Union — It was a picture perfect evening Friday, July 20 when a crowd of nearly 200 people thronged to the Union Common with lawn chairs and blankets to kick off Founder’s Day Weekend with Union Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Now Famous Pie Social. The smell of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs wafted across the Common as people reviewed the huge selection of pies to determine which ones they would sample. The crowd arrived with an appetite and not a single slice of pie from the wide assortment donated by area bakers was left by the end of the event.

The strains of jazz filled the evening air as attendees were entertained by the swinging 15-piece band Breakers, a Midcoast group comprising high school students, community members and professional musicians who performed the music of Ellington, Coltraine, Mancini and other jazz greats to the delight of the crowd.

Donna and Curt Crum of Thomaston were the lucky raffle winners of the River Runner sponsored by Union True Value, Green Maine Inc. and Bill Packard.

This year’s Pie Social raised a record amount for the Union Area Chamber of Scholarship Fund. The fund was established to assist elementary, junior high, high school or non-traditional students in the chamber’s service area — consisting of Appleton, Hope, Union, Waldoboro, Warren and Washington — to pursue education or projects that relate to business, entrepreneurship or leadership.

The Union Area Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to form a solid bond between members, to increase consumers’ awareness of the businesses in the chamber area and to contribute to its communities. The chamber has more than 120 members drawn from inland Midcoast towns.

For more information regarding the Union Area Chamber of Commerce visit www.unionareachamber.org or contact Erica Morton, president, at 785-3044 or info@unionareachamber.org.

Courier Publications news staff can be reached by phone at 207-594-4401 or by email at news@courierpublicationsllc.com.