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Bangor

Music at the library

The library will present its summer music series at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in the park next to the library, or in the Lecture Hall if weather is inclement:

. Bangor’s Spontaneous Jazz Ensemble, July 2, Lecture Hall. Paul Riechmann said, “A few years ago, I bought a standup acoustic bass, thinking that people would ask me to play with them, which is true.” Hear him play with Andy Laidman, trumpet; Thorny Merriam, piano; Ed Blush, drums; and Steve McKay, guitar.

. Hancock County’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society, July 9.

. Lidral Jazz Duo, July 16.

. Sebasticook Valley Community Band, July 23.

. Heart of Maine Chorus, July 30.

A calendar is available at the library.

Fun at the Bangor Library

Summer reading fun with an international flavor continues at the Bangor Public Library with “Around the World in 49 Days.”

Craft days at the library are Mondays, and at 10 a.m. June 30, an Antarctic craft will be featured. The Antarctic theme continues at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 1, with “A Trip to Antarctica” with Beth Parks.

Children 24 months old and younger are invited to Mother Goose time at 9:15 Wednesdays, for 20 minutes of stories, rhymes, music and bounces in the Story Room.

Experience “Totally Antarctica” at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 2, for 2- to 5-year-olds and mom, dad or caregiver.

Stories, games, songs and rhymes from a different continent each week let everyone travel the world.

Celebrate Red, White & Blue Day at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 3, with Bangor High School ROTC leading a flag ceremony. Then there will be a parade up Harlow Street, field day games and ice cream.

The library will be closed on Friday, July 4.

Be sure to pick up Summer Reading Program schedules at the library. International fun continues in July and August.

Bangor Band concerts

Bangor Band concerts are held 7-8 p.m. Tuesdays, except for the Independence Day concert on Friday, July 4.

. June 24, at the Bandstand.

. July 1, Fairmount Park.

. July 4, at the Bandstand.

. July 8, at the Bandstand, sponsored by Husson College.

. July 15, at the Bandstand, sponsored by Merrill Bank.

. July 22, the Bangor Waterfront, sponsored by St. Joseph Healthcare.

. July 29, Chapin Park, sponsored by Miller Drug.

. Aug. 5, at the Bandstand, sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank.

. Aug. 12, at the Bandstand.

. Aug. 13, Old Town Library Concert, Waterfront Park in Old Town.

The Bangor Band was organized in 1859, making it one of the oldest community bands in the country.

Photography by Grandmaison

Liz Grandmaison, an award-winning photographer who lives and works in Bangor, is showing her work at Husson College’s Robert E. White Gallery through July 12. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The gallery is located in the Campus Center, Peabody Hall. Information about the show is available at 941-7129 or e-mail Donahuem@Husson.edu.

Grandmaison moved to Maine in 1990 after graduating from Penn State University. Her background includes experience in marketing and graphic design.

“Photography gives me an opportunity to share my fascination with the subjects that move me,” she explained. “While my work spans a wide range of subject matter, several motifs reveal themselves – structure, balance, patterns and the play of light across surfaces. There is also a strong sense of design throughout my images. For this, I credit the years I have spent as a freelance graphic designer.”

Grandmaison’s growing passion is macro or close-up photography. Her passion for detail has led to a long-term project documenting Maine’s luthiers, builders of stringed instruments.

The project, “The Music You Can’t Hear,” explores the work of artisans who still use their hands to shape wood into gorgeous tools used to express the artistry of music.

The project is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. A selection of images from the project are displayed in the Circa, Goldenberg, Pantheon, Phoenix and Slobodkin Galleries on her Web site, www.lizgrandmaison.com.

Chinese School activities

The Bangor Chinese School has taught Chinese language and culture to Maine children and adults for four years. This week, children attending Chinese Dragon Camp at the Richard Dyke Center for Family Business, Husson College, are having fun and learning Chinese language and culture in an immersion mode, with a standard-based curriculum taught by certified teachers, said school President Jing Zhang.

Recently, Zhang attended a meeting of Building Global Maine sponsored by the Governor’s International Relations Planning Committee, which advocates raising global citizens. The nonprofit Bangor Chinese School, she said, is doing just that.

The school is the first and only Chinese school that offers regular lessons in both Chinese language and culture to children and adults in Maine, Zhang said. To improve the school’s teaching quality, she attended the National Chinese Language Conference, organized by the Asia Society and the College Board, in April in Washington, D.C.

In four years, some 1,000 people have been enrolled in the school’s many programs.

The school’s mission, Zhang said, is to connect America with China by teaching Chinese language and culture and offering the opportunity to study, teach, do business or travel in China; and to enhance and improve friendship, communication and cooperation between the countries and their people.

The school offers Chinese lessons, Chinese culture study seminars, Chinese Dragon Camp, tourist training and information about traveling in China, an annual trip to China, information on teaching in China, and interpreter services.

Zhang said goals also include leading a business trip to China to enhance business cooperation, helping public schools set up Chinese programs by sending certified Chinese teachers to teach there, working with the College Board and the Maine Department of Education to contact and assist Chinese guest teachers, and creating qualified Chinese teachers to meet the needs of schools statewide.

