GORHAM, ME — North Gorham Public Library will be hosting its annual Holiday Craft & Book Fair on Saturday, December 7, from 9 to 2. Mark your Calendar!

This year, we’re offering a little more than usual and a few changes. First, we’re taking advantage of all the available space in our corner of North Gorham. The Library, Fire Department, and United Church of Christ will all buzz with activity.

The book sale will be in the Fire Department Community Room to the left of our front door. In the library, to the right of the front door, we’ll sell raffle tickets for a beautiful quilt, several gift certificates to local businesses and establishments, and a few other items.

The library will also be offering free child care. Leave your children in the capable hands of Paula Boyce, who runs our weekly Story Hour, Becky Steenburg, who fills in when Paula is away, and St. Joseph’s College student and library volunteer Ava Moffet. They’ll read stories and do crafts with the kids while you shop, shop, shop!

We are also hosting two mini estate sales in the library. Collections from two separate estates — Ice Yarns for knitting enthusiasts and costume jewelry. Every penny raised from the sales will go to North Gorham Public Library.

The craft fair will be next door in the church’s community room. The extra room will allow us to include more vendors. The Church Guild will also be there with their annual Holiday Bake Sale. Delicious homemade goodies.

We’ve been working hard to get everything set up. We hope you’ll take the time to visit all three locations, which are all accessible.  Our volunteers will help point the way for you and answer any questions.

See you Saturday, December 7 from 9 am to 2 pm!

GORHAM, ME — The Cherry Hill Dryland Dash is back! Save the date! Saturday December 7 at 7AM!

This one day race will feature the same 2.2 mile course as last year. Classes will include canicross, 1 & 2 dog bike, 1 & 2 dog scooter, fun run, and the relay. More info to come!

Cherry Hill Rd, Gorham, ME 04038, United States

GORHAM, ME — Paul Doiron will read from his crime novel series featuring Maine game warden Mike Bowditch, answer questions, and sign books, which will be available for purchase from The Bookworm at the event.

This reading is open to the public and free of charge

GORHAM, ME — Will they do it? Can a theatre ensemble possibly perform thirty plays in under an hour?! Join the USM Department of Theatre for the high-octane, interactive theatre experience that is Greg Allen’s 30 Neo-Futurist Plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes), one of Chicago’s longest-running theatre phenomena.

Each night audiences receive a menu of play titles that run the gamut between funny, serious, political, poignant, and abstract. Part theatre, part sporting event, each night is different as the audience determines the order and cheers on the cast to make it past the finish line before the buzzer sounds.

USM Theatre’s Associate Professor, Rachel Price Cooper, directs the USM Department of Theatre’s first-year cohort in this play that truly has something for everyone. “There is a lot of audience participation in that everyone receives a menu of all the plays on their way in and gets to yell out which ones they want to see”, she says. “It’s a kind of choose-your-own-adventure theatre experience. It’s a great one to take your friend to who thinks they don’t like live theatre. It is also great for those of us (myself included) who don’t have the longest attention span. This will keep you interested, start to finish. You’ll laugh, you’ll think, and can come back a second time and have another totally new experience.”

30 Neo-Futurist Plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 plays in 60 minutes)

By Greg Allen

Directed by Rachel Price Cooper

December 5-8, 2024

Russell Hall, USM Gorham Campus

Performances

December 5th at 7pm

December 6th at 7pm

December 7th at 7pm

December 8th at 2pm

Location

Russell Hall Stage, USM Gorham Campus

Tickets

Online: https://usm.maine.edu/department-theatre/box-office-tickets Box Office: 207-780-5151

$18 for Adults

$14 for USM Faculty, Staff & Students

$12 for Seniors

$8 for Students/Youth

Pay-What-You-Can on Thursday, December 5th.

Content Advisory

This show contains the use of strobe and flashing lights; profanity, depictions of alcohol consumption, violence; brief references to suicide.

Appropriate for ages 14 and up.

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program, contact Janice Gardner at (207)780-5289 or janice.gardner@maine.edu. Hearing impaired: call USM’s telex / TDD number (207)780-5646.

