The Friends of Maine State Parks, in cooperation with the Bureau of Parks and Lands, are pleased to announce a pilot program to provide Maine State Park Vehicle Passes for day-use at Maine State Parks to 10 community libraries across the state.

June marks a new chapter for Dover-Foxcroft’s 120-year-old Thompson Free Library. Director Helen Fogler retired after 21 years and has passed the torch to Orono native Greta Schroeder, who has worked in various libraries, most recently, McArthur in Biddeford and has a MS degree in Library and Information Science.

On Saturday, June 9 Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) will host a workshop from 8 to 11 a.m. on scything at the Joe Sherburne Memorial Garden on the Ripley Road (Route 23).

Upcoming events around the region.

More and more Central Maine people are considering catching and using the rainwater that falls for free (so far!) on all of us. As our yearly precipitation slowly increases and, ironically, long spells of droughtiness also occur due to atmospheric shifts, it makes sense to consider different ways of capturing and storing rain when it does happen to use for when it doesn’t.

The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival organizers have announced they expect bakers to bring 40,000 whoopie pies to Dover-Foxcroft for the 2018 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 23.

The Milo Events Committee invites the public to join in a day of fun and festivities on Saturday, June 2. The theme this year is “Honoring our Hometown First Responders (Fire, Police, EMS & the Military).”

Older people know that they should engage in some form of daily, physical motion to help their bodies and minds maintain good functioning.

If you are a parent or guardian of an adolescent between 12 and 18, or if you teach or interact with that age group as a member of the clergy, coach, club leader, counselor, educator, group home leader, police officer or in any capacity, consider attending Youth Mental Health First Aid from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 4 at the Dexter VFW on Cedar Street.

Have you been thinking of adding solar power to your home? Have questions and don’t know who to ask? Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) is arranging a free Photovoltaic Open House tour of sorts on Saturday, June 2 with a few local solar-powered homes as examples of what is currently possible. Owners will be happy to share their experiences, knowledge, and hopefully answer your questions.

A blood drive will be held from 1-6 p.m. on Thursday, May 31 at the Knights of Columbus, 179 North Dexter Road in Dexter. Another will be from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Dover Foxcroft, 660 Bangor Road in Dover-Foxcroft.

Upcoming events around the region.

The Brownville-Brownville Junction Historical Society held its annual meeting on May 15 at the Parish House Museum.

Members of Sebec Village Associates, or the Sebec Reading Room as they are informally called, met on Friday, May 11 to discuss the upcoming year. Members present lamented a bit on the list of repairs that are needed to maintain the quaint community building where they hold activities all year for the lakeside village and surrounding townspeople. Even though many repairs have been done in the past years, the list of building repairs is still long.

Upcoming events around the region

Visitors young and old were able to learn about the life of Anne Frank and think about how lessons from Europe during World War II can be applied today as the “Anne Frank: A History for Today” traveling exhibit was on display at The Commons at Central Hall from May 2-11.

Fifth- and sixth-grade students from Piscataquis Community Elementary School are planning to reveal their designs for SAD 4’s outdoor classroom during the early evening of Thursday, May 24. The students been working on a layout using “Design Thinking” and have designed blueprints, sketches and “gallery walks.”

Ken and Jane Brooks along with Joe and Nel Kennedy (Brooks and Kennedy) play their classic country at the Wayside Theatre at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 26.