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Bangor

Contract extension

Maestro Xiao-Lu Li, music director and conductor of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, signed a new contract on Dec. 2. He will continue as director of the BSO for the next five years.

Since he began leading the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in 2002, symphony officials said, Li has played a prominent role in the growth of the orchestra. He expanded the concert season, developed the orchestra as an ensemble, established a reputation for featuring exceptional guest artists, conducted expanded outreach to schools and outlying communities and endeared himself to audiences.

During his first three years, Li met with state and local leaders and businesses in the region to promote culture and emphasize the important role the arts play in a high quality of life. He has dedicated much of his time to inspiring children with his passion for living and music while visiting schools throughout the region.

Li said he is eager to continue moving forward to fulfill the orchestra’s potential.

Boot Camp for New Dads

Penquis CAP Parents Are Teachers, Too is offering Boot Camp for New Dads, a workshop for first-time, expectant fathers to be held from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St. Use the side entrance around the back of the building. A light supper will be provided.

Boot Camp for New Dads is a national program in which new fathers – veterans – of 2-to 4-month-old babies help fathers-to-be – rookies – become more familiar and comfortable with their new roles as fathers. A trained male facilitator guides the veterans and rookies through the three-hour workshop. Rookies learn from the veterans and their babies about caring for babies, particularly when they are crying, caring for new moms, working with little or no sleep, handling a barrage of conflicting advice, safety and more.

The workshop is for men and babies only. However, mothers are welcome to use the Parents Are Teachers, Too resource area while the fathers and fathers-to-be meet.

To register, or to obtain information, call Wendy Pace at 973-3674, or (888) 389-3610.

German holiday

Weihnachtsmarkt, a traditional German holiday market, will be held noon-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Bangor Museum and Center for History, 6 State St.

Most German cities and towns offer a Weihnachtsmarkt during December where people experience the festive excitement of the pre-Christmas season with sights, sounds, smells and taste. The German Club of Bangor will create the market, and sell traditional Christmas cookies, decorations and toys. A cafe will sell coffee and cake.

The club will demonstrate some of the traditions that Germany contributed to America’s holiday celebration, such as the Christmas tree.

The current exhibit in the museum, “Images of New England-Visions of Bangor,” will be open, as will the Golden Fleece Gift Shop. The shop carries a unique assortment of holiday gifts featuring books, toys, jewelry and made in Maine products. Admission is free.

Manna

For the 12th year, Manna will give out Christmas gifts to families and individuals throughout the area. Last year Manna gave out more than 900 gifts to children and adults who otherwise might have had a bleak Christmas.

The organization tries to meet a definite need for each person – boots, coats, pants, socks, gloves, hats and scarves. Manna will hold a Christmas party on Christmas Day with food, music and gift giving.

Those interested are asked to donate gifts, send a financial donation, or come to Manna and adopt a family or individual and purchase the gifts that are asked for. Manna will use donated funds to address any unmet gift needs.

To sign up for gifts, or to drop off gifts, visit 629 Main St. Those who wish to donate by mail may use the same address. For information, call 990-2870.

USDA Rural Development

Michael W. Aube, state director of USDA Rural Development, has announced that Brian Vigue of Bangor has joined the USDA Rural Development staff as the human resources manager at the state office in Bangor.

Before joining the staff, Vigue was stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., serving as the senior human resources and information management adviser for the 360th Recruiting Group. While serving in the Air Force, Vigue was awarded two Meritorious Service Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal and an Air Force Achievement Medal.

Vigue has a master’s degree in business administration from Tourou University International, and a bachelor’s degree in organizational management with an emphasis on human resources from Colorado Christian University.

Adoption meeting

The Bangor office of the Department of Health and Human Services will hold a public informational meeting about adoption and foster care at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10. To learn the location of the meeting, call A Family For ME, (877) 505-0545.

Toy drive

The Hampton Inn of Bangor will hold a Santa’s toy drive until Dec. 23 at the hotel. Those who wish may bring a new unwrapped gift to place under the Christmas tree in the lobby. To learn more about the toy drive, call the Hampton Inn at 990-4400.