Students Jamie Henderson, Cece Flint, Ethan Mann in a recent rehearsal.  Photo by Kat Moraros Photography.

GORHAM, ME — Holiday Closure Notice

The Gorham Municipal Center, Administrative Offices, Recreation Office, Baxter Memorial Library and Public Works will be closed on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th in observance of Thanksgiving.

Weekend Events Hosted by Gorham Recreation

On Saturday, November 30th, Gorham Recreation invites everyone to get outside for their annual Burn Off the Turkey 5k Run/Walk around Robie Park starting at 9am. To register or learn more, visit Gorham Recreation’s website.

Join Gorham Recreation again on Sunday, December 1st for their annual Light Parade and Tree Lighting at Robie Park, with festivities starting at 2:30pm. Folks can watch the parade along Route 25 and South Street, and enjoy festivities at the Gazebo on the Municipal Center Lawn (adjacent to Baxter Memorial Library at 71 South Street), including reindeer games and holiday treats! To register for the parade, please email Community Recreation & Events Manager Zachary Lambert at zlambert@gorham.me.us with your name, company name (if applicable), and vehicle type that will be in the parade. Be sure to tune your radio to the University of Southern Maine’s station WMPG 90.9 for Christmas music!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

BUXTON, ME — Try our delicious Haddock Supper Buffet – Saturday, November 30, 2024 – 5:00 pm at Living Waters Church, Parker Farm Road, Buxton. Suggested donation: $10 Adult, $5 Child, $20 Family.

Please note: We will offer the option of takeout containers for those who do not want to come inside for seating.

Wearing of face masks for those who wish is optional.

Hand sanitizer is available for those who wish to use it.

GORHAM, ME — Join us on December 1st for our annual Light Parade & Tree Lighting!

Watch the parade along route Rt.25 & South St and/or enjoy our festivities at the Gazebo at the Municipal Center including reindeer games and holiday treats! Fun and games start at 2:30pm!

Line up for parade begins at Noonan’s at 3:30pm

Parade Leaves at approximately 4:30 pm from Noonan’s and arrives Robie Park at approximately 5:00pm

Light parade route: Main Street/Rt 25 to South St. to Morrill Ave. to Ball Park Road around Robie Park and High School.

Ball Park Road will be closed to traffic from 4:15 until 6:00pm. Please use Access Rd.

To Register for the Parade please send an email to Zachary Lambert at zlambert@gorham.me.us with you name, company name, and what vehicle type you will have in the parade

GORHAM, ME — Looking to stay active and connected with nature as the year winds down? Join us for a walk on December 11^th | 10-11:30am at Little River Preserve in Gorham. Little River Preserve consists of over 28 acres of wooded wildlife area bordering the Little River. Paths and bridges allow a scenic walk through the woods and along the river. Each of the trails wind through hemlock and aspen forests, complete with a wide variety of wildflowers in the springtime. The trail is mostly flat with some hilly sections at the beginning.

PORTLAND, ME — It’s been 30 years since the iconic show FRIENDS first aired, and this November, the American Red Cross is asking donors to gather their friends and be there for patients by making a blood or platelet donation.

Festive activities and busy calendars this time of year can disrupt normal routines, leading to a drop in blood donation appointments. Eligible individuals are encouraged to make donating blood a priority, especially those with type O blood and those giving platelets.

To celebrate 30 years of FRIENDS, all who come to give Nov. 18-Dec. 8 will receive two pairs of custom FRIENDS + Red Cross socks, while supplies last, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products. Donors can keep a pair and gift a pair! For more details, visit RedCrossBlood.org/Friends.

