Tapestry Singers offer 'Sounds'

      DAMARISCOTTA -- The Tapestry Singers will present their "Sounds of the Season" concerts at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3, at Damariscotta Baptist Church, Bristol Road.

      The concert will open with the singers accompanied by the Blue Hill Brass Quintet and organist Sean Fleming in selections "Masters in This Hall," "Personnent Hodie," "In Dulci Jubilo," "Coventry Carol" and "Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming." The motet "Hodie Christus Natus Est" by J.P. Sweelinck and "Three Carols," "Tyrley Tyrlow," "Balulalow" and "The Sycamore Tree" by Peter Warlock round out the second set of songs.

      Following an intermission, the concert will continue with two of the three movements of "Cum Novo Cantico" by contemporary church composer Gerald Near. The final selection by the chorus includes the Hanukkah songs "Mi Zeh Y’Maleil," "Y’mei Chanukah," "Aleih Neiri" and "S’vivon." Tapestry Singers will invite the audience to join them in singing a medley of traditional Christmas carols to end the program.

      Director Beth Preston is in her eighth year with the 40-member Tapestry Singers. She is department head for visual and performing arts at Newcastle's Lincoln Academy.

      Tickets are $8 in advance at Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta, Days Emporium in Newcastle and from Tapestry Singers; they will be $10 at the door. Refreshments will be served during intermission.

Heartwood tours 'A Christmas Carol'

      Heartwood Regional Theater Company will begin its third annual Youth Ensemble Midcoast tour this weekend.

      This year's production is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." As with previous touring productions, "A Village Fable" in 2003 and "Wiley and the Hairy Man" in 2004, "A Christmas Carol" will be presented before hundreds of students from a number of Midcoast schools, as well as for the public.

      Public performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Wiscasset High School, Route 27; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Lincoln Academy's Performing Arts Building, Academy Hill Road, Newcastle.

      The classic tale is told in five staves, as written by Dickens, with the ensemble moving quickly in and out of dozens of characters, weaving the dream tale quickly and efficiently.

      Tickets for the public performances are $8 adults and $5 students. Tickets are general admission and available only at the door.

      For information, call 563-1373 or send an e-mail to heartwoodrtc@gwi.net.

     River Association hosts tree, wreath sale

      DAMARISCOTTA -- On Saturday Dec. 3 and 10, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and weekdays beginning Dec. 5, the Damariscotta River Association will hold its inaugural Christmas tree and wreath sale at their Great Salt Bay Heritage Center headquarters, 110 Belvedere Road.

      The sale of these trees and wreaths is an effort to help support DRA programs, conservation and land stewardship.

      For information call 563-1393, e-mail dra@draclt.org or visit www.draclt.org.

Lights Up at Memorial Library

      BOOTHBAY HARBOR -- The downtown Memorial Library is never as beautiful as it is during December. The lawn is lit and festive and the columns on the porch are bedecked with evergreens, while the lights within beckon visitors in from the cold with promises of good books, good music and good conversation.

      The Artist of the Month for December is Lynne Nicoletta

     of Liberty Farm, who offers "A Country Christmas" in the Great Room.

      This year's Lights Up at the Library event during the Harbor Lights Festival will feature stories by the fireside from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 3. This year’s celebrity readers include Mary Pinkham at 10 a.m.; Leah Sample at 10:30 a.m.; Donna Griffin at 11 a.m.; and Peter Panagore at 11:30 a.m.

      In addition to stories by the fireside, the library will host an open house from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., highlights of which include the locally legendary old-fashioned groaning board plus crafts and holiday movies in the children’s room.

      "The Polar Express and Other Holiday Tales" will be presented by the CLICK After School Arts Collaborative at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, 86 Townsend Ave. This class recital format of works in progress by students of the CLICK fall classes will be joined by the elementary and middle school chorales under the direction of Genie O’Connell. CLICK is a collaborative youth programming effort between the Memorial Library and the opera house. Donations to the CLICK Scholarship Fund are welcome in lieu of admission.

      For information about the weekend's events, as well as the Books & Tea and the Monday Night Book clubs, call 633-3112 or visit www.bmpl.lib.me.us.

Course to make 'Quick and Easy Gifts'

      DAMARISCOTTA -- During the two-week period from Monday, Dec. 5, through Friday, Dec. 16, the woodturning program at Round Top Center for the Arts will offer a course called "Quick and Easy Gifts."

      Ken Keoughan, director of the woodturning program, said projects include oil lamps, small multi-colored confetti lights that burn smokeless oil, pepper mills, turned pocket or purse pill containers, bottle stoppers, the spin tops or dreidels and bud vases.

      The "Quick and Easy" classes will be offered in both day and evening sessions: 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Mondays; and 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays. Tuition is $60 or $50 for Round Top members. There is an additional $20 fee for materials, plus the cost of whatever hardware items are used. The prerequisite for the class is Intro 1.

      Prospective students can view a display of some of the "Quick and Easy Gifts" in the Round Top reception room. At the time of sign-up, one may choose the gifts he or she wants to make and Round Top will order the hardware for fast delivery. For registration, call Round Top at 563-1507. For any questions about the class or the woodturning program, call Keoughan at 832-6538.

Holiday festival at farm

      WISCASSET -- Take time out of your busy holiday schedule to spend a day with friends and family at the Morris Farm’s Holiday Festival, Sunday, Dec. 4, from 12 p.m.-3 pm.

      The festival will feature crafts, activities and entertainment including wreath making, printmaking, candle making, ornament making and games for children. Decorate your own sugar cookie when you’re ready for a sweet treat, or stop by the bake sale table for goodies to eat on the spot or to take home for later. There also will be an opportunity to have your photo taken with the farm's cows.

      The Morris Farm is a working, educational farm located on Route 27, adjacent to the primary school. In addition to supplying unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk to the Midcoast area, the farm raises turkeys, pigs, sheep and broiler and laying chickens in addition to a demonstration garden, a small apple orchard and pick-your-own raspberries.

      Call 882-4080 or visit www.morrisfarm.org.

'Gloria' and 'Alleluia' to be sung

      BOOTHBAY HARBOR -- Sheepscot Valley Chorus, under the direction of Linda Blanchard and accompanied by Sean Fleming, will present a holiday concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at Boothbay Congregational Church, 1 Eastern Ave.

      This season's two major works are Antonio Vivaldi's "Gloria" and Randall Thompson's "Alleluia." These two memorable musical masterpieces will be followed by other seasonal favorites.

      Tickets are $8 in advance and will be $10 at the door for adults and $4 for children. Advance tickets are available at Maine Coast Book Shop, Damariscotta; Sherman's Books, Boothbay Harbor; and Treats in Wiscasset.

Loughridge art at Bristol Area Library

      BRISTOL -- Bristol Area Library will exhibit recent paintings by South Bristol artist Sally Loughridge during December.

      An instructor at Damariscotta's Round Top Center for the Arts, Loughridge works in soft pastel, watercolor and oil. The play of light, rich colors and diverse forms in the natural world constantly spur her to paint, she said.

      Loughridge is represented in the Midcoast by West Island Gallery in Georgetown, Archipelago in Rockland and Pemaquid Art Gallery.

      Bristol Area Library, Route 130, is open 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays. For information on the exhibit, call 644-1835.

A No Strings 'Scrooge' at the Waldo

      WALDOBORO -- The No Strings Marionette Company of Randolph, Vt. makes its annual visit to present "Scrooge," its version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Waldo Theatre, Main Street.

      The production skillfully blends inspiring music, interesting sets and realistic characters to make the audience forget they are watching puppets. Fifteen large-scale marionettes bring the world of Victorian London to life. Their costumes of velvet and tweed, some new, some showing signs of wear, add a special dimension to this world of make-believe.

      Tickets are $15 for orchestra seating. In the balcony, tickets are $13 adults and $11 younger than 13. Reservations are encouraged; call 832-6060.

Classic Film Series moves to Sundays

      DAMARISCOTTA -- For the winter, Skidompha Public Library's Classic Film Series will move showings from Monday nights to Sunday afternoons, beginning 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.

      Fans of American music will enjoy the three-hour documentary "The Great American Songbook" this weekend. The 2003 film, originally shown on public television, presents the evolution of American popular music from the early 1800s to the 1950s, when rock 'n' roll began. Narrator Michael Feinstein entertainingly leads the audience through development of one of the most cherished and fascinating facets of American history.

      Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, and Hammerstein, Scott Joplin, George M. Cohan, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Hoagie Carmichael, Lerner and Lowe and the Gershwins are only a few of those covered, and their works are presented by nearly 50 artists in movie clips from the Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby to Frank Sinatra and Ethel Waters.

      "The Great American Songbook" will be screened in Skidompha’s Porter Meeting Hall, Elm Street entrance. A donation of $5 will help expand and maintain Skidompha’s classic film collection.

LCCT casts holiday 'Cricket'

      DAMARISCOTTA -- The Lincoln County Community Theater has cast its holiday production, which opens Thursday, Dec. 8.

      The production of the Helen Avery adaptation of Charles Dickens’ "The Cricket on the Hearth" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 8-10, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at the downtown Lincoln Theater.

      Principal characters are Edward (George Workman), who courts May (Samantha Grant), who is betrothed to Mr. Tackleton (Joe Brennan) and is the daughter of Mrs. Fielding (Julie Mackie). May's school friend Dolly (Lucy Clewley) is married to John (Chad Hannah) and assisted by nursemaid Tilly (Jennifer Parlin). The action takes place within and without a toyshop, where Caleb (Mitchell Wellman), an employee of Mr. Tackleton, lives with his blind daughter Bertha (Kaitlin Hannah), who, with the Cricket (Phoebe Clewley), weaves this disparate crowd into cheerful community. Adding order is the policeman (Corey Devin).

      Smaller, but not less important roles, include children, toys, fairies, holly sellers, a lamplighter, a tea kettle and a cuckoo clock played by Conner and Lydia Schneider, Olivia Delisle, Kane, Kenny and Kayla Scheimreif, Jessie Hudson, Sara Mae and Thomas Parlin, Addie Schneider, Maddy Sherill, Ashley Welton, Adria Holmes, Teiga Martin, Nic Phinney and the Clewley twins.

      Tickets for the lively Christmas show are $8 adults and $6 students, available at Maine Coast Book Shop and by calling the Lincoln Theatre at 563-3424.