Alton

Budget committee meeting

The town of Alton will hold the budget committee meeting 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, at the Alton Municipal Building.

Bangor

Black History Month

In partnership with the Bangor Public Library Children’s Division, the Greater Bangor Area NAACP will continue a series of programs featuring books with African-American and Afro-Caribbean themes in celebration of Black History Month. The programs are held in the Story Room.

. 2-2:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, “Selections from Powerful Words: More than 200 Years of Extraordinary Writing by African Americans” by Wade Hudson, illustrated by Sean Qualls; “Through My Eyes” by Ruby Bridges. Art activity. For children in grade four and up.

. 4-4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, “I Have A News: Rhymes from the Caribbean” collected and illustrated by Walter Jekyll and Jacqueline Mair, and selections from “I Love the World” by Alma Flor Ada, Violet J. Harric and Lee Bennett Hopkins. African drumming. For children in grades two to six.

For information, call 947-4625.

Workshops at UMMA

The University of Maine Museum of Art at 40 Harlow St. will offer these workshops:

. Drawing Workshop with Ed Nadeau, 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, March 15 and 22. This workshop for beginners will develop a basic understanding of the principles of drawing. The student will explore the formal issues of drawing through the exploration of materials and their proper use. The class will investigate the important role that drawing plays for artists in the development of their work. Ultimately, the process of drawing will help the beginning artist “see” in a way that will benefit their work.

. Make it New: Handmade Books with Walter Tisdale, 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, May 3 and 10. This workshop will explore the fundamental skills of making books by hand. Participants will learn basic and timeless book bindings, from pamphlet to accordion-style. The bindings will springboard ideas for book projects the second weekend. Participants will handle books from Tisdale’s collection that demonstrate the binding models and book ideas. There are a few basic skills of folding and sewing paper that are necessary, with simple tools. The instructor will provide materials for the first class.

The cost of the workshops is $65 for museum members and students with ID, $75 others.

To learn more, go to www.umma.umaine.edu and click on calendar, or call 561-3350.

Move for food cupboard

The Samaritan Food Cupboard, which is open 10-11 a.m. Wednesdays, has moved to the River City Wesleyan Church, 146 Center St. The building is the former site of the Salvation Army Store.

Bangor Board of Realtors

The Bangor Board of Realtors, under the leadership of 2007 president Carolyn Fish, reflected on the past year and the community work and fundraising efforts done by the board and its affiliate members.

In March, the Pot of Gold Super Supper raised $4,300 for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor and $1,700 for the American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter. An additional $5,000 was donated by First Horizon for Habitat for Humanity in coordination with the Pot of Gold Super Supper.

At its holiday auctions in December, board members raised $1,718 each for The Salvation Army and Manna Inc.

Thanks to the Maine Association of Realtors Foundation’s Matching Grant Program, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor received $6,800, American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter received $1,700, and Manna Inc. received $1,700 in additional funds for housing assistance programs.

Many board members and affiliates donated time and resources to deserving charities including Maine Parkinson’s Disease Society, Sunshine Kids Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, March of Dimes, Greater Bangor Homeless Shelter and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

NAACP meeting

The Bangor Branch of the NAACP will meet at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 120 Park St. Guest speaker will be Assistant Attorney General Thom Harnett. His topic will be “Civil Rights Enforcement in Maine: The Last Three Years. Why does racism persist in 2008 and what can we do about it?” The public is welcome. For information, call Joe Perry, president, 548-2081 or Dr. Josephine A. Bright, secretary, 947-4625.

Peace in the Middle East

Dr. Aaron Ahuvia of the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace will give a talk in Bangor on peace in the Middle East and why it is so difficult to achieve.

Ahuvia is professor of marketing at University of Michigan, Dearborn. The program is set for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at Congregation Beth El, 183 French St.

