Rosanna’s Readers to hold chance auction and 50/50 raffle at Blue Hill Fair
BLUE HILL — Attendees of the upcoming 2023 Blue Hill Fair, being held Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31 to Sept. 4) will once again get to visit Wilbur the pig, Templeton the rat, and other characters from a much-loved children’s book.
“The Charlotte’s Web” exhibit will be returning to the Blue Hill Fair in 2023. The interactive display will feature Wilbur’s pen complete with a 100-pound pink pig as portrayed in the E.B. White book published over 70 years ago in October 1952. After being introduced at the 2022 Fair, the Charlotte’s Web exhibit will be a permanent part of the annual country fair.
Rosanna’s Readers & Legacy, Inc. will have a booth inside the exhibit once again, located below the pulling grandstand, and will be holding a 50/50 raffle and chance auction during all five days of the fair. All proceeds for the fundraiser will be used to give birthday books to children at local schools in memory of Rosanna (Sherman) McFarland.
“We are excited for the opportunity to return to the Blue Hill Fair. The synergy between our non-profit organization, the Blue Hill Fair, and Charlotte’s Web is the perfect combination. Our mission is to make sure elementary school students receive a book on their birthday. Fundraising next to a beloved children’s book brought to life is a dream come true,” said Laura Sherman of the Rosanna’s Readers Board of Directors.
After a successful fundraising event at the 2022 Blue Hill Fair, the Rosanna’s Readers program was able to expand to two more schools on the Blue Hill Peninsula beginning with the 2023-24 school year. “This upcoming school year, we expect to give nearly 600 books to students on their birthdays. We are thrilled to expand the program to Sedgwick Elementary and Blue Hill Consolidated School. Our goal is to bring the program to every school on the Blue Hill Peninsula in the near future,” said Sherman.
“We will be raffling a variety of items, including watercolor artwork, gift baskets, toys, a wooden barn with wooden animals, various donated items from local businesses, and a variety of handmade items,” said Sherman. For those who would like to learn more about Rosanna’s Readers, members of the Sherman and McFarland family will be on-hand at the booth to talk about the work they are doing. To learn more about the auction and raffle, please contact Sherman at 207-479-2138 or rosannasreaders@gmail.com.
Rosanna’s Readers is a non-profit organization started in 2020 to honor the legacy of Surry Elementary School Title I/Reading Recovery specialist Rosanna (Sherman) McFarland who died of breast cancer in February 2020. The organization currently gives birthday books to students at five elementary schools on the Blue Hill peninsula (Surry Elementary School where McFarland taught at the time of her death, Brooksville Elementary School where McFarland began her teaching career in 2006, and the Brooklin School where she attended kindergarten through eighth grade, in addition to two new schools in 2023, Blue Hill Consolidated School and Sedgwick Elementary School). McFarland asked her family to carry out her wish to expand the Raising Readers program to the elementary schools in the area after she was told her illness was terminal. To learn more about Rosanna’s Readers, please visit www.rosannasreaders.com. Donations may be sent to Rosanna’s Readers, c/o Roxanne Sherman, 48 Pooduck Road, Brooklin, ME 04616.