Some unsettled weather coming in this weekend makes us feel spoiled as we’ve had sunny weekends all summer; but just make the best of it with a community party hosted by the Co-op, great stuff coming out of the Maine Boats Homes and Harbors show, a hilarious play and a fab Beatles tribute show.

A Day In The Life: Beatles Tribute Show

Friday, August 12 and Saturday, August 13—Camden

The smash-hit multimedia performance A Day In The Life: A Beatles Experience is returning to the Camden Opera House this summer and taking their show on the road! With an all-new cast, never-before-performed songs as well as all your favorite Beatles hits, this music and multimedia double feature is unlike any show you’ve ever seen in Midcoast Maine. See our recent story here. To purchase tickets visit: Camden Opera House.

Lordy, Lordy, Belfast Co-op turns 40

August 13—Belfast

The Co-op is hosting a free community event at Steamboat Landing in Belfast  from noon to 4 p.m.  This event will host live music, local food trucks, a photo booth and games for adults and children alike.

The headliner band is Ghost of Paul Revere, who use a masterful combination of melody and energy, somewhere between folk and foot-stomping bluegrass, that has already given Ghost shows legendary status.  Also performing will be the all-female alt-folk band, Sugarbush. The trio of local Waldo county homesteaders and Moms are sure to get toes tapping. The opening band will be Hollow Horse, whose members including one of Belfast Co-op’s staff and plays haunting folk music from the future as well as the past.

Latin-Flavored Boogat Plays Warehouse Dance Party

Saturday, August 13—Rockland

Just like last weekend’s Lobster Festival, the Maine Boats Homes and Harbor Show is offering a pretty sweet deal. All-day admission and a special dance party in one price just for Saturday. MBH&H is teaming up with Center for Maine Contemporary Art to bring Boogat, a contemporary five-piece Latin-flavored band to Maine at the vintage warehouse on Winter Street. Their music has been described as an “edgy blend of hip-hop, cumbia, reggaeton and other styles, seamlessly blending a variety of programmed and live instrumentation to accompany Boogat’s forceful rapping.” The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, available online at maineboats.com/boatshow. Advance online purchase includes free Saturday admission to the MBH&H Show.

Killer Road Trip; Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Saturday, August 13 and Sunday, August 14—Ogunquit

Get your glitter on and take the ride of your life with the hilarious and heartwarming Tony-Award winning Broadway musical, based on the Oscar winning film, that follows the fabulous journey of three performers who hop on board a battered old bus and take their show to the Australian Outback. Amidst the non-stop dazzling array of over 500 imaginative and outrageous costumes, 200 headdresses and the non-stop hit parade of dance numbers and hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s, this triumphant trio finds love, friendship and more than they ever hoped for along the way.  The Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. and 2 p.m. and are the cheaper tickets. To buy tickets visit: Oqunquit Playhouse

MBH&H Boatyard Dog Trials

Sunday August 14—Rockland

Get ready to laugh. This wacky event actually encourages cheating as long as the owner and dog get completely soaked. The goal is for each dog to complete three events within the 8-minute time limit: 1. The “Dockside Obstacle Course” — Dog and handler negotiate a maze of lobster traps, piles of rope, buoys, and other funky dockside paraphernalia. 2. The “Dinghy Hop” — Dog and handler scramble in and out of a very unstable dinghy that’s tethered to a float. 3. The “Freestyle” segment — Each dog (and their person) shows off his or her special talents. The official trials will begin at 10:30 a.m. on the waterfront. Admission to the trials is included in the price of a show ticket ($12/ticket, kids under 12 free). FMI: maineboats.com/boatshow It’s not just awesome. It’s pawsome.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Start the weekend early with the best “staycation” things to do at the Lobster Festival, along with food, antiques and ballgames.

Steins & Vines

Thursday, August 4—Rockland

The much anticipated Steins & Vines tasting event was a big hit last year at the Lobster Festival. This year, it will be held on the Festival Grounds in the North Entertainment Tent with two tasting sessions available. Tasting I is from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Tasting II is from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. With all Maine-made brews, wines and spirits it will be limited to only 200 tickets per tasting session. Tickets are $25 and the price includes full admission to the festival grounds as well. Participants will receive 10 tickets to pick their tastings, as well as a commemorative tasting glass. Event tickets are available to purchase via Brown Paper Tickets at brownpapertickets.com or at mainelobsterfestival.com.

Smash Mouth at Lobster Festival

Saturday, August 6—Rockland

This is a great deal. For $10, you will get admission into the Lobster Festival and the chance to see a national headlining band, Smash Mouth with special guest Kris Rogers and The Dirty Gems. Smash Mouth hit recently with "I'm a Believer" from the movie Shrek, but their hits "Then The Morning Comes" and "Can't Get enough of you Baby" solidified the band's double-platinum status The show starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets can be bought at the gate first come-first serve, but you can get them beforehand online here:

2nd Annual Flavor Fare

Saturday, August 6—Rockport

The Local Flavor Fare showcases  a taste of the Midcoast’s best food, drink, music and artistry and will include four music acts, wine and beer tastings, a pig roast, local artists and artisan foods at the Rockport Marketplace (State of Maine Cheese) on Route 1 in Rockport. Miners Creek, a family bluegrass band will headline the show followed by Belfast based duo Velocipede, honky-tonk country singer David Scott Norton and family folk band Playin’ Possom. Maine Street Meats will be offering their famous pork sandwiches. Local food producers will have their cheeses, jellies, mustards and more available. Jewelry makers, local artists and print makers will be on hand and the bands will be available to sell autographed CDs, t-shirts and more. FMI: call State of Maine Cheese Co. 800-762-8895.

Maine Antiques Festival with Food & Libations

Saturday, August 6—Union

Held at the Union Fairgrounds  just off route 17, this year’s Festival will have a variety of antiques and vintage collectibles—everything from 18th century furnishings to mid 20th century vintage collectibles from dealers from as far away as California and Canada. Food trucks will be on the grounds offering a tasty assortment from lobster to falafels and many other options. Also this year the Maine Craft Beverage will be offering beer and wine from local Maine breweries and vineyards. Roaming minstrels help to provide the festive atmosphere appropriate for the whole family. Tickets: $10 to $25. FMI: MaineAntiquesFestival.com

Killer Road Trip: Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Saturday, August 6—Portland

Summer isn’t summer without at least one drive in movie, one fireworks display and one ball game. What’s great about this opportunity to see the Sea Dogs play in Portland is that you do not have to drive! The St. George Town Office is offering a round trip bus leaving the American Legion Hall in Thomaston at 3:20 p.m. for a 6 p.m. game. $27 covers the ride and the ticket. Call for more info: 372-6363 or 701-9754

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — In a soft opening event Wednesday night, several dozen people got a chance to check out the renovations the Sea Dog Brewing Co. has made over the spring and summer in anticipation for their grand opening Friday, Aug. 5. The three separate buildings have been built out to resemble a cohesive classic Sea Dog color scheme of exposed beams, wooden booths and tables and splashy wall art. The space now includes two bars, (one downstairs, and one split bar upstairs where the Crow’s Nest of Cappy’s Chowder House used to be), a new deck that can seat 100 patrons, and multiple dining spaces that can accommodate 300 people. They’ve also brought back the mug club, which was a highly successful marketing feature of the original Sea Dog bar.

Longtime patrons of Cappy’s Chowder House and the original Sea Dog Brewing Co. found some familiar faces behind the bar as well. ‘Big John’ Collins, who, at 6’6”  always had trouble smacking the top of his head against the ceiling bar rack at Cappy’s remarked, “There’s tons of room under this bar.”

Bartender Matt Speno said: “I think it’s a new chapter for Camden having the Sea Dog back after many years after it left. I can remember going to the original Sea Dog and now to have this kind of quality decor, quality food and being family friendly, is exciting. The place was designed to celebrate fun. And the way we’re looking at it as the founding staff, we’re seeing a lot of locals who were founding guests of the original bar.”

