The 2022 Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder quilt designed, made, and donated by Betty-Lu Brydges. (Photo courtesy Damariscotta Mills Alewife Festival Committee)
The drawing for the 2022 Fish Ladder Quilt Raffle will take place on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5. Tickets are still available at Skidompha Library in Damariscotta, where the quilt is on display.
See damariscottamills.org/quilt-raffle for alternative ways to purchase raffle tickets. The quilt was created and donated by Betty Lu Brydges. Three of the squares are designs by local artist John Whalley, which have appeared on Alewife T-shirts. The other squares show St. Patrick’s Church, birds at the fish ladder, and the historic houses of Damariscotta Mills.
All proceeds from the raffle will go towards the Bridge the Gap campaign to replace the ailing foot bridge that is an essential part of the fish ladder walkways.
More than a million alewives, a herring-family fish, call Damariscotta Lake their “home town” and every spring they swim, jump, and splash up the Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder to spawn. The fish ladder, a series of gradually ascending pools, has been rebuilt over the past 15 years to become an inspiring example of how people can aid and co-exist with the natural environment.
The Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration Project is a community-based effort in collaboration with the towns of Nobleboro, Newcastle, and the Nobleboro Historical Society.
For more information about the Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder, this year’s festival, or alternative ways to purchase raffle tickets, go to damariscottamills.org.
Skidompha Library is located at 184 Main St., Damariscotta.
