KENNEBUNK — While the threat of COVID-19 continues, and uncertainty as to when that will change, some events, including a big celebration to mark Kennebunk’s 200th birthday, have been postponed.
Others, such as Kennebunk’s annual May Day Festival, have been canceled, along with the postponement or cancellation of some events planned by the Seacoast Garden Club.
The Kennebunk Bicentennial will go on, just later than originally planned, on Aug. 22
“We’ve waited 200 years to celebrate, and now we’ll need to wait a few extra months,” Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee members wrote on social media.”With things so uncertain, and not knowing what the next months will look like, we thought it best to push our community-wide celebration back to a time when we hope all of us can safely come together to celebrate. While disappointing, we know that this community, which has seen sons and daughters go off to war, dealt with ravaging fires and more, will survive this latest setback and come back stronger than ever.”
The Seacoast Garden Club plans to continue to plant and weed local gardens, including the Monument Garden in Dock Square, beds at Kennebunkport’s Graves Memorial Library and post office, Kennebunk Free Library and Kennebunk Town Hall, and several others, but some events have been postponed or canceled.
Seacoast Garden Club’s Plant and Pie Sale, held annually during Memorial Day weekend, has been canceled “due to COVID-19 state restrictions,”members said. The May Basket project, that featured the delivery of more than 65 floral bouquets to shut-ins and nursing home residents, has been postponed.
The club’s June membership meeting and final luncheon are also canceled. The club, which draws members from Kennebunkport, Kennebunk, Biddeford and Wells, plans to resume meetings and activities in September.
“We are especially sorry that we can’t have the Plant and Pie Sale,” Co-Presidents Elizabeth Grant and Lauren Handler said. “The sale has been a well-attended event for area gardeners as well as the major source of funding for our scholarships.”
Kennebunk Bicentennial Committee members say the Aug. 22 event will be worth the wait.
“Get ready to celebrate not just our first 200 years as a town, but all that we’ve been through and survived — together,” committee members said via a written statement.
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