Anyone seeking a break from the weather, and an opportunity to fill themselves with warmer thoughts, is invited to attend a special presentation offered by the Ellsworth Garden Club.

Garden club member Elaine Fernald wrote, “Now that the holidays are over, everyone is busy planning for that mythical early spring, and the Ellsworth Garden Club wants to help.”

Club members invite you to attend a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, at the Hancock County Cooperative Extension office, 66 Boggy Brook Road, Ellsworth.

The meeting will include a “display and review of some of our favorite plant, seed, shrub and tree catalogs,” she explained of the meeting that is “free and open to the public.”

“There are many years of gardening experience represented here,” she added. “We have several Master Gardener volunteers among our members, who will be offering insight on our favorite nurseries, both local and mail-order.”

Fernald added that the Ellsworth Garden Club was “formed in 1932 with the object of encouraging interest in home gardening, promoting civic beauty and conservation of natural resources.”

Its featured project is the maintenance of Donald Little Memorial Park in Ellsworth, honoring the serviceman killed in action during the Korean War.

Master Gardener volunteers from Hancock County Cooperative Extension work with the garden club on this project.

For more information about the meeting, or the EGC in general, call Fernald at 244-3085 and, along with all garden club members, “Think spring!”

Spruce Run Association in Bangor is the domestic violence project serving Penobscot County.

And while volunteers are coming forth to work its hot line, there are insufficient volunteers to serve as children’s workers, I have learned.

A 25-hour training program on Mondays and Saturdays prepare volunteers to support and interact with children whose mothers are affected by domestic violence.

No prior experience is required, and work-study and continuing education units are available.

If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity, or the hot line training, which begins Monday, Jan. 27, call 945-5102 for more information and a volunteer application.

Ben Dresser of Old Town, a member of Back Door Dance Studio and its self-described “head cheerleader,” invites you to enjoy one or both free performances of Zoot Suit Revue at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Bangor Mall.

Presented by Chuck and Sue McKay of Eddington, owners of dance studio, “the Zoot Suit Revue is a 17-consecutive song-dance performance lasting 55 minutes,” Dresser wrote. “This may be the best free show in this part of the state.”

Last July, Chuck McKay contacted me to ask that I extend, on behalf of the dance studio, an offer of assistance to nonprofit organizations seeking unusual fund-raising events for the 2002-2003 season.

According to McKay, one of the nicer aspects of the offer was that “if we don’t have to travel too far, we don’t generally charge a fee” to perform at your fund-raiser.

It was an exceptional offer, and I understand there have been some enthusiastic takers.

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering what the Zoot Suit Revue is all about, and whether it would be an appropriate fund-raiser for your organization, here’s a chance to find out!

Citiside Yarn Co. owners Kathy Harmon and Liza Burgoyne suggest a certain Sunday might be a “good time for the girls to get away.”

The women invite knitters and spinners to help with their “Chemo Caps” project from 2 to 8 p.m. Jan. 26, which also is Super Bowl Sunday at Citiside, 81 Main St. in Bangor.

The women collect donated material and make “colorful and cozy Chemo Caps” which they donate to hospitals and clinics for individuals undergoing chemotherapy.

“We have well over 300 already made, and we’re still calling for knitters,” Harmon said.

For more information, call Citiside at (800) 330-3247 or 990-1455.

My husband and I now can comfortably take our annual January break, knowing our first granddaughter, Ariana Elizabeth, arrived safely Wednesday, Jan. 15, and is resting happily in the arms of her parents and brother, John, Dee and Alex White in Beacon, N.Y.

The Joni Averill column returns to Page B4 on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

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