SOUTH BERWICK

Music and stories at library

Musician and storyteller Gary Sredzienski will give a performance at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the South Berwick Public Library, 27 Young St.

Sredzienski will present a program of accordion music and autobiographical and historical stories.

For more information, visit www.southberwicklibrary.org or call 384-3308.

PORTLAND

Free intro to computers

The Portland Public Library continues to offer Basic Computer Training Level I classes at 5 Monument Square.

The next class meets from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, with additional sessions offered March 18 and April 1 and 15.

The workshops are free but registration is required in advance, as space is limited.

This class is designed for computer novices, who will learn the parts of a computer and how to operate the mouse and keyboard, and gain confidence by practicing basic computer skills.

To register, call 871-1700, extension 708, or stop by the public computing desk at the main library to get on the roster.

Kids’ music class Saturday

Ellie Osborn will kick off the Sam L. Cohen Children’s Library spring early-literacy initiative, “Singing Through Your Day,” at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at 5 Monument Square.

Her interactive music class is part of the library’s “Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library” project. This parent education initiative stresses that early literacy begins with the primary adult in a child’s life.

Parents, caregivers and their young children are invited to attend.

St. Patrick’s Parade Sunday

The Irish American Club’s St. Patrick’s Parade will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The parade will start at the Fish Pier by the Center Street intersection and proceeds to the reviewing stand at Bell Buoy Park, at the base of Franklin Street next to the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal.

This year’s parade will feature several bands, including the Claddagh Mhor Pipe Band and the Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps.

Members of the Stillson School of Irish Dance will also perform in the parade.

The parade will end with a rally at Bell Buoy Park, where the Stillson dancers and the pipe and drum bands will perform.

A reception will follow at the Maine Irish Heritage Center, at 34 Gray St., where there will be a cash bar, food for sale, music, dancing and a special tribute to the guests of honor, the Sisters of Mercy, an order founded in Dublin in 1831.

The Heritage Center entrance is on Danforth Street.

Summer camp fair Sunday

A Summer Children’s Camp Fair will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at East End School Gymnasium, 195 North St.

Nearly 70 representative camps will participate, offering parents and children an opportunity to meet camp staff and find a summer camp that fits their needs.

Camp opportunities are for all ages and include both overnight and day camps.

The Portland Sea Dogs mascot Slugger will be on hand to greet attendees.

For more details, go to www.mainecamps.org or call 518-9557.

BRUNSWICK

Civil War talk at library

Steve Bunker will speak at the next Joshua L. Chamberlain Civil War Round Table Lecture, set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Curtis Memorial Library’s Morrell Room, 23 Pleasant St.

Bunker’s talk is titled “Union Navy: The Life of a Shellback.”

The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more details, call Al Prest at 443-2296.

How to dispel garden pests

“Organic Pest and Disease Control” will be the topic as the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust’s Tom Settlemire Community Garden continues its Winter Gardening Lecture Series on Sunday.

Discussion at the 2 to 3:30 p.m. event at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will be led by Eric Sideman, crop specialist with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.

The talk is free and open to the public.

For more details, go to www.btlt.org/gardening-workshops.

KENNEBUNKPORT

Crafts, guest reader at library

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library, 18 Maine St., will host the following programs this week:

On Wednesday, a drop-in craft day will be offered from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Junior Room. The library will provide all materials for a Mother Goose craft for all ages. Young children must be accompanied by an adult. No registration is required.

On Friday, guest reader Ed the Lobsterman will lead a program of stories, fingerplays and a craft during storytime at 10 a.m.

For more details, call 967-2778 or go to www.graveslibrary.org.

TOPSHAM

Busy week looms at library

Topsham Public Library, 25 Foreside Road, will host the following programs this week:

• A Topsham Historical Society talk at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday with Museums of Old York director Thaddeus Lyford.

• The Topsham Garden Club will host a session on “Backyard Birding” from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The public is welcome. It’s bring-your-own- lunch, with coffee and dessert provided by the club.

• A Teen Talk event will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, featuring pizza and a group discussion.

• Maine Family Booknic will meet from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday to celebrate National Nutrition Month with fun food activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and by sharing information about healthy eating, family meals and challenges such as picky eaters.

• A Teen Craft session will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, featuring watercolor and plastic art projects for ages 11 to 18.

• An Art Lab for ages 6 to 13 will be offered at 2 p.m. Friday to experiment with different tools and techniques to create works of art. Materials will be provided. Registration is required.

• A Music in March session will be performed by Tom Acousti at 2 p.m. Saturday.

• The first of two Open Public Discussions, detailing the inner workings of the library, starts at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The programs are free and open to the public.

For more details, call 725-1727 or go to www.topshamlibrary.org.

CAMDEN

Library hosting programs

Camden Public Library, 55 Main St., will host the following programs this week:

• Destination Wellness speaker Nancy Lubin will present “Practice Safe Scents,” at noon Monday. Lubin is certified in clinical aromatherapy.

• The Camden Philosophical Society will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

• At 7 p.m. Thursday, Peter Pfeiffer, author of “Hard Chance: Tree Farming in Troubled Times,” will talk about independent tree farming in northern Maine and living in a backwoods community.

