seeks volunteer trolley operators

Seashore Trolley Museum is seeking new recruits from the community who want to learn a new skill and help the museum provide experiences for guests this season by becoming volunteer trolley operators on a heritage railway.

The museum is holding its annual trolley operator training course on Thursdays May 26, June 2, June 9 and June 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. via Zoom. The course will cover the mechanical aspects of trolley car operation, railway rules and safety, history and visitor interaction. Following successful completion of the course, new operators will be paired one-on-one with seasoned operators. They will operate and conduct trolleys side-by-side until ready and fully qualified to operate solo for museum guests.

To be eligible to operate trolleys, volunteers must become members of the museum ($40/year), be 18 years old by the conclusion of the course, and must hold a valid motor vehicle operator’s license from any U.S. state. The course fills up fast. Those interested are encouraged to sign up early. For more details or to sign up, call 207-967-2800, ext. 101 or email training@trolleymuseum.org.

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