Heating assistance charity dinner

Due to the high cost of heating fuels, more of our neighbors will need heating assistance this winter season. The New Gloucester Republican Party will host a charity dinner to help residents of New Gloucester pay their energy bills. The dinner will be held at the First Congregational Church of New Gloucester, 19 Gloucester Hill Road, from 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 5.

Patti Mikkelsen can be contacted at mikks@maine.rr.com.

To kick-start this fundraiser, cash and in-kind donations to buy food for a spaghetti dinner are being sought. The New Gloucester GOP is a nonprofit, so your donation would be tax-deductible. A receipt will be provided.

All proceeds and donations not used to buy food and supplies will be given to the New Gloucester Congregational Church and earmarked specifically for New Gloucester residents and heating assistance.

Make checks payable to: New Gloucester Republican Committee with “heating assistance” noted in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to New Gloucester Republican Committee c/o Charles Thurston, 406 Sabbathday Road, New Gloucester, ME 04260. To discuss in-kind donations, call 689-4881 to speak with Karen.

Book donations and sales

Plans are gearing up for a Friends of the New Gloucester Public Library book and bake sale. Book drop-off dates are 2-4 p.m. Nov. 2, at the library, 379 Intervale Road, and from 8 a.m.-noon Nov. 5, at the New Gloucester Community Building, 381 Intervale Road.

Save Sunday, Nov. 6, as the date for the book and bake sale in the New Gloucester Community Building. Stay tuned for the time.

Instant access Shaker workshops

Brother Arnold, pictured here in 2021 in the kitchen at Shaker Village, teaches viewers how to make Shaker Apple Pie and Dutch Apple Pie in a newly available video. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village is offering a new option for some of their workshops: instant access. Registrants can immediately receive the video link for their workshop and, if applicable, a kit will be mailed to them.

The current selection of videos includes “The Shaker Kitchen: Sister Elizabeth’s Biscuits 3 Ways with Brother Arnold,” which is the first in a series of The Shaker Kitchen workshops. For $20, each registrant will receive a link and a password for the 20-minute video of Brother Arnold baking these three recipes straight through, followed by a recording of the virtual workshop Zoom Q&A with Brother Arnold from August 2021.

With “The Shaker Kitchen with Brother Arnold: Shaker Apple Pie & Dutch Apple Pie,” registrants will receive a link and a password for the 30-minute video of Brother Arnold baking these two recipes straight through, step by step. The cost is $20.

Also, fiber artist Betsy Leslie, a New Gloucester resident, sheep farmer and friend of Shaker Village, will lead viewers virtually in creating a needle-felted wool sheep sculpture. A link to the 1.5-hour video and password will be emailed to each registrant instantly upon a $65 purchase. Registrants will be mailed a full kit of supplies within two business days.

Carolyn Kemp will take registrants step-by-step to create a traditional gathering basket to collect cut flowers and herbs from the garden. A link to the 1.5-hour video and password will be emailed to registrants instantly upon a $70 purchase. Registrants will be mailed a full kit of supplies for the basket material along with an illustrated pattern. Kits will ship in mid-October. Go to maineshakers.com/workshops to register.

Shaker apples are ready

Honey crisp, MacIntosh, and Cortland apples are available at the Shaker Store, 707 Shaker Road, open Saturdays only from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (closed for lunch at noon) through November.

Patti Mikkelsen can be contacted at mikks@maine.rr.com.