BOWDOINHAM
The Merrymeeting Arts Center invites young speakers to compete in the speaking contest Sunday at the Veterans Concert taking place Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Town Hall.
The speaking contest is for orators ages 14 and under. Contest participants will memorize the selected poem and recite it from memory before the audience and three judges. Interested contestants are encouraged to sign up as few have been coming forward to participate organizers say.
The poem being used for the contest this year is famous as the inscription on the Statue of Liberty. Written by Emma Lazarus, the poem — officially known as “The New Colossus” — is most famous for the final stanza : “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The Veterans Concert will feature Kim Kalesti, Hal Ahlers, Bob (the Busdriver) White and Friends, all of whom have appeared before in the area. They will be joined by other speakers and performers in a concert sure to delight people of all ages. A donation of $10 will be requested.
For further information and the full text of the poem, go to merrymeetingartscenter.org or call 370-5002.
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