Upcoming – L’Ecole Francaise du Maine ribbon cutting, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2:30 p.m., 99 South Freeport Road, South Freeport. Consul General of France, Fabien Fieschi, will officiate the event. Reception planned by the school’s Parents’ Association will follow. Call 865-3308 to RSVP.

Talk and slide show by Maine mushroom expert Greg Marley, Thursday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m., Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot St., Freeport. He will present “Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms: Grand Adventures and Possible Pitfalls” and will be selling and signing his books. The public is invited and contributions are welcome to cover the speaker’s fee and to support protection of mushroom habitat in Freeport.

“The Matchmaker,” by Thornton Wilder, Thursday, Jan. 31 and Friday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m., Merriconeag Waldorf School’s Community Hall, 57 Desert Road, Freeport. Admission is by donation at the door. The play, which became the basis for the musical hit “Hello, Dolly,” will be performed by Merriconeag’s ninth- and tenth-grade students.

Public forum on safety and tolerance in the community, Thursday, Jan. 31, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Freeport Performing Arts Center. Featuring a conversation with an expert panel, which will discuss what the community can do to prevent violence and foster understanding in the wake of the shootings in Newtown, Conn. Free child care available. For more information, email Dede Bennell, bennelld@rsu5.org.

Freeport First Friday, Friday, Feb. 1, 6 p.m., Freeport Community Center Community Room, 53 Depot St., Freeport. Entertainment is “Baby, It’s Cole Outside,” featuring the songs of Cole Porter sung by Lisa Bossi, Elizabeth Guffey and David Watts. The five-course dinner served in the style of “Downton Abbey” will follow at 7. Cost is $18 and space is limited. Patrons are encouraged to “dress” if they so choose. Call Kim at the FCC at 865-3985to make reservations.

Dinner and a movie, Saturday, Feb. 2, 5:30 p.m., South Freeport Congregational Church, 98 South Freeport Road, South Freeport. Celebrate Groundhog Day with a viewing of the film “Groundhog Day” and a dinner featuring shepherd’s pie, baked macaroni, salad, beverage and dessert. Cost is $10 per person or $25 for a family. For more information or to reserve tickets, call 865-4012.

Auditions for “Cinderella, the Story You Never Knew,” Sunday, Feb. 3, noon-4 p.m. and Monday, Feb. 4, from 6-8 p.m., Freeport Performing Arts Center. Adults and children from the RSU 5 area encouraged to participate to learn staging, acting, directing and production skills. All who audition offered a part in the production. Presented by Freeport Family Performing Arts and directed by Tim Ryan and Jake Junkins.

Armchair travel program, Monday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m., Freeport Community Library. Visit Puglia, Italy, with tour guide John Bowdren.

Pownal selectmen, Monday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m., Mallett Hall.

Children’s Yoga, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 10 a.m., Freeport Community Library.

Freeport Town Council public hearing, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 6:30 p.m., Freeport Town Hall Council Chambers, to discuss proposed amendments to the Traffic and Parking Ordinance pertaining to parking on Hunter Road in the vicinity of the Hunter Road Recreational Fields and along the access road to the fields for a distance of 700 feet.

Freeport Planning Board public hearing, Wednesday, Feb. 6 p.m., Town Hall Council Chambers, to discuss possible amendments to the zoning ordinance that would expand the definition of agricultural farm stand to provide more flexibility in setback requirements for farm stands that sell agricultural and animal products.

“Bugs from Around the World,” Wednesday, Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m., Freeport Community Library. Jim Nutting’s collection of live and preserved insects and invertebrates will be on display.

Freeport Community Library Book Club, Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m., Freeport Community Library sunroom. The club will discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy.

Free movie at Freeport Community Library, Thursday, Feb. 7, 1 p.m., “The Long, Hot Summer,” with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Popcorn will be served.

Open Stage Coffee House, Saturday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m. Freeport Community Library Community Meeting Room. Free for performers and audience members. Performers can show up and sign up and will be given 10-15 minutes each. Coffee, tea and desserts available for purchase. For more information, contact Eric at 865-0052 or email ericjbryant@comcast.net.

A celebration of chocolate, Sunday, Feb. 10, 3 p.m., Old Town Hall, Park Street, Freeport. Sponsored by the Freeport Historical Society, the event will take a look at chocolate and its evolution in American cookery. Tickets are $10 per person. For more information, call 865-3170 or visit www.freeporthistoricalsociety.org.

Chocolate Bash, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Freeport Community Library. Raffle tickets will be sold for a basket of chocolate goodies, take-home chocolate desserts and a basket of art donated by the Art Guild of Freeport. Chocolate treats to sample, $2 a person.Music by Cul de Sax. For more information, call 865-3307, or visit www.freeportlibrary.com.

Comedian George Hamm, benefit show Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m., Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St., Freeport. Tickets are $10. To purchase, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/312291. Proceeds benefit Freeport Middle School Space Camp Team’s trip to Huntsville, Ala.

Pownal selectmen, Monday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m., Mallett Hall.

Armchair travel program, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., Freeport Community Library. Barge through France with Ethel and John Wilkerson.

