LEWISTON – Bates College invites residents of Lewiston and Auburn to “Affirming Our Community,” an Earth Day celebration starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building, Central Avenue.

The gathering will feature a free barbecue and the distribution of bulbs for spring planting on a first-come, first-served basis. Scrod Pudding, a Maine contradance band, will perform. Laura Biscoe, director of the Office of Special Projects and Summer Programs at Bates, said that some 6,500 bulbs for spring planting, including 15 varieties of lily and gladiolus, will be distributed.

For more information, call Special Projects and Summer Programs at 207-786-6077.