Although the Camden Lions Club 23rd annual Doll, Miniature, Dollhouse, Bears and Trains Show is not until the first weekend in October, show co-chairman John McKay reminds readers that advance reservations are necessary to participate in doll making classes.

Marie Ashby of “Hon-E-B” Dolls, will help you make dolls that come in many molds, from miniatures to large dolls, modern to antique, Oriental to porcelain.

Since she will provide the equipment to make the dolls, advance reservations must be made by calling show co-chairwoman Betty Cameron at 236-2364.

The 23rd annual Doll Show is 10 a.m-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Camden Middle School on Knowlton Street.

The show coincides with the Camden Chamber of Commerce’s Fall Festival, taking place at the Camden Amphitheater.

Parking will be available downtown and at the middle school, and shuttle service between both locations will be provided.

The show is the major fund-raiser of the year for the Camden Lions Club.

The reservation deadline is Monday, Sept. 16, to join Wellesley in Eastern Maine Alumnae and Friends and “Haunt the Hallowed Halls of Salem, Massachusetts.”

The trip includes a visit to the Peabody Essex Museum and The House of the Seven Gables.

The $109 fee includes coach travel, lunch at the Wenham Tea House, two guided museum tours, an early dinner at A Taste of Thyme Cafe, and an early evening special, “Spirits of the Gables,” with interpreters representing characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel at the House of the Seven Gables.

Reservations can be made with Nancy Ziegenbein at 947-7965.

Members of the public are invited to join the Bangor Nature Club on a bus trip to Baxter State Park and Lower Togue Pond at the foot of Mt. Katahdin.

Travelers meet at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Cameron Field on Mount Hope Avenue in Bangor.

You should bring our own lunch, although a “light snack stop” is planned in either Medway or Millinocket, and you can bring folding chairs.

The cost is $20 for BNC members and $22 for non-members.

Call Ruth Barker, 942-5977, or Muriel Frati, at 262-7145 if you want to participate.

A new, monthly Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group will begin meeting at noon Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Newman Center, 83 College Ave. in Orono.

The center is handicapped-accessible, and free parking is available.

The purpose of the group, which will be led by Martha Eastman and Marjie Harris, is to enable people touched by Alzheimer’s and related disorders to share experiences, express feelings and learn about dementia and helpful resources in a caring, understanding environment.

Open to University of Maine faculty, staff and students, members of the general public are welcome to participate.

For more information, contact the UMaine Center on Aging, 581-3444, alzsupport@mainecenteronaging.org or at the Web site www.mainecenteronaging.org.

Those of you who attended the Community Rally hosted by United Way of Eastern Maine on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Bass Park in Bangor, know it did not, as I wrote in my column for that day, also serve as the kickoff for the UWEM annual campaign.

Nancy Roberts of UWEM has informed me that rather than holding a campaign kickoff this year, UWEM hosted the rally “as a remembrance event that hopes to inspire people to perform Acts of Kindness as a way to honor the people who died in the terrorist attacks.

“In the same way that Pearl Harbor and WWII gave birth to a life-long commitment to community service by one generation, we hope that September 11 can become that moment in time for a new generation.”

Roberts added that UWEM “won’t be holding a campaign kickoff this year.”

And speaking of the United Way of Eastern Maine, its annual campaign helps support the work of more than 70 partner agencies in Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo and Washington counties.

To assist in that effort, Lamey-Wellehan Shoes will donate 10 percent of its proceeds from its grand opening to UWEM.

The Lamey-Wellehan Shoes grand opening is 9 a.m.-9 p.m. today at the Mid Mall, 43 Bangor Mall Blvd., Bangor.

After a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m., refreshments and entertainment will be provided throughout the day, and you can register to win thousands of dollars of merchandise in a drawing at 8:45 p.m.

Best of all, however, is that any purchases you make will help UWEM provide needed funds for organizations and agencies serving the people of Eastern Maine.

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