The holidays are a time of remembering those who are dear to us, especially if they are far away. We especially remember members of our military and pray for their safe return.

In Newport, remembering community residents who have served in the military is an ongoing volunteer experience for members of the Newport Honor Roll Committee.

That group, Edward Toulouse explained in a letter, obtained names of Newport veterans who served during “time of conflicts beginning after Korea and up to the present.”

A list of those serving up to and including Korea is complete and anyone wishing to verify names on this list can visit the Newport town office or the Newport Public Library, where copies are available.

The committee is seeking the names of veterans who have served during conflicts from Vietnam to the present.

All the names will be part of the Newport Honor Roll, which will be placed on the grounds of the new Newport Cultural Center, Toulouse wrote.

Made of granite, it will be constructed by Newport Monuments and is expected to include “up to 700 names,” he added.

Newport VFW Post 11191 is the sponsoring organization and will provide “up to 50 [percent] of the estimated $36,000 cost” of the monument, Toulouse wrote.

“However, it is through the generosity of the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor that we will be able to financially complete this project,” he pointed out, since the museum “is providing matching funds for this endeavor and others of its type in the area.”

To be included on the Newport Honor Roll, a veteran needs to have been a Newport resident at the time he or she entered the military. A military verification, Form DD214, or other valid discharge papers should be provided. The application deadline is Thursday, Feb. 1.

For more information, call 368-5245 or 368-4746; write Honor Roll, VFW Post 11191, P.O. Box 386, Newport 04953; or e-mail vfwpost11191@haxy.com.

Jane Bragg has announced that Bangor Ballet will be conducting auditions for a Spring 2007 production of “Alice in Wonderland.”

Nonpointe students will audition from 3:30 to 5 p.m.; intermediate dancers from 5 to 6:30 p.m.; and advanced dancers from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at Thomas School of Dance in Bangor.

Bragg added that “many solo and ensemble parts will be cast,” and that “rehearsals won’t begin until at least mid-January.”

Call 945-3457 for more information.

Holiday festivities are under way at Woodlawn Museum in Ellsworth, and you are invited to enjoy them.

Museum-guided holiday tours began last weekend and will be conducted on the hour, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9; Sunday Dec. 10; Saturday, Dec. 16; Sunday, Dec. 17; and Saturday, Dec. 23; at the museum, Route 172 in Ellsworth.

You will tour rooms decorated by Ellsworth designers Lori Tibbetts of New Land Florist and John Blake of M.M. Julz Christmas Shoppe; Gail Royal of Westside Florist in Southwest Harbor; Cullen Schneider of Blue Hill; and Casey Devine of Salt Air Primitives in Blue Hill.

Admission is $7.50 for adults, $3 for children 5-16, and free for children under 5. The Museum Store will be open 1-4 p.m.

Each designer will contribute a special arrangement for a raffle to benefit the museum, and the winning tickets will be drawn Monday, Dec. 18, in time to be used for your holiday decorating.

One free ticket accompanies each adult admission and others can be purchased at the museum for $3 each or five for $10.

Call the museum, 667-8671, for more information.

The Museum’s Holiday Open House is 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, and advance tickets are available by calling the museum at the number above. Those who purchase open house tickets receive two free raffle tickets.

Admission is $30 for member couples and $40 for nonmember couples or $15 for individual members and $20 for individual nonmembers.

The museum’s annual Candlelight Evening is 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, on the museum grounds. Activities will include caroling, a bonfire, a reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” a visit by Santa Claus, holiday music and more.

The candlelight event is held in conjunction with the Ellsworth Downtown Business Association’s Family Holiday Festival. Admission to the grounds is free but donations are appreciated. There is an admission fee to view the house, however.

Call the number above for more information.

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