Kennebunkport’s Graves Memorial Library is holding its annual author event at the Kennebunk River Club on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. This year’s fundraising event will feature award-winning author and journalist, David Maraniss.

The evening will begin with a wine reception, followed by a conversation between David Maraniss and Peter Slen, senior executive producer at C-SPAN.

A biographer of numerous political and sports figures, Maraniss will sign copies of his latest book, “A Path Lit by Lighting,” an account of the life of arguable the greatest all-around American athlete, Jim Thorpe.

A limited number of tickets are available for $60 each at the library (18 Maine St.) or through the website, www.graveslibrary.org.

Art Guild of the Kennebunks hosts Awards Art Exhibit

The Art Guild of the Kennebunks announced the Awards Art Exhibit is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1-2. The exhibit takes place at the Community House, 8 Temple St., Kennebunkport. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free.

The exhibit features original artwork by 25 members of the guild that will be available for purchase. Subjects include Maine scenic views, florals, seascapes, animals and a variety of other themes. Artists provide professional, framed works in oils, watercolor, pastel, pen and ink and mixed media.

Linda Van Tassell, president of the guild, said, “The Award Art Exhibit brings out the best of all guild artists participating in this important show. Judging the artwork will be prominent impressionist artist, David Fouts, owner of Landmark Gallery in Kennebunkport. Visitors will have an opportunity to select artwork for their personal collection or as gift for family and friends. Many works make wonderful memories of their time in the area. We invite all to attend this important art experience.”

Also, on display is “Spring Surprise” a watercolor by Peter Hoff, that is the prize of our annual scholarship raffle. The raffle benefits “a talented, deserving art student at Kennebunk High School with a $500 scholarship.”

Raffle tickets can be purchased at any of the guild exhibits throughout the year. The winning raffle ticket will be drawn at the end of the Guild’s Prelude exhibit in December.

For more information, visit www.artguildofthekennebunks.com or call 207-324-0527.

Blessing of the Animals at Holy Cross Lutheran

Pastor Richard Horner of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kennebunk will offer a Blessing of the Animals service on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 11 a.m. It will be a 15-minute service taking place in the front parking lot of the church (corner of Storer and Mechanic streets). The service is open to the community.

The feast day for St. Francis of Assisi falls on Oct. 4. One of the things St. Francis was known for was his love for animals and the environment. Participants are encouraged to bring their pet(s) to the service. Participants are also welcome to attend and receive a blessing on behalf of their pet(s) if being in a crowd with other animals poses difficulty, or if traveling to the church isn’t feasible. Pets must be leashed or in a carrier.

“Our pets are wonderful companions, and often help us to appreciate the significance of unconditional love in our life, which is the greatest gift we receive from God,” said the Rev. Horner in an email. “It is important for us to give thanks to God for the animals with which God has blessed us, and to be reminded of our calling to be a blessing to our pets through the care and love we share with them.”

For more information, call 207-985-4803 or visit www.kennebunklutheran.org.

AWS offers rabies clinic

The Animal Welfare Society will host a rabies vaccine clinic on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Lyman Town Hall. The clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. Lyman Town Hall is located at 11 South Waterboro Road.

Free vaccines are offered for pets older than 12 weeks. Donations are encouraged and all pets must be leashed or in a secure carrier.

To receive a three-year vaccine, patrons must bring a pet’s previous rabies certificate or vet records. If those are not available, the pet will receive a one-year vaccine.

For more information, call 207-2424.

Gold and global politics discussion at library

The Camden Conference and Kennebunk Free Library will host Mike Lynch at the library on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Lynch will discuss Gold and Global Politics: How the Financial Power of Gold Impacts Politics Past and Present.

According to a library press release, “Gold has been the lifeblood of global trade for centuries. It has sparked wars, helped shift regional powers, crushed empires, won battles changing the course of history, and laid the foundation of our global monetary system. Its legacy is the bedrock of current political positions. Take a journey exploring gold’s impact on global trade and politics past to present.”

