NEW SHARON — Building on last year’s success, the second annual Prince Baker Day promises even more activities.
The festival begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, with a bike and carriage parade at the Town Office. The day ends with a dance from 8 to 11 p.m. featuring Dime Store Heroes at Pitcher Perfect Tire.
Over 200 people came to the first Prince Baker Day last year, festival organizer Darlene Power said.
Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols and Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Tom Ward are ready for a dunking in the Dunk Tank.
One dollar provides two balls to try to dunk the sheriff or superintendent. The donations from this will go to Debbie Donald Tracy who is fighting cancer, she said.
Since New Sharon is known as the “home of the brownie whoopie pie,” it seemed appropriate for a whoopie pie-baking contest to join the whoopie pie-eating contest this year, she said. All kinds of whoopie pies will be judged on appearance, texture and flavor. The baking contest begins at 11 a.m and the whoopie pie-eating contest at 2 p.m.
Some new features this year include a second water slide for children under 7 years of age, a football throw, a Kids’ Fun Run 1-mile foot race and firetruck rides. A costumed street performer and professional clowns will mingle among the crowd, she said.
Once again, Sandy River General Store will provide hot dogs for Fire Chief John Welch to grill, free for festival-goers, she said.
The Roger Lyford Smith Soap Box Derby begins at 4:30 p.m. on Lane Road. Specifications are on the town’s Facebook page.
At 7 p.m., a short history of Prince Baker, New Sharon’s earliest settler, and a video presentation of “The People Act — New Sharon Builds A School” will be shown at the church next door.
Nancy Porter of Farmington researched the story of the former school, which had burned and was rebuilt at the site where the Town Office is now.
Members of the Historical Committee wanted to bring back a summer festival like the town used to enjoy as a way to honor the town’s founding settler, as well as incorporate the town history into the day’s events, Power previously said.
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One contestant in last year’s Roger Lyford Smith Soap Box Derby unloads his car during Prince Baker Day in New Sharon.
One dollar provides two tries to dunk the Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols, left, or the RSU 9 Superintendent Tom Ward, in the Dunk Tank, at Prince Baker Day in New Sharon on Saturday.
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