Representatives of the Houlton Animal Shelter are hosting their Sixth Home 4 the Holidays event in which they encourage the adoption of cats and dogs.

Sponsored by Hollywood Pet Salon in coordination with the Shelter and Iams Pet Food, HHS secretary Holly Henderson reports the program will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Hollywood Pet Salon in Houlton.

Henderson wrote that beds for pets will be on sale, and the event will also feature a bake sale, homemade dog biscuits, door prizes “and chances to have your own dog’s picture taken with Santa and put on an ornament, right there.”

She explained that this event is part of “a nationwide program to find homes for our homeless shelter pets.

“Please come and join in the fun.”

The December holidays are a busy time for everyone associated with Calais Free Library.

For example, now through the season, or “until they’re gone,” reports Ann Carter, Friends of the Calais Free Library are conducting their Holiday Book Sale “right in the library lobby, with gift-quality books for all ages and tastes,” Carter wrote.

After having participated in the “communitywide send-off for the holiday season” the first of the month, and enjoying their own Christmas party Wednesday, Friends of the Calais Free Library invite area adults to attend a Christmas Craft Night at 6:30 tonight at the library.

“The materials and guidance in creating the crafts will be free,” Carter wrote, “and everyone will get to take home a finished craft.”

All of these offerings, she added, are “the Friends’ way of wishing you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.”

Laura Santini-Smith reminds folks in the Fairfield area that Good Will-Hinckley is hosting its 15th annual Festival of Trees.

You still have a few days to visit and view the 20, full-size Christmas trees each decorated by a local designer following a unique theme.

You can see this gorgeous display between 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. today and Friday, Dec. 8, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday Dec. 9, in Bishop Auditorium of Prescott Memorial on the GWH campus on Route 201 in Hinckley.

Admission is free, and Santa Claus visits until 1 p.m., daily.

For updates and confirmation of the daily schedule, visit www.gwh.org.

Joni Miller reminds her fellow members that the St. Croix Historical Society will hold its annual Christmas Party at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at “the cozy Holmes Cottage on Main Street in Calais.”

The evening will include “carol singing, wassail, crackling log fires and lots of edible goodies.”

You are to “bring a finger food and a gift for exchange” and, if you have questions about the society and its work, you are invited to call Miller at 454-2830.

Always a little bit behind? Is your holiday budget stretched a bit thin? Then here’s an event for you.

Theresa Boettner reports the Procrastinator’s Holiday Fair and Bake sale is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sangerville and Dover-Foxcroft on Main Street in Sangerville.

“Last-minute holiday shoppers will be delighted to find a selection of many fine, affordable, locally-crafted and prepared holiday gifts,” Boettner wrote.

She invites you to “stop by for breakfast or lunch, enjoy a relaxing chair massage” and, best of all, wants you to know that “most goods and services are less than $20!”

Parents and guardians are invited to bring their children and enjoy Breakfast with Santa from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the cafeteria of Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden.

Admission is $2.50 for each pancake breakfast, with a maximum charge of $10 for families.

The event also includes a Holly Jolly Bake Sale and the opportunity to have photos taken with Santa Claus for just $2 each.

The event raises funds for scholarships for Hampden Academy students who are members of its Dollars for Scholars program.

Lest we forget, today is what then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt described as “a date which will live in infamy,” after the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, an event that led the United States into World War II.

Lest we forget, members of our military are, once again, today, in harm’s way, and we pray for their safe return.

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