Community News

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Bangor

Greek Community Dance

St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Bangor will present its annual Greek Community Dance 8 p.m.-midnight Saturday, Oct. 25, at Husson College’s Peabody Campus Center. The dance features live music from the Hellenic Stars Orchestra, with Kostas Haloulakos, and Greek hors d’oeurves and desserts. Also featured will be the newly formed St. George Children’s Dance Troupe, performing traditional Greek dances.

The cost of the dance is $25, $10 for students and children over 5. Tickets are available at the door and from Kelley Pontiac, Captain Nick’s Restaurant, the Bangor Museum and Center for History, the Market Cafe in Old Town, Angelo’s Pizza in Old Town, and the Millinocket House of Pizza, or by calling the church at 945-9588.

International slide exhibit

The Eastern Maine Camera Club will hold its second international exhibition at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at Bangor Public Library. More than 250 slides will be displayed, contributed by:

. Eastern Maine Camera Club, Bangor

. Photoclub Midtfyn, Denmark

. Drogheda Photographic Society, Ireland

. Nova Scotia Photographic Guild, Halifax

The program is open to members of the public, whether they are photographers themselves or not.

EMCC is the only organization in the New England Camera Council to have sister clubs outside the United States, and the only one to hold an international photo slide exhibition.

The first international photo slide exhibition involved a tour, with slides from the Bangor group included in displays that were put on in Denmark and Ireland, as well as Bangor.

Slides displayed Oct. 23 will be in two categories: local scenes and competition winners. Refreshments will be served.

The Eastern Maine Camera Club offers a varied schedule of activities, open to the public.

Some of the well-known photographers who have given programs locally for EMCC in recent years include the late Bill Silliker, Len Rue Jr., Bruce Burnham, Bangor Daily News photojournalist Gabor Degre, Terrell Lester, Dick Towle and Ed Elvidge.

For more information, contact Diana Porter, president of the Eastern Maine Camera Club, at 942-4004.

Designing Women

Designing Women will present fine crafts and artwork at a show and sale 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Holiday Inn, Main Street.

Admission is $2 at the door and will benefit Rape Response Services. Participating artists are Cindy Barnes, paper jewelry; Susan Blaisdell, handwovens; Rebecca Boxer, clay whistles; Janyce Boynton, art quilts; Jodi Clayton, wool fleece; Lisa Colburn, fused glass; Sister Bette Edl, handspuns, handwovens; Michelle Henning, porcelain; Maryann Ingalls, handmade paper; Annaliese Jakimides, collage; Janice Jones, handwovens; Peggy Clark Lumpkins, paintings; Cindy McIntyre, photos; Gretchen Mead, paper; Jennifer Miller, pieced clothing; Gail Platts, soft sculpture dolls; Kathie Pratt, lampshades; Jina Romano, pottery; Susan Dickson-Smith, pottery; and Martha Whitemer, silver jewelry.

Training for volunteers

The Eastern Maine AIDS Network is sponsoring a three-part training program for volunteers interested in assisting with the agency’s substance abuse exchange and referral program and other volunteer projects. The training will be 5:30-7:30 p.m. beginning Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Those who attend all sessions, successfully complete the program, and would like to volunteer a minimum of 10 hours in the exchange and referral program will be eligible for a stipend.

The training program will include an overview and history of the program and agency, state laws, psychosocial issues and specific skill-building topics. Facilitators will be social worker Latona Torrey, agency director Denis Cranson and prevention education supervisor Andrew Thomits. Space is limited and preregistration is required. To learn more, call 990-3626.

New PBS board members

Maine Public Broadcasting president Mary Anne Alhadeff has been elected to the Public Broadcasting Service board of directors effective Oct. 31.

Alhadeff, 50, joins John Swope, a businessman who represents New Hampshire Public Television, as the only two New England members of the PBS board. This is Alhadeff’s first appointment, and is for three years.

The PBS board of directors is the governing body of PBS and is responsible for setting policy. Duties include appointing officers of the corporation, adopting amendments to the bylaws, adopting policies for the management of the corporation’s affairs by the officers and staff, and establishing committees. Directors also serve on the board’s standing and ad hoc committees and subcommittees.

Alhadeff joined Maine Public Broadcasting in 2002. Before that, she served as president and chief executive officer of Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo, N.D., and as director of broadcasting for New Hampshire Public Television.

For information, visit www.mpbc.org.

