Open Farm Day Celebrations, July 27

Open Farm Day is an annual family adventure in which farms throughout Maine open their gates to offer the public an opportunity to learn about the business of agriculture. Pineland Farms will be open to the public for free from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Visitors can tour their creamery, dairy barns, poultry barn, and visit their family farmyard area where they will be holding ongoing activities, such as egg collecting and hand milking. The Market and Welcome Center at Pineland Farms, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester, will be serving as headquarters.

From noon to 4 p.m., Shaker Village will be offering an afternoon of free tours and free special events for the whole family. Brother Arnold Hadd will conduct tours of the 1830 Shaker barns where you will meet a flock of sheep, Scottish Highland cattle, honeybees, and barn cats. Guided tours of the historic herb gardens, in cultivation since 1783, will be offered, along with tractor-drawn wagon rides, museum exhibits and homemade barbecue lunch plates. Traditional craft demonstrations will include Shaker textile arts with carding, spinning, and weaving by Sandy Dyzak, Janet Cameron and the R&R Spinners; blacksmithing with Tim Greene; woodcarving by the Poland Woodcarvers; and rug hooking with Beth Miller. A bake sale will be sponsored by the New Gloucester Historical Society, and a plant sale will be conducted by Donna’s Greenhouse. Shaker Village is located at 707 Shaker Road, just off Route 26, in New Gloucester.

Fogg’s Hill Farm, a family run farm owned and operated by Scott and Gail Kolda, will be hosting Open Farm Day from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. They raise goats, sheep, poultry and other livestock, and sell products at their Farm Porch Market. Gail said that if visitors arrive at either 8 a.m. or 4 p.m., they can participate in the “crazy, noisy feeding routine.” Fogg’s Hill Farm is located at 943 Intervale Road, New Gloucester.

Flea Market

On Saturday, Aug. 2, Amvets Post 6 Auxiliary in New Gloucester will be having its annual flea market from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the post’s home on Route 100, New Gloucester. New and used items, unique crafts and collectables will be available. Rain or shine. Table rentals available at $15. Call Joyce at 926-4693 or Sally at 926-3371 to reserve your table for this event. Proceeds to benefit the auxiliary’s yearly projects, including support of the New Gloucester Veteran’s Monument. A baked goods table will benefit the Scholarship Fund.

Benefit Yard Sale

Open Gates Equine Rescue, 407 Morse Road, New Gloucester, will be hosting a yard sale from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 2. No early birds, please. The inventory will include household items, two pairs of nearly new shoes, horse tack including some show tack, horse blankets, books, knick-knacks, older beer steins, and other items.

People who would like to contribute items for the sale are asked to supply them in advance for pricing. Call either 749-9028 or 749-9230 for more information.

Summerfest 2014

The great annual experience of Summerfest will begin Monday, Aug. 4, at the First Congregational Church, 19 Gloucester Hill Road, New Gloucester. Children from age 4 through those entering sixth grade will have the assistance of adult teachers and teen helpers, learning some very important faith and life lessons during five fun-filled weekday mornings.

Pre-registration is strongly recommended, and the online form is posted at www.ngucc.org. Notification that your children are on their way by pre-registering them helps the organizers make sure they have sufficient supplies for all of the children. This basic information will be recorded and you will be asked to add an emergency contact, doctor and insurance policy number to your registration on the first morning of Summerfest. If you have questions, call the church office at 926-3260.

Chicken BBQ a Huge Success

The chicken barbecue to benefit the New Gloucester Veterans Monument project was a huge success as shown by the packed Amvets Hall on July 12. The monument committee wishes to thank all who dined at the hall, the crew of chefs and servers, the New Gloucester Fire Department, Amvets Post 6, Conifer Industries-KFC, UTZ Quality Foods, Poland Spring Bottling, Oakhurst Dairy, Hodgman Frozen Custard, Jeff and Joyce Hamilton, Bill King, Gray True Value Hardware and the New Gloucester Historical Society. The event yielded nearly $2,000 for the veterans monument project.

Village Bakehouse Has Closed

The New Gloucester Village Bakehouse on Peacock Hill Road has closed. Owner Anne McCormack says that an unexpected opportunity at the end of June has led her to pursue a new venture. She thanks community members for their support and patronage.

From left, Breena Newberry, a Gray-New Gloucester Animal Hospital staff member, and Makayla Gwinn, of New Gloucester, exhibit Gwinn’s chickens, named Coconut and Ginger, at the New Gloucester Public Library’s annual Pet Show on July 8.