“People in the community have a certain expectation about this place, not only because Sea Dog was once here but also because they’ve changed everything that used to be in the Cappy’s space,” said Michelle Hoak. “People are looking for us to step up our game and we’re up to the task.”

The Sea Dog Brewing Co. was founded in Camden in 1993 in the Knox Mill, where Smokestack Grill is now, but closed its doors in 2002. Cappy’s Chowder House was a fixture in Camden for 37 years until it closed its doors for good in 2016.

General Manager Jesse Hardie said they will be open at Friday at 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Depending on what the new staff can accommodate, they may only partially open some rooms and the bar.

For more information visit their new Facebook page.

Related story: http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/rumors-are-true-sea-dog-brewing-co-returns-camden/66429

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

We’re just tipping the corner of peak summer here in the Midcoast and it’s a work-hard play-hard kind of weekend with pop up concerts, dances, a festival and outdoor sports— so hold on for the thrill ride.

Ghost of Paul Revere at Union Winery

Friday, July 29

Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery is hosting Ghost of Paul Revere—Maine's holler-folk band at 7:30 p.m. With a sound built around powerful three-part harmonies, energetic performances, and a non-traditional way of interpreting traditional American music somewhere between folk and foot-stomping bluegrass this is a great night to get your holler and wine on.  Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery is located at 175 Barrett Hill Road in Union, one third mile off Route 17. Tickets are $15 and can be bought at the door.

Firefighters’ Ball at the Samo

Friday, July 29—Rockland

I’m not going to rehash the same tired pun of firefighters being hot (yes I am), but this is one hot event to celebrate the men and women who volunteer so much for our communities. And the band Creatures of Habit is on fire! (I’ll show myself out.) This year, the party kicks off on the Pen Bay Patio with happy hour and grub at 6 p.m. with cash bar and light fare in the Knox County Ballroom at 7:15 and dancing starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 (note: the Brown Paper ticketing service is closed) so you can get them at the Rockport Town office until 5 p.m. or at the door of the Samoset. What a great way to celebrate the end of the political conventions, and all that hot air.

Beyond The Sea Book Festival

Saturday, July 30—Lincolnville

At Beyond The Sea the other day, I found a fantastic Maine book called Distilled In Maine, by Kate McCarty with a forward by a Portland bartender. This is not the kind of book that gets coverage far and wide, which is why I heartily recommend popping into the 2016 Beyond The Sea Book Festival at Lincolnville Beach. In past years it has been a three-day event, but now is compressed into one day with more than 36 authors on hand to talk about their books from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. See our latest story about it here.

Cider Hill’s Locavore Festival

Saturday, July 30—Waldoboro

The fourth annual Locavore Music Festival will take place once again at Cider Hill Farm, showcasing Maine-based musicians starting at 2p.m. going to 9:30 p.m.. This year’s headliner is Muddy Ruckus, an Americana-rock duo from Portland, Maine, winners of the 2016 NEMA "Best in State", headline this year. The jam-packed guest lineup includes Trisha Mason Music, Max Garcia Conover, Hours North, Marshall Marquis and Tomorrow Morning!Crafters and artisans will be displaying their stuff and local food vendors will be serving up the yums.  Tickets are $15 at the gate (cash only) with children under 14 free. FMI: Cider Hill

Try An Outdoor Sport for Free at the Snow Bowl

Sunday, July 31—Camden

The Camden snow Bowl is pairing up with outdoor organizations to teach people how to mountain bike, paddleboad, kayak, canoe and golf for free in their annual Community Outdoor Day and Concert. Guided mountain bike rides with New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA)  will go from 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Guided trail runs with Trail Runners of Midcoast Maine  will go from 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Golf with The First Tee of Maine  from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Then kick back with blankets picnics and portable chairs for their 2 p.m. concert with a 55-piece band from Bangor.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT — Her father dying of brain cancer was heartbreaking enough for then 16-year-old Michaela, but she had no idea how much tougher life was to become. She and her mother became homeless shortly after. “Two weeks later, my mother and I had no place to go,” she said. “We had to live out of our car, which was horrible, really uncomfortable.” She was worried about their safety as well. “Somebody could break into the car.”

“After that I couch surfed at different people’s homes.” She said that even though it seemed like a temporary solution, anxiety was always ever present. “You don’t know if there will be any food for you and you hate to even ask if you can take a shower,” she said. “I know about 10 kids in Rockland right now who are homeless and couch surfing.”

This is what the Knox County Homeless Coalition in Rockland defines as “invisible” homelessness. More than 400 adults and families living in Knox County alone are homeless, with few viable support options.

“The hidden nature of rural homelessness is why it’s so hard to believe this huge problem is right here in our backyard,” said Stephanie J. Primm executive director of Hospitality House, the Coalition’s family shelter on Old County Road in Rockport.

Eventually, Michaela and her mother found a spot at Rockport’s Hospitality House. “Being homeless is scary,” she said. “You don’t know where you’re going to lay your head at night. You don’t know if you’re going to eat that night or even the next day. Being at the Hospitality House, I knew where I was going to sleep and I knew I was going to have food. It taught me a lot.”

She’s working toward getting her diploma, so she can get a job. “I’m very focused on that right now and getting As,” she said. “When I grow up I really want to have a good life. I want to have kids. I want to have a nice house. I don’t want to worry about where my kids are going to have to sleep in the future.”

In the two years since her father died, she has continued to persevere, even through more heartbreak as she’s had close friends pass away as well. “The reason I keep going is because I know those who’ve passed won’t want me to give up,” she said.

Michaela is one of photographer Patrisha McLean’s subjects in an exhibition of photographs and paintings on display for an art opening reception at 86 Pascal Avenue in Rockport tonight, July 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. McLean has been photographing and interviewing clients of the Hospitality House since they re-opened in 2014. McLean’s friend, Susan Williams, the artist whose dreamlike landscape oils are half of the opening, is the inspiration behind the event.

“I had work that I was giving away to my friends and the only thing I asked was that they made a donation to the Hospitality House,” Wiliams said.

Though Michaela is now living in Camden with a family member, Primm said they would welcome her back any time. Through The McKinney-Vento Act, a federal law dictates that Michaela can remain at her original school to ensure educational stability. 

“In so many cases, it’s the only stable thing in their life,” said Primm. To get her to and from school, a bus picks her up and drops her off, or  the Hospitality House assists with personal rides and taxis.

Michaela was the only teenager at the Hospitality House, which currently has 11 kids under the age of 12 living there. Though their maximum capacity is 22 people, their current caseload extends well beyond the house’s walls, with 270 people in the Midcoast under some sort of care and support. They often utilize campgrounds in the summer, and hotel rooms in cases where women and children need to leave dangerous and abusive situations and individuals. Since starting in February 2014, the Hospitality House has served 1,294 people, with children accounting for nearly half of those numbers.

A portion of sales from the art opening will benefit the Knox County Homeless Coalition/Hospitality House. To find out more about the myriad ways the Hospitality House helps the seemingly invisible homeless in the Midcoast click here. Donations and volunteers help provide a support system to families, and more information can be accessed here.

Related stories:

• The homeless abound in the Midcoast, 'they just hide quite well'
• Destiny
• Local artists to benefit Knox County Homeless Coalition, Hospitality House

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

With three cranking bands on Saturday night and two outdoor events on Sunday, this weekend has all the bases covered as we round the corner to the highest point of summer. Live it up!

David Raitt at Three Tides

Saturday, July 23—Belfast

David Raitt (Bonnie’s brother) and his band are playing their signature brand of bluesy rock on the Three Tides Beer Garden stage. They rocked the house last summer, and you can bet they'll do it again. Grab your best gal or guy, your favorite stompin' shoes and have yourself a dang ol' time! Starts at 9 p.m No cover.

