Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) has been holding regular public discussion meetings and workshops about energy, economics, environment, and agriculture since 2009, and in acknowledgment of this 10-year history will be showing the film “Power of Community” from 6-8 p.m. at the Feb. 1 First Friday in the Abbott Memorial Library.

Greenville is going to the dogs on Saturday, Feb. 2 -- sled dogs that is. It’s an exciting time of year to be here – watching enthusiastic dogs and their mushers pulling sleds through the snowy, wooded trails around Greenville in the Wilderness Sled Dog Race. Amy Dugan and John Osmond of Shirley began this event more than a dozen years ago. This is the eleventh time this event has occurred – there were a few years in between where conditions were prohibitive and the race was not held.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is excited to kick off its second annual Families in the Outdoors program. The goal of this program is to provide fun, active, and interesting opportunities for families to enjoy the outdoors, together. This program is designed for youth ages 5 and up, parents, grandparents and other relatives. This year, the district will be offering seasonal sessions, each with a different nature-related theme.

On Thursday, Jan. 24 from 4-7 p.m. Tri-County Technical Center (TCTC) students from the six area high schools (Nokomis, PCHS, Dexter, Foxcroft Academy, Greenville, and Penquis Valley), will participate in the local SkillsUSA competition. Instructors from the 12 programs, along with advisory board members and practitioners in the field, will judge students’ skills based on particular national standards that are exercised in the workforce every day.

Upcoming events around the region.

The public is cordially invited to the Foxcroft Academy Winter Student Recital, to be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20 at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church.

Over the past few years Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) has sponsored free public sharpening workshops which drew people from as far away as Skowhegan and Bangor to share skills and learn how to get small tools back into sharp condition by hand. Sandpaper on glass, water stones, oil stones, hand-powered grinding wheel, files of all kinds, honing strops, and peening jigs were among the items demonstrated to and then used by the curious and hopeful. The informal and participatory nature of the event was so successful that another sharpening workshop is planned for 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at Dexter’s Tri-County Tech Center (TCTC -- up behind the high school).

The Center Theatre recently announced that it will be offering a free showing of the classic movie "All the President's Men" at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The screening will be preceded by food and a discussion at 5:30 p.m. The program is part of a joint project between the Center Theatre, Foxcroft Academy, and the Thompson Free Library supported by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council's Democracy, Journalism, and the Informed Citizen grant program.

The Guilford Memorial 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 “Mysteries by Maine Authors” begins at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at the Guilford Memorial Library, and continues for five sessions through Tuesday, May 28.

There are lots of free programs being offered at the Abbott Memorial Makerspace in January.

Upcoming events around the region.

The Center Theatre and the Slightly Off-Center Players are looking for directors for two shows in 2019. The first, “Seussical Jr.,” is a magical musical romp through the land of Dr. Seuss. This kid's production will be performed the first two weekends in May.

The Center Theatre announced that it will be screening the award-winning film "Farmer of the Year" starting on Friday, Jan. 18. The comedy-drama, produced by Vermont-based Yellow House Films, has played festivals around the U.S. It has picked up honors such as the New Filmmakers Forum Emerging Director Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival and audiences have praised its authenticity and humor.

Being faced with loose ends after someone dies is the topic of Pine Tree Hospice’s Jan. 15 Lunch ‘N Learn, held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church. Donna Peterson, Piscataquis County register of probate, will present “Tying up Loose Ends.”

Soul loss and soul recovery of warriors following combat is the specialty of Edward Tick, PhD. His healing strategies to address these wounds and PTSD through psycho-spiritual therapy will be explored in a video presentation at NAMI’s Trauma Healing Session at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 10 at The Commons at Central Hall. Normalizing the traumatic experience while passing through the healing transformational process leads to depathologizing PTSD.

January, the perennial fresh start, can feel a bit anticlimactic, even weighted with pressure from loose ends of the past year to the bright, uncertain promises of a new one. So, it’s the perfect time to visit the Thompson Free Library (TFL) in Dover-Foxcroft, where our programs, like our collection, feature plenty of your favorite elements mixed with new concepts and new faces -- all in a welcoming setting.

Upcoming events around the region.

Over 80 beautiful parrots will celebrate the holidays at a free open house on Saturday, Dec. 29 from noon to 4 p.m. at Siesta Sanctuary, 104 Brown Road. There is no snow date.