Girl Scout Festival

The Girl Scouts of Maine announces that they will hold a Girl Scout Festival at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 11-2 p.m.

The festival is open to girls in grades kindergarten through fifth grade (who are not currently in a Girl Scout troop) and their families. The event will showcase some of the many great activities Girl Scouts of Maine offers and provide a fun Saturday afternoon outing.

Participants will discover the park and visit with the wildlife, while checking out a variety of activities. They’ll learn how to make SWAPS, join in a sing-a-long, create a fun fall craft, explore animal habitats and homes, and make a birdfeeder to take home.

Festival tickets can be purchased at the Maine Wildlife Park. Festival guests should mention Girl Scouts and they will receive the discounted rate of $3.50 a person. Children under 3 years of age enter for free. Plus, the first 50 girls in grades K-5 will receive a free pass to come back to the park.

In the case of extreme weather, the festival will be moved to the following day, Sunday, Oct. 26; a message will be posted on the Park’s voicemail at 207-657-4977.

For more information about the Girl Scout Festival, please contact program manager, Kirstin Powell at 772-1177 or kpowell@gsmaine.org. For general information about Girl Scouts of Maine or to join Girl Scouts, call 888-922-4763 or visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org.

Harvest Meal

A public supper featuring baked beans, casseroles, salads, beverages and home made breads and desserts will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, Route 115, in Gray. Cost of meal for adults is $8, children under 12 is $4. The hall is handicapped accessible.

Please contact 657-4279, day of supper 657-3279 if you have any questions.

Pumpkin Run

The second annual Libby Hill Pumpkin Run/Walk to benefit the Gray Food Pantry will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 4 p.m. at Libby Hill in Gray. Entry fee is free. Costumes welcome. Post-run or walk there will be apple cider, orchard doughnuts, and apples. No pre-registration needed. Please bring at least one non-perishable food item to benefit Gray Food Pantry. Call 207-370-0480 or www.libbyhill.org if more information is needed.

The Time of Giving

Applications for Thanksgiving assistance are now available and completed forms are due back no later than Monday, Nov. 3. The forms recently were distributed in the elementary school totes and can also be picked up as well as be dropped off at the elementary schools, the Gray Public Library and both Gray and New Gloucester Town Halls in the designated CCGNG boxes.

Sponsors are so important as they ‘adopt’ a family/individual and provide ‘all the fixings for a holiday meal.” Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor for Thanksgiving can contact Kathy George at kgeorge2@maine.rr.com and for Christmas contact Mike Marcotte at gngcaring@gmail.com.

Monetary donations are also needed and appreciated. Donations can be sent to CCGNG, PO Box 1244, Gray, ME 04039. For more information or questions, contact Christina Foster at 233-0828.

The CCGNG is a volunteer group organized in 2007 to provide holiday assistance to individuals, senior citizens and families in the towns of Gray and New Gloucester in the form of Thanksgiving food baskets, Christmas food baskets and gifts for school-aged children 18 and under.

Fall Book Sale

A book sale will be held starting on Friday, Oct. 24, with an Early Bird Sale (with $5 per person fee), from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Gray Public Library. The regular book sale will be free and open to the public on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Call the Circulation Desk at 657-4110 or email graylib@gray.lib.me.us if you have any questions.

Design Competition

The Gray Bike-Ped Committee is holding a logo design competition for the proposed Village Area Loop Trail, a series of connected paths that will allow people to travel around the village more safely and more enjoyably, by foot or by bike.

A logo is needed that will be used on the signs that will guide people around the loop. Entries should be of a simple design that would be legible at some distance.

The designer will be recognized on the town website and in news releases. The winning entry will become the property of the town of Gray. Submit VALT designs between Oct. 1 and Nov. 7 (5 p.m.) to: Dean Bennett, Town of Gray Department of Recreation, Gray Town Hall, 24 Main St., Gray, ME 04039. For more information www.graymaine.org.

Fall Fun

The Gray Recreation Department’s annual Halloween Party will be Sunday, Oct. 26, from 4-7 p.m. View 500 lit jack-o-lanterns in Pennell Park. Help raise funds for the Scholarship Fund by duct-taping Dean Bennett, Recreation Director, to the wall for $1 per strip.

There will be a Haunted Basketball Court, carnival games and craft tables in the gym. Concessions are available but no costume contest this year.

Tsukroff Photography will be on hand to capture all of the special memories of your child(ren). Fee charged.

No vehicle access will be allowed, but parking will be available at the American Legion Hall. Free hayrides provided by Stillbrook Acres for those who don’t want to walk.

Mad Science at Russell School – Take a bite out of science, Thursdays, Oct. 30 to Dec. 11 for grades K-4. Fee: $78.25. To register go to grayrec.com. For more info go to madscience.org/maine.

Family Open Volleyball to be on Wednesdays at Newbegin. Starting Oct. 22, 5:45-7 p.m., $2 per person, must be 12 years of age.

Men’s Over 30 Basketball League – Sundays starting Oct. 26 at Newbegin. This will be a 4-on-4 League, one board official, $400 per team, seven regular season games with single elimination play-off. Times: 9, 10 and 11 a.m.

Meet the Candidates

On Thursday, Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m., come to the library on Hancock Street to meet Gray candidates running in the November elections. Call the Gray Public Library for details, 657-4110.

Election Day

Polls are open in Gray Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and all voting takes place at Newbegin Gymnasium at the Henry Pennell Town Hall Complex on Main Street.

Absentee voting will continue through Oct. 30 at Town Hall. Only voters with special qualifying circumstances will be able to request an absentee ballot between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3.