Downtown Lisbon Street will be bustling with holiday activity for last minute shoppers at the 5th Annual Sparkle Saturday, December 14.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Poise Yoga Studio and J. Dostie Jewelers, 30 venues will be open with 45 artisans presenting their work in shops along the street. Jewelry; specialty gifts; collectibles; ayurvedic oils; skin care products; handbags; beer; wine; specialty teas; floral arrangements; paintings; photography; pottery; clothing; note cards; books; locally roasted coffee; stuffed animals; yarn; gift baskets; artisan oils and vinegars; shoes; wine tastings and more. And all ‘round joie de vivre!

Downtown Lewiston is experiencing a renaissance boom in office, residential and restaurant development. But retail is a different story. The growth of online shopping has changed the face of many downtown and mall shopping centers. 

Five years ago, three individuals, Sandy Marquis, Heidi Audet and Tammie Grieshaber, organized the first Sparkle Sunday, wanting to bring a flash of the historic retail excitement that brought hundreds to Lisbon Street many years ago. With feedback from vendors and shoppers, the event moved to Saturday in 2018. And this year the newly formed Downtown Lewiston Association has stepped up to coordinate and provide support for the popular event.

This one-day pop-up retail experience aims to recreate the hustle and bustle of meeting your neighbors on the street while holiday shopping. Blue Sparkle flags will mark each venue, where maps with vendor listings will be available. The following restaurants will offer Sparkle Saturday food and drink specials: Boba, Mother India, Sonder & Dram, Cowbell, Forage Market, Baraka Market, Mogadishu Restaurant, Global Halal, Taste of Heritage, and Simones Hot Dogs. Two Grand Raffle Baskets of gifts and gift certificates will go to two lucky shoppers who visits 20 of the 30 venues during the event. Parking is free in the Oak Street and Canal Street garages.

 The Chocolate Church Arts Center will present a special Christmas performance from the Grammy-awarded and Emmy-nominated fiddler Eileen Ivers and her ensemble of musicians on Sunday, December 22 at 7:30 p.m. The show, Eileen Ivers’ A Joyful Christmas, will mix traditional Irish songs, reinterpreted classical music and holiday tunes, and what Ivers affectionately calls “foot stomping and hollering roots music.”

Ivers, dubbed “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by The New York Times, is the daughter of Irish immigrants.  She grew up in the Bronx, where at the age of eight, she became active in the Irish traditional music scene. She went on to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, and a tenth on tenor banjo. From there, Ivers hurtled to international stardom, performing as a founding member of the acclaimed Celtic group Cherish the Ladies, as well as with superstars like Sting, Hall and Oates, and Patti Smith. Her recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums, and numerous movie scores, including Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.

For over twenty years, Eileen Ivers and her ensemble have been celebrating the holiday season with A Joyful Christmas. The voices and over twenty instruments of the ensemble weave together a Celtic tradition with a contemporary sensibility, as Ivers uses a loop pedal to create unique textures with sensational virtuosity. This will be a tuneful, soulful celebration capturing the Christmas spirit and rejoicing in the magic of the holiday season. 

Tickets for Eileen Ivers’ A Joyful Christmas range from $38-$42 in advance or $47 at the door and are available at www.chocolatechurcharts.org or by calling 207-442-8455. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office of the Chocolate Church Arts Center, located at 804 Washington Street in Bath.

LA Arts will host an exhibition of “KindSpring,” a quilt created by local Green Dot LA members in support and celebration of the Green Dot bystander intervention program, designed to help reduce threats and violence in the Twin Cities. The quilt will be on view December 12 through January 10, in the LA Arts Gallery, 221 Lisbon Street in Lewiston. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 12 to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibition is free, and the community is invited to attend.

As a local volunteer initiative committed to making the community a better and safer place, Green Dot LA offers strategies for safe and effective responses to hurtful and hateful words and behaviors. The quilt’s design conveys the program’s central image of positive “green dot” actions that people can learn in response to negative “red dot” incidents of harassment and violence. The quilt makers include Kitsie Claxton, Eileen Fair, Linda Matzen, Patty Weidler, Wendy Mitchell, Betsy Dorr and June Zellers.

The quilt showcases a central Green Dot tenet that “no one can do everything but everyone can do something.” According to the artists’ statement, “the larger spiral formed by circles suggests the way in which the culture of our community can grow – as our small individual actions gather force and strength over time—in the direction of kindness and safety for all.”

Since 1973, LA Arts, the arts agency for the cities of Lewiston and Auburn Maine, has pursued a mission to engage and inspire a vibrant community through arts and culture. The agency works with governments, businesses, schools and local arts and cultural organizations to create opportunities for community members across the generations to experience, learn, and participate in the arts. LA Arts organizes arts programs and initiatives, supports the work of local artists and art organizations, and highlights the essential role the arts play in shaping an economically vital, socially integrated, and forward-looking future for its community. Learn more at www.laarts.org.

Health care you know saves lives, that’s obvious.

It shouldn’t be a luxury to have health care, or a privilege reserved for, you know, well to do people, but more than 106,000 Maine people still don’t have health insurance.

A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that in Maine, about 180 people between the ages of 55 and 64 who died in the years from 2014 to 2017 would have lived if they had had better access to health care. That is simply unacceptable.

Everyone gets sick at some point in their lives. Everyone needs to go to a doctor. As Governor, my top priority is to ensure that every Maine person can see a doctor, get preventive care and afford critical prescription medications, be healthy, work and care for their families.

While Washington politicians have attacked the critical health care services that we rely on, Maine has expanded Medicaid, known as MaineCare, and more than 42,000 people have signed up for health insurance under the MaineCare expansion so far this year.

One of those people is Kathy Stewart, a Waterville area hairdresser. She has emphysema and she has struggled to afford oxygen until now, when she finally got MaineCare coverage this year.

I don’t think any person should live with the constant fear of becoming ill or maybe even being unable to breathe because they can’t afford to go to a doctor, can’t afford to fill a prescription, or can’t afford to get life-saving care. Well like Kathy, now they don’t have to.

In this legislative session, in addition to Medicaid expansion, I also signed LD 1, “An Act To Protect Health Care Coverage for Maine Families.”

This legislation codified critical Affordable Care Act protections, including guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions, a ban on lifetime and annual caps on coverage and allowing young adults up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance, as well as coverage for essential health services such as ambulance services, prescription drugs, and pediatric care.

Our Administration is sponsoring a statewide campaign right now called CoverME to help Maine people including self-employed people and small businesses understand all of their health insurance options and to sign up for the coverage they need that’s best for them.

This campaign is funded by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant, not with state dollars.

Maine is pursuing a state-based marketplace to put the state–not the federal government–in the driver’s seat when it comes to health care, but you should know that private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is available now to all Maine people.

The enrollment period for Affordable Care Act plans is open now and goes until December 15. Almost 75 percent of Maine enrollees can find a plan for $75 a month or less. Of course, you can sign up for MaineCare insurance if you’re eligible at any time of the year.

If you need health insurance, or need to find a less expensive plan, please visit www.CoverME.gov to learn about coverage options for you and to get enrolled in an affordable and an effective health care plan.

The Women’s Literary Union Christmas Open House and Fair will be December 6, 7, and 8 from 4 to 7 p.m. each night. Admission is $2. Bring your camera on Saturday, December 7 to take photos with Santa from 4 to 7 p.m.

The Woman’s Literary Union has decorated the first floor of the historic Foss Mansion at 19 Elm Street in Auburn for a Christmas Open House and Fair. For sale will be gift baskets, holiday items and more. The grand staircase is decorated for the holidays offering an opportunity for your Christmas photos.

The festive holiday decor blends beautifully with the mansion’s architectural splendor. Built between 1914 and 1917 for Horatio G. and Ella May Fletcher Foss. The distinctive mansion is a landmark of the Historic Downtown Auburn District and was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1976.

The Woman’s Literary Union of Androscoggin County is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization. For more information check womansliteraryunion.org or call Kathy Lawrence at 795-6134 or email at kmlawrence@aol.com

 The Chocolate Church Arts Center turns the holiday spotlight on family entertainment with a theater production of A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol. The cast of adults and children from Bath, Brunswick, and beyond will perform the show on December 12 to 14 at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, December 15 at 2 p.m.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol takes on a new twist in this charming production, as the classic tale is told by beloved fairy tale characters – the big bad wolf takes on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, King Midas adopts Jacob Marley, and the show features appearances from the three little pigs, Mother Goose, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and more.

A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol will be directed by Michael Millett of Topsham, who recently appeared as the endearing King Pellinore in the Chocolate Church Arts Center’s fall production of Camelot. Billy Rankis of Brunswick takes on the simultaneous role of the big bad wolf and Ebenezer Scrooge, and Mother Goose will be played by Bath’s Deborah Patterson. Other cast members include Keith Libby, Carolyn Frederick, Charles McDonald, Jodi Rodriguez, and Shirley Bernier. 

A holiday theater production has become a tradition at the Chocolate Church Arts Center, and A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol is ideal for family members of all ages to soak in the festive spirit. Tickets for the show at the Chocolate Church Arts Center, located at 804 Washington Street, are available at www.chocolatechurcharts.org or by calling the box office at (207) 442-8455.

On December 14 and 15 at 3p.m., the MMS Chorale will present its annual Heritage Holidaysconcert featuringthe exquisite Christmas cantata Hodieby Ralph Vaughan Williams at Gendron Franco Center, 46 Cedar Street, Lewiston.   Come immerse yourself in this moving musical rendition of the familiar Christmas story composed by one of the most beloved British composers.  Our featured soloists for Hodie will send shivers down your spine and the chorale will have you wanting to shout Allelulia.  Sopranos Becky Goodenough, Laura Grams and Torey Gimpel, Tenor Brian Pfohl, and Baritone Carl Steidel are superb in their storytelling roles. 

In addition, the Chorale will perform seasonal Chanukah songs and Christmas carols selected to put you in the true holiday spirit.  Keeping with tradition, the concert will end with everyone joining in to sing a round of beloved Christmas carols.  

Celebratingthe holiday seasonwith the Maine Music Society Chorale has become a beloved tradition in the L/A area, and you won’t want to miss this highlight of the concert season. There’ll be music for everyone. Come usher in your holiday joy with this extraordinary seasonal event! 

For a preview of what’s in store, listen in to John Corrie and Susan Trask on Maine’s Big Z 105.5’s Breakfast Club on Tuesday, December 3, at 8:00 a.m.

For more information visit our website at www.mainemusicsociety.org or like us on Face book!  You can also call our business office, SmART Management, at 207-333-3386.  

Sponsors are Gleason Media, Maple Way Dental Care, Platz Associates, Paris Farmers Union and Liberty Mutual.

Ticket Information: Reserved Seating: Adult: $22; Senior: $20; Student: $10; under 12: Free*. *When accompanied by an adult. Plus a $2 handling fee per ticket. Group discount: 20% off price before handling fee for 10 or more tickets to the same performance.

Dirigo Federal Credit Union partnered with the Maine Credit Union League’s Campaign for Ending Hunger and donated $24,272 for the 2019 Campaign.  All money raised from the was distributed to hunger organizations and food pantries located in Androscoggin & Oxford Counties on November 18, 2019 when leaders from the local organizations were invited to the Credit Union to receive donations.  Checks were given to twenty local agencies including Rural Community Action Ministry, Trinity Jubilee Center, St. Martin de Porres, St. Mary’s Food Pantry, Poland Community Church Food Bank, Oxford Helping Hands Food Pantry, Hope Haven, New Beginnings, The Root Cellar, Mannafed, Seniors Plus, Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry, The Store Next Door, Harrison Food Bank, and The Good Shepard Food Bank.

While my home remains in Farmington, Maine, as Governor it is my honor and privilege to reside at the Blaine House–as governors before me have done since 1919.

The Blaine House is a living tribute to our state. It is owned by the people of Maine and it is faithfully maintained and has been modernized by stewards for generations.

For more than 100 years the Blaine House has welcomed world leaders in search of guidance, including President John F. Kennedy, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, William Tecumseh Sherman, Margaret Chase Smith, Andrew Wyeth, Amelia Earhart, and even heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey.

Well this week we honored that legacy and took another step towards leadership by unveiling 61 new solar panels on the Blaine House garage and the grounds- leading the way towards a clean energy future for Maine.

The solar panels, installed by Maine company Revision Energy, will supply 26,000 kilowatt hours per year of clean, renewable electricity–enough to cover at least 25 percent of the Blaine House’s electrical needs. These panels are expected to eliminate large amounts of carbon pollution each year, about the equivalent of not burning 43 barrels of oil. 43 barrels of oil is a lot. When I talk about Maine people sending $5 billion out-of-state every year to pay for fossil fuel, that is exactly what I am talking about.

Whether it is heating the Blaine House or heating your house, filling up a state-owned car or your car, the big, out-of-state fossil fuel companies have too tight a grip on Maine people. They’re always forcing us to dig deeper, to buy oil or gas that harms our pocketbooks, our health, our air and our environment. Enough is enough.

So, while these panels will have a substantial impact on the efficiency of the Blaine House, we view them as only a start for state government. Maine is ready to lead. That’s why I also signed an Executive Order this week directing Maine State Government to lead by example in pursuing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability.

It only makes sense that, as one of the largest consumers in Maine, our state government should be a role model in reducing energy use, embracing sources of renewables, curbing carbon pollution and recycling and reducing solid waste – all of which will lower operating costs at the same time.

This Executive Order directs state agencies to meet or exceed the state’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets. The goals for our state as a whole should also be goals for state government, and we will do our part to meet them.

First and foremost, we will prioritize energy efficiency whenever we upgrade state buildings.

We will pursue renewable energy generation and energy storage on state property whenever possible, and if not possible, we will purchase our energy from low-carbon sources.

We will add more electric vehicles when replacing old vehicles in the state fleet and we’ll install more electric vehicle charging stations at public facilities so that employees can charge their cars while they work. We will conserve energy and water and minimize waste and packaging. We will lead by example on the path to a cleaner, greener future and create green-collar jobs at the same time.

Now, not every person in Maine needs to install 61 solar panels to make a difference. I ask you to think about small, affordable changes you can make – from changing lightbulbs, tightening up doors and windows, insulating your basement or attic – keeping more money in your pocket and protecting our environment at the same time.

As this residence greeted leaders of the past, now the Blaine House greets a new generation of leaders in a manner that strengthens our economy, and protects the irreplaceable and beautiful state and natural resources which we share and care for.

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.