One of the biggest celebrations ever in Washington County will be the 400th anniversary of the settling of St. Croix Island in June.

As part of that event, the St. Croix International Quilters’ Guild and Washington County Community College are sponsoring a quilt show, “St. Croix Quilts 2004: Down by the Riverside” on Friday, June 25, and Saturday, June 26, in Calais.

Proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor and the WCCC Scholarship Fund.

But to make the show a success, quilters must enter their work.

According to Quilt Show Committee member Bonnie Hunter, the sponsors’ goal is to offer a show reflecting the talents and diversity of Down East Maine and southwestern New Brunswick quilters.

There is no registration fee to enter the show, which will include traditional, contemporary, antique and art quilts.

If you are interested, call Marcia Carlow at 454-3966 or write her at 65 North St., Calais 04619; or call Dana Bard, 853-2506, or write her at P.O. Box 195, Eastport 04631.

Registration deadline is Monday, May 31.

Additionally, Hunter reports nonprofit organizations are invited to bring raffle quilts and tickets and become part of “raffle alley,” which already includes such organizations as Reach for Recovery Breast Cancer Group, Pembroke Historical Society, and the St. Croix Quilters.

More space is available, and there is no charge.

To receive information or reserve your spot, call Hunter at 726-5117, or write her at 28 Shore Road, Pembroke 04666.

Crafters and vendors of quilt-related merchandise can receive information about participating by calling or writing Bard, who is heading up the show, or guild president Karen Hanson, 454-3832.

To help support the environmental work of Bangor Area Citizens Organized for Responsible Development, an art auction will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 19, in the Courtyard Conference Room at 88 Hammond St. in Bangor.

There is no charge to attend.

Auctioneer Bob Duchesne will start the bidding at 7 p.m.

The event, organized by Suzanne Kelly, features donated work by numerous artists, including two landscapes by Patricia Vadas of Orono, former president of the Bangor Art Society.

Other artists contributing to the auction are Terri Badger, Lou Cappiello, Mark McCollough, Sandy Houtman, Michael Lewis and Jay Hanes, as well as Mary Hartt, Sally Arata, Pat Bell, Michael Grillo, Leanne Mallonee, and Jim Linehan.

Margaret Manter, Wally Warren, Barbara Guidotti and Kathleen Wall also have agreed to donate their works.

From Natalie Knox, we learn that the Youth Sunday School Class of Union Congregational Church is hosting a book sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at the church on North Street, which is Route 179, in Ellsworth Falls.

All proceeds benefit The Ark Animal Shelter in Cherryfield.

Planners expect at least 500 books to be available at just 25 cents each, she wrote, and after noontime “you can fill a bag with books for just a buck!”

Anyone who wants to donate books to the sale can drop them off at the church Friday, March 19, or the day of the sale.

The Skowhegan-Madison Elks Lodge St. Patrick’s Day Dinner and Dance begins with dinner at 6 p.m. and dancing from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, March 20, at the lodge, 21 Silver St., Skowhegan.

Donation is $10 per person for the meal and dance, or $5 for the meal or dance only.

Disc jockey Dan Graff will provide the music, and 25 donated items will be raffled in this event, which is one of two major fund-raisers for the organization which will benefit programs at the Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center at Togus.

The entry deadline is Saturday, April 17, for Penobscot County high school seniors, or equivalents, to enter the Penobscot County Bar Association 2004 Law Day Essay Contest.

This year’s theme is “To Win Equality by Law: Brown v. Board of Education at 50.”

Essays must be typed, double-spaced and 500 words or less.

Each entry must include the student’s name, address, phone number, name of high school, name of principal or equivalent, and the student’s age certification as a 12th-grader.

Entrants will compete for a $500 first-place scholarship, a $250 second-place scholarship, a $100 third-place scholarship, and two $50 honorable mention scholarships.

Essays should be mailed to Law Day Essay Contest, Penobscot County Bar Association, c/o Marie Hansen, P.O. Box 924, Bangor 04402-0924.

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