Harvest Festival blends family fun with historical significance

By Ed Pierce

As the season changes to autumn and crisp fall temperatures arrive in the Lakes Region of Maine, Village Green in Windham Center will be alive with the sights, sounds and flavors of fall during the annual Harvest Festival hosted by the Windham Historical Society on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Contestants compete in the sack race at last year's Harvest
Festival, sponsored by the Windham Historical Society at
Village Green in Windham. This year's festival will run 
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.
COURTESY PHOTO 

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Village Green, 234 Windham Center Road in Windham and is jam-packed with fun, activities and something for everyone.

“It really is a family-focused day where people can have fun while learning a bit about Windham's very rich history,” said Haley Pal of the Windham Historical Society.

Among things to do this year are to view an antique car show with Model Ts and Model As, take a tour of Community Booths sponsored by Age-Friendly Windham, Windham Parks and Recreation and the Windham Public Library.

Pal said for children there will be old-fashioned relay races including a potato sack race, an eggs on a spoon race, and a three-legged race. Kids will be able to guess how many candy corns are in a jar, participate in a coloring contest and bob for donuts.

Both adults and kids can take part in the Harvest Festival’s annual Pie Eating Contest, which is among the event’s most popular activities year in and year out.

Participants can also compete for prizes in Pumpkin Bowling, and the entire family can join a Scavenger Hunt to locate one or two clues in each Windham Historical Society buildings that are situated on the grounds of Village Green. Pal says that members of the Windham Parks and Recreation Department have partnered with the historical society in helping to stage all the games at this year’s Harvest Festival.

There will be a Vendor Fair at the festival where a variety of crafters and other vendors will be selling goods they have made.

“Among the makers, we have a potter, a jewelry maker, a woodworker, and a doggie treat company,” Pal said. “There is a rock artist, a sign-maker, a card/paper product maker, a woman specializing in wreaths and wind chimes, and one who makes sewn products.”

One of the vendor booths will be reserved for Maine Authors Publishing and three authors are scheduled to be on hand to meet the public and discuss their books including Dr. Nancy Creighton Collins (“The Perfectly Impatient Potter”), Edith Netter (“The House of Schumannstrasse 7”), and Kathy Eliscu (“Brain Tumor: A Love Story.”

“Friends Church will also have a booth filled with nostalgic favorites like baked goods, pickles, relishes, jam, jellies, handsewn products, and more,” Pal said.

The festival will have a White Elephant Sale featuring gently used items such as housewares, jewelry, and holiday decorations up for sale and food will be available all day long.

“We will be cooking and selling burgers and hot dogs,” Pal said. “This year, Poppies Kettle Corn will be on hand as well with snacks and we also will have a dessert table where we're selling cookies for just $1 each.”

Musical Entertainment in the morning will have the Lakes Region Strummers performing. The Stummers are a ukelele group who play casual, feel-good tunes that invite folks to gather, tap their toes, and enjoy the moment.

At noon, the Windham Middle School Eighth Grade Orchestra will take the stage under the direction of WMS Orchestra and Band Teacher Morgan Riley. Band members earned the highest rating of “Superior” in competition at the Trills & Thrills Music Festival in Nashua, New Hampshire in June.

During the afternoon, the Saco River Jazz Band, a group of volunteer musicians, will perform classic tunes from the “Big Band Era,” of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s and sure to please all who attend the festival.

Tours of Historic Buildings located on the Village Green grounds will be conducted by Windham Historical Society members and will showcase The Old Grocery Store displaying authentic rural mercantile of the late 19th century, The Village School, a one-room schoolhouse with the historical society’s schoolmarm, Miss Hawkes (Paula Sparks) doing lessons, and The Hearse House where an old horse-drawn town hearse is housed. There will also be tours available for The Windham Center Library and The South Windham Library and Railroad Museum.

“The Windham Historical Society’s Blacksmith Shop is not quite finished inside, but our resident blacksmith, Sam Simonson, will be doing demonstrations at the festival,” Pal said.

Festival participants will also be able to visit and tour the Old Town House which once served as Windham’s Town Hall.

“People can step in and take a look at the renovations done to date there,” Pal said.

Currently the historical society is organizing a capital campaign to seek donations for further renovation work on the Old Town House, which was not only Windham’s original Town Hall, but also served as a school for many years, and is now the historical society’s headquarters building.

