Each year, Michael Reisman of Island Connections told me, Chris and Kathleen Field, owners of Poor Boy’s Gourmet Restaurant in Bar Harbor, end their season by holding a benefit dinner for a local organization or need.

This year, the dinner benefits Island Connections and Al and Gloria Butler of Tremont.

Island Connections is “an organization that helps older people and people with disabilities live independently at home,” Reisman said of the services provided residents of Mount Desert Island.

“This is our fifth year,” he said, “and we have 100 volunteers who help people by providing things such as transportation, visiting in homes or phone calling.”

The benefit will also help the financial needs of Al Butler, who was diagnosed in 1999 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Island Connections and the Butlers will share equally in the proceeds from this special event.

Dining hours for this commendable, and sure-to-be-delicious, event are 4:30 p.m. to closing at Poor Boy’s, located at 300 Main St. in Bar Harbor.

Hundreds of paperback and hardcover books await those who stop by the Down East Community Hospital Auxiliary annual Fall Book & Bake Sale.

The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 19, at Centre Street Congregational Church in Machias.

Raffle tickets for a Halloween basket will also be on sale for $1 each or six for $5.

The Vicky E. Morgan Foundation was established after the death of the 19-year-old woman who was killed in February 2001 when her brother-in-law shot his wife while Morgan was sitting with her sister in a truck outside a convenience store in Patten.

The man later turned the weapon on himself.

Robin Dow of Sherman Mills began the foundation to help with the immediate needs of innocent victims of violence and their families.

She wrote recently to thank all the musicians who helped make the organization’s recent second annual Jamboree “such an overwhelming success.”

Included in her thanks are members of the “Redmans Hall Tarratine Tribe #13 of Belfast,” as well as “everyone who turned out to hear the music.”

Now the organization is planning another event to help people who find themselves unexpectedly in some of life’s most tragic circumstances.

An auction and supper, with admission by donation, is planned for 4-6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the municipal building in Island Falls.

The menu includes ham and beans, potato salad, coleslaw, rolls, coffee and dessert.

All proceeds benefit the V.E.M. Foundation, which, Dow said, is in the process of applying for nonprofit status.

The Friends of Marsh River Theatre will hold a season-ending fund-raiser in a cabaret setting at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the theater on Route 139 in Brooks.

Music from its “Stars of Broadway” summer concert, and some new arrangements, will be presented by the Marsh River Singers under the direction of Dottie Clements-Bickford and accompanied by Yvonne Drake.

Singing as you enjoy your dessert will be Judy Brossmer, Carla Ellis, Vaughn Ellis, Dale Eustis, Sue Haley, Suzanne Hall, Laurie Kaufman and Nancy Quimby.

Tickets are $5 for general admission, $8 for table seating and $5 for dessert. Tickets can be purchased by calling the theater at 722-4110, or at the box office the night of the performance.

Proceeds will benefit work being done on the York House, which was recently purchased by the Friends of Marsh River Theatre.

The White Cane Safety Day Awareness Walk, sponsored by The Iris Network, beings with registration at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, on the steps of Bangor City Hall.

Bangor Mayor Michael Crowley and state Sen. Tom Sawyer will read the White Cane Safety Day proclamations from the city of Bangor and Gov. Angus King at 11 a.m.

After the readings just before the walk, a guide-dog user and a white-cane user will demonstrate how these tools help the blind and visually impaired.

The public is invited to participate.

Families of small children are reminded that the popular annual Haunted Forest is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine, Saturday, Oct. 19, at Sprague’s Nursery on outer Union Street in Bangor.

The event, which benefits Children’s Miracle Network of Eastern Maine Healthcare, feature new activities this year, such as hayrides, doughnuts on a string, pumpkin painting, cookie decorating and much more.

Child-find fingerprinting by members of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, ID photos courtesy of Dick Hogan State Farm Insurance, and Halloween safety tip sheets offered by Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Bangor are all part of the fun.

Admission is $2 per person, and all proceeds benefit pediatric health care services of CMN.

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