Sixth Annual Snowshoe Festival and more recycling tips

This year’s festival will take place with support from Norway Downtown, Healthy Oxford Hills, Western Foothills Land Trust, United Way of Oxford County and Great Maine Outdoor Weekend.

There will be a Norway-made snowshoes and Paris Manufacturing Company Special Exhibit on display from Feb. 12 to 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at Pa’s Antique Attic, 1192 Main St., Oxford. A $3 contribution is requested. Proceeds will benefit the Norway Food Pantry.

The festival will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, with President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday snowshoe walk at Shepard’s Farm Preserve, 121 Crockett Ridge Road, Norway. The preserve features six Bernard Langlais sculptures and a one-mile snowshoe loop trail. Snowshoes are available upon request. Stove top hats are suggested.

This year’s contra dance will be held at the Norway Grange, where Dunham and fellow snowshoe maker Nate Noble often performed, on Friday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. Pam Weeks will play fiddle, Bill Olson will call. The dance is suitable for all ages and experience levels. A $5 contribution is requested. No street shoes are allowed on the dance floor.

On Saturday, Feb. 13, the United Way of Oxford County will hold its “cupid dash” snowshoe races at Roberts Farm Preserve, 64 Roberts Road, Norway, at 9:30 a.m. Three races – a 2.5k, 5k and 10k – are offered. All proceeds benefit the good works of the United Way. Snowshoes are available upon request.

The annual Family Snow Shoe Games, including the annual world’s only Snowshoe Wife Carry, will be held at Roberts Farm Preserve, 64 Roberts Road, from 10 a.m. to noon. Snowshoes are available on site.

This year’s festival is also part of the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend, which promotes outdoor activities across Maine. For more information, visit greatmaineoutdoorweekend.org.

For a full list of events visit wfltmaine.org

DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to Mark about recycling styrofoam, Goin’ Postal behind Cumberland Farms in Auburn takes packing peanuts. I have been bringing them my packing peanuts and extra boxes for several years. — Alice, Otisfield.

ANSWER: Sun Spots reached out to Goin’ Postal to confirm, and yes, they occasionally accept packing peanuts and other packaging in an effort to reuse and recycle but currently have more than they need. They suggest sharing your excess packaging materials with Ebay users who frequently ship items requiring lots of packaging. Sun Spots also recommends the use of social media or online services such as craigslist and freecycle.org to give away your excess reusable packaging to those who need it.

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