Polls, according to Ahuvia, say that most Israelis and Palestinians want a two-state solution. One major obstacle is a well-founded lack of trust on both sides. Ahuvia will talk about psychological research and what it says about the conflict and how to get past obstacles to lasting peace. He also will discuss a potential role for the American Jewish community in helping Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace.

In addition to research and teaching, Ahuvia has been an international consultant to governments and organizations on consumer behavior. He is a former area editor of the Journal of Economic Psychology and has been quoted in newspapers worldwide.

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom is Hebrew for Alliance for Justice and Peace. In just four years, it has become America’s largest Jewish peace group with more than 37,000 supporters and 40 chapters nationwide. Chapters are beginning to form in Maine. For information, call Todd Miller at 992-9114, e-mail toddfmiller@gmail.com or visit www.btvshalom.org.

Community service

Literacy Volunteers of Maine announced that Benjamin J. Smith of Bangor, an assistant portfolio manager with Acadia Trust N.A. and Camden National Bank, has joined its board of directors. He serves as board president of Literacy Volunteers of Bangor.

With one in seven adults functioning at the lowest level of literacy, LV Maine is dedicated to increasing access to literacy services. Fourteen Literacy Volunteers affiliates throughout Maine provide free, confidential instruction in basic reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages to more than 1,100 adults each year through a network of devoted and well-trained tutors. For information, visit www.lvmaine.org.

Brewer

Family Read Aloud program

The Brewer Public Library’s fifth annual Family Read Aloud program will begin on Saturday, March 1.

The program topic, “Explore the Wonder of Animals at your Library,” will center on favorite animals. There will be two special events during the month and prizes will be given weekly. Registration begins Monday, Feb. 25. Call the Brewer Public Library at 989-7943 for details.

Celtic Festival

Because of an early Palm Sunday and Easter this year, the St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church second annual Celtic Festival is scheduled for the first weekend of March at the church, corner of North Main and Holyoke streets.

. Quiet Day, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 1.

. Irish Feast, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, featuring traditional Irish fare. During the meal, a silent auction will offer a variety of items.

. The after-dinner program at 7 p.m. will feature traditional Irish step dancing by students of Bangor’s Thomas School of Dance, and the Bangor High School Irish Fiddlers.

The cost of for the evening meal and entertainment is $10, $5 children age 10 or younger. Tickets, available by advance sale only, may be purchased at Thomas School of Dance, 14 State St., Bangor, or by calling St. Patrick’s church at 989-1308 and leaving a message. Seating is limited to 80 attendees.

. Sunday, March 2, Celtic Eucharist, 10 a.m. Open to all, Episcopal or not.

Bucksport

Gilbert and Sullivan

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Hancock County’s annual production this year is “The Gondoliers.”

The high-spirited show set in 1750s Venice was one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s last. It features two casts in one show. Roland Dube, a perennial favorite, plays the sinister Grand Inquisitor along with familiar favorites David, Lisa and Sandi Blanchette; Debra Hangge; Zach Field and Alison Cox; plus newcomers Jennifer Buffington and Josh Howie. The troupe welcomes back Dede Johnson as artistic director and Fred Goldrich as music director.

With lots of merriment, little tragedy, spirited dancing and a happy ending, the show is a not to be missed.

Performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22-23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at Bucksport Center for the Arts located at the Bucksport Middle school.

The show also will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 29-March 1; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at The Grand in Ellsworth.

Tickets at the door are $18, $16 seniors and $10 children. Advance tickets, available at BookStacks, 71 Main St., Bucksport for the Bucksport shows, are $9. Call the bookstore at 469-8992 for information.

Eddington

Tim Sample show

Tickets are on sale for Tim Sample’s benefit performance scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at historic Comins Hall on Route 9 in Eddington.

The event is a major kickoff to the Eddington Clifton Civic Center’s new drive to raise funds for much-needed renovations to the 1879 hall’s bathrooms and to make the second floor auditorium handicap-accessible.

Currently audience members who cannot climb stairs view shows via closed circuit video in the first floor dining room.

