More than 850 musicians representing 42 high schools will participate in the 2006 Maine State Jazz Festival on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport.

Steve Hoekstra of the MSAD 48 Music Boosters invites you to attend any or all of the events and enjoy the talents of these wonderful, young musicians.

Admission to the venues, each day and for the Saturday Night Competition and Awards Ceremony, is $5 for adults, $3 for children and seniors or $15 for families.

Jazz combinations and high school jazz bands compete on Friday.

Awards for multiple bands are at 12:45 p.m. in the gymnasium, multicombo bands at 2:30 p.m. in the cafeteria, Division I combos at 7:30 p.m. in the gym and Division II combos at 8:40 p.m. also in the gym.

The jazz ensemble groups compete Saturday, with Division I and II at Nokomis and Division III at Sebasticook Valley Middle School in Newport.

The awards ceremony for Saturday’s competition is 5:30 p.m. in the Nokomis gymnasium.

The music boosters will host a spaghetti supper from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. in the cafeteria, offering a choice of meat or plain sauce, salad, rolls, dessert and punch for $5 per person.

The public is invited to attend.

Sharon Pelletier of WABI TV 5 will serve as mistress of ceremonies for the competition and final awards, which conclude the festival beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Nokomis gymnasium.

Hoekstra encourages you to “stop by for two exciting days of exceptional jazz.”

Iris Simon reports that in week nine of the 10-week Healthy Hancock Lose and Win program, winners of the Victory Stick for the most weight lost, per person, were the Trenton Taste Testers of Trenton IGA, followed by the Heavy Weights of Hannaford in Ellsworth and The Inn Credible Shrinking Women of Deer Isle.

The final regular meeting of the program is 5:45 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at Ellsworth Middle School.

Laurie Jones of the Laurie Jones Band will share with you how musical styles can influence your fitness routine.

Simon suggests you “be prepared to move and swing.”

To date, participants have lost a total of 2,513 pounds during the program that is based on the book “The Town that Lost a Ton.”

Robert Foley, deputy grand knight of the Old Town Knights of Columbus Council No. 2537, requests you “give the gift of life” by participating in an American Red Cross blood drive from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Knight of Columbus hall on Gilman Falls Avenue in Old Town.

A free spaghetti dinner will be provided for all donors.

If you can register in advance, it would be helpful, but walk-ins are welcome.

To register or for more information, call Foley at 827-4866 or Bo Ryan at 866-2069.

The public is invited to the free Bangor Center Corp. presentation “Retail Businesses CAN Succeed Downtown,” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Bangor Museum and Center for History, 25-27 Broad St., Bangor.

Parke Clemons, board president of BCC, will be the panel moderator.

Light refreshments will be provided, and reservations are not required.

On behalf of the Hampden Academy Music Association, Karen Reynolds invites you to spend your St. Patrick’s Day evening enjoying the Hampden Academy Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17, on the stage at Hampden Academy.

Admission for this variety show for all talents and all ages is $4 for adults, $2 for students and $10 for families.

Proceeds will help with expenses for the Hampden Academy Jazz Ensemble and its Voices Unlimited Show Choir to travel and compete in Musicfest Orlando and perform at Disney World in Florida in April.

Reservations are required and space is limited for the Paper Conservation Workshop hosted by Woodlawn Museum.

Conducted by Carolyn Frisa, assistant paper conservator at the Northeast Document and Conservation Center in Andover, Mass., the workshop will cover various types of treatments that are regularly performed by paper conservators.

The workshop is from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, March 17, at Woodlawn Museum in Ellsworth.

The fee is $15 for Woodlawn Museum members and $20 for nonmembers.

More information and reservations can be obtained by calling Woodlawn Museum, 667-8671.

Frisa’s visit is funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions.

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