NEW GLOUCESTER — Throughout the weekend of July 26 and 27, Shaker Village will offer a series of traditional craft workshops, once-a-year farm tours and folk demonstrations.

Traditional craft workshops require preregistration. Saturday’s workshops are:

* Classic Shaker cabinet joinery with “Dovetails” ($50) in which participants will learn from nationally renowned craftsman Chris Becksvoort the hands-on methods of perfect dovetail joinery, from marking, sawing, chiseling and fitting.

* In “Beginner’s Woodcarving” local master-carver Norm Devonshire will teach how to sharpen knives, cutting techniques and methods of basic woodcarving, while each participant completes a “Scottie-dog” ($50).

* Learn the best techniques for sewing, piecing and basic quilting in “Game Board Pattern Table Runner” ($40) taught by expert local seamstress Diane Devonshire.

* Shaker Village’s herbalist will share her rich knowledge and years of experience with the cultivation, harvest and many uses of lavender, culinary and more, in “Queen of the Garden: Lavender in the Kitchen” ($40).

Advertisement

* Local naturalist Carolyn Fensore will lead “Nature’s Outdoor Classroom,” a 2 1/2 hour hike through the Shakers’ 1,800 acres of diversified habitats while identifying and explaining flora, fauna, geological formations and Shaker history along the way ($8 adults, $2 children).

On Sunday, July 27, from noon until 4 p.m., Shaker Village will participate in statewide Maine Open Farm Day, an afternoon of free tours and free special events for the whole family.

Brother Arnold will conduct tours of the 1830 Shaker barns. Meet the flock of sheep, Scottish highland cattle, honeybees and the barn cats. Guided tours of the historic herb gardens, in cultivation since 1783, will be offered, along with tractor-drawn wagon rides, museum exhibits, the Shaker Store, the Shaker Museum Gift Shop and homemade barbecue lunch plates.

Traditional craft demonstrations will include Shaker textile arts with carding, spinning and weaving by Sandy Dyzak, Janet Cameron and the R&R Spinners; blacksmithing with Tim Greene; woodcarving by the Poland Woodcarvers; rug hooking with Beth Miller; bake sale by the New Gloucester Historical Society, and a plant sale by Donna’s Greenhouse.

Shaker Village is at 707 Shaker Road (Route 26). For more information about individual programs, including start times, reservations and registration, contact 207-926-4597, usshakers@aol.com, www.shaker.lib.me.us or follow on Facebook at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: