The following written by Leigh Perkins shares information about “How Music Helps,” a project led by her partner, Peter Bruun, via their nonprofit, Studio B, that asks participants to consider how music has helped them through life’s challenges. Peter will lead art workshops at the Congregational Church in Boothbay Harbor on April 30 from 4 to 7 p.m., and at the Southport Memorial Library on May 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. To register, email Peter at peter@bruunstudios.com – no prior art experience is necessary and all materials are provided.

If you were listening to “Maine Calling” on Maine Public Radio last Friday you might have heard Peter talking about the community-building work Studio B is doing in the region. Leigh Perkins also shared a word on 19 Towns, 19 Stories, another project Studio B is working on to challenge stigma and cultivate healing for those affected by addiction and loss. The project culminates on International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31) with an event in every Lincoln County town (including Southport). There will be a planning meeting on April 29 at the Congo Church, where Peter and Leigh (board president) and Mary Hanley (board member) will be seeking volunteers to help organize events. Email Peter if interested!

A group of volunteers led by Claire Tomlin gathered Tuesday morning at the Southport Town Hall to refresh the garden on either side of the front steps. The earth had been planted and cared for at one time, but has been left to its own devices recently. Stop by if you are curious, to see how beauty is progressing.

Another annual attempt at beautifying Southport is led by the SIA as it organizes the annual Island Clean Up on April 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plans are to meet at the Southport Central School at 11:30 a.m. where we can catch up with friends and neighbors and receive clean up instructions. Free hot dogs and chips will be available for lunch before you head out to pick up trash along our roads and in our neighborhoods. The Southport Central School’s sixth graders will be hosting a bake sale to help fund their class trip to Boston, so you might want to have some cash on hand for a sweet treat! The island is split up into sections by roads. You and a team member or members will take one section. If you come alone, don’t worry, folks will connect you to a group! Trash bags are handed out but bring your own gloves. You will walk your route and pick up the trash along your area at your own pace. When you are done, you simply leave the full trash bag on the side of the road for one of our road crew members to pick up at a later time! When all is done, our island will be a bit cleaner and the earth a bit healthier. The rain date is May 5, at the same time, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Although the school is on vacation this week, I walked through the area where the natural playground is being built. Much still needs to be done, but stones have been put down as a walkway. Perhaps more work will get done this week when school is not in session.

For your calendars, April 25 is the date for the Southport Central School’s talent show beginning at 6 p.m. at the Southport Town Hall. Then on June 5, again at the town hall, the school children will entertain us with a spring concert beginning at 6 p.m.