The L-A Community Little Theatre (CLT) will present the timeless classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” live on stage on December 6 through 8. 

 “A Charlie Brown Christmas” includes the whole Peanuts gang as they try to produce their own Christmas play and ultimately learn the true meaning of Christmas. This live stage adaptation of the animated classic is set to the original special’s dialogue as well as the famous Vince Guaraldi musical score. 

The CLT cast of A Charlie Brown Christmas includes Michael Litchfield as Charlie Brown, Ashleigh St. Pierre as Lucy, John Guy as Linus, Brock Rancourt as Snoopy, Chris Hodgkin as Pig Pen, Eileen Messina as Frieda, Dan Burgess as Schroeder, Renee Mahon Davis as Violet, Carly Georgen as Sally, Becca Tinkham as Patty, and John Blanchette as Shermy. 

After each performance CLT will host a reception with light refreshments, a sing along, photo opportunities with the cast, a special “times 10” raffle, and two very special guests!  

The theatre will present “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, December 6 and 7, and on Sunday December 8 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online at https://www.laclt.com/. Call 783-0958 for more information. All shows are held at the Great Falls Performing Arts Center at 30 Academy Street in Auburn. 

Maine-ly Harmony will celebrate the season with “Christmas Remembered”, featuring upbeat holiday songs and beloved carols at the Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church, 209 Eastern Avenue, Augusta, on Sunday, December 1, at 2 p.m. All are welcome to this free-will offering performance, followed by refreshments and friendship!

Also performing are three diverse quartets and a mixed ensemble composed of chorus members and singers from the men’s Nor’easter Barbershop Chorus.

Maine-ly Harmony is an a cappella women’s chorus, directed by Kathy Greason, that holds rehearsals at the church on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Members, young and old, who hail from several Maine counties, sing the barbershop style of four-part harmony for diverse audiences in communities statewide, including our esteemed veterans at Togus.

For more information about “Christmas Remembered”, as well as other upcoming performances, or information about becoming a member of Maine-ly Harmony, call Nancie at 293-4779, email her at hugabook4@yahoo.com, or visit the chorus Facebook page and website at maine-lyharmony.org.

The Chocolate Church Arts Center, at 804 Washington Street in Bath, will present an eclectic holiday-themed show with world-renowned guitarist Frank Vignola and special guests on Friday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Vignola, deemed “one of the brightest stars of the guitar” by The New York Times, has been the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists” list for the Wall Street Journal. 

The genre-spanning Vignola will perform everything from traditional holiday tunes, to guitar music by everyone from Beethoven, to Paul Simon, to Frank Zappa. He will be joined by a trio of world-class musicians, including fellow guitar giant Vinny Raniolo, who is one of the world’s most in-demand rhythm guitarists. The group will also feature acclaimed bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, who has played with everyone from jazz legends like Stan Getz and Buddy Rich to contemporary artists like Alicia Keyes and Willie Nelson. Jazz vocalist Audra Mariel, known for her unique sound and sincere interpretations of timeless standards, will round out the group as a very special guest singer. 

Frank Vignola has played over 1,000 shows in the past five years alone and is one of the most popular and sought-after guitarists on the international music scene. His dynamic music has brought him to 14 countries on three continents, and has allowed him to perform in some of the world’s most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy. The concert on December 6 at the Chocolate Church Arts Center will be an opportunity to see this virtuosic player and his group of acclaimed musicians in a unique, intimate setting, and will be ideal for fans of all kinds of music from holiday classics, to jazz, pop, and classical.

Tickets for Frank Vignola at the Chocolate Church Arts Center are $25 in advance or $28 at the door, and are available for purchase at www.chocolatechurcharts.org, or by calling the box office at 207-442-8455. 

Museum L-A will display Mary and Richard LaFontaine’s
500-unit holiday village through the month of December with an opening
reception, Merrymaking at the Mill, from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, December
4, in the museum’s gallery. A $5 per person donation is suggested.
“This is truly a unique event, as in prior years the village was seen
only by family and friends. What a treat for all Museum L-A visitors
to have the opportunity to enjoy this spectacular holiday display,”
said Camden Martin, guest services coordinator.

Light refreshments, make your own holiday greeting cards and the
ambiance of the season will add to the festive spirit.

Additionally, visitors can take advantage of the museum’s unique gift
shop, so bring your shopping list. This year, the museum will be
offering a one-of-a-kind holiday ornament for sale.

These are also the final days of the “Footwear: From Function to
Fashion” shoe exhibit that has been so well received and was recently
featured on a segment of News Center Maine’s 207 show.

For more information about Museum L-A and its events and exhibits,
visit www.museumla.org or call 207-333-3881. The museum is located at
35 Canal Street in Lewiston.

