Crafters invited to Margaretta Day Festival

While outdoor winter enthusiasts may be enjoying our January weather, others might be wistfully daydreaming of the warmer months, so here is something for those folks “to put their minds to,” as the old saying goes.

Valdine Atwood of Machias e-mailed that plans are well under way for the fourth annual Margaretta Day Festival, which this year “has been changed to a one-day event to be held Saturday, June 21, on the mall at the University of Maine in Machias,” she wrote.

Atwood added that “sponsorship for the event has also changed, with members of the Machias Historical Society” having taken on that responsibility.

Many of the activities included in the three previous years will be part of this year’s event, she wrote of the festival that still will concentrate on “the period of the Revolutionary War celebrating Machias being the site of the first Naval Battle of that war.”

The festival will include period re-enactors, music, crafts, games, food, children’s activities and a parade.

But, this year, Atwood wrote, “there will be an area for current crafters and artisans as well.”

“The only special requirement is that current crafters must have, for sale, handmade or hand-painted items, or prints, generated from their own work.”

Crafters who want information about “signing up to reserve a space can obtain more information” or receive “a craft fair participation application,” Atwood wrote, “by contacting the Machias Historical Society” at P.O. Box 704, Machias 04654.

Interested individuals also can e-mail machiashistoricalsociety@hotmail.com or call 255-4223 “and leave a message and someone will get back to you promptly,” she said.

Atwood noted that “the weekend of June 21 is shaping up to be a busy one, as the Shrine June Ceremonial will be held that weekend, in Machias, and is expected to draw about 1,000 people, so it will make for a wonderful opportunity for crafters, both period and current, to be on hand to promote their wares.”

Patricia Claus invites you to join Pax Christi Penobscot Valley for an ecumenical service, “Remembering the Children,” which she explained focuses “on the impact of war on children everywhere.”

The service is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at St. Mary’s Chapel on Ohio Street.

Claus wrote that speakers would include Mary Trotochaud, an expert on cluster bombs; the Rev. Elaine Hewes of Redeemer Lutheran Church; Dr. Judy Burk, a psychiatrist from Acadia Hospital; and Father Thomas Lequin.

The service will include readings by members of Veterans for Peace, of poetry written by “Maine schoolchildren,” Claus wrote, and music by the Rev. Hewes and children’s choir members.

For information, call Claus at 989-2832.

Evie Smith of Carmel e-mailed that some tickets of the 125 to be sold are available for the Black Bear board of advisers fifth annual Super Suppah, beginning with a social hour at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, at Bangor Civic Center.

Presented by the University of Maine Black Bear board of advisers and underwritten by Maine Savings, RBC Dain Rauscher, Cyr Bus Lines and Darling’s Auto, the event benefits the Black Bear Scholarship Fund.

The grand prize is $10,000 and attendees also have a chance to win a trip for two to Puerto Rico.

In addition to the two top prizes, more than $12,000 in other donated prizes will be awarded.

The $300-per-couple admission includes two meals and one chance to win the grand prize.

For tickets or more information, call 581-1130 or visit www.goblackbears.com.

The 11th annual auction to benefit the Center for Grieving Children in Portland will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

According to a release, a limited number of tickets are still available at $90 each. Proceeds will help support the services of the organization that assists children experiencing trauma because of the death or serious illness of a family member or friend.

In addition to its annual auction, the center will sponsor a raffle in which the grand prize is a trip for two to the 2009 National Football League Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

Only 350 tickets are being sold at $100 each, and you can visit www.cgcmaine.org or call the center at 775-5216 for more information.

The raffle package includes an airfare voucher, game transfers, two tickets to the NFL experience and hotel accommodations for four nights.

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