by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
BANGOR — The Hammond Street Senior Center will turn into a bakery for part of a day when it hosts its Sweet Sixteen Cupcake Sale Fundraiser 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday, March 20, at the senior center, 2 Hammond St. The mission of the center, according to its website, is to serve the social, intellectual and physical well-being of individuals age 55 and older who live in the Bangor region.
The event said Kelly Gilks, member activities and volunteer coordinator at the center, will mark the 16th anniversary of the Hammond Street Senior Center and celebrate the first day of spring.
“Everyone is ready to celebrate spring this year,” she said, referring to the long spell of single digit temperatures and the amount of snowfall that has whitened the landscape since the first of the year. Instead of mounds of snow to contend with, those with a yen for a cupcake can dig into a mound of fluffy frosting in an array of colors channeling the stirrings of spring.
Senior center members, community members and business staff members will stir up, bake and donate the cupcakes for the sale.
“Our members have the best recipes — they make everything from scratch,” Gilks said. “There will be all kinds of cupcakes, not just your everyday type of birthday cake, and they all will cost $1 each.”
The cupcakes will come in many flavors, sizes and shapes. “In the past we have had dozens and dozens and dozens of cupcakes. They are portable and can be eaten on the go,” Gilks said. “Many will have fancy icing on the top, as well as those like Mom used to make. The smells are quite tantalizing.”
The cupcakes will be attractively displayed on cupcakes stands, platters and fancy plates set out on tables covered with tablecloths. It will be a feast for the eyes as well as for the palate.
“We always need bakers and we always need buyers,” Gilks said.
There is still time volunteer to make and donate cupcakes for the event by calling the Hammond Street Senior Center at 262-5532. Cupcakes can be dropped off the day before or the morning of the event.
For information about the Hammond Street Senior Center, go to hammondstreet.org.