The Great Falls Model Railroad Club of Auburn will hold its annual holiday season “ExTRAINaganza,” a unique four-day family fun event with special activities for children, at 144 Mill Street in Auburn on the weekends before and after Thanksgiving. The handicapped-accessible club house, across from the Barker Mill, will be decorated for Christmas with trains of various sizes operating on five permanent layouts throughout the two-story building.  The ExTRAINaganza will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 23; Sunday, November 24; Friday, November 29; and Saturday, November 30.

Long trains running on multiple tracks and through the tunnels of the large G-gauge layout greet visitors as they enter the building.  The interactive ski slope is a special feature of the attractive winter scene. In the main room, guests will see brightly decorated Christmas trees, railroad games, and craft tables.  Around the corner, young children can enjoy Thomas the Tank Engine on a separate layout in the G-gauge room, with other engines from the Thomas series running on the upper trestle.  Adults and children will discover that the G-gauge layout has many unique features that were hidden from the entrance. In the next room interesting details have been added to the club’s permanent layout for the smaller n-scale.  Trains will also be operating on the new Lionel layout, which is still under construction in the hallway.

Older children can sign up to be “Guest Engineers” and operate one of the trains on the club’s extensive HO layout downstairs.  Long-time residents of the area will recognize Bates Mill #5 and many of the 1950’s scenes reproduced in the Lewiston Lower section of the HO layout. 

Children will enjoy decorating and eating gingerbread boys and girls, creating Christmas ornaments to take home, and playing the special railroad games designed by the club.  The younger children always have fun with the Brio set and age-appropriate trains in the children’s play area.  While watching these activities, parents can enjoy light refreshments from conveniently located tables and chairs in the craft area.  TRAIN TIME videos, produced by the Great Falls Model Railroad Club and seen on many local cable channels, will be shown continuously each day and are available for sale.

Tickets for decorating cookies, making ornaments, and playing games with prizes are $1 a piece or 7 for $5.  Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under. For more details and photos of the ExTRAINaganza in previous years, see www.greatfallsmodelrrclub.org

The City of Auburn, in collaboration with Walton Elementary School, is pleased to announce that “Thankful” is this month’s theme for the Auburn Storywalk along Auburn’s Riverwalk. 

During the month of November, our display cases will be featuring art and essays by Walton Elementary students about the importance of being thankful and giving back. 

For more information about Auburn’s Storywalk, contact Sabrina Best, Auburn Recreation Director at sbest@auburnmaine.gov or 333-6611. 

The Auburn Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame will present the Gippers 12th Annual Basketball Tip-Off Classic November 22 to 23.  This year’s tournament will be held at Edward Little High School Gymnasium, 77 Harris St, Auburn.  Local and area high school teams will be competing in games scheduled for the afternoon and evening of both dates. 

Daily admission will be $5 for adults, and $3 for students and senior citizens. The schedule for November 22, Girls Basketball: 3:30 p.m. Edward Little vs Gray – New Gloucester; 5 p.m. Poland vs. Lewiston; 6:30 p.m. Gray—New Gloucester vs. Lewiston; 8 p.m. Edward Little vs. Poland

The schedule for November 23, Boys Basketball: 11:30 a.m. Edward Little JV vs. Lewiston JV; 1 a.m. Gorham vs. Edward Little; 2:30 a.m. Poland vs. Fryeburg Academy; 4:30 a.m. Gorham vs. Lewiston; 6 p.m. Fryeburg Academy vs. Edward Little; 7:30 p.m. Poland vs. Lewiston.

The Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame has been a part of the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce since March of 1983.  Over the past 35 years, there have been 150 inductees to the Sports Hall of Fame.  The annual awards banquet takes place in late spring and also includes the Chamber President’s Award for outstanding current achievement, and the “Flashback to Fame” Team Award to the championship teams of the past.  Over the years, the Auburn Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame has become a major community activity of the Chamber. The Hall of Fame inductee plaques can be viewed at Gippers Sports Grill in Auburn.

Story and photos by Rachel Morin

The Androscoggin Readers Theater (ART), now in its 11th Season, is continuing to visit senior housing facilities to present performances of its original, humorous scripts that explore the quirks, peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of senior life, all in good fun! 

As requested, ART members returned to SeniorPlus, Lewiston, on November 11, Veteran’s Day, for an afternoon performance, open to the public. Despite the big storm, loyal fans attended and expressed their appreciation of the animated and fun-filled performance.  

Hugh Keene, newly appointed as Director of the group, succeeding Naomi York, long time director, introduced the group and acknowledged our Veterans on their day. The skits are the creations of Nancy Daniels and Joel Goodman.

This past week I had a great discussion up at Blair Hill Inn and Restaurant in Greenville with business owners, residents, development leaders and local lawmakers. We focused on ideas and strategies for economic growth in rural Maine, particularly Western Maine.

