More than 25 independent Longaberger basket sales consultants are working to raise $5,000 for the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer research programs.

Julie Grover of Brewer said the Downeast Branch of Longaberger Consultants, which includes representatives from all over Maine, is donating “100 percent of the proceeds” from its Baskets of Hope fund-raiser to Longaberger’s Horizons of Hope campaign to benefit ACS.

The fund-raiser is 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Brewer Auditorium.

For seven years, Grover explained, Longaberger has designed a special Horizon of Hope basket that is sold during July and August, with $2 from the sale of each basket designated for ACS and breast cancer research.

And while other Longaberger groups have conducted fund-raisers similar to this one, Saturday’s event is a first for the Downeast Branch.

The event also will include a silent auction with “past, featured and retired baskets,” Grover said, as well as a demonstration by a master weaver from company headquarters in Ohio.

The weaver will make six baskets “to give away as door prizes, and will also have displays set up in the auditorium,” Grover said, “to show how Longaberger products can be used in every room of your home.”

Raffle tickets for a trip to Florida, offered by Bangor Travel, will be available, as will refreshments.

You can purchase advance tickets today from either your local Longaberger consultant or by calling Pam Prendergast of Bangor at 990-5011.

Advance tickets are $5. Tickets at the door are $8.

Grover is understandably proud of the work of the Downeast Longaberger Consultants as they prepare for this event, which everyone hopes will be a terrific success.

They are to be congratulated on their effort.

In order to reach their goal, the consultants are covering the costs of hosting the event so that more money can be raised for breast cancer research.

Don’t miss the 26th annual Machias Wild Blueberry Festival this weekend.

Activities begin with an Old Time Fish Fry 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, in the parking lot of the Center Street Congregational Church in downtown Machias.

Founded by the CSCC, many of the activities are in or near the church.

The Children’s Parade is at 6 p.m., and the day ends with the homegrown musical “Club Blueberry” at 7:30 p.m. in the church sanctuary.

Nearly all activities take place in facilities located on, or along, the sidewalks of Center, Court, Main and Free streets in downtown Machias.

Activities for Saturday, Aug. 18, include the Wild Blueberry Pancake Breakfast from 6 to 9 a.m. in the church vestry; the 1-mile Fun Run at 8 a.m.; and the Blueberry Run at 9 a.m.

The festival features crafts, food and book sales, and, remember, not all the food is blue. You will find lobster, crab, seafood chowder and chicken along with other delicious Down East delights.

The 29th annual Penobscot Valley Craft Festival will be ongoing; the Downeast Auto-Truck Show is 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, in the Shop ‘n Save parking lot; and a U.S. Postal Service Blueberry Festival special cancellation is available.

The Wild Blueberry Pie Eating Contest is 11 a.m. on Center Street, and I know you will enjoy a concert by the marvelous Machias Community Band at 1 p.m. and an Old Timers Band Concert at 3 p.m. Both bands will perform on the church steps.

Saturday’s Old Fashioned Baked Bean Supper is 4:30-7 p.m. in the Masonic Hall, and the final performance of “Club Blueberry,” is 7:30 p.m. at the church.

The festival ends with the Service of Thanksgiving for the Blueberry Harvest, including a Bell Choir, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday Aug. 19, at the church.

The Blueberry Festival Committee has planned for inclement weather.

If there is a lot of rain Friday, or if a significant amount is forecast for Saturday or Sunday, some Saturday events may be postponed until Sunday.

If you are concerned about the weather, call 255-6665 after 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, for a tape-recorded announcement.

Beal College of Bangor is holding an open house 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at its 629 Main St. campus in Bangor.

College program advisers and admissions representatives will provide information and visitors will receive tours of the school.

Beal College President Allen Stehle has also announced an essay contest, in which entrants answer the question “How Would a Beal College Education Change My Life?”

The entry deadline is 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10. The winner will be announced on Monday, Oct. 1.

Entry forms are available at the college, by calling (800) 660-7351 or 947-4591, and on the Beal College Web site at www.bealcollege.com.

For more information about the open house, the contest or the college, call the numbers above.

George Wildey, president of New England School of Communications, invites the public to its open house 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the new Communications Center on the campus of Husson College in Bangor.

An affiliate of Husson College, the former New England School of Broadcasting was founded in 1982 with just 23 students at its facility on Broadway in Bangor. It moved to the Husson campus in 1985.

The new 14,000-square-foot, $1.3 million facility has an enrollment of 140 students with 165 expected in 2003, according to a Bangor Daily News report.

More than half those students will enroll in the school’s new four-year bachelor’s degree program in communications.

The public will be offered tours of the facility and see communications in progress with an on-air live radio broadcast and the Blue Hill Brass recording in the state-of-the-art recording studio, which is one of the largest on the east coast.

For more information about this open house, or NESCOM offerings, call (888) 877-1876 or 941-7176.

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