If you’ve been taking photos for a while but you want to take your compositions to another level, this class is for you. You will learn to focus on what you see, and work to make the camera capture your vision. 

The class is a combination of evening class sessions and field trips.  Key to your success will be making a significant commitment to practice between sessions what you have learned. You don’t need a fancy camera for this course, whatever device you have on hand will be just right. 

This course is designed for people who are experienced in taking photos, have a knowledge of the features of their camera and the ability to share their photos. This is an in-person class.

The first step to taking photos is to learn your way around your camera. All the information you need may be in the instruction manual but it’s often easier to work with others to figure out the features, settings and more. 

One of the issues with the transition to digital cameras is that it’s easy to take the photographs, but if you don’t know how to transfer them to other devises so you can share them with others, what’s the point. 

If you would like support, this class is for you! This is an in-person class. 

Make-up date, if needed, 10/16/24

This course will help beginners develop basic proficiencies in all four     skill areas: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Class time will be devoted to reading dialogues, pair work, small and large group discussions, written and oral practice of structure, and vocabulary, and use of internet resources.

Throughout the eight weeks, students will learn to: greet someone; ask their name and say your name; identify a person; approach someone; ask age,  address and telephone number; talk about one’s tastes; name, show and locate objects; express possession; indicate colors; characterize an object; ask for the price; express your tastes; show and locate people; ask your way; indicate a direction; and indicate a means of transport.  We will use the French TAXI curriculum which will be provided as a PDF. 

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.

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, including a private concert by award-winning Celtic Fiddle player, Katherine Moller, in the Victorian parlor of Hubbard House.

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 the park.

Feedback from recent Acadian Arts Retreats participants: 

“I learned so much that Chris taught me, and the recipes were attainable."  Chris speaks slowly and encourages questions."

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, including a private concert by award-winning Celtic Fiddle player, Katherine Moller, in the Victorian parlor of Hubbard House.

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 the park.

Feedback from recent Acadian Arts Retreats participants: 

“Mary is a wonderful guide and a gifted teacher.”  “Very helpful watercolor instruction."

If you’ve been thinking about tracing your genealogy, this introductory course is for you!

Learn how to get started, sources of information, tools and the relevant historical contexts for migration and other factors. Roy Starling will share all of these, as well as stories of his experiences researching the history of his family back to the Vikings. 

This is an interest list.  We hope to find an instructor for this class and we anticipate the cost will be $49.  If you sign up here we'll contact you if/when we have finalized details about the course.

Maine has some of the darkest skies east of the Mississippi River.  Learn how to “read the night sky” as you identify the seasonal constellations, the phases of the moon, and visible planets. At least one session will be spent outdoors studying the night sky.  Saturn & Jupiter will be visible in the evening sky.  This is an in-person class.  

Soups made with love are a nourishing and inexpensive way to feed your family. In this series, we will share techniques, tools, ingredients and tips learned through years of cooking for family and friends.  You’ll learn techniques for preparing ingredients and bringing them all together, as well as tips on storage and serving.  A focus of the workshops will be the use of affordable and locally available ingredients, and adapting recipes to a variety of tastes and dietary  requirements. Handouts, recipes and a small container of soup for your family to try will be provided.  All registration fees are donated to Loaves & Fishes.  

Chowders  Nothing speaks New England like a creamy chowder!  You can make a seafood chowder for a special event, or a corn chowder for a quick weeknight meal that delights.  We’ll make a simple fish chowder together to learn and share some of the techniques and ingredients universal to chowders. 

Annie has always loved to cook for family and friends.  She started cooking when she was seven and was a keen observer of all the cooks in her family and beyond. She's worked in kitchens and also spent most of her childhood and early adulthood in western and eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, so her palate is broad. She shares her love of cooking with family and friends through the preparation of food full of flavor. One of her priorities when she's cooking is to create a meal that accommodates all dietary requirements--a meal that everyone can enjoy.