The Old Town House building was remodeled about 60 years ago to address cosmetic and structural issues with the building. At that time, a raised floor system was installed with a wood-framed suspended ceiling and wall paneling. It covered up some issues with the building things up but didn’t fit the ambiance of an 1833 structure. Planned renovation work will restore the original 19th century structure and create a building consistent with that era.

In the event of rain, the Harvest Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5. <

Windham Summerfest returns June 22 for 34th year

By Kaysa Jalbert

Summerfest makes its way back to Windham on Saturday, June 22 taking on the theme “Summerfest Turns Back Time.” New to this year’s Summerfest is an updated parade route designed to give participants the best views and the best parade experience from start to finish.

The parade route for this year's Summerfest is different and
starts at noon June 22 from Stadium Drive at Windham Center
Road, proceeds up School Road, turns right onto Route 202
and finishes on the Windham High School grounds.
FILE PHOTO

This year’s Summerfest is a free event for everyone to enjoy live music and activities, to support local vendors and non-profit food booths, and is packed with many more features to bring the community together.

Parade floats will be based on this year’s theme. Float-makers can be as creative as they choose, but will be judged on specific criteria such as, best depiction of the 2024 theme, best depiction of Summerfest principle of “Bringing Unity to The Community,” most creative, most entertaining, and the judges’ choice.

The parade kicks off at noon on June 22 from Stadium Drive at Windham Center Road and will proceed up School Road to take a right onto Route 202. Staging areas will be at Public Works and Stadium Drive Parking lot. The parade finishes at 1 p.m. on the Windham High School grounds.

“We are excited about this new route and feel it will make it easier for our guests to enjoy every aspect of this exciting parade,” says Windham Summerfest committee co-chair Deb Matthews.

In addition to announcing the new parade route, Matthews said that this year’s Summerfest Grand Marshal will be Rich Drummond, the athletic director for RSU 14.

All the Summerfest booths will be open for the parade and continue into the evening. There will be community booths for local non-profits to share their good works, and the food booths operated by non-profits as a means of fundraising.

The Summerfest business expo is mostly local, and they provide fun activities for attendees while the crafter vendor area provides a wide variety of items for purchase.

“We have so many amazing sponsors that have provided us the ability to offer this event to our community for free,” said Matthews.

More fun and active features included will be a rock wall, two escape rooms, and an inflatable village.

For special guest entertainment, juggler Jason Tardy will perform and address topics such as what is bullying, the roles bystanders play in bullying, how to become an upstander and help fellow students, and what to do if you are bullied. He will also describe his own personal struggle with bullying and how he overcame it.

Other Summerfest performers will include a magician, balloon twisting, Mad Science, and tons of music. Musical performances include Jimmy Macisso playing on the Main Stage at 1 p.m., the Get on Up Band on the Main Stage from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Dave Debree performing on the George Hall Memorial Stage from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

An Amateur Radio Relay League will be appearing at this year’s Summerfest in which members from the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, WSSM, will be setting-up field day operations in the ballfields directly behind the main Summerfest event venue. Throughout the day and evening, anyone, young or old, is welcome to join the team of ham operators to learn more about Amateur Radio and participate in making radio contact with operators in other distant locations.

Summerfest 2024 will also host a 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament that starts at 2 p.m. and is open to anyone between the ages of 5 and 18. In addition, the Golf Ball drop sponsored by the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce will start at 5 p.m. To end the evening, fireworks will be launched at 9:30 p.m. from the Main Stage.

“I feel all our events connect with our attendees. It is so important to the Summerfest Committee and me that we offer this to our community as a free family friendly event,” says Matthews. “I want your whole family to attend with you. I want you to spend the day, and if you cannot afford to spend any money pack a picnic lunch and relax. Watching the kids’ faces, seeing how happy the grandparents are to wave to grandchildren while they run and play, seeing Mom and Dad and the joy they get from these sweet moments.”

Every year presents a new challenge to the Summerfest Committee whether in booking all the acts or coordinating with the town, police, fire department and schools, or just hoping for good weather. According to Matthews, however, the biggest challenge remains in fundraising.

“We changed our sponsorship model last year and had great success,” she said. “We also keep an eye on the sky, fingers crossed and pray for sunshine.”

