The credit for the marvelous success of the Maine Shakespeare Festival goes not only to its hard-working local cast and crew, but also to those from outside Maine who travel here annually and make the commitment to be part of this very special summer event.

Mark Torres, MSF founder and producing artistic director for both the MSF and Penobscot Theatre Company, wrote me recently that plans are well under way for the ninth Maine Shakespeare Festival this summer.

However, MSF members have one major need: housing.

Torres explained that MSF company members from around the country will be coming to Bangor for the festival and that, during their 11-week stay, from June 2 through Aug. 19, they will need a place to live.

“We are seeking host families to provide continuous housing” for members of the MSF company during that time period, he wrote.

“Host families must live within a reasonable commute to Bangor,” he added.

However, it’s the housing that is needed, nothing more. “MSF company members do provide their own food and transportation,” he said.

Many of the young people who come to work at MSF are college-age interns, and having a place to stay is not only a major benefit to them, but also a major benefit to MSF.

So, Torres wonders, “are you going to camp and need a house-sitter this summer? Do you have a vacant, furnished apartment? An empty nest? An unused mother-in-law apartment? An idle cottage, cabin, or camp?”

If so, Mark Torres asks that you consider helping out a member of the MSF company by offering that space to them.

More information about becoming a MSF host family is available by calling 947-6618 or e-mailing ptcmsf@mint.net and putting “housing” in the subject line.

Here’s a reminder that the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross is sponsoring an Antiques Appraisal Day from 9:30 to 5 p.m. today at the Black Bear Inn in Orono.

Items will be appraised on a first-come, first-served basis by well-known and highly respected Fairfield auctioneer and appraiser James Julia and members of his staff at James D. Julia Auctioneers.

Verbal appraisals are $5 per item, and written appraisals are $10 per item.

You are reminded that, for appraisal purposes, good quality photographs can be substituted for large or very fragile pieces.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Pine Tree Chapter of the ARC, to assist local families in need of disaster relief.

Members of the Windjammer Barbershop Chorus offered “singing Valentines” as a fund-raiser last month in the Rockland, Rockport and Camden area.

A portion of the proceeds from this fund-raiser is designated to fund scholarships for local high school students and teachers to attend Harmony Explosion, a barbershop singing seminar that will take place this summer in Massachusetts.

Windjammer Barbershop Chorus is a member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America Inc., and another portion of the proceeds from this fund-raiser will form part of the chapter’s donation to local charities.

Nick Greenwood, chairman of the singing Valentines committee, wrote the NEWS recently to thank everyone involved in the program, and wants you to know that “your support greatly enhanced our charitable programs, and gave us an opportunity to share our love of barbershop music with you.”

He wrote that the chapter’s “quartets had fun singing in homes and businesses throughout the midcoast area,” and that the group discovered “lots of surprised people, lots of emotion and lots of appreciation for the songs of love that we delivered.”

He wrote that the barbershoppers are “specifically thankful for the support we received from the media and businesses in our area.”

And, Greenwood added, any men “who like to sing, are invited to join us” at 7 p.m. Monday evenings “in the Lions Den on Lions Lane in Camden, and help us ring some chords.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hancock & Washington counties is currently recruiting teams to participate in its Bowl for Kids Sale Bowl-a-thon and Annual Fund-raiser on one of two days: Saturday, March 16, or Sunday, March 17, at Eastward Lanes in Ellsworth.

Teams can be made up of four of five members, and you don’t even have to know how to bowl to take part: You just have to know how to have fun and enjoy yourself.

Teams are asked to obtain sponsors and collect donations, and bowlers raising $225 or more will be eligible for a raffle of grand prizes that include airfare for two to Florida, a $200 Filene’s shopping spree and a variety of dining and recreation packages. For more information, or to register your team, call 667-5304, (800) 492-5550, or visit the Big Brothers Big Sisters Web site at www.bbbshancock.org, and register online.

Money raised will help match children enrolled in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hancock & Washington counties with caring mentors.

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

990-8288.