Those were the Days

Georgia Paul, Poppy Davis and Arthur Brountas will share their memories of growing up in Bangor’s Greek community at a panel discussion 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Bangor Museum, 6 State St. Nicholas Brountas will serve as moderator. Admission is free.

This is the third in the series of panel discussions related to the museum’s exhibit “From Away: Exploring Bangor’s Cultural Heritage.”

The Bangor Museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

Call 942-1900 for more information.

Candidates’ night

Bangor Public Library will hold a candidates’ night for those running for City Council and the school committee at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, in the library Lecture Hall.

Michael Gleason, retired senior master sergeant of the Maine Air National Guard, will be the moderator. Each candidate will be given three minutes for an introductory statement, including defining important issues the city faces. There will be 45 minutes of questions from the audience. Each candidate will be given two minutes for a closing statement. The forum will be broadcast on cable TV’s public access channel.

Bangor residents are encouraged to attend and take part in discussions that may directly affect their future.

‘David the King’

The Union Street Brick Church will present a new play, “David the King” by Charlene Kent, at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Oct. 31-Nov. 2 and Nov. 7-9, at the church. Myke Billings has written original music, and the play’s battle scenes will be courtesy of Adam Williams and the MMA Martial Arts Club.

Admission is a $6 donation to benefit the church steeple clock fund. Call 945-9798 for reservations and information.

Brewer

Assistance dogs conference

Golden Moments Assistance Dogs will sponsor a conference, Assistance Dogs and Their Role in Society, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at Jeff’s Banquet and Convention Center in Brewer.

Speakers will be Clara Grover, operations manager and trainer from Golden Moments; Dr. John Patten of Penobscot Community Health Care in Bangor; and Heather Mitchell, occupational therapist at the Warren Center in Bangor.

Topics include the process of dog selection and assistance training, psychosocial benefits for dog trainers and owners, and community inclusion and legal implications.

The cost of the conference ranges from $95 for an individual to $125 for professionals. The fee includes lunch and handouts. Call Clara Grover at 945-3647 for more information.

Tango workshop

Tango Maine will sponsor a two-day Argentinean tango workshop with Javier Bucher on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8-9, at Well Forms, 611 Wilson St. There will be an “I’ve never danced tango” lesson, several lessons for “continuing beginners” and lessons for intermediate-advanced dancers in technique, waltz and milonga.

Tango Maine is planning a field trip to Montreal on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2, to see a show with Pablo Veron and to dance. The event is organized by Studio Tango of Montreal.

To learn more, call Ginny Whitaker at 866-2467, or visit www.tangomaine.com.

Blood drive

Airline Pharmacy in Brewer will hold a blood drive noon-6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. Participants are asked to bring a photo ID. T-shirts and snacks will be available. For an appointment, call the pharmacy at 989-2424.

Celebrant Singers

Jon Stemkoski’s Celebrant Singers, an internationally known Christian music ministry, will present a concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, at St. Joseph’s Parish, 531 North Main St. There is no cost, but a freewill offering will be taken.

The Celebrant Singers comprises 10 singers and a 12-piece orchestra. Last year, five teams of Celebrant Singers presented more than 1,000 concerts in more than 15 countries, seven Canadian provinces and in the United States. The singing teams are interdenominational.

Hampden

Food cupboard

Created by USA Weekend magazine and in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Sunday of every October.

The Hampden Food Cupboard is asking for help, as it has experienced nearly a 65 percent increase in the number of families requesting assistance since July. The shelves are bare, and help is needed to fill them. Businesses and families are urged to collect food items and drop them off between 8 a.m. and noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Hampden Congregational Church, where the cupboard is housed, at 101 North Main St.

Personal care and other nontraditional items also are needed, including soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, diapers and wipes, small bottles of laundry detergent, and paper and cleaning products.

The Boy Scouts will aid efforts to replenish the food cupboard by going door-to-door Saturday, Nov. 8, to collect nonperishable foods.

Collection boxes also are set up at the town hall and the Edythe Dyer Library. Hampden students are collecting items in their schools, and Graves supermarket will have a cart available Oct. 20-25 where shoppers may deposit donations. For more information or to volunteer, call Melanie Sachs at 862-6414.

Voter registration

The registrar of voters for the town Hampden will hold office hours 1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, Oct. 29-31, at the municipal building for the purpose of accepting new registrations, name and address changes.

