Fall Work Day: October 17, 2009
Spring Work Day: May 15, 2010
Friends' Weekend: August 14-15, 2010

The Friends of the Shakers, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1974 to lend a hand to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community. Since then, the Friends of the Shakers has contributed to the Community through direct donations, fund-raising for restoring and maintaining historic village buildings, and volunteering at the village on annual spring and fall work days.

Recently, the Friends were instrumental in the successful completion of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, Forest and Farm campaign. This fundraising effort was a partnership between Maine Preservation, the New England Forestry Foundation, the Royal River Conservation Trust, The Trust for Public Land along with individual donors, foundations, the State of Maine's Land for Maine's Future Program, and the USDA's Farmland Program. Funds raised permitted the creation of Conservation and Preservation Easements - all designed to forever protect the Village's farmland, forest, bog, and historic buildings from development or inappropriate use. Through their generosity and hard work, the Friends of the Shakers raised over $200,000 towards this crucial goal.

But this was not first time the Friends have engaged in a preservation effort on behalf of the Shakers. One of the Friends' greatest achievements was helping to fund the 1986 renovation of the village's 1880 schoolhouse. The building is now beautifully restored and houses the Shaker Library, a vast collection of Shaker-related materials. The Library is open to the public by appointment. From 1992 to 1994, the Friends raised more than $37,000 for major structural repairs to the community's 1816 Trustee's building, which houses the Shaker store. Volunteers from the Friends organization worked with the Shaker family to coordinate the project which was completed in 1994.

In 2000, the Friends raised $15,000 to replace the family's aging large restaurant-style cookstove and renovate the kitchen's bake room.

Each August, Friends travel to Maine from all over the world to meet at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village for Friends Weekend. On Saturday during Friends Weekend unique workshops on Shaker life, history, music, and crafts are presented, along with special walking tours of the village grounds. Friends from "away" enjoy seeing the newest museum exhibits. Often Saturday night ends with a candlelit gathering in the Shaker Meetinghouse to sing traditional Shaker songs. It's an opportunity for people with a shared interest in the Shakers to meet and get to know one another, or to renew friendships. For many, Friends Weekend is a time for a renewal of the spirit as well as a chance to share in the community's heritage.

Work Days

Leaf rakers find plenty to do on Fall Work Day

Preparing concord grapes for Sr. Frances' jam

The Friends of the Shakers hold two work days at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker village, one in October and another in May. Members of the Friends gather at the village on a Saturday morning and spend the day working at various tasks. There are assignments available for all ages and abilities. Work days bring chores, but fellowship as well. Everyone gathers together at noon for lunch, conversation, and laughs.

On spring work day volunteers paint fences, mow lawns, weed flower beds, pack herbs, do carpentry work and and lend a hand to spruce up the village for the upcoming summer months.

On fall work day Friends help ready the village for the upcoming winter months. Raking leaves, stacking wood, mowing the grass, more painting, and picking apples are some of the things that get done before winter arrives.

Click here for additional Fall Work Day photos . . .

Benefits
Members of the Friends of the Shakers receive:

• Free, unlimited admission to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Museum’s guided tours. The Museum exhibits Shaker-made furniture, textiles and other artifacts in settings depicting various stages of the community’s history since it was established in 1794.
• Our newsletter, The Clarion, which keeps members up-to-date on Friends projects and Sabbathday Lake village, museum, and library happenings. The Shaker Community's Home Notes are exclusively available in The Clarion.
• An invitation to our annual Friends Weekend held at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village each August.
• A $5 discount on Sabbathday Lake Shaker Museum summer crafts workshop fees.

How To Join
You are invited to join the Friends of the Shakers by writing to us at:

The Friends of the Shakers
707 Shaker Road
New Gloucester, ME 04260

Please make checks payable to The Friends of the Shakers

All contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Funds are used for the support and preservation of the ongoing Shaker tradition at Sabbathday Lake and are greatly appreciated. Please include your name, address, telephone number, and email address.

Membership Levels

• Individual $25.00
• Family $35.00
• Sponsor $100.00
• Patron $200.00
• Life $1000.00 (may be paid in 2-4 installments)

Membership Brochure
If you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer, you may download a PDF file of our membership brochure by clicking here (large file, not recommended for dialup connections).