In: Community, Events, Music, News, Outdoors

We’re looking forward to two upcoming events featuring live music at the library!

Join us on Thursday, August 8 at 6:00 pm for a performance by the Harold J. Crosby Community Band of Dexter. Bring your blankets, beach towels, or lawn chairs for this family-friendly outdoor concert!

Then mark your calendars for Thursday, September 19 at 6:00 pm for Susan Ramsey (violinist), Ruth Fogg (cellist) and Isleen Halvorsen (harpist). The trio will perform a variety of music, including Celtic, contemporary, and classical.

Both concerts are free and open to the public.

In: Children, Community, Events, Outdoors

Parents, teachers, and students are invited to attend two Middle School Summer Get Togethers–on Thursday, July 11 at SeDoMoCha and Thursday, August 8 at the Thompson Free Library.

Come between 5 and 7 pm to enjoy paint and sip, lawn games, frisbee and yard yahtzee–and to snack on hot dogs, popsicles, lemonade and popcorn! Ms. Michelle will be on hand with a variety of books to check out, and on August 8, the HJ Crosby Community Band of Dexter will play starting at 6 pm.

Hope to see you there!

In: Children, Community, Events, Outdoors

Pollinators are vital to food production all over the world. In Maine, examples of well-known pollinators include butterflies, birds, beetles and of course, bees. In June, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District worked with local volunteers to plant our Pollinator Sunflower Garden, a garden space for the public to enjoy, observe and learn about native pollinators. In celebration of this new addition to the Law Farm, the PCSWCD will be holding a free Pollinators! event on Friday, August 16th from 10 am – 12 pm at the Law Farm.

The PCSWCD is hosting Maine State Apiarist Jennifer Lund and Miss Michelle from Thompson Free Library for a morning of fun and learning for this event. Jennifer Lund will share fun facts and information with participants about native pollinators and Miss Michelle will hold a pollinator-themed story time in the center of the garden. Afterwards, participants can join our guests and PCSWCD staff for a “Pollinator Search & Find” at the Law Farm!

We hope you will join us for the Pollinators! event. RSVP is required to attend and appreciated. For more information about the Law Farm, or any program or event offered by the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District, please contact us at 207-564-2321 ext. 3, info@piscataquisswcd.org, www.piscataquisswcd.org.

In: Community, News, Outdoors

Are you interested in exploring Maine this summer? For a second year, Thompson Free Library patrons can borrow a vehicle pass for day-use to Maine State Parks and Historic Sites. This pass is made possible by a generous gift of the Friends of Maine State Parks. Passes can be checked out for two days, and allow a vehicle holding up to 17 people entrance to many state parks and historic sites, including Peaks-Kenny.

Please note that passes are not accepted at Acadia National Park, Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Baxter State Park, Maine Wildlife Park, Peacock Beach, Penobscot Narrows Observatory, Penobscot River Corridor, Scarborough Beach, Songo Lock or Swan Island. View a list of participating parks here, or contact the library to find out more!

In: Events, Outdoors

Interested in birds or getting involved with Citizen Science? Anyone who can identify at least one species of bird is welcome to contribute their observations to the Maine Bird Atlas. Want to find out more about how you can get started contributing your observations?

Join Kate Weatherby, the Maine Bird Atlas regional coordinator for the Carrabassett Valley and Dover-Foxcroft areas, and learn how to get started. This will be an informal session where we will go over the information available on the Maine Bird Atlas website, the eBird website, and we will also discuss other useful smartphone apps that may help new birders. Then, once no one has additional questions, we will head outdoors and take a walk around town to get some hands-on experience with watching for breeding bird behaviors and how to record that information for the Maine Bird Atlas.

Please dress appropriately for the weather and bring a pair of binoculars, if you have them. There will be two loaner binoculars available for sharing. If you have a smartphone, please bring that as well, particularly if you want help setting up and registering for the free eBird app.

The Maine Bird Atlas (2018-2022) is a statewide citizen science project to map the distribution and abundance of Maine birds. For more info visit: http://maine.gov/birdatlas