Free Beer Tasting

Those 21 and older are welcome to join in on a free beer tasting at The Market and Welcome Center at Pineland Farms, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester, Friday, May 29, from 3-6 p.m. Two of Maine’s newest breweries, Banded Horn Brewing Co. of Biddeford and Funky Bow Beer Co. of Lyman, will be featured.

Pancake Breakfast

Amvets Lunn-Hunnewell Post 6 is sponsoring a pancake breakfast at its hall located at 1095 Lewiston Road, New Gloucester, from 6-10 a.m., Saturday, May 30. The menu includes pancakes, toast, sausage and bacon. The cost is $6 a plate for adults, $4 for children under 10. Call George Hinckley at 739-0898 for more information.

New Shaker Herbal Workshop

Herb Garden Design is a new herbal workshop offered at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, on Saturday, June 6, from 10 a.m.-noon.

In the early 1800s, the Shakers managed extensive terraced gardens that extended from their village center down to the shores of Sabbathday Lake. Crops were matched to the most suitable and ideal conditions. Learn the time-tested cultivation, harvest and use of popular culinary and medicinal herbs while planning the custom design of your own herb garden. Participants will learn about color, texture, height, companion planting and soil composition.

Pre-registration is required, and the registration fee is $40. A mail-in form can be found at www.maineshakers.com. Alternatively, registrants can sign up and pay the fee online through their website. For more information, call 926-4597 or email usshakers@aol.com.

Rooting for Democracy Plant Sale

The eighth annual “Rooting for Democracy” plant sale, hosted by the New Gloucester Democratic Committee, will be held on Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m.-noon, at Lil’ Mart, Route 100, New Gloucester. Plants of all varieties including perennials, annuals, house plants, vegetables and herbs from committee members’ personal gardens will be offered at bargain prices. Arrive early for the best selection. The rain date is Saturday, June 13.

A raffle to win a $50 Pinetree Garden Seeds gift certificate is being held in conjunction with the plant sale. Tickets cost $3 each, or two tickets for $5. The drawing will be held at noon that day; you need not be present to win. For more information, or to donate plants, contact Penny Hilton at 926-4004.

Bluezberry Jam

Next up at the New Gloucester Village Coffee House is the fun frolic that is Bluezberry Jam, an eclectic mix of blues, jazz, rhythm and jam cooked up by five entertaining folks from Portland.

The concert is set to take place Saturday, June 6, 7:30 p.m., at the Vestry Community Room of the First Congregational Church, 19 Gloucester Hill Road, New Gloucester. Admission at the door is $10. Coffee and tea are free, while snacks are available for a small donation. This is the final Village Coffee House of the season. Call the church office at 926-3260 for more information.

Learn to Fish Day

On Sunday, May 31, the Gray-New Gloucester Optimist Club will be holding its 11th annual Youth Learn to Fish Day at the big pond on the Pineland Farms Campus, Route 231, New Gloucester. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon and is free of charge.

Families with children ages 4-12 are invited to learn to fish together. Volunteer instructors will be on hand to assist at the pond, which is stocked with brook trout. There will be face painting, a casting competition, raffle, light refreshments, and free T-shirts for the first 200 participating children. All are encouraged to bring their own equipment, but loaner gear and tackle will be available for those without fishing gear.

Town Election

Polls will be open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Tuesday, June 9, for the town election, which will be held at the New Gloucester Fire Station, 611 Lewiston Road.

There are two MSAD 15 referendum questions. Question 1 is a budget validation vote. Question 2 pertains to funding county sheriff services for the 2015-2016 school year.

There are two openings on the New Gloucester Board of Selectmen, two openings on the MSAD 15 Board of Directors, and one opening on the New Gloucester Water District Board of Trustees. Note that only citizens who reside within the town’s water district may vote for water board candidates.

Click on the “Elections” sidebar at www.newgloucester.com to view sample ballots and obtain an application for an absentee ballot.

Olivia Rottari is an EMT with New Gloucester Fire Rescue with a specialty in pet car safety. As a demonstration at the May 20 EMS Open House, Rottari showed how to hook up her 6-year-old dog, Coffee, in the back seat of a vehicle while outfitted in a Sleepypod Clickit dog safety harness. It’s three-point system helps keep a dog secured in a car seat during impact.Photo by Patti Mikkelsen