Lynch has taught several Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Senior College courses at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. He retired for the first time in 2009 when he and his wife joined the Peace Corps and spent 2½ years working with the Roma Gypsy in Bulgaria. After that he became a Peace Corps director in Ghana. He lived in Ghana (formerly called the Gold Coast) for three years, and winters in South Africa, which has one of the world’s richest gold deposits. In his travels, he has visited ghost towns and old mining operations. He became fascinated with the impact gold has had on civilization and developed a course focusing on the history of gold.

He has an MBA from the University of New Hampshire and holds five patents. Prior to the Peace Corps, he worked for several high-tech firms where he was a product development director, and managed multi-million dollar businesses for the companies.

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

Museum illustrates Fire of ’47

The Brick Store Museum will open its exhibition, “The Fire of ’47: 75th Anniversary Retrospective” on Saturday, Oct. 1. The exhibit will run through December, and an accompanying Fire of ’47 Panel Discussion will be offered to the public on October 18.

The Fire of ’47 was a collection of over 200 fires that burned in Maine from Oct. 13 through Oct. 27 in 1947. Together, the fires consumed a quarter of a million acres of forest, and wiped out nine entire towns, making it one of the worst natural disasters in state history. The fires burned from Bar Harbor (which was almost completely destroyed) to Kennebunkport and Goose Rocks Beach. It became known as “The Year Maine Burned.”

The panel discussion, The Legacy of the ’47 Fire, will be presented on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. Tickets for the presentation are $5 per person. The panel includes representatives from the Maine Forest Service, Kennebunk Fire-Rescue, and local historians. The museum is offering an accompanying take-out dinner as part of its Take Out Learning Dinners, catered by For the Love of Food & Drink in Wells.

For tickets and and dinner orders, visit www.brickstoremuseum.org.

“Wildfire Loose: The Week Maine Burned,” by Maine historian Joyce Butler, will be for sale in the Brick Store Museum’s shop at 117 Main St., Kennebunk. For more information about the exhibition and upcoming public program, visit www.brickstoremuseum.org or call 207-985-4802.

Church plans yard and plant sale

Members of First Congregational Church of Kennebunkport will host its Autumn Yard & Perennial Plant Sale on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to perennials there will be two types of daisies and lupines in one gallon pots that were started by seed and are ready for planting now for spring bloom. There will also be house plants. The yard sale will have a variety of items.

The sale will take place at the church, 141 North St. in Kennebunkport. Cash or checks will be accepted. All proceeds benefit the church.

Library accepting exhibit applications

Kennebunk Free Library is accepting applications for artists to exhibit during the 2023 calendar year in the Speers Gallery. The gallery hosts exhibits in a variety of mediums including photography, textile arts and mixed media assemblages in addition to renditions in oil, pastel, enamel oil, encaustic, pen and ink, and watercolor.

The application process is open to either individual or group shows. Applications must be received by Oct. 15, 2022, to be considered for exhibition in 2023.

The submitted applications will compete in a juried review conducted by an Art Committee consisting of members from the library and art communities. Upon completion of the review in November, applicants will be contacted regarding the committee’s decisions. Application forms and additional information are available at the library or by visiting www.kennebunklibrary.org/galleryspeers.asp.

Maine Women in the Arts show announced

Maine Women in the Arts has an annual show to showcase members’ best new work. Artwork is judged in a variety of categories by a professional artist and ribbons are awarded. It is opportunity for the public to view pieces of art, all of which are available for purchase.

Paintings, photographs, and sculpture are among the mediums presented by the group of local artists. The 2022 awards show will be Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. In addition to the awards show submissions, each artist will have other work including a number of all original, small works that will be for sale.

The show runs from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 at the Masonic Lodge, 10 North St., Kennebunkport. A reception with live music will be Friday, Sept. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m.  The hours are Friday, Sept. 30, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Maine Women in the Arts promotes and gives exposure to local artists and their work in all media. For more information, visit www.mainewomenarts.com.

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).

Poetry readings planned at Brick Store 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.

The 19th Rock n’ Roll Oldies Benefit Dance will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Eagles Hall in Biddeford. For tickets, call 207-284-4692.  Courtesy photo

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.

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