BANGOR — These special events will take place at the Maine Discovery Museum:
• Parents’ Day Out 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20. Museum staff will mind the children while parents shop, relax or clean the house. The cost is $15 per child museum members, $20 others.
• Evergreen wreath workshop for children, 2 p.m Saturday, Dec. 13. $5 per project.
• Gingerbread house workshop, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20. $15 per house museum members, $18 per house others. Advance reservation required by Thursday, Dec. 18.
For information, call the museum at 262-7200.
Candlelight vigil
BANGOR — A candlelight vigil will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, in Peirce Park beside Bangor Public Library to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty-six candles will be lit to remember the victims and families of the Sandy Hook shooting and those who have been traumatized by gun violence. The theme of the vigil is “We Are All Touched By Gun Violence.” Bring a candle to light and a toy to donate.
Rock the kettle
BANGOR — Members of the Guitar and Music Lovers Facebook Group will host a benefit concert Sunday, Dec. 14, to raise funds for The Salvation Army’s work with those in need.
The Rock the Red Kettle event will feature local bands and solo musicians and will be held at The Salvation Army at 65 South Park St. in Bangor. Admission is $5 and proceeds will go toward helping children and families during the holiday season.
The concert is an opportunity for the musicians of the Guitar and Music Lovers Facebook Group to use their talents to give back to the community. Besides the admission, those attending are encouraged to bring winter clothing donations such as coats, hats, gloves and mittens and unwrapped, brand-new, unused Christmas gifts for teens, which are in short supply as The Salvation Army strives to serve the hundreds of families who come to them for help.
The idea came about when the members of the group discussed ways to help those in need, and has blossomed into an event that will include performances in a variety of musical styles. Confirmed musicians include Tyler Healy Band, Ed Dickey, Josh Webber, Ben Doucette, Victor MacArthur and Scott Weeks. Other musicians are expected to join the roster.
For information, email Victor MacArthur at vicmacarthur@gmail.com or Capt. Tim Clark attim.clark@use.salvationarmy.org
Christmas concert
BANGOR — The Bangor Band will present its annual Christmas concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Gracie Theater, Husson University. The concert will be a family-friendly event, and include a visit from Santa.
Under the direction of Curvin “Chip” Farnham, the band will perform many holiday favorites, such as the “Polar Express,” “Coventry Carol,” “Sleigh Ride” and other selections.
A carol sing-along with the audience also will be part of the event.
Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. For information, call Lori Wingo at 944-4193 or go to bangorband.org.
Founded in 1859, the Bangor Band is one of the nation’s oldest continuous community
bands. The Christmas concert is cosponsored by Bangor Savings Band and Husson University-Gracie Theater.
Christmas play
BANGOR — “Isn’t This What Christmas Is All About?” a one-act play by Bernard Dougherty, will be presented at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at First United Methodist Church, 703 Essex St., The play is produced by special arrangement with Contemporary Drama Service, Colorado
Springs, Colorado. There is no charge for admission.
Lights of Remembrance
BANGOR — St. Joseph Healthcare invites the community to remember and honor loved ones during the holidays by participating in its Lights of Remembrance program, which was launched Dec. 3.
Donors may remember or honor a loved one through the display of a named ornament on a tree
in the hospital’s Demaso lobby. Names of those honored or memorialized have the potential
to be remembered perpetually in a Lights of Remembrance registry on public display at the
All funds raised will benefit the patients of St. Joseph Hospital. Those who wish to make a gift and honor a loved one through Lights of Remembrance may contact the St. Joseph Healthcare Community Networks and Foundation office at 907-1740.
Silent auction
BANGOR — It’s a Basket Case, a silent auction gift basket fundraiser of more than 250 uniquely themed gift baskets stuffed with gift certificates, collectibles, fun items and much more, is being conducted at the Hammond Street Senior Center.
The baskets are on display for viewing and silent auction style bidding will take place 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 11, and 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12. An after-hours bidding party will take place 4:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11.
Participants also may enter to win one of many door prizes to be drawn that evening while enjoying complimentary wine, soft-drinks and treats while browsing and bidding.
A full color bidding guide available at hammondstreet.org for those unable to make it down to the center. Absentee bids will be accepted through noon Friday, Dec. 12.
