Award-winning author and illustrator Will Hillenbrand will shares insights and inspiration from his decades of creating stories for children in this special presentation that is a joint program with the Southwest Harbor Public Library as part of the occasional series Reading with Wings.

He’ll talk about his own journey as a kid who hung out in his father’s barbershop who has become the renowned author and/or illustrator of more than 75 books for young readers.

Join Maine master carver Joshua Brewer at the Wendell Gilley Museum for this one-day class to learn the art of making a precise pattern for any bird you would like to carve. Carvers use patterns to guide their knife-cuts when carving birds from wood. While there are many books of patterns available, this class allows you to customize the look for your carving. Space is limited and reservations are required. All tools and materials will be provided.

Alex Turanski began balancing stones (never in the national park!) in 2018 as a therapeutic practice. It was a way to exercise pure, raw focus and to dissolve his distractions. “The act of balance fully engages me in the raw present-moment,” he says. “In a way, I feel that I become as present and still as the stones I engage with. I often try to find the most difficult balance points as a way to push myself deeper into a meditative practice of mind-body coordination.” Alex is the People-Nature-Art featured artist for July.

Join him at the Gilley on Tuesday, July 28 for an artist’s reception at 6pm followed at 7pm by a presentation and live demonstration of his work. Alex will start with an overview of the art form and its connection to nature for him. Then he will proceed to a live demonstration and create an original sculpture inside the Gilley. There is no fee to attend, but registration is requested to facilitate staging of this event. Sign up at www.wendellgilleymuseum.org/calendar.

Join noted ornithologist, field biologist and trip leader Seth Benz on this private small-group tour to Petit Manan Island aboard the 40-foot Tricia Clark out of Steuben, Maine; watch for Atlantic puffins, terns, razorbills, eagles, eiders, black guillemots and more with expert insights from Seth. The smaller boat size provides a more intimate experience than on larger tour boats, and allows the Tricia Clark to get closer to Petit Manan. Boat leaves promptly at 10am from the dock in Steuben; arrival required no later than 9:30am.