Looking for the perfect homemade Christmas gift or a pair of mittens or a hat for yourself, then stop by Monson's Kris Kringle's Market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Monson Gym.

Laurie Sproul of Brownville recently returned from a lobbying trip to the nation’s capital. She was part of a nationwide effort where 600 volunteers met with 500 congressional offices. Not only did she meet with all four offices of the Maine delegation, but she also approached congressmen from California. Twenty Maine residents made this trip in early November, and that group included 10 students from southern Maine.

The Winkie people of Oz face the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West during rehearsals for “A Wicked Christmas Carol.” Written by award-winning playwright Bobby Keniston, the show is a mash-up that faithfully blends the spirits of Charles Dickens and L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

On Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. the Abbott Memorial Library hosts Andrew Bermudez, pastor of the First Free Baptist Church, who will present a program on the work camp which will be coming to Dexter in 2019.

The Piscataquis County USDA Local Working Group (LWG) will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 4 -- with a snow date of Friday, Dec. 7 -- at 10 a.m. at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building Gymnasium, 48 Morton Avenue.

Girl Scouts of Maine will host a Discover Girl Scout event at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at the Greenville Consolidated School for potential members and volunteers.

oe Siccardi, a recent mid-Maine transplant, has completed his second book “Wisdom from a Father.” The Dover-Foxcroft resident is a 52-year newspaper publishing veteran, most recently as publisher/editor of the Reveille/Between the Lakes, a community weekly newspaper in Seneca County of the Finger Lakes in New York. Siccardi credits the quiet of Maine as the impetus for completing the project. He moved to Dover-Foxcroft just over three years ago, commuting to and from upstate New York. He sold his publication and retired permanently to Piscataquis County in July 2017.

PCEDC is pleased to host a panel discussion and community conversation on Tuesday, Dec. 4, regarding challenges facing our workforce, resources for workforce development and training, and opportunities to assist residents and local business owners.

Upcoming events around the region.

Pirates invaded Dover-Foxcroft on Nov. 10 during the Death on Deck dinner theatre at The Commons at Central Hall. The production was presented by Center Theatre and the Slightly Off Center Players, and directed by Dan Sharrow with Grace Carlson in charge of sound and lighting.

The Center Theatre for the performing arts has announced it will be holding a holiday party for their members and guests at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30. The event will feature light appetizers, a sneak preview of the “Wicked Christmas Carol,” a celebration of the beginning of renovations nearly 20 years ago, and a chance to win free movie admissions for all of 2019.

Wesley McNair, Maine’s former poet laureate, will return to the Thompson Free Library at 5:30 p.m.o n Thursday, Nov. 29, to read from his latest volume of poems, “The Unfastening.” The event is free and open to the public.

Blood drives are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 19 from 1-6 p.m. at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA in Dover-Foxcroft, 48 Park Street, and from 1-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at the Dexter Unitarian Universalist Church, 35 Church Street.

Upcoming events around the region.

Can cattle be handled and moved around without all the hooting and hollering that cattlemen are known for? They can, some experts say, and doing so can mean better meat. Known as low-stress stockmanship, it will be a hot topic at the second annual Cattlemen’s College is slated for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, in Charleston and Orono.

Maine author Paul Doiron will speak at the Thompson Free Library at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15 for the James Brown Lecture Series. The event is free and open to the public.

“Grief through the Holidays” with Rev. Ray Beless, is the topic of Pine Tree Hospice’s Lunch ‘n Learn program from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

A free Thanksgiving dinner will be served at noon on the holiday, Thursday, Nov. 22, at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church, 824 West Main Street. Advanced reservations are requested but not required. For more information please call 564-2872.