Proceeds directly benefiting Friendship Ambulance Services and the Friendship Fire Department

Friday, July 17th

4-7pm Silent & Live Auction Pre-View. Come bid on a selection of silent auction items before the Pie Contest. Winners for the Silent Auction will be notified by phone Saturday, July 18th after 12pm. 3-8pm THE FRIENDSHIP SHOW AT Salt Pond Studio, 522 Cushing Road Salt Pond Studio proudly exhibits works by the fabulous artists of Friendship ! Join the artists at the OPENING CELEBRATION, art, music and

refreshments. All welcome day at Salt Pond Studio. Gallery OPEN all weekend Friday until 8pm, Saturday- Sunday 11-5 pm.

5-6pm Pie Contest Judging. Come out to see who wins the pie contest this year in fruit double crust and cream pie categories. Pie slices will be available for cash donation after the contest. Contestants can sign up at the Town Office beginning July 1st. There are only 10 contestants for each category so be sure to sign up early.

Saturday, July 18th

7am-2pm- Friendship Day Information and T-shirt Booth Hahn Center, under the big tent. Buy a Friendship Day T-Shirt, a magnet or town sticker. All proceeds directly benefit our ambulance services. CASH & LOCAL CHECK ONLY 7am-Noon- Famous Bake Sale. Fudge, cakes, muffins, cookies, bread, coffee and more! BAKERS NEEDED, please contact Toni at 832-4750. CASH & LOCAL CHECK ONLY 7am-10am- Advent Church 24th Annual Friendship Pancake Breakfast, plain or with Beth’s Farm Blueberries; maple syrup, sausage, juice and coffee. CASH & LOCAL CHECK ONLY 7am- Annual Road Races Registration, Advent Church parking lot. Pre-register at https://runinarace.com/FriendshipDays/index.html 5K “Long Haul” $25 pre-register/$30 day of race. First 50 registered runners receive a t-shirt. M/F First Place will receive a certificate for 10lbs of lobster. 1 mile Fun Run/Walk “Short Haul”, kids up to 8th grade & their parents, $10 pre-reg/$10 day of race. 7:50am: ROAD CLOSURE FOR ROAD RACE! 8am- Start of the “Long Haul” 5K, a certified course. Awards will take place in the Friendship Village School Parking lot M/F 1st Place-Run In A Race LLC 8:30am-Start of the “Short Haul” 1 mile Family Fun Run & Walk 8:30-2pm Art & Craft Fair-Held under the Big Tent, by the Hahn Center and in the Fire Department. Over 25 different artists including rugs, baskets, wood working, jewelry, quilting, glass art, photography and more. Come and support your local artists. Contact Lisa at 214-280-6619. 9 am- Pet Show- Bring your favorite pet, on a leash or in a cage, to the show in front of the Hahn Center and Big Tent. Adults should accompany children. Ribbons will be awarded. Contact Lorraine Lash at 832-7955 9am-11am- The Lobster Conservancy- Near corners of Main St and Rt 220, come experience Sea Life at your fingertip. 9am-1pm- Friendship Museum Annex Sale-Stop by to view the museum items with stories and history from Friendship. Historic videos also on display along with Friendship Merchandise. 9am-3pm- Friendship Village Artisan Co-op, 11 Main St (Meduncook Lodge). 9am-NOON- Silent Auction. Silent Auction items will be located in the Hahn Center. The last bid will be at NOON and winners will be notified by phone. We ask that all items be paid for and picked up by 4pm, same day. CASH & LOCAL CHECK ONLY! 9am - 2pm- White Elephant Yard Sale next to the Hahn Center. Back by popular demand! Call Karrie at 790-4240 or email friendshipdaymaine@gmail.com to donate items. Drop offs at the Hahn Center will be 9 am-5 pm, Saturday, July 11th and Sunday July 12th. No electronics or damaged items 9:30am -Friendship Fire Department starts serving up their famous Lobster Rolls, along with burgers, hotdogs, chicken tenders, awesome fries and drinks. All proceeds benefit the Fire Department Fund. 9:50 am: ROAD CLOSURE FOR PARADE. Rt 220 and Rt 97 entering Friendship. 10am-TOWN PARADE, Celebrating Heritage 1743-2026. What was Friendship like in the 1800s, 1920s, 1940s, 1960s, 1980s…2020, 2026? How many generations has your family been in Friendship? Entrants are encouraged to display Friendship over the years. Line up begins at 9am across from the Post Office on Tamarack Rd. Greeters will help with the line up, no pre-registration needed. 10:30am-2pm LARGE KIDS AREA AT FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE SCHOOL. Activities for all ages including Bouncy Houses, Speed Pitch, Games, Face Painting, watermelon eating contest, snow cones, cotton candy and more! The concession stand will also be open at the Rec Field across the street. Golf cart transportation will run between Hahn Center and Friendship Village School.

