BAR HARBOR, Maine — The Maine Sea Coast Mission will host its 8th Annual Sunbeam Awards Gala beginning with a cocktail hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at the Bar Harbor Club. Following dinner, honorees Edith Dixon and Ralph Stanley will be recognized after which Brian Catell and the Jump City Jazz will entertain. The cost is $125 per person with patron levels at $180, $300, $600 and $1,200. For more information, call Sarah Clemens at 288-5097 or visit www.seacoastmission.org.
Ellsworth Antiques Show to host floral shows
ELLSWORTH, Maine — The Boston Private Bank and Trust Company will present top design floral arrangements during the Ellsworth Antiques Show at 10 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 18-20, at Woodlawn Museum. Guests can purchase a $15 combination ticket that includes admission to the floral shows and a tour of Woodlawn. The show begins with a Gala Preview Party at 5 p.m. and a dinner at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17. For more information or to make reservations for the special events, call 667-8671 or visit www.woodlawnmuseum.org.
Service of Evensong at Christ Church in Eastport
EASTPORT, Maine — A Service of Evensong will be sung at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 14, at Christ Church, 21 Key St. in Eastport. The ecumenical choir directed by Greg Noyes will be singing anthems by Anerio, Palestrina, Victoria, des Pres, Bach, Gounod, Aichinger and Praetorius. For more information, call 853-0989.
Annual antique show Aug. 20 in Blue Hill
BLUE HILL, Maine — The Jonathan Fisher House will be holding its annual antique show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Blue Hill Fairgrounds. In its fourth season, this popular fundraiser is an old-fashioned outdoor antique fair featuring a wide variety of well-known dealers from around New England with specialties for every taste, from early American to mid-century modern, including art and decorative objects. All proceeds benefit the Jonathan Fisher House, a historic house museum in Blue Hill. For more information, call 374-5583.
Child care opportunites offered in Calais
CALAIS, Maine — Child Care Opportunities Resource Development Center will offer a training session called “Introduction to Infant Mental Health: Issues and Practices.” The session will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 and 24, and 6-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 14-15, at Washington County Community College in Calais.
This 18-hour training is designed for child care providers, home visitors and other persons working with families with young children. The training will provide specific information on attachment, temperament, ‘fit’ and the capacities of the newborn.
Persons wishing to attend must commit to the four training sessions. The training price is $15 and pre-registration is required by calling Joy at 667-2467.
Washington County enrolls students in construction program
CALAIS, Maine — Students enrolled in Washington County Community College’s building construction program this fall will be helping to renovate a campus house.
The house is now the Center for Construction and Excellence and is located across Route 1 from the community college. The house is part of a hands-on teaching tool available not only to students in the building construction program but also students in the electrical, plumbing and heating programs.
Although the building construction program is a one-year certificate, the college is considering developing a two-year program.
Tribes of the Dawn Land Cultural and Heritage Days on tap Down East
INDIAN TOWNSHIP, Maine — The Passamaquoddy Tribe will hold its second annual Tribes of the Dawn Land Cultural and Heritage Days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, August 20 and 21. Admission is free and this is an alcohol, drug and smoke free event.
Featured will be cultural crafts from the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac Tribes: traditional handcrafted one-of-a-kind ash splint and sweetgrass baskets, flutes, dream catchers, birch bark and quill baskets, beaded and quill jewelry, wood carvings, native dolls, walking sticks and art works. There will also be a display of numerous books about Maine tribes and a book signing by Donald Soctomah, writer and historic preservation officer for the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
This year’s celebration commemorates distinguished Passamaquoddy Tomah Joseph (1837-1914), who was noted for picture etching on birch bark and birch bark canoes and was special guide for the Franklin D. Roosevelt family on Campobello Island. Following the grand entry at noon, descendents of Tomah Joseph will participate in a ceremony to honor his memory.
Each day features traditional native drumming, dancing and storytelling as well as native foods and a raffle consisting of native crafts and donations from local businesses and people. There will be a 50-50 raffle to benefit the Passamaquoddy Museum. The drawings will be on Sunday afternoon.
Guest presenters include David Moses Bridges, internationally noted Passamaquoddy birch bark canoe artisan, who will speak about the art, process and history of building birch bark canoes; Micmac David Sanipass, a respected storyteller and a traditional flute maker; Passamaquoddy John Oliver will demonstrate and explain the process of ash pounding to make ash strips for traditional baskets and Fredda Paul, a Passamaquoddy elder, will present fast-disappearing knowledge of healing with native plants which has been passed down for 12,000 years.