Freeport Historical Society “Lunch With Locals” series, Thursday, Feb. 21, noon-1:30 p.m., Harrington House, 45 Main St., Freeport. The public is invited to bring a brown bag lunch for informal discussions about particular aspects of the collection as well as a rare close-up view of the society’s collections. The project is funded by a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. For more information or to RSVP, contact the historical society at 865-3170 or info@freeporthistoricalsociety.org.

Free movie at Freeport Community Library, Thursday, Feb. 21, 1 p.m., “Undertaking Betty,” with Brenda Blethyn, Alfred Molina, Naomi Watts and Christopher Walken. Popcorn will be served.

Armchair travel program, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m., Freeport Community Library. Sail to Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon with Burt Brewer and Chris Hastedt.

Free movie at Freeport Community Library, Thursday, March, 1 p.m., “To Kill a Mockingbird,” with Gregory Peck. Popcorn will be served.

Freeport special council election, to fill District 2 seat, Wednesday, March 20, 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Town Hall Council Chambers, 30 Main St., For more information, contact the Freeport Town Clerk’s office at 865-4743, ext. 123.

Religion and spirituality – Durham Congregational Church, 73 Royalsborough Road, Durham. Sunday services each week at 10 a.m. All are welcome.

Durham Friends Meeting, 532 Quaker Meeting House Road.Worship services every Sunday 10:30 a.m. Adult Sunday school at 9:30 a.m.

First Parish Church, 422 Hallowell Road, Pownal, Sunday services at 9:30 a.m. All-ages Sunday school follows at 11 a.m. For more information, call 688-4846.

First Baptist Church, 185 Main St., Freeport, Sunday services at 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday school from nursery school to adult, Sunday at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call 865-4404.

First Parish Church Congregational, UCC, 40 Main St., Freeport. Sunday services at 10 a.m. For more information, call 865-6022.

North Pownal United Methodist Church, 851 Lawrence Road, Pownal. Worship service Sundays at 9 a.m.

St. Jude’s Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Freeport. Masses Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 846-5584

Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pownal Road, Freeport. Saturday worship at 11 a.m. Sabbath School, Saturdays at 10 a.m. For more information, call 865-3990.

South Freeport Church, UCC, South Freeport Village. Sunday worship 9:30 a.m. For more information, call 865-4012.

Shiloh Chapel, Shiloh Road, Durham. Nondenominational services Sundays at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.shilohchapelmaine.org.

We love to eat – Haddock chowder lunch, every second and fourth Friday during February and March, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., South Freeport Congregational Church Community Hall, 98 South Freeport Road, South Freeport. The lunch is buffet style and includes haddock chowder, coleslaw, corn muffins, cake and a beverage. The cost is $8, which includes seconds. Pints of chowder are also available for take-out for $6. The church is located opposite the Post Office in South Freeport. For more information, call 865-4012.

Freeport Elders Pancake Breakfast, first and third Saturday of the month, 8-10 a.m., Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot St. Deluxe: Pancakes, eggs, sausages, biscuits, OJ, tea and coffee, $4.50. Regular: Pancakes, sausages, OJ, tea or coffee, $3.50. Seniors deduct $0.50.

Ongoing Events – Beat the Heat, Community Spay-Neuter Clinic’s $20 cat neuters with rabies vaccination included, offered for month of February. Call Freeport office to make an appointment, 865-0772 or for more information, visit www.communityspayneuterclinic.com.

Androscoggin Beekeepers Club monthly meeting, first Wednesday of the month through May, 6:30 p.m., Auburn City Building, 60 Court St., Room 206. Meetings are open to anyone interested in honeybees. Parking is available in the garage behind the building. r more information, call Blaine Richardson at 576-0571 or Charles Armstrong at 784-9757, or visit androscogginbeekeepers.org.

“Buttons, Rum & Rakes,” Freeport Historical Society exhibit celebrating Freeport’s mercantile past, runs through March 2, 45 Main St., Freeport, Monday through Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 1-4 p.m. For more information, visit www.freeporthistoricalsociety.org.

Weekly story time, for toddlers and pre-schoolers, Tuesdays, Freeport Community Library. Three different sessions. 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., separate 15-minute story times for toddlers. Thirty-minute story time for pre-schoolers at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.freeportlibrary.com or call 865-3307.

Freeport Community Thrift Shop, open Mondays through Fridays 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and closed on Sundays, Freeport Community Center.

Freeport Rotary, breakfast meetings every Wednesday from 7-8 a.m., Broad Arrow Tavern, Harraseeket Inn, Main Street, Freeport. Prospective new members welcome.

North Pownal United Methodist Church food pantry, open every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m.-noon. All are welcome.

Durham Town Office, open Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-7 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m., the office is closed all day on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call 353-2561.

Pownal Town Office, open Mondays from 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. and Tuesdays through Thursdays from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The town office is closed Fridays and weekends. For more information, call 688-4611.

Freeport Town Hall, open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. The offices are closed on Fridays. For more information, call 865-4743.

Pownal selectmen, meet every Monday at 7 p.m. in Mallett Hall. Check the community calendar for dates or call the town office at 688-4611.

Open play, Thursdays,10-11 a.m., Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot St. Open for kids from infants to age 5, for more information, contact the Freeport Families Network at freeportfamiliesnetwork@yahoo.com.

Comedian George Hamm performs in Freeport Saturday, Feb. 16, in a benefit for the Freeport Middle School Space Camp Team’s trip to Huntsville, Ala.