Celebrating Freedom in Standish

Hundreds of people gathered under gorgeous skies June 26-28 in all three villages that make up the town of Standish to celebrate this year’s theme of Celebrating Freedom at the Standish Summer Spectacular.

Thursday night, June 26th, kicked the annual event off with the Taste of Maine fundraiser at the Standish boat launch. The Taste of Maine is a food-sampling event, where you pay $5 for 10 sampling tickets, then get to pick and choose which local food/beverage vendors you would like to sample. The most unique local food that was offered was barbecued rabbit tacos, prepared by Pearson’s Cafe at Saint Joseph’s College.

All of the vendors at the Taste of Maine donate both their time and their product, as the event is a fundraiser. This year’s vendors were Sweet Relief Farm, Pearson’s Cafe, Field of Zion, Galaxie Salsa, Cap’n Eli’s Soda, TJ’s Sandwich Shop, Standish Kiwanis, Standish Watchdog Group, Standish House of Pizza, Papa’s Ice Cream, Portland Water District, Randall Orchards, Mr Bagel, The Village Donut Shop and Bakers and the Gorham Grind.

This year’s Taste of Maine event was the best attended to date and $1,137 was raised for the American Legion Post 128, who was chosen as this year’s Spotlight Organization in keeping with the theme of Celebrating Freedom. The evening was made complete through fabulous, danceable oldies music provided by The Generation Gap.

Friday night, June 27th, the fun continued at Kiwanis Beach for the annual Beach Boogie. Each year, Kiwanis opens their gates for free after 6 p.m. for this event. Festivities started with fantastic music provided by Chandler’s Band, the nation’s second oldest continuously performing band. Chandler’s Band has been sponsored for years by the American Legion Post 128. As always, Flamin’ Raymin and Sizzlin’ Suzzin heated up the Beach Boogie with their high energy, interactive family performance, and the night was capped off by amazing fireworks, set off by Central Maine Pyrotechnics, and sponsored each year by the town of Standish.

Saturday, the 28th, was packed with sunshine, smiles and several very successful events. The pancake breakfast, sponsored for the third time by Hannaford, raised $514 for the Standish Congregational Church. From 8 a.m.-noon the Community Marketplace was open in the George E. Jack courtyard, where dozens of local business and organizations gathered to share the local products and services they offer. The entertainment this year was provided by Shay’s Rebellion; they were phenomenal.

The Standish Summer Spectacular’s annual parade was led by Grand Marshal Harold Warren, who was chosen in keeping with this year’s theme of Celebrating Freedom, and by Elizabeth “Betty” Edwards, 98, Standish’s current Boston Post Cane holder. The parade continues to grow each year and lasted nearly an hour. Each year there is a float contest, where five $100 cash prizes are awarded for the best floats in five different categories. This year’s winners were Alton Gammon, of Limington, for Most Creative for his Christmas in June float; Standish Recreation Summer Camp for Best Pop Culture; Bonny Eagle Robotics (BERT 133) for Most Entertaining; local business Motherload, owned by Jeff Dieumegard, for Best Depiction of Life in Maine and the McDonald family, which won for Best Depiction of “Celebrating Freedom” with their Gettysburg Address float.

The three-day event wrapped up Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a Concert in the Park provided by big band jazz sounds of the Saco River Jazz Ensemble at the Steep Falls Village Gazebo, where the Steep Falls Farmers Market was still in full swing.

The Standish Summer Spectacular Committee would like to express our gratitude to this year’s Gold and Silver Sponsors; without their support this event would not be possible.

2014 Gold Sponsors are American Legion Post 128, Family Dental Health, Papa’s Ice Cream, Pit Stop Fuels, Portland Water District, Randall Orchards, Sebago Signworks (new), Standish Family Practice, Standish House of Pizza, Standish Recreation Committee, Standish Watchdog Group (new), Subway, and Wescott & Sons. Silver Sponsors this year were Family & Friends Campground, Hannaford and Jamison Energy (new).

To see all the photos from this year’s events, please visit Standish Summer Spectacular on Facebook, or www.standishsummerspectacular.com. If you are interested in being involved next year, it’s never too early to get on board. Please email lbrooks@standish.org to get added to the mailing list.

Steep Falls Soup Kitchen

The Steep Falls Baptist Church will be holding a soup kitchen every Wednesday beginning on July 9, from 5-6:30 p.m. All are welcome to come and enjoy some good food and good company. For more information, please contact Sandra Franklyn at 787-4773 or email rsfranklyn@yahoo.com.

Accepting Applications

The appointments committee of the Standish Town Council is accepting applications for the following boards or committees; Appeals Board, Budget Committee, Historic Preservation Commission, MSAD 6 Board of Directors, Planning Board, Public Safety Committee, Recycling Committee and the Town Council. The Town Council can appoint to these boards or committees until the next annual municipal election. Interested persons can contact Mary Chapman at 642-4678 for more information or you can mail your applications to Town of Standish Appointments Committee, C/O Town Clerk, 175 Northeast Road, Standish, ME 04084.