Flu Clinic

Camden Area District Nursing will hold a flu clinic today, Thursday, Oct. 18, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the town office. Free to folks whose primary insurance is Medicare, bring your card (unable to accept Medicare Advantage). All others $25.

“Poets' Corner”

This group will meet today, Oct. 18, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Local poets George Chappell and Jim Ostheimer conduct the workshop, hoping to encourage people interested in poetry to write. Open to the public, all levels of ability and experience welcome. Bring a selection of work to share. Call the library at 236-3642 for more information.

Ahoy, matey

Tonight, Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. Rockport Library’s Seafaring Series 2012 (free and open to the public, donations welcome!), kicks off at the opera house with “Single-Handed Sailors: Why and How They Do It.” Panel members Tom Amory, Patrick Jones, Peter McCrea, and Doug Pope have each sailed dozens of single-handed Bermuda races, a few Atlantic Circles and made scores of other blue water conquests they will relate to the audience. Thursday, Nov. 1, Captain Aaron Lincoln of the Schooner Olad, will present the second in the series: "A Day in the Life of a Schooner Captain."

“Betting The Farm”

Maine Farmland Trust is sponsoring “Betting The Farm,” a film by Cecily Pingree and Jason Mann, shown tonight, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. at The Strand. Faced with losing their small farms when H.P. Hood, one of the largest dairy companies in America, announced that it would not renew the contracts of eight organic dairy farmers in rural Maine, several farmers banded together to launch a new, entirely local milk company (Maine's Own Organic Milk Co., or MOO Milk). The subject matter/film should be of interest to so many folks for so many reasons. You won’t want to miss it.

Town

All meetings are held at the town office unless otherwise noted.

The Harbor Committee will meet Thursday, Oct. 18, at 6:15 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. the Select Board will host the annual pre-budget and roads workshop, providing a heads-up on any big issues that might impact the 2013-14 fiscal year. The workshop, open to the public, will be at the opera house, televised on channel 22.

The Library Committee will meet Thursday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m.

Meet the Candidates

A “Candidates Forum” featuring candidates for state senate — Democrat Ed Mazurek and Republican Chris Rector — and house — Republican Carole Gartley and Democrat Joan Welsh — will take place Friday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the opera house (televised on channel 22). Moderated by Dan Bookham of Allen Insurance and Financial, the event is co-sponsored by Rockport Library and Lynda Clancy of PenBay Pilot, "the Midcoast’s newest online regional network." For an excellent description of the forum, go to the library website at rockportlibrary.me.us and click on “What’s happening.”

Absentee ballots update

Ah-ha! Absentee ballots are now available at the town office. Stop in to pick up your ballot(s). Double check with Town Clerk Linda Greenlaw by calling 236-9648 in regard to the process you’ll need to follow if you want to pick up ballots for someone else.

Farnsworth activities

Thursday, Oct. 18 and 25, “The Re-imagined Place: Image to Prose” led by Lee Heffner continues at 10 a.m. at the Farnsworth’s Gamble Education Center. And, final session of the series on French/American Impressionism will be held Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 5:30 p.m. at the Farnsworth with lecturer Stephen May.

Fall Family Festival

Head to the Farnsworth Sculpture Garden Saturday, Oct. 20, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a wonderful, free, family “Celebrate the Season” time with all kinds of great, participatory fall events. The annual pumpkin lighting display will be held at dusk.

Encore!

In case you missed the “Met Opera Live in HD” 2012-13 Season Opener at The Strand last Saturday, you have another chance. "Take it!," the encore performance of Donizetti's comic gem, “L’Eliser D’Amore” will be offered at The Strand Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m. (doors open at 12:30 p.m.). Anna Netrebko is brilliant in this new production directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by Maurizio Benini.

Books & Art

“ArtLab StoryLab,” a new, collaborative program for children, continues Tuesday, Oct. 23, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at CMCA. Both the traditional and contemporary version of a fairy tale are read by Liza Walsh to show variations involved in storytelling and Marcie Jan Bronstein, artist and ArtLab instructor, then leads the kids in an art project that stems from the tale. The program is free but preregistration required; call 236-3642.

Politics

The Knox County Republican Women will meet Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 11:30 a.m. at The Helm on Route 1 in Rockport. A short business meeting will be followed by lunch. Knox County candidates for the state legislature are invited to attend to discuss their campaign. Although not necessary to RSVP, but please do for logistic purposes. Call Helen Shaw at 236-2468. Women/men, regardless of party affiliation or voter registration status are welcome.

Check-Mate!

Head to the Rockport Library to play or learn how to play chess. Led by a local chess enthusiast, this all-ages, drop-in group will meet for four Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. beginning next Thursday, Oct. 25, (and Nov. 1, 8 and15). There are plenty of chess boards available at the library, but If you have a chess board, bring it with you. For more information, call 236-3642.

Night skies

The thin crescent moon will be seen to the lower right of both Mars and Antares in the southwest just after sunset Friday, Oct. 19. And, the moon will set around 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, peak night for the Orionid meteor showers and if the weather cooperates, we’ll see up to 25 per hour of fast, bright meteors, many leaving persistent trains.

“Random Acts of Kindness”

Early one dark, rainy evening last week found me on the receiving side of a wonderful RAOK. Alan had gone to Hannaford’s, taking my beloved goldie Cassie with him. When Alan came out of the grocery store, he put the groceries in the hatch and unseen by him, Cass jumped out and he came home without her. In the meantime, a young woman spotted Cass wandering around the Hannaford parking lot. Andrea was able to coax Cass into her car, read her tags, and called me. Even though Andrea and her husband were on a tight schedule, having stopped at the store on their way home from work and needing to get home and then to a meeting later in the evening, they waited for Alan to come back and pick up Cass. Words cannot adequately describe my gratitude - in my frazzled state, I didn’t think to get Andrea’s last name and address to properly extend my thanks and gratitude to both her and her husband. Thanks to both of you!