In the spirit of FRIENDSgiving, donors can give with meaning. Those wishing to help patients make memories this holiday season can book a blood or platelet donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming blood donation opportunities Nov. 21-30:

Cumberland

Brunswick

11/27/2024: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Elks Lodge, 179 Park Row

11/29/2024: 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., American Legion Post 20, 1 Columbus Drive

Falmouth

11/29/2024: 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., The Episcopal Church of St. Mary, 43 Foreside Rd

Freeport

11/25/2024: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Freeport – Old Town Hall Building, 5 Park Street

Gorham

11/21/2024: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., Cressey Road Christian Church, 81 Cressey Road

Harrison

11/30/2024: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., United Parish Congregational Church of Harrison and N. Bridgton, 77 Main Street

North Yarmouth

11/22/2024: 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Wescustogo Hall and Community Center, 120 Memorial Hwy

Portland

11/22/2024: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, 1342 Congress St

11/26/2024: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Maine Medical Dana Center, 22 Bramhall Street

Scarborough

11/26/2024: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Saint Maximilian Church, 150 Black Point Rd

South Portland

11/26/2024: 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., South Portland Community Center, 21 Nelson Road

Westbrook

11/22/2024: 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Westbrook Community Center, 426 Bridge Street

Yarmouth

11/29/2024: 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Saint Bartholomews Episcopal Church, 396 Gilman Road

GORHAM, ME — The University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre, in collaboration with the Osher Opera Theatre and the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra, present the first opera on the Russell Hall mainstage in over five years, Puccini’s beloved Gianna Schicchi, November 21st-24th.

Gianni Schicchi tells the story of a beloved family mourning the loss of Buoso Donati. That is, until they learn the contents of his last will and testament.  When it is revealed that Donati has left his fortune to the local monastery, the family employs Gianni Schicchi to help them update the document – post-mortem. Based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, the opera boasts one of the most beloved arias of all time, O mio babbino caro. Sung in Italian, with English supertitles, the one-act opera is sure to delight.

Directed by Associate Professor and Artistic Director of the Osher Opera Theatre, Dr. Malinda Haslett, this production will mark the return of a fully-produced opera on the Russell Hall stage since before the pandemic. Dr. Robert Lehmann, Conductor and Artistic Coordinator of the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra and Artist Faculty at the Osher School of Music, conducts.

For many of the student performers and musicians, this is the first time they’ve been a part of a mainstage opera production. Dr. Haslett says the students have met this challenge full-on with skill and determination, “Musically and professionally, they have learned a complicated score that some doubted they could learn. They have learned to problem-solve in the moment, to sing better every day, and to demand more of themselves. They have learned Italian geography, history, and language. They have learned that opera is alive and well, if you make it relevant and fun and these students are doing just that!”

For both opera lovers and the uninitiated, this production promises a delightful night of entertainment. Dr. Haslett says Gianni Schicchi is both timely and timeless, “Puccini wrote the opera in 1919 at the end of WWI, when the world’s spirit desperately needed a reason to laugh. He dared us to laugh in the face of death, all while creating one of the most beautiful melodies of all time, O mio babbino caro. Our production of Gianni Schicchi is eye and ear candy –  great singing, easy-to-read super titles, opulent 1920s-style costumes, and the full sound of the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra.”

For info & tickets, visit USM Theatre online at https://usm.maine.edu/department-theatre/box-office-tickets/ or call the USM Theatre Box Office at (207) 780-5151. For more information on USM’s Department of Theatre events and programs, click here.

Gianni Schicchi

In collaboration with the Osher School of Music

By Giacomo Puccini

Presented by the Osher Opera Theatre & the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra

November 21-24, 2024

Russell Hall, USM Gorham Campus

Performances:

Thursday, November 21 at 7pm (Pay-what-you-can)

Friday, November 22 at 7pm

Saturday, November 23 at 7pm

Sunday, November 24 at 2pm

Appropriate for ages 13 and up.

Content advisory: Brief depiction of a dead body at a funeral.

General Admission: $24

Senior 65+: $18

USM Faculty/Staff/Alumni: $20

USM Students & Non-USM Students: $10

Group rate: $8/person – for schools and community groups

Pay-What-You-Can: Thursday, November 21st, 7pm

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program, contact Janice Gardner at (207)780-5289 or janice.gardner@maine.edu. Hearing impaired: call USM’s telex / TDD number (207)780-5646.

Cast: L-R, Back to Front: Jared Vigue (Rinuccio), Aberdeen Brickett (Zita), Karoline Brechter (Lauretta), Mary Fencer (Ciesca), Michael Mitchell (Gheradino). Photo courtesy of Kat Moraros Photography