Homebuyer classes
BANGOR — Homebuyer education classes will be held at 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 11 and 18, Penquis, 262 Harlow St.; and 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Aug. 17-20, Penquis, 262 Harlow St.
The cost to attend the classes is $30 per person unless otherwise noted and the fee is nonrefundable. The fee must be paid in advance of the class date by check or Paypal. Payment information will be provided during registration. If attendees miss a class due to reasons beyond their control, Penquis may, at its discretion, apply the fee as a credit to the next available class.
To register and pay for classes, go to the Homebuyer Education Registration Form at mainestreamfinance.org/index.php?id=778&sub_id=2502. For information or to register for classes by phone, call Jeff Snow at 974-2410.
Hike the trails
BANGOR — Visit five Bangor Land Trust preserves featured in the Challenge booklet, hike the trails and stamp the booklet with the stamps found at each preserve. Then visit the Bangor Land Trust office on the fourth floor of 8 Harlow St. in downtown Bangor to receive a prize. Call first to make sure someone is there. For information, call 942-1010 or email info@bangorlandtrust.org.
Vacation Bible School
BREWER — SonSpark Labs Vacation Bible School
Calvary Baptist Church, 61 State St., invites all children ages 3 through eighth-grade to join attend SonSpark Labs Vacation Bible School 6-8 p.m. Monday, July 6 through Friday, July 10, at the church. Activities will include the discovery lab, singing fun songs, watching skits, creating crafts, eating snacks and playing games. Admission is free.
For information or to register, call 989-3912 or visit cbcbrewer.org.
Photos sought
HAMPDEN — Phyllis Bartlett, who is in charge of curating photographs for Hampden Historical Society, is seeking photographs of snow scenes from last winter in Hampden. She also is seeking school group photos from years past.
These photos will be displayed in notebooks for Kinsley House visitors to view.
For information, call Bartlett at 862-3190 or the historical society at 862-2027.
Food donations
HAMPDEN — The Hampden Historical Society is seeking donations of nonperishable food such as pasta sauce, cereal, baked beans, kidney beans, peanut butter and tuna during July to benefit the Hampden Food Cupboard at Hampden Congregational Church. Donations of toilet paper also are needed. Donated items may be left at the downstairs entrance at the church.
Scavenger hunt fundraiser
HERMON — ASAP Crusin’ for CM and SM is a scavenger hunt and game of skill to benefit the American Syringomyelia and Chiari Alliance Project that will be held Aug. 22, beginning at Dysart’s Restaurant and Truck Stop, 530 Coldbrook Road. Rain date is Aug. 23.
The event is open to anyone on two, three or four wheels. Registration is 8-10 a.m.; kickstands up 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Registration fee is $25 and includes a shirt and lunch. A $10 donation allows participation with no frills.
Players will leave Dysart’s, travel to Union Street in Bangor, through Levant on Route 222 to Newport, Route 7 to Belfast, Searsport, Bucksport and Ellsworth, up Route 1A to the ending point. Participants will be given a card at each stop with a clue to the next stop. When the scavenger hunt is complete at the ending point, a game of skill will decide the winner.
ASAP members organize and hold fundraising events in many areas of the United States to raise awareness about syringomyelia and Chiari malformation. Monies raised support research and programs for support, education, and awareness. For information, contact Lisa at Maine_support@asap.org or 570-6428, or Patricia at 903-236-7079.
Mobile food pantry
ORLAND — A mobile food pantry will provide food for those in need in the Hancock County area. Sponsored by the Good Shepherd Food Banks Mobile Food Program and hosted by H.O.M.E. Inc in Orland, the food bank will distribute a mix of frozen refrigerated and dry grocery goods. Low-income residents of Bucksport, Ellsworth, Orland and East Orland are encouraged to attend to fill a food box. Food boxes will be distributed and filled according to family size.The Food Pantry will be at H.O.M.E. Inc 9 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 8.
H.O.M.E. is seeking nonperishable food items to stock its shelves of its weekly food bank program which is open year round.
In addition to the provision of food for those in need, H.O.M.E. hosts hundreds of volunteers each year to help implement its shelter programs. Recently volunteers from the First Congregational Church of Ridgefield, Connecticut, visited. They installed a new roof on the Learning Center and began construction on the new Bargain Barn. Forty youth slept in tents in the H.O.M.E.’s field on School House Road in Orland.
For information, call 469-7961 and ask to speak to Mary Mahan.
Pagan Pride Day
ORONO — The sixth annual Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Day will take place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, at Steam Plant Park, College Avenue. The event will vendors, ritual, workshops and community, and the Women’s Traveling Red Tent.
A ritual will take place at 3 p.m. Bring a nonperishable food donation for the Ronald McDonald House.
The event is sponsored by the Eastern Maine Pagan Pride Association whose mission is to foster pride in pagan identification through education, activism, charity and community. The association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of alternate faiths and enhancing connections between pagans.
Those who wish to attend the event as a vendor or to offer a workshop may call Michele Littlefield at 974-6954 or email emppa@emppa.org. To learn more about the association, find it on Facebook.
July Star Shows
ORONO — Summer programming continues to bring the stars straight to the public at the Emera Astronomy Center. Public shows take place at 2 p.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Fridays, and at 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at through the summer.
On Fridays, July 10, 17, 24 and 31, participants will learn what it takes to be a modern explorer pushing at the final frontier. “Astronaut” gives visitors a glimpse of the training, the danger, and the challenges of those who sail among the stars.
For younger skywatchers, the Sundays show will join Jack and Annie from the popular “Magic Tree House” book series as they learn about the universe from astronomers, astronauts and more. Fly away with “Magic Tree House: Space Mission” on July 5, 12, 19 and 26.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays the planetarium sets out to explore the solar system and visit all of the planets. On Tuesdays, July 7, 14, 21 and 28, visitors will use their imaginations to power a cardboard rocket through the solar system with “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket”, and on Thursdays, July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, take a closer look at alien environments and see how life on earth is very special with “Cosmic Journey.”
Admission is $6 per person and seating is limited. For information and reservations, call 581-1341 or visit Astro.UMaine.edu. Private shows and school field trips can be arranged for these and other shows.