For more details, call Ken Gross at 236-3440.

BATH

Blarney Days begin Thursday

Downtown Bath will host the Seventh Annual Bath Blarney Days celebration Thursday through March 17.

Events include wine tastings, live music, sales, promotions, free admission to the YMCA for those wearing green Saturday or Sunday and more.

On Friday, the Jubilee Riots (formerly Enter the Haggis) will perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Chocolate Church Arts Center.

A full day of activities will be held Saturday, beginning with the Shamrock Sprint 5K race at 9 a.m. to benefit Fields for Our Future. The race will begin at Washington and Centre streets, with registration from 8 to 9 a.m.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, the St. Patrick’s Day parade will feature the bagpipers of the Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps. This year’s parade theme is “Let It Thaw! Let It Thaw!” Entries can reflect environmental, springtime and other “green” interests, as well as traditional Irish heritage. Community members are invited to join the parade by registering in advance at the Main Street Bath office, 15 Commercial St. The parade will proceed from the Knights of Columbus Hall on Middle Street and end at the gazebo in City Park by the Patten Free Library.

Cookie decorating will take place after the parade at Now You’re Cooking and Green Smoothies later in the afternoon.

Saturday’s Blarney Pub Crawl will start at 5 p.m. and will feature prizes and live entertainment. Participating pubs are the Kennebec Tavern, JR Maxwell & Co., the Front Street Public House and Byrnes Irish Pub.

On St. Patrick’s Day, pubs will be open all day with food, drink, Celtic music and Irish-themed specials.

“Shamrock” discount and “green sale” items can be found throughout the weekend in participating downtown shops.

For more details, call Carolyn Lockwood at 442-7291 or visit www.bath.com/bath-blarney-days/.

FREEPORT

Nature program on trees

Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park offers nature programs each Sunday through March at 426 Wolf Neck Road.

Most sessions begin at 2 p.m. at the circle of benches by the second parking lot and may include walks, talks and activities in a beautiful natural setting. Programs last about one hour, weather permitting.

No reservations are needed, except for group use. Nature programs are free with park admission, which ranges from $1 to $4.50 for children through adult, and is free for ages 4 and younger and senior citizens.

This week’s session is a winter tree Identification workshop.

For more information or to arrange for group visits, call 865-4465 or go to www.maine.gov/wolfesneckwoods.

WELLS

Hurricane lessons shared

“The Sandy Dialogues: Lessons From a Hurricane,” a talk, will be given from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Wells Reserve, 342 Laudholm Farm Road.

Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene were near misses for southern Maine. How would we have fared if either storm had been a direct hit?

Last year, a group of Mainers visited coastal New Jersey, spoke with residents and town officials and brought their experiences back to Maine.

Community members are invited to come and hear what the team discovered.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch and hear about key lessons for both homeowners and for our coastal towns.

There is a $2 suggested attendance fee.

For more details, call 646-1555 or go to www.wellsreserve.org.

SCARBOROUGH

River experts to give talk

“Scarborough’s Hidden Rivers” will be the featured presentation at Scarborough Land Trust’s annual meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Scarborough Town Hall.

Rich Jordan of TRC, a professional wetlands scientist and 1993 graduate of Scarborough High School, and Chris Dorion of C.C. Dorion Geological Services, a certified geologist, will be the speakers.

Their talk will follow a brief update on SLT’s recent accomplishments, including updates on the Benjamin Farm project, and plans for 2015.

The event is free and open to the public.

Light refreshments will be served.

For more details, call the land trust at 289-1199.

WESTBROOK

Food drive underway

Trinity Lutheran Church is sponsoring the fourth annual Climb Aboard the Food Train, a citywide food drive benefiting the Westbrook Food Pantry.

Church members have placed money jars and food boxes in businesses and churches around the city. Special collection sites for food have been designated at Mr. Bagel, Walker Memorial Library and the Westbrook Community Center.

Money and food will be collected until the first weekend of May, when a “food train” will pick up all the donations to be taken to the Food Pantry at the Westbrook Community Center. The train will also be parked at the bicentennial skateboard park by Hannaford and in the parking lot by Shaw’s on May 2.

For more details, call 854-5653 or email office@trinitywestbrook.com.

GORHAM

Club to hear talk on plants

The Gorham Women’s Club will meet at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at First Congregational Church on School Street.

Guest speaker Linda Faatz will talk about houseplants.

Refreshments will be served.

Guests are welcome.

SPRINGVALE

Democrats hosting party

The York County Democratic Committee will host its second annual St. Patrick’s Day Party at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Nasson Community Center, at 457 Main St.

The potluck dinner will feature traditional Irish dishes. There will also be a cash bar, music and raffles. The group also will celebrate guest of honor former U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud for his many years of service to the citizens of Maine.

Tickets are $10 to $25 and may be purchased in advance at www.ycdc.me or by sending a check made out to YCDC, c/o Paul Stolberg, 114 Broadway, York, ME 03910.

For more details, call Anne Langlois at 934-4434 or email AnnofNorth@aol.com.

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