When I spoke a while back with Thalia Webb, she said that plans for a benefit auction for the Newport Cultural Center Community Campaign were going very well.

That event begins with a silent auction at 6 p.m. and a live auction at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Millennium on Route 100 in Palmyra.

Admission is free.

There will be hors d’oeuvres available as well as a cash bar, and any and all donations will graciously be accepted.

The new Newport Cultural Center will not only house all the books the town’s current library (that was built in 1955) can no longer hold, but also house the collections which have outgrown the Main Street space now occupied by the Historical Society Museum.

Additionally, the new facility will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and provide space for programs, classes, workshops, cultural activities and other events.

As Newport residents, and members of area communities that this new facility will serve, work to reach the $1.4 million goal, NCC committee members hope you will support these efforts by attending this fundraiser.

Webb reports the silent and live auctions feature many “fabulous items,” such as a schooner cruise, autographed celebrity items, gift certificates and an autographed Boston Red Sox baseball.

Auction attendees also will have the opportunity to bid on having lunch with Gov. John Baldacci and first lady Karen Baldacci.

Alice Redmond promises “great bargains for everyone” at the Hampden Congregational Church Spring Rummage Sale 3-6 p.m. Friday, April 28, and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 29, at the church, 101 Main Road North.

Sponsored by the Women’s Fellowship, proceeds benefit the church and its projects.

Marsha Donahue reminds you the first of four concerts to benefit the Katahdin Cultural Center Campaign is 8 p.m. Friday, April 28, at Stearns High School Auditorium in Millinocket.

Singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards is featured in this performance that will be opened by Mainers Mark Miller and Dave Archibald.

Tickets are $20 and are available at the door.

For more information, or to make a donation to this campaign, write Donahue, North Light Gallery, 256 Penobscot Ave., Millinocket 04462, call 723-4414, or e-mail northlight@Maine.com.

Here’s a reminder that Friends of the Calais Free Library are celebrating the re-opening of their Second-Hand Bookstore 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the store, next to Unobskey School on Main Street.

Ann Carter reports special attractions for shoppers include a free candy buffet and free bookmarks with every $10 purchase, and wants you to know “most books are only 50 cents or a dollar, and even the antique books will be half-price, so $10 will buy a lot of books!”

The bookstore is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the first Saturday of each month in the spring, summer and fall.

Amy Nichols invites you to enjoy a Chicken Pie Supper at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Brownville Junction Methodist Church.

Admission is $6.50 for adults and $3 for children.

Pastor Kathy Macedo reminds readers that Grace United Methodist Church at 193 Union St. in Bangor “is an urban church” and that, “for many years, one of our major objectives has been to reach out to the neighborhood surrounding the church.”

For nine years, GUMC has hosted a free community lunch; has hosted two block parties and, two years ago, she wrote, opened the Saving Grace Thrift Shop, offering “very low cost, or free, clothes and household items to all who come.”

Now Pastor Macedo invites the community to experience Breakthrough, an evening of worship and praise, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the church.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for this event which features music by Modern Day Jeremiah.

Our historic Bangor Band presents its Second Annual Spring Memorial Concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at All Souls Congregational Church on Broadway in Bangor.

Admission is free, and Bob Pentland cordially invites you “to come hear one of American’s oldest, continuos community bands perform a variety of music in one of the most beautiful church settings in the Bangor region.”

New conductor Fred Goldrich “has chosen several notable pieces” for the performance which, Pentland wrote, is expected to include “Trumpeter’s Lullaby,” music from “The King and I,” “On the Trail,” “and a variety of other familiar band music.”

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