Summertime can be a fun time in many Sebasticook Valley Towns

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Formerly known as the Newport Area Chamber of Commerce, the Sebasticook Valley Chamber of Commerce has planned a summer full of events from June through September. This region includes Corinna, Detroit, Etna, Hartland, Newport, Palmyra, Pittsfield, Plymouth, St. Albans, and Stetson.

The Newport Annual Festival will be held July 1-4.

From 7-10 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, a pancake buffet breakfast will kick off the festival at the Legion Hall in Newport. Townspeople know the site, while others can rely on big signs on the main streets that will direct them if their noses don’t. The town welcomes hungry travelers to partake of this annual breakfast.

At 1 p.m., the High Street Congregational Church will hold an auction.

From 1-6 p.m., a tennis tournament will be held at the tennis court followed by a buffet supper from 5-6:30 p.m. at the High Street Congregational Church.

If you’re not too full after all that home cooking, why not try your hand at the cribbage tournament? A $2 fee lets you play from 7-9 p.m. at the East Newport Grange Hall.

The Festival’s second day, Sunday, July 2, begins with morning church worship at local churches. There is also a service at the Historical North Newport Church at 11 a.m. with Rev. Charles Pentland officiating.

At 10 a.m., a horseshoes tournament will be held at the Legion Hall.

On Monday, July 3, a 5K road race or health walk, begins at 8 a.m. Racers, whether walking or running, start and finish at the Legion area.

At 9 a.m., the library on Main Street will host a book sale and food sale.

At 10 a.m., a street parade in the Cisco area commences. The festival committee invites businesses and others who want to sponsor a float to participate in the parade.

Various children’s activities and games will be held in the Legion area throughout the afternoon to keep the kids occupied while they await the Kiddy Parade that begins at 6 p.m.

At 7 p.m., a boat parade, sponsored by the Lake Assoc. will be afloat on Sebasticook Lake.

At dusk, near 9 or 9:30 p.m. a fireworks display will illuminate the lake area and bid farewell to Newport Festival 1995.

Local businesses and food establishments will sell “50-50” raffle tickets throughout the Festival, so the prize equals 50 percent of the total collected. A history of Newport, originally published in 1914, was recently reprinted and will be on sale at the library and the historical society for $6.95. The Newport Historical Society Museum is open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Festival Saturday and the remaining Saturdays throughout the summer.

Also in Newport, the festivities continue when on Friday, June 16, the Anah Temple Shrine will present a festival that includes golf tournaments, steak and lobster feeds, two dances and their annual parade.

The celebratory weekend begins on Friday, with an 18-hole golf match played in Palmyra. This year, a ladies’ golf tournament will also be played at the Orchard View Golf Course in Newport. Other festivities include a steak feed on Friday night after golf.

On Saturday, June 17, march along with the Anah Temple Shriners as they host their annual Shrine Parade. The parade will start at 10 a.m. at Gilman Electric Co., march down Main Street, and end at the Newport Elementary School on Elm Street.

The parade will include Anah Temple’s 31 marching units. Also featured will be units from Luxor Temple in New Brunswick, and Kora Temple in Lewiston. Anah Temples are from northern and eastern Maine, with 4,000 members, or nobles.

Children will delight as the popular clowns, a miniature Indy-car unit, and the mini-bikes and motorcycles cruise along the route with the “Funsters,” which are recognizable cartoon characters like the Pink Panther. a lobster feed will be served on Saturday night following two dances.

This year’s Potentate, Goodie Gilman, lives in Newport, the site of the ceremonial parade, which is customarily held in the Potentate’s hometown. Gilman expects the parade and the incidental activities will draw about 3,000 visitors to the Newport area.

“This is the time the Shriners bring in new candidates,” Gilman said. “We hope to bring in about 125 candidates.”

June 30 marks the opening of something that Newport residents have anticipated even before the last growing season: the opening of Newport’s Farmers’ Market. After being virtually abandoned in past years, this year’s market will be held on Route 7, near “Bear’s One-Stop Market.”

This year marks Hartland’s 175th anniversary. The town has planned its celebration for June 22-25, including these events:

On Thursday, June 22, a Royalty Pageant for boys and girls, for elementary, junior high, and high school-age girls, will be presented at the Town Hall. Boys, to age 10, will escort the pageant participants..

On Friday June 23, baby-picture contest judging will take place, along with a dedication of the library addition, followed by a kids’ parade at 6 p.m.

A frog jumping contest, featuring live frogs “fresh out of the bog,” will take place prior to a dance for high school students.

On Saturday, June 24, a breakfast will be held at the fire hall from 6 to 9 a.m. followed by the opening of booths and displays at the Consolidated School grounds.

The parade begins at 10 a.m., featuring equipment and antique autos, led by a grand marshall. The one-mile parade route starts at the Tannery Annex on Rt. 43, and winds through town to the Consolidated School grounds.

Following the parade, at 11 a.m., a firemen’s muster will be held.

In honor of the town’s anniversary, those who wish to buy postage cancellations on the commemorative date may do so at 11:30 a.m. at the Consolidated School.

For lunch, the Hartland-St. Albans Lions Club will hold a chicken barbecue. For dessert, the Outlook Club will sponsor a pie sale on the school grounds.

The celebration’s not over yet, since the afternoon activities begin with pony pulling, horshoe pitching, arm wrestling, weight lifting, a sack race, a dunk tank, and a jail

From 1-4 p.m., awards will be given to the day’s winning contestants.

Open houses will be held at the Sanfield Living Center, the Hartland Public Library, Scott-Webb Medical Center, and the Hartland Junior High, formerly the Hartland Academy building. Irving Tanning Co. will have a company store open house.

Special antiques displays will be presented at the Consolidated School. An evening street dance on Main Street will be held followed by a fireworks display that will close the day’s activities at about 9:30.

On Sunday, the festival officially ends with church services at three different churches. The town is going all out, since a 175-year anniversary comes just once.

On Sept. 9-10, the 4th annual New England State Snowmobile Grass Drag Race Championship will be held in a huge field near the East Newport-Plymouth exit of I-95 with 125 racers from all over New England and Canada expected. The Sebasticook Valley Snowmobile Club sponsors the race.

Snowmobiles line up four abreast on the grass and race down the straight grass track. The race committee must follow stringent state rules, and state engineers will be on hand to inspect the track for safety.

Mowing continues throughout the summer, followed by a pass by a heavy lawn roller to pack the track. Sawyer Environmental Services will deliver and retrieve about 3,000 tires that will form the barricades between the racers and spectators.

Car and snowmobile dealers will display their merchandise during the race. Food concessions, T-shirts sales, ATV pulls, and Saturday entertainment are also on the agenda.

A first this year, Sharon and Robert Creighton, a couple who have been instrumental in promoting snowmobiling and the grass race, will receive the National Snowmobile Foundation Recognition Award at the International Snowmobile Congress in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In past years, only individuals have won the award.

Other area events include:

July 17-22 — The annual Pittsfield Egg Festival will be held.

July 22 — The date set aside to celebrate Stetson Day.

July 22 — Is also Etna’s 175th anniversary.

Aug. 5 — Marks the date for the St. Albans All Day Summer Fest.

Sept. 23 — The date for the New England Antique Tractor Club Field Day at Detroit.