WINDHAM/WESTBROOK/GORHAM
Emmy-nominated actor to give performance
St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Windham, Westbrook, and Gorham will welcome Emmy nominee, daytime actor, and acclaimed presenter Frank Runyeon for a three-evening program that will include three separate, unique performances at three different venues. Admission is free, and participants can attend just one performance or all three. “A Journey to Joy!” will feature a different theme each evening: “Stories from the Gospel of Luke” will be offered at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 919 Roosevelt Trail, Windham; “Sermon on the Mount” will be offered at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at St. Hyacinth Church, 268 Brown Street, Westbrook; and the theme “Contemporary Struggles to Live Faithfully in the Media Age” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 at St. Anne Church, 299 Main Street, Gorham.
The public is welcome to meet, greet, and take photos with Runyeon after each performance. This is a family-friendly event designed for adults and children of all ages. All are welcome.
For more information, contact the parish at 892-8288.

SOUTH BERICK
Lecture on history of imported textiles
Old Berwick Historical Society will present an online lecture by textile historian Titi Halle at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
“From Chinese Silks to Indian Cottons: New England’s Imported Textiles and Their Imitations” explores the wide variety of silks and cottons from China and India available in New England in the 17th to 19th centuries, and how they were used in furnishing and dress. These imported textiles inspired American and British printed and embroidered counterparts, showing an international appreciation for materials and motifs.
The name Cora Ginsburg has been associated with fine and rare costume and antique textiles since the 1940s. Founded in 1971 as Cora Ginsburg Inc., the company specializes in museum-quality costume of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and in textiles of the 17th to 20th centuries. Owner and director Titi Halle has been with the gallery since 1981. She is a member of the National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America, the Centre International d’Etude des Textiles Anciens, the Costume Society of America, the Textile Society of America, and CINOA.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Registration is required at oldberwick.org. The lecture will be recorded and posted on the society’s website.

Special tour of textile exhibit, collection
Old Berwick Historical Society guest curators Nancy and Peter Cook will host a behind-the-scenes introduction to the exhibition, “Material Culture: Domestic Cloth-Making in 18th-century New England” at The Counting House Museum. The two-part tour will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Curator Ruth Greene-McNally will also contribute insights into the selection of objects and exhibition installation process at the museum. Tour guests will then travel in their own vehicles to nearby Tare Shirt Farm, a working 18th-century farmstead with heirloom orchards, heritage breeds of domestic livestock, and a restored 18th-century vernacular home complete with period furnishings.
The excursion, titled “Collectors, Curators, Cooks,” continues with a signature lunch and an in-depth tour of the Cooks’ extensive textile, decorative, and fine arts collection in the couple’s historic period home and the spinning barn, along with a walking tour of the pastoral landscape.
This is a fundraiser for the society, and tickets are limited to 30. For ticket prices and the full itinerary, go to oldberwick.org.

BIDDEFORD
Celebrate faith, educate at special Mass
All alumni, students, school families, and community members are invited to gather for a celebration of 30 years of faith, academic excellence, service, and smiles at St. James School.
A 30th anniversary Mass and celebration will be held Sunday at St. Joseph Church on 178 Elm Street in Biddeford. Following the Mass, everyone is welcome to attend a reception in the church hall where those gathered can share stories, view old photos, and reflect on 140 years of Catholic education in Biddeford and Saco.
To learn more about St. James School, visit sjsbiddeford.org. For more information about the anniversary celebration, contact the school at 282-4084.

Take a field trip around Thatcher Brook Watershed
York County Soil and Water Conservation District, The City of Biddeford, and the Saco Watershed Collaborative will host a “Large Woody Debris Stream Habitat Restoration” field trip for a limited number of people at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Thatcher Brook Watershed area, a smaller tributary and subwatershed of the Saco River Watershed.
John Fields of Field Geology Services will educate attendees on how the chop and drop uses principles of fluvial geomorphology to improve stream restoration and watershed management.
“Chop and drop” is a catchy phrase for strategically placed trees into headwater streams. This allows streams to have more natural influences, which in turn provide cold water refuge for brook trout during the warm summer months.
Participation is limited to the first 15 people with pre-registration required here: eventbrite.com/e/chop-and-drop-a-nature-based-solution-for-watershed-management-tickets-409977442567#search. Additional details will be provided to registrants.

KENNEBUNK
All are welcome at Starfest
The Astronomical Society of Northern New England (ASNNE) will sponsor a Starfest event Friday through Sunday at the Talmage Observatory at ASNNE’s Observatory at Alewife Road, Route 35.
The field locale will be open for solar and lunar observing. ASNNE members and the general public are invited to camp out in tents or in vehicles throughout the event.
Setup starts at noon on Friday. On Saturday, solar observing with be held from dawn to dusk. There will be a cookout at 2:30 p.m. Attendees are welcome to contribute, but it’s not required. Donations to the Club, to help offset food costs, will be gratefully accepted. At 6 p.m., ASNNE director Bern Valliere will give a presentation how the distances to stars and galaxies are determined as well as about “standard candles.” Night observing will follow the talk.
On Sunday, there will will solar observation from dawn through noon.
To learn of any last-minute changes to Starfest, due to circumstances, email asnne.astronomy@gmail.com or go to ASNNE.org.

SPRINGVALE
Volunteers needed for book sale
Springvale Public Library will host its annual giant book sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 443 Main St.
The sale will include fiction, nonfiction, antique books, children’s books, and puzzles. There also will be live music, jewelry sales, and kids’ craft project on Saturday.
Volunteers also are needed in advance of the sale for a variety of tasks from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday; from 9 a.m. to noon and from noon to 3 p.m. Friday; and from 9 a.m. to noon, from noon to 3 p.m. and from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
For more details, email Tina Parks at weemanst@gmail.com or Lesley at lunger@springvalelibrary.org.

FALMOUTH
Food safety training for cooking for crowds
University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer several opportunities for volunteer cooks to receive important food safety training in September and October. “Cooking for Crowds” will be available through both in-person workshops and via Zoom.
This popular course offers up-to-date information on how to handle, transport, store and prepare foods safely for large group functions such as soup kitchens, church suppers, food pantries and community fundraisers. Participants receive a manual specifically designed for volunteer cooks, certificate of attendance, posters, a magnet and thermometers. This class meets the Good Shepherd Food Bank food safety training requirements.
The $15 per person fee includes all materials. Register and find more details online at extension.umaine.edu/food-health/food-safety/cooking-for-crowds or call 781-6099 or 800-287-1471 (in Maine).

SCARBOROUGH
Support the Kiwanis by buying mums
The Scarborough Kiwanis Club will hold a mum sale from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Saco & Biddeford Savings Bank’s Scarborough branch, at 41 Gorham Road.
The club is selling 9-inch planter pots of mums in assorted colors at $10 each or four for $35.
For more information, contact the club at scarboroughkiwanis2@gmail.com or Sherry Forest at 883-2775.

WELLS
Library updates weekly offerings
Wells Public Library will host the following adult programs this week at 1434 Post Road.
• Join Beth Goodwin of the York County Beekeeping Association for a free presentation on “All You Wanted to Know About Beekeeping” at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Come and learn about beekeeping, how hives work, and end it all with a honey tasting.
• A stargazing outing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Join the Astronomical Society of Northern New England and view the night sky through their telescopes for the autumnal equinox. View features of the moon, including craters and maria, and other interesting stellar features. Registration is required. This program will be held at the ASNNE Observatory on Route 35 in Kennebunk.
• Afternoon Crafternoon will feature a beeswax candle-making session at 2 p.m. Thursday. These candles add color and the warming scent of beeswax to your home and make great gifts.
These events are free and sponsored by the Friends of the Wells Public Library.
For more details, contact Stefanie Claydon at sclaydon@wellstown.org or call the library at 646-8181.

GRAY
Library to host Stephen King-themed trivia
Author Stephen King celebrates his 75th birthday this month and to honor this milestone for Maine’s favorite literary superstar, the Gray Public Library will host a Stephen King-themed trivia event at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at 5 Hancock St.
Think you’re a true King fan? Do you know what breed of dog Cujo is? Where Stephen went to college? Which Stephen King novels are not set in Maine? Come test your knowledge! You’ll have the opportunity to snack on horrifying hors d’oeuvres while competing in five rounds of trivia.
Thanks to the support of the Gray Public Library Association, the library is pleased to offer excellently eerie King-themed prizes for first, second, and third place trivia winners.
This event is free, open to the public, and suitable for both teens and adults. Attendees are welcome to play individually or in teams of up to five people.
For more details, go to graypubliclibrary.com, email libcirc@graymaine.org, or call Andrea Kazilionis at 657-4110.

UNION
Hear about replica ship’s voyage around Maine
Join historian and historical interpreter Matt Blazek for a talk detailing the recent replica row of Maine’s first ship “Jane Stevens” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Vose Library at 392 Common Road or via Zoom.
Blazek was one of six adventurers to row a replica 17th century shallop the “Jane Stevens” from Georgetown to Fort William Henry in Pemaquid. Traveling across the mouth of the Sagadahoc and out of Boothbay Harbor, the crew made stops at different islands along the way. Learn about the early history of European exploration along the coast of Maine, hear stories from the trip, and see the reenactment gear used on the journey.
For more details, call 785-4733, email librarian@voselibrary.org, or stop by Vose Library to get the Zoom link.

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