Your instructor, Mary Laury is an accomplished watercolorist and highly esteemed teacher. She encourages all her students to believe they can be successful. Painting is an exciting medium; it flows and moves and does beautiful things. If you have never painted in watercolors, we will start at the beginning. If you have painted before, you will pick up some new tips and tricks as well. We all learn together!

Step back to a time when President Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor, and their family escaped to their “beautiful little island” in the Canadian Maritimes, Campobello Island. We will be exclusive guests of the international park, staying in historic Victorian cottages. Workshop participants will explore and paint the same coastal scenery enjoyed by the summer residents at the turn of the 20th century. All meals are included in the workshop fee as well as specially planned optional evening activities designed to extend your learning from the day’s workshops. Register for the retreat then call Sherry Mitchell at 506-752-2922 to make room reservations. Acadian Arts Retreats participants will have exclusive overnight accommodations in thepark.

There is a $60 non-refundable fee when you sign up through RSU 24 Adult Education

Is Pickleball for you? Join us for the basics for those new to the game and absolute beginners. Learn the rules of scoring, court basics, the non-volley zone, common terms, faults, hot tips, and serving–the most significant difference from tennis.

Registration closes 8/13; no refunds, credits, or transfers after registration closes or if class runs on scheduled rain date.

Students will be notified, via text, of weather postponements the morning of class. Rain date 8/24.

Bring a pickleball paddle, 2 balls marked with your name (approx. $15-$40 on Amazon), and water. Wear weather-appropriate activewear, tennis shoes.

Andra Yanchenko specializes in fitness, functional movement, and racquet sports. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Health Coach, USTA, USPTA, PTR Coach, and YogaFit Instructor.

This fun and informative workshop will elevate your understanding of the many characteristics of coffee. You will be instructed in how to use a cupping sheet to record what you are experiencing in each taste of the coffee. You will begin to acquire the skills to identify different flavor profiles in the coffee. Finally you will score the coffee in terms of flavor, profile, body, and other characteristics related to each bean and its roast. This workshop will open a new understanding into the world of coffee.

Wonderful vistas and plants make a stunning background for this fun plein air painting class overseen by Maine Guide and painter Gary Roberts. Standing easels, stools, painting supplies, a surface to paint on (canvas, watercolor paper, etc.) of any size, sunscreen, and bug spray should be among the materials brought with you for this one-day class. Please also bring a bottle of water (or two) and lunch. Class will meet at the parking lot for Union Common.

Join us this summer for Spy Academy! Presented by Mad Science of Maine, this program features fun-filled, hands-on, secret agent-themed science activities that allow kids to play detective, explore forensic science, sharpen their surveillance skills, and crack encrypted messages. Kids will become super sleuths! Please note: Camp is for ages 6-12 y/o.

***This is ONLY the APPLICATION. Students must be interviewed and accepted into the course. Upon acceptance the cost of the training will be $1,800.00.   Course will only run with at least 4 students in the class.**

This course is designed to prepare the entry-level phlebotomist or those individuals seeking a medical career pathway with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to perform in a medical laboratory environment. The phlebotomy student gains confidence and professionalism in the art of obtaining blood samples for laboratory analysis through repeated hands-on practice and instructor feedback. Students are provided instruction in the areas of communication, medical terminology, proper specimen collection, basic anatomy & physiology, as well as complications and variables surrounding venipuncture. In addition to instruction students will complete a 2 week clinical experience.

Upon completion of the course students will receive 3 credits through UMPI. The cost for this program is $1800.  Financial assistance is available for those who qualify.

Upon registration, program and application materials will be sent to you.

***Preference will be given to those who complete (or start the process of) immunizations prior to the interview. This includes HepB, which takes several weeks to complete. 

Application deadline is Friday, August 1st, 2025 and interviews will follow shortly after.  Classes will begin on August 18th and go until Oct 10th.  Class meets in person at UMPI every Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. There will be a 2 week clinical experience following completion of the lecture component of the course.  Clinical locations to be determined.

In this 2 day class, you'll learn everything you need to know to get started with watercolor painting. We will have an in-depth conversation about paper and pads, paint, palettes, and brushes. After the materials lecture, we'll jump right in and make a color chart, practice mixing paint and our brush strokes. After a quick review on the second day, you'll have the opportunity to paint a custom illustration created by Catherine and printed on watercolor paper. You'll leave this short, but sweet class with enough experience and knowledge to know if investing in the materials to paint with watercolor is something you are interested in doing. All materials provided. *A $20 materials fee must be paid to instructor at first class.

When is a berry edible? What's so special about ferns and how do you tell them apart? What is a partridge berry and are they found on a pear tree? The Saco Heath is a very special ecosystem and, in late summer, full of blueberries, huckleberries, aronia berries, pitcher plants, and more! Come and see rare and familiar plants and learn about what is edible, medicinal, poisonous, touchable, smellable, and best to be admired from afar! Learn to look closely at the world beginning to bloom in this very unique place! This trail, located on beautiful Wabanaki land, is moderately flat and may be muddy in spots, depending on whether we had rain recently. Half of the trail is a narrow wooden board walk with several stopping points with benches. Registration closes at noon on 8/19. Wear comfortable shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and an optional brimmed hat or cap (which helps with both sun and bugs). Bring binoculars, if desired. Walk starts promptly at 4pm. Rain date 8/22, 4-6pm.

Note: Please communicate any accessibility concerns at registration and we will ask Laura to contact you to discuss any needed accommodations.

Laura Grover is a plant and bird hobbyist, botanical illustrator for Fedco Seeds, and a mindfulness ambassador. She has led many plant identification and mindful foraging walks for people of all ages. She enjoys bringing people together to look closely in nature, practice mindfulness outside, and be a sensory animal in the woods.