Maine Native American Summer Market

The seventh annual festival of some of Maine’s finest, award-winning Native American artists will be held at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

More than 40 members of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseet tribes will demonstrate important, traditional Wabanaki art forms including basket-making, woodcarving, bark etching, doll making, beadwork and jewelry, in addition to featured performances of drumming, dancing and storytelling.

High-quality, handmade crafts will be available for sale. This is the southernmost gathering of Wabanaki artists in the state of Maine, providing a rare opportunity to learn about and experience Maine’s Native American culture. Admission is free, and the event will be held rain or shine. Barbecue lunch plates will be available for purchase. For more information, go to www.maineshakers.com or call 926-4597.

Reception Invitation

All are invited to a reception honoring Town of New Gloucester staff member Barbara Seaver. Seaver has served our community as Deputy Clerk, Deputy Tax Collector and Registrar of Voters for more than 30 years. She plans to retire on Friday, Sept. 4.

A reception to mark this special occasion will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 5-8 p.m., at Amvets Post 6, 1095 Lewiston Road, New Gloucester. Light refreshments will be served.

Veterans Fundraiser Run

Join in on the fun at a Veterans Fundraiser Run, Sunday, Sept. 13, headquartered at the Pineland Farms Outdoor Center, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester. Competitors can choose a 5K, 5-mile, or Kids Fun Run. Walkers are welcome.

The course is a challenging blend of paved roads, grassy trails and rolling hills that wind throughout the Pineland Farms’ property. The check-in time for all competitors is 7:30 a.m. The Kids Fun Run will be held in the field at 8:50 a.m., and the 5K and 5-mile races have a mass start at 9 a.m.

Entry fees are $20 for the 5K and $25 for the 5-mile until Sunday, Sept. 6; add a $5 late fee for entries after that date. All proceeds will benefit Veterans Adaptive Sports and Training (VAST) program at Pineland Farms. There will be food, prizes and fun. Free T-shirts will be given to 5K and 5-mile participants registering prior to Sunday, Aug. 30. Register at https://www.raceit.com/Register/?event=33388. Call Kristina at 310-8694 for more information.

Hike for Ike

Sixteen-year-old New Gloucester resident Isaac Blake lives with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), and he is taking steps to fight this disease. He invites people to donate to his ‘Hike for Ike’ team and/or join the team in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on Sunday, Sept. 13, at Thornton Academy in Saco.

The Blake family said, “The challenge we’ve set ourselves – to raise money for JDRF and to walk – is modest compared to the daily challenges of life with T1D, which involves a 24/7, unrelenting cycle of blood sugar testing and insulin injections to manage the disease. We are walking with JDRF to help this organization fund research that will progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives.”

To donate or join the team, go to walk.jdrf.org, enter your zip code, click on Saco, ME, and search for the Hike for Ike team.

School Supply Drive for Homeless Teens

The Board of Missions of the New Gloucester First Congregational Church is sponsoring an effort to collect school-related products for homeless teens of the Greater Lewiston area. Items most needed include backpacks, gift cards to area retail stores, flash drives, loose leaf binders and paper, spiral notebooks, highlighters, book cover material, pencils, pens, rulers, markers, colored pencils, tissues, and small containers of hand sanitizer.

You are asked to purchase some of the above items while you are shopping and place them in the “school” box in the church office foyer on Sunday or Tuesday through Friday mornings. The drop-off is located at the green door between the two old buildings at 19 Gloucester Hill Road. Collections will end in mid-September.

The homeless teen program is run under the auspices of Lewiston High School. See www.ngucc.org or call 926-3260 for more information.

Former Chief of the Penobscot Nation, Barry Dana, and his wife Lori, display some of his traditional etched Wabanaki birch bark vessels. The seventh annual Maine Native American Summer Market is set to take place at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village on Saturday, Aug. 22, where a tent full of Wabanaki handmade crafts will be available for sale.Courtesy photo