Memorial Day weekend certainly was dramatic and unpredictable in terms of the weather. The only thing you could count on was that it was going to rain on your parade, eventually. Actually, we were quite lucky here in Naples, where the weather held out until the end of the parade. A few drops sprinkled as the LRMS and LRHS marching band headed over to their final parade in Sebago, but again, good fortune prevailed and the festivities went off, the cannon was fired, as attendees celebrated the veterans, their families, and their sacrifices for our country.

Gardeners Wanted

The idea of growing your own food has picked up steam over the past few years. Now you can be part of this growing trend. CrossWalk Community Outreach Food Pantry and Community Garden is working hard to train food pantry folks to grow their own garden. This is a big undertaking and help is needed. CrossWalk is looking to match up “Master Gardeners,” aka “Gardening Angels,” to help a few folks with small garden projects. For the Gardening Angels Program, contact Amy Witt, Cumberland County Extension educator at 1-800-287-1471 (toll free in Maine) or at awitt@umext.maine.edu. Local community members are also encouraged to volunteer. Crosswalk Food Pantry is asking for winter squashes to be grown by local gardeners and donated for next winter’s food pantry vegetables through its “Grow-a-Row” for CrossWalk program. Growing for Food Pantries is a project of Maine’s Harvest for Hunger program under the University of Maine’s Extension Program. “Grow-a-Row” is a project of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners organization. Fresh produce and fruit is needed at all food pantries any time of year. Remember that winter squashes need to be hardened off near the end of season so they last through the winter. CrossWalk serves the towns of Naples, Casco, Bridgton, Sebago and Harrison. Contact Nancy Vose at vose@me.com or 693-4687 to get involved in these local initiatives. Growing your own food is beneficial in every way. It is healthier and reduces the carbon footprint of your food because it doesn’t have to be processed in a plant and trucked here, and all these wonderful plants help filter the air we breathe. A great, very worthwhile program indeed.

Recreation Program

Even if the weather isn’t speaking summer to you, the Naples Recreation program is. May 31 is the sign ups for swimming lessons at the Naples Town Office at 9 a.m. You can pick up a registration form there, or they are available online at www.townofnaples.org. On Saturday, June 7, the Recreation department will be holding their annual Lake Region Youth Football Golf Outing at the Naples Golf and Country Club at 2 p.m. If you are looking for something fun and local to keep your kids busy this summer, the Naples Recreation Summer Camp is still accepting kids. Contact Harvey Price Jr. at 595-0602 or email at recreation@townofnaples.org.

Maine Blues Festival

Every Father’s Day weekend, which is July 13-15, Lake Region residents and visitors sing the blues. That’s right, the Maine Blues Festival is taking over Naples once again, rain or shine, and that is not a complaint! Music fills the air, people of all ages stroll the Causeway, in short, Naples comes alive. It’s a great event for our state of mind and the state of Maine and town of Naples. For a complete list of acts, pricing and other general information, visit their website at www.mainebluesfestival.com or their Facebook page.

Naples Library Update

The Friends of the Naples Public Library hold their second annual Duck Drop on Father’s Day at the Blues Festival. Ducks are now on sale at the library, Country Sleigh and the Black Bear. The supply is limited so don’t delay in purchasing your duck (or a flock) for a chance to win one of the cash prizes. Join them on the Town Green on Sunday, June 15, 1 p.m., and watch the Q-Team initiate the 30-foot drop of the whole flock of ducks.

Preparations are under way for the Summer Reading Program for children and adults. Registration begins on Tuesday, June 24. The reading and activities will be based on many facets of science from food, weather, science fiction, ecology, animals to zombies! Stop in on or after June 24 to pick up your materials and get started on the summer fun.

The “Let’s Talk About It” book discussion series theme this summer will be “Detective Fiction in the 20th Century: A Notion of Evil.” Michael Bachem, a professor emeritus of humanities at Miami University in Ohio, will be the facilitator. This program will once again be co-sponsored between Naples Public Library and Casco Public Library. Books on the list to be discussed and the schedule includes: • Wednesday, June 25, from 1:30-3 p.m., at the Casco Public Library, Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “The Inspector Barlach Mysteries: The Judge & His Hangman & Suspicion.”

On Wednesday, July 9, from 1:30-3 p.m., at Naples Public Library, Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Hound of the Baskervilles.” On Wednesday, July 23, from 1:30-3 p.m., at Casco Public Library, Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.”

And finally, on Wednesday, Aug. 6, from 1:30-3 p.m., at Naples Public Library, Dorothy Sayers’ “Strong Poison.”

If the thought of all that reading makes you tired, just pop into the library for a light game of Scrabble on Tuesdays, June 10 and 24, at 7 p.m.

Plant Sale

Are you in the market for some great deals on plants for your garden? Then make a note that on Saturday, May 31, the Songo Garden Club will hold its biannual plant sale on the Naples Village Green. There are more than 650 perennials, herbs and edibles, small shrubs and ornamental grasses to choose from. These include, but are not limited to, an assortment of hosta, columbine, laminum, lilies, bee balm, lupines, sedum, and potentilla. Additionally, garden club members have created an assortment of concrete stepping stones, reasonably priced, that will look great in your gardens.

Come early for the best selection. The hours will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. This biannual plant sale is the club’s only fundraiser. The proceeds are used to help beautify the town of Naples with Christmas wreathes and plantings in a few select locations. It also helps fund the Naples library’s exquisite impatiens baskets that hang from their porch all summer, a field trip for fourth-grade students to the Maine State House and Museum, donations to the food pantries, and other community projects.

Songo Locks Elementary School Principal June Conley is off to Oz, dressed as Dorothy, from the classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” at Songo Lock’s Pride in your School family lunch. Actually, Ms. Conley will be heading off on an adventure as she retires this year from her position.