There is plenty of excitement at First United Methodist Church of Lincoln as members prepare to host its first annual quilt show from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.

Julie Thibodeau reports planners are expecting to have more than 100 quilts on display, with one area featuring just antique quilts.

One special quilt, found by members of the church, has been in storage for many years and is said to be more than 50 years old, she wrote.

Admission is $5; tickets are $1 each or six for $5 for a chance to win a machine-pieced, hand-quilted wall hanging from Acadia Fabric in the design of Attic Windows. For an additional $3, you can “enjoy a delicious lunch and chat with your friends.”

The show also features demonstrations and classes on quilting techniques, classes on hand and machine applique and a special class featuring paper piecing.

Admission to the classes is by donation, and you will have the opportunity to view and test machine quilting with a new Mega Quilter provided by Rhonda Taylor of Lee.

Vendors will fill the church vestry with gifts, fabric and quilting notions for sale; a silent auction will feature donated baskets; and you can purchase treats to take home from the bake sale table.

What started out to be “something small and simple,” Thibodeau told me, turned into quite an event that church members plan to continue for years to come.

Historian Alison Isenberg, Rutgers University associate professor of history and former urban planner in New York, is at the University of Maine in Orono this week.

Her visit is underwritten by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and the UMaine Department of History.

Isenberg will discuss “Beyond Nostalgia: A New History of Main Street Preservation and Urban Commercial Life,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Bangor Museum and Center for History, 6 State St. in Bangor.

The lecture is free and the public is invited to attend.

Local women are invited to a ladies’ tea and silent auction at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at Veazie Congregational Church, 1404 State St. in Veazie.

For just $2 you can enjoy tasty desserts, visiting with friends or making new ones, and entering your bids in a silent auction.

Nancy Neuman, past president of the National League of Women Voters, will be the guest speaker when Tuesday Forum celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Muddy Rudder restaurant in Brewer.

Admission is $20, and reservations can be made by calling Helen Museny, 866-3417,

or visiting www.tuesdayforum.org.

Tuesday Forum was founded in 1980 to help area businesswomen make professional contacts, network and socialize.

Paula Ballesteros reports tickets are now on sale for the Bangor area kitchen tour 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at eight homes from West Broadway to Hillbrook Estates.

Sponsored by Eastern Maine Medical Center Auxiliary, local chefs and area specialty shops will cater each kitchen, offering delicious treats for you to enjoy.

All proceeds benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at EMMC in Bangor.

Tickets are $20 and are available at the hospital’s gift shop, Rebecca’s, The Grasshopper Shop, Patrick’s Hallmark, Affiliated Pharmacy, Westgate Pharmacy at the Healthcare Mall and Airline Pharmacy.

To learn more about the auxiliary, visit www.emmcauxiliary.org.

The Maine Children’s Alliance is seeking nominations for its 2005 Giraffe Awards, which recognize those who “stick out their necks for kids” in Maine communities.

From parents who formed organizations to help foster children to those who advocate for children’s mental health treatment, the awards honor those who make a difference in children’s lives.

One of those coveted awards proudly graces the office of our publisher, Richard J. Warren, who last year received the organization’s first President’s Award, noting a decade of commitment to improving the status of Maine’s children.

To request a Giraffe Award nomination form, write Maine Children’s Alliance, 303 State St., Augusta, 04330; or call the alliance at 623-1868, ext. 202; e-mail Mainekids@mekids.org, or download the form from their Web site, www.mekids.org by clicking on the events link at the top of the page.

The nomination deadline is Friday, Oct. 7.

Awards will be presented at the alliance’s annual meeting on Thursday, Nov. 3 at Maple Hill Farm in Hallowell with Chief Justice Leigh Saufley as the guest speaker.

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