Bangor

Peony Garden Tour

The Peony Society of Maine will hold the third Peony Garden Tour 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at 23 Ohio St. The garden includes more than 70 varieties of peonies and nearly 100 plants, many of them in full bloom. Admission is $2, with proceeds used to donate unusual plants to local gardens. In 2001, two tree peonies were donated to the Littlefield Demonstration Gardens at the University of Maine and in 2002, two peonies were donated to Ecotat Gardens in Hermon.

The tour will be held rain or shine. To learn more, call Ken Liberty at 947-9726.

Summer hours

Bangor Public Library will be closed Saturday, June 21, the start of its summer schedule. Library summer hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, and closed Saturday and Sunday. Regular hours will resume after Labor Day. For more information, call the library at 947-8336.

Cascade Park picnic

The Ostomy Association of Eastern Maine invites members and friends to a picnic at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at Cascade Park. Food and juice will be provided. Bring your own hot beverage and a chair. The rain site is Brandow Conference Room, Eastern Maine Medical Center. For reservations call Barbara Sproul at 989-5772.

Pancake breakfast

The Hose 5 Fire Museum, 27 State St., will hold a pancake breakfast 6-10 a.m. Saturday, June 14, at the museum. The cost is a $4 donation. For more information, call 537-2423.

Health fair at Shaw’s

A mini health fair, sponsored by Shaw’s Supermarket, will be held 1-4 p.m. Thursday, June 12, at Shaw’s on Main Street in Bangor. Participating agencies will include the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program, the Bangor Fire Department’s Helmet Safety program, Penquis CAP’s Kids Campaign and Maine Care, and Affiliated Services of St. Joseph Healthcare. To learn more about the fair, call Mary Ellen Pedersen at 973-3645.

Book signing

Jo Carol Alford, Orono town councilor and editor of “Favorite Recipes from Friends of Edith Patch” will sign books at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at Borders. The cookbook was published as a fund-raiser to restore Braeside, the home and gardens of Edith Marion Patch, environmentalist and professor of entomology at the University of Maine 1903-1937. The cookbook is in its third printing. Call 990-3300 for more information.

Wish list

The Manna Ministries food kitchen, 180 Center St., has these items on its wish list – disposable plates, baked beans, soup, canned spaghetti, canned meat and canned fruit. To obtain information, call 990-2870.

Bugs and other good stuff

Summer is the time to learn about creepy-crawly and other hopping creatures at the Maine Discovery Museum. Programs include “Bug Zoo” with Tony Sohns at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 7; “Maine’s Fabulous Amphibians” at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 15; and “Vernal Pools” with the Chewonki Foundation at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 21. To learn more about summer activities, call 262-7200 or visit www.mainediscoverymuseum.org.

Fire memorabilia

The Hose 5 Fire Museum at 247 State St. is looking for fire memorabilia to put on display at its museum this summer. Those who have antiques or memorabilia to lend the museum may call Richard Brooks at 537-2423. The museum is open 9 a.m.-noon daily, June-October.

Brewer

Maine AIRS

Maine AIRS, an audio information and reading service for the sight-impaired presents The Maine Reader at 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, with episodes rebroadcast at 4 p.m. Sundays. The current book, which began April 7, is “My Only Story” by Monica Wood. The reader is Theresa Dyer. To learn more about Maine AIRS, call Les Myers at 989-0058.

Bus service

Beginning June 16, Brewer will receive twice as much public transportation service as it now receives.

The new bus will: provide service to the Wal-Mart Supercenter and to Eastern Maine Healthcare when that facility opens; provide a second bus for Brewer, one for the north route and one for the south route; provide two-way service on both routes, and provide rides directly to and from Brewer Shopping Center, between South Main Street and downtown Bangor, and between North Main Street and downtown Bangor.

To learn more about the service, call BAT at 947-0536.

Hudson

Lakeshore buffer strip

Volunteers from the Greater Pushaw Lake Association will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at the home of Bill and Mary Phillips in Hudson, to continue their efforts to protect the water quality of the lake.

The goal is to demonstrate a practical technique that lakeshore owners can use to reduce the potential for erosion. Volunteers will put in new plants, sow grass, incorporate lime in the soil and dig planting beds. For directions to the Phillips home on Rogers Landing Road, call 827-0454.

Orono

The fifth annual Maine Student Writing Awards, sponsored by Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Arts Commission, is planned for 3:30 p.m. Friday, June 13, at the Maine Center for the Arts. Orono High School student Meredith Crawford of Veazie is the first place winner in the poetry category.

Novelist Heidi Julavits will read from her book, “The Mineral Palace.” A reception will follow. The event is free and open to the public.

Orrington

Reading club

The Reading Patch Club is coming to Orrington Public Library for children entering kindergarten-grade five. Participants will read books from a variety of categories on their own, come to the library to discuss the books one-on-one with the librarian, earn stickers and have the opportunity to become a “Star Reader.”

Signup for the club is during regular library hours 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, June 16-20, and 11 a.m-7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.

Children may come to discuss their books June 23-July 17: 10 a.m.-noon Mondays and Wednesdays, and noon-2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; no discussions June 25 or July 4.

A special program and Star Reader Awards Day will be held July 22 at East Orrington Congregational Church. Zachary Field, juggler, will perform. For more information, call 825-4938.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin