Bangor

Change in museum hours

The University of Maine Museum of Art has announced a change in hours.

The museum at 40 Harlow St. is now open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays. For information, call 561-3350.

Haunted Hayride

The Paul Bunyan Snowmobile Club will sponsor a Haunted Hayride 6-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29 and 30, at the Paul Bunyan Campground on Union Street. Tickets, available at the campground are $6, or $5 in advance. Participants will experience freaky fun and ghoulish rides. Bring a flashlight for a spooky game of tag. Food will be available.

Candidates Forum

The Bangor Public Library invites the public to its annual Candidates’ Forum on Thursday, Oct. 27, in the library’s Lecture Hall. The school committee candidates’ forum will take place 5:30-6:30 p.m. The City Council candidates’ forum is set for 7-8:30 p.m. The Friends of the Library will provide light refreshments.

Halloween fun

Celebrate Halloween with children under age 12 and join in on the confectionery themed delight of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” This year’s annual Enchanted Forest will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. The event will take place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Sprague’s Nursery. Admission is $2 per person.

Attendees may dress up in costumes or wear everyday clothing. Activities include hayrides, cookie decorating (for an additional fee), pumpkin painting, Halloween face tattoos, Halloween sun catchers, a bounce house and Halloween games. A “Treasure Hunt Trail” will lead to gifts and goodies.

Book talk

Maine author Cathie Pelletier will talk about her latest novel, “Running the Bulls,” at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the Bangor Public Library. Pelletier, a native of Allagash, is known for her witty novels, many of which are set in Maine. “Running the Bulls” is the tale of a disgruntled retiree whose plan to emulate Hemingway completely disrupts his life.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo commented, “Nobody walks the knife-edge of hilarity and heartbreak more confidently than Cathie Pelletier. In ‘Running the Bulls’ she’s at her skillful, sure-footed best.”

Pelletier’s books will be available for purchase and signing.

Stained-glass talk

Ralph Parks, stained-glass studio artist, will speak about his art at noon Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Bangor Public Library. He is one of many local artists and artisans who are participating in the library’s Brown Bag Lunch series. He will talk about his work and answer questions.

Camera club

Art Vaughn will present “Best of New England Camera Club” photos at the Eastern Maine Camera Club meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at Bangor Parks and Recreation, 647 Main St. He also will critique local club members’ slides and prints.

The public is invited to attend. Call 942-9469 to obtain information.

Airmen of Note

The United States Air Force’s jazz ensemble, The Airmen of Note, one of the nation’s best big bands, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, at Bangor High School.

Concert admission is free. To obtain advance tickets, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, along with your request to: Airmen of Note Tickets, Attn: Music Department, Bangor High School, 885 Broadway, Bangor 04401.

Kenduskeag Recital Series

Pianist Patricia Stowell will give a lecture and recital, “The Russians Are Coming,” as part of the Kenduskeag Recital Series, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at the G. Peirce Webber Campus Center, Peabody Hall, Husson College. Music composed by Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff and Sergei Prokofiev will be on the program.

Stowell is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music and Northwestern University. She has performed as a soloist with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, as part of the Kilgore Piano Recitals and as a chamber musician and soloist across the United States and Europe. She is a music scholar with an in-depth knowledge of composer Scriabin and the Russian Symbolist movement.

The lecture and recital are funded in part by the academic affairs office at Husson College.

Tickets are $10. Call 941-7129 to obtain more information.

Halloween dance

The Penobscot Regional Communications Center staff, in conjunction with other area public safety personnel, will hold a Halloween Costume Dance on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Bangor Elks Club, featuring the band Arizona.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. Those who wish to attend must be age 21 or older. A cash bar will be available. Appetizers and soft drinks will be provided.

Local media personalities will judge costumes and award prizes. Door prizes will be awarded, there will be 50-50 raffle and raffle tables.

Tickets may be purchased for $10 per person or $15 per couple at the Bangor Elks Club on the Odlin Road. Tickets also may be purchased at Dino’s Pizza, 393 North Main St. in Brewer.

If blood donations are made at the American Red Cross Blood Donor Center, 900 Hammond St. in Bangor, up until the night of the event, tickets may be purchased at half price. Donations also may be made.

Birth Night

Eastern Maine Medical Center’s labor and delivery department will hold its second annual Birth Night 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the hospital’s Mason Auditorium.

The event will provide free information and education to expectant mothers and their partners. Participants will learn about the services offered at the hospital and by agencies in the region, have the opportunity to preregister to deliver at EMMC and join the Baby Club. Short workshops on baby massage and prenatal yoga also will be conducted.

The event is free, refreshments will be served and door prizes awarded. To obtain more information, call 973-8742 or 973-8739.

Brewer

Photo album classes

The Brewer Parks and Recreation Department will hold family photo album classes 7-9 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 20-Nov. 17.

The class will show participants how to turn photos into treasured family heirlooms, especially for those with graduating seniors.

Participants will learn how to organize and preserve photos, give information on photo-safe materials and give tips on cropping and page layouts.

The fee for the class is $20 for Brewer residents, $24 for others. New participants will be provided with a starter pack and are asked to arrive at 6:30 p.m. for introduction. New participant fees are $25 for Brewer residents and $29 for others. To obtain information, call 989-5199.