Minifair

A minifair will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at Grace United Methodist Church, 193 Union St. Items for sale will include crafts, knit and crochet items, gift wrap, ornaments and jewelry. “Cooking With Grace,” the church’s 150th anniversary heritage cookbook containing 350 recipes from past and present, also will be available for purchase.

Bangor and Veazie

Homes for the Holidays

Homes for the Holidays, a Christmas tour of historic homes in the Bangor area, will be offered by St. John’s Episcopal Church from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11.

Four residences, decorated for the season, are on the tour. Two are in Bangor: 198 Broadway, and the Leighton Building at 455 Harlow St.; and two are in Veazie: 1299 Chase Road, and 1338 State St.

Refreshments will be included at each stop on the tour, and members of the church’s choirs will sing carols at the houses. Tickets are available in advance at Patrick’s in the Broadway Shopping Center; Rebecca’s Gifts at 43 Main St., Bangor; Hampden Floral at 58 Main Road North, Hampden; and St. John’s Church at 234 French St., 947-0156. Tickets also may be bought during tour hours at any of the houses. The cost is $20 for the complete tour, or $10 for any two houses.

Brewer

Ten Bucks Theatre Co.

Ten Bucks Theatre Co. will hold auditions for its January production of “Fawlty Towers” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 11-12, at the Brewer Middle School auditorium, 5 Somerset St. Actors are asked to prepare a 1- to 2-minute comic monologue. English accents are necessary.

Brewer Hometown Band

The Brewer Hometown Band will end its 25th anniversary year with a holiday concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, at the Brewer Auditorium. The concert will include music of the season. Refreshments will be available and door prizes will be awarded. The concert is free, but donations are accepted. To obtain more information, call the auditorium at 989-5199.

Fund-raisers

Curves clubs in Brewer, Hampden, Bucksport and Lincoln conducted a fund-raiser in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to raise money for the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition. Club members dropped change in a container at each location and raised $800 for the nonprofit organization.

In November, the Curves club collected hams, turkeys and food certificates. The food was distributed by Community Health and Counseling Services in Bangor, Bucksport Community Concerns, the Hampden Congregational Church food pantry and St. Mary’s Food Cupboard in Lincoln. As a result, 50 local families were provided with a Thanksgiving dinner.

Brewer Curves members, Brewer Cub Scout Pack 11, Pendleton Street School pupils and members of St. Joseph’s Church collected more than 130 Christmas cards to send to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas.

All four clubs put up Angel Trees in November to help the Salvation Army provide toys for local children at Christmas. The project will provide toys for 300-400 children and teens.

Hampden

Breakfast with Santa

The Dollars for Scholars organization at Hampden Academy is sponsoring a Breakfast with Santa, 8-10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Reeds Brook Middle School cafeteria. Parents help Hampden Academy Dollars for Scholars raise scholarship money and enjoy a breakfast while their children visit with Santa.

Money raised from the breakfast will go for college scholarships for the students involved in the organization.

The cost of the breakfast is $2.50 per pancake breakfast, maximum $10 per family. Photos with Santa are $2. A Holly Jolly bake sale also will be part of the festivities.

Indian Island

American Indian poster

The Penobscot Nation Boys and Girls Club invites the public to join them in recognizing Ron Prevoir Phillips for designing the 2004 American Indian Heritage Month poster. The event will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 17, at the Girls and Boys Club Gymnasium, 12 Wabanaki Way.

November has been designated American Indian Heritage Month. Each year, an artist in a selected state has the opportunity to exhibit talents and heritage on a national level. Maine was chosen as that state for 2004.

Phillips was selected as the wining artist. He will contribute a portion of his award to the Penobscot Nation Boys and Girls Club.

In addition, Carla Fearon, director of the Penobscot Nation Boys and Girls Club, announced that the directors of the Maine Community Foundation have approved a grant of $4,425 to the club. The grant will support a weeklong series of songwriting workshops conducted by Dr. David Nachmanoff. At the workshops, participants will compose, perform and attempt to translate songs into the native language. The series will culminate with a public performance and a CD.

