FREEPORT

Pancake breakfast, race and fireworks for the Fourth

Independence Day will be observed Friday with a number of community activities throughout the town.

A blueberry pancake and sausage breakfast will be held from 7 to 10 a.m. at St. Jude Hall, at Main and School streets. For more details, call 847-6890.

A 10-kilometer road race begins at 7:30 a.m. at L.L. Bean, followed by a family fun run at 9:15 a.m.

A holiday parade will be held at 10 a.m., starting at Main Street, proceeding from Kendall Lane south to Holbrook Street.

The day ends with a concert in the park at 7:30 p.m. by Toad the Wet Sprocket at L.L. Bean and a fireworks display at 9:15 p.m. downtown.

For more details, call (877) 755-2326.

RANGELEY

Wilhelm Reich Museum ready to open for season

The Wilhelm Reich Museum will open for the season Wednesday on Dodge Pond Road.

The facility is now one of more than 2,000 museums nationwide to become a “Blue Star Museum” that is open free of charge to active duty service members and their families.

The historic site and nature preserve comprises 175 acres of fields and woodland, a system of trails, a conference center and the Orgone Energy Observatory.

Children can explore a hands-on Discovery Room and the observatory roof provides spectacular vistas of the region’s surrounding countryside.

The facility is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays through August and Saturdays only during September.

General admission is $6 for adults and children get in free.

Private tours also are available year-round by appointment at $10 per person.

For more details, call Mary Henderson at 864-3443.

WELLS

Laudholm Farm offers several unique programs

Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm will offer the following programs this week:

“Laudholm’s Farming Past,” a docent walk detailing the property’s history from Native American life to English settlement and from farmland to estuarine reserve, 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday. Free with admission.

“Insect Safari,” search field, forest and stream for the six-legged creatures that live at the Wells Reserve for ages 6 to 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. Cost is $40 to $50.

A bird banding demonstration runs from 7 a.m. to noon Wednesday. Free with admission.

“Feathered Friends” day camp for ages 6 to 10, exploring songs, playing games and making creations based on bird themes, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Cost is $40 to $50. Reservations required.

“Sand, Snails, and Seaweed,” a hike to Laudholm Beach for activities, followed by lab work for children ages 6 to 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Cost is $40 to $50. Reservations required.

“Life Between the Tides Walk,” exploring the intertidal zone at Laudholm Beach, from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday. Free with admission.

“Yankee Woodlot Tour,” a 36-acre woodland walk and talk detailing how woodlands respond to active management while providing economic benefits from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday. $5 to $7. Registration required.

A “Coastal Geology Walk” to discover how the geology of the Maine shoreline transforms over time, 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Free with site admission.

The Reserve is located at 342 Laudholm Farm Road.

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

SCARBOROUGH

Library offers story time options for kids and parents

The Scarborough Public Library’s weekly story time schedule resumes this week, offering the following children’s programs:

Baby Lapsit, meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays in the Meeting Room for children 18 months and younger accompanied by an adult for a time of nursery rhymes, movement activities, songs and finger plays.

Toddler Time, meeting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays in the Meeting Room for children 18 months and older, accompanied by an adult for a time of exploring picture books, rhymes, songs and movement.

Family Story Time, meeting at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays in the Amphitheater for children ages 3 to 7, accompanied by an adult to promote the love of reading with all the family.

The programs are free and open to the public and run through Aug. 1

The library is located at 48 Gorham Road.

For more details, call 396-6279, email cshinay@scarboroughlibrary.org or go to www.scarboroughlibrary.org.

PORTLAND

Tate House Museum presents fun days for kids

The Tate House Museum will offer a new summer lecture series for adults and Family Fun Days for children and their parents at 1267 Westbrook St.

Tate House was built in 1755 and provides visitors with a view of the history and life of an English colonial family in the 18th century.

The Family Fun Day programs will give young people a hands-on experience of what it was like to live in colonial times while the lecture series highlights the property and area’s history and artifacts.

The first lecture will be a Stroudwater Poetry Reading held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and featuring Mihku Paul Anderson and Linda Aldritch, local Maine poets, who will read Stroudwater poetry on the Tate House lawn and talk about their art.

Cost is $10 per session and light refreshments will be served.

For reservations or more details, call 774-6177 or go to www.tatehouse.org.

Children can get help with printmaking and collages

The Portland Public Library will offer instruction in printmaking and collage techniques for kids as part of its series “I love Reading in Portland: Paws for Reading,” set to begin 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Sam L. Cohen Children’s Library at 5 Monument Square.

The class is open to children ages 4 and older.

For more details, email childrens@portland.lib.me.us or call 871-1700 Ext. 707

WEST PARIS

Finnish-American center opens doors on Sundays

The Finnish-American Heritage Center at 8 Maple St. will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays through August.

People are invited to explore the museum, browse the library, visit the gift shop or speak with staff members over a cup of coffee.

The museum will be closed Aug. 17.

For more details, call Barbara Payne at 743-5677.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Maine Prep offers concentrated SAT classes

Maine Prep will offer its next round of SAT and PSAT Score preparation courses beginning Thursday.

The classes are open to Portland area high school students, who will meet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Monday and Thursday through July 28 at Maine Prep South, 778 Main St.

The eight-session, 16-hour course is designed to teach students strategies to use in the math, writing and reading sections of the SAT.

Concentrated July SAT classes are scheduled for families who summer in Maine and for all high school seniors who want to improve their SAT scores before early decision college applications.

For more details or private tutoring, call 798-5690, email maineprep@gmail.com or go to www.maineprep.com.

ROCKLAND

Eight-week program lets kids work with garden army

There are a few remaining openings for high school-age youth who wish to participate in a student garden army, sponsored by Youthlinks.

The eight-week program features a wide array of agricultural and culinary experiences including: planting seedlings, growing vegetables, maintaining and developing a garden, harvesting crops and cooking and preparing healthy foods.

The sessions also are designed to cultivate leadership skills, help kids make a positive impact on their community and earn money through managing the farmstand sales.

Youthlinks is a program of Broadreach Family & Community Services and is located at 420 Broadway.

The program is free.

For more details, call Kris Koerber at 594-2221 or go to youthlinksonline.org.

KENNEBUNK

Brick Store Museum celebrates 78th birthday

Celebrate the Brick Store Museum’s 78th birthday by attending Open Door Day from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at 117 Main St.

Attendees are invited to come walk through the original 1825 front door, complete with a commemorative photo.

Cost is $7.50 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for ages 6 to 16, with a cap of $20 for families of four or more.

For more details, call 985-4802 or go to www.brickstoremuseum.org.

DAMARISCOTTA

Community center hosts adult summer dance camp

Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center will sponsor an “Ultimate Summer Dance Camp” for adults from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Wednesday at 521 Main St.

The sessions offer a combination of art, culture and fun.

Attendees will be taught the basics of hip-hop, jazz and ballet techniques.

Cost is $30.

Call 563-1363 to register.

KENNEBUNKPORT

Second annual Very Fairy Tea Party is on Tuesday

The second annual Very Fairy Tea Party will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library, located at 18 Maine St.

The event will feature facepainting, snacks, crafts and all things fairy. All ages are invited.

Children ages 6 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Pre-registration is required. Fore more details, call 967-2778 or go to www.graveslibrary.org.

BRUNSWICK

Maine State Music Theatre to host panel on Chamberlain

Maine State Music Theatre will hold a panel discussion from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Morrell Meeting Room at Curtis Memorial Library.

The discussion is part of a series that will run each month through August featuring a panel of MSMT artists and staff involved in “Chamberlain – A Civil War Romance” showing this summer at the Pickard Theater.

BroadwayWorld.com Maine Editor Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold will act as moderator, with a question-and-answer period to follow.

The event is free and open to the public.

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

UNION

Historical society to celebrate anthem’s 200th anniversary

The 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner” will be commemorated at Union Historical Society’s 7:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday at the Old Town House on Town House Road.

Vocalist Molly Luce, of Hope, will lead the group in singing the national anthem, followed by a slide presentation by vexillologist David Martucci of Washington. Refreshments will be served after the meeting.

For more details, call 785-5444 and leave a message.

NEW GLOUCESTER

Celebrate the Fourth with Declaration of Independence

A public reading of the Declaration of Independence will be held at 9 a.m. Friday at the New Gloucester History Barn, on Intervale Road, Route 231, behind Town Hall. The reading is sponsored by the New Gloucester Historical Society.

For more details, call Leonard L. Brooks at 926-3188.

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