You know diversifying our economy, empowering innovators and attracting young, talented people to live and work in Maine is crucial to the future of our state.

That’s why earlier this year, I directed the Department of Economic and Community Development to create the very first long-term statewide economic development plan in decades.

That plan, which will be finalized in the coming weeks, is being written with input from government agencies, business leaders, educational institutions, private organizations and individuals like yourselves. It will focus on strategies to enhance economic growth, particularly in rural Maine, and address Maine’s workforce challenges.

As we finalize that plan, I think it’s important for me to hear the voices of business leaders and residents all over Maine, to understand their challenges and to learn how state government can help.

So, during our discussion up in Greenville, I heard about the issues that town faces, from funding local schools without increasing property taxes to repairing aging roads and bridges to health care and energy costs. I listened and I shared what my Administration has done to date to address those challenges.

In the biennial budget for instance, we invested $115 million in K-12 education, we began raising the minimum teacher salary to $40,000, and we allocated $18 million to repair aging school infrastructure.

We also invested $75 million in property tax relief for Maine seniors, families, and small businesses. That’s money going back to you.

We fully funded the Medicaid expansion program and we restored Maine’s Low-Cost Drugs for the Elderly and Disabled Program. We enacted legislation to help lower the cost of prescription drugs, and we told the federal government that Maine will pursue its own state-based exchange to put us in the driver’s seat when it comes to health care.

And don’t forget to check www.CoverME.gov this week to find out what health insurance is available to you at the lowest cost and best coverage.

We also enacted—with the voters’ approval—a $105 million transportation bond to repair roads, highways and bridges, and to protect working waterfronts, and to restore commercial fishing wharfs.

Of course, we still have a lot to do. Every rural community has its strengths. For example, besides Greenville, I also visited Monson and Monson Arts which is located in downtown Monson and which offers four-week residencies to artists and writers from all over the place as well as intensive workshops and programs for local school kids and community members.

I met resident artists and writers and learned about the program’s work to spark educational growth, to attract people to rural Maine, and reinvigorate the economy of that town. I also visited Jemma Gascoine Pottery and Monson General Store on Main Street in Monson and talked about their experiences and their excitement about the future.

Undoubtedly the strategy to growing our rural economy will be multi-faceted, but one thing is clear. Supporting these rural communities as they build on their own strengths—as Monson and Greenville are doing—is critical.

Backing local businesses and organizations to attract talented people to live and work in rural Maine will expand our workforce, which is a key aspect of growing our economy statewide. There is a spot for everyone in Maine’s economy, and we need everyone to participate.

I want innovators and entrepreneurs, families, and business owners to know that Maine has not only an unmatched quality of life, but also unmatched opportunity in new industries across our state.

I look forward to visiting more communities and hearing your thoughts on how we can foster economic growth in Maine in the coming months.

Fifty-two Republican and conservative groups and leaders will be hosting a public event on the topic “Why Socialism Would Destroy America’s Economy & Freedoms” at the Windham Veterans Center, at 35 Veterans Memorial Drive, Windham, Maine, on Wednesday, November 20. Refreshments will be at 6:00 p.m. and the main program will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets at the door are $1 (with larger donations gratefully accepted). The Veterans Center is behind the Hannafords on Route 302. 

Co-hosted by the Gray and Windham Republican Town Committees, the event has a broad range of co-sponsorship, including the Maine GOP, the Republican County Committees of Cumberland, York, Androscoggin, and Oxford, as well as thirty-one additional Republican Town Committees, six conservative nonprofits, and four current and former Maine State Representatives. 

WGAN Radio is a Media Partner of the event and the Emcee for the evening will be Joe Reagan, a WGAN Guest Host of “Inside Maine” and a Morning News Contributor. Reagan is a retired Army Captain who served in Afghanistan with military intelligence, where he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. 

The keynote speaker for the evening will be former Second District Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin. Poliquin served in Congress from 2015 until 2019 and was the Maine State Treasurer from 2010 until 2012. 

Poliquin’s speech will be preceded by two introductory speakers. The first speaker will be Peter Falkenberg Brown, the Chairman of the Gray Republican Committee. Brown is a Portland native, a conservative writer and author, and the host of the YouTube video channel “Love, Freedom, & the World.” 

The second speaker will be Mr. José Mayoral. Mayoral is a conservative businessman from Venezuela living in York, Maine. He was a witness to Socialism’s destruction of Venezuela’s economy and his family’s business that employed hundreds of people. Mayoral will present a warning to Americans to not go down that road. 

Each speaker will present for twenty minutes, with five minutes of Q&A. There will be an extended Q&A session with all three speakers at the end. More information available at https://grayrepublicans.org.