Saturday December 1 - Shop downtown on December 1 and a portion of the sales from participating stores are donated to a local charity.

Thursday December 13, 5-10pm – Shop ‘til you drop in downtown Portland! Participating stores will remain open until 10 pm. Merry Madness kicks off at the Regency Hotel and Spa with music, raffles, food, and fun! It’s a night full of fun with your friends- shop, eat, and be merry!

Female artisans from all over New England will feature handcrafted pieces. This show benefits New Hope for Women.Designing Women is a nonprofit volunteer corporation that has been bridging art and community since 1991 by sponsoring shows featuring female artisans from New England and working directly with organizations that benefit women and girls in the community.

Meet the Downeast Dog Scouts at the Bark For Life event in Hancock County. The American Cancer Society Bark For Life is a community event that will honor the caregiving qualities of our canine friends. It is a noncompetitive walk event for dogs and their owners to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer.

The seventeenth annual Newfie Fun Days celebrates the Newfoundland dog with a full schedule of events for anyone interested in learning more about this magnificent breed.

The Sebasticook Valley Elks Lodge is holding a charity raffle to win a 2012 Jeep Wrangler. Tickets are $25 each and are available from any member, from the lodge, by mail, using the form on its Web site, or at Hartley's in Newport, Maine.

The Queen City's Grange Community Yard Sale is August 4 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

A public supper offering eighteen different entrees, six vegetarian choices, as well as a variety of pies.

The Ladies Auxiliary to Northport Memorial VFW Post 6131's yard and bake sale tol benefit veterans and their families as well as cancer research.

Area poets and local residents read the best of Maine poetry with Maine's poet laureate Wesley McNair.