CENTURY SATURDAYS BEGIN AT BRICK STORE MUSEUM

KENNEBUNK

The Brick Store Museum, celebrating local history, art and culture year-round, will mark the dual bicentennials of the State of Maine and the Town of Kennebunk this year. The Museum recently received a major grant from the Maine Humanities Council to fund its Century Saturdays Program, which kicks off Saturday with “16th Century Saturday.”

The Century Saturdays Program will run once a month (on a Saturday) from May through October, ending on Oct. 12 with 21st Century Saturday to ask the community “where do we go from here?”

The Museum has planned an immersive experience for visitors to get the chance to see, smell, taste, hear and touch the different centuries that led us to the present. Timing perfectly with Maine and Kennebunk’s dual Bicentennial celebrations this year, this 6-month programming schedule allows visitors and locals alike to explore our shared history in a new way. Studying one century per month allows for easy compare and contrast, observation of change and a focused discussion about social systems and everyday life in Maine over hundreds of years.

While this Saturday’s program was supposed to be a physical event, the Museum staff has created an online program that includes speakers Dr. Arthur Anderson, archaeologist at UNE; and Tim Spahr, archaeologist with the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance. In addition to recorded talks, the Museum will also be offering an online “pop-up exhibit” to explore its collection of indigenous stone tools; and at-home activities that families can undertake together, including making 16th Century foods to try and hands-on activities to explore.

This year-long programming is funded through a grant from the Maine Humanities Council and generous sponsorship from Kennebunk Savings Bank. Admission to these programs is typically included in the cost of regular museum admission; however, online programming is free with donations gratefully accepted. More information about these programs and their schedules can be found on www.brickstoremuseum.org.

BIDDEFORD

McArthur Library is offering a number of online events and programs this week.

Online story time with John will be offered at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday on Facebook Live, featuring stories, songs and rhymes for children, ages Pre-K and younger. And, “Stories Under the Stars,” a nightly bedtime story event, will be presented at 7 p.m. Monday through Friday by Deanna and friends.

Middle Grade Chapter Book Read-Aloud with John will be offered at 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, based on the current book “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm” by Robert C. O’Brien.

A Teen Read-Aloud with Danie will be held at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday on Instagram Live, this week featuring “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer.

An online Community Read Discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The selected book is “Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins.

For more details, go to www.mcarthurlibrary.org.

NEW GLOUCESTER

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with the current orders and guidelines from the Town of New Gloucester, the MSAD 15 Board of Directors, the Commissioner of Education, the Governor’s office, the Maine CDC, and the U.S. CDC, the New Gloucester Historical Society has canceled the following public activities for the months of May and June.

These include the History Barn/Meetinghouse Archives Open House set for Saturday; a Meetinghouse program on May 21 and a planned Annual Field Trip for the three second-grade classes from the Memorial School on June 4.

Falmouth marks Earth Day 2020 with a month-long virtual celebration

FALMOUTH

The Town of Falmouth’s Recycling and Energy Advisory Committee (REAC) and Conservation Commission (FCC), along with Falmouth Open Space, Maine Audubon, Falmouth Land Trust, and Falmouth Memorial Library have joined forces to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

An entire month of virtual events and fun activities are planned to get community members active, engaged and safely celebrating the planet. Activities include attending a virtual film festival, planting seeds in your garden, taking up bird watching, enjoying virtual park tours, reading nature-related literature and poetry and listening to Zoom lectures. To learn more about the near daily offerings, go to www.falmouthme.org/sustainability/pages/earth-day-2020.

YWCA 9th Annual Stand Against Racism Moves Online

LEWISTON

YWCA Central Maine’s annual signature event, “Stand Against Racism”, is moving online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will host a virtual 21-day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge. This event is free and anyone in Maine is encouraged to participate.

The 21-Day Challenge is an exciting opportunity to dive deep into racial equity and social justice. Participants will be provided with curated articles, podcasts, activities and more delivered to their inbox each morning. Emails will be sent out beginning Friday and continue (Monday–Friday) through May 29; with special videos and activities for children posted to Facebook every Friday in May.

Taking part in an activity like this helps participants discover how racial inequity and social injustice impact our community and identify ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination. The challenge encourages people across the state to examine how racism and bias impact their lives and their communities.

While the YWCA planned to move this year’s event online for safety during the pandemic, we are excited that this also allows us to encourage participation statewide. Registration for the challenge is open at ywcamaine.org. YWCA will also facilitate conversations in a private Challenge Facebook group, where participants have the option to discuss the content and engage with others taking the challenge.

This challenge was adapted from Central Maine’s sister organization YWCA Greater Cleveland, in turn inspired by Food Solutions New England. The latter was the first to adapt an exercise from Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. and Debby Irving’s book into the interactive 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge. The challenge is designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits and bring awareness to issues of race, power, privilege and leadership.

Fr. John Skehan, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Augusta, brings smiles to those attending Drive-Through confessions with his special face mask. Drive-Through confessions are being offered at many Maine parishes.

“Drive-Through” Confessions Continuing in Over 20 Maine Communities

PORTLAND/STATEWIDE

The Roman Catholic Dioceses of Portland will continue offering “Drive-Through” confessions in the parking lots at more than 20 Maine communities churches. Guidelines from the state will be strictly adhered to at all of the sites.

A list of the opportunities, will be updated as changes are made or new confession sites are added at 
www.portlanddiocese.org/drive-through-confessions. In addition, the diocese’s Coronavirus Response page is updated daily with new faith opportunities, updates, announcements, and much more. The page can be found at www.portlanddiocese.org/response-coronavirus.

Growing more Maine gardeners with UMaine Extension

ORONO

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has a new online resource designed to encourage all the gardeners who are waiting for warmer weather and soil ready for planting.

Every week, “Growing Maine Gardeners” will feature a new activity and video demonstration suitable for all ages, including making seed tape and forcing branches to bloom indoors. The focus is family-friendly indoor and outdoor gardening projects, including tips on getting the most out of Maine’s brief growing season.

To get connected or for more details, call 581-3877 or email extension@maine.edu.