Child ID service

RUMFORD – Parents and children are invited to participate in the child identification program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4, at the Moontide Festival on the green.

Children will tape a brief videotape interview, get fingerprinted and have a DNA swab taken. All data collected will be given to parents for safe-keeping. There is no charge for the service, organized by the Masons. FMI: 562-7482 or 369-9422.

Dixfield closing

DIXFIELD – The Dixfield Town Office will be closed all day, Friday, June 29.

Rumford yard sale

RUMFORD – The Youth Group of the Rumford United Methodist Church will hold a yard sale at the Church Parsonage, 50 Franklin St., from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 30. The sale will include an assortment of items, including good clothing, books, games and kitchen utensils. There will also be a few pieces of furniture. The cooks in the church will contribute baked food for that table. The event will include a bottle drive. Bottles can be dropped off at the time of the sale. Proceeds from the sale will include a tithe to the church, and then go for youth projects.

Mason House opens

BETHEL – The Dr. Moses Mason House Museum will open July 1 for its 34th season. Containing nine period rooms, visitors can gain insight into the life and times of a prominent Bethel couple during the 19th century. Hours for tours will be from 1 to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday until Labor Day.

The museum will be closed on Mondays. Volunteer guides are always welcome. Anyone wishing to volunteer for museum tours should call the Society at 824-2908 for further information on scheduling and orientation.

Memorial service

BETHEL – A “Remembering Time” for outstanding volunteer Persis “Sis” G. Post will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 1, in the meeting room of the Dr. Moses Mason House. Post, who died in January, was a very active volunteer at the society for over 20 years and this event will honor her memory.

At 2 p.m., a slide show featuring the Androscoggin River view will be presented to officially commemorate the 2007 exhibit on the river and its history.

Following the slide show, visitors, members and friends will be encouraged to view the exhibit at the Society’s O’Neil Robinson House, which is open this summer Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and Tuesday through Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. from July 1 to Labor Day.

Rumford reading

RUMFORD – Rumford Public Library’s 31st annual Summer Fest program is ready to begin. Ginny Todd, children’s librarian, invites area children and their friends to take part in the wide variety of activities that will be offered during the four week daily schedule of events, which begins on Monday, July 2, and continues through Friday, July 27, with one additional special program scheduled for Tuesday, July 31.

The Summer Fest program is free of charge, and features special guests who bring to the children an hour of fun-filled activity. Programs include magic, crafts, singing, Picnic in the Park story times, theatrical productions, a pet show, and many other interesting events.

Each Friday will feature the noon “Picnic in the Park,” when children bring their lunches and picnic blankets and enjoy their picnics on the back lawn of the library while listening to the day’s storyteller.

A summer reading program, “Get a Clue @ Your Library,” is offered as part of Summer Fest 2007 to encourage reading for enjoyment, and to help children maintain and enhance their reading skills and vocabulary during the school vacation. The reading program began June 24 and continues through July 21.

The schedule for next week is as follows:

Monday, July 2: 3 p.m., Sing-a- Long with Michelle Johnson.

Tuesday, July 3: 3 p.m., Catch the Rhythm Clues with Jim Chandler and Vicky DeLuca. Bring a pair of pot lids to use in creating your own rhythm.

Wednesday, July 4: Closed

Thursday, July 5: 3 p.m., Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? With Amy Breton and Jessica Carrier.

Friday, July 6: Noon, Picnic in the Park. Barbara Hammond shares some of her favorite stories. Bring your lunch and picnic blanket. Rain or shine.

July 4 tradition

BETHEL – The Historical Society will sponsor the 15th annual community picnic on Wednesday, July 4, beginning around noon on the grounds of the Dr. Moses Mason House.

The national colors will be presented by the color guard of the Mundt-Allen American Legion Post and appropriate remarks for the occasion will be made by General Russ Howard, followed by the National Anthem played by the Portland Brass Quintet, which will then proceed with their annual two hour concert.

The event is free and open to all. Those attending should bring a picnic lunch and lawn chair.

This event follows a tradition begun by Dr. Moses Mason in the 1850s where the public was invited for a picnic, Fourth of July patriotic orations and music in the grove in back of his house.

Parade in Otisfield

OTISFIELD – One of the biggest Fourth of July parades in the Oxford Hills will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 4, leading off at Spurr’s Corner Fire Station. The theme for this year’s parade is “Show Your Colors.” People are invited to enter a float, an antique vehicle, fire truck or decorated bike or stroller, or just walk in the parade to show your colors. Set up for the parade begins at 9 a.m. just south of the fire station on Route 121.

Following the parade will be a red, white and blue salute by the fire department, music, a watermelon-spitting contest, face painting, pie contest, free popsicles, popcorn and bottled water. Enter a pie in the pie contest. Pies should be baked in disposable tins, labeled with the type of pie, a name and phone number. Pies will be sold for $5 apiece after the winners are announced. Proceeds will benefit the Kerry Grove Memorial Fund. FMI: 627-6950 or email [email protected].