Protect Your Ears While Hunting!

John O'Connor, an outdoorsman and blogger passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, has provided information about the dangers of hearing loss due to hunting. He provides us with some good hearing safety advice and gives us some recommendations about earplugs, earmuffs, and electronic earmuffs. You can read his article at the link below:

www.travel-maine.info/safety/hearingloss.htm

Summer Concert Schedule for Portland Chamber Music Festival

The Portland Chamber Music Festival Summer Concert schedule will take place from August 8 to August 17, 2013. The summer concerts are held at the Abromson Center at the University of Southern Maine's Portland Campus (close to downtown Portland). This series of concerts over several days features a wide range of repertoire including the music of living composers. Learn more details at the PCMF calendar.

http://www.pcmf.org/calendar.php

Bangor, Maine Beer Festival - June 22, 2013

The Bangor Beer Festival will take place on the Bangor Waterfront on Saturday, June 22nd. Local Maine breweries will take part in the event. You can learn more about the event at the "Bangor's Beer Festival Tap Into Summer" website.

Concert - Steve Reich's "Different Trains" - May 23, 2013, Portland, Maine

A concert featuring Steve Reich's "Different Trains" will be held at the SPACE Gallery on May 23, 2013 at 7:30 pm in Portland, Maine.  Learn more about the SPACE Gallery and Steve Reich's "Different Trains" here. You can also purchase his music online at Amazon.com at the following link.

Reich: Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint / Kronos Quartet, Pat Metheny

St. Martin's Thift Store Sale (Millinocket, Maine) 16 Mar 2013

A 'Swing into Spring' Saturday sale will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., March 16, at the non-profit St. Martin's Thrift Store located at 112 Maine Ave., Millinocket. This will mark the thrift store's introduction of its pre-loved and gently used spring and summer clothing for men, women, children and babies. A moderately priced luncheon will be available on site. Proceeds from the sale help to support St. Martin's Emergency Fuel Fund and Food Pantry, outreach ministries open to eligible residents of the Katahdin area regardless of religious affiliation. For more information contact the thrift store 723-4513 (Tues-Wed) or church office 723-5902.

5th Annual Ski Marathon & Tour by Maine Huts & Trails (March 17, 2013)

Maine Huts and Trails’ 5th Annual Ski Marathon and Tour will be taking place on Sunday, March 17th. A point-to-point race/tour through the hills of Western Maine, the event will feature 3 different distances, a 60K, 40K and 20K, and are limited to 175 participants in total. Awards and prizes will be presented to the top three male and female participants for each of the three races. Food and refreshments will be provided over the course of the event and a free post-race lunch will be served at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center, where each of the three races conclude.

The 60K begins at Grand Falls Hut, the 40K begins at the Flagstaff Hut trailhead and the 20K begins at the Gravel Pit on Long Falls Dam Road. All three races conclude at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center. Race day check-in for participants not spending Saturday night at the huts will be held from 7:00 – 8:15 AM at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center as well.

www.mainehuts.org/ski-marathon/

Prevent Hearing Loss While Hunting

John O'Connor, an outdoorsman and blogger passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, has provided information about the dangers of hearing loss due to hunting. The human ear is designed to take in approximately 65 DB (decibels) yet a gunshot produces approximately 160 DB. There is a danger of permanent damage to the ear if hearing protection is not used. John provides us with some good hearing safety advice and gives us some recommendations about earplugs, earmuffs, and electronic earmuffs. You can read his full article about hearing loss and hunting at the link below:

www.travel-maine.info/safety/hearingloss.htm

Ice Fishing on a Cold Day in Maine

A recent online post describes a typical ice fishing day in Maine. See "Dick Pinney's Guidelines: Ice fishing in Maine and good food", NewHampshire.com, February 9, 2013.

The Business of Snowmobiling In Maine

Maine provides lots of recreation for snowmobilers - especially when the state has snow. A writer examines the business side of the Maine snowmobile sport. Read more in "Snowmobiling puts cold cash into Maine's economy", Maine Sunday Telegram, February 9, 2013.

Guide to Snowmobiling in Maine

The Maine Snowmobile Association has it's "Annual Guide to Exploring Maine's Snow Trails" for the 2012-2013 season posted online. You can view or download the guide at the link below. It is an Adobe Acrobat PDF, 32 pages long, and 5 MBs big. The publication has a description of the 14,000 mile long Maine snowmobile trail system, where to get snowmobile maps, how to register snowmobiles, snowmobile safety, snowmobile laws, a listing of snowmobile clubs, and listings of places to stay in snowmobile country.

www.mesnow.com/pdfs/2012Guide.pdf

Snowmobile Education Courses - Maine

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the state of Maine offers Snowmobile Education Courses that teach proper operation and safety, maintenance, laws, emergencies and survival, first aid, map and compass, and other topics. The course is six hours long. Course dates and times are posted here.  Learn more about snowmobiling in Maine.

Naples, Maine Winter Carnival (Feb 9, 2013)

The Naples Winter Carnival (Maine) will be held on February 9, 2013. It is sponsored in part by the Muddy River Sno Seekers of Naples, Maine. There will be radar runs, helicopter rides, fireworks, fishing derby and more.

http://www.muddyriversnoseekers.org/

Maine Snowmobilers Hope for Big Snowfall in Early February

Maine snowmobilers have not seen much snow during the month of January (2013) and many of the trails in southern Maine are lacking enough snow. That may very well change in the next few days (Feb 7-9) depending on how much snow falls in the upcoming snow storm. Read more in "Maine snowmobilers hope big storm forecasts are true", Bangor Daily News, February 6, 2013.

"Swing into Spring" Sale at St. Martin's Thrift Store in Millinocket, Maine (March 16, 2013)

A 'Swing into Spring' Saturday sale will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., March 16, at the non-profit St. Martin's Thrift Store located at 112 Maine Ave., Millinocket. This will mark the thrift store's introduction of its pre-loved and gently used spring and summer clothing for men, women, children and babies. A moderately priced luncheon will be available on site. Proceeds from the sale help to support St. Martin's Emergency Fuel Fund and Food Pantry, outreach ministries open to eligible residents of the Katahdin area regardless of religious affiliation. For more information contact the thrift store 723-4513 (Tues-Wed) or church office 723-5902.