Hello Newman at The Myrtle

Saturday, July 23—Rockland

Everybody’s favorite ‘90s alternative cover band, Hello Newman, is up from Portland this weekend to the Myrtle Tavern and will have the joint jumping. They also play rock, ska, rap and swing and it’s a very friendly vibe (especially now that everybody has a place to park after the Blues Festival.) The show starts at 9:30 p.m.

Tanner Olin Smith and the Weirders at Rock City Café

Saturday, July 23—Rockland

Tanner Olin Smith and the Weirders (formerly known as Laminated Cat) are a folk/experimental group from Portland. Used to performing on the street and in more intimate settings, this guy and his group have an offbeat sense of humor that comes straight through in their music. They perform from 7 to 9 p.m.

Island Clean Up (with Bonus Lobster Feed!)

Sunday, July 24—Tenants Harbor

Check this out — For a couple of hours of volunteer clean up, you’ll be transported out to some beautiful Maine islands and then treated to a big old lobster feed afterward. The Tenants Harbor Fisherman’s Co-op is looking for volunteers to participate in this one-day island cleanup. High Island, which was just purchased by Maine Coast Heritage Trust, with support from the Town of St. George and Land for Maine's Future Program, will be among the islands slated for cleaning. Whitehead Island, home to the iconic Whitehead Light Station, is also on the list. Fishermen from the Co-op will transport volunteers from the Co-op’s wharf at 8:30 a.m. and will come back at 1 p.m. The Co-op will donate lobsters for a lobster feed for volunteers following the cleanup, to be held at Luke's at Tenants Harbor. Best to call first to make sure there’s room: Merritt Carey 207-828-4882.

Killer Road Trip: Open Farm Day

Sunday, July 24—statewide

Everybody’s always talking about “where your food comes from.” Well here it is: your chance to see where it grows and lives before it lands on the plate of your favorite Maine restaurant or farmers market. More than 80 Maine farms will open to the public and host demonstrations, displays, farm-raised products for sale, and animals and crops to experience. Activities may include barn and field tours, milking, hay rides, petting zoos, self-guided nature trails, beekeeping demos, beautiful scenery, cookouts, samples for tasting, refreshments and more. Click for List of the participating farms and details. (.pdf)

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

TENANTS HARBOR — Normally the opening of a rustic lobster shack doesn't warrant the same kind of buzz as a shiny new Midcoast restaurant, but Luke's at Tenants Harbor, which opened for its first season this summer there, has more to it than meets the eye.

For instance, it's operated by two guys in their early 30s — and it's not just one shack. This is the 19th Luke's shack they've opened nationally.

Native Mainer Luke Holden, its chief executive officer and founder, along with his business partner and president, Ben Conniff, have transformed the empty restaurant on Miller's Wharf into a cozy lobster shack with an adjoining bar.

The locals, let's just say, are very happy. Since Cod End closed there, the building has been sitting empty for two years. Now, there is an easygoing place to gather, where the seafood is affordable and excellently prepared (likely caught by their friends and neighbors). The small bar serves Maine-made microbrews, such as a Lobsterman's Choice Ale made by Shipyard Brewing Co., as well as local wines and good cocktails with Maine distilled liquors, such as Bimini gin.

It all started when Holden, who grew up lobstering with his father in Cape Elizabeth, decided to take a different path in his 20s and set out to be an investment banker in New York City. One hot summer day, he was feeling homesick for a good old-fashioned Maine lobster roll, but couldn't find one. Everything he saw cost at least $30, and either was slathered with too much mayonnaise and celery or else made too precious by chef's artistic interpretation.

"It wasn't fresh, it wasn't authentic and because I couldn't find that there, that became a business plan to get a lobster shack off the ground," he said.

Capitalizing on his investment banking background, he paired up with Conniff, a food writer, opening their first Luke's Lobster in 2009 in NYC's East Village.

Their primary operation is based in Brooklyn with shacks in New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Maryland, Chicago and New Jersey. Over the last seven years, they've grown to include a staff of 350 on the restaurant side and another 125 in their seafood processing plant.

The national press has taken notice. Luke's Lobster has been named "Best Lobster Roll" in multiple publications and food lists and has been covered by Good Morning America, Today, Eater, Forbes Magazine, NY Daily News and Wall Street Journal, to name a few.

But this Tenants Harbor shack, just opened in June, is near and dear to Holden.

"Anywhere in Maine I consider home," he said. "This is the most exceptional view we have from all of our shacks."

"You didn't have to convince me to leave the subways of New York and come up here for a few days," added Conniff.

Luke's Lobster has four core values: Taste, traceability, sustainability and community. And they've been ahead of the curve on these values since day one when it comes to preserving the Maine fisheries and supporting Maine fisherman.

"We've really been proud of being able to bring this sustainable product to New York City and tell people the real story of where their lobster comes from," said Conniff.

More than any of their shacks, this Tenants Harbor shack is unique in its business model. Holden sits on the board of the brand new Tenants Harbor Fisherman's Co-op with more than 15 members who supply all of their catch to his company. In return, he ensures that 50 percent of the restaurant's profits go back to that Co-op.

In addition to running all of the shacks, Holden and his partners, including his brother, Bryan, opened a processing plant in Saco in 2013 called Cape Seafood to ensure none of the catch would be wasted, thus employing lobstermen well beyond the tourist season.

"Staying local is important. It is the heart of what we're doing here," said Holden.

No matter how well a food business is run, its success always comes down to the ingredients and how they are prepared. You won't find a lobster roll smothered in mayonnaise here.

Holden and Conniff make it the way Mainers have been preparing lobster rolls for generations: on a New England split-top bun grilled with a light swipe of mayo, a drizzle of lemon butter, and a dash of Luke's secret seasoning, so that the freshness can come through on its own.

"People are always told to ask where your food comes from," said Conniff. “The way we see it is you shouldn't have to ask; it should be right up front."

To that end, they have a sign outside the main seating area near the ordering window that displays where everything they make is from, from lobster rolls to blueberries, even the butter and herbs comes from a Maine farm or fisherman.

While Holden and Conniff have to go back to their respective offices in Saco and Brooklyn the rest of the summer, they've left the locals with a lobster shack to be proud of.

Luke's at Tenants Harbor is open Memorial Day to Labor Day. They have a happy hour from 3-5 p.m. To learn more visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SEARSMONT—Woodworker and boatbuilder Joel Cox likes to roam his 14-acre property for the perfect fallen tree. As an artist who crafts chunks of deadwood into sturdy tables with an industrial touch, he knows what to scout for. One tree however, aimed to get the better of him in 2009.

“I told my wife I was going to prune up a few trees and I saw this big pine that had a bad spot in it,” he said. “I thought it would make some nice tables, so I went to chop it down. When I cut it down, it got caught in an oak tree and when I cut the hinge some more it slipped off of the stump. It threw me back about 15-20 feet right up against another tree.”

The tree was easily several tons. Pinned, he tried to reach for his phone in his back pocket but couldn’t see the numbers to punch in 911.

“I’ve seen the movie on this,” he said, wryly. “I know how this works. You call 911. But I couldn’t even see the phone to dial. So, I put the phone back in my pocket, and by this time my face was bleeding pretty good. I just gave a big yank and dislocated my shoulder and pulled myself out.”

Ten stitches to his face later and with a mending shoulder, Cox decided that big old tree needed to be put to better use.

The table he made out of it which should probably be named “Nearly Killed Me” sits on the second floor of Beyond The Sea bookstore in Lincolnville, where most of his pieces are on display.

The roundish chunk of varnished pine with a split is anchored by a boat stay and a shaft strut, which functions as its legs.

As a boatbuilder and steel fabricator for the last 25 years, he creates custom end tables and harvest tables with an interesting hybrid of marine hardware, finding odd bits of pipe or boat rigging and re-imagining it as an extension of his tables.

