Bangor

Sacred choral music

Sacred choral music with the Chamber Choir of St. John’s Catholic Church will be presented at:

. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at St. John’s Catholic Church, 207 York St., Bangor.

. 7 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor.

The program, directed by Kevin Birch, will include works by Bruckner, Durufle, Handl, Lassus, Stanford and Thompson. The events are free, but donations will be appreciated.

Artwork at the museum

Cheryl Beitzell, a paper artist from Bangor, is currently showing her “Neighborhood Stars,” an exhibit of sculpted paper suns, each with its own imaginative personality, at Maine Discovery Museum. Stop by to bask in the glow of Dude, Cloe, the Sunrise Surprise, or the Death Valley Diva, You’ll Hate to Say Goodbye, and To your Old Flame. The suns are available for sale for $35 each.

Robin Gardella is showing whimsical soft sculptures in the museum’s Snack Gallery. See colorful frogs, fish and butterflies, and make up your own stories to go along with them. Her work is for sale, with part of the proceeds going to support the museum.

Also on display are some jazzy prints and folk art paintings created by students from Family Art Night, a visual art program that was held October through May at the museum. The program is sponsored in part by Community Health and Counseling.

All artwork is on display until the end of May. Museum hours are 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6.50.

Child protective system

The GEAR Parent Network will offer a workshop for parents and providers 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, May 21, at WINGS, 900 Hammond St.

The topic will be “Can They Do That? A Parent’s Guide To Maine’s Child Protective System.” Guest speaker will be Ferdinand “Andy” Slater.

Also covered will be “Help! There’s A Caseworker At My Door;” “You Have Rights, So Use Them;” “Policy, Procedures and Timelines;” “Caseworkers, Are They Friend Or Foe?;” “Administrative Versus Judicial;” “When To Hire A Good Lawyer Who Will Advocate For You and How To Find One;” and “Reputable Resources.”

The workshop is free to parents. The cost to professional staff is $10 at the door, or attend free accompanied by a parent.Space is limited. Registrations will be accepted through May 18. To register or obtain information, call Helen Jones at 564-3361 or (800) 264-9224.

Firefighters’ fundraiser

The Bangor Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 772 with the assistance of ECMG is conducting its annual fundraising event. Local businesses are invited to participate by sponsoring an ad in the 2007 program booklet to be distributed at a baseball game at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at Mansfield Stadium. Area residents also will be asked to contribute.

The baseball game will feature Red Sox alumni players. There will be opportunities for celebrity autographs and photographs.

Those who help with the fundraiser will receive complimentary tickets to the game and an official receipt.

Working with children and families

The Penquis Child Care Resource Development Center will offer training in Weaving Diversity into Our Work with Children and Families 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 16 at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St., Bangor. The cost is $15.

In the six-hour Maine Roads to Quality Core Knowledge training, participants will explore personal memories, be introduced to concepts of the cultural lens and anti-bias approach and practice responses using work-based scenarios.

Individuals are encouraged to call in advance to ensure space. For more information or to register, call 973-3533.

Historical drama

Amid the dramas, comedies and farces that comprise Penobscot Theatre’s Northern Writes New Play Festival, along comes a quirky slice of Maine history. Nobody truly knows why George Quimby of Belfast sabotaged his father Phineas Parkhurst Quimby’s literary legacy. But Laura Emack’s carefully researched “The Deconstruction of George Quimby” posits a plausible explanation that fits within the historical record.

Beginning in 1921 and linked by actual snippets from The Republican Journal, the play moves backward in time, ultimately unearthing a flippant and fateful promise that George makes to his powerful father.

Several of Emack’s plays have been presented locally as staged readings.

In 2004 she edited “At Play: An Anthology of Maine Drama,” published by Levant Heritage Library and funded, in part, by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council.

“The Deconstruction of George Quimby” will be performed at the Bangor Opera House at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 20. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased by calling the box office at 942-3333, by e-mail at info@penobscottheatre.org or at the door. Penobscot Theatre’s season-ticket holders may attend free.

