Harvest Festival with Hayrides

Put on your Halloween costume and join in on an afternoon full of farm and harvest activities at Pineland Farms from 2-8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25. Ongoing activities consist of tractors to explore, a hay bale maze, leaf wreath and print making, leaf house, farm photo booth, pumpkin ring toss, and face painting. Scheduled activities include an apple cider press demonstration 2:20-3:20 p.m., brush a bunny 2:40-3:40 p.m., milk a cow 3-4 p.m., harvest hayride that is fun, not scary 4-5 p.m. (arrive 30 minutes early), free movie “It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” 6:30 p.m., Halloween hayride that is fun and scary 7-8 p.m. (arrive 30 minutes early). Times are subject to change.

The festival is open to all ages for a cost of $5 per person. Buy tickets at The Market and Welcome Center, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester. For more information, call 650-3031 or email education@PinelandFarms.org.

Friends’ of the Shakers Fall Work Day

The Friends of the Shakers welcome the public to join them at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, for a fall work day, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25. If you’ve ever been curious about what the Friends of the Shakers do, come see for yourself. Lend a hand doing chores for an hour, or for the day, to help the Shaker community and museum by readying the village for winter. Some of the tasks consist of raking, sweeping, cleaning, picking pumpkins, garden weeding, cutting brush and stacking wood.

Lunch will be provided, but please bring a side dish, salad or dessert to share. All ages are welcome. Registration is required, so call Jamie at 521-4594 to sign up.

Harvest Dinner and Lantern Parade

On Thursday, Oct. 30, Wayfinder Schools’ Opportunity Farm Campus, 215 Gloucester Hill Road, New Gloucester, will host its first annual Harvest Dinner and Paper Lantern Parade from 4-7 p.m. Highlights include a harvest supper with produce from the Opportunity Farm gardens, music, field games, a marshmallow roast and paper lantern parade. Costumes are encouraged. This event is free and family friendly, donations are welcomed. All donors will receive a paper lantern designed by one of their students.

Trunks for Treats Halloween Fun

Come to a Halloween community gathering on Friday, Oct. 31, from 6-9 p.m. in the parking lot of the Amvets Hall, Route 100, New Gloucester. Decorate your pick-up truck’s tailgate or your car’s trunk, and bring a bowl of candy. The event is for all ages – be creative, but not too scary.

The cost is $8 per vehicle. To guarantee a spot, send a non-refundable check or money order, payable to Amvets Post 6, to Amvets Post 6, P.O. Box 301, New Gloucester, ME 04260. Note ‘NG-Trunks’ in the memo line. A donation bucket for the New Gloucester Veterans’ Monument will be available. The event will be held inside the hall, if raining. Call George or Sandra Hinckley at 739-0898 for more information.

MSAD 15 Public Hearing

A public hearing, hosted by the MSAD 15 school board, will be held from 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School Gymnasium, 31 Libby Hill Road, Gray. Discussion will center around two upcoming bond referendum questions, totaling $7.3 million. The questions and supporting information can be found at www.msad15.org. Voting on the referendum questions will occur at the Tuesday, Nov. 4, general election.

Election and Absentee Voting

The next election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the New Gloucester Fire Station at 611 Lewiston Road, New Gloucester, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ballots will consist of state referendum questions, two school bond referendum questions, and candidates for state and national offices.

Absentee ballots are available at Town Hall during regular office hours, Mondays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Fridays 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Either a voter can call the town office for an absentee ballot application, or one could be printed from the town website: www.newgloucester.com to be mailed back or hand-delivered to the town office. Another option is to vote in person at Town Hall prior to the election during regular office hours. The last day to vote absentee is Thursday, Oct. 30. If you have any questions, please call 926-4126 ext. 1, or email bseaver@newgloucester.com.

Johanna Flath, left, of New Gloucester and Echo Lowell of Sweden, Maine, enjoy their taste test of Woodman’s Classic Hard Cider, a new product made of fermented apple juice and yeast. Their sons are Zev, 3, and Sy, 5. Cider master Noah Fralich pours samples inside his newly-built cider house at the grand opening held Saturday, Oct. 11. Fralich said that his naturally gluten-free beverage will be available for purchase at the New Gloucester Village Store and Brunswick Winter Market.