As the tenth season of the Community Cafe comes to a close, we are thrilled to report that not only did the program survive under the difficult circumstances of a pandemic, but it has thrived! “Attendance” continued to grow and serving up 150 takeout style lunches was typical throughout the season. Best of all, we got see many of the folks from around MDI who have been Cafe “regulars” for years and the takeout model helped us welcome many new faces as well.

If you have yet to get the opportunity to join us for lunch this year, you’re in luck! Carryout luncheons are scheduled for Thursday, April 15, as well as Thursday, May 6 (a makeup from January), and for good measure we added one “grand finale” luncheon on Thursday, May 20.

With a year’s worth of experience with this whole pandemic thing under our belts and a bit of hope on the horizon, we’re looking forward to an amazing summer. There’s plenty to celebrate, and we hope you get the chance to join us!

nstructor Ashley Graves had such a positive turnout for her first series of youth dance workshops that she will be adding classes to the schedule for the spring. New classes have been added on Saturday mornings from Marach 14 until April 17.

Instructor Mike Duffy is well known for his long history of teaching children’s art classes around MDI, but did you also know he offers instruction for adults? We’re happy to announce that Mike will be offering a special three part watercolor series specifically for adults beginning Sunday, March 14 from 12-2pm at The Neighborhood House.

Nobody likes a good excuse to gather (even responsibly distanced and masked) than we do... but now is the time we need to be extra vigilant. Due to the recent reported local spike in Covid-19 cases we're suspending our in-person programs this week and will play it by ear going forward.

We are delighted to announce that instructor Karen Roper will be returning to lead a Yoga class every Monday morning beginning January 11. Karen’s Yoga sessions have been a regular occurrence at The Neighborhood House during the past few winters. New faces and all skill levels are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

In January the school calendar for elementary-age children will be making a change, and our After School Youth Club will be adapting its schedule so that we can continue to offer kids the opportunity to have some fun in a safe and supervised environment four afternoons a week!

The Neighborhood House has been selected as a beneficiary of the Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program for the month of December!

These days it’s hard to plan anything too far in advance without the possibility of a cancellation or postponement due to the pandemic. At The Neighborhood House, we have made a conscientious effort to keep our program schedule running as normally as possible with some added protocols to meet or exceed Covid-19 guidelines offered by the State CDC. Temporarily adapting our summer day camp program into individual activity blocks, or going “carryout” with our Community Cafe are two examples of that.

Heading towards Halloween 2020, there were plenty of question marks as to how the celebration would go over. Well, we are happy to report that other than some very clever and creative cloth face masks, things felt exactly like any other year aboard the “Halloween Treat Truck.” All things considered, that discernible feeling of normalcy and joy is perhaps the greatest sign of success

When the Community Cafe began nine years ago, it was abundantly clear it was a recipe for success. Like so many other programs, we’re adapting our luncheons so that we can continue to safely serve the community. Thanks to the strong support of our Cafe business sponsors and a generous private gift, the additional takeout packaging coasts won’t stand in the way of doing just that! For season number ten, the Cafe will be known as the “Carryout Cafe,” offering homemade lunches to-go on the first and third Thursday of each month.

The Halloween Treat Truck has been a howling success since its debut several years ago. As it turns out, the Treat Truck also lends itself perfectly to the concept of social distancing. This year the Treat Truck has an expanded schedule and will be venturing all over Mt. Desert-- it’s your one stop trick-or-treat destination! We’ve even added a special “Candy Claw” along with plenty of other tricks so we can safely hand out treats!