Old Town

Franco-American childhood

Storyteller Fran Pelletier, author of Tilbury House Publishers’ new book “Little Pine to King Spruce: A Franco-American Childhood,” will give a talk and sign her book from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at the Old Town Public Library.

Pelletier’s book is a memoir about growing up in an extended Franco-American family in Maine during the 1930s. The book has been praised as authentically small-town American, yet spiced with French-Canadian heritage. Call the library at 827-3972 for more information about the reading.

Orono

Speaker of the House

The Honorable Patrick Colwell, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, will present a lecture 8-9:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at the Buchanan Alumni House, University of Maine. His topic will be “Perspectives from Maine’s Speaker of the House – Creating a Future for Youth in Maine.” A coffee 7:30-8 a.m. will precede the talk.

Colwell is co-chairman and founding co-sponsor, with Senate President Beverly Daggett, of the Presiding Officer’s Advisory Task Force for Creating a Future for Youth in Maine.

RSVP by calling 947-3535.

Book and bake sale

The Friends of the Orono Public Library will have their annual Used Book and Bake Sale 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the library. Irene Hall is chairwoman of the event, the group’s major fund-raising activity. Hall said it’s wise to arrive at the sale early to get the best choices and great bargains on used books, tapes and home-baked treats.

Bargain book pricing will begin at noon, when book buyers may fill a bag or a box for a special marked-down price.

“Last year we had a huge donation of children’s books and many are still available for sale this year,” Hall said. “Some paperbacks are in multiple copies, making them a great deal for educators.”

There is a box at the library for book donations. Call the library at 866-5060 to arrange for book pickup.

Alice Smith and Carol Mower are in charge of the food sale, to include an assortment of baked and cooked foods, breads, rolls and desserts ready for the freezer.

The sale benefits Orono Public Library programs.

Halloween party

The annual Halloween costume party for preschoolers through fifth-graders will be held 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Orono Public Library. Activities include stories from the Kiwanis Readers, crafts and games. Friends of the Library will provide refreshments. Donations of cookies or ingredients for Halloween “gorp” are needed. To obtain more information, call 866-5060.

Stetson

White goods

A fall white goods day for Stetson residents has been scheduled for Oct. 25. Residents must have items at curbside by 7 a.m. All materials must be separate from regular trash.

Acceptable materials include household appliances, couches, stoves, stuffed chairs, microwaves, mattresses, washing machines, tires (limit two without rims), dryers, carpet cut in 4-foot sections, rolled and tied; dishwashers, plastic pipe, file cabinets, air conditioners, metal tables and chairs, freezers, water tanks and refrigerators.

Unacceptable materials include gas cans, oil, gas tanks, auto parts, propane cylinders, engine blocks, paint, transmissions, paint thinner, hoods, glue, batteries, tar, wood waste, computer monitors, brush, TVs and caulking. Those who have questions may call the town office at 296-3232.

Story time

Beginning Oct. 21, Stetson Public Library story time is 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Tuesdays. Preschool-age children accompanied by an adult are welcome, including infants. Activities include reading stories and singing songs. A light snack is provided, but participants are asked to bring their drinks.

Stetson Parks and Recreation needs volunteer readers or presenters for the preschool story time. Those who have favorite stories they would like to read, or a hobby, skill or other topic they would like to present may call Kirsten Hepler at 296-3559.

Halloween party

The Stetson Halloween party will be held 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, in the meetinghouse basement. Children in grades four and under are welcome to attend, but must be accompanied by an adult who will supervise them the whole time.

The party will feature a costume parade and contest with prizes for the best costume in each age range. During the parade children will be encouraged to act out their costume theme. There will be free pumpkins to paint and take home, a candy corn guessing contest, candy bags and prizes for all. For information, call Barb or Dave at 296-3041.

Theater outing

A bus trip to the Bangor Opera House to see “The Miracle Worker,” the story of Helen Keller, is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. Those who wish to attend should meet at the meetinghouse parking lot at 1 p.m. to board the bus. The bus will be rented from Leighton’s in Stetson and driven by Brenda.

Tickets are sold at a discounted rate, and the bus trip is paid by Stetson Parks and Recreation. The cost for a regular ticket is $14; senior citizen, $12; children, $6. Tickets are limited. Make out checks to the Town of Stetson and drop them off at the town office with a note stating the number of tickets requested by Nov. 9.

To obtain information, call Jen at 296-3100.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin