Oxbow’s annual Music Festival
to be held Saturday
ASHLAND NEWS
by Susan Feeney-Hopkins
Oxbow’s annual Music Festival will take place this Saturday, July 20 at the Mystic Acres Campground in Oxbow. Beginning at 10 a.m., the music plays on until the last band standing! There won’t be any “official” bands playing this year.
Instead, it’s all completely “jam band” sessions, so musicians, bring your instruments and play with your fellow music lovers. Everyone is welcomed to attend and join in.
The typical style of music at the festival is country, bluegrass, gospel and folk. Admission is free, unless you’re camping. For more information and camping reservations, contact Mystic Acres Campground at 435-8077. Attendees should bring their own chairs. Concessions will be sold. This is an outdoor venue so dress accordingly.
Portage Lake ATV Club chicken barbecue
The Portage Lake ATV Club will be holding its annual chicken barbecue fundraiser Saturday, July 20 at the Pavilion from 4-6 p.m. The fee is $8 for adults and $5 for children. The rain date is scheduled for the following day: Sunday, July 21 (same time and place). The barbecue is always a great time to enjoy some good food, hopefully good weather and good friends.
Portage Lake Post Office hour change
The Portage Lake Post Office will undergo a change of operating hours based upon the decision by the United States Postal Service Community Survey results. The new hours will be effective beginning Saturday, July 27 and will be as follows: Monday through Friday, the window will be open for transactions from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and from 12:30-2:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30-11 a.m. The lobby will be open 24 hours a day for residents to access their postal boxes.
SWEET DEAL
Photo courtesy of Susan Feeney-Hopkins
Dan Perreault barters with Corrine Routhier for his favorite flavored lollipop during the Ashland parade. Routhier, who was throwing out candy during the parade, was representing the Ashland Area PTO. Who says only the kids scramble for candy during the parade?
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
Photo courtesy of Susan Feeney-Hopkins
Ashland’s Jessica (Nason) Eastman was both “surprised and honored” with the announcement of her name as the Ashland Citizen of the Year at the town’s Summer Fest ceremony. Chosen for her dedication and involvement with the youth of the community, Eastman teaches dance to local children, is the Miss Ashland pageant director, and is heavily involved with volunteering with the Ashland Recreation Department.
Ashland Summer Fest a blast for all
The town of Ashland was a flurry of activity over the long Fourth of July weekend during the town’s annual Ashland Summer Fest held from July 3-7. The weather could not have been any better (although maybe a little cooler!) the whole weekend through.
There were events for young and old to enjoy throughout the weekend from the softball game and Kids Carnival to the parade and street dance.
The annual model car race, hosted by the Ashland Masonic Association, was once again a fun and successful event with 12 cars participating. There were several first-time participants this year racing in front of a very enthusiastic crowd. The Chet Condon family swept the winners’ circle with Chet Condon winning $50 for first place and his sons, Clark winning $25 for second place and Caiden winning $15 for third place. Eli Walker took Best In Show for the second consecutive year with his “Jaws” shark car. The Masons of Pioneer Lodge wish to thank all of the racers for making it a fun and exciting event.
Ashland named its 2013 Citizen of the Year, with the deserving Jessica (Nason) Eastman being honored for her dedication to the young people of our community, as well as her overall contributions to the town in various other ways. Eastman was, “Very surprised. Shocked.” with the announcement of her name at the ceremony.
Eastman started up a dance program, “Miss Jessica’s Dance Program,” a year ago to give children of all ages and backgrounds a chance to enjoy the art of dance. Along with that, she has held dance recitals to showcase the children’s hard work and efforts. Eastman is also the Miss Ashland pageant director, being responsible for establishing and organizing the pageants. This past year she turned the pageant into a “scholarship” pageant giving our town’s Miss Ashland a $500 scholarship. In essence, Eastman is, and has been, a huge influence on the young people of our community helping to inspire values and self-esteem while also teaching the importance of effort and hard work in achieving life goals.
In addition, Eastman teaches exercise through Adult Ed, is a coach for All Star Gymnastics, and is a 2013 applicant of the Ashland Order of the Eastern Stars. Eastman also volunteers with the Ashland Recreation Department at “every opportunity to help out” hosting their annual Halloween Party and the Kids Carnival during the Ashland Summer Fest. When asked how she felt about being bestowed with such a distinction, Eastman responded in a fashion true to her spirit, “It is such an honor. I do what I do not for the recognition, but to give every child in my program a chance to excel and shine. As my idol once said, ‘The children are our future’ (lyrics by Michael Jackson), I just try to point them in the right direction.”
Raised in Portage Lake and now a resident of Ashland, Eastman graduated from Ashland with the Class of 2000 and recently married her sweetheart Michael Eastman. They have one son, Cole, along with their “first born” Timmy the dog. Congratulations Jessica! No one is more deserving.
Another big event was the first Adventure Race, sponsored as a fundraiser by the Ashland Area Cross Country Ski Club to help the club raise funds needed to maintain the trails. Club members Linda Milligan, Heather Bessey and Amanda Barker planned and organized the event receiving “moral support” from Mike Smith of the Maine Winter Sports Center.
The club is also in the process of acquiring ski equipment to rent to area children for their use so this event will hopefully allow them the ability to do so. A huge turnout included 67 racing participants ranging in age from 12 to 68! The distance of the race was (around) 7 kilometers with 12 challenges along the course. Challenges consisted of a culvert crawl, a climb over a loam pile and then a sawdust pile, log hurdles, and a log challenge involving a log tied 7 feet off the ground between two spruce trees. Participants had to get from one side to the other without touching the ground.
There was also a log carry, tire course, a boom chain drag up hill, two cargo nets — one vertical, one horizontal, a rope cross over a pond and the last event was an Army crawl. In between events the racers were covering rough ground, some on trails and some through the woods without a trail. It was a challenging (and fun) event to say the least, putting the most elite athletes to the test of their own endurance. After the race, participants, volunteers and townspeople enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and awards ceremony. Congratulations for a very successful and well-planned event.
The parade, as always, drew a crowd with children and adults alike enjoying the nice weather and the spirit of the community. Local pageant queens, Scouts, military, classic cars and monster trucks participated in the parade. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day which also included the mud runs, the Kids Carnival and later that night, the street dance. Special thanks to the Ashland Summer Fest Committee for planning another enjoyable weekend of events for us. See you 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.
