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Bangor

Sacred music for Lent

The public is invited to a performance of Sacred Music for Lent at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at St. John’s Catholic Church, 207 York St. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted in support of Ecumenical Food Cupboard located at Hammond Street Congregational Church.

The program will feature chants, Allegri’s “Miserere,” Aniero’s “Christus Factus Est,” Barber’s “Agnus Dei,” Randall Thompson’s “The Best of Rooms” and organ works performed on the historic E. & G. G. Hook Organ (1860).

Founded in 1995, the Chamber Choir at St. John’s specializes in a cappella sacred music ranging from early chant to modern works.

The choir was formed in response to the Second Vatican Council’s challenge to find practical means to preserve and use the rich heritage of Latin chants and motets, to explore the repertory of music used in other communions and to do the research needed to find new uses for the best of the old music.

Under the direction of Kevin Birch, the Chamber Choir performs concerts throughout New England and in collaboration with the music program at St. John’s Catholic Church in Bangor.

To obtain more information, call Kevin Birch, 947-6941.

Cook a book

Books2Eat is the yearly opportunity to cook a book. The event is set for 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, Rangeley Hall, Eastern Maine Community College.

Pit your creativity against that of others – professional chefs, culinary arts students and home cooks – by whipping up an edible representation of a book. Prizes will be awarded in all categories. Professional entries will be auctioned with proceeds to benefit the Eastern Maine Community College library. Those who attend the event will have voting privileges and will enjoy high tea provided by the EMCC culinary arts students.

Admission is free with the entry of an edible book, or $10, $5 students. Call 974-4640 to obtain an entry form.

Coffeehouse concert

A Coffeehouse Concert will be held 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 25, in the Lecture Hall at Bangor Public Library. The event will feature Laura Gallucci and her String Studio students. Gallucci is known in the community for her work as a classical violist with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and as a fiddler with St. Huckleberry, a Celtic-retro-rock group.

Coffee, juice and biscotti will be served. To learn more, call the library at 947-8336.

Lifestyle and Fashion Expo

The Zonta Club of Bangor will hold a Lifestyle and Fashion Expo 2006 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Spectacular Event Center, 395 Griffin Road. Fashion runway shows are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Attendees may browse 45 vendor booths to shop and talk to professionals who provide services such as jewelry cleaning, facials, massages, nail treatments, paraffin waxes and hairstyling. Bra fitting advice, shoe fittings and self defense instruction will be available.

Other vendors will share information on their knowledge about fashion, lingerie, accessories, jewelry, skin care, exercise, nutrition, home fashions, photography, financial security and more.

Sharon Leavitt, event co-chairwoman, said Lifestyle and Fashion Expo 2006 will be very informative – and it will be a lot of fun. She suggests inviting your best girlfriends, your sisters, daughters, mothers or cousins, your co-workers or your neighbor to join you.

Tickets for the Expo are $10 and available at the Garden Cafe, 175 Exchange St.; Penobscot County Country Club, Orono; Curves in Brewer, Hampden and Bucksport; and at the door. Proceeds support Zonta Club local scholarships and charities. To obtain more information, call 942-4611.

Women’s History Month

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, the University College of Bangor will sponsor three diverse events involving women’s issues. All three events will run from 1 to 2:20 p.m. in 105 Eastport Hall on the UCB campus.

. Dana Lippitt, curator of the Bangor Museum and Center for History, will give a talk on “Women’s Fashions in the Mid-nineteenth Century” on Thursday, March 23.

. Bich Nga Burrill, a Winterport resident who fled Vietnam in 1975, will present “Women in War: Memories of a Vietnam Childhood” on Tuesday, April 4. Burrill, a caterer of Far Eastern cuisine, is also the author of “Vietnam Memories: A Cookbook.” The book, edited by UMA assistant professor of English Kay Retzlaff, explores the connection between food, memory and culture.

. Gretchen Zeimer, a UCB graduate and currently the advocate training and legislative coordinator for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, will discuss issues revolving around women and domestic abuse on Tuesday, April 25.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 262-7760.

Spirituality of the Bard

Dr. Peter Leithart, professor of theology and literature at New St. Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, will present “The Spirituality of the Bard: Shakespeare as Christian Playwright” at 7 p.m. Monday, April 3, at the Dyke Center for Family Business, Husson College.

Through an examination of structural patterns of Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies, and an extended look at “The Merchant of Venice,” Leithart will show the Christian impulses of William Shakespeare’s drama. Shakespeare is often read as if he were detached from the Elizabethan era’s theological debates and discussions. Yet, Leithart said, his plays reveal a playwright who not only knows the Bible but also dramatizes the theological issues of his day.

Admission is free, sponsored by Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, Husson College chapter, and Grace Evangelical Center for Undergraduate Studies.

Leithart is the author of “Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide to Six Shakespeare Plays,” “Miniatures and Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen” and other books, and several articles in periodicals such as First Things, Touchstone and the Journal of Biblical Literature. His books on literary criticism will be available for purchase at the lecture.

For more information, call Grace Evangelical board member Brian Nolder at 942-1584.

Easter Island talk

Bangor resident David A. Zelz will share his experiences of traveling to Easter Island at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, at Bangor Public Library.

Easter Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world, but, it is said, around 1,200 years ago seafarers from a distant culture settled there. Over the centuries a remarkable society developed in isolation on the island.

For reasons that are unknown, they began carving giant statues known as “moai” out of volcanic rock. The moai monuments are some of the most incredible ruins ever discovered. Why were they carved? Where did the original people come from and why did they disappear? Zelz said he may not be able to explain all the mysteries of Easter Island, but he will share his slides of the island’s landscapes and monuments while he discusses his travels in the Pacific.

Acoustic Showcase

WHSN radio will be rockin’ to raise money for the Maine Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society when its Acoustic Showcase gets under way at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at Club Underground, 1606 Hammond St. The showcase will feature performances by Ryan Quigley, Now Transmission and Side Car Radio. Admission to the chem-free event is $10 and all proceeds go directly to the MS Society.

WHSN 89.3 is an alternative rock radio station in Bangor and is operated by the New England School of Communications, Husson College.

This will be the fifth year that WHSN students and staff will participate in the MS Walk to be held April 8. Over the past four years, the WHSN team has contributed $4,000 to the MS Walk. To make a donation to the walk, visit www.WHSN-FM.com.

Lenten retreat

St. John’s Catholic Women’s Council will host a Lenten retreat 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 25, in the Parish Hall, 207 York St. The day will begin with coffee at 9 a.m.

Again this year, Susan Conroy of South Portland will be guest speaker. She will share her personal experiences of living in India and working with Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She will give special emphasis to the beauty, value and power of humility and suffering.

Conroy’s latest book, “Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Mother Teresa,” will be available, and a book signing will follow the retreat.

The public is invited to join in the free retreat.

Brewer

Lenten mini-retreat

Area women are invited to attend a Lenten min-retreat with Sister Catherine Green, “The Church: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” 9:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 25, at St. Teresa’s Parish Center, 436 South Main St. A morning reflection, “Walking with God,” will be conducted. Registration is 9-9:30 a.m.

Castine

Training program ready to set sail

Windward Passage, a scholarship program providing high school students with affordable opportunities for traditional sail training on classic schooners, has announced its program and schedule for the summer.

Windward Passage will sponsor three youth training cruises on two historic Maine-based schooners – Maine Maritime Academy’s schooner Bowdoin, based in Castine, and the privately-owned schooner Nathaniel Bowditch, based in Rockland. The cruises, typically lasting four days and three nights, allow participants to become part of the working crew of the schooner, learning large vessel sailing, navigation and related marine sciences. All captains and mates are highly trained, Coast Guard-certified professionals. The program is co-educational and open to students age 14-18. No prior experience is required.

The Windward Passage scholarship fund makes the sail training affordable by typically covering 50 percent of the cost for each participant with the students and their families paying the difference – $250 this season. However, no one is turned away due to an inability to pay, and scholarships up to 100 percent are available.

The summer cruises are:

. July 3-6, schooner Bowdoin, 10 berths available.

. July 27-31, schooner Nathaniel Bowditch, 20 berths available.

. Aug. 4-7, schooner Bowdoin, 10 berths available.

Interested high school students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. To receive information or apply, e-mail info@windwardpassage.org or call 326-0606.

Windward Passage is a scholarship program of SailMaine, a 501(c)3 organization. Tax-deductible donations to support the program are welcome.

Glenburn

Story time

The Glenburn Library will hold story time 9:15-9:45 a.m. beginning March 23, at the library. All ages are welcome to attend. Bring a stuffed toy friend.

Holden

Nature photos display

Nature photos by Cathy Baker are on display 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday during March and April at the Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road.

Cathy Baker’s joy in nature comes through in her photography, whether in vibrant colors of sunset and sunrise, or the somber colors of the onset of winter and the comfort of a big, orderly woodpile. She has the creative skill of looking at her subject – Maine birds, flowers and landscape – and seeing it as Mother Nature intended.

Her passion for photography started when she was 8 years old and asked for a Brownie camera for Christmas.

For information about the art show, call the nature center at 989-2591.

Orono

Children’s maple sugaring

The University of Maine Page Farm and Home Museum will sponsor a children’s program on maple sugaring 1-3 p.m. Sunday, March 26, on the Orono campus.

Events begin with a video, “The Maple Sugaring Story.”

At 1:30 p.m., three groups of children – grouped by grade levels, kindergarten through grade six – will carry out a learning activity, play games and hear stories about one of Maine’s oldest springtime traditions.

At 2:30 p.m., participants will drive to the nearby University of Maine maple sugaring operation for a guided walking tour of the sugar bush where the maple sugaring story begins, and then tour the sugarhouse.

Children may sample fresh sweet syrup straight from the evaporator. Poured over ice cream, it is a maple sugar sundae on Maine Maple Sunday, said museum director Patricia Henner. Maine is the nation’s second-largest maple syrup producing state.

A $4 per child reimbursement is requested for materials used in the exercises. Space is limited and advance registration is requested by calling the Page Farm and Home Museum at 581-4100.

Food co-op news

The Orono food co-op will sponsor a talk given by Sarah Junkin Woodard of the Center for Development in Central America, Ciudad Sandino, Managua, Nicaragua, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at the United Methodist Church, 36 Oak St. Her topic will be “Sustainable Development in a World of ‘Free Trade.'” She has been in Nicaragua since 1994 and will bring with her a variety of Nicaraguan crafts, including jewelry, pottery, and organic clothing made by the women’s sewing cooperative. To obtain more information, call 581-3861, or 866-3059.

Orono

‘April’s Fools’

Orono Community Theatre will present “April’s Fools,” an original play by Chris Newcomb, at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at the Keith Anderson Community House, Bennoch Road. The cost is $8, $6 students and seniors. Tickets are available at the Orono Pharmacy and at the door. To obtain more information, call 866-5065.

Food lab tour

The Maine Highlands Farmers will tour the new food lab pilot plant at Hitchner Hall, University of Maine, at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. Dr. Beth Calder will conduct the tour. The public is invited to attend.

Afterward, the Maine Highlands Farmers will conduct a short business meeting.

To obtain more information, to get a parking permit and directions to the building, call Donna Coffin Lamb, Extension educator, at 564-3301, or (800) 287-1491, or e-mail dlamb@umext.maine.edu.

Orrington

Gravestone restoration

“If Stones Could Talk,” a program on gravestone restoration with John Wedin, will be held at 7 p.m. March 29, in the Center Drive School cafeteria in Orrington. For information, contact the Orrington Public Library at 825-4938.

Verona

Town meeting supper

The Verona Island Women’s Club will hold a baked bean supper 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Verona Island town hall. The cost is $6, $3 children. The menu includes beans, chop suey, potato salad, cole slaw, biscuits, beverages and pies. Proceeds benefit the local scholarship fund. For more information, call 469-6324.