Community News

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Bangor

Franco-American music

Nancy Lamarre grew up in a Franco-American family on a potato farm in the Aroostook County town of New Canada.

Saturday night meant listening and dancing to “Jamboree” on the radio, broadcast from Wheeling, W.Va. A music-loving child, she also was influenced by the Canadian migrant workers who came to the family farm and brought their music with them.

It wasn’t long before young Nancy picked up her mother’s accordion and taught herself to play the toe-tapping music that is commonly called Acadian or Franco-American.

Lamarre will appear in concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, in the Lecture Hall in Bangor Public Library. The concert is free and the public is invited.

Photo exhibit

Artist Michael Alpert of Bangor will exhibit “Recent Photographs” July 8-Aug. 4 at the Turtle Gallery in Deer Isle. For more information, call the gallery at 348-9977.

Buying a home class

MaineStream Finance, a subsidiary of Penquis CAP, is offering a free 12-hour certified training course to help potential buyers make prudent home-buying decisions. Classes will be held 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, July 16-19, at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St.

A qualified trainer will discuss the roles of various professionals involved in the home-buying process, such as attorneys, realtors, lenders, insurance agents and home inspectors. Budget and debt management counseling also will be discussed.

Registration required. Call MaineStream Finance at 974-2424 or 800-215-4942 for more information or to register.

Adoption information

The Bangor office of the Department of Health and Human Services will hold a public informational meeting about adoption and foster care at 1 p.m. Friday, July 13. For meeting location and to participate, call A Family For ME at 877-505-0545.

Credit union league honoree

Ralph Ferland, a longtime member of the league’s board of directors, was recognized for his years of service, involvement and contributions to the Maine Credit Union League and Maine’s credit unions at the league’s delegates’ meeting, held recently in Augusta.

Ferland was recognized for his nine years of service on the board, the past three as chairman. Ferland, president and CEO of Eastern Maine Medical Center Federal Credit Union in Bangor, was honored for his “outstanding leadership as board chairman which helped grow and strengthen the league and Maine’s credit unions.”

John Murphy, president and CEO of the Maine Credit Union League, thanked Ferland for his service and commitment to Maine’s credit unions. “Ralph’s contributions will continue to help Maine’s credit unions and the league remain solid and successful and beneficial to Maine consumers,” he said.

Magic of Bangor

The Libra Foundation recently awarded $10,000 to the Bangor Symphony Orchestra for the Magic of Bangor event scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2.

One of the BSO’s main goals is to bring people to the Magic of Bangor who otherwise would not be able to attend an orchestra performance – low-income and disadvantaged individuals who cannot afford a concert ticket, who may not have transportation or who are not aware of the symphony’s concerts. The $10,000 award will provide 500 tickets for disadvantaged families.

The BSO is working with representatives from eight other local music organizations to design a program that will be the most spectacular holiday performance ever presented in eastern, central and northern Maine. The artists will number 635, including 120 orchestra members, more than 450 choir members, 50 dancers and 15 bell ringers.

Magic of Bangor will include dances from “The Nutcracker;” excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah;” including an audience sing-along of the Hallelujah Chorus; Robert Shaw’s choral work, “The Many Moods of Christmas;” an arrangement of the carol, “One Small Child,” performed by the Bangor Area Children’s Choir and the Jubilation Bell Ringers; and the choir with members of the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra for a presentation of “Panis Angelicus.” The Bangor Youth Symphonic Band also will perform.

Participating artists include the Robinson Ballet, Bangor High School Chorus and Chamber Choir, University of Maine Singers, University of Maine Collegiate Chorale and the University of Maine Oratorio Society.

Magic of Bangor will be presented at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2 at the Bangor Auditorium.

Tickets will be available in July by calling the Bangor Auditorium at 947-5555. More information is available at bangorsymphony.com.

Seniors work programs

An information session about work programs available to older Americans will be held 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 11, at the National Able offices located in the Bangor Parks and Recreation Building, 647 Main St. For more information, call 800-655-6073.

Brewer

Kiwanis news

At a recent meeting of the Brewer Kiwanis Club, President Kathleen Harding-Heber introduced Tom Cambridge, guest of Kim Long, and Carissa Marsh, guest of Kurtis Marsh.

Discussion was held about the upcoming New England District Kiwanis annual convention to be held in August in Rhode Island.

Members of the Brewer Kiwanis were thanked for helping with Brewer Cleanup Day. Barney Thompson served as chairman for the event.

Kiwanis members also helped with Brewer High School’s Project Graduation.

Guest speaker at the meeting was Colleen Adams, an occupational therapy assistant who works with children. She provided information about the Technical Exploration Center, a Husson College community outreach program. The center lends assistive equipment and provides evaluation, resource materials, technical assistance and related training. Adams demonstrated devices used to augment communication and computer access, recreational, daily living and mobility equipment. More information about the center is available by calling 800-274-0029 or visit www.tecmaine.org.

The Brewer Kiwanis Club meets 6-7 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant. Those who wish to become members of the group are invited to attend.

Castine

Penobscot Navy League

The Penobscot Navy League Council of the United States will meet Saturday, July 14, at the Manor Inn. Social hour is at 5:30 p.m. The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m.

Guest speaker at the event will be Capt. Jeffrey W. Monroe, director of the Port Authority for Portland.

The cost to attend is $24 and the public is invited. To make a reservation or to find out more about the Navy League, call Chick Rauch at 942-1714 no later than July 6.

Dedham

Benefit concert

The Memphis Belles – Pat Cummings, Darlene Mogul and Penny Weinstein – will perform 6-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 17, at the Lucerne Inn. The concert will benefit the Big Hill and Second Pond Forest Reserve Project, a 1,600-acre parcel of land that encompasses Second Pond and Coon Bog. The event is sponsored by the New England Forestry Foundation, a nonprofit land conservation organization.

Tickets for the concert are $25, available at the Lucerne Inn. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served and a cash bar will be available. To reserve tickets, call 843-5123.

To learn more about the forest reserve project, visit www.newenglandforestry.org.

Hermon

Songbird initiative

The Bangor Nature Club invites the public to hear a lecture by Jeff Wells, senior scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative, at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 14, at Ecotat Gardens, 2699 U.S. Route 2. Wells’ topic will be “Can Global Warming be Affecting Our Birds?” There is no cost to attend the lecture. Parking is in the lot on Annis Road.

Wells, who received a master’s degree and a doctorate degree from Cornell University, is the author and co-author of scientific papers, reports and popular articles on birds and bird conservation, including the books “Important Bird Areas in New York State” and “The Birds of Sapsucker Woods.” He is at work on “Birder’s Conservation Handbook: Maine.”

Wells is a graduate of Bangor High School. During his formative years, he was a member of the Bangor Nature Club and a protege of Inez Boyd who was president of the club at that time.

For more information, call Sheila at 990-3665.

Alumni 5K road race

The second annual Hermon Alumni 5K Road Race will hit the pavement at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 14, at Hermon High School, and finish at Dysart’s, the sponsor of the race. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The cost to participate in the race is $15. Free T-shirts will be given to the first 50 who register. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Hermon High School cross-country team. For more information, call Riley Donovan at 615-1151.

Orland

Annual meeting

The Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust will celebrate the end of its successful Campaign for the Wildlands at its annual meeting at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 14. The public is invited to join land trust members for a special celebration under a tent in the wildlands. A chicken dinner and bean-hole beans courtesy of MacLeod’s Restaurant, Bob and Marsha Mushrall and W.A. Bean will be served. Shawn Mercer will provide music and volunteers will be recognized for their service.

The dinner is free for trust members. The suggested donation for others is $10, $20 family. Wildlands gates will be open on Bald Mountain Road. The tent will be located one mile in on the Valley Road from the north, in Hothole Valley. For more information, call Cheri Domina at 479-7190 or e-mail cdomina@midmaine.com.

Winterport

Woman’s Club news

Mary Lester, community improvement committee chairman for the Winterport Woman’s Club has been busy filling planters, window boxes and flower beds in various town buildings. On June 5, she presented the club’s town beautification plaque to Judy Kirk and Bud Jordan, owners of Always Green Landscape Center.

The club received a donation of hybrid day lilies from Bill Warman of The Maine Garden in Waldo. Donna Nason planted more than 70 lilies at the Winterport Library. Donna, Janice and Tracy Gran and a group of teenagers helped prepare the beds. Julie Logan helped with fundraising and the day lily sale.

Kristin Smith is the recipient of the Winterport Woman’s Club $1,000 scholarship.

On June 14, Fran Savoy, club president, presented Good Citizenship Awards to Victoria Wilson and Matthew Meo at the Wagner Middle School recognition ceremony.

For more information about the Winterport Woman’s Club, call Fran Savoy at 990-1639.