Community Events Calendar

Looking for a great field trip that costs only $5 a student? Did you know one of the finest professional theatres in the Northeast is located in Lewiston? Put THE PUBLIC THEATRE on your "must do" list for the year and give your students an inspiring educational experience that will introduce them to the vibrant cultural life in their home state. We offer special school-day matinees for each show in our season. You can make your reservations at any time. This season we are pleased to present: The Book Club Play. HURRY, this comedy that celebrates the joy of reading is COMING SOON! (Grade 8 and up). Oct 23 & 24 AT 9:30am. A Christmas Carol. These shows fill up quickly, we already have some large groups booked. Don't wait, plan your trip today (Grade 2 & up) Dec 4, 5, 6 @9:30am & 11:30am. The Hound of the Baskervilles. This popular Sherlock Holmes story becomes pure comic bliss in this side-splitting spoof. (Grade 7 and up) Jan 29 & 30 @9:30am. Time Stands Still. When a war correspondent and his photo journalist girlfriend return home from a war zone mentally and physically wounded, they must accept the reality that the news they risk their lives to report is deemed less interesting than celebrity gossip. Filled with fascinating social and political arguments, this powerful Broadway hit will inspire a great conversation among students. (Grade 10 and up) March 19 at 9:30am. The Last Romance. Exploring a new path on his walk home, a charming widower discovers a woman, her dog, and the possibility of a second chance at love. (Grade 7 and up)May 8 at 9:30am. Haiku, Hiphop and Hotdogs. Favorite children's poems are woven into a seamless tapestry of art and entertainment for all. The poems of Jack Prelutsky, Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, David McCord, Geoff Hewitt and others are featured in this exciting new creation from the award-winning Crabgrass Puppet Theatre. (Grade Pre K - 5) May 20, 21 at 9:30am & 11:30am May 22 at 9:30am. Don't miss out on this great opportunity. Student Matinees can fill up very quickly, especially the ones for the youngest students. You can never be too early, but you don't want to be too late. CALL 782-2211 TO BOOK YOUR CLASS TODAY. Don't think your class can afford to go? Think again. Don't think your class can afford to go? Think again. Need help with the tickets? IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BRINGING YOUR STUDENTS, BUT FUNDING IS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM, PLEASE CONTACT US BEFORE GIVING UP. Financial assistance may be available for schools in need. Whether you need help for a few students, or the whole class, please call to talk to us. Need help with transportation? Please check out transportation reimbursement funds available through the Maine Arts Commission's Ticket to Ride Grant program. Ticket to Ride is a program that provides funding to defray the cost of travel for Maine schools wishing to visit Maine arts based venues and events as part of a well rounded curriculum. Any K-12 school in Maine is eligible to receive support of up to $300 each school year and any K-12 school in Maine with a documented free and reduced lunch student population of 50 percent or greater is eligible to receive support of up to $500 each school year. Funding is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis as long as there are remaining funds. The funding is non competitive and the only criteria is need.

WHEN: Tue, 10:30am 11:00am; WHERE: Gardiner Public Library Children's Room (map); WHO: For toddlers 3-5 years old.

"Anthill" by E. O. Wilson. The theme of Anthill is man versus nature. Wilson wants to show how society can change towards a more sustainable attitude. His main character, Raff Cody, is something of a Huckleberry Finn, growing to know and love the wetlands and forests of his home district of Nokobee, much as Wilson did himself when he was a boy.

A New Place to Skate this winter! There's a new place for ice skating this winter -- down by the Kennebec River in Waterfront Park! There's benches useful for changing shoes and a great area for a pick up hockey game, figure skating, or a quick break from work. Come on down and try it! Gardiner Main Street's own Jennifer Polley, of The Therapy Zone, helped to bring together the outreach committees at Grace Community Chapel and Church in Life to make this dream a reality. These groups worked with the City of Gardiner to create a wonderful skating area open to the public. Joe Gould with Church in Life was a leading force in construction and organizing, and is helping to keep up maintenance of the ice along with Gardiner Youth Hockey. This weekend the ice conditions will be varied with the warmer weather, but it looks like it will firm up again next week! Get out and enjoy the winter in Downtown Gardiner.

The Viles Pond Loop is the best introductory walk in the Arboretum. It goes through the hosta garden, past the old piggery and out to Viles Pond. It is about a mile round trip. Dogs are allowed on arboretum grounds but must be leashed at all times. Dog waste must be picked up and removed from the Aboretum by the owner. Failure to do so may result in the loss of the priviledge to bring dogs onto the property. Dogs are NOT allowed in cultivated areas, including the quarry ledge rock garden. Bicycles are allowed on the trails. Cyclists must yield to visitors on foot. Courtesy, common sense, and safety for all are of paramount importance. The Arboretum offers what may be the best groomed ski trials in the area. Groomed trails are open to skiers only. Marked snowshoes trails are also available. The Arboretum is beautiful in winter. Please enjoy. Horses are allowed on all trails but the Hosta trail. Horses are not allowed on bridges and boardwalks. The grounds are open every day of the year from dawn to dusk. The Visitors Center is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The 2013 Maine Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Contest is open to Maine residents 18 years of age or older who have been domiciled in this state during the three months immediately preceding the entry deadline for the contest. Employees of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are ineligible. The Contest offers an "Open Category." One or more live waterfowl of the chosen species must appear prominently in the design. If background detail is included in the design it must be accurate and representative of the state of Maine. Designs will be judged on originality, artistic composition, anatomical accuracy and suitability for reproduction as a stamp and print. Choose one of the following ducks as your subject: Greater or Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, or Bufflehead. The painted image must be 13 inches vertically by 18 inches horizontally and centered on a surface no larger than 19 inches by 24 inches. The painting must be firmly (not permanently) attached to a single white mat 19 inches high by 24 inches wide, with a centered window of 13 inches by 18 inches. Entries for the 2013 Maine Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Contest will be accepted from 9 a.m. March 1, 2013 through 4 p.m., March 22, 2013. All entries must be delivered to the Department's Augusta office or be received by the Department through the mail (or by U.P.S., FedEx, etc) before 4 p.m., March 22, 2013. Judging will take place on Friday, March 29, 2013 at 5 p.m. This is the first day of the annual Maine Sportsman's Show at the Augusta Civic Center. There is an admission fee to get into the Sportsmans Show, and the public viewing/contest will take place in the art room on the main floor of the Civic Center. Signs will direct you to the room. For more info call Kristina at (207) 287-5244 or email her at Kristina.R.Paulhus@maine.gov. Please mail or deliver entries to: Duck Stamp Contest, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State Street, 41 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0041