65th ANNUAL CALAIS FALL FOLIAGE FESTIVAL
Will be held on
October 2, 3, 4, & 5, 2025
Fliers will be available at area stores this weekend!
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2ND
Memorial Hall Potluck – 5:30 pm. Kick off Calais Fall Foliage Festival weekend with a festive potluck celebrating the unveiling of Memorial Hall’s newly hand-painted wooden sign, a replica of one that once hung on the Hall last century. Bring a dish & good cheer. Hope to see you there! Carpooling, walking, biking encouraged. Memorial Hall, 207 G.A.R. Road. memorialhallcalais@gmail.com
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3rd
Contemporary art exhibition, Holding, at the Kents’ Corner State Historic Site, Kents’ Corner – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Show features diverse works by 22 Vermont artists. $5 suggested donation.
Mini-Moth Storytelling: 7:00 – 8:00 pm. Join us at the Fire Pit at the Blue Barn (or the Gazebo if it’s sprinkling and MCCC if it’s pouring) to tell a story 3-5 minutes in length without using notes. It should be true and about yourself. Everyone welcome! Bring a chair and a story (optional but encouraged). Moderated by the fabulous Geof Hewitt.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4th
Fall Foliage Breakfast at the Maple Corner Community Center: 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Come join your neighbors for a delicious home cooked, a la carte meal including quiche, cider, baked goods, sweet breads, muffins and more.
Calais Conservation Commission Walk to Chickering Bog – 10:00am. This open peat wetland—actually a rich fen—hosts unusual species that include carnivorous pitcher plants and sparkling red damselflies. It is especially beautiful in fall. A boardwalk lets visitors get right out onto the fen to see it up close, and we will spend some time there to appreciate the area and discuss its natural history with naturalist Rose Paul.
This is a two-mile walk, round-trip, on a narrow dirt trail, and we expect the outing to last about two hours. Meet at the parking area at 2410 George Road, just off Lightening Ridge Road, 1.5 miles up from its intersection with Route 14. Please carpool, if possible, as space is limited. We ask that dogs stay at home for this outing. More information about the area and the trail can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ChickeringBog.
Final “Extra Row” Free Veggie Share for the Season – 9:00am – 11:00 am. East Calais General Store front steps. Last chance to help feed our neighbors and the wider community with our garden produce. Or, in case you don’t garden, stop by and pick up some healthy veggies, herbs or flowers. Let’s share tips and stories of which crops succeeded or perhaps didn’t.
Contemporary art exhibition, Holding, at the Kents’ Corner State Historic Site, Kents’ Corner – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Show features diverse works by 22 Vermont artists. $5 suggested donation.
The Heat is On: Friends of Calais Inaugural Chili + Cornbread Cook-Off and Contra Dance! 5:30-8:30 pm at Memorial Hall (on #10 pond – 207 GAR road, carpooling recommended). $10 suggested donation. Share your culinary talents for a good ol’ fashioned family evening of dining and dancing. 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.: Chili and Cornbread Cook-Off, judged by attendees. Winners will be announced when ballots are tabulated. There will be prizes for the varied categories and we will award the Calais Chili and Cornbread Champions! Please register for the chili and cornbread cookoff at: friendsofcalais.org/events/fall-foliage-festival-dance-cook-off. We ask that contestants in the chili and/or cornbread contest (yes, you may enter both contests) complete the form twice – once for each contest. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Contra Dancing! Music by Joanne Garton and Emmett Stowell, Called by Amy Cann.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5th
Contemporary art exhibition, Holding, at the Kents’ Corner State Historic Site, Kents’ Corner – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Show features diverse works by 22 Vermont artists. $5 suggested donation.
