The Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce held its second Business After Hours event at the Boothbay Railway Museum on Wednesday, April 30.

The event was co-hosted by the museum and Sarah Fahnley of And Candy Too!

Around 60 people showed up for the event, which started at 5 p.m., to greet and schmooze with fellow local business people, some of whom had been away for the long, cold winter.

Hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer from Boothbay Craft Brewery were served to the guests, topped off with chocolate cupcakes provided by Fahnley.

Boothbay Railway Museum Assistant Director Margaret Hoffman spoke about some new programs and events coming to the museum this summer.

Hoffman said she's looking forward to all the new things that will happening at her relatively new place of employment.

“We spent the winter working on our new volunteer program that we're calling a ‘Volunteer Task Force.’ Some individuals have been meeting two or three times a week to write job descriptions and create a handbook.”

They have also been working on a small building, cleaning it out and turning it into a volunteer center. “If you volunteer, you'll have a place to check in, a place to have lunch and leave your purse locked up,” she said. “We're working on getting some lockers in there.”

“It's going to be really nice to have that space for the volunteers,” Hoffman said. “There will be new flower boxes on the front of the building, and a sign above the door that says 'Volunteer Center'.”

She said the museum is looking for volunteers for many different tasks. “Everything from a gardening crew to folks to help us try to bring the village to life.” She said that they’d like “village interpreters,” people who used to work in town government who could talk about how New England government works, a retired firefighter who might talk about how fire departments have evolved over the years, or a retired school teacher who might talk about one-room schoolhouses.

“We're also looking for volunteers who might like to talk about antique cars, and act as 'docent conductors' who help guests get on and off the trains, but also tell the story of narrow gauge trains in Maine, and how steam engines work,” Hoffman said.

There will be an open house on May 20 from 3 to 7 for anyone interested in volunteering, or just to see what's happening.

Among the new programs at the museum this year will be special shareable membership cards, business memberships and business sponsorships.

Regular admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. These will be $6 for adults and $3 for kids.

Some of the events at the Railway Village this summer will include: Family Fun Day, June 21 (free for kids under 18); Antique Auto Days, July 19-20, featuring a Craft Beer Festival on the July 19, “Rails, Tails & Ales”; the ever popular Day Out with Thomas, August 8-10 and 15-17; and Family Harvest Festival, October 4-5. Visit www.railwayvillage.org for more.

Co-host Sarah Fahnley spoke about her business, And Candy Too! Fahnley's confections can be found in Boothbay Artisans this summer and a few other places in town, including Oak Street Provisions. All her candies are homemade one small batch at a time, hand-cut and individually wrapped.