#WestbrookME - Protest Patches with Claire + Carly

May 31, 2026, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

#PastAndFutureCraft
506 Main St #18
Westbrook, ME 04092, USA

"Let's channel the rebellious 60's and 70's by making a protest patch using groovy fabric scraps. Learn two different machine applique techniques. We'll use reverse applique to create a layer fabric image. Text will be added using double sided interfacing and friction pens. The patch makes a perfect pocket or patch for a mended pair of jeans. We'll have interfacing, pens and a heaping basket of fabric scraps but feel free to contribute your own scraps. This is a great scrap busting project and the more scraps the merrier.

Prerequisites: Some machine sewing experience is helpful, such as Sewing Machine Basics with Jo.

Class date: Sunday, May 31st, 10:30am - 12:30pm

Location: 506 Main Street Unit 18 Westbrook Maine. Free parking available on-site. Accessible entrance and restrooms.

Cost: $45 per person. Scholarships are available; apply here.

Supplies Needed: All supplies will be provided. Some designs will be available to use, but you are welcome to bring your own designs…"

FMI and to register:
https://www.pastandfuturecraft.com/event-details/protest-patches-with-claire-carly

#SolarPunkSunday #DIY #ProtestPatches #Resistance #ArtIsResistance #FiberArts #VisibleMending #MaineEvents #Workshops

Oh, and of course, I knew once #AmazonCorp announced plans to build a warehouse in #GorhamME, the #GorhamConnector would rear its ugly head again... And even though #JanetMills' brother #PeterMills is no longer in charge of #MDOT doesn't mean the new director won't be pushing this... Instead of a light rail system or rapid bus transit on the existing roads (and / or safer bike lanes. I knew friends who used to bike from Gorham to Portland, but it got too dangerous because of a lack of dedicated bike lanes and speeders).

#MDOT will launch new examination of traffic issues west of Portland

The state study will focus on Gorham, #ScarboroughME, #SouthPortlandME and #WestbrookME.

Robert Lowell, April 22, 2026

Excerpt: "The announcement of the new study comes just days before Amazon goes to the Gorham Planning Board on May 4, seeking approval for a warehouse and distribution center on Main Street (Route 25). Traffic will likely be one issue fueling concerns about the Amazon project.

"The study also comes in the aftermath of plans the Maine Turnpike Authority shelved last year for a four-lane toll road connector to Gorham. The connector was aimed at reducing commuter rush-hour traffic in the routes 22 and 114 commuter corridor [which the #Maine Legislature failed to make go away!]

"A connector would have linked the roundabout at South Street (Route 114) and the southerly end of Gorham’s Bernard Rines Bypass with the turnpike’s Exit 45 in South Portland. The connector proposal was met with a public outcry because it called for cutting a swath through #SmilingHillFarm in #WestbrookME."

Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/22/mdot-will-launch-new-examination-of-traffic-issues-west-of-portland/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/Rh3bH

#MainePol #InducedSprawl #Maine #RuralLife #SaveTheFarms #SaveRedBrook #MainersForSmarterTransportation #Maine #MaineNews #GorhamBypass #GorhamSpur #Maine #RapidTransit #SaveTheFarms #ProtectTheForest #InducedDemand #Sprawl #SaveRedBrook #ProtectTheWetlands #BrookTrout #SaveTheForest #Wildlife #HuskyLine #RapidBusTransit

#WestbrookME - Marsh and Stream Explorers Field Training in Westbrook

April 25 from 9:30 am-12 pm

Location: #MillBrookPreserve, Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, Westbrook

Free, registration required.

"Curious about what critters live in your local streams and freshwater marshes? Come join #MaineAudubon and #MaineDEP for a fun morning of catching and identifying #macroinvertebrates at Mill Brook Preserve! Get hands-on training and learn how you can contribute to an important community science project that acts as a screening tool for Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) water quality assessments. Be prepared to wade into shallow water as you net and handle macroinvertebrates!

"Marsh and Stream Explorers is a water quality monitoring project that trains volunteers to survey streams and freshwater marshes for large #AquaticInsects (macroinvertebrates) which are sensitive to environmental stressors and can be indicators of #wetland health. After this training session, you’ll have the tools to choose and survey your own stream or freshwater marsh and contribute invaluable data to Maine’s water quality monitoring efforts. If you’re interested in getting outdoors, learning something new, and protecting your local #watershed, this community science project is for you!

"We will meet at the parking area for the Northern Trailhead and go on a short walk from there. Wear clothes and shoes you’re comfortable walking in and potentially getting wet, waders or muckboots are encouraged and some may be provided."

FMI and to register:
https://maineaudubon.org/events/marsh-and-stream-explorers-field-training-in-westbrook/

#SolarPunkSunday #CitizenScience
#NatureBasedLearning #MarshExplorers #StreamExplorers #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #CitizenScientists #ObservingNature

#WestbrookME - Intro to #Embroidery with Tree Heckler - Bring Your Own Kit

#PastAndFuture Craft Exchange

Apr 18, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM

506 Main St #18, Westbrook, ME 04092, USA

Cost: $35

About the event

"Did you get an embroidery kit as a gift? No idea how to start the thing, but you’d like to? Did you buy a cute embroidery kit and are a little trepidatious about starting it? Maybe your aunt taught you a little about embroidery when you were 10, but now you are 40 and the stitches didn’t just come back to you? Or maybe you have seen a cute embroidery kit at Past and Future Crafts that you would LOVE to buy, but you have no idea how to get started?

And then you see that all the 'Learn embroidery classes' require you to buy their kit and materials?

Never fear! Tree Heckler is here to help! Dig that thing out of the closet, the junk drawer, or wherever you stashed it. Bring it to this class!

This class is for learning freestyle, crewel work, or cross stitch embroidery ONLY.…"

To register:
https://www.pastandfuturecraft.com/event-details/intro-to-embroidery-with-tree-heckler-3

#SolarPunkSunday #EmbroideryLessons #FiberArts #MaineEvents

#WestbrookME - #SlowFashion Night: Using Up #YarnScraps with Amanda

Time & Location
Feb 18, 2026, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

506 Main St #18, Westbrook, ME 04092, USA

"About the event

Not sure what to do with the yarn leftover from your knitting or crochet projects? Explore ideas for stash-busting projects you can make with your mismatched leftover yarns. You are welcome to bring your own projects and ideas, as well.

$10 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Limited to 10 participants; please RSVP at the link below."

https://www.pastandfuturecraft.com/event-details/slow-fashion-night-using-up-yarn-scraps-with-amanda

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineEvents #FiberArts #ZeroWaste #Knitting #Crochet

In #Maine, community members form a #HumanWall to keep local workers safe from #ICE

by Patty Wight, Maine Public
January 26, 2026

Excerpt: "The group of more than two dozen volunteers stretches out in a line along the road, where ICE agents have been seen driving by on previous days. It's a wall of down jackets, yarmulkes and brightly colored clergy stoles that blocks the view of the door behind them. They begin to sing as they wait for workers to exit."

Read more:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/01/26/maine-ice-arrests-human-wall-american-roots-workers

#WestbrookME #MaineResists #USPol #ResistICE #ICEOutMaine #AbolishICE

Damn! If I had gone into the office today instead of yesterday, I would have encountered this scene (in #PortlandME)! WTF! And a USM student was grabbed at the Market Basket grocery store in nearby #WestbrookME!

via #ProjectReliefME

#ICEOut #ICEOutMaine #ICEOutForGood #MaineImmigrantRights #NewMainers #ICESucks #Authoritarianism #StormTroopers #Immigrants #ShelterInPlace #USPol