Reed Gallery presents Tea Stains exhibit by Susan Smith

Reed Gallery presents Tea Stains exhibit by Susan Smith

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery will present Tea Stains: bind. mark. stitch. by Orono Artist Susan Smith from March 6 through April 11, 2015. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Opening Reception on March 6 from 5-7 p.m., which is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk. Smith will conduct an Artist Talk during the reception at 5:30 p.m.

UMPI students host 21st Fit and Fun Day

Getting exercise while having fun? That’s the goal of the 21st semi-annual Fit and Fun Day, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Gentile Hall. Student organizers welcome kids ages 5 to 11 to participate in the event, which is designed to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles for local children. Free registration begins at 9 a.m., with games and activities to follow.

Brigitte Pratt serves as the second DLS student speaker

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s very own Brigitte Pratt will serve as the next speaker in the 2014-2015 Distinguished Lecturer Series on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m., in the Campus Center. Pratt, who is the second UMPI student ever to serve as a student Distinguished Lecturer, will deliver her talk Tanzania: My Learning Safari. Her talk is free and the public is encouraged to attend the event.

UMPI hosts Science Lunchtime Seminar Series

Two academic programs at the University of Maine at Presque Isle are again joining forces this spring to provide the campus and community with an innovative way to explore the world of science. The Environmental Science and Sustainability and the Biology programs are again presenting a lunchtime seminar series that will provide a forum to present scientific research conducted by UMPI students and faculty as well as other local and regional scientists. This is the fourth time the two groups have hosted the series.

Planet Head Day to raise funds for C-A-N-C-E-R

Space science education and cancer awareness will come together for the region’s most unique fundraiser, Planet Head Day, where participants raise money for a local cancer organization by having their heads shaved and painted as planets, dwarf planets, moons, comets and asteroids. Aroostook County’s 9th annual Planet Head Day takes place on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Gymnasium. This not-to-be-missed event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Shakespeare LIVE! performs Macbeth at UMPI Feb. 10

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host Shakespeare LIVE!, a theater troupe that has performed for more than half a million students since its inception in 1997, for a performance of one of the Bard’s great tragedies, Macbeth, on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., in the auditorium at Wieden Hall. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most dark and powerful works and best experienced as the playwright intended–live on stage. The public is invited to attend this special event; $10 donations will be accepted at the door to go toward future cultural programming.

UMPI to host comedy on absurdity of prejudice, power of diversity

As part of its programming for Black History Month in February, the University of Maine at Presque Isle will host the Black-Jew Dialogues—a two-actor comedy that deals with prejudice and multiculturalism in an innovative way—on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., in the auditorium at Wieden Hall. The show is free and the public is invited to attend (performance is rated PG-13).

UMPI’s Warhol exhibit to include never-before-seen selections

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery will showcase several never-before-seen photographs from its Andy Warhol collection, as well as several newly acquired original Warhol screen prints donated by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, as part of its latest exhibit, Warhol: Faces, which will be on display from Jan. 20 to Feb. 21. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Opening Reception, on Feb. 6 from 5-7 p.m., which is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk.

University sponsors FAFSA Labs during College Goal Month

Need cash for college? The cost of college is on the minds of most seniors in high school and other adults who aspire to a college degree, and the TRiO College Access staff members from the Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search programs at the University of Maine at Presque Isle are hosting several College Goal Month events to help.

UMPI hosts Rutgers professor for talk on Mongolia’s “river wolf”

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host Dr. Olaf Jensen, a scientist who has worked since 2007 to study and conserve Mongolia’s unique lake and river ecosystems, for an evening presentation on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center. Dr. Jensen’s talk, titled The River Wolf and the Blue Pearl: Conservation of Endangered Salmonids in Mongolia, will focus on several of Mongolia’s fish currently at risk, including the Hucho taimen, the largest trout in the world.