Audubon aid

BREMEN – Financial aid is available from Maine Audubon for youth and teens to attend residential sessions this summer at Hog Island Audubon Camp.

Maine youth ages 11 to 17 who are interested in the natural world and demonstrate financial need can get an application by e-mailing [email protected], calling 781-2330, ext. 215, or downloading from www.maineaudubon.org.

Residencies ready

MONHEGAN – Applications are being accepted for the Carina Residency for Maine Artists. The residency gives two artists the opportunity to live and work on Monhegan, home to artists for more than a century.

The residency is designed to give back to Maine artists part of their heritage and tradition, including a tradition of creative experimentation and exploration. Carina House, formerly the summer cottage of fiber artist Robert Semple, has been made available and is administered by Monhegan Artists’ Residency Corporation. Each participant will receive a modest stipend to cover food and other basic expenses.

For 2006, the program is available to visual artists only, defined for the purpose of this program as anyone engaged in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, new media or photography as may be appropriate to the Monhegan situation.

Applicants should be able to participate in either session: which run from May 27 to June 30 and July 8 to Aug. 14. The deadline for application is March 30. Send application materials to Carina Residency, Farnsworth Art Museum, PO Box 466, Rockland, ME 04841. Applicants will be notified by mail on or before April 30.

Adoption meeting

PORTLAND – Maine Adoption Placement Services will hold an adoption informational session at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, at MAPS International, 277 Congress St. Preregister by calling 775-4101. The focus will be on domestic and international programs. See www.mapsadopt.org for more information about adoption and humanitarian aid programs.

Volunteers needed

BERLIN, N.H. – Anyone interested is invited to join staff on an Appalachian Mountain Club volunteer trail crew. One- to five-day crews are available. No trail maintenance skills are necessary.

Some of the opportunities available are as follows:

Two-week spike teen crew: White Mountains, June 25 to July 7. Two weeks of trail work with a day of rock climbing in the Mount Washington Valley. Open for teens ages 16 to 18.

Classic Dodge Crew: White Mountains, July 23 to 28. The Monday of the program is a day trip to learn skills, then spend the rest of the week in the backcountry maintaining trails. Open to all age 16 and older

Baxter crew: Baxter State Park, Maine, July 30 to Aug. 4. Spend a week working on the trails out of a base camp in the remote Baxter State Park in northern Maine. Open for ages 18 and up.

Young members crew: White Mountains, Aug. 6 to 11. Open to individuals in their 20s and 30s.

Contact adelucia@outdoors. org, or 603-466-2721, ext. 192, for more information and to register. For a full schedule of trails projects and workshops, visit http://www.outdoors.org/trails/volunteer/trailopps/vol-crews-schedule.cfm.

Marketplace slated

GORHAM – The ninth annual Gorham Marketplace will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at the University of Southern Maine’s Costello Field House. The event, sponsored by the Gorham Business and Civic Exchange, is an opportunity for local businesses to showcase the products and services available in Gorham.

The marketplace will feature more than 90 exhibitors from profit and nonprofit sectors. There also will be a demonstration area for local clubs and organizations. The event is free, and all are welcome. The children’s corner will feature a bouncing house, arts and crafts and games.

There will be a food court, American Red Cross blood drive and money drawings. An entertainment stage will feature a range of local performers. For more information, contact Chair Cindy Hazelton at 839-5034, [email protected].

Host families

ASSE International Student Exchange Programs is seeking local host families for boys and girls from a variety of countries around the world. The students are ages 15 to 18 and are coming to the area for the high school year or semester. They have good English, are anxious to learn about the USA by living as part of a family, attending high school and sharing their own culture and language.

The exchange students will arrive shortly before school begins and return at the end of the school year or semester. Each student is insured, brings his or her own personal spending money and expects to bear his or her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles.

To become a host family or find out more about the program, call Joyce McKenney at (207) 737-4666 or 1-800-677-2773.