Last year’s English Tea Party “was such a success that we are doing it again this year,” reports Betty Renaud of Ecotat Trust, an ecological sanctuary in Hermon.

For that first English Tea Party, Renaud wrote, more than 55 ladies came “all dressed up in hats, dresses and gloves. They all enjoyed the tea, and being able to tour the beautiful gardens.”

The second English Tea Party in Ecotat’s Gardens is 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at Ecotat, which is at the intersection of Route 2 and Annis Road in Hermon.

Admission is $15 per person, and you should know that seating is limited.

In case of rain, the event will be held in the cafeteria at Hermon High School.

Known as Crosby Gardens before the owners donated their considerable acreage to the town of Hermon, the gardens contain nearly 1,500 varieties of perennials.

Ecotat Trust was created as a nonprofit organization in 1997. Its name is a combination of the words ecology and habitat, and is intended as a reflection of the Crosbys’ loving creation.

The site includes gardens, wildlife habitat and trails, and one of the trust’s goals is to ensure that the public enjoys the gardens and visits them often.

Tickets for the English Tea Party can be purchased by calling Renaud at 848-5162, or Becky Stanslaus at 989-3202 after 5 p.m.

People with concerns about the future of the Northeast Harbor Library are invited to attend a public forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at the library.

O.P. Jackson, chairman of the library’s board of trustees, and vice chairman Moorhead Kennedy, encouraged the public to join in an open discussion about future plans for the facility.

For more information about this meeting, call the library at 276-3333.

It was nice of Sharon Jackiw of Old Town to write and alert readers that the annual Community Yard Sale to benefit Fields Pond Audubon Center is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 26, rain or shine, at the center, 216 Fields Pond Road in Holden.

There, she writes, you will find housewares, antiques, furniture, outdoor equipment and much more.

Proceeds will help support the center’s educational programs.

But, what Jackiw really wants people to know is that if you have items to donate to the sale, you can bring them to the center, starting today.

“It’s a great opportunity to recycle some of the basement and attic treasures no longer used,” she wrote. If you have questions, call the center at 989-2591.

The Bangor School Department wants readers to know that it again will participate in the Summer Food Service program, which provides meals to all children ages 1-18 without charge, first come, first served.

Acceptance and participation requirements for the program and activities are the same for everyone, regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

Breakfast is provided from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and lunch from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. Monday, July 28 through Friday, Aug. 8, at Downeast School, 100 Moosehead Blvd., Bangor.

Because “parking is tight at this venue,” reports Brewer Hometown Band director Jan Cox, you should arrive early for its Summer Concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at Indian Trail Park off North Main Street.

The concert theme is New York City, and will feature “a march or two,” including the new “Madison Square Garden March,” she wrote.

You are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket along with a picnic supper or snack.

“The scenery is beautiful at this park,” Cox added, suggesting you invite the neighbors to join you “for a delightful evening in the park.”

To Arline Smiley of Brewer, her family and friends, I extend my sympathies on the recent death of her husband, David Oaksman Smiley III.

I remember what a delight it was when I first moved to Bangor in the early 1960s, to shop at Smiley’s, knowing he kept his accounts receivable exactly as did my grandfather in his little country store in Maplewood: On a simple pad with my name on it.

I remember, too, that Mr. Smiley was one of those very nice, helpful “owners in the store,” and I appreciated that.

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