WATERVILLE

High schoolers can learn about Thomas College

A representative from Thomas College will visit several southern Maine high schools this week to meet with students and discuss its academic and sports programs and residential life opportunities.

A representative will visit:

• Kennebunk High School, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday

• Portland High School, 8:15 a.m. Friday

• Cheverus High School, 9:45 a.m. Friday

• Falmouth High School, 10:45 a.m. Friday

• Gardiner Area High School, 11:45 a.m. Friday

• Yarmouth High School, 1:15 p.m. Friday.

For more information about Thomas College, visit www.thomas.edu.

SOUTH WATERBORO

Chili, dessert competition returns for its ninth year

The Waterborough Historical Society’s ninth annual Chili, Chowda & Apple Dessert Contest will be held Saturday at the Grange Hall, 31 West Road.

Judging starts at 4:30 p.m. and public tasting begins at 5 p.m. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded in all three categories at 6 p.m.

To support the society and enter a favorite dish at no charge, area cooks – both professional and amateur – are invited to participate. Contest food will be accepted between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Entries must arrive hot, in crock pots.

Public tasting is $8 for adults, $3 for children under 12, and free for children under 5.

For more information, call Dianne Holden at 929-9651.

KENNEBUNK

Speaker faced challenges as a gay man in the CIA

The Association of Former Intelligence Officers will host a talk by guest speaker Brian Randall, CIA spy and novelist, at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Brick Store Museum Program Center, 4 Dane St.

Randall will talk about his undercover role as an international flight attendant through the lens of a gay man. Randall faced the challenges of service in an agency whose policies at the time banned homosexuals.

He’s expected to discuss his CIA training and counterintelligence assignments in Europe and the Middle East. His novel, “Demaris Protocol,” is a fact-based spy thriller about a dark operational unit, based on his 10 years in Washington, D.C.

WEST KENNEBUNK

Musician Bruce Molsky kicks off concert series

Bruce Molsky, a player of Southern American old-time music, will be featured in the first show of the fall season of the “Concerts in West K!” series, to be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at the West Kennebunk United Methodist Church, 160 Alfred Road.

The concert series benefits the church. Admission is by donation at the door; special levels for this show are $18 for adults and $12 for youths and seniors, with a maximum of $40 for parents with children.

For more information, call Paul Wells at 985-2831.

WALDOBORO

Bear biologist will speak at library meeting, potluck

The Friends of the Waldoboro Public Library will host guest speaker Dawn Brown at its annual meeting and potluck dinner, to be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Waldoboro Public Library, 958 Main St.

A short meeting to vote in new officers at 6:30 p.m follows the potluck dinner.

Brown, a bear biologist and conservationist of Second Chance Wildlife Inc., will speak on the conservation methods used in Maine to keep the bear populations thriving.

For more details, call the library at 832-4484 or visit www.waldoborolibrary.org.

FARMINGTON/JAY

Catholic Rural Life Festival to be held over four days

St. Joseph Parish and St. Rose of Lima Parish will co-host a Catholic Rural Life Festival on Thursday through Sunday, featuring liturgies, special Masses and prayer services each day.

On Thursday, St. Joseph Parish hall, 133 Middle St. in Farmington, will host a jam-making demonstration at 9 a.m. and an outdoor movie screening of “Growing Local” at 7:45 p.m., followed by night prayer.

On Friday, there will be a soup and bread luncheon and a concert by Hidden Fifth.

Saturday events will include an Irish step dancing workshop and fiddle music by Don Roy.

The festival wraps up on Sunday with a Knights of Columbus breakfast.

For the complete schedule, go to www.portlanddiocese.org/sites/default/files/files/CRLSchedule2017.xlsx.

PORTLAND

Avesta, Preble Street celebrate housing effort

Avesta Housing and Preble Street will celebrate the city’s third “housing first” program, Huston Commons, with coffee and doughnuts, a presentation and tours, beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday at 72 Bishop St.

The complex is home to 30 formerly homeless individuals with chronic health challenges.

Each fully-furnished efficiency apartment is highly insulated and features water-conserving fixtures and features, a high-efficiency heating system, low or no-VOC paints and materials, and Energy Star-qualified appliances, lighting and fixtures.

Maine Maritime Academy holds informational session

Maine Maritime Academy, in cooperation with Maine’s congressional delegation, will host an informational workshop for prospective students and their parents to learn about admission to federal service academies. The workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Clarion Hotel, 1230 Congress St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

For more details or to register for the free workshop, call 800-464-6565 or email admissions@mma.edu. Walk-ins are welcome.

BRUNSWICK

How-To Festival brims with chances to learn

Curtis Memorial Library will host its fouth annual How-To Festival and Block Party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 23 Pleasant St.

The free event will include a variety of mini-workshops from individuals and local business owners. There will be food trucks, demonstrations, giveaways, face painting and live music with local musicians.

Attendees can learn about stargazing with a telescope, decorating on a dime, researching family histories, painting kindness rocks, crafting or preparing family meals on a budget.

For more details, go to curtislibrary.com.

Class, Chamberlain lecture explore Civil War themes

This month’s Joshua L. Chamberlain Civil War Round Table Lecture will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Curtis Memorial Library’s Morrell Room, 23 Pleasant St.

Dr. Jack Battick will lead the talk “Damned If You Don’t, Damned If You Do: The Civil War Experiences of Captain George Preble, USN.”

Lectures are free, and donations are appreciated.

An eight-week Civil War course is also being offered, starting Friday, as part of the Midcoast Senior College fall semester offerings.

The classes are 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. each Friday from Sept. 15 to Nov. 3 at the Southern New Hampshire University building on Bath Road, Cooks Corner, Brunswick.

Register at midcoastseniorcollege.org or call 725-4900.

ARUNDEL

Historical society hosts 5th annual Heritage Days

The Arundel Historical Society will hold its fifth annual Heritage Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the North Chapel Common site, at Alfred and Limerick roads.

There will be familiar exhibits and events such as crafts, spinning wool and wagon rides in the fields.

This family event is free. For more details, call 283-9699.

Herb Noble motorcycle ride begins at Bentley’s Saloon

The ninth annual Herb Noble Memorial Motorcycle Ride, benefiting the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center, takes place Saturday starting at Bentley’s Saloon, 1601 Portland Road, Arundel.

Registration, which is $25 and includes a T-shirt, begins at 8 a.m. The ride starts at 10:30 a.m.

There will be a post-ride gathering at Bentley’s with a 50/50 raffle, music and dancing.

YORK

Open house, supper help land trust debut new office

York Land Trust will host an open house and country supper Sunday to mark the opening of its new headquarters on Long Neck Marsh Road.

The open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with live animal demonstrations from the Center for Wildlife, crafts, face painting, apple cider pressing and hikes along the recently completed New Point Trail. Guests are asked to bring a picnic lunch and blanket.

The seventh annual Fundraiser Country Supper will be served from 5 to 8 p.m., featuring locally sourced food, live bluegrass music and tours of the new headquarters. Attendees may bid on hand-decorated birdhouses. Tickets are $125 per person.

To register, visit www.yorklandtrust.org or call 207-363-7400.