January - May, 2006 ~~~ Hinckley
Between January and May 2006, the Central Kennebec Heritage Council sponsor three hands-on workshops for its member museums along the Kennebec-Chaudière Heritage Corridor. The three programs have been designed to address diverse aspects of exhibit preparation, from label writing to acid-free materials to affordable mounts and displays. Although the workshops are intended mainly for an audience of museum staff and volunteers, they will be open to the public. If you are interested in attending, please contact Deborah Staber at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, (207) 238-4250 or lcbates@gwh.org.
Back to the TopJanuary - December, 2006 ~~~ Orono
The Orono Historical Society will host a monthly public lecture series as part of the bicentennial celebration of the town. The lectures will take place on the third Thursday of every month for the rest of the year. January's speakers, David Sanger and Harold Borns, addressed the prehistory of the Orono area. In February, Roxanne Soucier of the Bangor Daily News spoke about early family life. The March lecture featured two women, Sally Jacobs and Nancy Smith, with direct links to Orono's history. All lectures are free and open to the public in the Town's Council Chambers. For other lecture topics and details, please contact the Orono Historical Society at (207) 866-4270.
Back to the TopMarch & April, 2006 ~~~ Portland
The Portland Public Library will hold a Poetry Festival during the months of March and April 2006. The festivities begin on March 9 with a poetry workshop and reading given by Tony Marino at 6:30 p.m. A poetry-writing contest for all ages will run from March 15 to April 15. On March 30 at 7 p.m., Say It Loud, an all-girls spoken word and hip-hop group, will perform. Noontime readings and discussions will be led by Paul Janeczko (April 12) and Betsy Sholl (April 19). Outside the library's doors on April 19, look (and listen!) for a poetry read-a-thon. April 20 brings "An Evening with Moon Pie Press," including readings and music. Finally, on April 26, celebrate Shakespeare's birthday by attending a reading and lecture by Professor Peter Saccio at noon. For more details about any of the Festival events, please visit www.portlandlibrary.com or call (207) 871-1700.
Back to the TopApril 8 & 29, 2006 ~~~ Belfast
As part of a year-long effort to get patrons excited about poetry, the Belfast Free Library will hold a series of two workshops on "Odes and Other Forms of Praise." Poet and University of Maine English Instructor Kathleen Ellis will facilitate the workshops on April 8 and 29, 2006. Each workshop will include the reading and discussion of a variety of odes, collaborative and interactive writing exercises, and solo writing assignments for writers of all levels. To learn more about this opportunity, please contact the library at (207) 338-3884.
Back to the TopApril 12, 2006 ~~~ Newport
The annual Bullying Prevention Conference at Newport/Plymouth Elementary School will be expanded this year to address issues of culture and ethnicity. Sherry Mitchell, a member of the Civil Rights Training Team, will arrange presentations on Native American culture, storytelling, history, and crafts. Allen Sockabasin, author of Thanks to the Animals, a new picture book about a Passamaquoddy family, has also been invited to participate. This year's conference, entitled “Picnic of the World,” takes place on April 12, 2006. For details, please contact Assistant Principal Barbara Brown at (207) 368-4470.
Back to the TopApril 13, 2006 ~~~ Saco
Author Gerry Boyle will give a free public reading of his work at 5:30 on Thursday, April 13. He appears courtesy of the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Saco-Biddeford, who will be hosting a raffle, refreshments, and a sale of Boyle’s novels (in partnership with Nonesuch Books) during the evening. Boyle, who lives in Maine, will read at the Crown & Anchor Inn on North Street in Saco. For more information, please call the Literacy Volunteers at 283-2954.
Back to the TopApril 24, 2006 ~~~ Portland
On Monday, April 24, 2006, the Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Studies at the University of Southern Maine presents "Never Again? Genocide and Indifference." This program will feature Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero of the film Hotel Rwanda, who saved over 1,000 lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Hannaford Lecture Hall at USM's Abromson Community Education Center in Portland. April 24 is also the official commemoration date of the 1915 Armenian genocide, and the program will recognize the occasion. To learn more, please contact the Director of the Academic Council, Professor Abraham Peck, at (207) 780-5331.
Back to the TopJune 2 - 4, 2006 ~~~ Farmington
"Maine's Place in the Environmental Imagination" is a conference devoted to the ways in which Maine has figured in the nation's environmental consciousness, and the ways practicing writers think of the state as a symbol, myth, image, and setting in their work. The University of Maine at Farmington serves as host and sponsor; the Association for Literature and Environment will co-sponsor. During the three-day conference, three events will be open to the public. The keynote address on June 2, 2006, at 7 p.m., will be delivered by University of Southern Maine professor Kent Ryden. On Saturday, June 3, Northeast Historic Films will be screening films on Maine logging, while a panel of writers (including Wes McNair and Bob Kimber) will speak at 4 p.m. For details or to register, please contact Michael Burke, (207) 778-7205 or mdburke@maine.edu.
Back to the TopJune 7 & 9, 2006 ~~~ Vinalhaven
During the 2006 Seal Bay Festival, composers and instrumentalists will interact with Vinalhaven residents in workshops that explore the creative links between verbal narrative, visual imagery, physical movement, and music composition. The workshops will use musical improvisation as a starting point for discussion and discovery. The residents who will participate are middle-school students from Vinalhaven and North Haven schools and visual artists at Vinalhaven's Arts & Recreation Center. The workshops will take place on June 7 and 9, 2006; for a full schedule, please visit www.sealbayfestival.org.
Back to the TopJune 8, 2006 ~~~ Bethel
The Bethel Historical Society marks its 40th anniversary in 2006 with a series of lectures that celebrate life in New England. On June 8, Earle Shettleworth, Jr. will give a talk entitled "A Painter's Progress: The Life, Work, and Travels of Harrison Bird Brown of Portland, Maine." On August 11, David Watters will address "New England's Legacy: Memory and Identity in an American Region." Two days later, Thomas Hubka will explore "Maine's Connected Farm Buildings: The Uncommon Architecture of Common Farmers." On October 12, James Kiepper will speak about the life of "Styles Bridges: Yankee Senator." Finally, on November 9, Kent Ryden will ddress "Landscape and Figures: Nature and Culture in New England." For details, please visit the Society on Broad Street in Bethel or call (207) 824-2908.
Back to the TopJune 11, 2006 ~~~ Peaks Island
Sacred At Any Cost, an exhibit focusing on the contributions and sacrifices made by the men and women of the Fifth Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, will be on view at the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum (located at 45 Seashore Avenue on Peaks Island) from June through November, 2006. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the Regiment’s battle flag, which survived the Regiment’s three-year term of service without being captured and became a point of pride among the veterans. The grand opening of the exhibit will take place on June 11, when the flag (currently being treated by a professional textile conservateur) is returned to the museum. For information and exhibit hours, please contact the museum at (207) 766-5514 or fifthmaine@juno.com.
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Notes from an Open Book welcomes feedback from its readers. Please contact Diane Magras by email at diane@mainehumanities.org or by phone at (207)773-5051 ext. 208 (toll-free 1-866-637-3233, ext. 208) to respond.