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Bangor

Folk Festival performers

National Folk Festival organizers have lined up more performers this year and expanded the Native Maine Arts segment. Festival chairman John Rohman and festival coordinator Heather McCarthy announced the first group of entertainers, selected by a panel of local and National Council for the Traditional Arts representatives. The festival will take place Aug. 22-24.

. Dale Watson and His Lone Stars will play a combination of honky-tonk and vintage country.

. National Heritage Fellow Natividad Cano leads the group Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano from California.

. Yodeler Wylie Gustafson and the Wild West, from Washington, will offer their unique vocalizations.

. Warner Williams and Jay Summerour will play Piedmont-style blues.

. Englishman John Styles, a Punch and Judy puppeteer, will appeal to children and adults.

. La Bande Feufollet, a Cajun group, is made up entirely of children.

. Mamadou Diabete, from Mali, West Africa, is a musician-storyteller who tells tales of the past about the rise of the Malian Empire.

. Barachois, of Prince Edward Island, plays Acadian music and is expected to make appearances in the dance tent.

In the Native Maine Arts area, master artists from Maine’s Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseet nations will give demonstrations of basket making and root-club carving.

Another exhibit, “Basket Trees, Basket Makers,” will focus on the brown ash wood used in basket weaving, and a narrative stage will highlight family traditions.

The number of stages won’t change, but festival organizers plan to add another main entrance at West Market Square.

Arts on the Green

The Bangor Region Arts and Cultural Council is recruiting area artists for its first annual daylong family arts festival planned for Saturday, May 31.

Arts on the Green will take place in downtown Bangor at the two green parks on either side of Central Street. Musical talent from the community will be showcased in continuous performances in the Music Tent set up between Central and Franklin streets.

A small stipend will be offered to all participating artists, and help with unloading, setting up and taking down will be available.

The park behind Norumbega Hall will house multiple smaller tents for art workshops and demonstrations – not sales – by local craftspeople and artists, and will include a special tent set up for children’s workshops.

The day will culminate with community dancing in the late afternoon and evening under the dance tent in the Norumbega Hall parking lot.

Local musician groups, artists and craftspeople who wish to take part in Arts on the Green are encouraged to contact council director Susan Potters for information and an application form. Call 990-2805, e-mail MAAEBangor@aol.com or write to BRACC, PO Box 1972, Bangor 04402-1972.

Organic gardening workshop

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association will sponsor “Growing Your Own Organic Garden” 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, at United Technologies Center, 200 Hogan Road, Bangor. Clair Ackroyd is the instructor.

The workshop is open to the public and is designed to provide gardeners with skills and knowledge needed to make the transition from conventional to organic gardening.

Participants will learn soil science basics, including how to enrich soil; composting methods; the principles of crop rotation; how to incorporate green manures and manage nutrients of the garden; the difference between cultivated plants and weeds; basic weed control strategies; and common insect pests and methods of natural insect control.

The cost is $5. Preregistration is encouraged. For information, call 568-4142.

Family systems workshop

The Penquis CAP Child Abuse and Neglect Councils of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties are offering a series of workshops on responding to and preventing violence against children, “Our Children’s Future.” The series will explore the components of healthy family systems and those in crisis.

The monthly series continues 4-7 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St., Bangor. The cost of the workshop is $40. Registration is required. To obtain information or to register, call Penquis CAP at 973-3575.

Corinth

Local elections

The annual town election will be 1:15-8 p.m. Monday, March 17, at the town office.

Nomination papers have been turned in for the following offices: George Buswell and Stephen Caverly for selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor, three-year term; Jeffrey Dow and Dexter Wilson for selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor, two-year term; Wendell Harvey and Elizabeth Higgins for selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor, one-year term; Stephen Chambers, Arthur Libby and Brad Underhill for SAD 64 director, three-year term; Larry Palmer for SAD 64 director, one-year term; and Joan Blackwell for cemetery trustee, three-year term.

Hampden

Winter carnival

The public is invited to Hampden’s Winter Carnival, 2-7 p.m. Saturday, March 8, to help celebrate Hampden Academy’s 200th birthday. There will be activities ranging from sledding to snow painting to scavenger hunts and snow volleyball.

Activities will be located around the Hampden Academy football field and in the McGraw Elementary School gym, and supervised by Hampden teachers and the Leadership Team. Children will be given an opportunity to develop team-oriented and leadership skills, and to have fun enjoying Maine’s outdoors. Bring your own sled.

Old Town

Animal orphanage benefit

Volunteers will call Old Town and Orono residents 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 8, during the annual phoneathon to benefit The Animal Orphanage. Pledges will be used to support the shelter’s spay-neuter fund.

Founded in 1990 by concerned citizens and the municipal governments, The Animal Orphanage accepts stray and abandoned dogs and cats from Old Town and Orono, provides care and medical services, and places them in suitable adoptive homes. The Animal Orphanage is a no-kill shelter and spays or neuters all animals.

The spay-neuter policy, now in its third year, seems to be having a positive impact. The number of abandoned animals admitted in 2002 totaled 244, down from 356 in 2000. Those numbers include 68 dogs and 176 cats. Thirty-seven of the dogs were returned to their owners, and 23 were adopted. On the cat side, 19 were returned to their owners, and 131 were adopted.

The phoneathon will be conducted with the assistance of MBNA. Area residents wishing to make a donation may do so by calling 866-0753, a designated line for the fund-raising event, or by mailing a contribution to The Animal Orphanage, P.O. Box 163, Old Town 04468. All donations go toward the direct care of the animals.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin