Try Snowshoeing and X/C Skiing for Free

Pineland Farms will be a participant in the 13th annual Winter Trails Day on Saturday, Jan. 12 from 8-11 a.m. offering children and adults who are new to snow sports a chance to try snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at no cost. Free rental equipment (on a first-come, first-served basis) and complimentary trail passes will be offered.

Interested novices are to sign in at the Outdoor Center located below the Visitors Center. To expedite the process, a Winter Trails Participation Release Agreement, required to be filled out and submitted, may be downloaded from www.pinelandfarms.org/recreation/nordic_skiing.htm. Release forms will also be available at the Outdoor Center.

Winter Trails Day provides participants with the opportunity to discover the great fitness and social benefits derived from these easy-to-learn winter sports at sites across the United States and Canada.

Village Coffeehouse Broadway Revue

Saturday, Jan. 5 will mark an exciting night of entertainment, favorite songs and merriment to usher in the New Year. The New Gloucester Village Coffeehouse is starting the 2008 season with a Broadway Revue Night led by Beth Barefoot-Jones at the piano and featuring talented vocalists singing both old and new favorites from the Great White Way.

Singers on board include New Gloucester-raised stage veterans: Meredith Jones, Dan Bastian, Alex Fiorentino and Griffin Jones. The evening will include tunes from more recent Broadway hits including the Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Last Five Years and Wicked, as well as songs from those favorite shows we all love.

Beth Barefoot-Jones is no stranger to musical theater in southern Maine, having musically directed and conducted shows in almost every theater around. She is also the Minister of Music at the New Gloucester Congregational Church.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. Proceeds will benefit the church’s mission work in Hondurus. A team of workers is slated to travel there in February 2008. The New Gloucester Congregational Church is located near the corner of Route 231 and Gloucester Hill Road. For more information, call Michael or Julie Fralich at 926-3161 or the church office at 926-3260.

Historic Trotters Park

Activities at the New Gloucester Fairgrounds date back to the late 1800s. An integral part of the annual agricultural fair was horseracing on the half-mile dirt track, later leading to renaming the fairgrounds to Trotters Park. In 1904, the grandstand was purchased from Gray after its fair had been discontinued, and a stately judges’ stand was built. Those structures along with a section of sheds to house the race horses produced an impressive stage for the facility’s harness races.

The original fair was disbanded after 1935, but events intermittently continued to be organized there during the succeeding decades. In 1945, the fairground was purchased by Howard Small of Bath and underwent a name change to Royal River Park. It was billed as “Maine’s newest sports and amusement center.” Motorcycle races, ball games, and band concerts were but a few of the myriad of special attractions offered at the multi-day fair in 1946. Events held at the park that summer included horse races and a Western rodeo show.

Small sold the park to the Androscoggin Agricultural Society, which hosted a horse show in 1947. Beech Ridge Speedway owner Jim McConnell and the Maine State Stock Car Racing Association promoted racing events at the fairgrounds from 1949 to 1951.

When the popularity of harness racing declined, horse racing at Trotters Park was phased out over time. The track was then used as a training ground for trotters and pacers into the early 1990s. In 2003-04 the Town of New Gloucester purchased the fairgrounds, and a community fair has been hosted there annually in October ever since. In the fall of 2004, an ice skating rink was built, largely a volunteer effort. The rink is located directly behind the Exhibition Hall, which is the only remaining building of the original New Gloucester and Danville Agricultural Association Fairgrounds.

The above information was excerpted from the 2005 booklet, “New Gloucester Fairgrounds, Past, Present, Future,” compiled by the New Gloucester Fairgrounds Committee from the files of the New Gloucester Historical Society.

Correction

Regarding last week’s write-up about the New Lungs for George Committee, a change was made in editing that incorrectly identified the purpose for the funds raised. When George Carman will be undergoing a double lung transplant, the transplant itself will be covered by insurance. The funds the committee is in the process of raising will be for related expenses not covered by insurance. We regret any confusion that may have arisen from this error.

Democrats to Meet

The New Gloucester Democratic Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Parish Center of the New Gloucester Congregational Church, Gloucester Hill Road. Plans for the Feb. 10 caucus will be discussed.

Town Meetings:

Jan. 7: Selectmen, 7 p.m., Meetinghouse

Jan. 8: Joint committee meeting. The Selectmen and Budget Committee will discuss financing options for the new fire station. 7 p.m., Meetinghouse

Jan. 9: CIP, 7 p.m., Meetinghouse

Jan. 10: Parks and Rec, 7 p.m., Meetinghouse

Jan. 10: Arts and Creative Economy, 7 p.m., Fire Station

Jan. 11: Story Time, 9:30 a.m., Library