Don’t leave your golf game at home when you attend the Bangor Garden Show preview night from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at the Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center. Sponsored by the Robert and Catherine Barrett Fund for Landscape Horticulture of the University of Maine, preview night promises a “Swing into Spring” theme, with a putting green for those who want to try their hand at a hole-in-one.

Cynthia Cavanaugh is chairwoman for the event, which features the return of caterer Kerry Cox of Killarney’s Catering at the Holiday Inn on Main Street.

The Ellen Louise Payson Landscape Horticulture Scholarship will be announced; and a celebrity coat check is planned, with tips benefiting the Payson Scholarship Fund.

Fifteen pieces of art will offer guests an idea of what to expect when the new University of Maine Museum of Art opens in Norumbega Hall in downtown Bangor.

Attendees will rub shoulders with Mrs. Greenthumbs, Cassandra Danz; “Victory Garden” co-host Roger Swain; and “Garden Hotline” radio host Ralph Snodsmith. The three also will take part in a celebrity roundtable and book signing at 8 p.m.

Tickets for preview night are $25 each and are presale only.

They can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 990-4444 or stopping by the Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center ticket office. Preview night tickets are also available at the Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau, 115 Main St. in Bangor, or by calling the Bureau at 947-5205 or (800) 91MOOSE, which is (800)-916-6673.

Bangor Garden Show Patron partnership proceeds benefit the Payson Scholarship Fund at the University of Maine, which last year received more than $1,200 from this event.

The Bangor Garden Show is 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 1. The 11th Bangor Garden Show is sponsored by Keep Bangor Beautiful.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for children and students. Show tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 990-4444 or 947-5205.

The Bangor Garden Show will close with a plant sale at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 1, when exhibitors, literally, pull up their plants and offer them for sale to the public at bargain prices.

Members of the public are invited to attend a benefit dinner for the Honorable Judy Paradis of Frenchville at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at Le Club Calumet, 334 Northern Ave. in Augusta.

The event is sponsored by Le Conseil Communautaire of the UMaine Franco-American Centre and Le Forum Francophone des Affaires.

Paradis, who is retiring from the Maine Senate, is being recognized for her untiring efforts on behalf of the Franco-American community. For 14 years as a legislator, Paradis has worked to help preserve the culture, heritage and dignity of Maine’s Franco-Americans.

All proceeds from the benefit will go to research and development of Franco-American initiatives and programs. FFA-USA President Severin Beliveau will serve as master of ceremonies.

Among those honoring Paradis will be U.S. Rep. John Baldacci; Stephane Chmelewsky, Consul General for France in Boston; Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky; Senate President Michael Michaud; state Sen. John Martin; FFA-USA interim director Mark LeDuc; director of the Franco-American Center, Yvon Labbe; and Gil Albert, professor of bilingual education at the University of Maine Fort Kent.

Entertaining the honoree and her guests will be Lilianne Labbe, Don Hinkley, Donna Hebert and Gregoire Chabot.

The cost of the benefit is $28 per person and reservations can be made by calling Lisa Michaud at 581-3764, faxing her at 581-1455, or e-mailing her at LisaMichaud@umit.Maine.edu.

If you are unable to attend, but would like to make a donation in Paradis’ honor, you can make checks payable to the UMaine Foundation Franco-American Centre Fund, 179 Lisbon St., P.O. Box 3182, Lewiston 04243-3182.

Jeff Alden of Caribou is working to attain the rank of Eagle Scout.

His project is to refurbish the tower and part of the town clock on the steeple of the Gray Memorial United Methodist Church on the corner of Sweden and Prospect streets in Caribou.

The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

To help Alden purchase necessary materials to complete this project, the church’s Men’s Club is sponsoring a breakfast beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, March 24, at the church.

You are invited to climb the tower and see for yourself the work Alden is doing, and to see the city from a different perspective. Admission is by donation.

Brewer Hometown Band director Jan Cox writes the band is looking forward to a spectacular event when it presents its spring concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at the Brewer Auditorium.

Making a guest performance will be the Bangor Area Children’s Choir, which will represent Maine in the Festival of States Celebration of the 225th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next month in Washington, D.C.

Cox notes that choir members and supporters “have worked hard to raise the funds for their trip, and we would like to get them a healthy sum to assist them in reaching their goal.”

She added that the Brewer Hometown Band “is aware of just how difficult it is to make the budget deadlines,” so she is hoping for a sellout crowd.

Refreshments will be available and door prizes awarded. Tickets are $5 for adults; the event is free for children 12 and under; donations above the admission price will be gratefully accepted on behalf of the Bangor Area Children’s Choir.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.