Waterville, ME

April 29, 6:30 p.m. Poetry and Music, featuring local poets Ted and Ruth Bookey and the vocal quartet reVerse, free, Reading Room, Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop Street, Augusta. FMI: 207.626.2415, www.lithgow.lib.me.us.

April 30, 8 p.m. Alternative Contradance, traditional dancing to great modern bands, no experience needed, all dances taught and called, beginners workshop at 7:30 p.m., $8/adults, $5/students, Chase hall Lounge, 280 College Street, Bates College, Lewiston. FMI: www.bates.edu.

May 1, 7 p.m. Capital Strings, featuring music by Vivaldi and Grieg, reception to follow, benefits Pineland Suzuki School and church, South Parish Congregational Church, 9 Church Street, Augusta. FMI: 207.622.0552, www.southparish.net.

May 1 7:30 p.m. "Seize the Mic" Finals, 12 remarkably talented individuals have emerged as "Seize the Mic 2010" finalists and will compete for cash prizes, $8/adults, $6/seniors & youth, Waterville Opera House, 1 Common Street, Waterville. FMI: 207.873.7000, www.operahouse.com.

May 1, 7:30 p.m. "The Soiree," written and performed by Amanda Huotari and directed by Avner Eisenberg (Broadway's Avner the Eccentric), $8/person, Oddfellow Theater, 17 Turner Street, Buckfield. FMI: 207.336.3306, www.oddfellow.com.

May 2, 10 a.m. PanNE Steelband Festival 2010, steel drummers from all over New England will perform on the lawn in front of the Sugarloaf Inn, free, sponsored by the Western Mountain Trash Can Band, Sugarloaf Inn, Main Street, Kingfield, FMI: www.sugarloaf.com.

May 4, 7-10 p.m. Celtic Tuesdays with Small Falls Festival from Prince Edward Island, featuring Richard Wood, Gordon Belcher and Ward MacDonald, $12/adults & seniors, $5/ages 11 and under, Franco-American Heritage Center, 46 Cedar Street, Lewiston. FMI: 207.689.2000, www.francoamericanheritage.org.

October 8, 7:00-8:00 p.m. "Precarious Balance," an interactive installation by Susan Bickford, a special collaborative performance with members of the Bates College Dance Community and musicians including Frank Mauceri of Bowdoin College, free, Charles Danforth Gallery, Jewett Hall, University of Maine at Augusta, 46 University Drive, Augusta. FMI: 207.621.3000, www.uma.edu/danforthgallery.html or web.me.com/susanbickford/site/home.html.

October 8, 7:30 p.m. Susan Tedeschi, live in concert, presented by Sweet People Productions, $37.50-$42.50, Skowhegan Opera House, 225 Water Street, Skowhegan.
FMI: 207.694.2524, www.skowhegan.org or www.sweetpeopleproductions.com.

October 9, 2 and 7 p.m. "Sea to Sea in a Model T," travelogue film narrated by Don Van Polen, Sawyer Memorial, 371 Sawyer Road, Greene. FMI: 207.946.5311, www.townofgreene.net.

October 10, 9 a.m. -2 p.m. Apple Pressing Day, press apples for fresh cider, pumpkin carving, face painting, refreshments and more, Rocky Hill Landscaping and Nursery, 55 Cemetery Road, Wilton. FMI: 207.645.5381, www.rockyhillinc.com.

October 10, 7:30 p.m. Blaggards, Stout Irish Rock Band, traditional Irish music mixed with rock ‘n roll, $15.00/person, Unity Centre for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot Street, Unity. FMI: 207.948.7469, www.unityme.org/theater/

October 12, 10:00 a.m. "Family Forest Exploration," includes a walk along forest trails where children will learn to look for signs of animals using binoculars, magnifying glasses and digging tools, plus a craft activity, $5/family, L.C. Bates Museum, Route 201, Hinckley. FMI: 207.238.4250, www.gwh.org/html/lcbatesmuseum.htm.

October 12, 8:15 p.m. Lynn Deeves and friends, Trina Hamlin and Colleen Sexton, dine from 5:30-8 or just come enjoy their music, $15/person for concert, Slates Restaurant and Bakery, 169 Water Street, Hallowell. FMI: 207.622.9575, www.slatesrestaurant.com or www.lynndeeves.com.

October 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m. "Creating Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard," an introduction to local wildlife, learn ways to change habitat to provide food, water, cover and space in an increasingly less wildlife-friendly world, Penny Jessop, a UMaine Cooperative Extension-trained wildlife steward will help you examine your landscape from the point of view of wildlife, $5/person, Gardiner Area High School, 40 West Hill Road, Gardiner. FMI: 207.582.3774, www.umext.maine.edu.

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Well, a lot of people are wondering how our market is doing. We have weathered the storm pretty weel. I truly believe had the media not been pounding into peoples head how bad the market is, we would have continued just fine. It was the constant bombardment of how bad the market was in those overpriced area that makes people wonder if it is happening here. We had our best year in 2006 and it looked like 2007 would be another record breaking year. That was until the last quarter, thats when the effects of all the media kicked in. We were very quiet in December(maybe it was the record breaking snowstorms) and the phones slowed down. January 2008 has picked up and things appear to be rebounding. With T-Mobile in the area providing lots of jobs and the revitilization of the Hathaway building starting, it appears we may have a good year. We did not see the record increases in home prices that other areas experienced so on the flip side hopefully we won't see the drastic drops that other areas are currently experiencing. In Central Maine, the real estate was much more stable and we had much more gradual increases. All in all, I believe that there will be an increase in foreclosure activity in our area, but with the recent cut in interest rates by the Fed, I think we should see a rebound in business to a more "normal" market. This is a great time to buy real estate in the Greater Waterville Maine area.