Smack in the center of a harvest table which sits on the second floor of Beyond The Sea has built-in davit, which is a device on the side of a boat which pulls up a dinghy. And in the corner sits a floating wooden bar with a foot rail called a “Billy Bar” named after his late friend Billy (who apparently really wanted it). Even though he can churn out the same kind of end table over and over, the Billy Bar is one of a kind.

“I think you can also pick one up at Walmart,” he joked. 

Cox doesn’t “do” the Internet and you won’t find his woodcarving business River Root online. To see his unique tables visit Beyond The Sea bookstore or feel free to call Cox at 207-975-7722.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—This Thursday, July 21, photographer and film artist Jason Elon Goodman is throwing a big party at the Lincoln Street Center stage in Rockland. This particular event feels more like a pop-up party than a traditional venue because it will bring Midcoast artists and makers together with international talents for one night. With five acts planned (and surprise guests) the night will feature Roots Americana, New Acoustic, Circus Arts 2D & 3D Arts. In addition FOG Bar and Café will be providing beer and cocktails and food trucks will provide pizza and other snacks and nonalcohlic drinks.

Goodman  has traveled the word and settled in Rockland two years ago. He feels the time is right to bring his vision known as the Salt Stage ( www.saltstage.com) featuring intimate filmic portraiture of artists, musicians, writers, thinkers, makers and more to a 3D level—off the screen and onto the stage.

“I wanted to do something that would emphasize the creativity around here,” he said. “So I took the idea of extending an archive of portraits into film and then extending that onto a live stage. Basically, opening a portal in Rockland and letting it all come through.”

Goodman spent eight weeks organizing this event, which draws hybrid of performers across multiple quirky genres and from all over the world, including Haas Kowert & Tice (New Acoustic), Grant Gordy & Joe Walsh (Blue Grass/New Acoustic) Muddy Ruckus (Punk/Folk Americana) Droplet Dance (Cyr Wheel & Fiddle) and Ekaterina Sknarina (Contortion & Burlesque and former Miss Coney Island).

“My mom worked at Big Apple Circus when I was a kid,” Goodman said, “so I’ve always enjoyed the circus arts and thought it would add quite a visual element to the show.”

These featured artists have also graced the stages of The Grand Old Opry, Fillmore West, Telluride BlueGrass Festival, State Theater Portland, FreshGrass festival at MASS MoCA and much more on tour with various acts this summer.

Goodman said film will be integral to the acts even though, “We’re working with a 100-year-old theater so our stage crew will have their work cut out for them.”

He deliberately made the ticket prices low $15 so that it was affordable and accessible to Maine’s creative community.

“What I’m hoping to do is use this one show to activate a community of artists,” he said. He envisions using the first Salt Stage Live as a launching pad for a larger two-week festival annually, “where we’d have performances out in barns on an island, as well as all around town,” he said.

The show starts at 7 p.m. Already, 150 tickets have been purchased in advance and the theater can hold 300. Advance tickets only, FMI and tickets: saltstage.com.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — In 1986, photographer Joyce Tenneson was just reaching a pinnacle of her career in New York City with more than 20 shows under her belt and several published books when the Poloroid corporation specifically sought her out to offer her a grant. Poloroid, known best for its instant film and cameras, wanted her to shoot subjects of her choice with their five-foot-tall, 235 pound camera.

“It was basically a refrigerator on wheels,” she said. “Two guys had to move it around. Once I shot the photo, they would get down on their knees and pull the print from the camera.”

The print would then have to be sliced off with a box cutter. 

“Every time I used it, I had to give them one of my best images, which they kept for their collection,” she said.

Normally that camera would be $1,700 a day to rent with $200 for each exposure. If that wasn’t not enough pressure, the very nature of Poloroid photography has no negatives and no prints could be altered.  To get the perfect shot, Tenneson was looking for a face that could transcend the camera.

“I found my subjects everywhere—on the subway, at the bank, at art openings or at coffee shops—people of varied shapes, skin colors, sizes and sizes and ages,” she said. One day riding the subway, she noticed a thin, frail girl with blond hair. “I saw her as an alter ego,” she said, “and I approached her, gave her my card and said I’d like to photograph her.” This young girl, Suzanne, would prominently appear in many more of Tenneson’s pictures over the next 30 years.

“I am an intimist and what thrills me is to connect with people,” explained Tenneson. “What I try to do when behind the camera is show something secret about them. I try to reveal their inner essence. But, to do that, you have to establish trust. And I think my passion is connecting with that transcendence the moment I take the shot.”

Now the work which she calls Grace: Unseen Poloroids 1986-2006 is hanging for the first time at the Dowling Walsh gallery in Rockland. For many years this collection lay in storage in New York City, never seen, never published.

“At the end of the day, you’re exhausted, you’ve been on your feet 10 hours,” she said. “Many of these photographs were of the same person, but just different shots. I had to make a quick editorial decision to keep one photo and the rest had to go into storage because there was no place to store them in the studio.”

Most of the models in Grace: Unseen Poloroids are wrapped with a simple white fabric, or partly unclothed. “I like my figures to be outside of time,” she said. And the props she uses are elemental as well, such as a curving snake skeleton that Suzanne holds behind her back.  “When I found it and just liked the way it looked,” said Tenneson. “I didn’t even think about it until someone reminded me later that snakes are a symbol of transformation.”

There is a lush femininity throughout this series, a vulnerability with an undercurrent of inner radiance and power behind each person’s direct gaze. In another portrait called The Queen (one of Tenneson’s favorites), a nude heavyset woman lies on her side wearing a handmade paper crown made by Tenneson, as she stares evenly  at the camera. And she is Suzanne’s opposite in almost every way: durable, earthy, and seasoned.

“I want to allow others to reveal and celebrate aspects of themselves that are usually hidden,” said Tenneson.

The other reason these 20” x 24” giant photographs are so special is because the hand-spooled film used for this particular camera is on its way to being extinct.

“It’s not that the camera has become defunct, it’s that when the Poloroid company went bankrupt, the existing film was bought by a private hedge fund investor,” explained Tenneson. “He put the remaining film in a rented refrigerated warehouse in New Jersey. The expiration of all of that film will be up in a year. It’s specially handmade but cannot be mass produced. They are trying to reproduce this same film with the Impossible Project in Amsterdam, but it’s just not the same. It looks different.”

Tonight, July 15, 2016, the Farnsworth Art Museum prepares to honor Tenneson with the 2016 Maine in America Award. The award is presented by the Farnsworth's Presidents Council to honor an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to Maine's role in American art.  With more than 150 exhibitions worldwide and the author of 15 books, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including the International Center of Photography's Infinity Award, for best applied photography, and the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Professional Photographers of America.

The award presentation will occur during the Farnsworth Art Museum's 2016 Summer Gala on the grounds of the museum.

Grace: Unseen Poloroids hangs at Dowling Walsh until July 30. Many of these photographs will go to private collectors. And soon, this style of shooting film will be gone forever. Suzanne has aged. The Queen has aged. But the way Tenneson has been able to reach through the camera and pull out their inner essence, the secrets in those haunted stares will live on forever.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

If you don’t know or care what Pokemon Go is, this weekend is for you. The following events already require you to look up from your phone and find....the kind of fun you can’t get from a virtual world. Enjoy the festivities.

