In pictures this week

HATS FOR THE HOLIDAYS … Kathy Norwood poses with some of her handmade hats at the Island Arts Association’s annual Holiday Craft Fair at the Atlantic Oceanside Conference Center in Bar Harbor earlier this month. ISLANDER PHOTO BY DICK BROOM

SUN, SNOW AND SAND … Sand Beach in Acadia National Park in the Sunday morning sun after the first significant snowfall of the season arrived on Saturday. PHOTO COURTESY OF BO GREENE

WARM WELCOME … Dozens of Northeast Harbor residents turned out to welcome Santa and Mrs. Claus when they arrived aboard Sunbeam on Saturday, Dec. 2. ISLANDER PHOTO BY DICK BROOM

CELEBRITY SIGHTING … Dozens of children got to say hello to Santa Claus when he made his annual visit Friday to Southwest Harbor. After arriving at the Village Green aboard one of the town’s fire trucks, Santa lit the town’s Christmas tree before going to the post office lot for a bonfire and, later, posing for photos at Harbor House. ISLANDER PHOTO BY MARK GOOD

CHRISTMAS TRADITION … Members of the Bar Harbor Congregational Church in the church’s annual Living Nativity reenactment last Friday. The event has been part of Christmas celebrations in that congregation for more than 40 years. ISLANDER PHOTO BY LIZ GRAVES

ASHES TO ASHES … Crews from Savage Forest Enterprises began removing 18 of the ash trees along Park Street in Bar Harbor Dec. 4. An arborists report commissioned earlier this year recommended the removal and replacement of the trees, many of which were diseased and partially rotten. ISLANDER PHOTO BY SAMUEL SHEPHERD

GINGERBREAD BARN … This gingerbread replica of the Stone Barn at the intersection of Norway Drive and Crooked Road, designed and built by Scarlett Squires, was the winner of both the judges’ prize in the childrens’ division and the People’s Choice prize in the Bar Harbor Historical Society Gingerbread House Contest Saturday. Stacey Gatcomb and Joseph Kowles of Bar Harbor were the adult division winners. See more photos in a gallery at mdislander.com. ISLANDER PHOTO BY LIZ GRAVES

ALWAYS PREPARED … Two of the entries in the Bar Harbor Historical Society’s Gingerbread House Contest this year depicted the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse. This one includes an old-fashioned Coast Guard lifeboat. See more photos of the entries in a gallery at mdislander.com. ISLANDER PHOTO BY LIZ GRAVES

BLUE AND WHITE FOR HANUKKAH … This view from the head of Somes Sound Monday shows lots of blue and white, the traditional colors of the festival of Hanukkah, the first night of which was celebrated Tuesday. PHOTO COURTESY OF WINSTON SHAW

IN A REFLECTIVE MOOD … Plants in a marsh near the Seawall campground were covered with frost on a cold, clear morning last week before the weekend’s snowfall. PHOTO COURTESY OF HOPE ROWAN

PRETTY PONIES … A pair of ponies graze contentedly in a field in Pretty Marsh recently. ISLANDER PHOTO BY DICK BROOM