Birthday alert. Frannie Johnson will be 90 years old on Friday, Aug. 11. Happy Birthday, Frannie.

Mooring alert. From Harbor Master Jim Gagnon comes this message. “In an effort to clean up the abandoned and unregistered moorings in the waters surrounding Southport and have a more accurate sense of what is available for mooring space, delinquent moorings are being tagged as unpermitted and will be scheduled for removal starting this fall. The harbor master reminds mooring owners who have not paid their mooring fees that their moorings are subject to removal under Article VI, Sec. 1(20) of the Harbor Ordinance of the Town of Southport, Maine. If you have not paid your fees and wish to retain your mooring, contact the town office or harbor master to make arrangements.

The ‘Harbor Waitlist’ is being updated and will be available on the town website soon. All waitlisted persons who wish to remain on the waitlist must submit a letter or an email requesting to remain on the list by Sept. 1st of each year. Letters may be mailed to the Harbor Master at P.O. Box 149, Southport, ME 04576, or emailed to: southportharbormaster@gmail.com”

Yet again, Southport’s scene and story travels beyond local consumption. Wednesday morning, with fog so dense you could not see Cape Island, Bill Green of Channel 6 fame came with his photographer to the town dock at Newagen to shoot a short news segment about the Rowgatta to be held Aug. 12. Abby Jones and Erik Bertelsen were there along with Andy Hamblett from the YMCA, now sponsoring the Rowgatta, and Susan Quimby, who has previously organized the event for many years. Andy rowed the photographer around; Bill Green took to the water himself in a row boat; Abby rowed the red kayak and I a yellow one for background interest. Susan rowed her own Adirondack rowing boat, each of us swirling in the fog, dodging a lobster boat hauling traps, while the professionals worked to elicit enough dialogue and scene for the two minute segment on “Bill Green’s Maine.” You still have time to register at the Y for this event or appear on the town dock at Newagen before the take-off time of 8:30 a.m. to register and launch your craft. All boats must be powered solely by human endeavor, either as an individual or as a team of up to six people. This year’s Rowgatta is dedicated in memory of Rowgatta veteran photographer Merry Knowlton. You may call the YMCA at 633-2855 for more information.

In addition to her Rowgatta honors, longtime Newagen resident and community activist Merry Knowlton will be remembered at a celebratory gathering on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Oak Point Farm, a Boothbay Region Land Trust (BRLT) location enhanced via Merry's gardening expertise and involvement. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to BRLT.

With one busy weekend behind us another busy weekend looms. Two events will feature art. The annual Arts and Crafts Fair at the Southport Yacht Club will be open Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 12 -13 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Local artists and some from further afield will display items, all of which will be for sale, an excellent opportunity to begin your Christmas shopping.

On the same weekend, only beginning Friday, will be the Art Show, Sale, and Events at Hodgdon Yachts at the end of Ebenecook Road. This show will be open on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 a.m. at All Saints by-the-Sea this Sunday, August 13, the preacher will be The Right Reverend Mark Beckwith, Bishop of Newark. Services are at 8 and 10 a.m. with a new runway and float ready to receive people who arrive by boat. Look for more information on this happening elsewhere in this paper.

A reminder that on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. Paul Doiron, popular author of Maine game warden crime novels, will speak about his craft and latest novels at the Southport Memorial Library. Also the Southport Firemen’s Auction will entertain us and entice us with well priced items to buy on Saturday, Aug. 19. Between now and then you can dropped items off for auctioning but no white goods or tube televisions, please.

A bit of personal news. We are very proud of a somewhat distantly related family member who has completed hiking the full length of the Appalachian Trail. Matt Morelli, the son of Kit’s first cousin’s daughter, lives in Roswell, Georgia, so he began his adventure, as many do, at the southern end of the trail and will finish on Friday at the northern end. His parents, Valerie and Jeff Morelli, will be staying with us Thursday night before they meet up with their son, so we are eager to hear their tales of his adventures. Unfortunately, Kit and I will not hear first hand Matt’s tales because we are leaving Saturday for a week at camp in western Maine. Camp Quisisana on Lake Kazar, features all the usual camp toys plus good food and music each evening provided by staff who are all music students. Your scribe next week will be Maria Doelp. Please send her news at pdoelp@roadrunner.com.