In just a few hours you can learn enough about playing the guitar to give you years of musical enjoyment, and you won’t have to take private lessons to do it. This crash course will teach you some basic chords and get you playing along with your favorite songs right away. Fee includes the online book, online follow up lessons, a recording of the class and also an optional periodic question and answer session. Class is held online using zoom and is partly hands on instruction and partly lecture/demonstration. For ages 13+. *This course includes ONE live online session, and students follow up on their own with provided video lessons.

Participants will learn how to season, care for, and use a Chinese wok and cleaver. Each student will take home a specially selected kit with a seasoned wok, wok spatula, sharpened cleaver, honing steel, and a cutting board. Those in the know bring containers just in case! The Wok is the most versatile pan in the world. Join Chris Toy, author of the award winning The Complete Wok Cookbook and learn all about its 3000 year old history. Materials kits included! *However, since kits are ordered ahead of time, there is a $100.00 non-refundable fee for cancellations to cover the cost of the kits. If you cancel, your kit will be sent to the adult ed office for pick-up.

This course provides focus and motivation to write life stories. The course will help participants organize and write their life stories using the Guided Autobiography (GAB) method. Each week, students are required to write at least two pages based on a theme-of-the-week, and share their work with a dedicated group. Students will participate in discussions relating to the theme topics. Associated writing exercises will enhance memory recall and storytelling skills. It is recommended that students have a gmail account as most handouts will be shared virtually via Google Docs. From Diana S., a Life Story Writing participant from Craig's Fall 2025 course: “I signed up for this class with no expectations except that it would be interesting. It was more than interesting--it sparked my memories and my thinking about them. Putting those thoughts and memories down on paper, clarified them and opened up new channels of thought and memory. It was also very interesting to hear others' writing--each of us so different--and yet so eloquent. Craig was very good at guiding us and keeping us on track. I highly recommend this class.” *No Class: 4/23.

Author David Spahr has an extensive native farming project. In this class he will discuss and illustrate the hows and whys of farming with native plants, trees, and bushes.

This course covers basic genealogy concepts for researching and documenting one's ancestors. Topics include: general ideas to get started, where and how to find key genealogy records, paper and digital organization strategies, using online databases and resources, and where to go in the community to research family history. One class meeting will include a field trip to a research site. It is recommended that students have a gmail account as most handouts will be shared virtually via Google Docs. *No Class: 4/23.

This three-hour course is for anyone that goes into someone else’s home to do work, repairs, estimates, sales, nursing, or outside the home contractors. How can you be safe? Learn the basics to access the surroundings, stay safe and protect yourself without using a firearm. This is a Zoom class.

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. Please note: There is a $60 cancellation fee for this program.

*More about the retreat location: Escape to a Victorian Inn, the Harbor View House in Prospect Harbor on the coast of Maine, with an intimate group of artists, 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/. **Lodgings not included in price.

*More about the retreat location: 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 access to accommodations in the park. **Lodgings not included in price.

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! Please note: There is a $60 cancellation fee for this program.

*More about the retreat location: Escape to a Victorian Inn, the Harbor View House in Prospect Harbor on the coast of Maine, with an intimate group of artists, 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/. **Lodgings not included in price.

*More about the retreat location: 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 access to accommodations in the park. **Lodgings not included in price.