Yo, Ho, Ho, and a Bottle of Rum...Pirates!  Unstoppable Woman? - Day 8   Blow me Down!  Pirates are coming to Monmouth, Maine this month!  Blimey, pirates!  AND a Major-General!   The Theater at Monmouth, the Shakespearean Theater of Maine, will be performing Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance from September 23 through October 3.  The Pirates of Penzance is a very popular comic opera and will feature professional and community actors.  Mark S. Cartier (most recently seen in the movie, The Box, with Cameron Diaz) will be playing the Major-General's role.  This show will no doubt be performed with the same rollicking enthusiasm and creative artistry that the Theater of Monmouth has become known for.   The Theater at Monmouth (TAM) was founded in 1970 aa a repertory company and p... 09/03/2010

Located in the heart of the Winthrop Lakes Region is the crown jewel known as the Theater at Monmouth. In 1899, Dr. Charles M. Cumston of Monmouth commissioned Harry Cochran, an accomplished painter, writer, composer and musician, to design a building with an opera hall, caucus room and town hall. Today, Cumston Hall continues to tower dramatically over Main Street. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and houses the 250-seat opera house, town hall and public library. This is the 41st season for the Theater at Monmouth or TAM as it is known locally. In 1970, Richard Sewell and Dr. Robert Joyce established the theater as a professional summer theater to produce Shakespeare's plays and the classics. The mission is "to bring innovative approaches to Shakespeare and othe... 07/01/2010

June 24, 11a.m.-4 p.m. Living History Tours, 19th century home and farm of the Washburns, one of the great political and industrial dynasties, guided tour includes visit to the one room schoolhouse to experience how "scholars" of 1853 learned their lessons and a visit to the library to meet members of the Washburn family, Washburn-Norlands Living  Center, 290 Norlands Road, Livermore. FMI: 207.897.4366, www.norlands.org. June 24, 5 p.m. Giffords 30th Anniversary Celebration, Maine's award-winning ice cream company with more than 140 years in the dairy industry, celebrating 30 years of ice cream stands, Giffords Ice Cream Stand, 293 Main Street, Farmington. FMI 207.699.5500, www.giffordsicecream.com. June 24, 6 p.m. Annual Potluck Supper, Rangeley Lakes Historical Society, held at Church... 07/01/2010

At the top of the Belgrade Lakes Chain sit East Pond and North Pond. The Belgrade Lakes Region has long been famous as a summer retreat for professionals and celebrities. The spring-fed East Pond has a surface area of 1,823 acres and a maximum depth of 27 feet with an average depth of 18 feet. East Pond  is roughly oval in shape with several coves along its margins for kayakers to explore. It's surrounded by a hardwood forest and has a marshy outlet in the northwest corner. Search for lakefront properties on East Pond East Pond flows into North Pond and Little Pond via the marshy outlet in the northwest corner. This outlet helps filter the water that enters North Pond. North Pond has a surface area of 2,225 acres and a maximum depth of 20 feet. The pond is a half mile wide and three mil... 07/01/2010

Only 15 miles from both Augusta and Lewiston, in the heart of the Maine Lakes Region, you'll find two small ponds with big personality-Cochnewagon and Wilson Ponds. They are part of the Cobbossee Watershed District. At about 410 acres, Cochnewagon is a relatively shallow pond with a maximum depth of 28 feet and an average depth of 22 feet. Certified Water Quality Monitors, Ryan Burton and Joe Saunders, test the pond every couple of weeks from spring till fall. The water quality is average. Over the years AmeriCorps and other volunteers have completed projects such as placing rip-rap and planting shrubs and plants to create buffer zones, which protect the lake from phosphorus run-off. Cochnewagon is set in the center of Monmouth. A town-owned boat launch on Town Boat Landing Road off Bea... 05/25/2010

One of Maine's finest bodies of water is Maranacook Lake, located in the Belgrade Lakes Region of Central Maine. Maranacook Lake has a surface area of about 1,673 acres and is 118 feet at its deepest point. Maranacook Lake actually is broken into two distinct basins-north and south. The north basin is located almost entirely in the town of Readfield. Its surface area is 595 acres. The highly irregular shoreline and relatively shallow water (no-the max depth isn't 118 feet in the north basin) favors warm water fish species. A state maintained boat launch is on Route 41 in Readfield. Search for lakefront properties on Maranacook Lake On the north basin, you'll find Readfield Beach on Main Street (Route 17). This 8.7-acre recreation area is available to residents for an annual fee. There's... 05/25/2010

January 8, 6 p.m. Teacher's Lounge Mafia's newest comedic performance "Three Course Meal," interactive dinner theatre serving Steve's Chicken Pie, $12/person, mature audience, Black Mountain Ski Resort, 36 Glover Road, Rumford. FMI: 207.364.9877, www.skiblackmountian.org or www.teachersloungemafia.blogspot.com. January 8, 6 p.m. 5th Annual Twelfth Night/Boar's Head Feast, local musicians, dancers, entertainers, full course meal, $15/adults, $8/children, benefits Ecumenical Heating Fund, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 59 High Street, Wilton.FMI: 207.645.2639, www.stlukesmaine.org. January 9, 9 a.m. Birding Tour, easy nature walk to identify winter birds with Don Mairs, must pre-register, Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance, 171 Main Street, Belgrade Lakes. FMI: 207.495.6039, www.belgra... 01/21/2010

August 27, 8 a.m. The Pink Ladies & Pink Men Golf Tournament, benefit the Martha B. Webber Breast Care Center at Franklin Memorial Hospital, Turner Highlands Country Club, 10B Highland Avenue, Turner. FMI: 207.224.7060 or www.turnerhighlands.com August 27, 1-4 p.m. Family History Fun Center at Old Fort Western, admission free with purchase of regular admission ($6/adults, $4/children 6-16), which includes a tour of the military, storekeeping and residential areas of the fort, 16 Cony Street, Augusta.FMI: 207.626.2385 or www.oldfortwestern.org August 29-30, 8 a.m. -4 p.m. Winthrop Craft and Flea Market, new craft and flea market open weekends, 1921 Route 202, Winthrop. FMI: 207.807.2701 or http://sites.google.com/site/winthropmarketfair August 29, 1 p.m. Early Days of Logging with storyt... 08/31/2009

August 13, 7:30 p.m. Hamlet, Shakespearian Tragedy, ticket prices vary, Theater at Monmouth, 796 Main Street, Monmouth. FMI: Box Office: 207.933.9999(V/TTY) or www.theateratmonmouth.org August 14, 7:00 a.m.-7 p.m. Skowhegan State Fair, a family fun event including truck pulls, midway rides, food, derbies and more, $8/person, Skowhegan Fair Grounds, 33 Constitutional Avenue, Skowhegan. FMI: 207.474.2947 or www.skowheganstatefair.com or 207.474.3621 or www.skowheganchamber.com August 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 22nd Annual Winthrop Sidewalk Art Show, "one of the best art shows in the state," Main Street, Winthrop. FMI: 207.458.4112, 207.377.7303 or www.winthropchamber.org August 15, 1 p.m. "A Pink Whale and a Very Tall Tree," -Shana Barry, family friendly multi-media music show including story-son... 08/14/2009