When I received not one, but two Facebook invitations from friends to attend a Sip & Swap event at a place I’d never heard of, my curiosity was piqued. The event page encouraged each attendee to bring something to sip on, and 10 unwanted items of clothing. Each guest would then choose five items to bring home, with the rest donated to a local thrift store. I’m a big fan of reduce, reuse, recycle, and wanted to support this concept, so on Saturday night, I grabbed a bottle of pinot and an armload of clothing and headed into the wilds of East Sangerville.
To say I got more than I bargained for would be a vast understatement. I was expecting a small, informal gathering of friends and acquaintances in someone’s home – charmingly dubbed The Timber Hitch Farmhouse. I knew this was going to be something different as soon as I located the place and saw the barn doors flung wide and twinkling fairy lights glowing within.
The Timber Hitch Farmhouse, it turns out, is a beautiful, rustic event venue just a short distance from the East Sangerville Grange. Hostess/owner Jennifer Jay had spared no effort to show off the space even for this humble clothing swap. A long, wooden-plank table was laden with beautifully presented nibbles. Round tables for guest seating featured candles and fall décor. The interior was decorated from floor to ceiling in a manner fit for a country queen – or a bride.
As to the clothing swap, Jennifer had long tables labeled on the end for the type of clothing (short sleeve top, long sleep top, dresses, jackets, etc.), and by size going down the length of each long table. Very organized!
We all enjoyed the food and a glass of whatever we’d brought, and chatted about the space or whatever. Eventually, it was time to select our “new” clothing. I scored two jackets (one fleece, one suede), a nice pair of jeans, and two cute tops. Sadly, I needed to leave before the rest of the guests played games and enjoyed the nearby bonfire.
A quick check of the website, https://thetimberhitchfarmhouse.net/, revealed that the post-and-beam barn is a replica of the Benjamin Lane barn, which was a popular inn and stagecoach station along the route from Bangor to Moosehead Lake. The farmhouse, built in 1847, is located at 328 East Sangerville Road.
The website provides all the details for those interested in holding an event there, as well as much better photos than I was able to capture at night on my cell phone. The images below don’t do the space justice, so I do hope curious readers will go check out the site.
And a huge thank you to Jennifer, both for hosting the type of socially conscious event I would like to see more of, and for pulling out all the stops to treat the attendees to a night of rustic elegance and fun!