Pumpkin decorating

The Brewer post office will sponsor a pumpkin decorating contest for children ages 6-12 at noon Saturday, Oct. 22. The event will last two to three hours. Postmaster Michael Mitchell and-or his designee will select two winners who will receive prizes. The winning pumpkin will be displayed in the lobby of the post office through Halloween Day.

The Hershey Co. is holding a national decorating competition – Hershey’s Sweeten Up Your Pumpkin Decorating Contest – through Nov. 30. All pumpkins decorated at the postal event are eligible to be entered into the national Hershey’s contest. The winning decorated pumpkin will be photographed with its decorator and entered into the national contest by a postal representative.

Entry forms for the Hershey’s national contest will be available for all participants. Customers may fill out the form, photograph their pumpkins and send both to the address on the entry form to enter.

Kiwanis news

The Brewer Kiwanis Club received two ribbons for outstanding interclubbing from the New England District Convention. The group took an Early Bird Award and came in second in New England in the Green Division.

Brewer Kiwanis meets 6-7 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant. Next month, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the group will meet Wednesday, Nov. 9 and 16.

Iron Dog Challenge

Bear Brook Kennel held its fifth annual Iron Dog Challenge for kids on Sept. 17. Despite the rain, 18 youngsters competed in three age groups.

Crystal Macomber and her dog Kelsey, won in the 5- to 8-year-old group; Abraham Ross and his dog Toby, won in the 9- to 12-year-old group; and Eben Jordan and his dog Manny won in the 13- to 16-year-old group.

Each dog competed in three categories: an obstacle course, tennis ball carry and the fastest dog race. To learn more about the Iron Dog Challenge, call 989-7979.

Bucksport

Identity theft prevention

As part of the Successful Aging Series, the program Identity Theft Prevention will be presented by social worker Dottie VanHorn, 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Bucksport Senior Center, Outer Broadway. The program is sponsored by the Eastern Agency on Aging and the Bucksport Bay Healthy Communities’ senior resource committee.

In 2004, more than 9 million American adults became victims of identity theft, according to the Better Business Bureau and Javelin & Research. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and unsuspecting elders may be particularly vulnerable. Thieves target older adults to lure them into giving out personal information and the victim may not be aware of the crime until they try to get credit or apply for a loan.

VanHorn, caregiver resource specialist with Eastern Agency on Aging, has decades of experience in assisting elders and family members in coping with such circumstances.

VanHorn will define identity theft and its consequences. She will outline ways an identity thief can get your personal information as well as what the thief does with the information. Participants will be advised on ways to protect themselves against such a crime and what to do if they become a victim of identity theft. How to prevent identity theft when it is committed by friends, family members or service providers also will be covered.

The Successful Aging Series is designed to assist elders and their family members in learning the skills and resources related to the key planning areas of aging, which include legal issues, home alterations, health and safety issues, financial preparation, nutrition, active aging and family communication. For more information on other Successful Aging Programs, call Mary Jane Bush at 469-6682.

Hampden

Make a Difference Day

Created by USA Weekend magazine and in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, National Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. It is a day designed to put your own cares on hold for one day to care for someone else.

This year, the Hampden Congregational Church and the Hampden Food Cupboard have organized a walkathon on Oct. 22 to benefit the Help for Hampden fund.

The fund was created three years ago to help neighbors in need with fuel, food, medicine and other basic necessities. People from Hampden, Winterport and Newburgh have used the fund at critical times in their lives. Rising fuel costs and the events in Louisiana and Mississippi have raised awareness of the poverty, hunger and vulnerability that is just one paycheck away for many families.

Local people can help by collecting pledges and walking either a 1.2-mile course or the Four-Mile Square in Hampden with family, friends and co-workers on Saturday, Oct. 22. The course begins at the old gym at Hampden Academy.

Registration begins at 7:45 a.m.; the walk will start at 9 a.m. Preregistration is not necessary. On the day of the walk, participants are urged to bring a personal care or nonperishable food item for the Hampden Food Cupboard.

Last year, according to USA Weekend magazine, more than 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on Make A Difference Day. The project has been selected as an award-winning Point of Light three years in a row. To obtain information and to pick up a pledge sheet, call Melanie Sachs at 862-5248.

Orono

‘Journalism Matters’

A celebration of the book, “Journalism Matters,” written by Peter Cox, co-founder of the Maine Times, is planned for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at Special Collections, Fogler Library, University of Maine.

Panelists Phyllis Austin, longtime environmental writer for Maine Times; Matthew Conyers, a UMaine senior journalism student and editor-in-chief of The Maine Campus; Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News health reporter and former Maine Times reporter; Mark Kelly, who teaches in the University of Maine Department of Communication and Journalism; and UMaine journalism professor Kathryn Olmstead will discuss journalism in Maine.

Verona

Christmas craft fair

The 21st Verona Island Christmas Craft Fair will be held 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Verona Island Town Hall.

Luncheon and baked goods, custom-made crafts and creative gifts will be featured. A raffle that includes four drawings for heating oil and more than 25 gift certificates will be held. Table space is available at $15 per table or $7.50 per half table. Proceeds benefit the scholarship fund.

For information about raffle tickets or table space, call Cora Webster at 469-3740, or Marlene Smith at 469-7992.

Winterport

Planning meeting

A planning meeting for the Winterport Live Nativity, a town tradition since 1967, is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at St. Gabriel’s Church. This is the only meeting that will be held to organize the event. The meeting will last about one hour and tasks will be assigned. To learn more or to volunteer, call Beth Thieme at 223-4088.