1pm-4pm-LIVE AUCTION in the Hahn Center. Auction items are numerous and unique. CASH & LOCAL CHECK ONLY! Call Karrie at 790-4240 or email friendshipdaymaine@gmail.com to donate items for the live or silent auctions. Drop offs at the Hahn Center will be 9 am-3 pm, Saturday, July 11th and Sunday July 12th. No electronics or damaged items. All items must be picked up by 6pm the same day. 4pm- Chicken BBQ Dinner Pick Up Across from the Hahn Center- Meal includes chicken, coleslaw, rolls, chips, dessert and a free bottle of water. Donations made by Wallace’s Market, Delano Seafood, and Buldoc Correctional Facility and Poland Spring Water. Purchase tickets, $16 each, at the Town Office starting July 1st. Only 275 tickets available. Any remaining tickets will be available for sale at the Hahn Center on July 18th. 1pm-4pm Friendship Museum will be open for tours on the corner of Martins Pt Rd and Rt 220. Noon -7pm-Jameson Point Lobster Company will be serving lobsters, steamers, fried seafood, sandwiches, Gifford’s ice cream, blueberry pie, and more! Sunday, July 19th -Friendship Lobster Boat Races kick off at 10 am in the Friendship Harbor. Come on down to Town Wharf or Wallace’s Lobster Corporation and enjoy the races, shirts, hats, hoodies, food and fun for all. All proceeds benefit the Friendship Memorial Scholarship Fund. 2026 Friendship Day Grand Marshals

Friendship is blessed to have as our parade Grand Marshals Alice Benner, library head Trustee, Celia Briggs, Librarian and both Robert (Bob) Armstrong and Patience Sampson who took the lead and helped reach the fundraising goal for the library expansion project. The plan to expand the library was conceived in 2018 when the library received a bequest from Edna Simmons, former library assistant and bookworm. We also want to acknowledge library assistant Cleo Carter, current Trustees; (Alice Benner), Betty Wotton, who will also ride in the parade with the Grand Marshals, Stacy Simmons, Elaine Emerson, Brenda Hendrickson and Jon Ehle, and the MANY wonderful librarians, library assistants and trustees, too many to list, who have aided and supported the library through the years since its opening. Alice Benner married Arnold and moved to Friendship in 1966. She taught at Friendship Village School for 25yrs, was appointed to the Library Board of Trustees in 1977, serving in various capacities and has been head Trustee since 1990. Celia (Lash) Briggs grew up in Friendship, married after college and returned here to raise her family. She has been Friendship’s Librarian since 2000 after being an assistant in the late 1980s. One of the favorite parts of her job, besides seeing all of the visiting children and digging up local history, is to help “match the right book to the right reader.” Bob Armstrong has been a lifelong summer resident since birth until becoming a full-time resident in

He “followed in the footsteps of his father” who summered in Friendship all his life. Bob recalls the family history of his great grandfather who originally came to Friendship in the late 1800s when looking for a camp for the Boston YMCA. Bob became involved with the library expansion project fundraising after hearing from Celia that the campaign wasn’t making much progress. Bob formed a private foundation with the trustees as “Friends of Friendship Public Library,” and helped begin formal fundraising. Patience Sampson came to Friendship in 1999 to build on a piece of family land given to her parents as a wedding present from her great aunt and uncle, the Northcotts. Her father would take the steam boat up from Boston and spent many summers here with them. Patience also visited them in Friendship frequently from childhood. Patience has spoken with avid local historian Margaret Gagnon who identified the family connection between Joshua Bradford’s family and hers. Patience became involved with the library addition planning pre-Covid and was a driving force for fundraising during the recent successful campaign. Together, all involved raised in excess of the goal of $500,000! Alice, Celia, Bob and Patience all cite their Love for the community of Friendship and of being on the water here enjoying all of its activities.

We are grateful and honored to have them as our 2026 Grand Marshals!

Our Road Commissioner, Stewart Harrington, is in the process of generating a plan for the road resurfacing. The final list of roads will be posted on the website. Until pricing is finalized there is no set list of roads to be re-paved. If you have any further questions please contact Stewart at 207-380-7857.

What is the State plan for repaving and budget?

The State DOT plan for 2026 can be found at the link below - 

https://www.maine.gov/dot/sites/maine.gov.dot/files/documents/workplan/towns/Friendship.pdf 

Health Clinic - What was the budget increase for?

