ELIOT
Benefit proceeds go to Camp Kita funds
A benefit dance party will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at the Regatta at the Eliot Commons, at 28 Levesque Dr.
The event will raise funds to support free summer camperships at Camp Kita, which offers therapy along with recreation for kids who have experienced a suicide loss.
The dance will feature the music of the band “Undercover,” which plays songs spanning the decade.
It will include appetizers, a cash bar, and live and silent auctions.
Tickets are $20 for adults and free for ages 15 and younger. They are available at Kennebunk Savings in Eliot, at the door or venmo @ckfundraiser2023.
At the end of 2021, Camp Kita was given use of a property on Loon Pond in Acton. Eventually, the camp will move from its current home in Belgrade to its new permanent home in Acton, where it can expand its reach. About 75 children will attend Camp Kita this year.
The camp gives kids, who go for free, all of the quintessential summer camp experiences, as well as providing clinical professionals who lead small peer support sessions and offer 24/7 trauma support.
The event is being organized by the South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club and sponsored by the Rotary as well as Kennebunk Savings Banks and the JS Pelkey Family.
For more details, email rcckfundraiser2023@aol.com.
KENNEBUNK
Kids concert planned at museum
The Brick Store Museum will celebrate the weeklong National Week of the Young Child, starting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The free event for young children and their families will include a story time and children’s concert at the museum, located at 117 Main St.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Walsh will kick things off with a reading of her recent children’s book, “The Lobster Lady.” Then, at 11 a.m., award-winning children’s musician Sammie Haynes of TreeTops Music will perform an interactive concert.
This event is free and open to children and their families. While visiting the museum, families are invited to explore the museum’s newest exhibition honoring young artists – the Kennebunk Elementary School Art Show – which runs through April 9.
Learn more about the exhibition and the event on the museum’s website at brickstoremuseum.org; plus explore additional offerings like MusicTogether classes for ages 1-5 starting this spring, half-day art classes for young learners, and camp offerings for the summer.
WELLS
Library updates weekly offerings
Wells Public Library continues to offer programs outdoors, via Zoom and off site at others venues, due to a burst pipe. Here are some activities being offered this week:
The library will sponsor a sneak peek at the inner workings of the Seashore Trolley Museum at 2 p.m. Thursday at 195 Log Cabin Road, Kennebunkport. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Wells Public Library.
The Fiber Arts group will meet at 10:30 a.m. Friday via Zoom to show off their latest knitting creations, get tips on crochet techniques, or just to chat with old friends and make some new ones. All ages and levels of ability are encouraged to join us for ideas, inspiration, and lively conversation. Email sclaydon@wellstown.org for the Zoom link.
Mother Goose will meet at 10:30 a.m. Monday, outside on the library grounds, weather permitting, to engage in lap activities, rhymes, songs, and fingerplays for children age 24 months and younger and their caregivers. Attendees may bring a blanket to sit on and make sure to dress based on the weather.
For more information, please contact Stefanie Claydon at sclaydon@wellstown.org or call the library at 646-8181.
FREEPORT
Attend climate action forum
The 2nd annual FreeportCAN Climate Action Forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Meetinghouse Arts, 40 Main St.
People from Freeport and surrounding communities are invited to come and learn about local, state and international efforts to address climate breakdown.
For more details, email kathleen@freeportcan.org or call 400-2454.
PORTLAND
Benefit show aids homeless nonprofit
A benefit concert for the Greater Portland Family Promise will be 7 p.m. Friday at the Woodfords Church, 202 Woodford St.
The event will feature pianist and entertainer Adam Swanson, a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States, and abroad. He holds a degree in classical piano, and a master’s in musicology from the Peabody Conservatory of John Hopkins University. He made his New York debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of 19, where he performed with Michael Feinstein.
The Greater Portland Family Promise organization helps families who are experiencing homelessness, and low-income families to achieve sustainable independence in their lives.
Admission will be a freewill-offering, with all the donations at the door to support the concert program and ongoing work of the Family Promise. Parking is available in the church lot next to the building.
For more details, email music director Paul Schnell at music@woodfordschurch.org, call 774-8243 or visit woodfordschurch.org.
ROCKPORT
Various events celebrate poetry month
The Poets’ Corner and the Rockport Public Library will partner to offer four opportunities to celebrate National Poetry Month at the library, located at 1 Limerock St. The public is invited to attend readings by the library’s resident poetry workshop members from from 4 to 5 p.m. every Thursday through the month of April.
The first two events will be dedicated to remembering works by Rockport Public Library Poets’ Corner co-founders, George Chappell, April 6, and Jim Ostheimer, April 13. The last two events, set for April 20 and 27 respectively, will include readings of poems written by current members of the RPL Poets’ Corner: Sara Eastler, Bill Eberle, Eileen Hugo, Paul McFarland, Jon Potter, Fran Vigeant, and Dana Wildes.
Refreshments will be provided.
For more details, email: bill@wcedesign.com.
FALMOUTH/CAMDEN/BOOTHBAY
Phenology trainings offered through April
“Signs of the Season,” a program of the Maine Sea Grant and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, will continue free, in-person trainings on documenting the signs of spring and contributing to regional research through the month of April.
Focusing on 22 indicator species, including robins, loons, lilacs, forsythia, maple trees and frogs, participants will learn how to identify and record changes in plants and animals found in their own backyards and other favorite outdoor locations. Participants will also learn about the history and science of phenology – the study of seasonal changes – and the connection to our changing climate. Data collected by volunteers contribute to an online database hosted by the National Phenology Network to help scientists understand the local effects of climate change.
In-person trainings are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth; from 4 to 6 p.m. April 6 at the Merryspring Nature Center in Camden; and from 1 to 3 p.m. April 12 at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.
These events are free, but registration is required. For more information and to register, visit extension.umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/training.
For questions or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Beth Bisson, beth.bisson@maine.edu, or Keri Kaczor, keri.kaczor@maine.edu.
UNITY
Seed Swap event rescheduled
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s 2023 Seed Swap & Scion Exchange has been rescheduled for noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Common Ground Education Center at 294 Crosby Brook.
MOFGA’s annual Seed Swap & Scion Exchange is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year! Join to swap seeds, select some new apple or pear varieties and celebrate spring at this fun and free community event. Visit educational tables, pick up supplies or have some 40th birthday cake. MOFGA will have several educational workshops happening concurrently beginning at 12:30 p.m., including: tips for planting your first fruit trees, seed saving for beginners, backyard apple and pear breeding, favorite apple varieties for the backyard orchard, and more.
Please bring any seeds, scionwood or cuttings to share with others. Rootstock will be for sale for those wishing to graft new trees (quantities limited). Custom grafting will also be offered from 12:30-3:30 p.m., by donation to the Maine Heritage Orchard. Kids activities – including seed paper and seed ball-making – will be ongoing throughout the afternoon. Admission to the event is free, although donations are always welcome, and no registration is required.
For more information and a workshop schedule, visit mofga.org/event-calendar.
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