Reservations are required by Wednesday, April 11, so put a little spring in your step and make them now for the St. Croix Valley International Garden Club Luncheon planned for Wednesday, April 18, at the Crohn Family Conference Center on Otis Lane in Perry.

The public is welcome to attend the luncheon, which includes a raffle of garden-related items, and the opportunity to take home centerpieces, which will be given away to lucky attendees.

The cost of the luncheon is $13.50, “but the view from the Crohn Center is priceless,” wrote Kathryn Mekelburg. “come and join us and bring a friend or two.”

At this festive event, she wrote, you will “delight in the views of Boyden’s Lake as you enjoy your lunch of salad, baked ham, carrots, twice-baked potatoes, rolls and a scrumptious brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce.”

And, Mekelburg wrote, she expects that while you’re enjoying your lunch, you also will “hear the spring songs of the birds” and “see the flowers coming to life” as you “meet new people and make new friends with whom you will share the joys of gardening.”

Don’t want to have to bake for your special Easter dinner?

Then let members of Grace United Methodist Church (who are excellent cooks, I’ve been told) do it for you.

Beverly Kane report the church’s Finance Committee is hosting a bake sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days, Friday, April 6, and Saturday, April 7, at the church, 193 Union St. in Bangor.

“We are offering pies, cakes, rolls and other baked items to save you from baking for Easter,” she said.

The sale will be held in the “church’s parlor,” Kane added, so you should enter through the front door.

Proceeds from the sale will help fund church operating expenses.

On behalf of Sewall Memorial Congregational Church, Ann Carter invites you to join its members in continuing their tradition “of greeting a new Easter with an ‘almost sunrise’ service at 7 a.m. Sunday, April 8, at the church in Robbinston.

She knows, in addition to the service, you will appreciate the “blessing of such a location” that reflects “the glory of the sun shining through the unusually beautiful stained-glass window that faces east to the recently risen sun.”

But if you do attend, you also will notice that “there is one missing section” of that window, “where the gale force winds of a winter storm” caused “one portion of the window to come crashing in.

“However,” she added, “it is still beautiful and is set off, further, by the other lovely windows that grace both the east and the west walls of the sanctuary.”

Carter added the congregation is in the process of working “to rescue their aging stained-glass windows” through a variety of fundraisers.

Carter wrote “everyone is most welcome” to attend the service and remain “for the light brunch that will follow.”

If you cannot attend but would like to help the congregation repair the windows of this historic church by making a donation, write Sewall Memorial Church, 558 U.S. Route 1, Robbinston 04671, or call 726-3905 for information.

As the ski season winds down, it is worth noting that Maine Handicapped Skiing, now in its 25th year, set a new record during its 22nd annual Ski-A-Thon March 24, at Sunday River Ski Resort and Sunday River Inn and Cross Country Ski Center in Newry.

Maine’s largest year-round adaptive recreation program for adults and children with physical disabilities raised more than $329,000 in pledges at that event thanks to the hard work of more than 630 skiers and riders and 135 volunteers from Maine and New England.

Mark Duhamel, a volunteer instructor at both Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA in Carrabassett Valley, who has been associated with Maine Handicapped Skiing for 20 years, received the organization’s highest honor, the 110% Award, which is given to an individual, business or organization who provided extraordinary service.

As one who often has watched these volunteers and skiers in action, I can tell you it is nothing short of amazing what this program is doing for people, young and old alike, who otherwise might not have the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful winter sport.

To learn about what this free program can do for you or someone you know, call (800) 639-7770, e-mail info@skimhs.org, or visit www.skimhs.org.

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