An audience “talkback” will follow the performance. The playwright hopes that the Bangor reading will lead to a full production.

Brewer

Annual plant sale

The Brewer Garden and Bird Club’s annual plant sale will be held at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 2, at the Brewer Historical Society at 199 Wilson St.

In conjunction with the plant sale, the historical society will hold a white elephant sale and sell coffee and muffins. The fundraising event helps maintain the Clewley Museum.

The Brewer Garden and Bird Club offers for sale perennials that club members have dug from their gardens. The club strives to educate its members by featuring knowledgeable speakers at its meetings.

Money raised from the sale supports educational and civic development activities in Brewer including planting and maintaining a park on State Street; planting flowers at the post office, high school, boat landing and Blue Star Memorial Highway marker and putting planters at Indian Trail Park. For more information about the club, call Carol Smith at 989-1083.

Bucksport

Talent show auditions

The Riverbend Players of Bucksport are seeking acts to add to their annual show at the Alamo Theatre, Main Street. Show dates are 7 p.m. Thursday, July 26, and 7 p.m. Sunday, July 29.

Those who have special talent they would like to showcase are invited to audition.

A variety of acts, performing in a setting similar to the Home Prairie Companion, are needed. The show format will consist of a family sitting around a brand new radio, listening to the various acts. The stage will be split in two, with the family on one side, and the talent show acts on the other.

Talent show acts do not have to be of the era before television.

Auditions will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at the Jewett Community Center, Bridge Street, Bucksport.

Those who cannot make the audition date should e-mail suzi@riverbendplayers.com or call Suzi Leeman at 469-5885.

Hampden

Plant and pie sale

Hampden Garden Club members are preparing for their annual perennial plant and pie sale 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at Harmony Hall, Kennebec Road.

The ladies are digging and potting perennials from their gardens and will offer a variety for sale. Homemade pies also will be featured at the event.

Proceeds from the sale support Harmony Hall, one of Hampden’s historic buildings.

Hermon

Girl Scout volunteers

Girl Scout volunteers are invited to the spring 1Voice meeting, a format designed to give Girl Scout volunteers and older girl members the information and resources needed for the rest of the Girl Scout year. The District 6 1Voice meeting will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at Hermon High School, 2415 Route 2, Hermon.

General information will include news about spring registration and charter membership in the new Girl Scouts of Maine, helpful information on end-of-the-year financial reports, sale information from the Girl Scout Shop, training on what Daisy leaders need to know about the Brownie Girl Scout level and time for networking and sharing.

Those who plan to attend the district meeting should e-mail amitchell@abnakigsc.org or (800) 464-3858 to be assured of enough handout materials. For more information about the 1Voice meeting or to get information on becoming a Girl Scout volunteer, e-mail Amy Rouse at anrouse@abnakigsc.org, Kate McCarthy at kmccarthy@abnakigsc.org or call the Girl Scout office, 989-7474 or (800) 464-3858.

Orono

Auction helping new library

The Orono Public Library Foundation will hold an auction on Saturday, June 9, to benefit the Campaign for a New Public Library at the Buchanan Alumni House, 160 College Ave., on the University of Maine campus.

The silent auction begins at 7 p.m. and the live auction at 9 p.m. Jazz music, hors d’oeuvres, desserts and a cash bar will enliven the event. John Cheney of Realty of Maine will serve as auctioneer.

Items up for bid include: one week in Hawaii, vacation home in Hancock Point for one week, closet clear-out and personal shopper with Shop Girl Kristen Andresen, dinner for two at Dirigo Pine’s private dining room with overnight stay at the Black Bear Inn, five-course Italian dinner in your home by Chef Dave Pickering, two-hour limousine service for 12, paintings by Arlene K. Thompson and Polly Crecker, Margarita’s night for 20, tickets to University of Maine athletics events, artwork from local artists, photography packages, Bangor Symphony Orchestra season passes and Maine Center for the Arts tickets, an outing on a lobster boat, boat tours, an evening of violin with Nathan Lesser, five-course dinner and wine-tasting for six, hand-painted table and chair, gift certificates to local shops and restaurants, snowshoes, orchids, massages, yoga classes, chicken pies and more.

