Parks open house

HALLOWELL – An informal open house to celebrate National Parks Week will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at RESTORE: The North Woods, 9 Union St.

There will be refreshments, door prizes, brief illustrated talks about the proposed Maine Woods National Park and Preserve and Plum Creek’s Moosehead development plan. For more information, contact Merrylyn Sawyer, 626-5635 or [email protected].

Exercise day

AUGUSTA – The Maine Governor’s Council on Physical Activity is sponsoring All Children Exercising Simultaneously Day in schools throughout the state at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 2.

The national recommendation for school-age children is to be physically active for 60 minutes each day.

To register a school or youth center, log on to www.maineinmotion.org.

Local schools participating will be: Walton Elementary School, Auburn; Fairview Elementary School, Auburn; YMCA, Auburn; Cascade Brook School, Farmington; Harrison Elementary School, Harrison; Kingfield Elementary School, Kingfield; Lewiston High School.

Also, New Suncook School, Lovell; Kennebec Valley YMCA-Manchester Childcare, Manchester; Henry L. Cottrell School, Monmouth; Fred Morrill Elementary School, Parsonsfield; Poland Community School, Poland; Jordan-Small Middle School, Raymond; Stratton Elementary School; Turner Elementary School; and Weld Elementary School.

Writing retreat

CAMDEN – Maine Writers and Publishers will host a spring writing retreat in Camden and Rockland Friday through Sunday, May 18 to 20. Workshops will be held at the Lincoln Street Center for the Arts.

Elizabeth Peavey will present a series of workshops in creative nonfiction, with emphasis on the personal essay. Dawn Potter will provide poetry instruction, and Deb Atwell will conduct workshops for those writing in the children/young adult genre.

Space is limited to ensure small class size. Detailed information can be found at www.mainewriters.org.

Host families

RICHMOND – ASSE International Student Exchange Programs is seeking local families interested in hosting a high school foreign exchange student for the school year or semester.

The students are between 15 and 18 years old, are well screened, and speak English. Students come from Germany, Italy, France, Brazil, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Japan, the Czech and Slovak Republics and the former Soviet Union.

Interested families or single adults have the opportunity to select the student of their choice from extensive student applications, family photos and biographical essays. The students arrive from their home country shortly before school begins. Each ASSE exchange student is fully insured, brings his or her personal spending money and shares in the household responsibilities.

If interested, call ASSE area representative Joyce McKenney at 737-4666 or 1-800-677-2773, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.asse.com.

Seeks nominations

FALMOUTH – Maine Audubon, the state’s largest wildlife conservation organization, is accepting nominations through Friday, May 12, for its annual awards. The awards draw attention to individuals in Maine whose outstanding efforts as volunteers or professionals have advanced wildlife conservation locally or statewide.

For a nomination form, visit www.maineaudubon.org or call Elyse Tipton at 781-2330, ext. 229.

Award winners will be announced at a presentation Wednesday, June 20, at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. The presentation is part of Maine Audubon’s annual meeting and Peony Bloom and Ice Cream Social.