Have you ever toyed with the idea of writing a story or two? Maybe you’ve lived an interesting life, maybe you’re a storyteller at heart, maybe you just love the thought of putting pen to paper and letting your imagination fly! If any part of this sounds intriguing, this might be the class for you. Over a period of three weeks you will hear how I, a formed science teacher and intuitive healer, learned how to tap into my creative self and found the confidence to write my recently published memoir, “When My Mother was a Mountain.” Join me as I show you how to quiet your logical mind and slip into your creative center so you can access the artistic parts of you. Each of us has unique, creative abilities as well as varying degrees of confidence and experience. As a teacher for over forty years I have learned how to create a supportive and stimulating class environment. This “hands-on” class is for all ability levels and it will be loaded with surprises. Our focus will be on the basics of the “story” and not grammar/style. Come with a large notebook and pen and be ready to explore areas of your creativity you never imagined. Join Regina Strongheart, author and owner of Forest Circles: A center for Community, Nature Programs and Healing. Check out Forestcircles.com. Class dates are: 10/9, 10/16, 10/23.

Yoga Nidra is a meditative yoga practice, also known as "yogic sleep", that encourages a consciousness residing between sleep and awake. It is a guided meditation that focuses on relaxation and/or conscious dreaming. The class is practiced laying down, comfortable and supported with props, where the mind, body and senses are guided by the instructor into a physiological state of rest. Yoga nidra offers a break from the sensory overload often induced by busy life, screens and media. Among the many health benefits associated with yoga nidra are: improved sleep quality, stress-reduction, enhanced cognitive function, and a general sense of well-being. No previous experience necessary.

Your instructor, Chris Toy is the author of 6 popular cookbooks, a private chef, and has taught Asian-fusion cooking for several Maine community education programs. Cooking students will learn how to prepare a variety of recipes from Asia, Europe, and the Americas incorporating traditional and local ingredients. Each meal will actively engage cooks with the tools, techniques, and stories behind the dishes being created.

THERE IS A $50 CANCELLATION FEE (no exceptions).

More about the Prospect Harbor location: Escape to a Victorian Inn, the Harbor View House in Prospect Harbor on the coast of Maine, with an intimate group of artists, cooks and creatives! All meals are included in the workshop fee plus special activities to extend your learning from the day’s workshops, including a private house concert by Grammy-balloted sing-songwriter, storyteller, and author Gordan Ward. For more information about the workshop, call Mary at 207-632-2251. To book your stay at the inn call 207-963-9122 or visit https://harborviewhousellc.com/. **Lodgings not included in price.

More about the Campobello location: 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 access to accommodations in the park. **Lodgings not included in price.

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!

THERE IS A $50 CANCELLATION FEE (no exceptions).

More about the Prospect Harbor location: Escape to a Victorian Inn, the Harbor View House in Prospect Harbor on the coast of Maine, with an intimate group of artists, cooks and creatives! All meals are included in the workshop fee plus special activities to extend your learning from the day’s workshops, including a private house concert by Grammy-balloted sing-songwriter, storyteller, and author Gordan Ward. For more information about the workshop, call Mary at 207-632-2251. To book your stay at the inn call 207-963-9122 or visit https://harborviewhousellc.com/. **Lodgings not included in price.

More about the Campobello location: 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 access to accommodations in the park. **Lodgings not included in price.

Bring a sketchbook and pencil and join us for an afternoon of drawing in one of Maine's fabulous museums. Forge an intimate connection with museum collections, while improving your own work by studying the techniques of the masters. Guidance and critical feedback are provided as needed. At the end of our visit, we will meet up to share our results with the group. Museum admission is included in fee. Location: Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick. Participants will meet at the museum.

In this two-part workshop, you’ll explore the dramatic and hands-on process of raku firing. In Part 1, you’ll sculpt a piece in clay and watch a live raku firing demo. Three weeks later in Part 2, you’ll glaze and fire your own work using the raku method—removing red-hot pieces from the kiln and placing them into combustibles for stunning, unpredictable results. This class will be taught by Zachary Fields. No experience necessary. All tools and materials provided. $20 materials fee payable to the instructor. Finished pieces will go home after the second session. (rain date for Part 2: 11/8)

This 6-week course is for students who are beginning their study of Chinese as a world language. Students will acquire interpersonal, interpretive and presentational skills in Chinese. Everything that we do in class has some element of culture and we will learn about the world of Chinese culture through the study of current events, literature, art, history and music using authentic sources. *No Class: 10/13.

Have you ever thought about preserving your own food? Perhaps you enjoy the bounty of farmers markets, and want to find a way to enjoy local produce year-round. Or, maybe you have your own vegetable garden and end up with more produce than you can eat. Whatever your reason, if you want to try preserving but aren’t sure how to get started, this is the class for you! In this four-part, hands-on class, taught by Master Food Preserver and cookbook author Allison Carroll Duffy, we’ll cover all of the primary home food preservation methods you’ll need to get started, including canning, freezing, drying, fermenting, and cold-storage (root cellaring). Each week we’ll focus on a different method (or two), discussing proper procedures, techniques, food safety, and use of tools and equipment. We’ll then practice the method(s) hands-on, preparing and preserving food as a group, enjoying some samples as well. No matter what types of foods you enjoy and are hoping to preserve, this class will provide all you need to know to get started preserving food confidently at home! *A materials fee of $40 must be paid to the instructor on the first night of class.

PLEASE NOTE: The last class will run on Monday Nov 3rd, NOT Tuesday November 4th.