On Saturday there will be a Wabanaki Canoe Race starting at 1 p.m. with a youth division and adult division and on Sunday the Passamaquoddy Museum at Indian Township, on Route 1, will be open with a special program 9-11 a.m. There will be a video presentation and talk about Passamaquoddy Archeological Studies.
This event is sponsored by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Grand Lake Stream Area Chamber of Commerce, and donations were received from Indian Township Health Center, Indian Township Forestry Dept., Indian Township fire and police departments, Indian Township Game Wardens, First Bank, Machias Savings Bank, Indian Rock Camps, Bellmard Inn and anonymous donors.
For more information, contact Sandra L. Smith at bellmardinn@myfairpoint.net or call 796-2261.
Maine Farm Days set for Clinton
CLINTON, Maine — Maine Farm Days is scheduled this year for August 24 and 25 at Misty Meadows Farm on the Hill Road in Clinton.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is free and open to the public. A chicken lunch, sponsored by Pine Tree Camp, will be served each day.
The event includes many activities for both farmers and nonfarmers alike. There will be a children’s learning center, craft tent, farmers market, educational speakers and presentations, agribusiness exhibits, equipment dealers and wagon tours.
Misty Meadows Farm is owned and operated by John and Belinda Stoughton of Clinton. Currently, 38,000 pounds of milk are shipped daily to Oakhurst Dairy in Portland with an average of 87 pounds per cow for their 530 cow herd. The Stoughton’s have a total of 850 dairy animals.
Heifers start in individual calf hutches and graduate to group housing in a three-sided barn. Cows are housed in three open-fronted, triple-row, free stall barns. Currently, the herd averages 26,000 pounds of milk per cow, per lactation.
The farm manages over 900 acres of cropland to produce feed for their herd, 490 acres are planted to silage corn annually and 410 acres are in grass or hay production. Overall, Misty Meadows Produces 9,600 tons of corn silage and 4,000 tons of grass silage.
Maine Farm Days is a collaborative effort between Maine Farm Days, Inc., the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Maine Department of Agriculture Food and Rural Resources. The farm thanks Hammond Tractor, Kramer’s Equipment, Pine Tree Camp, Northeast Ag, Feed Commodities International, Maine Antique Tractor Club and many farms across the state.
For more information on the 2011 Maine Farm Days, go to www.mainefarmdays.com.
Business start-up series on tap Down East
MACHIAS, Maine — Down East Business Alliance offers a 15-session NxLevel-certified small-business planning and start-up series beginning Wednesday, September 21, for Washington County entrepreneurs who have owned their business for a short time or who seek to start a small business in the county.
Any for-profit business owner or future business owner who is willing to commit to attending fifteen sessions is eligible to join. The Incubator Without Walls sessions will provide a wide network of peers and the opportunity to apply for small business improvement grants.
DBA, a division of Washington Hancock Community Agency, has been a well-known resource for technical assistance and business education in Washington and Hancock counties since 1996. Having completed nearly 40 Incubator Without Walls series since 1996, DBA has been part of the growth and development of almost 400 small businesses from Calais and Princeton to Bucksport and Stonington whose entrepreneurs have created over 325 jobs. DBA’s business loan programs have provided $900,000 in working capital to 110 businesses.
Incubator Without Walls sessions meet bi-weekly in Machias from 4 to 7 p.m. Advance registration is required. For more information or to register, call 479-3071 or email esprague@whcacap.org.
Wild Blueberry Festival in Machias
MACHIAS, Maine — Area children will have the chance to take to the streets during the annual children’s parade at the start of Machias Wild Blueberry Festival weekend.
The Washington County Children’s Program sponsors this parade on Friday, August 19, with lineup at the Machias Valley Baptist Church at 5:45 p.m. The parade starts at 6 p.m.
Children of all ages are encouraged to dress up and walk along. The parade ends at Centre Street Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, sponsor of the festival.
Tricycles, wagons, doll carriages and strollers are all welcome; motorized vehicles are not allowed.
The parade will be followed at 7 p.m. by a free juggling and acrobatic show by Zach Field at the Performing Arts Center at the University of Maine at Machias.
For more information about the parade, call Jen Wood at 255-3426. For information about the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, call 255-6665 or visit www.machiasblueberry.com.
Machias Historical Society to commemorate 1777 battle
MACHIAS, Maine — The annual meeting of the Machias Historical Society will be held during a Dutch treat supper at Helen’s Restaurant at 6 p.m. Friday, August 12, immediately following a 5:30 p.m. ceremony commemorating the 1777 Battle of Machias which will held at the Machias Boat Landing.
In addition to annual reports there will be a continued discussion on plans for the Oct. 15 History Symposium.