FCL travel series ready for take-off

Join the growing number of eager armchair travelers who vicariously enjoy sightseeing with local residents serving as tour guides. These guides share photos and brief travelogues of their adventures abroad.

The 2017 Armchair Travel series begins Monday, Feb. 27, and continues each Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. through March.

On the first night, take a scenic trip along the shores of Lake Michigan with Sally Walsh. Unexpected discoveries are part of the scenic road trip along shorelines that look surprisingly like those in New England. Cherries and cheese, fields of grain, and lighthouses are all brought into focus during this tour.

Textile arts retreat

Don’t expect agendas, schedules, classes or registrations at a weekend retreat for textile fanatics Feb. 24-26 at the Hilton on Park Street in Freeport. Hosted by New England Textile Arts Network, there will be opportunities to learn and meet others interested in knitting, spinning, crocheting, weaving, hooking, felting and more. There are vendors that will present lots of different supplies at the marketplace on Saturday.

This is a spa weekend to reunite and meet cool people, enjoy conversation, cocktails and craft. Stop by and check it out. 

Timely talk on tides 

After Jonathan White nearly lost his 65-foot wooden schooner in an Alaskan tide, the writer, sailor and surfer wanted to understand the tides better. He knew the moon had something to do with them, but what?

According to Bill Yeo of the Bangor Daily News, “White’s quest started when he expected he’d learn enough from a book or two. The subject turned out to be far more complex, fascinating and poetic than he imagined. Two books turned into 10, and 10 into 300 – and 10 years of research crisscrossing the seven seas.”

White’s newest book, “Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean,” will be the subject 7-8 p.m. Friday, March 3, at LL Bean Flagship Store, 95 Main St., Freeport. 

“Tides” is the result of White’s search for “the largest, fastest, scariest and most amazing tides in the world,” Yeo said on bangordailynews.com. In China, he confronted a 25-foot tidal bore called the Silver Dragon that races 80 miles up the Qiantang River. At London’s Royal Society, he researched the earliest science on tides in the western world, which preoccupied thinkers from Leonardo da Vinci to Galileo to Newton. In the Arctic, he followed an Inuit down a hole through the ice to harvest fresh mussels in the places left by low tide.

“With photographs, stories and short readings, White will weave an enthralling journey into the surprising and poetic workings of the tide,” Yeo promised.

Happy Birthday, let’s help others!

Jared Conant, of Yarmouth, will celebrate his 13th birthday by holding a Community Food Drive. Jared learned that in Maine, one in four children struggles with hunger, and proper nutrition is critical to a child’s development and academic achievement. Part of what he learned about hunger led him to run a food drive to help end hunger in his corner of Maine.

Conant will be accepting donations at the Yarmouth Community Food Pantry from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. The Pantry is located at First Parish Congregational Church at 116 Main St., and serves people in Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Cumberland, Freeport and Pownal. Monetary donations can also be made in person or with checks made out to Yarmouth Cares About Neighbors either hand delivered or mailed to 116 Main St., Yarmouth, ME 04096, attn: Jared Conant.

An interesting note about food pantries is that peanut butter is frequently donated, but not jelly. Therefore, here is a list of items that have high priority to fill in the cracks on the shelves: canned meats (chicken/tuna), jelly, kid-friendly cereals, coffee, hot chocolate, meat stews, instant oatmeal, canned pastas like Beefaroni and Ravioli and spaghetti sauce. What is also needed are household and personal items like shampoo, soap, toilet paper, paper towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Please mark your calendar to contribute to this act of kindness. Stop by with your donations. You can also wish Jared a Happy Birthday!

Municipal meetings

A full schedule of meetings and agendas are available at freeportmaine.com/calendar.

Send community notes from Freeport, Pownal and Durham to tritownnotes@gmail.com.

The mystery and science behind tides will be discussed by author Jonathan White during an hour-long talk at the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport on Friday, March 3, beginning at 7 p.m.