Next month, reports Toby Williams, the Paul Bunyan Snowmobile Club will hold its second annual Vintage Snowmobile Ride, and you are invited to be part of this fun event.

The outing begins with coffee, juice and doughnuts at 7:30 a.m., followed by the start of the ride at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Paul Bunyan Snowmobile Club House, which is located just beyond Paul Bunyan Campground on outer Union Street in Bangor.

Williams reports that this event “is the perfect opportunity” for you “to get that old snowmobile out from behind the barn and take it for a nice, relaxing ride down the trail.”

The ride, Williams stresses, is open to anyone, not just for owners of vintage sleds.

For snowmobilers who don’t own an older model, you will have fun being part of the ride as well and even more fun looking over the older models and talking with their owners about what snowmobiling was like in years gone by.

If you want to attend and bring your sled, or for information about this event which, Williams said, is growing in popularity, call him at 332-1322 or e-mail paulbunyanscbangor@hotmail.com.

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The Institute for Civic Leadership announces it will host “Beyond the Basics: A Workshop for Experienced Board Members” 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Unum Learning Center, 123 Darling Ave., South Portland.

The presenter will be Institute for Civic Leadership associate director Suzanne Austin.

Participants who register by Tuesday, Dec. 22, qualify for an early bird discount and pay $60 for the first participant and $50 for each additional participant from the same organization.

After that date, the cost is $70 and $55 respectively.

For information about this workshop “designed, specifically, for those who have a basic appreciation of responsibilities and governance and, especially, for those who have attended ICL’s Core Responsibilities workshop, this intermediate workshop takes you to the next level of board governance understanding,” the release says.

To register, call Shawn Hunt at 773-3254, ext. 100, or e-mail shunt@civicleadership.org.

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Director Joanna Tarrazi reminds you preregistration is requested for children’s programs at Newport Cultural Center, and you should make plans for the next one.

“All Aboard the Polar Express!” is the call for the Newport Cultural Center Polar Express pajama party 4-5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22, at the center, 154 Main St., Newport.

Tarrazi invites youngsters to “wear your warmest PJ’s and join us” for “games, crafts and, of course, a reading of ‘The Polar Express.’”

To make your child’s reservation, call Joanne Elwell at 368-2038 or e-mail joanne@newportmaine.net.

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Heidi Powell e-mailed that the public is invited to a holiday baroque concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 22, at Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono.

Featured works will be of “Christmas or winter themes,” Powell wrote of “Handel’s Messiah; Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Bach’s Christmas oratorio and more.”

Powell and fellow members of the Windhover Ensemble, including Richard Hsu, Anatole Wieck, Lisa Nielson and Patricia Stowell, will perform “on period baroque instruments,” Powell added.

The suggested donation is $15 for adults, free for students, and the audience is invited to attend a reception after the concert.

For information, call Powell at 479-2845 or e-mail fiddleheadheidi@hotmail.com.

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Melissa Glenn of Good Shepherd Food-Bank, based in Auburn, reports that its 2009 Virtual Holiday Food Drive is under way and all donations up to $100,000 will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, by Bank of America.

Good Shepherd Food-Bank provides more than “1 million meals a month to families and individuals in Maine through a network of more than 600 partner agencies,” the release states.

You can obtain information about the Virtual Holiday Food Drive at www.gsfb.org.

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Congratulations and a sincere “well-done” are extended to Brenda Davis, executive director of Cross Roads Ministries and Food Pantry in Old Town, for being able to successfully complete her monthlong journey to raise funds for the eighth annual Maine Credit Union Ending Hunger Walk.

This year, according to the MCU release, despite being injured on Nov. 22 in an accident caused by her gas fireplace, Davis missed only one day on the road, calling the tour that ended Dec. 1, “a place for me to recover.”

This year, her walk included visits to a record-setting 62 communities from Kittery to Madawaska, with Maine credit unions donating nearly $30,000 to helping end hunger in Maine.

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