A drawing of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s boyhood home in Raymond. Hawthorne Community Association image

RAYMOND — Kicking off with a celebratory open house scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7, the boyhood home of author Nathaniel Hawthorne will be transformed into an events center.

The 40 Hawthorne Road house will be available for activities like meetings, receptions, small weddings, crafts fairs and birthday parties from May through September each year, according to a news release from the Hawthorne Community Association.

The free open house will feature refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and music by singer-guitarist Gary Wittner from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The occasion will mark the completion of phase one of the Hawthorne Community Association’s three-year-long effort to raise $75,000 to make urgent structural repairs to the building, referred to as “the Hawthorne House.”

Those funds enabled essential repair of the building’s foundation and other critical elements of its structure, as well as a makeover of the interior into a cozy, welcoming meeting place. Phase 2 of the fundraising campaign will seek to raise an additional $30,000 to cover the costs of a new roof and new siding and painting.

Event rentals at the Hawthorne House will help fund that phase. Rates are $25 per hour for nonprofits and Hawthorne Community Association members, and $50 per hour for nonmembers (minimum of two hours).

For more information, contact Abel Bates at 207-318-7131 or jbates4@maine.rr.com or visit hawthorneassoc.com.