The school will hold a Teaching and Learning Chinese Seminar in October.

For more information, contact Jing Zhang at 990-0710, or visit www.bangorchinese.com.

Paint Bangor Day

The Bangor Art Society invites artists of all ages and experience to take part in its first annual Paint Bangor Day by painting their favorite Bangor scene on Saturday, July 26, and submitting it for a silent auction that evening.

Registration for the event is set for 8-10 a.m. Saturday at Bennett Gallery, 34 Central St., next to Lippincott Books.

After registering, artists have until 3:30 p.m. to complete their paintings and bring their finished works to the Bennett Gallery for the silent auction and reception, 5-7 p.m.

Fifty percent of the auction price will go to the artist and 50 percent to the Bangor Art Society, to help fund programs throughout the year.

First-, second- and third-place prizes will be awarded to the paintings receiving the most votes from auction attendees. For information, contact Kristborg Whitney at 942-3868, e-mail Kristborg@aol.com, or Leigh Butler at 990-5783, leighbutler@midmaine.com.

Community theater auditions

Bangor Community Theatre will hold auditions for its upcoming show, “Labours of Love: A New Musical Revue,” book by H. Libby.

Auditions will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, July 11, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday, July 13, at Columbia Street Baptist Church, Columbia Street, Bangor.

Callbacks will take place 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 16.

Be prepared to sing a song that shows your vocal range. A short dance segment will be part of the audition.

Rehearsals begin Wednesday, Aug. 13. Heather Libby will direct the show and Kevin Bate is the musical director.

The show will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20-21, at Peakes Auditorium, Bangor High School; and Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 25-28, at The Grand in Ellsworth.

Those interested in sponsoring the show may call Nancy Dymond at 570-3222 for more information.

Historical novels author

Author Susan Page Davis of Clinton will sign her new book, “Maine Brides,” 2-4:30 p.m. Friday, June 27, at Bangor Wal-Mart; and 5:30-8 p.m. Friday, June 27, at Brewer Wal-Mart.

“Maine Brides” is a three-in-one collection of Davis’ historical novels set in Maine. The first, “The Prisoner’s Wife,” set in 1720, won first place in the short historical category of both the Inspiration Readers’ Choice Contest of 2007 and the Book of the Year awards presented by American Christian Fiction Writers. In it, Jack Hunter proposes to Lucy Hamblin, expecting that he will be hung the next day for a murder he didn’t commit.

The second book, “The Castaway’s Bride,” takes place in Portland in 1820, the year Maine became a state. Edward Hunter returns from five years at sea, presumed dead after a shipwreck, and learns his fiance is engaged to marry his cousin.

The third book, “The Lumberjack’s Lady,” takes place in central Maine in 1895, when a lumber baron brings a French Canadian lumberjack home from one of his lumber camps to work in his front office. He would never consider Etienne an eligible suitor for his daughter, but would she? The book is a finalist in the 2008 Inspiration Readers’ Choice Contest and a nominee for the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year.

Davis is the author of 15 published books, mostly in the historical romance and romantic suspense genres. For more information about her work, visit www.susanpagedavis.com.

Castine

Library book sale

The Friends of the Witherle Library will hold the 38th annual book sale 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at the library on the Castine Town Common. Proceeds go toward library improvements and in support of its many programs. Good quality books in all categories, including special and rare books, will be available. Additional book sales are held the last Saturday of each month through autumn.

The book sale takes place the same day at the annual Village Fair at Trinitarian Congregational Church on Main Street, around the corner from the library.

For more information, call Elise Adams, book sale coordinator, at 326-9576.

Hampden

Strawberry Festival

It’s strawberry time again and the parishioners of Hampden Highlands United Methodist Church will hold their annual Strawberry Festival 5-6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at the church on Kennebec Road.

The menu is ham, potato salad, tossed salads, three-bean salads, macaroni salads, gelatin salads, strawberry shortcake, tea and coffee. Quarts of strawberries will be available for purchase.

The cost for the meal is $7, $4 children. Proceeds benefit the church and its programs. For more information, call coordinator Debbie Boss at 862-3212 or the church office at 862-4195.

Old Town

Yard sale for animal orphans

The Old Town-Orono Animal Orphanage will hold a yard sale to benefit the animals at the shelter 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at the Old Town garage, Airport Road.

All proceeds benefit the Animal Orphanage, which takes in stray animals from the Old Town-Orono area and gives them a safe place to live while they wait patiently for a home of their own. The dedication of everyone involved is high, but so are the expenses.

Some animals, not adoptable for various reasons, live out their lives at the orphanage. This is an expense, as well.

For information, call Margaret Baker at the Animal Orphanage at 827-8777.

Music at the museum

Pam Martin and the Y-Players will present a musical revue and variety show at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 29, at the Old Town Museum, Main Street. The event is free. There is plenty of free parking and the museum is handicapped-accessible. For more information, call the museum at 827-7526.