Town meeting ?and elections

Mark your calendars for this year’s Annual Town Meeting which will be held on Tuesday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at the Jordan-Small Middle School. Copies of the warrant articles can be found at the town office or on the town’s website at www.raymondmaine.org. Municipal elections will be held on Tuesday, June 14, from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Please take time to attend the town meeting and to vote; it is a privilege.

Learn to swim

Despite the dreary weather of late, summer is rapidly approaching, and it will not be long before the Raymond Recreation’s “Every Child a Swimmer” swim program begins. This is an excellent program for swimmers 5 years old and older. Half-hour lessons are held Monday through Friday from July 5-29 at Crescent Beach and the cost for the program is $25 per child. There will also be a Red Cross Emergency Water Safety course for anyone in seventh grade or older and offers good orientation for those interested in training to become a lifeguard.

Red Cross-certified water safety instructor Sarah Knights is returning for her third summer to help make your children better swimmers. Sarah will be assisted by Tucker Olsen, a Red Cross-certified lifeguard.

Registration will be held on Wednesday, June 1, from 5-7 p.m. at the Jordan-Small Middle School. For more information, please go to www.raymondmaine.org click on Community Resources and click on Raymond Recreation Association/Swimming.

Career day

Jordan-Small Middle School will be holding its annual Career Day on Monday, June 20, and they are looking for people who are willing to share information with the students about their job, their career path and the training they have had in preparation for their work. This is a fun day for our students and a variety of careers make for a more enlightening learning opportunity. If you are willing to share your career, please contact Guidance Counselor Lynne-Eve Davis at ldavis@rsu14.org or 655-4743.

Golfing for ?a good cause

Camp Sunshine is excited to host its 17th Annual Golf Tournament on June 13, which will be held on the beautiful course at Point Sebago Resort in Casco. There is still some room for a few more teams, so anyone interested in joining in a day of fun and golf is encouraged to register by downloading a registration form at www.campsunshinegolf.org. Single players are also encouraged to register as you can be matched with others to make full teams. For further information about the tournament or if you are interested in donating a prize for the silent auction, please contact Ashley Riley at the Camp Sunshine office at 655-3800.

Camp Sunshine is a year-round retreat that provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of a child’s illness. They need and appreciate our support.

Strawberry festival

Save the date for the Hawthorne Community Association’s Annual Strawberry Festival, which will be held on Saturday, June 25 at the Hawthorne House on the Cape Road. The event will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a historical talk followed by dessert and social from 7-9 p.m.

This year, the festival will feature Steven Rogers, Ph.D., who will speak about Hawthorne’s early visits to Maine, his time at Bowdoin College, and other related topics. Dr. Rogers recently retired as senior historian at the Department of Justice’s war crimes and human rights office in Washington, D.C. and now divides his time between Maryland, Florida and Maine. He has authored two books and many essays and articles on historical and literary topics and has recently lectured at the Hawthorne Society in Massachusetts.

Come enjoy this interesting talk and delicious homemade strawberry shortcake. Please make your reservations before June 18 by e-mailing jmanoush@fairpoint.net or calling 655-7660. There is a suggested donation of $5 per adult or $3 for children 8 and under and includes beverages.

Help the arts

Is your child already a student or about to attend Windham High School? Is he or she interested in the performing arts or the technology that goes with it? If so, you are invited to join the Windham-Raymond Performing Arts Alliance which supports all performing arts in the district with emphasis on the high school level. WRPAA’s efforts support the theater, band, orchestra, vocal performances, and competitions and like so many other groups, their objectives are accomplished through fund-raising efforts throughout the year.

The group meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. and invites you to attend the next meeting on June 1 to get to know the group and learn how you can help. For more information, please call Pat Hutchinson at 662-2919 or 831-0116.

Beach to Beacon slots available

As a past event beneficiary, Camp Sunshine has been allotted 25 bibs for this year’s TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 6, on the beautiful and challenging course in Cape Elizabeth. Once again, this world-class event sold out in just minutes and thousands of runners will be participating. Did you miss out but still want to run? If so, you can do so by raising a minimum of $250 for Camp Sunshine in exchange for one of their 25 spots in this prestigious race. Why not go the distance for Camp Sunshine? These entries are going fast, so if interested please contact Michael Smith at 655-3800 immediately to reserve your spot on Team Sunshine.

Dinner and movie

This month’s free community meal, hosted by Christ Chapel on 37 Northern Pines Road on Crescent Lake, will be followed by a family-friendly movie and held on Saturday, May 28 from 4:30-6 p.m. The movie will be shown immediately following the meal. The menu will consist of chicken cacciatore, salad, casseroles and desserts. The meal and movie are free of charge and open to the surrounding communities. For more information, please contact Tammy Gisel at 655-5058.