The grant initiative was a collaboration between the club and the University of Maine. John Bear Mitchell, associate director of the Wabanaki Center and Laura Lindenfelv, director of Project Mainstay, also assisted with the effort.

Orono

Art exhibit

A new art exhibit, “Sense Is,” will open 5-7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at the University of Maine, Carnegie Gallery. A variety of works will be exhibited by senior art majors at the University of Maine. A variety of sculptures, paintings, drawings and multimedia works will be on display.

As a project for their capstone experience, the students were in charge of coordinating every aspect of the exhibit. They were responsible for coming up with a theme that incorporated an eclectic array of works and styles. They also were responsible for curating, hanging and lighting the show.

Artists will be on site at the Dec. 10 opening and refreshments will be served. The show will run through Feb. 3.

For directions to the Carnegie Gallery, call the University of Maine Art Department at 581-3245, or visit www.ume.maine.edu/~artdep/artdept/.

Forest and land use

The University of Maine Page Farm and Home Museum will present a public brown bag lunch discussion of issues surrounding forest and land use in Maine at noon Thursday, Dec. 16. UMaine alumni Dr. Richard Hale, a 1944 graduate of the University of Maine forestry program and faculty member at the Yale University School of Forestry, will speak on Maine forest land use and abuse, taking a look at land use history in the organized regions of the state.

A native Mainer, Hale formerly owned and operated a logging and sawmill business for nine years and worked as a consultant to the sawmill industry for eight years. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Forest Resources in 1966, where he taught and conducted research in wood processing and drying.

He became a full-time retiree in 1990, but continues studying Maine forest history and volunteering for the Maine Forest and Logging Museum in Bradley.

Hale’s most recent activities include republishing a thesis on pulpwood logging, renamed “Woodsmen, Horses and Dynamite,” and helping to develop the Galaxy of Stars touch-screen information center at Buchanan Alumni House.

The presentation is part of the Page Farm and Home Museum Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series. There is no charge for the event. Visitors are invited to bring a bag lunch.

More information is available by calling the Page Museum at 581-4100.

Women of the World

Women of the World will celebrate the holiday season with a luncheon of soups and cookies from around the world at noon Monday, Dec. 13, at the Church of Universal Fellowship, Main Street. Members will share their holiday traditions and explain how the winter holiday season is celebrated in their countries of origin.

Volunteers are needed to help set up and clean up, affording further opportunity for socializing and support.

Women Of the World is a support group for international women in the area. Members come from all areas of the world. American women are encouraged to attend to offer friendship and support to women from other countries. Cost for the luncheon is $4, and small children are welcome to attend with their mothers at no charge.

To obtain information, call Mireille Le Gal at 581-3423.

Orrington

Covers for Christmas

The Orrington Public Library, 15 School St., will feature Covers for Christmas during the holiday season. Those planning to give a gift of a book may bring it to the library during regular library hours where a free plastic protective cover will be put on the book.

Library hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, until Dec. 23.

During that time, the library also will conduct a “new and nearly new” book sale. All books will sell for $3 each. To further mark the holiday season, the library will serve refreshments from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, Dec. 9 and 16. Fines will not be charged for overdue books during those hours. Call the library at 825-4938 to obtain more information.

Stetson

Trip to the theater

The Stetson Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring a trip to Penobscot Theatre in Bangor to see “A Christmas Carol” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18. Tickets are $11 and available at the Stetson Town Office, or Buda’s Belly.

The bus will leave from the Stetson Meetinghouse at 12:45 p.m. for Bangor. To obtain more information, call Terry, 269-2153.

Christmas party

The annual Stetson Christmas party for children who are in grade five or under will be held at 9 a.m. Dec. 18 at the meetinghouse. Activities include a holiday craft, decorating the Christmas tree, snacks, a visit from Santa Claus and singing Christmas carols. To learn more about the party, call 296-2236.