The Brick Store Museum offers two scheduled walking tours of Kennebunk during the fall.

Tours of Kennebunk’s Historic District, the first in the state of Maine, run along Summer Street on Thursdays and Saturdays at noon; tours of Kennebunk Beach, following the development of the tourist boom, occur on Saturdays at 9 a.m.

Running every week through Oct. 8, the Kennebunk Beach Walking Tour leads visitors on a one-hour roundtrip walk past the homes at Kennebunk Beach, exploring the development of tourism at the turn of the century, and the people who lived there.

Tickets are $10 per person, $5 for members, and can be purchased on the day of the tour or in advance. Tours depart from Trinity Chapel on Railroad Avenue, at Kennebunk Beach.

The Kennebunk Historic District Tour takes visitors down Summer Street, famed for its ships captains mansions from the 18th and 19th centuries. The tour occurs twice a week, scheduled for Thursdays and Saturdays at noon.

Participants meet in the Brick Store Museum’s lobby at 117 Main St., Kennebunk, and go on a one-mile loop of Summer Street to explore the people and places along the way. Tickets are $10 per person, $5 for members.

Tickets can be reserved in advance on the museum’s website at www.brickstoremuseum.org/engagement/tourstalks. Walk-ins are also welcome. All tours include a complimentary pass to visit the museum.

For more information on the tours and museum programs, visit www.brickstoremuseum.org or call 207-985-4802.

Intelligence officers schedule Sept. 17 meeting

The Association of Former Intelligence Officers will begin its new season of public speaker programs with Rollie Flynn, a retired operations officer and senior executive at the CIA. She will address the topic intelligence today and its relation to the another possible cold war at the Sept. 17 meeting of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, Maine Chapter.

Her presentation will delve into new and old intelligence operations. She will explain how intelligence priorities and espionage activities have changed two decades into the 21st century. The program will begin at 2 p.m. at Town House School, 135 North St. in Kennebunkport. This is a different location for this meeting only.

A question period will follow the presentation.

Local residents named to Simmons University dean’s list

The following local students were named to the 2022 spring semester dean’s list at Simmons University in Boston:

* Olivia Sweet, Kennebunk.

* Makayla Wright, Kennebunk.

Poetry readings planned at museum

A session of Bohemian Sunday Poetry Readings is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Brick Store Museum auditorium in Kennebunk.

The WePoets & Verse event will feature Richard Foerster of Eliot. Foerster’s ninth collection, “With Little Light and Sometimes None at All” is forthcoming in fall of 2023.

Also scheduled to attend are Mimi White of Rye, New Hampshire, and Martin Steingesser, of Portland.

White is author of four books and was awarded the Philbrick Poetry Prize for her chapbook, “The Singed Horizon.”

Steingesser is author of three books of poems: “Yellow Horses,” “Brothers of Morning” and “The Thinking Heart: the Life & Loves of Etty Hillesum.”

There is no admission charge for the event. For more information, visit https://wepoets.weebly.com.

Oldies Dance returns in October

The 20th edition of the Oldies Dance benefit will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Eagles Hall, 57 Birch St., in Biddeford and is the largest community fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House of Portland. Tickets are $10 with proceeds donated to the Ronald McDonald House, which provides comfort for the families of pediatric patients and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and enables family centered care to ensure that family members are fully supported and actively involved in their child’s care.

Oldies Dance Group organizer Bruce Martin said that to date, the organization has raised $85,500 for Ronald McDonald House and recommends that anyone interested in attending the dance to act fast as tickets sell out quickly with seating limited.

“I’m constantly amazed at how quickly these tickets sell,” Martin said in a Sept. 5 news release. “It’s confirmation that people still love to dance, and they love to listen to classic rock n’ roll oldies music. We can only accommodate about 300 people at each of these dances, so I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in attending to call and get their tickets as soon as possible.”

According to Martin, the Oldies Dance Group sold 349 tickets to its May 7 dance in just 10 days and had to turn away 82 additional requests for tickets because of seating limitations.

“Without a doubt, the most popular song at every dance is ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers,” Martin said. “Even guys who don’t normally dance get up and are out on the dance floor that one. The music is fantastic and takes you back to a simpler time where you know all the words to the songs by heart and the beat is contagious and makes you want to get up and express yourself through dancing. Those memorable Motown hits and anything we play by Elvis Presley ensure the dance floor will be packed.”

The bottom line though is that each Oldies Dance is highly affordable and raises money in a fun way to support the important work that the staff of the Ronald McDonald House in Portland is doing, he said.

To purchase tickets for the October dance or for more information, call Bruce Martin at 207-284-4692.

Community Gourmet addresses food insecurity in southern Maine

The Community Gourmet is a local grassroots effort to help people with limited access to food create healthy meals using foods that are easily acquired. To do this, it has created meal kits that can be used alone, or with foods that are readily available at food pantries and farmers’ markets. The organization recently received 501(c)3 nonprofit status.

Community Gourmet is hosting a fundraising tea party on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022 from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Nonantum Resort, 95 Ocean Ave., in Kennebunkport. Tickets are $45 and are available through Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com/e/the-community-gourmet-tea-party-tickets-402574961547.