North Atlantic Blues Festival

Saturday July 16 and Sunday, July 17—Rockland

Now into its third decade, the North Atlantic Blues Festival just made USA Today for ‘a must-see festival in Maine.’ This is an all-ages show that is great for couples, families and anyone interested in having a good time, while enjoying the best blues music with Blues Hall of Fame Artist John Hammond (with Bruce Katz) and teen blues sensation Quinn Sullivan (who started his career at age 7! See accompanying video.) Food and drinks will be available. In addition to the festival there will be a free club crawl. Tickets: At the gate $40.00/day or $75.00/weekend pass. FMI: North Atlantic Blues Festival

Heat Wave! Three Tides Dance Party

Saturday, July 16—Belfast

I don’t know exactly what a “dance curator is” (and can only hope it’s this) but Three Tides is throwing their annual dance party bash to coincide with the Celtic Celebration’s fireworks. Watch the fireworks from the deck or Beer Garden, wish the owner, David a Happy Birthday, then jump into a dance off with 3 DJs— Ian Hammond & Matty T from Portland, and Captain Mo, from NYC. Starts at 9 p.m. until close. 21 and over. FMI: Heat Wave

Third Annual Rails, Tails & Ales

Saturday, July 16—Boothbay

Imagine Sturbridge Village with beer! Visitors will enjoy great craft beer from 10 Maine breweries serving more than 25 types of beer from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets: $35 for 10 four-ounce tastings (with driver’s license or passport). Admission $12 adults/$10 seniors/$5 kids. FMI: Railway Village

60th Anniversary Showing of Peyton Place

Saturday, July 16—Rockland

Shot on location in Midcoast Maine in 1957 and now brought back to vibrant life in 35mm restoration on the eve of its 60th anniversary, Peyton Place is gong to be showing at the Strand Theatre at 1:30 p.m. followed by a special film by local Willard Carroll called On Location in Peyton Place: a new short revisiting the film’s locations today. Check out the story behind that short film here. Tickets are $10 and the doors open at 12:45 p.m.

David Mallet at Savage Oakes Winery

Sunday, July 17—Union

Maine musician David Mallet will be doing a special free performance at the winery. His songs have been recorded by more than 150 artists, including Pete Seeger, Alison Krauss, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, and even the Muppets, and his "Garden Song" has become an American folk classic. (Personally I think performing with the Muppets should be the pinnacle of anyone’s career.) Bring your lawn chairs and sunscreen, but don’t bring your own wine or food. Strict licensing agreements prohibit that. The event starts at 2 p.m. Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery is located at 175 Barrett Hill Road in Union, one third mile off Route 17. FMI: call 785-2828.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SEARSMONT—It’s a little difficult to find at first, but Threshers Brewing Co. has the perfect off-the-beaten path location for friends and families to get together, listen to some music and drink some beer.

Friends and co-owners Ethan Evangelos and Scott Bendtson shared the hobby of home brewing for several years before the conversation inevitably turned to a career change. As carpenters, they saw the potential of building a microbrewery out of a section of old sawmill that’s tucked down the road near the Fraternity Village General Store. It used to be a building owned by Sprowl Brothers and had sat empty for more than a decade. “When we rented it, it used to be this big, open greasy, bay filled with huge trucks,” said Bendtson. They built a tasting room with ample space for a band, along with a separate area for an office, grain storage and brew equipment.

“We both have young daughters and we like going out to have some beers, but we don’t really like bars,” said Bendtson. “We just felt like there needed to be a place around here that catered to families and was a nice place to relax. I want people to come in, bring their kids and feel comfortable here.”

The tasting room is rustic and has the casual feel of a home bar room. Evangelos built the tap backsplash out a double burled piece of wood. And a an old-fashioned thresher, the symbol of their logo, hangs upon the wall, along with other farm equipment as decoration.

They spent about a year crafting four signature brews in small batches for maximum flavor with their own personal tastes ranging more toward the Belgian style of brewing.  They will unveil three of those beers at the soft opening with one more they are working on for the grand opening. Their Pale Ale is an American pale ale that’s less bitter than a traditional IPA. Their Citra IPA, will be a more bitter beer balanced with a citrisy/grapefruity hop profile. Their Firefly is a wheat ale.

The duo is excited to see how the public will react to a new place to socialize in tiny Searsmont. “It’s about community here,” said Bendtson. “If people are looking for things to do or an open mic, we’ll do that.”

To find it, locate the Fraternity Village General Store off Route 131. To the right of that will be a road flanked by two red barns. Drive down that road until you see the big green warehouse.

The soft opening is Saturday, July 9 at 5 p.m. with acoustic music and the grand opening is planned for August 6. Stay tuned to their Facebook page for more details.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — It’s about time that Curator, the new men’s consignment shop in downtown Rockland, has opened on 383 Main St. Now, the ladies can sit, staring at their phones, bored out of their minds, waiting for their men to finish shopping already!

That scenario is actually pretty unlikely given the cool, Urban Outfitter-like vibe that Curator’s co-owners, Emily Seymour and Benjamin Dorr, have created. They’ve been open since May 24 and business has been going gangbusters. Inside the former Thorndike Creamery space, industrial pipe racks hold high-quality shirts, pants and jackets on wooden hangers from more than 140 consignors they work with. An ornate 1850s mirror salvaged from a Harlem brownstone on the left side of the store is flanked on both sides by hats on shelves, men’s bags and and a whole area dedicated to footwear. Two dressing rooms take up the space behind the counter where the Thorndike Creamery’s kitchen used to be. A library ladder perched atop an old workbench holds belts and other men’s accessories.

“Everybody’s been coming in and saying we’ve needed this for a long time,” said Dorr, who added that his own experience trying to buy good, on-trend clothing in the Midcoast has been a challenge. For many years the only place to get new clothes was Reny’s Department store, J.C. Penney, T.J. Maxx, and used items at Salvation Army and Goodwill—but it’s long been understood that to get the good stuff, you either have to travel to the malls or the hip thrift shops in Bangor and Portland.

“If you go to Goodwill and Salvation Army, you have to wade through so much stuff there to find good, quality clothes,” said Dorr. “We wanted to eliminate the search and just provide the best of the best stuff out there.”

About 95 percent of their inventory consists of slightly worn, but contemporary menswear. About five percent is vintage, the kind of kooky stuff you might find such as a Star Trek:The Next Generation satin jacket or a fugly plaid 1970s shirt only a guy with a great sense of humor could truly pull off.

“We wanted things that were really wearable, stuff you can wear to work and out to dinner,” said Seymour. “So we went with high-quality classic clothes we know men wear around here.”

Given that the couple is in their 30s, one would think that this was just a young man’s store. But in fact, men and women of all ages have been coming in to shop.

“When we first opened we had one gentleman in here probably the age of 85 buying a pair of shoes, while a 17-year-old boy was buying a hat at the same time,” said Seymour. “And we’re here to give them personal service. For example, we had some teens in here for their formal and they were trying on giant baggy suits that made them look like David Byrne of the Talking Heads. We weren’t going to let them go out looking like that and helped them find the right suits for their sizes.”

It’s not just men who shop there. In fact, Seymour estimates that 10 percent of their clientele are women, shopping for 501 Levis boyfriend jeans or men’s shirts that they want to wear themselves.

Much like an old bookstore or record store, Curator has a “Staff Picks” rack, just for people who want to speed shop and see what is the best and quirkiest pieces they have at the moment.

“If you only have five minutes to shop, this is the rack you want to go through,” said Seymour.

Dorr said that while Curator may be fully stocked, they are also actively looking for walk-in consignment items.

The store, although not a gallery, participated in the First Friday art walk of the season with a DJ and an aluminum tub full of beer and wine. It will continue to be open First Fridays throughout the art walk season, and Dorr and Seymour are still considering alternate uses for the space. It could be a hip venue for a small art or music event; as new owners they are open to the possibility.

“We just want people to come in and have an experience that they remember,” said Dorr.

Keep posted to their future events at Curator

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

We’ve got three new venues or grand openings happening this weekend and with rain on the horizon, it’s a good thing most of them are indoors or under a giant tent. Cheers to all the thriving businesses in all of the remote corners of Maine—let’s go out and support them!

