WEST PARIS — Residents will celebrate small-town life with fireworks, a parade, live music, Alumni Day, food and lots more during West Paris Old Home Days over the June 1-3 weekend.
This year’s theme is “Rediscover West Paris: The Gem of Western Maine.”
A flag ceremony will kick off the event at 5 p.m. Friday with Jim Bennett in Civil War attire leading a patriotic singalong. A drumming circle will follow, led by Rusty Wiltjer Pottery and the Rhythm Junkies Drum and Dance Tribe. The Rhythm Junkies will hold a weekly drum circle on Sunday at Highland Lake Park in Bridgton after July 4.
A He-Man Competition (women also welcome) will begin at 6:30 p.m.. Early sign-up is suggested. Contestants must be 18. Call 890-5346 or 890-1142.
Peter Allen and Hurricane Mountain, one of the house bands at the Silver Spur in Mechanic Falls, will perform on Friday. Monsta from Black Mountain in Rumford will play Saturday. JustUs2 will also perform Saturday as part of the Mission Congregational Church’s celebration of its new look. The West Paris Baptist Church will host activities and accept dry goods for its food pantry.
The Finnish American Society and Historical Society will be open and Little Castle Library will host a book signing for “Feldspar, Families and Feuds,” as well as a short presentation by several of its authors. The picture and story book chronicles different experiences by area families with open-pit mining. People will be able to operate a mining sluice and find semiprecious gems from Mt. Mica and have them set in jewelry on-site. Mine tours to Mt. Mica will be offered, for a fee on Sunday, June 3.
Other weekend activities include a parade, display of toy train layouts in the Little Yellow School House, petting zoo, wagon rides, horseshoe tournament, chicken barbecue, baby pageant, showing of Milton Inman’s historic photo collection and more.
Sunday, weather-permitting, the Great West Paris Soap Box Derby will be held on Derby Hill. For more information, call Denny Henderson at 890-3615.
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- The theme for this year’s West Paris Old Home Days, scheduled for June 1-3, is “Rediscover West Paris: The Gem of Western Maine.”
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