ASHLAND NEWS by Susan Feeney-Hopkins
The Ashland Logging Museum is looking forward to hosting the upcoming Fall Festival to be held Sunday, Sept. 29 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on the museum grounds in Ashland.
The Fall Festival has become a very fun and relaxing way for the community to get together one last time for the season before the fall completely overtakes the area.
There are lots of entertaining and family-friendly activities planned. The Ashland Boy Scouts will host a hay bale obstacle course, the Girl Scouts will lend a hand with the kids’ craft table and Northeast Pellets is supplying sawdust for a sawdust pile for the little kids. There will be pumpkins to decorate and the opportunity to make and decorate a cookie to be baked in a reflector oven! Several local community members will be bringing animals including horses and chickens.
Master carver Tom Cote will be displaying and demonstrating his carvings. Tom will also hold a “30-minute carving competition” where individuals can purchase (for a small fee) a shaped plank from Tom. Participants will then be have 30 minutes to create a carving that will be judged at the end of the day. This activity is open to both adults and kids, but you have to bring your own knife and, according to Tom, “promise not to cut off your thumb.”
The Logging Museum will be selling lunch with your choice of a sausage sub or hot dog with onions and green peppers, along with Lois’ famous potato salad, pasta salads and homemade desserts. All for just $8 per plate. There will be several volunteers making and serving delicious free samples including ice cream, applesauce and pressed apple cider.
As in previous years, the Logging Museum invites individuals to participate in a cook-off allowing for some friendly competition. Entries for Best Jam, Best Jelly, Best Pickle and Best Other Canned Food will be judged in the taste-off by the public. A new addition this year will be a chili cook-off! Have your friends and family raved about your chili? Your chance to show off your chili skills has arrived. The winner will be chosen by popular vote. Register your entry (contact information below) and bring your best chili game to the museum.
Coinciding with the end of the growing season, bring in those monster zucchinis, squash and weird veggies! They will be weighing in the zucchinis and squash and voting on the weirdest veggie. So come out to the Ashland Logging Museum for a day of good old-fashioned fun. For more information, search Ashland Logging Museum on Facebook or contact Amanda Barker at 435-4870.
Ongoing events
The Portage Lake ATV Club will meet every first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Office. All are welcome to attend. Contact Rena Belanger for membership or more information at 435-2780.
The Ashland Area Senior Citizens meet the first and third Thursday at noon for a potluck luncheon at the LeBlanc Junkins VFW Post 9699 on the Portage Road with a meeting to follow. This active and growing club of senior citizens also takes trips to various restaurants throughout The County, hosts cookouts, enjoys guest speakers and entertainment such as musicians. For more information, contact Roberta Savary at 435-6422.
The Portage Lake Over 50’s Club lunch is held on the last Tuesday of every month at 11:30 a.m. at the Town Hall. All individuals 50 and over are invited to attend and can bring a potluck dish to share. For more information, contact Jean Clark at 435-8034 or Donna Martin at 435-7108.
The Red Hat Loonies of Portage Lake meet the second Thursday of every month at Dean’s Motor Lodge. Membership dues are $2. Come and have a great meal and a great time, too! For more information, contact Rachel Stevens at 435-6358.
Susan Feeney-Hopkins is the correspondent for Ashland, Portage Lake, Oxbow, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville Plantation and the surrounding areas. She can be reached at 227-7760 or Feenhop@aol.com.
