KENNEBUNKPORT – Kennebunkport will participate in a nationwide celebration on the Village Green from 12-2pm this Sunday, July 5. Communities around the country have been invited to host America’s Potluck, an event the state of Utah spearheaded for this year’s celebration of the country’s Semiquincentennial. In a twist on the potluck theme, local organizers have designated the event a dessert potluck, inviting participants to bring their own picnic lunch, and a patriotic dessert to share.

In addition to a shared meal and conversation, the event will feature Library Director Loretta Swift reading books to children and sharing coloring books of historic Kennebunkport designed by local artist Linda Ward. The local performance troupe Portside Readers will perform the poem Paul Revere’s Ride and sing a few songs.

“When I first read about the idea of a potluck, I thought Kennebunkport would be the ideal town to participate,” said Sarah Vander Schaaff, a Kennebunkport resident and president of the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library board of trustees.  “I spoke to the town about what they might be planning for the big anniversary celebration. It quickly grew into a communal effort with Kennebunkport’s Parks and Rec Department, Graves Memorial library, the Kennebunkport Historical Society, and Kennebunkport Conservation Trust.”

A few members of the library’s “snack team” have volunteered to prepare a cobbler recipe from an old cookbook published for a Graves fundraiser, I Want that Recipe!

Red, White & Blue Cobbler was contributed to the cookbook by Barbara Bush on White House stationery.

“You will get to taste a little bit of history,” Vander Schaaff said.

The event is free and open to the public and is weather dependent. Participants are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets for sitting.