JAY – The Thrift Shop at North Jay Methodist Parish House will open Friday, April 1, and continue to be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Nov. 12.

Day meeting

JAY – North Jay Grange 10 will hold a day meeting on Saturday, April 2, at the hall. The event will begin with a noon potluck dinner and the program will begin at 1 p.m. All grangers and non-members are welcome to attend.

Featured artist

FARMINGTON – Farmington’s John Lovejoy will be the featured artist of the month for April at Heirlooms of Tomorrow. An open house is planned from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2. The public is invited.

Lovejoy offers realistic paintings of landscapes, ocean and inland, as well as abstract pieces. His earliest training was in oil under Ron Parlin. He has studied water colors under Stan Keirstead and taken courses with Marni Lawson and Selina Shields.

Lovejoy is a member of UpCountry Artists and is a jazz guitarist. He holds a degree in jazz and contemporary music as well as an accounting degree from the University of Maine in Orono.

Heirlooms of Tomorrow is located at 710 Wilton Road.

Center auction

WILTON – The Wilton Early Childhood Center will hold its annual auction at 6 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the Cushing School. Adrian Harris will be the volunteer auctioneer.

Area businesses and families of the center have donated items to be auctioned, many of them handmade.

The center is a nonprofit organization that provides early childhood learning experiences for local families. For more information, call 645-4488.

Take-out supper

NEW SHARON – A take-out bean supper will be held Saturday, April 2, at the New Sharon Congregational United Church of Christ on the Cape Cod Hill Road between 10 a.m. and noon. The meal will include a quart of baked beans, a pint of coleslaw, yeast rolls or brown bread and a homemade pie for $12.

To reserve a meal, call Mary at 778-2366, or on April 2, reserve a meal by calling the church at 778-2517.

Benefit showing

FARMINGTON – Literacy Volunteers of Franklin and Somerset Counties will have benefit showings of “The Merchant of Venice” at 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at Narrow Gauge Cinema. The movie is based on Shakespeare’s play and stars Al Pacino as Shylock, Jeremy Irons as Antonio, Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio and Lynn Collins as Portia.

Tickets may be purchased in advance at The Booksellers, Twice Sold Tales, Howard’s Rexall, and Mickey’s Hallmark. For more information, call 778-3460.

Career sessions

WILTON – Several sessions will be held in April at the Wilton CareerCenter, located at 865 Route 2. There is no charge and they are open to the public. To register for the workshops, call 645-5800 or toll free 1-800-982-4311.

They are as follows: “Applications/Work History/References” from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 1; “Interviewing Skills” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 1; “Test of Adult Basic Education” from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 7; “General Aptitude Test Battery” from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, April 15; “Career Decision-Making” from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 12; and “Essential of College Planning and Study Skills” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 14. Call 1-800-281-3703 to register for the last session.