When your life has purpose, you have structure needed to move forward, and you feel fully engaged in life. To gain a sense of purpose, search for what you CAN do, what you LOVE to do, and what you were BORN to do.

Did you know that Maine was the first state in the nation to pass food sovereignty legislation? Do you understand what food sovereignty is and why it’s important? There will be a Heart of Maine: Food Sovereignty Panel on the topic from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Earth Day, Monday, April 22 at The Commons at Central Hall.

The Center Theatre is looking for input from the community about its events, concessions, pricing and any other feedback from the community. While people are always welcome to send suggestions, Kathy Reardon, the chair of the Theatre Fundraising Committee, developed the survey to encourage everyone to give the Theatre their opinion.

Upcoming events around the region.

Squeezed tightly by the high cost of doing business at a time when federal reimbursements don’t cover expenses and more patients need free care, Maine’s hospitals are looking to each other to survive. Hospital mergers, consolidations and collaborations have been occurring for the past 20 years, but the trend has accelerated during the past five years, experts said.

The local Omicron Chapter of the DKG Society International of distinguished women educators hosted a meeting at Foxcroft Academy on April 4. The topic of the meeting was women farmers .

Hailing from Ormstown, Québec and the surrounding Chateauguay Valley, the Durham County Poets will bring their soulful folk music with hints of blues and jazz to The Commons at Central Hall at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. The Commons Executive Director Tara Smith said that both spectators and dancers are encouraged to attend.

On Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. the Center Theatre is partnering with the Maine Parent Federation and Living Innovations to air a free screening of the film “Intelligent Lives.”

Over 20 area souls met in the basement meeting room of the Abbott Memorial Library in Dexter April 5 to discuss the thought-provoking ideas expressed by Daniel Schmactenberger, a futurist whose concern about the current human demands on the earth’s physical systems has driven him to question most aspects of the status quo.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group, Northern New England’s leading independently owned real estate and home services company, honored its top agents for 2018. Agents from the company’s 36 offices in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont were recognized for their achievements in real estate sales including those from the Dover-Foxcroft office: Betty Ann Richardson, Grover Kilpatrick, Donna Vainio and Brian Chadbourne.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension Piscataquis County 4-H is offering the Piscataquis Passport Project again this summer. Enrollment forms are available Monday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through June 3 at UMaine Extension, 165 East Main Street. Sign up opportunities also will be available at community events.

A career resource fair will be held at the Penquis Higher Education Center on Thursday, April 25 from 1-4 p.m. for youth to meet with local employers and apply for positions and possible on the spot interviews and also explore job training and higher educational opportunities available from Eastern Maine Community College and the University of Maine at Augusta. The fair is also open to the public and anyone seeking employment services or career services are encouraged to attend from 2-4 p.m. that day.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)/Miosac Club met April 2 at Thayer Parkway. Diane and David Leighton presented an interesting program of their trip to Nashville and all the sights they saw, including Willie Nelson’s Road House, the Wall of Fame, car museum, Elvis’ car, the Parthenon and the “Smokey the and the Bandit” car and many more. Diane rode in Daisy Duke’s car.

Rick Whitney is this year’s Spirit of America Award recipient for Dexter. The honor is presented in the name of Maine municipalities to local individuals, organizations and projects for commendable community service

A variety of Easter egg-themed activities for children of all ages will be offered from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at The Commons at Central Hall in Dover-Foxcroft.

The Brownville Free Public Library has been selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer “Let’s Talk About It,” a free reading and discussion group with copies of books available through the library. This program is provided by the Maine Humanities Council’s Maine Center for the Book in cooperation with the Maine State Library. The series “Detective Fiction in the 20th Century: A Notion of Evil” begins April 16 at the library and continues every two weeks for five sessions through June 11.

For the fourth year in a row the Abbot-based JD Foundation invites the community to honor those who have died by suicide and support survivors and families impacted at the organization’s Walk/Run to Wake the Silence. The 5-kilometer event will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, with an opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and registration beginning at 8 a.m., at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA on Park Street.

On Saturday, March 30 the Penquis Cruizers held the group’s annual Cabin Fever Reliever at the home of Fred and Susan Worcester in Williamsburg, this is one of the group's annual events. This year there was discussion about how to recognize the organization's 30 years of bringing auto enthusiasts in the area -- and outside our area -- together to enjoy their love of everything automobile.