Artists Marcie Bronstein and Alan Fishman have lived and worked in a converted 180-year-old barn for the past 29 years. On Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., they will open their studios and gardens at 39 Homestead Close in Belfast to the public as part of the Belfast Garden Club’s Open Garden Days. Admission is $5.

LIBERTY — Coastal Mountains Land Trust will host a Wednesday Waldo Walk on Wednesday, July 9, at 9:30 a.m., at Haystack Mountain. 

Join Coastal Mountains volunteer Bindy Pendleton as she guides a group up Haystack Mountain in Liberty. 

"You will hear the incredible story of the community saving this mountain for public access," said Coastal Mountain Land Trust, in a news release. "It was an incredible, local, conservation feat."

Join Coastal Mountains Land Trust and Maine Health’s Community Health program for a Happy Wanderers Hike, Thursday, July 3, at 10 a.m., at the Harkness Preserve in Rockport. All are welcome.

This hike explores a 1-mile loop trail with minimal elevation.

When Alicia and Tom Stevenson bought a decommissioned funeral home in Belfast’s historic district, they knew the asphalt parking lot occupying the side yard had to go. Now, where mourners’ cars used to sit, an expansive garden can be glimpsed between the gray pillars that mark its entrance. On Saturday, July 5, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the Stevensons will open their garden at 58 Church Street to visitors as the fourth of the Belfast Garden Club’s Open Gardens Days. Admission is $5.

The Strand Theatre will screen the movie Left Behind on Tuesday, July 8, at 5:30 p.m. Left Behind tells the powerful story of a group of passionate mothers who unite to create the first public dyslexic school in New York City, the largest school district in the country. A discussion with director Anna Toomey and literacy specialist Alison Babb Brott will follow the screening.  

New Hope Midcoast (newhopemidcoast.org), the Regional Domestic Violence Resource Center serving Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo Counties since 1981, will hold its annual sale of high-quality new and gently used clothing and accessories for all sizes and seasons, and for everyone in the family, July 10-12, at the Flangan Community Center, 61 Limerock Street, in Rockland.

The Rockport High School Alumni Association will be celebrating its 131st anniversary with a meeting and banquet at the Rockland Elks Lodge, at 220 Rankin Street, in Rockport on Saturday July 19, at 4 p.m.

"We look forward to seeing all those who attended the yellow school on the hill through the class of 1968," the organizers said. "Plenty of time to meet and greet old friends and neighbors and a chance to win several door prizes."

Join naturalist and avid outdoor educator Meg Selkie, Sunday, June 29, at 10 a.m., at the Ducktrap Preserve, in Lincolnville, for Nature Program: Sleuthing for Animal Signs, free nature program. 

Selkie will take the group on a walk along the Ducktrap River discovering signs of its inhabitants and the extensive habitats in this ecologically diverse preserve. This fun walk is free, family friendly, and open to all.

On Sunday, June 29, there will be four unique events taking place in downtown Waldoboro to celebrate Pride.

The day starts with Drag Storytime at Perch, followed by a conversation at the Open House of History on Main Street, then a luncheon and street fair at Broad Bay Church, and finally back across to The Waldoboro Inn for a tea dance.

On Wednesday, June 18, at 6 p.m., the Peace and Justice Forum /Waldo County will gather for a Circle for Poetry and Resistance  in solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

The public is invited to share the group's resistance to share at the Abbott Room, Belfast Free Library. For more information, contact peace.and.justice.waldo@gmail.com

Rockland Rotary teamed up during the first week of June to build a covered shelter at the All Aboard Playground at McDougall Park. The shelter provides the park with a covered area for people who would like to have lunch or birthday parties at the site, according to Doug Curtis Jr.

The All Aboard Playground is a gift to the City of Rockland as part of their year long Centennial celebration. 

ROCKLAND – Towards the end of a No Kings rally, in Rockland, a moment of silence was held for the two Minnesota legislators and their spouses, who were shot in the middle of the night, June 14.

Rockland’s Saturday rally was scheduled weeks ago and is one of thousands held throughout the country as President Donald Trump held a military parade in Washington, D.C., for his birthday, and Marines and National Guard work the streets of Los Angeles.

Maine has the fifth-highest rate of emergency department visits in the country, which hospital officials say could get worse with cuts to Medicaid and further contraction of services.

This event has been cancelled.

Original press release

There are several options for speaking face to face with family, friends or coworkers over a device connected to the internet. Rockland Public Library will hold a class on the topic Friday, June 27, at 2 p.m. Registration is required.  

In the class, attendees will look at some of the most popular options out there including Zoom with a short tutorial on navigating the Zoom room. No devices are required, just bring yourself.

Maine Cancer Foundation recently awarded five Cancer Screening grants, totaling $380,000. These two-year grants will increase access to necessary cancer screenings across the state.

ROCKPORT — On Saturday, July 12, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) will host a garden workshop for families with children between the ages of seven to twelve. Kids and adults will learn all about bugs and weeds through hands-on activities and games in the learning garden.   

The workshop will be held from 9 to 10 a.m., at Erickson Fields Preserve, 164 West Street, in Rockport, where MCHT hosts an active Community Garden and operates a 4-acre vegetable farm producing 17,000+ pounds of produce annually for food assistance sites and more.     

Belfast Free Library’s Youth Summer Reading Program Level Up kicks off with environmental educators from Chewonki, Monday, June 30, from 2-3 pm.

This lecture is appropriate for ages 6 and up, and will explore what makes predator animals so unique and important. The lecture will include three live predator animals. 

AIO Food & Energy Assistance has launched its Friday Student Summer Meal Program. Meal kits will be available for pick up every Friday throughout the summer at four convenient Midcoast public library locations: Rockland, Thomaston, Owls Head, and Camden Public Library.

Beginning Friday, June 27, meal kits will be available free of charge to students and families, helping bridge the nutrition gap when school is out and access to regular meals can become more difficult.

Waldoboro Lions Club was presented the eighth annual Coulombe Center Award for Innovation in a brief ceremony at St. Andrews Village in Boothbay Harbor. 

The Lions were nominated for their innovative support of eye care for school-age students who cannot afford care. The selection committee chose them from a record-setting number of nominations.