The Bangor Travel Soccer U-14 Boys Team is raising funds for the trip of a lifetime.

They leave Friday, June 22, on a journey that will take them to our sister city of Bangor, Wales; as well as London, England; and Stockholm and Pitea, Sweden, where they will participate in the 12th annual Pitea Summer Games.

To make this journey, coach Larry Smith reports, the team needs to raise approximately $33,000.

When they began planning last January for the trip, Smith said, “one of the big goals was to fund-raise for all the boys, so cost would be no barrier and all the boys could participate.”

The chaperons and adults accompanying the team will pay their own way, he added.

“We’ve raised, or have a commitment, for about $20,000 so far,” Smith said, “and we have a bunch of fund-raisers. The big one is coming up.”

The Bangor Travel Soccer U-14 Boys Team will be host to an indoor yard sale from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at the Bangor Community Center (the former Bangor Armory) on Main Street.

Smith said that 18 families will have tables at the event, and that an additional number of tables are available for rent.

If you, your family, friends or organization would like to participate by renting a table, call Elaine Towne at 947-6270.

If, however, you would just like to contribute items to the sale, and want them to be picked up, you can also call Towne and the items will be picked up at your home Friday afternoon.

“In addition to the sale, which will be your regular yard sale items, we will have an ongoing silent auction, closing out each hour, of items donated by community businesses,” Smith said.

Included in the silent auction are gift certificates from businesses such as The Ground Round and Borders; services such as will preparation and a massage; and an opportunity to play minigolf.

The team has planned quite an exciting trip, and they also will serve as young ambassadors for our city.

“Most of this group has been playing together four years through travel soccer and the Bangor Rec program,” Smith said of the team he coaches with Ray Pelletier.

“The last three seasons, they have gone to the state tournament and been pretty successful.”

The Bangor team will be one of very few American teams participating in the Pitea tournament that attracts 500 mostly European teams to a city of just 10,000 people.

While in Wales, Bangor government officials plan a small celebration for the Bangor, Maine, team, which will present them with a goodwill gift package from our Chamber of Commerce.

The team will stay in Bangor, Wales, for 21/2 days where they will work with a soccer professional, play against a local team and visit the city’s soccer museum.

They also will attend a day of school in Bangor, Wales.

“One of our goals is to open up this relationship so, potentially, some of their students can travel over here and broaden our sister city relationship,” Smith said.

A sightseeing trip to London precedes their trip to Stockholm, from where they will travel by sleeper train to Pitea, “which is right at the Arctic Circle in Northern Sweden,” Smith said.

The team will play at least four games in the tournament, he said, “and up to eight if they are successful.”

The experience has “already been exciting,” Smith said of what he describes as “a great opportunity” for these young boys.

During a recent fund-raiser, “they were busing tables at the Oriental Jade, all dressed up, and being very professional. They’re learning a lot.”

And, he added, “the community has been incredibly generous.”

“When the boys were at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, people would spend time talking to them and finding out what it was all about. Almost all the folks would drop in a quarter or a dollar and, often, it was people you would expect were least able to afford it.”

Smith is also grateful for the support of local businesses.

“We have a T-shirt with the names of 24 sponsors that contributed between $50 and $1,000; the Bangor Elks gave us $1,000,” as did Spectrum Medical Group, he said.

“Of course,” he added, “we welcome contributions from any individuals or companies.”

Donations can be sent to Bangor Travel Soccer, 16 Hayward St., Bangor 04401.

Although the official kickoff for the Penobscot County Plant-a-Row for the Hungry Project was Tuesday, the public is still invited to participate in this program that last year found Maine gardeners donating approximately 50,000 pounds of food to local shelters and soup kitchens.

Penobscot County gardeners led the state with a total of 41/2 tons of donated food.

The project is a joint effort of the Garden Writers Association of America, The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardeners, and HGTV.

In the Plant-a-Row program, gardeners set aside a row or more in their vegetable gardens and all the produce raised in that area is donated to a local food bank.

Participants receive a list of food banks and shelters so they can choose which organization they want to support.

Free seeds are distributed to those who sign up for the project. The seeds are for familiar vegetables that are easily grown, even by an inexperienced gardener.

In addition to the seeds, participants receive advice on planning, planting and harvesting.

The use of organic gardening methods is encouraged, and organic gardening advice is available to Plant-a-Row participants from the Cooperative Extension, as it is to anyone who wants it.

Deb Armstrong is the Plant-a-Row for the Hungry Project director. If you would like to participate, call 942-7396.

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