Catch a Show in East Lyme, a Holiday Hoedown in Old Lyme, and Take a Hike in Lyme

1. Not sure you're ready for the holidays yet? High Hopes' annual Holiday Hoedown and Market is sure to put you in the holiday spirit and it will give you a chance to get a head start on your holiday shopping too.

More than 60 vendors will be on hand selling everything from whittled wooden wares to bird houses, handmade soaps to cosy knitware. There will be plenty to eat, thanks to the Rolling Tomato, Chester's BBQ, Caseus Cheese Truck, Old Lyme Seafood, Four Mile River Farm and Munchies Food Truck, and lots of family-friendly events and music to keep everyone entertained. 

Admission is free, although if you bring a nonperishable food item, the Shoreline Soup Kitchen will be there to gratefully accept all donations. Proceeds from the event itself will go to fund the therapeutic riding programs offered at High Hopes. The Hoedown will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 18, at High Hopes Farm, 36 Town Woods Road, in Old Lyme. 

2. This is a great time of year to go hiking and Lyme is blazing new trails this weekend. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Lyme Selectmen will officially dedicate two new preserves—the Philip E. Young Memorial Preserve and the Lyme Land Conservation Trust’s Walbridge Woodlands Preserve.

Following the opening ceremony, former Lyme Land Trust presidents Anthony Irving and Ralph Lewis will lead a walking tour of the new trails and offer insights into the flora, fauna, geology, and history of the area.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Gungy Road trailhead to the Red Trail in the Young Preserve, about a quarter mile up Gungy from Beaver Brook Road. Sorry, you'll have to leave the dog at home for this event.   

3. In the mood for a little theater? It's your last chance to catch East Lyme High School's production of Arthur Miller's classic The Crucible today but you've got two shows to choose from: a matinee at 2 p.m. and an evening performance at 7 p.m. at the .

4. This Sunday, churches from Old Lyme and Lyme will come together for a community Thanksgiving service at 5 p.m. at Saint Ann's Church, 82 Shore Road, in Old Lyme. The congregations of First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, Christ the King Roman Catholic, Lyme Congregational, Congregational South Lyme Chapel, Saint Ann’s, and Shoreline Church will all be there. If you're planning to go, please bring a canned good for the Shoreline Soup Kitchen Pantry. For more information call (860) 434-1621.

5. The season is winding down at Old Orchard Farm but the coffeehouse is still in full swing. The next one will be Sunday, November 18, beginning around noon and going all afternoon. If you've got a song in your heart and a yearning to perform it, all you have to do is show up and sign up on the blackboard for a time slot on the stage.

This is BYOB and potluck affair but Old Orchard owners Butch and Mary Foster are kindly requesting that people consider bringing along a little something extra this weekend. 

"In this time of giving thanks for all we have and in light of all that are struggling, I would like to ask all that come by on these dates to bring a little something that can be donated to the food pantry," ace pie baker Mary Foster writes in an email. "They go through a lot of soup and pasta during the winter, but anything is welcome. Thank you in advance for this. Every little bit makes a difference! If we don't get a chance to see you at this next coffeehouse, we hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends—the best holiday of all!!!!"