Members of five Penquis-area bands will perform a benefit concert beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday April 22, at Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft.

Admission is $10.

Proceeds will benefit the family of a popular longtime local musician Ron Hall of Guilford, who suffered a debilitating stroke last November.

Hall’s friend, Sid Stutzman of Sangerville, wrote the two men have been playing guitar together for 42 years, and that Hall is noted for his “furious, flat-picking style and his zany antics on stage.”

“In that amount of time, we have met a lot of people and have got to know most of the musicians in the area which, I think, accounts for the great support we got from the bands” for the Ron Hall Benefit, Stutzman wrote.

The Doughty Hill Band features Stutzman, Sunny Stutzman and Tracy Michaud Stutzman, and will be joined by former Doughty Hill member Brian Smith, filling in for Hall. This group performs a mix from blues to bluegrass.

Also performing will be Jim Gallant, whose up-tempo style is a mixture of original and contemporary music.

Evergreen, with Steve Chiasson, Chris Prickitt, Nellie Kennedy and Joe Kennedy, blends elements of bluegrass, folk, blues, old-time, country swing and jazz.

Avonfield features Tim Bishop, Harry Carson, Dave Stinchfield, Paul Augusten and Jackson Gay, and is vocal-oriented, featuring original and contemporary songs.

The Pig Muffin Band features Steve Flynn, Tim Burt, Julie Harrington, Dave Napoli and Shannon Hersey playing a mix of what Sid Stutzman describes as “folksy, bluesy rock.”

“I suspect a splendid time will be had by all,” Stutzman wrote of the evening, which just might include a few special surprise guests.

Anyone interested in the work of the Friends of the Calais Free Library has an opportunity to learn about that organization by helping get its Second-Hand Bookstore ready for opening day, Saturday, April 29.

Located next to Unobskey School on Main Street in Calais, the bookstore is open during the spring, summer and fall.

Cleaning, organizing and preparing for the opening is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the store.

There is also always a need for people to staff the bookstore from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the first Saturday of each month the store is open, wrote Ann Carter.

“It’s a wonderful and interesting way to help support the community’s library.”

Rose Williams of Molunkus is secretary of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Bangor.

The regular meetings of this support group begin at 2 p.m., the third Sunday of each month at Acadia Hospital on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor.

However, because the third Sunday this month was Easter, the April meeting is 2 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at Acadia Hospital.

According to information provided by Williams, on Tuesday, April 11, MaineHealth, the Maine Parkinson Society and the American Parkinson’s Disease Association joined Gov. John Baldacci in declaring April Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month.

That date was chosen because it coincides with the birthday of Dr. James Parkinson, who first recognized the disease that bears his name.

More than 7,000 Mainers and 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder of the central nervous system for which there is no cure.

Williams wants to be sure readers know that a Parkinson’s disease support group is active in this area, and that “everyone is welcome to attend” its meetings, she wrote, “not only people with Parkinson’s, but those that need information, encouragement or support.”

For more information about this group, you are welcome to call Bonnie Bragg at 843-5908 or Michelle McDonald at 262-5095.

Ray Kautzman, community executive for the Washington County American Cancer Society, thanks everyone who worked on and supported Daffodil Days, which raised more than $10,000 to help improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families in that county.

Betty Walker, ACS Daffodil Coordinator for the Presque Isle area, thanks those who helped and contributed to that campaign, which also raised $10,000 for programs and services for cancer patients and families in that area.

And, in the Bangor area, Daffodil Coordinator Lorna Hart extends her gratitude for the more than $17,000 that was raised not only through individual efforts, but also with the help of Hannaford stores that sold bouquets of daffodils and donated all the proceeds to the ACS.

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