The Maine Expansion Arts Fund of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded a $2,000 grant to help underwrite the costs of the performance.

Tim Sample, noted Maine humorist, recorded his first comedy album in 1979. He has released many albums and videos, written and-or illustrated more than a dozen books, and been a regional contributor to CBS “Sunday Morning.”

Tim is a perfect fit for Comins Hall, a part of the community since 1879 when construction was completed by the Eddington Agrarian Club.

Tickets are $30, $25 and $15 at Eddington Town Hall, Clifton Town Hall, the Eddington Store and the Clifton Country Store.

For information, call 843-6669.

Thirty dollar tickets include preferred seating in the front of the auditorium and a special coffee and dessert visit with Tim following the show.

Twenty-five dollar tickets are general admission in the auditorium. Fifteen-dollar tickets are for the first floor dining room, where audience members will enjoy the performance via a theater video screen and surround-sound system.

Holden

Wild Poetry Workshop

A Wild Poetry Workshop for adults and children will be held 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Fields Pond Audubon Center. Workshop leaders are Holly Twining and Christina Diebold.

Set your imagination free and explore the wonders of natural world at Fields Pond. Try some fun writing exercises, hear great poetry – feel free to bring your own favorite sample – and write your own. Sharing your writing is optional.

The cost is $18 members, $22 others. Advance registration is required, 989-2591 or e-mail htwining@maineaudubon.org.

Indian Island

Biography of Fred Ranco

The biography of Fred Ranco, a member of the Penobscot Nation on Indian Island will be released by the Maine Folklife Center at the University of Maine and author Tara Marvel in February.

“Muskrat Stew and Other Tales of a Penobscot Life: The Life Story of Fred Ranco by Fred Ranco as told to Tara Marvel,” is a slow-simmering brew of Penobscot life on and off the reservation that traces the life of a Native American through some of the major benchmarks of the 20th century. From home on the reservation to boxing during the Depression, serving in World War II, running an Indian crafts shop in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and finally returning home to the reservation, Ranco’s journey memorializes a life through a tumultuous period.

“It’s the story of a survivor,” according to Marvel.

“One time I asked Fred what his favorite food was,” Marvel recalled. “He unhesitatingly replied, ‘Muskrat stew.’ This dish seems to be a kind of Penobscot soul food, something eaten in hard times, when there wasn’t much else to eat, but remembered fondly as a taste of the old days.”

Marvel met Ranco during the 40 years he lived in a cabin in Albany, N.H. The memoir includes both folksy anecdotes and sometimes harsh realities.

In addition to crafts, customs, animal and plant lore, and family background, Ranco remembers his mother’s psychic abilities, family squabbles and Christmas on the Penobscot reservation. He tells about his adventures with a variety of jobs, his army experiences and selling crafts to tourists.

Marvel is a freelance writer, poet, illustrator and photographer. Among her recent works is “Moose Mind,” a video documentary following Ranco tracking though the Maine woods.

Ranco maintained his Maine Guide hunting license well into his 70s.

The book is available through the Maine Folklife Center at the University of Maine. Call 581-1891 for information.

Orono

Talk on changing forests

If trees could talk, they’d have much to tell us about the effects of climate change on Maine’s forests. Learn what they have to say and what it means for your backyard, woodlot or favorite forest hiking trail in the presentation “Changing Climate, Changing Forests: The Basis for Two Decades of Tree Diebacks and Declines in Maine.”

The program will be offered at noon Thursday, Feb. 21, as part of the Brown Bag Lunch series at Page Farm and Home Museum on the University of Maine campus. William Livingston, associate professor in the University of Maine School of Forest Resources, will be the featured speaker. His research has focused especially on the health and status of pine and spruce trees in Maine. Participants are encouraged to bring their lunch. Beverages and light desserts will be provided.

The series is offered by Page Farm and Home Museum, thanks to the generous support of Pat’s Pizza of Orono and Griffin and Jordan, Attorneys at Law. For information about this program or the series, call the museum at 581-4100.