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. Escape to a Victorian Inn, the Harbor View House in Prospect Harbor on the coast of Maine, with an intimate group of artist, 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/. Feedback from recent participants: “I learned so much from Chris that I can use immediately at home in my own kitchen.” “Great kitchen hints!”

Paint flower portraits realistically. You will paint pictures of flowers in detail, but more painterly than a scientific illustration. We won’t count veins, but we will count petals! Painting flowers is a wonderful exercise in observation. Learn brush stroke and value White on white flowers Leaves, long and short Iris, narcissus, orchids, tulips, and other spring flowers. Materials list; We will paint on smooth paper; Strathmore Series 500, one hundred percent cotton paper, either plate or vellum. This paper can be bought at Artist and Craftsman in Portland in large sheets, which we will cut up. Bring a #2 round brush and a #6 round brush, pencil, palette, tube watercolors in the 3 primary colors and perhaps a green. Paper towels and water container. And bring a plant or flower specimen with no more than 9 petals. This is a slow and careful process and 9 petals and some leaves is enough happiness for us all.

Learn to play the ukulele! It has never been more popular and you don't even have to know how to read music! On the uke you can knock out folk music, rock, blues, jazz, pop, country, tunes old and new -- even classical music. Duncan Perry, who has taught more than 700 students of all ages, will introduce you to essential chords and playing techniques using commonly known songs. Oh, and there are lots of laughs along the way. And, learning to play an instrument is good for your brain! You will need a playable ukulele and an electronic tuner or a tuner app. And when folks hear you play this happy instrument, well, they just have to smile! If you don’t own a ukulele, please contact us for information. What are you waiting for? Grab a uke and get ready for a musical adventure, then spread the joy! Biography Duncan is an experienced multi-instrumentalist who has been performing and teaching folks how play the ukulele for the last 14 years. Having served as a volunteer music therapist in medical and hospice settings, he quickly came to understand that music is medicine and that learning to play an instrument not only sharpens the brain but helps reduce stress. It also brings joy to those who play the uke and to their audiences. Duncan has taught in a variety of Maine communities and did not let the COVID-19 epidemic stop him. He simply moved from teaching in person to an online format and now reaches students all over Maine, New Hampshire and beyond.

Please note the class schedule has been changed to April 17 - June 5. The May 1 and May 15 classes will be at Fruit Street School. All other classes are at Abraham Lincoln School. 

Zumba Gold classes are Perfect For Active older adults who are looking for a modified Zumba® class that recreates the original Zumba moves you love at a lower-intensity. The design of the class introduces easy-to-follow Zumba® choreography that focuses on balance, range of motion and coordination. Come ready to sweat, and prepare to leave empowered and feeling strong. Class focuses on all elements of fitness: cardiovascular, muscular conditioning, flexibility and balance! No class on 4/24.

Yoga has been shown to have vast health benefits for people of all body types and fitness levels. If you can stretch your muscles, you can do yoga! This six-week series will introduce basic yoga postures (along with modifications) and healthy alignment with some breath work and relaxation/meditation sprinkled in. We will play with linking postures together into a gentle ‘flow sequence that will stretch your muscles and relax your mind. As this will be in a virtual format via Zoom, verbal instructions will be replacing any hands-on adjustments. Participants should have a yoga mat or towel and wear clothes that allow for unrestricted movement. Some props that are helpful to have are two yoga blocks, a yoga strap (or scarf, belt or other long piece of fabric), and a folded blanket. A folding chair would be helpful for modifications or balance poses, and wall space nearby can be useful as well. Participants should have the ability to get up and down from the floor fairly easily, and be cleared by a medical professional if there are chronic health issues such as high blood pressure. Wendy McLoon-Waterman is a certified yoga instructor (RYT500) and a member of Yoga Alliance. She is also a certified Yoga Therapist working with individuals with physical and/or psycho-emotional challenges, and is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Do you ever wonder how or what would attract more pollinators to your garden? In this class, learn about which plants are most beneficial to both native and migratory pollinators and methods of gardening where you attract, welcome, encourage and provide long term habitat for the diversity of flora and fauna in your yard. We will delve into rewilding on a grand and small scale. Every little bit helps pollinators! Open to all skill levels.

Learn to play the ukulele! It has never been more popular and you don't even have to know how to read music! On the uke you can knock out folk music, rock, blues, jazz, pop, country, tunes old and new -- even classical music. Duncan Perry, who has taught more than 700 students of all ages, will introduce you to essential chords and playing techniques using commonly known songs. Oh, and there are lots of laughs along the way. And, learning to play an instrument is good for your brain! You will need a playable ukulele and an electronic tuner or a tuner app. And when folks hear you play this happy instrument, well, they just have to smile! If you don’t own a ukulele, please contact us for information. What are you waiting for? Grab a uke and get ready for a musical adventure, then spread the joy! Biography Duncan is an experienced multi-instrumentalist who has been performing and teaching folks how play the ukulele for the last 14 years. Having served as a volunteer music therapist in medical and hospice settings, he quickly came to understand that music is medicine and that learning to play an instrument not only sharpens the brain but helps reduce stress. It also brings joy to those who play the uke and to their audiences. Duncan has taught in a variety of Maine communities and did not let the COVID-19 epidemic stop him. He simply moved from teaching in person to an online format and now reaches students all over Maine, New Hampshire and beyond.

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. 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. Comments 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."