Staff member Jo Barry reports H.O.M.E. Inc., “is a very busy place these days,” as folks there prepare for its Summer Craft Fair and Auction Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 21-22, at its facilities located at the intersection of Route 1 and Schoolhouse Road in Orland.

The event begins with an all-you-can-eat blueberry pancake breakfast with sausage at 8 a.m. Saturday and lots of activities and items of interest for everyone.

Admission for the breakfast is $4 per person.

Children will be able to enjoy horse and wagon rides, dress up for a parade and play games.

Adults will find “crafts galore,” Barry said, “along with Millie’s organic vegetables.”

For lunch, you can enjoy a barbecue, beginning at 11 a.m., with prices depending on what you choose to eat and, for dinner, it’s a fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m.

The cost of that meal is $6 for adults and $4 for children.

“Our young-at-heart will have a special time, too,” Barry said of a 1950s-1960s era Drive-in Car Show from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, followed by a street dance from 6 to 9 p.m., “with music provided by Mid Maine Entertainment.”

Admission to the street dance is $3 per person or $5 for couples.

“Poodle skirts may be the attire of choice, but are not a necessity,” she added. “We just want people to come and enjoy a good time for all.”

Sunday’s events begin with chapel at 9 a.m., featuring soloist Elzadia Parsons. A barbecue begins at 11 a.m. with music to entertain you until the auction begins at 1 p.m.

All proceeds benefit the work of H.O.M.E., an acronym for Homemakers Organized for More Employment.

For more information, call H.O.M.E. at 469-7961.

Ed Lankist, public relations director for the Knights of Columbus Council No. 3172 of Dover-Foxcroft, wrote that the organization is conducting its annual Tootsie Roll Drive today through Saturday, Aug. 21, at participating businesses in Dover-Foxcroft, Sangerville and Guilford.

Hoping to build on the success of recent drives that have enabled the organization to raise $31,000 for the Charlotte White Centers for handicapped citizens of those communities, Lankist and his fellow Knights hope you will purchase one or more of these delicious, time-tested treats.

When you do, you will not only be enjoying their memorable taste, but also the good feeling you get knowing that purchase is helping others.

Last Thursday, I informed you that the Friday evening Bangor Lumberjacks home baseball game would feature the first Halloween Night to benefit Children’s Miracle Network of Eastern Maine Healthcare.

Well, guess what?

The game was rained out.

Therefore, Carol Lackedy told me, that event is now scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, at Winkin Field on the Husson College campus in Bangor.

A silent auction of used, autographed game materials, drawings, gift certificates and a 50-50 drawing is included.

Fans coming to the game wearing a Halloween costume will be admitted free and be entered into special games to win additional prizes.

Also, anyone bringing a bag of nonperishable food for displaced workers from the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. will receive 2-for-1 admission.

For both these worthy causes, and a good time for you, let’s hope this game doesn’t get rained out!

For more information, or to volunteer for the event, call Lackedy at 848-7317.

Congratulations to Herb Hodgkins of Hancock, who is being honored with the “Yankee Magazine” 2004 Barn Raiser Award.

The presentation will be made during a reception sponsored by the Lobster Institute from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the Gallery & Restaurant at Oceanwood Campground in Bunkers Harbor.

According to “Yankee Magazine,” the award “honors the spirit of old-time barn raisings, when people joined hands to create New England’s communities.

“It is presented to those who personify the best of the volunteer spirit.”

Hodgkins is being honored for his more than 30 years of volunteer work with the University of Maine and the Lobster Institute, which he helped found in the mid-1980s when he was president of the Maine Lobster Pound Association.

The public is invited to attend, and you are requested to RSVP by calling the Lobster Institute at 581-1443.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.