– LEWISTON

Students’ artwork wins congressional honors

Jeremy Vroom of Bangor and Whitney Wei of Farmingdale recently won the 2011 Congressional Arts Competition.

The competition features student artwork from congressional districts around the nation. Maine’s winners, chosen by jurors selected by the Maine Arts Commission, will have their work displayed in the halls of the U.S. Capitol for a year.

Both winning students, along with their families, will be flown to Washington, D.C., to participate in an opening ceremony in June.

Before the students travel to Washington, they will be honored in Maine. Vroom, from Bangor High School, and Wei, from Hall-Dale High School, have been invited — along with runners-up, art teachers and their families — to attend a reception at the Blaine House on May 7.

Runners-up in the 1st District are Elizabeth Cox from Camden Hills Regional High School, Eve Hupper from Rockland District High School and Emily Howell from Morse High School in Bath.

Runners-up from the 2nd District are Cali Inman from Explorations Art Program at Bryant Pond, Matthew McKeown from Oak Hill High School in Wales and Sylvia Beliveau from Lewiston High School.

CAPE ELIZABETH

Artists in wet paint auction will help preserve land

The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust will hold its Paint for Preservation 2011 on July 17. Participating artists will paint at designated public and private locations chosen to highlight Cape Elizabeth’s natural beauty. That evening, the newly created unframed artwork will be auctioned at a cocktail reception hosted by John Higgins and Nano Chatfield at Ram Island Farm.

Proceeds benefit the land trust’s Saving Cape’s Great Places initiative. Early reservations are recommended. Paint for Preservation 2011 reservations, as well as raffle tickets to win an original oil-on-canvas painting by Don Stone are available at the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, 330 Ocean House Road, online at capelandtrust.org/paintforpreservation/2011 or by calling 767-6054.

This will be the land trust’s fourth annual wet paint auction supporting local land preservation efforts.

Media sponsors are Maine Home + Design and MaineToday Media Inc. Conservation sponsors include Ethos Marketing and Design, Inn by the Sea, Nappi Distributors, Pinnacle Vodka, R.M. Davis Inc., Town & Shore Associates, Watermatic and Woodin & Co. Inc. Stewardship sponsors include Broadway Gardens Greenhouses, Casco Bay Frames and Gallery, Castle Kitchens, Home Again by Hancock Lumber, Maine Limousine Service, Pierce Atwood, Piper Shores and Wright-Ryan Homes.

Catering will be donated by CVC Catering Group, and auctioneering services are provided by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries.

Artist entries were juried by Dennis Gleason of Gleason Fine Art Galleries.

HIRAM

Carver chosen to install his sculpture in Boston

Stone carver Craig Gray of Hiram was awarded a public art commission for the city of Boston last week. The work will be installed in May.

Gray has just returned from installing sculptures in Portsmouth, Va., and Charleston, S.C.

He will also have a solo exhibition in Key West, Fla., in May with his Sea Mammals Swim stone sculptures.

CAMDEN

Children’s book telling Penobscot story wins award

Down East Books has announced that “Many Hands,” written by Hampden resident Angeli Perrow and illustrated by Heather Austin, was chosen as the winner of the Lupine Awardin the picture-book category.

Established by the Maine Library Association in 1998, the Lupine Award honors a Maine author or illustrator who has created a work of outstanding merit for young people.

“Many Hands” tells a Penobscot Indian tale of a girl who tries to understand why all the members of her family do not give her full credit for her accomplishment of making a traditional basket. Through the course of the story, she comes to appreciate the contribution of others in the making of the basket and learns the meaning of the Penobscot saying, “Many hands make the basket.”

To learn more about the Lupine Awards, visit mainelibraries.org.

PORTLAND

PSO director to present overview of next season

Music Director Robert Moody will present a preview of the 2011-12 Portland Symphony Orchestra season at 5:30 p.m. May 4 at the Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Moody will provide an overview of the upcoming season’s concerts, including highlights of classical and pops series, background on guest artists and how the season evolved. The preview event will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.

The PSO’s 2011-12 season runs October to May, and includes nine classical and four pops programs.

Subscriptions are now on sale, with prices ranging from $80 to $390 depending on series and seat location. Details are available at portlandsymphony.org or by calling 842-0800.

ARUNDEL

Young violinist takes top prize in competition

Nash Ryder, 15, won first prize in the Maine Concerto Competition sponsored by the Bangor Symphony and was a guest soloist on April 11.

Ryder started his violin studies at age 7 with Clorinda Noyes at the New England Suzuki Institute, and moved on to work with Boston teacher and violinist Anait Arutunian. He now is studying with acclaimed violinist Donald Weilerstein.

For five years, Ryder has attended the New England Conservatory preparatory program, where he studies theory and composition, and plays with several chamber groups, including the Tourjee Piano Quartet. He has been a member of the NEC Youth Symphony as well as the North Shore Philharmonic.

WESTBROOK

Dancers from Drouin center win at regional contest

Drouin Dance Center of Westbrook’s dance company won the top honor at the Showstopper Regional Dance Championships in Brockton, Mass., in late March.

More than 50 studios from New England and New York competed in the event. Drouin’s dance number, “People Are Strange,” won top junior group for dancers ages 9 to 12.

The dancers are Isis Clark, Meghan Dadiego, Madison Fox, Annie Knowles, Jada Libby, Olivia Morgan, Samantha Siewertsen and Elisabeth Young.

Kendra and Kaylyn Madore also won a high-scoring Double Platinum medal for their tap duet, “Court Time,” choreographed by Rhonda Cook.

— Compiled by Bob Keyes, Staff Writer

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