Harpswell Coastal Academy’s Student Council hopes to end the charter school’s last year with a pair of springtime celebrations, but it needs the community’s help.
First, the council plans to bring back Narwhal Fest on May 5. Harpswell Coastal Academy has hosted the event in the past as a celebration of the school community. Named for the school mascot, the festival will start during the school day, then open to the public at 3:30 p.m.
From 3:30-4 p.m., there will be food, a slideshow commemorating Harpswell Coastal Academy’s 10 years, and an opportunity for students and community members to write on a “memory wall” about their experience with the school.
From 4-5 p.m., there will be a screening of the student documentary “Voices of HCA,” which collects reflections from people who are or were associated with the school, followed by a question-and-answer session. The event will continue with music at 5:30 p.m. and a bonfire at 6.
Rollin’ Smoke BBQ Pit, a food truck well known to patrons of Flight Deck Brewing in Brunswick, will be on-site.
The school’s prom will take place on May 19.
To make the events possible, students have set up an online fundraiser on the website GoFundMe. To donate, go to tinyurl.com/narwhalfest.
“It’s our last year to do this, so we want to make it as memorable as possible for our fellow students and the teachers that have helped us through this last year of this amazing school,” student organizer Carson Tebben said in a Facebook message.
Harpswell Coastal Academy will close at the end of the school year because the Maine Charter School Commission did not renew its charter. The future of the campus at the corner of Harpswell Neck Road and Ash Point Road is unclear.
