FARMINGTON —The following New Commons Project events are scheduled.

The project is a public humanities initiative of the University of Maine at Farmington’s public liberal arts college, in partnership with the Maine Humanities Council. It is made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The project’s 12 topics so far have been submitted by people from around the state and represent some of the principles and cultural values that fascinate Maine citizens.

• Lisa Brooks will present the talk “The River to Which I Belong: Relationships of Reciprocity and Resistance in the Waterways of Wabanaki” at 11:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27, in the Emery Community Arts Center on Main Street.

Brooks, professor of English and American studies and chair of American studies at Amherst College, will discuss the historical relationship between the Native Americans of the Wabanaki Confederacy and their waterways.

• Alexandra Conover Bennett and Jerry Stelmok, will give a canoe history overview and paddle demonstration from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, on Wilson Lake in Wilton.

Bennett, professional canoe and snowshoeing trip leader and instructor, will first provide an on-the-water introduction to the north-woods stroke on Wilson Pond. Canoes will be available for attendees to try out the northwoods stroke themselves. Stelmok, canoe builder, artist and co-author with Rollin Thurlow of “The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance,” will provide an overview of canoe books and art.

• Rollin Thurlow and Garrett Conover, will present “Canoe,” a slideshow double feature from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Emery Community Arts Center.
Thurlow will explore the history and construction of the wood and canvas canoe here in Maine in particular at 2 p.m., while Conover’s presentation, “Wildwater North,” will focus on “the wildest remaining canoe trips in Maine” at 4 p.m.

For more information, visit newcommonsproject.org.

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