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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing
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Mid-Summer Celebrations
By Esther J. Perne Just when the season is at its best — sunny days, cooler nights, refreshing pine-scented breezes, and lakes that are hard to leave, a spirit of celebration takes over the region and from town to village to lake to neighborhood the good times and the fun times roll. Communities, associations, civic groups, downtowns and businesses all contribute time, energy, materials and motivation for what is a feast of wholesome, family-oriented but fun for everyone array of seasonal events. The calendars are loaded, and overloaded, with possible outings. The choices of what to attend are many and can be difficult to select. The weekend, even without benefit of a holiday to lengthen it, begins as early as Wednesday and ends somewhere on Sunday or later. And the festivities, structured but not tightly scheduled, start well before noon and carry on into the night. This, the last weekend in July, along with the beginning of August, offers the summer's best range of activities, near and far. 
Want to attend the theater? Both Lakewood Theater in Madison and The Theater at Monmouth provide historic buildings and great stage performances. For a truly enjoyable small town adventure, on July 28-30 the three one-act plays at the Vienna Union Hall are one of the most unique presentations of the summer. Is art on the agenda? Art in the Park in Farmington on July 29 and the Waterville Intown Arts Fest on July 30 are best viewing bets for local and regional artwork — and for meeting artists. Both shows bring the focus to downtown in other ways, too. Farmington features the day-long, midnight-long Moonlight Madness sales, socializing and dancing on Main Street, while Waterville's festivities will continue into the week with Sidewalk Sales Monday through Wednesday and the Taste of Waterville downtown outdoor dining on Wednesday. On August 4-6 another downtown is in the spotlight at Skowhegan Harvest Days, a celebration that includes, crafts, beano, lobster, and golf. Although the statewide agricultural fair schedule has been going strong all month, fairs in the area are just starting up. A good one to visit is The Monmouth Fair, August 3-6. It's small, yet provides the full fare of livestock, midway, contests, and food. Other fairground activities include the Australian Shepherd Dog Show at Skowhegan July 29-31 and the Medieval Horse Faire at Farmington July 30.
Don't forget food. In addition to all that's been mentioned in connection with larger events, there's a Fire Department Chicken Barbecue in Vienna on July 31 — a great village visit! For an outing in neighborliness, it's lake association annual meeting time — McGrath Pond/Salmon Lake on July 28, East Pond on August 6. And finally, want fun? It's everywhere, but for an official fest of it, the Oakland Lions Club Summer Funfest is scheduled for Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30. It's the ultimate music, food, lawn sale and fireworks small town success formula, and it's close to the lakes. The summer season's at its best and those lakes are hard to leave but those mid-summer celebrations are hard to resist. | ||