Lip Sync Battle

Friday, July 8—Rockland

Rock Harbor Brewery is hosting a lip sync battle with a mega prize going to the winner: two tickets to see the Hall & Oates concert in Bangor on July 14. If you say “I can’t go for that,” then all I have to say is, “Say it isn’t so.” Starts at 8 p.m.

New Open Mic at St. George River Café

Friday, July 8—Warren

And now for something completely different. The recently opened St. George River Café is now getting their entertainment off the ground. Meteora, a trio that plays an eclectic array of original songs and folk ballads, as well as traditional songs, will be headlining a new open mic. It is open to other musicians however. Signup for open mic is at 6:30 p.m.; at 7 p.m., performers can share two songs each.  Acoustic instruments are preferred. Musicians who are interested in performing as the featured performers are asked first to come play for the open mic. Suggested donation for the evenings is $6. Kat Logan is organizing the open mic and scheduling the featured performers; for more information about this, call her at 226-7446.

Arts In the Park

Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10—Belfast

Like art? Food trucks? Beer? Live music? This one’s for you. Featuring more than 100 fine artists and artisans, this weekend arts festival is located in downtown Belfast, along the waterfront in Heritage Park. Here’s a list of the musicians and when they’ll be playing over the weekend. Free and open to the public.

New Brewery Opening in Searsmont

Saturday, July 9—Searsmont

What’s Maine up to now, 70 breweries? Another little ole brewery is popping up in Searsmont this weekend called Threshers Brewing Co., started by two carpenters looking for a career change. Their soft opening starts at 5 p.m. with pints, tasters and growlers available to take home. Colin Nelson will be performing the music. FMI: Threshers Brewing Co.

Killer Road Trip: Grand Opening Pub In The Port

Saturday, July 9—Winterport

Everybody has been waiting to see what would take the place of 4 Points BBQ in Winterport and now you will. Pub in the Port is the name of the new restaurant and blues house, and they are having their grand opening at 6 p.m. with a pig roast on the patio. The Eric Green Party will be playing, with very special guest Tommy O'Connell. FMI: Pub In The Port

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—This past weekend marked the grand opening of Gelato Rose, an artisan gelato shop and Ice Blossoms, an old-fashioned shaved ice shop on 497 Main Street. While it’s common to see teenagers working summer jobs behind the counter, these teens aren’t just saving money toward college or a car. These kids have a stake in the making each business successful because when they grow up, they will inherit it. Cecile Bizet, 15, co-owns the business with her mother Annie Higbee, and is not only working 15 hours a day on the retail side, but she is also instrumental in helping her mom create new flavors and market them on her Instagram account.

“When my mom went to Mexico, she found this great little gelato shop and ended up going there every day,” she said. “When she came back she asked me if I wanted to go into business with her and start one here and I said yes. Obviously. Why not?”

They spent several months working on their business plan, but they needed downtown space. It just so happened that Robert Arena, the owner of the building they were interested in, also had the idea to create a shaved ice business for his grandson Dylan Whitamore, 15 and his sister, Adrianna, 12.

“My mom and my grandfather started this business for my sister and me with the hope to pass it down,” said Dylan.

“They’re doing very well,” said the teens’ mother, Jessica Arena. “I’m very proud of them.”

After converting a small jewelry shop into an efficient space with an industrial cooler filled with 12 gelato flavors on one side for Gelato Rose and shelves of shaved ice syrups on the other side for Ice Blossoms, the teens are happy to work together and welcome folks in with samples of anything they desire. “We prize ourselves on offering unlimited samples and we’ve had people come in and ask to try every flavor,” said Bizet.

“We make it all ourselves with fresh, local ingredients. We love going to the farmer’s markets and finding new flavors, like our strawberry rhubarb gelato that comes from a couple who jars rhubarb from Whitefield, Maine. Other flavors such as blueberry sorbetto, Maine maple and lemon basil are all come from Maine as well.”

One of their most interesting flavors is rose. “We’re hoping to integrate some rosa rugosa from the beaches into our next batch,” she said. “The real difference between gelato and ice cream is that gelato is more dense and you can use whole milk instead of heavy cream and more natural flavors and less sugar, so it’s less fattening,” said Bizet, who also makes origami paper cone holders for that extra homemade creative touch.

As for shaved ice, the most requested flavor is Tiger’s Blood, a fruit punch with a hint of coconut. Jessica Arena said the concept of shaved ice is really popular in the south, but not something northeners see very much. They import their flavors from a company in New Orleans. “We’ll also have a couple of sample flavors to try every day,” said Dylan Whitamore, “but if anyone wants to just try a flavor they see that’s not out, we’ll do that for them.”

The next time you’re on Main Street, try a sample and congratulate the kids on their new business!

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Penobscot Bay Pilot caught up with artist Jack McKenney of the eponymously named gallery in the heart of Camden. Tucked down in the alleyway at 4 Public Landing bordering the new Sea Dog Brewery, Jack could be found working in his snug glass-enclosed gallery on a new piece — a waterscape of deep, dramatic blues, which is somewhat of a departure from his other abstract works.

Born and raised in New England, he and his partner left New York City three years ago and settled down in Camden where he currently lives and paints. Last fall, he had a showing at Unity College in a series called “The Littoral Zone,” an interpretation of the first layer of the ocean.

What was your former career before becoming a painter?

I worked for a company that bought brands in the fashion industry where we rebranded the business and took it to a new level and audience, such as Halston and Bill Blass. And you'll probably remember Ellen Tracy, an '80s — we did a little bit with that one. I used a lot of color when working for that company and it translated to painting for myself.

What brought you from NYC to this area?

I grew up on the coast of New Hampshire so I’ve always been connected to the ocean. When we were trying to figure out where to land, we’d visited the Midcoast several times and we really wanted to be part of this community. We didn’t know anyone, but we knew this place has a lot going on, culturally.

What kind of light do you get in this little studio and how does that inspire your work?

I work year-round so in the wintertime, I’ll be sitting down to work with a cup of coffee and the light slants very low across the sky, but by the end of the day, I still have light that wraps around the entire studio. Right now, I have a series of abstracts inspired by the seasons called Harbor Docks. I think my strengths lie in the boldness of color. It all depends on the time of year, but what I take away from the ocean, the harbor, the docks and the boats, is what you see on the canvas.

What’s your process?

First, I always draw out an image on paper. With the drawing, I see exactly where I’m going but, when I mix my own colors, I’ll then start to create, working on oil on linen. I’ll add in layer after layer and it takes on this whole story. It can take about three weeks to a month before a piece is done. I know a lot of painters who say that the piece is never finished, but there’s a certain point when it’s finished for me.

With all of the hustle and bustle on Main Street, it’s easy to miss Jack McKenney’s little studio off the beaten path in the alleyway. But regardless of the season, when you’ll walk in, the crowds will fall away and you’ll see all of the colors that make the studio a serene place to spend a few minutes. Check out his work at: jack-mckenney.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT — They say timing is everything. For Patrick Duffy, an executive chef and Jessica Duffy, a seasoned server and restaurant manager, the time seemed right to open their first restaurant together once they learned that Shepherd’s Pie in Rockport was closing for good this past May.

“We’d thought about opening a restaurant before, so when this space became available, we literally had days to decide,” said Jessica.

It so happened that the pair had moved from Boston in 2011 to run Shepherd’s Pie before it closed so they had an inside track.

“We always visited this particular raw bar in Boston, so we thought it was a great idea to have one here,” said Patrick.

Jessica, a a Maine native added, “Since, we moved back, we realized there was a niche to be filled with a raw bar.”

It’s not just their first restaurant together, it’s their first time working together.

Asked what their working style is they both turned to each other and said “We’ll find out.”

18 Central will also feature grilled seafood and steaks and a daily selection of raw and chilled seafood from Maine and away with specialty Mignonettes and sauces.