Proceeds will benefit the programs of the Hammond Street Senior Center.
‘Lighting Up the Season’
BREWER — The New Renaissance Singers will present its winter concert, “Lighting Up the Season,” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, at the First Congregational Church, 35 Church St.
Admission is by suggested donation of $10 per person at the door. A reception will take place after the concert.
The chorus is a non-audition, multigenerational community choir which has been performing in the Bangor area for 24 years.
Musical Director Molly Webster arranged the winter concert program to offer an eclectic mix classical pieces, folk songs and contemporary choral arrangements, with an underlying theme of light and hope. The concert also will include a guest performance by The Husson University Singers.
In addition to public concerts, the chorus performs at several area nursing homes.
Some of the proceeds from the concert will support the chorus’s music scholarship program for young people in the area. Last year the award went to a scholarship for Bangor Children’s Choir. This year the grant will go to students participating in the Maine Summer Youth Music program at the University of Maine.
“It is our goal to ‘pay it forward’ so that young people will have the chance to experience the joy of choral singing, and will be able to perform in choirs in the future,” said chorus board President Tricia Griffith.
For information, contact Molly Webster, 992-7870 or email nrsingers@gmail.com.
New book
BUCKSPORT — Attorney Roberta Kuriloff, partner in the law firm of Jones, Kuriloff & Sargent, and resident of Orland, announced that she has published her first book, “Everything Special, Living Joy.” It is about how we look at life: the glass half-empty or half-full; it is a thought-provoking book of prose and poetry that can be read and reread, and even discussed in groups, she said.
Kuriloff will give a reading and sign books at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, at BookStacks on Main Street in Bucksport.
Christmas Cantata
EDDINGTON — The North Brewer Eddington United Methodist Church will present the Christmas cantata “Mary, Did You Know?” under the direction of Herbert Hopkins, with accompanist by Dora Rexrode and narration by Dan Day. It will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Leach Home in Brewer and 3:15 p.m. at Woodlands Assisted Living in Brewer.
The cantata also will be presented at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 21 at the North Brewer Eddington United Methodist Church in Eddington and at 4 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Brewer First United Methodist Church, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 at Sunbury Village.
Choir members are Bob Adams, Merrill Boynton, Dottie Boynton, Donna Boyle, Jeanette Collins, Dan Day, Gail DeBeck, Doug Gardner, Cokie Giles, Colin Graebert, Herb Hopkins, Carol Jordan, Melva Kent, Roscoe Kent, Cheryl Long, Weldon Long, Andrea Longley, Ethel Mathews, LaForest Mathews, Jessie Mellott, Ruth Munson, Joy Royal-Nevers, Dora Rexrode, Molly Stevens and Patrick Stevens.
The public is invited to attend any of the performances.
Indoor farmers market
HAMPDEN — Hampden Farmers Market has begun its winter season indoors at the Kiwanis Civic Center building, 55 Main Road. Market hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Fridays through spring. Vendors include some of the summer market’s vendors plus several new craft vendors for the winter season. Products offered include local baked goods, winter vegetables, meats, wreaths, fiber for spinning and assorted crafts.
Junior Duck Stamp
STATEWIDE — The 21st annual statewide competition for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest is underway. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites students in kindergarten through grade 12 to create designs featuring ducks, swans or geese in their natural habitats.
Designs will be judged in four age categories, with awards for first, second and third places, and honorable mentions. Entries must be received at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge by March 15. This year, the judging will take place in the Bangor area.
The Maine Best of Show entry will compete with contest winners from other states in a national competition in Washington D.C. The first place national winning design is used to create the Federal Junior Duck Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps (which cost $5 each) support conservation education by providing awards and scholarships for students, teachers and schools.
Modeled after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s annual Federal Duck Stamp competition, the Junior Duck Stamp contest is part of an educational curriculum that teaches students about waterfowl, the importance of wetlands and habitat conservation. Proceeds from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps protect wetlands through land acquisition by the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Contest rules and entry forms are available for download at www.fws.gov/juniorduck/.
For information on the contest, call Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge at 454-7161. Businesses or organizations who wish to sponsor the program are encouraged to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.