Family Friendly Indoor/Outdoor Picnic at the Adamant Community Club – 11:30am to 1:00pm. Bring your picnic blanket (in case it’s nice out) and join us for an all-you-can-eat buffet style lunch which will include kid- and adult-friendly sandwiches, grilled items, side dishes, and lots of desserts. There will be craft making! Free kids’ books! Suggested donation of $5 for people 10 and under; $10 for people 11 and older.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5th
The Fall Foliage concert returns to the Old West Church: 3:00 pm. Come hear the Community Choir, accompanied by our own local legend June Morse, as well as a wide variety of other local talents, their friends and special guest performers. We’ll be helping the Old West Church celebrate its 200th year!
Celebrate DamNation: 4:30 – 6:00 pm at the Maple Corner Community Center – Come eat complimentary cake and ice cream, see videos of the history of the dam reconstruction efforts and celebrate the completion of the Curtis Pond Dam Reconstruction! Weather permitting, we’ll have a toast and a few words at the dam at 5:30.
Monday, OCTOBER 6th
Join the Friends of Calais for the Curious Calais Nature Walk – 5:30 p.m. at the Broadview Farm Trail to view the rise of the full “Hunter’s Moon”. We will take a short hike to a big open area on top of a knoll with a commanding view. It will be a great place for full moon viewing (weather permitting). Please park and meet at the northern trailhead, on Blachly Road.
Tuesday, OCTOBER 7th
Maple Corner Community Center Potluck and Annual Meeting: 6:00 pm. We’ll have a community potluck dinner at 6:00 pm, followed by the MCCC Annual Meeting at 7:00 pm. We’ll approve this year’s budget, discuss our plans for building improvements in the coming year, and give an update on what we’ve been up to.
ALL WEEKEND
Marconi’s Wave: A Musical Tainted Fable. 7:00 pm – Town Hall. Wireless, First Techno geek, Worldwide Fame, Mussolini, Fascism. Written by Chris Colt, Music by Jim Thompson. Presented by The Gospel Hollow Players in the refurbished Town Hall of Calais. Performances: October 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9, 10, 11, 12. Thursday through Saturday at 7. Sunday at 2.
Visit the Adamant Coop – celebrating our 90th anniversary this year for baked goods, snacks, ice cream, and other fabulous treats. www.adamantcoop.org We are open Monday-Friday 8-6; Saturday 9-3; Sunday 10-1.
“Think Different: Art from Apple Packaging,” at the Adamant Co-op Gallery. You know those slim, white Apple boxes that are too beautiful to throw away? Twenty-five local artists are giving them a second life. This delightful and whimsical show features assemblage, collage, papier-mâché, fiber, watercolor, cut paper, mixed media. The Gallery is open any time the Coop is open.
Fall Fest at the East Calais Store Oct 4th & 5th 9AM-3PM Fresh Cider & Donuts! Under the Tent: Apple pressing, Artists & Authors! Cider tasting and more…
Consider getting a picnic lunch at the Maple Corner Community Store – our deli is open all weekend with sandwiches, pizza, burgers, wings, dinner specials, drinks, snacks and more. While you’re there check out our wide selection of groceries, cold beer, wine, and specialty local goods including syrup, honey, and art. Open Sunday-Wednesday 8am – 7pm, Thursday – Saturday 8am to 10pm, www.maplecorner.com.
The Whammy Bar is open Thursday through Saturday, 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm, with music starting nightly at 7:00. Thursday is Open Mic Night, Friday will feature music by D. Davis & Marc Gwinn and Saturday will be Combust-0-Matics! Full dinner menu, dinner specials, burgers, wings and more!
Disc Golf! North Calais Disc Golf hosts our 36th Annual Fall Foliage Classic: October 4th and 5th. We’ll play a traditional FFC format, including a mid-Saturday second round with frisbees honoring our origins. Saturday 10/4 8:30 AM: Player’s Meeting. 9:00 AM: First Round – Singles from one tee up from your usual tee ~Noon: Lunch ~12:30 PM: Second Round – Lids from White Tees, 9 holes, #s 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 16, 17, 18 (red) ~2PM: Third Round – Hi-Lo Calais Doubles, from each partner’s usual tees Sunday 10/5 9 AM Player’s Meeting 9:30 AM Final Round – Singles from your usual tees.
Maple Corner Community Center 