PORTLAND – The second annual Cure Breast Cancer for Maine luncheon will welcome Christine Clifford on Tuesday, Sept. 30, as the guest speaker.

A cancer survivor, Clifford is the president/CEO of the Cancer Club, which markets humorous and helpful products internationally for people with cancer and their loved ones. She also has written several award-winning books about her experience.

The luncheon from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Holiday Inn by the Bay will feature a video tribute about individual Maine breast cancer survivors, as well as an awards presentation. All money raised stays in Maine.

Tickets are $50 a person and may be obtained by calling 773-2533 or online at www.mainecancer.org/events/curebreastcancer.html.

Fall festival

HINCKLEY – The 10th annual Good Will-Hinckley Fall Festival will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4 and 5. The free family event will feature entertainment, hayrides, crafts and food. The Hinckley campus is on Route 201.

Food will be prepared by Good Will-Hinckley students. They will sell burgers, dough boys and fresh baked goods. Proceeds will upgrade the family cottages where youths reside or fund outings for residents.

The campus includes a working farm, a Carnegie Library and the L.C. Bates Museum. Walking trails are open to the public. People can call 238-4280 or visit www.gwh.org for details.

Learn haiku

BATH – Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance will present “Haiku Writing,” a writing workshop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the alliance office. Space is limited to 15. The cost is $55 for members; $75 for others. Preregistration is required. People can call 386-1400 to register.

Bruce Ross will introduce the formal elements of haiku writing. Participants are asked to bring writing and drawing paper, pens and pencils, watercolors and brush, charcoal stick or colored pens, if desired.

Food festival

PORTLAND – The food and culture of Portland’s ethnic communities will be the focus of the second annual Taste Around the World Food Festival from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Guild Hall, Cathedral, 317 Congress St.

Dishes from more than 20 nations will be available, as well as music and dance performances. There will be a special table for the kids.

The event is a fund-raiser for the Maine Time Dollar Network, a nonprofit that promotes a network of service-credit exchange programs in Maine.

A donation of $10 a person, $5 for kids under 12 and $8 for seniors will include the food and raffle tickets and entertainment. For advance tickets, people can call 874-9868.

Speakout training

PORTLAND – The Maine Speakout Project will host a speaker training workshop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Community Counseling Center, 343 Forest Ave.

The training will prepare participants to speak briefly and in a nonconfrontational way to local groups about their personal experience of sexual diversity. The cost is $10. Lunch will be provided. People of all sexual orientations are welcome.

Advance registration is required. To register, people can call the office at 879-0480 or e-mail msoproject@gwi.net.

Applicants sought

AUGUSTA – Maine Initiatives is accepting applications for grants in 2004. It provides three-year grants of up to $40,000 to groups cultivating social change.

“We’re looking forward to hearing from the great variety of grassroots groups that are working in their own exciting, creative and powerful ways to make a real difference for social, economic and environmental justice in Maine,” said Jeff Schwartz, chairman of the foundation’s grants committee.

The deadline for applying is Wednesday, Nov. 12. For more information, people can visit www.maineinitiatives.org, call 622-6294 or e-mail meinit@gwi.net.

Officers named

MONMOUTH – The Maine Future Business Leaders of America held its annual officers’ training in August at Monmouth Academy.

Officers include President Cory Shepherd, Vice President Cassie Gauthier, Secretary Melissa Bickford, Treasurer Amanda Favreau, Reporter Ryan Cross and Parliamentarian Ben Shimamura.

Future Business Leaders consultant Mary Lynn Fracaroli of Princeton, N.J., led the training, which addressed skills such as leadership styles and public speaking.