WFCP Home Time Radio Hour 

WFCP is back “on the air” with an all-new collection of music and radio sketches to kick off the holidays Dec. 2-4. The cast – both familiar faces and new talent – will entertain with hit songs of the 1960s performed by singers accompanied by the WFCP Band. The new, original radio sketches will include live input by the Sound Effects Ladies.  Scheduled to appear are: Andrew Chipman, Andrew Favreau, Barb Finn, Betty Gravelle, Bill Hansen, Daric Ebert, David Wallace, Denise Shannon, Diane Whitmore, Don Labbe, Ellen Ebert, Holly Hurd, Jackie Downing, Jake Junkins, Jo Trallard, Johannah DeGrandpre, Judy Lloyd, Kelsey Goldsmith, Lenore DiFiore, Maryellen Carew, Michael Boucher, Penny Davis Dublin, Phil Chin, Randy Hunt, Rob Babson, Roey McAlister, Ronda Dale, Sally Grover, Sam Hunneman and Yvonne Devine. Come enjoy comedy and fun for all ages at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St. Tickets are $15 at the door and $10 in advance at www.fcponline.org/tix.htm and at Maine Wicked Goods Mercantile, 304 US Route 1 South. 

L.L. Bean Nordic Team Night

Nordic coaches and middle school and high school Nordic skiers are invited to Nordic Team Night at the L.L. Bean Bike, Boat and Ski Store from 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1. Parents are welcome to join. The event will begin with dry land training by Lilly Naimie, a New Hampshire native and a ski racer at Colby College. Clinics being offered from 5:30-6:30 p.m. include strength and conditioning with coach Joel Hinshaw from Freeport High School. There will be several door prizes and raffles, including signed gear from the U.S. Ski Team.

Taste test five types of tea 

Sip free samples of five varieties of tea while browsing the gift shop at Jacqueline’s Tea Room, 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1. The shop is located at 201 Main St. For more information, visit Jacquelinestearoom.com.

Help transport Freeport Elders

Raffle tickets are being sold to support the Freeport Elders’ bus fund, with winning tickets to be drawn Dec. 9. Prizes include a lobster trap coffee table; $100 gift certificates to Wal-Mart and Hannaford; an American Doll with accessories; a handmade quilt; and a handcrafted latch hook rug. Single tickets are either $1 or $2, with discounts for multiple ticket purchases.

Celebrate the season with local chorus

The Greater Freeport Community Chorus, with nearly 70 singers from 15 Midcoast towns, will celebrate native choral traditions at its winter concert titled “And the Glory Shone Around” in Brunswick and Yarmouth.

Directed by Virgil Bozeman and accompanied by pianist Kellie Moody, the singers will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Brunswick, 1 Middle St., and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 396 Gilman Road, Yarmouth.

The program will include several shape-note pieces. It will also feature songs that celebrate the Native American Huron and Wichita cultures, traditional Christmas spirituals and a jazz arrangement.

Shape notes, a simplified form of music notation used in American singing schools during the 1800s, are associated with sacred music. Shape-note singing began in New England but for many years survived primarily in the South.

“Huron Carol” is an arrangement of a Canadian Christmas hymn that refers to hunters, rather than shepherds, and uses the Algonquian name Gitchi Manitou for God. GFCC sopranos and altos will perform “Morning Star Lullaby” in the Wichita language.

A celebration of American music wouldn’t be complete without jazz. Accordingly, the chorus will perform a Dave Brubeck arrangement of “We Three Kings.” The group will sing several traditional African-American spirituals: a Philip Kern arrangement that combines “Rise Up Shepherd, and Follow” with “Behold That Star!” plus an arrangement by Moses and Edwin B. Hogan of “God’s Gonna Set This World on Fire.” Also on the program are works adapted or arranged by Americans Aaron Copland and Alice Parker.

Admission at the door is $10 for adults, with a per-family maximum of $25 and free admission for anyone younger than 18. Visit the chorus on Facebook or at www.gfccsings.org.

Church hosting holiday concerts

Freeport First Parish Church will be offering organ music performed by Dr. Burt Dudding to help anyone in the area who may be seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. All are welcome to join Dudding for his rendition of traditional and contemporary carols noon-12:30 p.m. Dec. 8,15, and 22. The church is located at 40 Main St.; see www.Freeport First Parish.org for more. 

It’s Sparkle season

Freeport’s Sparkle Weekend on Dec. 2-3 promises fun for everyone, with free horse-drawn wagon rides, a Parade of Lights, free hot cocoa, visits with Santa, and a talking Christmas tree. Bring your list and find something for everyone while strolling through a charming Maine village and tucking in to playfully decorated shops. For a full schedule of events: http://sparklecelebration.com/.

Send Freeport, Durham and Pownal community notes to Kathleen Meade at tritownnotes@gmail.com.

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