Community Gourmet was formed in January 2022 under the leadership of Traci Anello, who has been a professional chef and baker for over 35 years. The organization is made up of local community members who saw a need and were inspired by meal kits that simplify food preparation but are expensive and beyond the means of many in our community.

The group began creating the kits with funds donated by a few interested people who believed in the effort and through sales of linzer cookies for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas in July, and Labor Day.

The meal kits are delivered to various food pantries and are meant to augment the food items distributed by the pantries. As of this date, more than 325 kits have been distributed through the York County Shelter, Kennebunk Chamber of Commerce Little Pantry, Big Love One Community pantry in North Berwick, and local churches since we began distributing them in March 2022.

Community Gourmet received a Daily Point of Light Award that was presented on Sept. 13 at the Point of Light board meeting at Hidden Pond Resort (pointsoflight.org).

Road Rangers a finalist for Peoples Choice Award

Road Rangers of Kennebunk and Wells is one of six finalists for Natural Resources Council of Maine’s Peoples Choice Award. The roadside cleanup group has been clearing trash on streets in Kennebunk and Wells since 2017. The organization meets once a week on Thursdays for one hour and tackle a different road alternating between the two towns. They have removed about a 1,000 bags of trash. To vote, visit www.nrcm.org. Voting ends at noon on Sept. 19.

Voting begins for Winter Kids grant

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust applied for a grant that could secure up to $10,000 to spend on kids’ winter equipment (ice skates, snow shoes, etc.) for Meadow Woods, allowing children to borrow equipment free of charge.

The prize money is decided by a community vote. The competition is hosted by WinterKids, a nonprofit that helps kids get outside during the winter in Maine. For more information about Winter Kids, visit  https://winterkids.org/.

Voting is open the entire month of September. To vote, visit https://winterkids.org/D24OutdoorFund .

Book Stacks for children offered

Kennebunk Free Library is offering a Book Stacks program for children for patrons interested in borrowing a stack of library items handpicked by a librarian. A KFL library card is required. If interested, patrons should fill out the Google form found online and provide information about interests. For more information, email ys@kennebunklibrary.org or call 985-2173.

Celebrate autumn with the library

Kennebunk Free Library is ready to celebrate the beginning of autumn with Fantastic Mr. Fox and some crafting. Participants are invited to bring friends and join the library to learn how to create art with apples. The event is scheduled for Sept. 27 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Apples will be available, but teens are welcomed to bring their own to use for the craft. Also, washable paint will be used, but participants are asked to wear clothes they don’t mind getting messy.

The event is free, wheelchair accessible, and open to teens ages 10 and up. For more information, see Miss Emmaline in the Children’s Room, or call at 207-985-2173.

Art journaling workshop offered

The Brick Store Museum’s Personal Art Journal Workshop offers senior residents the opportunity to become part of a creative community and learn new art skills and techniques. No art experience is necessary. The six weekly workshops will take place each Tuesday starting Sept. 27  through Nov. 1.

The classes will be taught by local artist Christine Burgess and will run from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the museum’s Educational Program Center in downtown Kennebunk. The Maine Arts Commission awarded the Brick Store Museum a Creative Aging grant to support the course, so the fee is able to be at low cost of $60 per participant ($50 for museum members) and includes all materials.

The workshop series can accept 12 adults (age 65 or older) through a simple application, found on the museum’s website at www.brickstoremuseum.org. It can also be picked up at the museum’s front desk or by calling 207-985-4802. The deadline for applications is Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.

Library plans Hobbit Day

Kennebunk Free Library is going on an adventure to the Shire. To celebrate the birthdays of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, the library invites teens ages 10 and older to Hobbit-themed activities. The session is scheduled for  Thursday, Sept. 22 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The event will feature music, crafts, games, and more. Participants are encouraged to bring friends for this journey, and maybe some second breakfasts along the way. For more information, see Miss Emmaline in the Children’s Room, or call at 207-985-2173.

Arundel Heritage Day set for Sept. 17

The Arundel Historical Society will host its annual Heritage Day on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Heritage Day is a community event that features music, food, historical displays, kids games, Civil War living history encampment and animals. It is a family event with free parking and free admission and will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Planeteers schedule clothing drive

The Planeteers of Southern Maine, in collaboration with Helpsy, will host a clothing drive on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Used clothing, footwear, accessories, and other household textiles will be collected during this event held at the Kennebunk Transfer Station (Next to Treasure Chest) located at 36 Sea Road in Kennebunk. Collected clothing will be reused or recycled, keeping it out of the waste stream.

As a grassroots effort, the Planeteers of Southern Maine is a group of individuals dedicated to helping create a sustainable future for the planet by encouraging action on climate change, clean oceans, and other environmental issues at the local level.

Organizers request no late or early bird drop-offs. Planeteers will be on hand to direct traffic to parking and for drop-off. For more information, contact Andrea Roth Kimmich at someplaneteers@yahoo.com. For more information about the Planeteers visit https://someplaneteers.wixsite.com/someplaneteers. For more information about Helpsy, visit www.helpsy.co.

Author to host presentation on Scottish prisoners in Colonial Maine

On Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m., Dr. Carol Gardner will deliver a talk at Kennebunk Free Library titled “Involuntary Americans: Scottish Prisoners in Early Colonial Maine,” discussing the more than 400 prisoners of war who were brought to Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts against their wills in 1650-1651.

Gardner is the author of a narrative history, “The Involuntary American: A Scottish Prisoner’s Journey to the New World.”

Gardner has more than 30 years of experience as a writer, journalist and communicator. She earned a Ph.D. in English from Johns Hopkins University, taught at Johns Hopkins, Wake Forest, and Florida State universities, and has published both fiction and nonfiction pieces in a variety of books and periodicals, including the World of Baseball, BluePlanet Quarterly, Northwest Review, Baltimore Review, Potomac Review, The Women’s Review of Books, Portland Press Herald, and The Washington Post. She is a past winner of a Maryland Individual Artists Award. She lives in Alna, Maine.

The program is free and wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 207-985-2173 or email kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

Astronomical society to host Starfest

Starfest is a weekend event sponsored by the Astronomical Society of Northern New England. It will be held at the Talmage Observatory at Starfield, the organization’s observatory located on Alewive Road (Route 35), in West Kennebunk. It will be held from Friday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Sept. 25.

The event will feature both day (solar) observing and night observing. Society members and the public are invited to attend. Members and the general public are welcome to camp out – tenting, or in vehicles — throughout the event, at Starfield.

The itinerary:

Friday, Sept. 23

Noon: members arrive, and start setting up telescopes.

Noon through dusk: solar observing.

Dusk: night observing begins.

Saturday, Sept. 24

Dawn to dusk: solar observing.

2:30 p.m.: cookout; participants invited to bring items, but not required. Donations to the club to offset food costs will be accepted.

6 p.m.: Bern Valliere, a society director, will give a presentation on how distances to stars and distant galaxies are determined.

7 p.m.: night observing.

Sunday, Sept. 25

Dawn through noon: solar observing.

Noon: striking of tents and stowing of telescopes.

Directions to the Talmage Observatory at Starfield: For GPS, use 921 Alewive Road.  The observatory has a long driveway at the edge of a large field. It’s on the northern side and perpendicular to Alewive Road, just east of Days Mill Road. There is an Astronomical Society of Northern New England at the end of the driveway.

For more information, email asnne.astronomy@gmail.com or visit www.ASNNE.org.

Library association schedules annual meeting

Public notice is hereby given to the public pursuant to the Kennebunk Free Library Association by-laws, that the annual meeting of the association will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Board of trustees’ meetings are typically held on the last Tuesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. via Zoom or in Hank’s Room, with the exception of July and December, and they are open to the public.

For more information or to receive the meeting link, contact Library Director Michelle K. Conners, at 985-2173 or kfl@kennebunklibrary.org.

POW-MIA Memorial dedication slated for Sept. 24

A dedication ceremony of the POW-MIA Memorial will take place at 11 a.m. on Sept. 24 at the Southern Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery located at 83 Stanley Road in Springvale.

The memorial consists of a black and gray monolith depicting the POW-MIA symbol of comrades-in-arms surrounded by a semi-circle of 13 standing granite pillars with façade visuals of each conflict in American history beginning with the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan. White marble tablets on each pillar provide historical data on the numbers of POW-MIA compiled by the Department of Defense.

The funding for the memorial was provided by public and private donations to Southern Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association, a nonprofit 501c3 organization staffed totally by volunteers. According to the organization, its “mission is to beautify the cemetery so that this hallowed ground will be a resting place of beauty and tranquility for loved ones to visit.”

The association works with State of Maine Bureau of Veterans Affairs, veteran organizations, city and town officials, local businesses and the general public.

The public is invited to attend and the ceremonies will take place rain or shine.

Medical equipment loans available

No Place Like Home is a volunteer organization that provides free loans of medical equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and transfer chairs, canes, bathroom items, and more. The equipment is available to people who live and work in Arundel, Kennebunk or Kennebunkport; or summer visitors to the area.

Those who would like to know more about how to borrow or donate equipment this summer (wheelchairs are always in demand), visit www.nplhmaine.org or Facebook (NoPlaceLikeHome-Kennebunk) or call 207-558-2270.

Arundel Trail Fest scheduled for Sept. 24

The Arundel Conservation Trust Trail Fest is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24 at Arundel Community Trails. The event features 5K, 10K and half marathon options. A Kids Flow Trail Fun Ride and Race, for ages 5-12, is also planned. Arundel Community Trails is located at 257 Limerick Road.

For more information, visit arundeltrust.org.

Chalk the Port returns

The Chalk the Port event returns Sept. 23-24 after a two-year hiatus; local artists participate starting at 8 a.m. on Sept. 24 and finishing up by 5 p.m. that day, creating pieces that celebrate the theme, “Kennebunkport: Past, Present, and Future.”

The free, family-friendly event takes place at the Recreation Complex at 20 Recreation Way, near Consolidated School.

 

 

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