The event is sponsored by Dirigo Pines, Rainstorm Consulting, The Rock Team of ERA Dawson Bradford Real Estate, and Noyes Law Office of Ellsworth.

Admission is $35, $65 couple. Tickets are available at the library and The Store/Ampersand.

Those who wish to donate an item for the auction should call auction chairwoman Sarah Kenney at 991-3734 or e-mail skenney@sbkconsulting.com.

Community variety show

Orono Community Theatre will present a community variety show, “One Night Only,” at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Keith Anderson Community House, 19 Bennoch Road.

“One Night Only” is directed by Monique Bouchard, with piano accompaniment provided by Joe Arsenault. Hosted by Telly Coolong, the show features a variety of humorous, incredible and sensational talents.

Musical numbers ranging from show tunes to sea shanties will be offered by Emilie Seavey, Doug Hall and Allison Lane of Orono, Dave Attean of Old Town and Elisheva and Elianna Mizrachi of Bangor.

The show also features other Orono residents – storytelling by Elmer Baxter, a comedy sketch by David Dauphinee and Gillian Hall, and belly dancer Courtney Jackson of Bradley.

Jae Rose and Brian Hubbard also will perform.

Tickets are $5 and are available at the Orono Pharmacy or at the door. For more information, call Orono Parks and Recreation Department at 866-5065.

Children’s bug-a-thon

Are all ladybeetles the same? How do bugs locate each other in such a giant world? What type of insects can be found in streams? Forests? Gardens? Your own front yard? Find the answer to these and other “buggy” questions by attending the third annual Edith M. Patch Center children’s bug-a-thon, 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at the Page Farm and Home Museum on the University of Maine campus.

Children of all ages are encouraged to learn about insect collecting, identification, behavior and habitats. There will be a “bug hunt” around the grounds of the Page Museum and professional scientists will help attendees identify the species they find. There will be indoor creative activities and opportunities to observe closely certain insect species and learn about their roles in nature.

This is one of a continuing series of gatherings sponsored by the Edith Marion Patch Center for Entomology, the Environment and Education. It is hosted at the Page Farm and Home Museum.

The forum series focuses on science and the environment, in celebration of the life and work of Edith Marion Patch 1876-1954, the first woman scientist employed by the University of Maine. Patch was a world-renowned entomologist, a pioneer environmentalist and author of nature stories for children.

For information about the Patch Center Forums or the Friends of Dr. Edith Marion Patch, call Tiffany Wilson, 581-3288, or e-mail tiffany.wilson@umit.maine.edu.

Green Thumb sale

The 51st annual Green Thumb sale will take place 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St. Although specific varieties cannot be guaranteed, a large selection of flowering and foliage perennial plants, bulbs, saplings and shrubs, and annual plants appropriate for hanging baskets and flower boxes will be available.

Volunteers will be on hand to give advice about the best plants for shade, full sun, morning or afternoon sun.

Proceeds support church outreach programs.

Winterport

Stream cleanup

The Cove Brook Watershed Council is sponsoring a stream cleanup in Winterport. The purpose of the event is to enhance water quality and establish ownership of a resource that is important to the community.

The event is part of the regional cleanup event organized by the Bangor Area Storm Water Group in Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Orono, Old Town, Veazie and Milford.

The cleanup schedule is:

. 9:15 a.m. Saturday, May 19, meet at the Victoria Grant Civic Center.

. 9:30 a.m., travel to cleanup sites.

. 11:30 a.m., wrap up cleanup activities.

. Noon, celebrate at the Brewer Auditorium with a free volunteer recognition barbecue.

Those interested in volunteering for the cleanup should call Gayle Zydlewski at 862-3382 or e-mail cbwc@covebrook.org.

Volunteers should come prepared for the weather and walking along the stream. Gloves for cleanup will be available. Children under 18 need to be accompanied by an adult. T-shirts will be provided to the first 30 volunteers.