After skipping a year due to the pandemic, on November 27, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Friends of Rockland Public Library held their annual “Festival of Trees” Silent Auction. What a wonderful way to usher in the holiday season!

We had on display 41 tabletop trees which were very generously decorated by local businesses. Thanks to the support of local businesses, the Friends of Rockland Public Library Board, and our community (who came to admire and so generously bid on trees), we raised over $3,400 on this day. All proceeds from the Tree Auction go directly to support our wonderful Rockland Public Library.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude by the magnanimity of the many businesses that happily agreed to decorate a tree for this fundraiser. Thank you to the following businesses, who decorate trees, year after year: 250 Main Hotel, Archers, Bar Harbor Bank and Trust, Bartlett Woods, Berry Manor Inn, Cafe Miranda, Clan McLaren, Clementine, Curator, Eastern Tire, Eclipse of the Pearl, Farnsworth Museum, Fiore, Flowers by Hoboken, Fresh off the Farm, The Bronze Dolphin, The Good Tern, Granite Inn, The Grasshopper Shop, Huston-Tuttle, In Good Company, Jess's Market, LimeRock Inn, Main Street Markets, Maine Boats and Harbors, Mia Bella, North Beacon Oyster Bar, Park Street Laundry, Primos, Rock City Cafe, Rockland Harbor Hotel, The Samoset Resort, Seagull Cottage, First National Bank, First National Bank Wealth Management, Trillium Soap, Walking Wool Studio, Wiggins Meat Market, and The Wine Seller!

I also wish to thank the many volunteers it took to run this event so successfully. Thank you to the Tree Auction Committee, those who did the “behind the scenes” work of delivering and picking up of trees.  Thanks also to those who volunteered their time to help run the “day of the event” show. We skipped cocal and cookie this year - hopefully by next year the pandemic will be behind us and we can bring back that tradition.

Let’s keep the momentum going; next time you go to the Rockland Public Library, become a Friend of Rockland Public Library. Applications are at the front desk. Pop into the Book Stop, to peruse our large selection of gently used books. Joining the Friends of Rockland Public Library many years ago was one of the best “investments” I’ve made. Not only am I closer to the community in which we live, but I also have a fabulous set of Friends whose paths, if it weren’t for the library, I would never have crossed. Friendships are priceless, and so are libraries.

Happy holidays,

Rebecca Albright is president of the Friends of Rockland Public Library Board