Entrees will range from scallops and pork belly and Berkshire pork steak to fried chicken and heirloom grits.

Jessica and Patrick met in college at UMass Amherst in the 1990s. After going their separate ways for a bit with Patrick getting his formal training at NECI, they eventually reconnected and settled in Boston. While Jessica parlayed her bartending and serving skills into positions as an event coordinator and manager of a number of Massachusetts restaurants, Patrick worked his way up from fry cook to executive chef in Northampton, Martha’s Vineyard and Boston.

They moved back to raise a family. Their Children are three years old and 19 months old.

“This is our third baby,” Patrick joked, patting the raw bar.

Beyond putting in a new raw bar, which will be glass encased, they have been doing renovations since May, including constructing a new harbor-view patio with additional seating for 24 people, removing sheet rock to reveal weathered brickwork and adding several doors, including a front entrance with oversized double doors.

“We also added more pendant lighting over the bar because people were always saying it was too dark in here,” said Jessica.

The Duffys are still renovating and getting the front of the house operations up to speed but plan to open for the weekend of July 7. Stay tuned to their progress and for the official opening announcement on their Facebook page.

Hey three-day weekend— I see you coming up. There are so many fun and competing things to do this weekend, I don’t know where to start. Okay, I already did start, so that was a ridiculous sentence. Make the most of your three days!

Free Gelato Samples & Art Walk

Friday, July 1—Rockland

Float-a-palooza

Saturday, July 2—St. George

The third annual St. George River Tubing and Float-a-palooza is happening again this year. Starting at 9:15 a.m. in Warren Village more than 200 people will float, raft and paddle down to the Slipway in Thomaston. It is 6.2 miles and usually takes about four to six hours.  Flotation devices are a must. The marine patrol will be out! That goes for all ages! Bring sunscreen, food, drinks, oars, etc. Contact Ann Daggett 691-0043.For any questions. And looks like The St. George River Café is having their grand opening that Saturday. They will be open the morning of the tubing flotilla, offering breakfast specials and grab bag lunches for the tubing event!

Reggae Dance Party on Vinalhaven

Saturday, July 2—Vinalhaven

How cool is this? The Sandbar presents live music by the world reggae band CatchaVibe at 9 p.m. The best way to get there is either take the ferry (the last one is at 4:30 p.m. so you’d have to have a place to stay.) Or here are some captains who may be available to bring you to the island: John Morin, Equinox Island Transit (Rockland), (207) 691-1637or Foy Brown, J.O. Brown & Son (North Haven), (207) 867-4621. Or call Penobscot Island Air (207) 596-7500. They fly from Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) in small, single-engine aircraft. Tickets are $10 per person and $15 per couple.

Tomorrow Morning at Trackside

Saturday, July 2—Rockland

If you’re looking for a good dance band, check out these guys. Known as one of the premier bands in Maine and founded by Adam Babcock of Thorndike, these guys play high energy Pop/ Rock/ Top 40/ Dance/ Reggae/ Hip hop.  They’re playing at Trackside Station in Rockland at 9 p.m. and bonus—there’s no cover!

The Pampered Cats and Fireworks

Monday, July 4 —Thomaston and Camden

Before the fireworks, there MUST be dancing. The Pampered Cats are going to take the street in Thomaston for a four-hour-long dance party. They cover a mix of danceable funk and soul—think Sly and the Family Stone, Bill Withers, Prince, etc. They will be performing from 12:30 to 4 p.m. then at 9:00 p.m. you can catch fireworks in Camden or at at 9:15 p.m. in Thomaston. Click here to find other fireworks displays around Maine.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE—Just because two of the chefs in the 2016 Cellardoor Smackdown culinary competition work together and are engaged didn’t mean they were going to make it easy for one another. It just so happens in this “very special battle of the betrothed,” Shelby Stevens of Natalie's at the Camden Harbour Inn, edged out her fiancé, taking first place with her Blackberry Tarragon Parfait.

“Summer is about berries and fruit and also I wanted to create something refreshing and bold,” said Stevens. “I was going to pair the parfait with vanilla ice cream at first, but then I just thought, well that’s so vanilla. So, I thought I’d go for it with a tarragon ice cream instead. I’m a savory cook, not a pastry chef. When I was an intern years ago, we did a cod dish with tarragon oil and blackberry oil, so really, that’s where this dish was inspired from.”

All five chefs, a combination of professionals and amateurs, worked tirelessly at their own color-coded stations in the nearly two-and-a-half hour event while emcee and chef/owner of Café Miranda, Kerry Alterio, and a roving camera crew mingled throughout the crowd, egging them on and trying to get them to proclaim their favorites after each bite.

Because, of course, there is always a little “smack talk” in the Smackdown.

Set up all around the perimeters of the tent were multiple stations where guests could try a decadent array of food and Cellardoor wines, Oxbow beers and a variety of bubbly and spirituous pairings, all provided by Trillium Caterers. Pemaquid Oyster Company kept the shucked oysters coming with elegant stemless glasses of white and blush champagne choices alongside them on ice. Elsewhere, lucky diners could sample, and sample again: Lobster Rolls & Chardonnay, Delice d"Argental on Brazen Baking Crackers, Asian BBQ Pork Spare Ribs, Arancini with Tomato-Caper Relish, Maitake Mushrooms Crostini with Smoke Tomato Butter, Lamb Chop Lollipops with Salsa Verde, Tiny Corndogs with Malt Vinegar Tartar Sauce and Oxbow FPA, Spiced Chicken Tostadas with Del Maguey Mezcal Margaritas, Soft Pretzels and Grain Mustard with Oxbow Bowie and Maple-Glazed Pork Belly Skewers with Bulleit Bourbon.

Meanwhile, just below the stage, Chris Long, also of Natalie's at Camden Harbour Inn, made a Pork Steamed Bun with Guajillo Hammock Relish, Mary Totochaud of Everyday Pottery made Fiery Stuffed Bacon and Cheddar Gougers, and Judy Bernier of Podzook made Cheesy Fiery Spinach Toast. Guests had the opportunity to taste mini versions of their recipes and vote on a People's Choice winner—and that was Soone Hitt with her Korean Bul Ko Ki taco, each clipped tightly shut at the top with the tiniest wood clothespin ever seen.

The celebrity judges included Michael Salmon of the Hartstone Inn and Hideaway, Lani Stiles of Megunticook Market, Phillip Crispo of The Norumbega Inn and Norm Herbert of Bintliff's Ogunquit Restaurant.

Reach Kay Stephens at news@penbaypilot.com
Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com and 207-706-6655
Reach 5iveLeaf Photography at fiveleafphotography.com and 207-358-0229

ROCKLAND—This past weekend, the public finally got to see the new Center for Maine Contemporary Art’s (CMCA) new glass-enclosed 11,500 square feet building on 21 Winter Street. Since 1952, CMCA has been a fixture in the Midcoast’s arts community, but the time had come to make some major changes.

“Though our old location in Rockport had a great deal of charm, we felt it no longer served our mission,” said CMCA Director Suzette McAvoy. “It had a number of structural issues including uneven floors, which couldn’t support large scale sculptures and installations. And in terms of technology, it wasn’t set up to handle a lot of media. So that, along with the lack of parking and foot traffic, led us to consider a new home. This was a step our board had been looking to make for almost 20 years.”

In April 2013, the property became available.

“We said, ‘this is it,’” said McAvoy. “We have to make the move now because it’s in the heart of the art district and we’re never going to get a location as great as this one.”

After more than a year, the project was completed in June, 2016. Within walking distance of the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Wyeth Center, the Strand Theatre and dozens of art galleries in the vicinity, the new CMCA building is the latest addition cementing Rockland as a year-round arts district. Walking down Winter Street one can see the iconic roofline resembling the slanted “A” in CMCA’s logo.

