Bangor

Annual ‘Poets-Speak’

In honor of National Poetry Month, the Bangor Public Library’s annual “Poets-Speak” will be held 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 11.

This year’s event will feature more than 22 readings by well-known and emerging poets, translators and speakers of Mandarin and Shona.

Partipating poets are Tony Brinkley, Linda Buckmaster, Troy Casa, Burt Hatlen, Leonore Hildebrandt, Annaliese Jakimides, Gary Lawless, Carl Little, Lee Sharkey, Patricia Sithole, Candice Stover and Kathleen Ellis.

There will be literature, magazine and book exhibits and sales, as well as music and a reception. For more information, call Ellis at 581-3858.

Kiwanis auction and social

A jersey autographed by the University of Maine hockey team is among the items up for bid during the Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis Club’s live and silent auction and dinner social 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Bangor Banquet & Conference Center on Hogan Road.

Proceeds will benefit local Kiwanis children’s charities, with 25 percent dedicated to supporting the Senior League World Series in August at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.

Tickets for the auction and dinner are $23 a person, including a full buffet dinner. A cash bar also will be available.

Other items up for auction include 100 gallons of heating fuel, dozens of gift certificates and handcrafted items.

To obtain more information or to buy tickets, contact Carissa Marsh or Doug Damon at 942-6310.

The Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis Club is a service organization and member of Kiwanis International. The club meets 7-8 a.m. Thursdays at Geaghan’s Roundhouse Restaurant at the Best Inn on Main Street.

Art at the library

In 1903, just a few months after the Boxer Rebellion, Maine topographer R. Harvey Sargent went with a geological survey team on a risky expedition to the largely unknown interior of China.

In a traveling exhibit organized by Sargent’s grandson, Robert Sargent, 74 images of this unknown region of China will be shown during April in the Bangor Public Library’s Lecture Hall.

The exhibit is appearing in conjunction with a conference for educators, “Yangtze Remembered: The River Beneath the Lake,” an in-depth look at the changes that have taken place in China in the last 100 years, and the changes wrought by the Three Gorges Dam.

Turn of the century images from the Bangor Library’s collection also will be on exhibit.

Information about the conference may be found at www.umma.umaine.edu/education/conference.html.

In the Library’s Stairwell Gallery, Maine artist Brenda Ferguson will show her vibrant pastels in the show, “Impressions.”

Ferguson’s opening reception takes place 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 7, in the Stairwell Gallery. Refreshments will be served, and the public is invited.

Heating assistance

The Brewer Wal-Mart Supercenter has warmed the homes and hearts of area families through a $1,000 grant to Penquis Community Action Program for heating assistance. Jennifer Giosia of Penquis CAP said the funds are sorely needed.

“We’ve received donations throughout the winter from concerned businesses and individuals, but because the need is so high, all of the funds have been spent,” said Giosia. “We are very grateful to the Brewer Wal-Mart for providing this much-needed assistance.”

Giosia said there have been numerous requests for assistance in recent weeks, and many of those requesting help have never applied before.

While Penquis CAP receives applications from all types of families, seniors on fixed incomes and families experiencing job loss or a reduction in hours are a significant portion of those seeking help.

Although the agency does have a fuel assistance program funded by the federal government, the program has strict income guidelines and looks at income received in the past three months, making people who are slightly over income and those who have recently experienced a loss of income ineligible for assistance. Those who are eligible receive only limited assistance, approximately $559 per household.

“This generous grant from the Brewer Wal-Mart enables us to help families when no other assistance is available,” said Giosia.

Penquis CAP is accepting applications for heating assistance through April and donations year round.

To make a donation for heating assistance, make checks payable to Penquis CAP and mail to: Keep ME Warm Fund, Penquis CAP, P.O. Box 1162, Bangor, ME 04402-1162, or call (800) 215-4942.

Employment assistance

The National Able Network will hold an information session on employment assistance available to mature workers 10-11 a.m. April 10 at the Parks and Recreation Building, second floor Senior Room, 647 Main St. For more information, call (800) 655-6073.

Program on viola

Principal violist Laura Gallucci will perform at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in the Lecture Hall at the Bangor Public Library.

Gallucci, an admired Maine musician and music educator, will present the program, “Crossover: The Violin and Viola from Modern Times,” a music-filled investigation of the history and role of these two string section mainstays.

Gallucci will appear as part of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s “Strings Attached,” an outreach program prompted by the collaboration between the BSO and the internationally-known Kruger Brothers, who will debut their bluegrass inspired work with the orchestra in June.

Journalism conference

The New England School of Communications will hold a conference on “Journalism in the 21st Century” on Thursday, April 5, at the Richard Dyke Center for Family Business, on the campus of Husson College.

Beth Lawton, manager of Digital Media Analysis at the Newspaper Association of America, will be the keynote speaker. Her topic will be “Trends in Converging Media.”

Bob Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values and the Senior Faculty in Ethics at the Poynter Institute, also will deliver a keynote address, “Is Journalism Changing?”

To obtain more information and to register yourself and-or your organization, visit www.nescom.edu and click on “Journalism Conference.”

Holden

Talk on mountain lions

Thought to be eradicated from Maine in the late 1800s, cougars, also known as mountain lions, have made their presence felt here, whether in fantasy or fact.

Bill Betty, a mountain lion expert from Rhode Island, has studied the evidence and reports for years. Is it possible that cougars have survived extermination? Betty has encountered resistance to the idea that these big cats have survived. Evidence of cougars is often met with the explanation that it must be a house cat or an escaped pet cougar.

Betty is convinced that cougars roam Rhode Island and throughout New England. He believes that Maine still has large tracts of forest that could prove invaluable to the species’ survival.

The Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department Web site states that several tracks have been found in the size range of small mountain lion or large bobcat footprints. Wildlife biologists are continually on the lookout for these secretive felines. They follow up solid reports in the field and conduct track surveys each winter.

Bill Betty will present “Nature’s Perfect Kitty: Maine Mountain Lions” at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 1, at Fields Pond Audubon Center. He will offer photography, hands-on materials, fodder for skeptics and basic biology. He will share his experiences of close encounters with mountain lions, reports from other witnesses and techniques to document sightings. Admission is $6 and proceeds benefit the nature center. For information, call 989-2591 or e-mail htwining@maineaudubon.org.

Orono

Spring jazz concert

The University of Maine’s Chamber Jazz Ensemble will present its annual spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in the Minsky Recital Hall, Class of 1944 Hall.

The program includes great jazz classics from Duke Pearson, Juan Tizol, Jerome Richardson, Duke Ellington, Nat Adderley, Cedar Walton, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery and Charlie Parker.

The Chamber Jazz Ensemble, created last fall as a major component of the School of Performing Arts’ new minor in jazz studies, is a group of soloists or small ensembles with piano accompaniment.

This semester’s group consists of 17 musicians on trumpet, trombone, saxophone, piano, guitar, flute, clarinet and vibraphone, which all have a rich history in jazz, said music professor Karel Lidral.

Lidral is Chamber Jazz Ensemble director and adviser for the jazz studies and music minors at UMaine.

Ensemble membership includes emphasis on the development of skills in the art of jazz improvisation, as well as in the development of a jazz swing feeling, Lidral said. The group is not auditioned, so instrumentalists at all ability levels may participate. This semester’s organization ranges from first-year students to those in graduate school and a wide variety of majors.

Tickets are $6, though students are admitted free with a MaineCard. For more information, call 581-1755 or visit the School of Performing Arts Web site, www.umaine.edu/spa.

The Chamber Jazz Ensemble also will perform for the University of Maine Open House 8:30-9:15 a.m. Monday, April 16, in the Maine Center for the Arts, and 11 a.m.-noon Wednesday, April 25, in the Bear’s Den at the Memorial Union. The public is welcome.

Members are: Rebecca Bosworth-Clemens, Shoreham, Vt., clarinet; Gary Craig, Oakland, alto saxophone; Ray Delear, Corinth, alto saxophone; Richard Dort, Plymouth, clarinet; Zachary Duren, Blue Hill, trombone; Charity Harmon, Edmonton, Alberta, flute; Scott Horey, Bath, vibraphone; Anna-Marlies Hunter, Eastport, clarinet; Kevin Judkins, Mt. Vernon, guitar; Steve Kane, Merrimack, N.H., alto saxophone; Zachary Keenan, Bangor, trumpet; Jason Knowles, Bass Harbor, guitar; Chris Malm, Caribou, trumpet; Michael Nokes, Dexter, trumpet; Michael Puleo, Belmont, N.H., piano; Danielle Sullivan, Saco, alto saxophone; and Karl Varian, Brandon, Vt., trumpet.

Ethics lecture

Chris Hedges, a former New York Times war correspondent and author of “War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning,” will give a talk on his book at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday April 3, at the University of Maine.

Hedges’ presentation, which is the 2006 Rezendes Ethics Lecture, will be held in Room 100 of UMaine’s Donald P. Corbett Business Building.

Hedges is this year’s UMaine John M. Rezendes Visiting Scholar in Ethics. That program, which UMaine’s Honors College coordinates, is supported by the John M. Rezendes Ethics Initiative and the Cultural Affairs and Distinguished Lecture fund. The lecture is free and open to the public.

“War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning” is this year’s UMaine Honors Read book, meaning that it was chosen by a tutorial class and that incoming first-year honors students read it before beginning classes last fall. UMaine professors Burton Hatlen of the English department and Amy Fried, political science professor, nominated Hedges’ book to be the Honors Read.

Hedges’ controversial memoir describes his experience reporting on conflicts in the Balkan region and makes the claim that the idea of war forms an integral part of the American psyche.

Book sale

The Penobscot Valley Branch of the American Association of University Women will hold its annual book sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, March 31, at the Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St. Admission is free. The cost for early admission, from 8 to 9 a.m., is $10.

In addition to books for everyone, Peggy Hallee’s lunch and snack bar will be available.

Orono Public Library is accepting book donations for the sale, or call 866-3486 for pick up.

For more than 50 years, the book sale has been a fundraiser for the AAUW, an organization which promotes education and equality of women and girls.

Variety show auditions

Orono Community Theatre will hold auditions for its variety show, “One Night Only,” at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 15, at the Keith Anderson Community House, 19 Bennoch Road.

Director Monique Bouchard is seeking all kinds of acts, including show tunes, juggling, comedy sketches, magic, instrumentalists, dancers, singers and even strange talents such power tool percussion ensemble.

A piano accompanist will be provided for auditioners.

Telly Coolong will serve as emcee for the show and as its assistant director.

The show will be performed one night only on Saturday, May 19. Proceeds will benefit Orono Community Theatre. For more information, call the Orono Parks and Recreation Department at 866-5065.

Orrington

‘A Musical Interlude’

Musicians from John Bapst Memorial High School will perform “A Musical Interlude,” at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 1, at East Orrington Congregational Church.

The concert will feature chamber music and vocal solos. All are welcome. Admission is free.