Corinna library plans summer concerts on the lawn

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The Stewart Free Library in Corinna is going to have a wonderful, wonderful summer and wants you to be part of it.

Librarian June Jaworski and assistant librarian Cindy Jennings have activities planned to please every age.

Jaworski called to report something new this year.

“We’re getting financial help,” she said of a Maine New Century Grant, “so we are going to have summer concerts on the library lawn … that is, if it doesn’t rain. Otherwise, they will be inside.”

The full summer schedule starts this week with a concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 20, featuring Ginger Mae Dyer and Friends.

“We’re starting with local people … and we’re inviting everyone to bring a chair or a blanket and come enjoy the concert,” Jaworski said.

The second concert is 7 p.m. Thursday, June 27, and features local singers Erin Buck and Friends.

“We will have no program on Thursday, July 4, because there are too many others in the area,” Jaworski said.

But the Dover Community Band comes to town at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11, and the Galina Family makes an appearance at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18.

Appearing on the lawn of the Stewart Free Library next will be Julie and the Bug Boys at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 25; and then it’s Donna Accettullo at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1.

The last two concerts feature Maine-ly Folk at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug 8, and Castlebay at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15.

Jaworski said the Stewart Free Library, located at 8 Levi Stewart Drive in Corinna, “can be plainly seen from Route 7. It’s a great big, brick building with a big clock,” she explained. “It’s a lovely clock, that chimes on the hour.”

And while the library is not usually open on Thursday evenings in the summer, it will be open 7-9 p.m. on each concert evening.

The normal library summer hours are 1:30-7 p.m. Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

The SFL also begins its Summer Reading Program this week, Jaworski said.

At 2 p.m. each Wednesday, there will be something for the children, as well as something for anyone who wants to attend.

The featured guests for these programs (all begin at 2 p.m.) are drummer Barbara Gail, June 19; Perry Alley Theatre, June 26; a puppet-making workshop, July 3; Northern Stars Planetarium, July 10; and a singalong with Julie Monroe on July 17.

Author Lynn Plourde will appear for a book signing July 24.

She will be followed by juggler Zach Field on July 31 and magician Alan Drew on Aug. 7. The program closes with a field trip to a Corinna llama farm on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Throughout the summer, Jaworski said, youngsters will participate in Camp Read-A-Lot.

“We will keep track of what they read, and they will win prizes,” she added.

So you can see, there is a lot to enjoy and a lot to get excited about, at the Stewart Free Library in Corinna.

People are encouraged to preregister for the Celebrity Benefit Bike Ride, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 6, at Greenville High School, which is also where the ride ends.

Hosted by the Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home as part of our country’s first Fourth of July celebration since the terrorist events of Sept. 11, the ride is being conducted in honor of emergency services personnel.

The event features two special guests: Jack Carlson and John Healy, who are emergency medical technicians from New York City.

The men will share experiences, lessons and photographs after the Sept. 11 attack at the World Trade Center.

The 16-mile Celebrity Bike Ride route includes tarred and dirt roads between Greenville and Shirley.

A barbecue, auction, presentation and an autograph and photo session will follow the ride.

Minimum pledges for entry are needed and team challenges are encouraged.

If you wish to attend the festivities but not participate in the ride, you are encouraged to join in by contributing pledges to the fund-raiser. To preregister, or receive more information, call the hospital at 695-5200.

Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life-threatening illness and their families, is planning two “Ray of Hope” camping experiences for families who lost loved ones during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

The first Ray of Hope week is June 30-July 5 and is filled to capacity with 40 families.

Because of the overwhelming response to this special camp, a second week will be added in late September or October.

Camp Sunshine, located on Sebago Lake in Casco, will accept 20 families for this second session.

Applications will be reviewed until the session capacity has been reached.

For more information about the Ray of Hope program, or Camp Sunshine, visit the camp’s Web site at www.campsunshine.org or call 655-3800.

Funding for the Ray of Hope Program has been provided by the Lions Clubs International Foundation, the UJA-Federation of New York with support from the Ted Arison Family Foundation and JP Morgan Chase.

AirLifeLine, a nonprofit organization of volunteer pilots, has offered to fly families to camp free of charge on their private jets.

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