A nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter who has spent more than 20 years touring as a musician, and who just happens to call Presque Isle his hometown, will head home for a special performance at the beginning of the new year. Ellis Paul will take the stage at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013.
This special concert serves as a fundraiser for children’s programming at the Wintergreen Arts Center as well as UMPI’s efforts to make 149 State Street a Cultural Center with established museum-quality, downtown gallery space on the floor above WGAC.

More than 60 students from local high schools in the region visited the University of Maine at Presque Isle recently for a day filled with learning about everything from drawing and clay to photography and sculpture. The event, Visual Arts Day, was organized by UMPI’s Art Education program for Aroostook Regional Gifted and Talented [ARGT] and this was the first time the art program was opened to high schoolers.

The UMPI chapter of Phi Eta Sigma inducted 22 students into its national honor society on October 20, 2012. The induction ceremony lasted only 45 minutes, but provided students with a prestigious honor.

According to Cole Dumonthier, an inducted student, “The ceremony was very nice. It was good to see all the family members and friends coming out to support the inductees. It really is an honor to be inducted; the fact that all of our hard work and determination was recognized is a great thing.”

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host a special reception for University Credit Union in appreciation of a generous donation which has helped the campus complete a beautification project. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Monday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Alumni Room.

University of Maine at Presque Isle faculty member David Putnam will present a talk about his recent research trip to Bhutan on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center. His talk, Climate Change in Shangri La: Glacial Research in the Bhutan Himalaya, is free and open to the public.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery will present Crafted: Fine Craft of Northern Maine, curated by UMPI Assistant Professor of Fine Art Hyrum Benson. The exhibition opens Dec. 3 and runs through Jan. 5, 2013. The public is invited to join the curator and featured artists for an opening reception on Dec. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m., which is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk.

Crafted honors excellence in Fine Craft being produced here in northern Maine. Benson, who also serves as the Regional Coordinator of the Maine Craft Association, has selected to feature the works of Terry Kelly, furniture maker; Edith Greiner, weaver and fibers artist; Heather Bessey, potter; Jeremy Frey, basket maker; Russell Mount, wood carver; and Mary Sanipass, basket maker.