Matthews says the event will be full of vendors and booths and that annual public attendance for Summerfest runs between 2,500 to 4,000 people.

The Windham Summerfest Committee has been working on this year’s celebration since last June and its members include Deb Matthews, Tommy Matthews, Barb Maurais, Jacob Chouinard, Karen Rumo, and Camille Swander. <

Windham Summerfest promises to be a day loaded with fun

By Masha Yurkevich

Starting with the opening parade at noon Saturday, June 24, Windham Summerfest will continue to be a day filled with fun activities, music, and food capped off by a spectacular fireworks show after dark.

Windham's popular Summerfest celebration returns Saturday,
June 24 with a full slate of free activities intended to bring
unity to the community at Windham High School. Events
include a parade starting at 10 a.m. and fireworks after dark.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

Deb Matthews has served as the chair of the Windham Summerfest Committee for the last four years and has been with Summerfest off and on since about 2007.

“Summerfest has always been a family-oriented event,” says Matthews. “Our goal is to bring multiple generations of families together to spend the day enjoying each other and our many activities.”

It has been a challenge to keep Summerfest running smoothly.

“I was involved in the beginning when the committee asked me to coordinate a craft fair for them. I was in charge of the Windham Athletic Boosters Craft Fair at that time, Matthews said. “My husband and I were involved for a few years. About 2013 it was running out of steam, volunteers were exhausted and they struggled to find committee members. They discussed cancelling Summerfest. The Windham Parks and Recreation Department and many others tried to revitalize Summerfest. They started us on the path we are on today.”

The general idea and motto of this year’s Summerfest is "Bringing Unity to the Community.”

According to Matthews, Windham Summerfest is a family friendly event, and all ages are encouraged to attend and enjoy a fun-filled day.

“Each year we try to bring in new activities, demonstrations, music and fun. I want to see our neighbors interacting with all our vendors,” she said. “We encourage each vendor to make their booth fun, attractive and enticing to draw people in.”

This year the crafter and vendor village is full of beautiful items to purchase, and it could be a perfect time to get some early Christmas shopping done.

“The best thing for me personally is that the entire event is free,” Matthews said. “Non–profits sell food to raise money for their individual organizations. I want you to come and spend the day. If you cannot afford to spend money at this time, that is okay, pack a lunch and come play.”

This year, Mrs. Maine will also be part of the Summerfest activities. Amanda Shute, Mrs. Maine America 2023, is an Auburn resident and says she’s excited to proudly pay homage to her husband's hometown of Windham at Summerfest. Shute was selected as the local title holder of Mrs. Auburn in May 2022 and was awarded the state title on April 3 during the annual Mrs. Maine America Pageant this year. She will compete at Nationals at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas in August.

“My year consisted of making community appearances to advocate and fundraise for several charities,” says Shute. “In June of 2022, I launched a non-profit called, ‘Get Cyber Fit,’ which is aimed to educate families on creating healthier online habits. I have proudly invested over $60,000 in services to the community within the past year, working with Educate Maine's Tech Night, ran several tables at Family Events, and built a social media page focused on online safety education.

Shute said that as Mrs. Maine, she has a wider reach to equip families with the knowledge to have safer online experiences.

Holding the title of Mrs. Maine America awards her the opportunity to carry out her dreams by paying her success forward and amplifying her community work, along with elevating the voice of other women and the causes they are passionate about in the Mrs. America Program.

Shute’s mission statement is "Pay your Success Forward" and she’s ready to participate in Windham Summerfest.

“I have used over a decade of experience to identify a need and use my knowledge to help drive change for such a critical and growing need,” she says. The Windham Summerfest Parade will help to celebrate Shute's community impact. “

You can follow Shute’s journey and show support on social media by finding her on Instagram @mrsmaineamerica2023. She is still working toward her fundraising goals and can be supported through Venmo @Amanda_Shute.

Keeping Kids Safe will also be a part of this year’s Windham Summerfest. Its founder, Michael O’Neal, served as a part-time Deputy Sheriff for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department for more than 17 years, and founded Keeping Kids Safe in 2008. The organization offers personal safety training and teaches the Grip, Dip, and Spin technique that could help save the lives of children from predators.

O’Neal also teaches various other child-friendly and educational programs like Anti-Bullying and Internet Safety Date escape.