Per Dr. Li -  “Each year the cost of the flu vaccine increases. I am now mostly purchasing the senior version, which costs triple what the normal one costs. If I get more money than I need for the flu vaccines, I purchase other vaccines (like whooping cough, tetanus and pneumonia shots) to distribute to the attendees.” - James

Transfer Station Increase

As stated at the meeting, the possibility of the Town going back to having its own dump was investigated a number of years ago. The results of that investigation were that it would be far more expensive than to continue the status quo. If you would like more information or specifics, feel free to reach out to John Daigle, Transfer Station Manager at 207-832-7850.

Debt service in relation to wharf money

There was a question about the $54,661.08 debt service total in relation to the Wharf Replacement Project. This is not an additional sum being added to the project budget. This number is the year 2026 payment on the $150,000 loan. There will be three scheduled payments in ‘26,’27,’28.

Is there a place to find out more information about the Wharf project and Committees?

There will be a Wharf Replacement specific page on the website. Once there is clarity as to the possible paths forward and a rudimentary schedule, the page will go live. There will also be a calendar for important dates, all the Town’s various committee meetings, and with updates about any ongoing projects.

What is the Property Tax Levy Limit?

There was a question about Article 14 regarding the purpose of the Tax Levy Limit. We have confirmed with the State that it is a superfluous article. Essentially, because the Town can vote to exceed the limit set, the article serves no practical function. Special thanks to Liz Read for her quick research work!

“As of 2026, the specific Maine state law that provided a property tax levy limit for towns—Title 30-A, §5721-A—has been repealed.

Historically known as LD 1, this law was enacted in 2005 to cap the growth of local property tax levies based on a formula involving personal income growth and property value increases. However, following recent legislative changes, the limit is no longer in effect.”

What is the Undesignated Reserve? What is this funds current status?

The Undesignated Reserve is the accounting term for our General Fund or Operating Account. This is the fund that we use to pay the bills, including the abatements that Article 20 is referring to. After the first Warrant in March the fund has $1,188,448.

Do we own the cell tower? Do the lessees have contracts? Will the Waldoboro tower affect ours?

The Town owns the land that the tower is on, and yes, the three companies currently using the tower have multi year contracts with the town. As to the Waldoboro tower affecting our tower; we do not know of any adverse effects currently. For more information we recommend calling the State or inquiring about it with Waldoboro or the company building the tower there. 

Residential Recreational Clam licenses are now available at the Town Office. You can purchase a “peck license” for $25.00, all you need to do is bring in a proof of residency and a driver’s license or ID. If you are over the age of 65 they are free, all we need is proof of residency and age. For out-of-towners and folks from away we have non-residential licenses available for $35.00, we will need a photo ID which we will keep a photocopy of on file. Resident commercial licenses, if any available, are 350.00. Non-resident commercial licenses, if any available, are 450.00. Previous resident commercial licensees will be able to re-purchase their license starting May 10th.

For more information and maps - Click Here

Article 2. Town Officials elected as follows:

Andrew Balser with 106 votes Selectboard for a 3 year term

Pamela Cabanas with 122 votes Assessor for a 3 year term

Stewart Harrington with 178 votes Road Commissioner for a 3 year term

Article 3. Wharf Replacement $150,000 Credit Line - Passed 

164 Yes 16 No 4 Blank

Article 4. MLA Donation - Passed

85 Yes 83 No 16 Blank

184 Total Ballots Cast

Article 5. General Government Budget - Passed as read.

Article 6. Protection Budget - Passed as read.

Article 7. Highways - Passed as read.

Article 8. Building - Passed as read.

Article 9. Health, Sanitation and Social Services - Amended line 23 for accuracy, passed.

Article 10. Community Development - Passed as read. 

Article 11. Debt Service - Passed as read. 

Articles 12 - 24. Passed as read.

42 Registered Voters in attendance. 

\ Thank you to all those that participated!

Chicken BBQ dinner. This annual event is our main community fundraiser that directly supports our town ambulance services and fire department. Parade participants, no registration needed, can start lining up at 9:30am on Tamarack Rd. The complete schedule is available at https://www.facebook.com/Friendshipdaymaine. Event apparel is available online at https://stores.inksoft.com/friendship_days/shop/home The weekend wraps up with the annual Friendship Lobster Boat Races, Sunday July 19th in the Friendship Harbor. Registration begins at 8am at the Town Landing, with races starting at 10am. Food and apparel will be for sale at the Town Landing, Town Landing Rd, and Wallace Lobster Wharf, 196 Harbor Rd. The Friendship Lobster Boat Races directly support the Friendship Memorial Scholarship Fund. All events are free to attend but don’t forget cash or check to make purchases. Cash and check only accepted most events, including Silent and Live Auctions. See you this weekend. Karrie Trebbe, Town of Friendship friendshipdaymaine@gmail.com