AUBURN – The Pineland Fiddlers youth folk orchestra will visit the Twin Cities Saturday, April 7, to share their talents at two special community outreach events.

Their first appearance will be at Schooner Estates Retirement Community, where they will present a 2 p.m. concert geared especially to seniors. The 45-minute program, which is open to the public free, will feature a mix of French-Canadian and Celtic dance tunes.

The young fiddlers will then hustle across the bridge to the Lewiston Public Library where they will provide the music for a Family Barn Dance at 3 p.m. in the Callahan Hall.

The event will begin with a brief “how to” session in the basics of old-time contra and square dancing taught by Cindy Larock, the library’s cultural arts coordinator and a master folk artist with the Maine Arts Commission.

Admission to the dance is $1 a person, with all ages invited. “We encourage everyone to get in on the dancing, but those who would prefer to just sit out and listen to the music are welcome as well. They’ll have fun either way!” said Larock.

The Pineland Fiddlers touring ensemble is a group of 15 to 20 string musicians who range in age from 6 to 16 and hail from the Augusta-Waterville area as well as Farmington, Kingfield and the mid-coast region.

All participants in the Pineland Suzuki School, they are coached by one of Maine’s top folk fiddlers, Ellen Gawler. French Canadian jigs and reels comprise a large part of the group’s performance repertoire, and their activities in Lewiston-Auburn will help to raise funds for a trip to Quebec that they will embark on during April vacation.

During their five-day tour they will perform for Canadian schoolchildren, participate in workshops with French Canadian fiddle masters, share tunes with young Quebecois fiddlers and visit a Cabane Sucre (sugar shack), which offers traditional music and dancing along with maple syrup treats.

The ensemble has recently released a CD titled “Pineland Fiddlers: Salut!,” which will be available at local appearances, with the sale proceeds earmarked to support their Quebec excursion.

More information on the Pineland Fiddlers’ concert at Schooner Estates is available by calling 784-2900, and for the LPL Barn Dance the number to call is 784-0135, ext. 200. The library event is co-sponsored by the Association Canado-Américaine Chapter 52.

The Pineland Fiddlers also will perform as the opening act for folk cellist Rushad Eggleston and his Band of Snee at 8 p.m. Saturday, at the Universalist Church. Admission to that event is $10, or $5 for students and seniors. More information on that event is available via Greg Boardman at 777-5320.