MIDDLEBURY — The annual Shoreham Festival will be a little leaner this year but still a blast when it is staged in the village all day this Saturday, Sept. 1.
 A recent water main project on the town commons and other factors have forced organizers to pare a few past features of the event, such as the garden tractor pull, tag sale and carnival rides. But this year’s Shoreham Festival will still include such mainstays as a chicken barbecue, parade and street dance.
“We cut things back and tried to make it simple,” said Shoreham Festival Committee Coordinator Heidi Lanpher.
“Simple” might be an understatement, as the festival will still post an impressive lineup for the rural, picturesque community of around 1,100 residents.
Here are the highlights of Shoreham Festival 2012, which has a theme of “Faces of Shoreham”:
•  Pancake breakfast at the Shoreham Congregational Church, 8-10:30 a.m.
•  Apple pie sale, 8 a.m. to noon, at the Congo Church.
•  Round robin tennis at the tennis courts, 9 a.m.
•  Library book sale, outside of the library, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; basement of library, 4-6 p.m.
•  Legos and face painting (firehouse), 4-6 p.m.
•  Historical Society booth (gazebo), 4-7 p.m.
•  Parade, 4:30 p.m.
•  Firemen’s chicken barbecue, 5-7:30 p.m. at the Shoreham Congregational Church. Dinner is $10 per person, $5 for children 12 and under.
•  Wii free play, 5-7 p.m. at the firehouse.
•  Citizenship Award (Congo Church), 6:30 p.m.
•  Street dance with DJ (firehouse), 6 to 10 p.m.
•  Popcorn and snow cones (firehouse), 6:30-8:45 p.m.
•  Fireworks, around 8:45 p.m.
Lanpher said donations will be gratefully accepted to help defray the day’s festivities. While voters last March authorized $4,500 to pay Shoreham Festival expenses, Lanpher and other organizers hope to reduce some of that taxpayer outlay.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].