“We teach our kids the Stop, Drop, and Roll method for fire safety, but we never teach our kids what to do if a stranger might grab them,” said O’Neal.

Keeping Kids Safe became part of the annual Summerfest activities in 2015 and has been helping to educate the community about simple methods to keeping themselves and their children safe.

Summerfest is entirely free to attend and kicks off with the opening parade down Route 202 to Windham High School and will be followed by many fun activities, bands, food, games and vendors behind the high school. <

Christmas craft fairs making dazzling return to local churches

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, local churches
in Windham and Raymond will be hosting Christmas craft
fairs in November and early December for shoppers
searching for unique and meaningful gifts.
COURTESY PHOTO

By Daniel Gray 

In the last leg of the year, there will always be things to look forward to; Maine winters, sitting by a cozy fire, and craft fair season. Besides the large craft fair held at the high school every year, there are tons of smaller ones scattered around town. Churches are by far the biggest places to find craft fairs.

A few churches that have scheduled holiday craft fairs during November and December are the Windham Friends Meeting Church, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, The First Congregational Church of Gray, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and the North Windham Union Church. Raymond Village Library isn't a church, but they are hosting a craft fair as well.

St. Ann’s Annual Christmas Fair will be from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 4. Christmas wreaths will be available along with 42 gift baskets. A Christmas tree also will be raffled off. For more information, send an email to st.annschristmasfair21@gmail.com  

The Windham Friends Meeting's craft fair will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Friends Meeting House at 374 Gray Road here in Windham, which is right beside the Windham Raymond School District office.

"We are supported by many people in the community who are not members of Windham Friends but are a great help to us throughout the year," said Julianne Moore, treasurer for the Friends Church for more than 20 years.

Their craft fair will have jewelry, ornaments, stockings, knitted goods, lit Christmas trees, baked goods, and more.

"My favorite thing about the fair is working together with our group and The Windham Historical Society," Moore said. "But my favorite thing about the Christmas season is the music and decorating our meetinghouse. We have some antique paper murals of the Nativity that are quite unique and very delicate, but we still manage to get them up every year."

The First Congregational Church of Gray's annual Holly Fair is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 with face masks required. It's held at the Parish House in Gray, right behind the McDonalds.

Franny Hutchings, a committee member of the church and a churchgoer herself, is very excited for the upcoming Holly Fair.

"With COVID, we were unsure if we would have the Holly Fair this year," Hutchings said. "We're all happy to do it this year and to bring it back. My favorite thing about the Holly Fair is that it puts us in the spirit of Christmas, and we enjoy seeing so many friends coming to shop."

There will be raffle tickets for $50 gift cards when you purchase goods from participating vendors, as well as jewelry, cookies, Rada cutlery, crafts, White Elephant and children activity rooms.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help's Christmas Fair will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, located at the church on Roosevelt Trail in North Windham. There will be a visit from Santa from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a bake sale, knitted items, gift baskets, jewelry, books, and delicious breakfast and lunch served by the Snowflake Café.

At that event, The Knights of Columbus will also have a Yard Sale along with their Annual Christmas Tree sale. The sale for the Christmas trees begins at the church Nov. 27.

The North Windham Union Church will conduct a Christmas craft fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4 hosted at the church located off Roosevelt Trail. There will be 12 tables of hand-made crafts from locals along with baked goods, gently used books, Christmas wreaths, and light lunches to-go. Santa may also make an appearance for the kids, but the church is unsure with his busy schedule.

The church is also holding a silent auction through Nov. 16 with items ranging from gift certificates to toys. Visit their Facebook page to find additional information and to view all the items they have up for auction.

Raymond Village Library's holiday craft fair will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. There will be plenty of items, including knitted and crocheted items, pottery, resin, jewelry, soaps, and gift baskets.

There will also be special items such as photographic works from Jesse MacDonald Photography, honey and herbal products from Bee Blossom Botanicals, alpaca fiber products from Pismire Mountain Fiber Farm, and glass art from Infinitely Fearless Designs.

The Raymond Village Library is happy to support local artists for Raymond residents said Allison Griffin, the director at RVL. She said that she enjoys seeing all the local talent from the community.

"There are so many talented people in the Raymond area, and we are happy to be able to provide a small venue to help promote their work." Griffin said. " While the event raises funds for the library, the primary focus of the fair is to provide a venue where all local crafters and artists are welcome to participate." <