Community news

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Alton

Annual town meeting

The Alton town meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Municipal Building.

Bangor

Art at the library

Two of the area’s favorite artists return to the Bangor Public Library. Beginning Tuesday, April 1, photographer Lee Sirabella will present in the Lecture Hall a retrospective of some 60 years of work.

After being a photographer in the Army Air Corps during WWII, Sirabella spent six decades as a studio photographer. Last year he showed many portraits, making them available to friends and family of the subjects.

This year Sirabella will show the non-studio works he created, photos ranging from Maine to Greenland to Korea.

In the Stairwell Gallery, Brenda Ferguson brings her vibrant pastels just in time to ensure that spring contains a burst of wondrous colors. Ferguson, whose florals, still life pieces and landscapes have been collected by many art lovers, has taught many enthusiasts to work in soft pastels.

Raise your voice

The Sweet Adelines International organization is seeking women who like to sing. The group performs four-part harmony in barbershop style. Visit the Heart of Maine Chorus 6:45-9:15 p.m. Mondays at the Church of Latter-day Saints, corner of Grandview Avenue and Essex Street.

Lobster stew dinner

All Souls Congregational Church will hold its eighth annual lobster stew dinner at 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 5, in the vestry, 10 Broadway. Tickets are $14. Wait staff will be students of the Assist-JC Youth Group. Proceeds will benefit the group’s mission trips to Eastport this summer and Nuevo Sacramento, Honduras, in 2009.

Students set the room for fine dining for the homemade meal – lobster stew, garden salad, fresh-baked foccacia bread, apple and blueberry pies.

Melissa Huston, coordinator, said, “We usually have a great turnout from the public, making it a wonderful community fellowship event. We are counting on that again this year.”

Some tickets are available – call the church office at 942-7354.

Museum benefit raffle

The Maine Discovery Museum is sponsoring a drawing for a Florida Getaway to raise money for the museum.

Stop by the museum and ask at the front desk. Call the museum at 262-7200 and buy tickets using your credit card.

Or send a check to Maine Discovery Museum, 74 Main St., Bangor 04401.

Tickets are $5, three for $10. Winners will be drawn on Monday, April 28, and are responsible for fees and taxes.

Grand prize is four round-trip tickets from Bangor to Orlando, Fla., on Allegiant Air.

Second- and third-prize winners receive two round-trip tickets from Bangor to Orlando.

Fourth-prize winner receives a one-year reciprocal membership to Maine Discovery Museum PLUS, a $50 certificate to the museum store and a $50 Kravco-Simon Visa Gift Card.

Proceeds benefit the museum’s exhibits fund.

Brewer

Wicked Blue concert

Join local band Wicked Blue for an evening of high-energy bluegrass with special guests Maximum Blue, featuring the young fiddle phenomenon Max Silverstein, at 7 p.m. Friday, March 28, at Between Friends, 39 Center St.

A hat will be passed at the event to raise money for a new sound system and lighting at Next Generation Theatre, where the event will take place.

Enter through the front gift shop. Seating is limited. For more information, call 989-7100.

Hampden

Music and lunch

The Weatherbee School of Hampden invites Hampden senior citizens to a luncheon and concert at noon Tuesday, April 15. Third-graders will perform a musical concert.

The luncheon menu is turkey and gravy, mashed potato, peas, cranberry sauce, yeast roll and gingerbread for dessert.

People who want to attend should call the school at 862-3254 before Friday, April 11.

Holden

Open Space Plan

The town of Holden is creating an open space plan to outline the vision, priorities and strategies for conservation and outdoor recreation for the next 10 to 20 years. It will take stock of current open space and future needs and conservation priorities. It will include a set of recommendations for meeting the town’s open space needs and goals, developed through a public participation process.

For information, plan to attend the open space planning presentation at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, in the Holden Elementary School gym.

Those interested in being on the open space planning committee may sign up then or contact the town office at 843-5151.

Old Town

Benefit spring dance

Put on your dancing shoes and boogie into spring with the Barn Cats, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Elks Hall. Proceeds benefit the Animal Orphanage, supporting care of homeless animals awaiting adoption.

The Barn Cats play something for everyone – oldies, classic rock, county, blues and more. Elvis fans are in luck – Elvis impersonator Joey Loring will open the evening.

Tickets are $8 per couple, $5 single. A cash bar and refreshments will be available.

“We have all had enough of winter,” said Roberta Fowler, Animal Orphanage board president. “This dance is a way for the orphanage to raise money while getting the community out and moving and having a great time. We hope to raise a lot of money as kitten season is right around the corner, and we already have several pregnant cats who are waiting to have their babies.”

The Animal Orphanage is a no-kill shelter that takes in strays in Old Town and Orono and works to find them loving homes. A dedicated staff gives the strays a warm place to sleep, nutritious meals and loving attention. This is no substitute for a good and permanent home, but you can help.

Support the Animal Orphanage and help ensure that the excellent care the animals receive continues. The public’s support is so important.

Orland

Wildlands spring hike

Search for signs of spring in the Great Pond Mountain Wildlands at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 29. Join naturalist Cheri Domina for an easy hike of about 1.5 miles. Listen for early woodcock and wood frogs, observe buds and enjoy the outdoors. Meet at the Wildlands South Gate on Route 1 just south of the Route 176 junction. Wear waterproof boots. For information, or in case of rain or snow, call 469-2008 or e-mail cdomina@midmaine.com.

Orono

Maple Syrup Fest

The University of Maine’s Page Farm and Home Museum will celebrate Maine Maple Sunday 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 5. The museum invites area children and families.

The day begins with the video, “The Maple Sugaring Story,” at the museum. Children in kindergarten to grade six can participate in learning activities, play games and hear stories about this old Maine tradition and seasonal enterprise begun by American Indians centuries ago.

Afternoon events move to the UM maple sugaring operation on College Avenue Extension for a guided tour of the sugar bush, where the maple sugaring story begins. There will be a tour of the sugar house, where sap is rendered to maple syrup. Children can enjoy a sample of fresh syrup straight from the evaporator.

“We will have a ‘sugar-on-snow’ party, like the early settlers of Maine,” said Patricia Henner, museum director.

A $4-per-child fee for materials is requested. Since space is limited, pre-registration is required. Call 581-4100. Children must be chaperoned.

Program on beavers

The public is invited to join the Orono Land Trust for a discussion of beavers at the annual meeting on Friday, March 28, at Keith Anderson Community Center, Bennoch Road.

Jerry Longcore, a retired wildlife research biologist whose career spans more than 40 years, mostly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will provide insight with “Beavers: America’s Wetland Engineers.”

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments, and Longcore’s presentation at 7 p.m. The trust’s annual meeting will be at 7:45 p.m.

All are welcome to attend.

“No other North American mammal had such far-reaching effects on the cultural and economic development of colonial America and Canada, and on the wetland habitats of the country,” said Longcore. “Beavers are fascinating animals, with a well-deserved title of ‘wetland engineer.'”

Longcore has studied migratory birds, wetlands and contaminants in wildlife and habitats. He was the Orono office leader for the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 1976-2004.

For information about the Orono Land Trust, visit www.oronolandtrust.org.

Verona

‘A Taste of Broadway’

The date is Saturday, March 29. The event is dinner theater in cabaret style. The theme is “A Taste of Broadway.”

In conjunction with Kravings Restaurant and Pub, Route 1, the Riverbend Players will present an evening of entertainment and cuisine.

Seating begins at 5:15 p.m., with the performance at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required – call 469-9900. The cost is $30 a person, gratuity not included.

By special request, one-half of The Grouchy Old Ladies team will serve as guest emcee.