The summer season is open in beautiful downtown Phillips! Check out all that’s happening…

The first Flea Market and Craft Sale was held last Saturday at the Phillips Area Community Center (PACC) on Depot Street with an excellent attendance of both vendors and shoppers. This event will be ongoing throughout the summer, held each month on the first Saturday and open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Here is a schedule of other summer events scheduled at PACC: May 9 – Sue and Wendell voter and Friends – country music (6 p.m.); May 31 – Winona Davenport’s 80th Birthday “Roast”; June 5 – Sandy River Ramblers (7-9 p.m.); June 6 – Flea and Craft Market; June 18 – Phillips Town Meeting (6 p.m.); June 21 – Erica Brown and Friends – bluegrass (3 p.m.); July 3 – The Gothard Sisters – Celtic – (7-9 p.m.); July 4 – Flea Market and Craft Sale (10 a.m.-2 p.m.); July 18 – Maranacook String Band (7-9 p.m.); Aug. 1 – Flea Market and Craft Sale (10 a.m.-2 p.m.); Aug. 2 – Dallahan (from Scotland) (7-9 p.m.); Aug. 22 – Old Home Days – “To Be Determined” – local band; Sept. 5 – Flea Market and Craft Sale (10 a.m.-2 p.m.); Sept. 11 – Celtic Music Week bands.

Note especially that tonight is the first concert. Sue and Wendall Voter along with Mike Worthley, Jack Harvey, Bud Godsoe, and Bill Colwell, will provide a night of country music starting at 6 pm. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students, and $3 for children under 12. Don’t forget, Leaders of the PACC get a $1 discount! Refreshments will be on sale.

The Farmers’ Market at the American Legion, also on Depot Street, will open for the summer on Saturday, May 23, as part of the Welcome to Summer event. More about that further on.

On Main Street, The Little White Church Antiques and More also opened last Saturday. Quoting from their official website, “Take a beautiful church built in 1867 in a lovely small town in the western mountains of Maine, add in a couple who are history buffs, mix in retirements and a business plan…and you’ve got The Little White Church Antiques and More, a multi-dealer antique shop and eatery in Phillips, Maine!”

The history buffs/proprietors are Todd and Becky Olson, Proprietors, who have transformed the old church into space for antique dealers, consignments, and a furniture and lighting showroom in the basement. The Little White Church will be open during the month of May on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays only from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. For more information, check out the website: http://www.lwcantiques.com/. Even better, come on up for a visit!

The Sandy River Business Association (SRBA) also has its eyes set on summer.

The first weekend of June, the SRBA, together with Phillips area businesses, will offer their third annual Welcome to Summer celebration. Set for Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7, events include the weekend-long Lilac Festival at Sandy River Gardens – with a free perennial for all who show up – numerous yard sales all over town, a Saturday Farmers’ Market and a large First-Saturday-of-the-Month Flea Market, both on Depot Street from 10 to 2.

Additionally, there will be chances to win prizes by visiting the participating area businesses. To be eligible for prizes, as well as discover selected specials at various venues, pick up a brochure in town and have it validated at the shops and stores you visit. Anyone visiting seven participating businesses (or more) becomes eligible to win one of several prizes in an after-the-event drawing.

One of the key events of Welcome to Summer is The Lilac Festival at Sandy River Gardens on #6 Road, off Route 4 as you are heading towards Madrid. Long a favorite of those who love perennials, the recently expanded nursery of David and Mary Lou King features more than 50 varieties of perennials, especially lilacs, but including roses, flowering shrubs, and blueberry plants. Mary Lou and David will serve free refreshments both Saturday and Sunday, and on Saturday the Narrow Gauge String Band will entertain visitors with their music. Hours both days are 9 to 5.

On Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Fox Carlton Pond Sporting Camps on Fox Carlton Pond Road hosts acclaimed author and storyteller Steven Pinkham who will share his entertaining stories of the Maine woods. Admission is a $5 donation. Camp owner Jon Pound will pass on all proceeds to help construct a playground in Phillips. All three of Steve Pinkham’s books about Maine will be available for sale and signing.

In the spirit of something for everyone, there’s also a treat for history fans. The Phillips Historical Society will be open both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, from 10 to 4, they will be participating, along with the Madrid Historical Society, in the county-wide History Tour. On Sunday, from 11 to 3, the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad will be selling tickets to ride on their narrow gauge train. Trains will depart hourly from Sanders Station on Bridge Street.

“Train rides, antiques, yard sale items, fresh produce and free perennials, a flea market extravaganza, a chance to win prizes,” says business association chair Dick Matthews, “Welcome to Summer on June 6 and 7 is a chance to see what we’re up to here on the upper reaches of the Sandy.”

Finally, for now anyway, Mt. Abram High School Seniors are approaching their long-awaited graduation. Two events leading up to that special evening are the 21st Annual Senior Breakfast which will be served by the MTA faculty and staff on Friday morning, May 29, from 7-8 a.m. in the high school cafeteria. Senior Recognition Night will be on Thursday, June 4, at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium.

And so the summer begins…