by Susan Feeney-Hopkins
The Ashland Advent Christian Church will be hosting its annual Christmas craft and bake sale, along with a soup luncheon, Saturday, Nov. 2 in the church basement. The church is located at 42 Exchange St. The craft fair will be held from 8 a.m.-2 p.m., and will feature handmade crafts, Christmas decorations, greeting cards, Rada knives, as well as a white elephant section. An assortment of delicious homemade baked goods will also be sold.
The soup luncheon will be offered from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The cost of the luncheon is $6 per person and will come with a choice of fish chowder, chicken stew or beef soup; rolls, crackers and pickles along with a variety of pudding flavors, including sugar free.
The ladies of the Advent Church hold this annual event to raise funds to help support overseas missionaries, local charities such as the Good Shepherd Thrift Store, the Ashland Food Pantry, Mary and Martha Ministries and Millie’s Mission.
Get your holiday shopping started early! Come out to the Advent Church and support our local ladies who work so hard to help others.
Hunters’ breakfast
The Ashland Fire Department will be hosting its fourth annual hunters’ breakfast Saturday, Nov. 9 from 4-9 a.m. at the firehouse. Breakfast will include pancakes served with hot maple syrup, homemade hash browns, eggs, sausage, bacon, homemade toast and breakfast beverages.
This “all you can eat” meal will cost $6 per person. There will be baked goods for purchase, as well. Door prizes will be drawn throughout the morning (with thanks to our local merchants)! Raffle tickets will also be sold with the proceeds going toward holiday gift baskets and needed fire department equipment. Three raffle tickets will be drawn toward the end of the breakfast. You do not need to be present to win.
The fire department, as always, wishes to express their appreciation for the community support in making this a memorable breakfast!
Indoor craft fair and flea market
Tillikum Chapter 99 Order of the Eastern Star will present its annual indoor craft and flea market Saturday, Nov. 9 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Rec Center on Exchange Street in Ashland.
Besides all the wonderful crafts and flea market items, there will be a food sale and raffle basket. Tables are still available for crafters or flea marketers for a small donation of $15. This is a great opportunity to sell your crafts and wares while supporting a worthy local organization.
For more information, call Andrea at 435-6363.
The second annual Haunted Hayride at the home of Marcelle Gagnon was once again a huge success thanks to the volunteers and attendees. Held Saturday, Oct. 19, wagon rides took willing participants on a hair-raising journey throughout Gagnon’s 26-acre homestead on Fox Hill Road, which has one of the most scenic views of Portage Lake and the surrounding wilderness.
This year’s event was dedicated to the memory of the late John Gagnon, who unexpectedly passed away in April of a heart attack. He loved Halloween, loved his family and especially loved entertaining people, so this was the perfect way to remember him!
The hayride was once again held as a fundraiser for the Dubois Family Reunion to be held in Portage Lake as part of the 2014 World Acadian Congress. Volunteers included family members and friends with special thanks being sent to tractor drivers Rob Reece and Dave Pierce, and the decorating committee — Marcelle Gagnon, Sandra and Darrell Soucy, Tony Gagnon and Bev and Louie Miller.
The decorating committee began decorating the woods and fields about three weeks before the hayride. Also, thanks to Sue and Jeff Roberts who rode on one of the tractors and told spooky stories to the riders, helping to make for an even scarier ride. Thanks to the Ashland Boy Scout Troop 179 members Jack Routhier, Otis Nelson, Tristan Perreault and Graham Berry who dressed up to help scare the riders.
Attendance at the hayride was steady most of the day, with a majority of people arriving within the first hour. People came from as far away as Mars Hill and Fort Kent to take a ride. The woods and fields were adorned with seasonal Halloween decorations such as spider webs and scarecrows, with live characters scattered throughout to scare and entertain the riders. An hour in to the rides, one of the wagons had a tire blowout, so they were down to one wagon for most of the day, but it all worked out just fine. Overall, the reunion committee made over $800.
Each child was given a goodie bag after their ride which included candy, glow sticks or wristbands and trinkets like rings and toys. Raffle tickets were also sold in support of the reunion, sold by the Dubois Family Reunion Committee with the prizes being a handmade glider swing and Adirondack chairs, a handmade knife, handmade quilt and an original painting. All in all, another great event! Here’s hoping for another hayride next year.
Susan Feeney-Hopkins is the correspondent for Ashland, Portage Lake, Oxbow, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville Plantation and the surrounding areas. She can be reached at 227-7760 or Feenhop@aol.com.
