Bangor

Richard Nelson Quintet

The Richard Nelson Quintet, with special guest vocalist Josephine Cameron, will present a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, in the College Center at the University College of Bangor.

Nelson plans an exciting, diverse sampling of jazz and American music styles, ranging from Duke Ellington, South African jazz, and modern, progressive originals by Nelson and other members of the group to innovative vocal takes on American traditional blues, folk and gospel and original songs by Cameron.

The group, led by composer-guitarist Nelson, includes some of Maine’s finest and best known jazz musicians: Don Stratton on trumpet, Steve Grover on drums, Tim O’Dell on saxophone and Stu Mahan on bass.

The highly regarded Maine-based vocalist and songwriter Josephine Cameron is a guest performer for the 2006-2007 season. Nelson and Cameron have collaborated before, but this venture marks the deepest integration yet of their respective jazz and American traditional music talents. Nelson, Grover, and Stratton are faculty members at the University of Maine at Augusta.

Among the evening’s highlights will be the group’s premiere performance of saxophonist O’Dell’s evocative “Ancient Pines Suite,” inspired by Maine’s spectacular natural landscape. The eclectic program also includes bluesy and introspective original compositions by Nelson, Cameron, Grover and Stratton and vocal influences ranging from classic jazz to gospel.

Nelson, a resident of Brunswick, has performed widely in the United States and abroad. His quintet’s latest album, “Origin Story,” was praised by Cadence for both its “thirst for experimentation” and its “appreciation for the tested sounds of the tradition.”

Josephine Cameron recently released her third album, “Close Your Eyes,” a varied set of lullabies drawing on samba, pop, folk and gospel influences. A resident of Topsham, she has received national attention as a winner of both FOSTEX and Garageband awards.

Veteran trumpeter Don Stratton has performed with the likes of Charlie Parker and Roswell Rudd, and was Maine’s pioneer jazz educator at the University of Maine.

Award-winning drummer Steve Grover has released numerous acclaimed CDs, the latest being “The Garden Above.”

Saxophonist Tim O’Dell, a veteran of Chicago’s lively jazz scene, has likewise issued a number of critically praised recordings. Stu Mahan is a young bassist quickly establishing a strong reputation throughout the state.

Firefighter promotions

Bangor Fire Department Fire Chief Jeff Cammack announded recently that Lt. Tom Higgins has been promoted to captain after a competitive selection process. The position was vacated when Capt. Ritchie Palmer retired.

Higgins has been with the department since 1990 and has been a lieutenant since 2001.

The department has a total of six captains, and Higgins’ promotion makes for a full complement.

Firefighters Joe Doucet and Dennis Nadeau have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Doucet’s promotion is permanent. He is filling the vacancy created when Higgins was promoted to captain. Doucet joined the fire department in 1989. He holds an associate’s degree in fire science and is a licensed EMT-I.

Nadeau’s promotion is temporary due to the long-term absence of Lt. Mark Dunbar and the recent military activation of Lt. Charles Rodway. Nadeau joined the department in 1988. He holds an associate’s degree in fire science and is a licensed EMT-I.

Rodway is expected to return to duty at the fire department in June.

Valentine’s dance

A Valentine’s dance and fundraiser to benefit the Maine Children’s Cancer Program will be held 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Elks Club, 108 Odlin Road. Dinner, provided by Stagecoach Catering, will be at 7 p.m.

After dinner, attendees will dance 8-11 p.m. to music by the MoonPuppies swing band. A cash bar, raffles, door prizes and a Zoot Suit fashion show and contest will round out the evening. Admission is $20 per person, advance tickets sales only. Tickets will be available through Thursday, Feb. 8, by calling the Back Door Dance Studio at 843-5638 or e-mail Swingtime34@aol.com.

Author Janet Chapman

Let Maine author Janet Chapman put a little adventure and romance in your life when she introduces her latest book, “A Stranger in Her Bed,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Bangor Public Library.

Chapman, with her acclaimed Highlander series and Puffin Harbor series, has won the Pearl Award for Best New Paranormal Author and has been a two-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award.

Her latest book features a heroine who has grown from a gangly girl to a beauty, who is trying to succeed at a job in the Maine wilderness that some say no woman should even attempt in what they see as a man’s world. Along comes Ethan, who can’t remember how he knows this fiery but fascinating female. Sparks begin to fly.

Chapman’s books will be available for purchase and signing.

Maine Recycles Week

Geoffrey Gratwick, mayor of the city of Bangor, on behalf of the City Council and the citizens of Bangor, issued a proclamation on Jan. 27 recognizing the pupils and staff of the Fourteenth Street School who participated in the Maine Recycles Week 2006 School Competition in November.

The school was judged one of the three best in the state and given a $500 cash award. The school was chosen from a field of 1,500 statewide entries and 13 individual submissions for inclusion in the 2006 Maine Recycling Calendar, of which five were from Bangor schools and recognized with $100 cash awards.

Pupils Allison Doucette, Katherine Porter and Hannah Krietzer of Bangor High School, Mariah Arey of Fourteenth Street School, and Ezra Frost of Fairmount School had entries selected for the calendar.

“The efforts of these students to promote recycling and environmental values are deeply appreciated,” the Proclamation read.

Sewing class

Hope Lutheran Church, 1520 Union St., will sponsor a beginning sewing class that will teach participants basic sewing. Classes will meet 1-3 p.m. Saturdays beginning Feb. 10 at the church.

The classes are part of an effort to provide quilts for the needy around the world through the Lutheran World Relief organization. The quilts made in the classes will be sent to a central location and distributed to areas that require relief.

There is a $10 charge for the class. Materials and some sewing machines will be provided. To obtain more information and to register, call 862-4619.

Manna’s need list

These items are needed for Manna Ministries’ soup kitchen and food pantry: coffee, plastic foam plates, soup of all kinds, baked beans and diapers of all sizes. Items may be dropped off 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at Manna, 629 Main St. For more information, call 990-2870.

Cribbage night

Thursday, Feb. 22, will be the first of the Bangor Public Library’s monthly cribbage nights.

A recent cribbage tournament at the library in conjunction with Penobscot Reads indicates that there are a lot of avid players in the area, many of whom would like more opportunities to get together with other players in the community on a regular basis.

Bring your cribbage board and cards to the library’s Lecture Hall between 5 and 8 p.m. For further information, call 947-8336 and ask for Jim.

Congratulations to the winner of the Bangor Public Library Tournament, David Lord, and to the interlibrary champion, Luke Doucette of Hampden.

Child care training

The Penquis CAP Child Care Resource Development Center is offering the training session “Caring for the Abuse Affected Child and Family” for child care providers 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturdays, March 10 and 24, at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St.

The Maine Roads to Quality training session raises awareness of issues that affect children in families. It uses an interdisciplinary approach that focuses on child abuse, substance abuse and domestic violence. The session offers 1.8 CEUs when completed. In order to meet training hour requirements, participants will be given a two-hour reflective activity to be completed between sessions.

There is no charge. Registration is required. Lunch is provided. To register, call 973-3533 or (888) 917-1100.

Hermon

Song in your heart?

The River City Harmonizers, a women’s a cappella four-part harmony group, is seeking new members who love to sing. Those interested are invited to join in song and fellowship 6:30-8:30 a.m. Thursdays at the Morgan Hill Event Center, Route 2. For more information, call Lana Leighton at 947-1506.

Holden

Children’s poetry workshop

Children ages 8-12 have an opportunity to release their imagination and creativity in a poetry workshop at Fields Pond Audubon Center.

Parents will drop off children to investigate nature and poetics with poet Silvana Costa and Audubon naturalist Holly Twining. When parents return 2 1/2 hours later, the children will share their poetry in an informal, comfortable reading.

Nature-based poetry selections will be shared; then children will discover wintertime wonders on a walk through fields and woods. The walk will be a means for gathering images and ideas for poems. After doing some fun writing exercises, there will be plenty of time to work on writing an original poem.

With the program taking place both indoors and outdoors, children should be bundled up for the cold weather. In addition, children will need a notebook and pencil for note-taking on the trail.

Wild Poetry will be held 1-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road. The poetry reading will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required. Parents may bring family members and friends to the poetry reading. Call 989-2591 or e-mail htwining@maineaudubon.org for more information.

School vacation camp

February school vacation campers at the Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road, will have a chance to ice fish, make a “tree,” construct a bird feeder and make casts of animal tracks as they investigate the highlights of nature in winter.

School vacation camp will be held 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, Feb. 20-23, for children ages 7 to 12, with each session highlighting a different activity. Children may register for one or all of the days.

The young naturalists will search fields and forests for signs of insects and the plants associated with them on Tuesday, and will look for animal tracks as well as antlers, fur and scat on Wednesday. Thursday is for watching and feeding chickadees, and searching forest and fields for old nests, woodpecker holes and birds.

On Friday, the campers will ice fish and investigate life under the ice. They will measure, weigh and collect scales before releasing all of the fish, then use microscopes to view insects found under the ice.

Class size is limited. For more information or to request a camp brochure, call 989-2591.

Orland

Red Pine Release Party

The public is invited to enjoy February in the Great Pond Mountain Wildlands and participate in a Red Pine Release Party at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11. Participants will use bow saws to cut small saplings around the red pine plantation trees to encourage their growth. The trees were planted by the previous landowner and will someday help provide a sustainable income to manage the Wildlands property.

Participants will meet at the Wildlands North Gate on the Bald Mountain Road in North Orland, 0.2 miles from Winkumpaugh intersection. Bring a bow saw if you have one, snacks and water, and dress for the weather. To obtain more information or to borrow a saw, call Jennifer at 469-2045.

Orono

Photography as witness

“Documentation: Photography as Witness” is the next exhibition in the Lord Hall Art Galleries of the University of Maine. It opens 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, and will run through Friday, March 16. The exhibition is open to the public.

The exhibition brings together the works of internationally renowned photographers Christina Anderson, Cella and Klaus Knoll, Annette Fournet, Bob Kiss, Barbara Kossy and Flounder Lee. Their works explore the range of possibilities that documentation can suggest about the relationship among events, witnesses, photographic media and audience expectations.

Photography, because of its shared optical technology with microscopes, telescopes and other scientific instruments, has claimed the role of objective witness. Yet from its inception, photography has called attention to how it actively shapes its subjects through selective framing, focusing, highlighting and other compositional means.

As a technological fulfillment of a deeply resonant Renaissance ordering of inquisitive vision, photography conveys a cultural understanding of what it witnesses as an active participant in each situation.

For more information, call Michael Grillo, 581-3252.

Passport fair

Recent changes in U.S. State Department passport regulations now require American citizens to possess a U.S. passport when returning by air from Canada and Mexico.

The Orono Post Office, 1 Bennoch Road, will host a Passport Fair, making it quick and easy for anyone to obtain a U.S. passport. The fair will be held 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the post office.

Normal passport hours at the Orono Post Office are 10-11 a.m. Monday through Friday, and passport photo services are normally available 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Passport applications will be available. Or, applicants may pick up a passport application ahead of time at the Orono Post Office, fill it out and bring it to the event, then have their photo taken and just turn in the paperwork.

Along with the passport application, applicants must also bring a certified copy of their birth certificate, or previous passport for submission, along with a photo ID.

The staff of the Orono Post Office will assist passport applicants and accept applications. They also will take passport photos. Bonnie Hamm is the postmaster of Orono.

Checks, cash, debit or credit cards will be accepted for postal passport application fees, although U.S. State Department fees must be paid with cash, check or money order.

For more information, call Leanne Payeur, USPS district communications coordinator, at 828-8501, or Bonnie Hamm, Orono postmaster, at 866-2566.

Orrington

Bluegrass music

An evening of old-fashioned entertainment, Bluegrass Special, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Orrington Grange Hall, corner of Center Drive and Dow Road. Featured bluegrass musicians will be Wicked Blue of Bangor, winners of the Perkinstock Bluegrass Festival Band Contest, and Buck Masters and The Beecher Boys.

The Muellers will run concession stands to raise money for their national music endeavors.

Admission is $10, $8 seniors, free under age 12. A portion of the proceeds go to the Bluegrass Music Association of Maine for children’s music education.

For information, call Bill at 949-0868 or Jim at 944-3128.