ROCKLAND — Mid-Coast School of Technology invites students, families, community members, and alumni to attend its upcoming Open House + Career & College Expo on October 1, from 4 to 6 p.m., at its campus, at 1 Main St., Rockland.

Admission is free, and the event features giveaways, door prizes, and family-friendly activities throughout the evening. Additionally, the school's Bake Shop will be open during the event with items available for purchase.

United Midcoast Charities (UMC) awarded a record-setting $686,300 in grants to 40 nonprofit organizations serving Knox and Waldo counties during its Annual Grantee Breakfast, sponsored by the Samoset Resort in Rockport. 

The annual event brought together nonprofit leaders, community partners, and UMC’s Community Grant Reader volunteers to celebrate the impact of local philanthropy and the organizations working every day to strengthen the Midcoast region through services focused on food security, housing, health and safety, and economic security.

Island Institute is one of five Maine organizations receiving donations from Bar Harbor Bank & Trust's "Casual for a Cause" second quarter 2026 employee-driven charitable giving program. Eleven organizations serving communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont will share more than $26,000 in donations.

WOOLWICH — On September 22, the Maine Department of Transportation will perform work on Route 1 in Woolwich.

Drivers will encounter one-way alternating traffic from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

This work is weather dependent, and the backup date is September 23, according to MaineDOT, in a news release.

The project location is near the southern end of Pleasant Cove Bridge in front of the former southern entrance to George Wright Road.

The Children’s House Montessori School (CHMS), in Camden, welcomes four new educators this fall. 

Ingrid Mangiardi joins Children’s House as Aftercare Coordinator and Classroom Assistant. Originally from Peru, Mangiardi studied advertising in Lima and has spent the past five years working in early childhood education programs in Maine. She moved to the Midcoast with her family this spring and especially enjoys sharing art and hands-on activities with children.

The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE), a leading statewide entrepreneurship development organization since 1997, according to the University of Maine System, in a news release, will move its programs to the UMS Graduate and Professional Center (Maine Center) effective Oct. 1.

The transition will sustain MCE’s proven programs while strengthening the statewide impact of the entrepreneurship, innovation and workforce development efforts of Maine’s public universities, according to UMS. 

First National Bank has launched the Dream First Community Grant, a new $5,000 funding opportunity supporting food security-related programming in the Maine communities the Bank serves. 

One eligible registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, municipality, or school will receive funding to launch a new initiative, expand a promising program, or strengthen an existing service. Applicants must serve residents in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, Penobscot, or Washington County.

SOUTH THOMASTON — Join Georges River Land Trust and Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District to learn about the diverse native plant species occupying Maine’s shorelines. Riverview Hayfields Preserve offers both saline and freshwater wetland habitats for exploring a variety of native plant species, how to identify them, and the unique ecological roles they play in our environment, according to GRLT, in a news release. 

CAMDEN—Last month, the long-dormant takeout stand on Route 1 opposite Camden Hills State Park got a new lease on life when Melissa Kachan, and her husband, Michael Travis reopened it and named it Happy's Take Out. 

"The whole idea was to create a positive experience for people," said Kachan. 

SOUTH THOMASTON — Join Georges River Land Trust for a morning on the trails of Weskeag Headlands Preserve constructing homes for fairies out of natural materials. This event will take place Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

DRESDEN — Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District and Maine DEP are co-sponsoring an in-person half-day event on Stream Crossing Installation Practices, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, at Pownalborough Hall, 314 Patterson Road in Dresden. The training will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. This 4-hour class qualifies for 4 Continuing Education Hours (CEH) for individuals Certified in Erosion Control Practices by Maine DEP. 

Maine’s annual statewide celebration of craft, community, and creativity returns this fall with Maine Craft Weekend. The event invites the public to plan a route on this free, self-guided craft artist open studio tour to discover the people, places, and stories behind Maine’s unique craft communities. 

CAMDEN—Filmmaker Gideon Baeza, 26, producer Marta Denny, 26, and a cast and crew of approximately 20 recently wrapped three weeks of an intense shoot for Baeza's first feature film, Hope Is Hip.