Aug. 21-23, 2010 - Cumberland Motor Club Autocross Event
Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine is inviting you to participate or just come and watch! With over 11 million square feet of available pavement, CMC will be running two courses per day! Don't Miss out on this premier autocross/autoslalom event. Registration starts at 7:30am course opens at 9:00am

Aug. 26-29, 2010 - Crown of Maine Balloon Fest
There will be hot air balloons from several states and Canada joining in this fun four-day weekend, along with other activities on the grounds of the Northern Maine Fairgrounds. Balloon rides available. Visit www.crownofmaineballoonfest.org for more information.

Aug. 28-29, 2010 - Jewelry Artisans Free Demo Weekend
Jewelry Artisans of Maine Cooperative Store is hosting a Free Demo Weekend, at 586 C Main Rd. North in Hampden, Maine. Demonstrations will be held during normal business hours, 10-6 on Saturday 08/28, and 12-5 on Sunday 08/29. Demonstrations include, but are not limited to, Kumihimo Japanese Knotting, Water Casting, Enameling, Wire wrapping, Fold Formed Copper Pendants, and many, many more. A full demo schedule is available at the store, or by responding to this post at amanda@riversidejewelrydesigns.com. Hope to see you there!

Sept. 2-5, 2010 - Bluegrass Festival
Come join us for our 2nd Labor Day weekend Bluegrass Festival - it's now a four day event. See the attached flyer or visit www.countybluegrass.com. Be an early bird and and see ya on the 2nd. Details

Oct. 3, 2010 - Oct. 29, 2010 - UMFK Blake Library to host exhibit by local artist Erika Thiele
In recognition of October as National Down Syndrome Awareness month, the University of Maine at Fort Kent Blake Library Gallery will display an exhibit of oil paintings by local Fort Kent artist Erika Thiele from Sunday, October 3 through Friday, October 29.

Erika Heidi Thiele, a 40-year-old artist born with Down syndrome, was first discovered by her high school art teacher who noticed her special talent and artistic ability. Erika has gone on to develop her talent through private lessons with a professional artist, as well as through art classes. The exhibition features more than 30 oil paintings of beautiful landscapes and flowers that she has been working on over several years. Erika works with oil paints. Among her favorite works are renditions of Monet and Van Gogh, classic landscapes and impressionist art, as well as seasonal scenes and still life images of flowers and vases. Over the years, Thiele has exhibited her paintings throughout the state, including shows in Augusta, Waterville, Bethel, and Bath. She has been recognized by both Cary Medical Center in Caribou and the Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle as an "artist of the month."

Erika's works also has drawn national recognition from such groups as the national Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) in New York City. The NDSS chose two of Erika's paintings as the cover prints for invitations to the annual professional Women's Luncheon Series in New York City and Los Angeles.

Thiele's art work has strengthened her own self-confidence and pride in her abilities and serves as a model for what people with disabilities can accomplish when given a chance. As a result from the increased interest in her work, Erika has sold several paintings in recent years. Individuals interested in purchasing a painting should contact Thiele at 834-3820. The exhibit can viewed Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 9 p.m. For more information on the exhibit, please contact Sofia Birden, gallery curator, at 834-7527. National Down Syndrome Awareness month, celebrated in October, aims to educate and make aware to the community the risks, symptoms and treatments for Down Syndrome. According to the National Down Syndrome Society in America, there are approximately 400,000 people with Down Syndrome.

Thursday, October 7, 2010 - UMFK LECTURE SERIES PRESENTS DR. RUTH NADELHAFT
The University of Maine at Fort Kent Presidential Lecture Series will present Dr. Ruth Nadelhaft, editor of "Imagine What It's Like," a literature and medical anthology, on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at 7 p.m. in the Nadeau Hall Teleconference Room. The event is free and open to the public. During her presentation of "Imagine What It's Like," Dr. Nadelhaft will read short selections from different sections of the anthology. She will begin by describing the literature and medicine seminars, as well as her involvement, all of which led to the anthology. Many years in the making, "Imagine What It's Like" is very different from other literature and anthologies. It contains:

• a wider range and greater number of readings than any other literature and medicine anthology
• a great diversity of voices, from many times and places, addressing a myriad of conditions, topics and issues
• a full scope of literary genres, from poetry and fiction to plays and memoirs

"Imagine What It's Like" was published in 2008 as part of the Literature and Medicine Project with the Maine Humanities Council. It will be of interest to anyone who has ever been ill, attended to someone who was ill, or who had contact with the healthcare system as a patient, visitor, or working in the system. Dr. Ruth Nadelhaft is Emeritus Professor of English and Emeritus Director of the Honors Programs, both at the University of Maine in Orono. Dr. Nadelhaft was a professor of English and General/Liberal Studies at the University of Maine from 1980-1991. She directed the honors program there from 1991-1997. Dr. Nadelhaft received a Master of Science and a Ph.D., both in British Literature, from the University of Wisconsin. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Queens College, City University of New York. For further information, please call Dr. Jenny Radsma at 834-7586, or e-mail her at: radsma@maine.edu The UMFK Presidential Lecture Series was launched this year to provide a platform for intellectual discourse among campus community participants, as part of UMFK's Strategic Plan for Excellence. The Series, which is aimed at fostering an environment of academic inquiry and excellence, brings to campus a variety of renowned scholars, speakers, authors, and poets.

Friday, October 8, 2010 - Dr. David L. Brown to present on the UMFK campus
Dr. David L. Brown, co-director of the Community & Regional Development Institute at Cornell University and Libra Scholar, will present "The Future of Rural America through a Socio-Demographic Lens" on Friday, October 8, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Nadeau Hall Teleconference Room on the campus of the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

Dr. Brown's presentation is part of UMFK's ongoing Environmental Studies Speaker Series. The event is free and open to the public“The Future of Rural America through a Socio-Demographic Lens” will examine four dimensions of rural change during the past 40 years. Dr. Brown also will discuss the implications of social, economic, and demographic transformations for the future well-being of rural people and communities.

Brown's research focuses on migration and population redistribution in the United States and Europe, with a particular focus on how migration affects and is affected by local community organization. His work also focuses on the production and reproduction of social and economic inequalities between regions and rural versus urban areas. Dr. David L. Brown is a professor and chair of Developmental Sociology, and associate director of the Population Research and Training program at Cornell University, in addition to co-directing the Community & Regional Development Institute. Prior to joining the faculty at Cornell in 1987, Dr. Brown conducted policy research and was a research administrator with the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.

Brown received the Chancellor's Award for Professional Excellence in 2009 from the State University of New York, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Rousse in Bulgaria. He is past president of the Rural Sociological Society. For further information on Dr. Brown's presentation, or UMFK's Environmental Studies Speaker Series, please contact Dr. Steve Selva at 834-7617.

Sunday, October 24, 2010 - 2010 Maine Kidney Walk
The Maine Kidney Walk is a fundraiser designed to raise both awareness and dollars for the fight against kidney disease. All walkers are encouraged to raise as much money as possible from family, friends, co-workers and business associates in support of their participation in the Walk.

• Deering Oaks Park
• Portland, ME
• Check in: 11:00 a.m.
• Start time: 12:45 p.m.
• Pre-registration is recommended.
• www.kidneywalk.org

Sunday, October 24, 2010 - UMFK FOUNDATION PRESENTS GUITARIST AND FIDDLER, JOHN TERCYAK
The University of Maine at Fort Kent Foundation will present an afternoon of musical delight with guitarist, fiddler, and vocal entertainer, John M. Tercyak, on Sunday, October 24, at 2 p.m. in UMFK's Fox Auditorium. Tercyak's repertoire consists of over 700 songs. Folk, country, old-time, jazz, Celtic, bluegrass, classical, and Texas swing, all are a part of his collection. He specializes in taking requests from his audience. Tercyak has been performing for more than 25 years. He began playing the violin at the age of six, and he began playing with his brother's guitar at the age of 10. Along with his brother and sister, he took lessons at the Julius Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. Tercyak later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He gives lessons in fiddle and guitar, and also is a voice coach. He resides in Bar Harbor, Maine. Tickets to Tercyak's performance are priced at $10 each, and are available UMFK Development Office, or at the door. For further information, please contact Linda at 834-7800.