On Saturday, July 21 grab your blanket and picnic basket, bring family members, neighbors and friends, your instruments, voices, talents and dancing shoes or just your enthusiasm and listening ear to the Inn Along the Way at the Chapman Farm, 741 Main Street in Damariscotta.

This Summer Music Celebration featuring the Rusty Hinges, River’s Edge and Friends, Damariscotta Region Open Mic, a Round Top ice cream social, Inn tours and hay field walks is a by donation fundraiser for the Inn Along the Way. The Inn supports and enriches the lives of those in our communities with an emphasis on elders, the infirm, and those who care for them.

In traditional summer on the Maine coast style, community members attending the Inn’s musical lawn and barn party and who want to bring your own creative picnic will be surrounded with an eclectic mix of music, song, community fun and laughter. Open mic registration begins at 12:30 p.m., festivities begin at 1 p.m. with open mic performances and run until 5 p.m.

Inn Along the Way is a nonprofit organization in the process of creating a collaborative community offering older adults, and those seeking temporary relief from the responsibilities of caregiving, an environment of support, purpose, and sustainability in a multigenerational and mutually interdependent setting. The organization is currently raising funds to complete its first phase, which will transform the original farmhouse into a small inn with a café and community rooms, offering overnight accommodations to the general public, as well as those seeking respite.

At 3 p.m. Rivers Edge, Sylvia Tavares, Gary McCue and friends Logan Sampson and Frank Bedell will perform a mix of country, bluegrass style and originals.

The Rusty Hinges, whose performance will begin at 4  p.m., is a local Midcoast band composed of John Couch, John Monterisi, Kat Logan, Nancy Jones Bridges, Brian Dunn and Laura Buxbaum. They play folksongs, country, golden oldies, sea shanties, contemporary tunes, and original songs with a variety of instruments and vocal harmonies. Guitars, mandolin, banjo, accordion, fiddle, cello, and pennywhistles are included in the mix. The Rusty Hinges can be heard every Tuesday night at the Narrows Tavern in Waldoboro, first Friday’s at the St. George Café in Warren, as well as many other venues throughout the area.

Questions about open mic participation or the summer music celebration fundraiser schedule please contact Sylvia Tavares at 207-766-8469 or sylviatarvares502@gmail.com. 

For more information about the Inn Along the Way including volunteer opportunities go to www.innalongtheway.org or contact Inn founder Sherry Flint at 207-751-6261 or info@innalongtheway.com.