Upon first impression, the most noticeable feature of the building is its large exterior courtyard with a 24-foot-tall steel sculpture by world-renowned artist and Ogunquit resident Jonathan Borofsky. The sculpture is part of the artist’s Human Structures series. 

“It’s a piece that represents our human connection to the natural world in that it’s positioned right out here in a public space and also our connection to the virtual world,” said McAvoy. 

This is the first time Borofsky has shown his work in the CMCA space, which has allowed him to have a piece outside, as well as numerous pieces inside in the main gallery.

“This courtyard allows us to showcase a sculpture like this in a way that was completely impossible in our former space,” she said.

Designed by architect Toshiko Mori, the connection between outside and inside is evident once through the doorway. Everything is whitewashed, the steel structural beams line up with the windows so that they almost disappear. Natural light washes through the courtyard and into the entry way with saw tooth skylights pulling the light down into the two-story main gallery. 

“The idea was to turn the idea of a traditional museum inside out,” said McAvoy. “When you think of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Museum, this very formal, temple of art kind of thing, it was designed to take the mystery out of it.”

Mori who lives part time on North Haven, was the museum’s first choice to design the new building.  “The way the daylight comes through the Rockland harbor so crisp and clear, I wanted that to come through in this building,” she said. “You can’t see that kind of quality on the Internet; you have to come here and see it for yourself.” Echoing McAvoy, she said she wanted the exterior spaces and interior spaces to be seamless so that people in the courtyard could look inside viewing art in public spaces.

The building contains three exhibition galleries (one of which will double as a lecture hall/performance space), a gift shop, an ArtLab classroom.

Borofsky’s installations are one of three exhibitions debuting for the opening. Artist Alex Katz showcases the small-scale oil paintings in the second gallery and Rollin Leonard’s exhibition “Vernal Pool” features artwork and video installations in the Art Hall.

The aim of the project was to make people say “Wow” when they walked in. And on a beautiful sunny day with all of the dramatic elements of glass, light, space and thoughtful artwork coming together, you can’t help but utter that word.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com 

ROCKLAND— On Chris Gamage’s work table sits a wooden box, centered by a miniaturized fire ring. Around the fire ring several aluminum figures are sitting or reclining. The piece represents Chris and his friends at a Portland campground the night of a friend’s bachelor party years ago. After he flips a switch, the fire ring actually flames up from an gas burner inside the box. Another piece on his work table depicts small aluminum figures perched on various elevations of granite blocks. Any Mainer would recognize this sculpture as a childhood swimming hole where kids are about to jump.

“My friends and I spent a large portion of our childhood jumping off Atwood’s Quarry,” he said. So much of his artwork is personal, 3-D manifestations from his memories.

Gamage started his career while in college in Fort Lauderdale for graphic design.

“I was right on the verge of switching over to computer design when I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life on a computer,” he said.

Changing tracks, he took a year off and began studying sculpture and fine art at the University of Maine. While there, his sculpture teacher took the class on cast iron conference in New Jersey, which would inspire the course of his life.

“It was amazing, he said. “After we came back, we ended up making a foundry and that is what I realized I wanted to do.”

Gamage said that once he gets an “image” of something artistic, the thought process won’t leave him alone, sometimes for years.

“The only way I can get rid of it is to make it,” he said.

His most recent piece came about through his job as a metal worker at Rockport Marine. He was working on a lathe, making dolphin strikers, which are the two arms that come off the front of the boat connected by a wire. As he tapered them down with a lathe, he was watching spirals of bronze sheer off. To someone else, the bronze turnings might have just looked like the byproduct or waste material; to others it might have looked like the tangled brown spirals of a ruined cassette tape. To Gamage, they looked like beautifully spun leaves on a tree.

Once more, it was an image that he couldn’t get out of his head. So, he collected all of the turnings and brought them to his workshop, where he constructed the rest of the tree and surrounding bucket out of mild steel welded together.

 In the back of the work shed on his property in Rockland is a homemade foundry he constructed himself out of a steel drum. When the foundry gets going, it can heat up to 2,000 degrees.

“When the furnace is running and the metal is molten, there’s just a certain look of it, the smell of it, I just love,” he said.

Asked what is smells like, he joked, “Nowadays, it just smells like work.”

He always has his eye out for unsalvageable bronze pieces, such as an old keel bolt that no longer works.  His sculptures have a dual role, not that he ever consciously intended to recycle metals that might have otherwise ended up in a waste treatment facility. “When I take some of the discarded bronze scraps away, I always try to give something back to the boatyard, whether it’s getting the crew bagels, or something else,” he said. It’s a win-win, as discarded metals don’t end up in the landfill and once melted down, become re-imagined as art.

On top of his full-time job, Gamage runs his side business Bog Bronze, doing metalsmithing for boat owners and other customers, but his artwork is what motivates him to fire up the foundry on a weeknight of a weekend. “I hope to keep the artwork and the foundry business take off so I can work from home. That’s always been the plan for the future, he said.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Before the Belfast Co-op made plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary this week, they turned to another Belfast business, Marshall Wharf Brewing Co., to collaborate on a commemorative brew.

Belfast Co-op’s Zafra Whitcomb, a home brew enthusiast whom Penobscot Bay Pilot covered back in 2013 in our story “Looks like we have a ‘Winnah!’” was the one to develop the recipe for the red wheat ale, calling it Principle 9.

Whitcomb and Kate Harris, the Co-op’s former education and outreach director, had gotten the idea from a conference in Wisconsin, where the local co-op had done a collaboration beer with the local brewery.

“We came back from that and said, ‘We’ve got to do that too,’” said Whitcomb. “So, we talked to David Carlson, Marshall Wharf’s owner and he was open to the idea.”

Working with Jared Maruhnic, the head brewer for Marshall Wharf, Whitcomb said it took two years from the initial idea to the first pour. 

“I came up with the recipe, but he was the master of the process,” he said. “When we decided we wanted to release it in June, we talked to local producers and explored the idea of doing a 100-percent Maine beer.” That was before realizing that the availability of those ingredients was going to be limited.

Making a 100-percent Maine beer is not as easy as it sounds. The two malt houses, Blue Ox and Maine Malting, in the state are still developing a process to produce colored malts, such as caramel or roasted malts — but they’re not there yet.  So, in making Principle 9, if he chose to use malted wheat exclusively from a Maine malt house, the beer would have no color, and Whitcomb wanted that deep warm red.

“It’s close,” he said. “It’s made 85 percent from Maine malt and 50% of that malt is MOFGA-certified organic. The other 15 percent is amber rye and roasted barley. We had to go to Valley Malt in Massachusetts, which is still regional.” Valley Malt has been around a lot longer and already had an established track record for producing colored malts.

On a sunny evening, right after the longest day of the year, a number of people had lined up at Marshall Wharf Brewing Co’s outdoor bar to get a first taste of the new brew.

Asked why he chose a red ale over everything else?

“I just like a pretty beer,” he smiled.

With Marshall Wharf brews typically in the higher alcohol by volume range, Whitcomb also wanted to create a lower alcohol beer at 5 percent, which is on par with a common production beer.

The one-off red ale is now pouring on tap and available in cans as well.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Things are humming this weekend, I mean humm-ing with exciting food and drink events, ska legend the Toasters making their first Midcoast appearance, CMCA’s grand opening and events for people who would rather have a beer than dessert (or vice versa).

Cellardoor Smackdown

Saturday, June 25—Lincolnville

Back again for another year, Cellardoor Winery is hosting Smackdown 2016, an over-the-top afternoon of food and wine pairings, with Trillium Caterers. Taste the recipes that the judges have created, sip on Cellardoor wine and other libations, watch the competitors duke it out in the kitchen. Reservations are required. noon-3 p.m. $75 ticket. Visit: mainewine.com/smackdown2016

The Toasters live in Rockland

Saturday, June 25—Rockland

How did the Lincoln Street Center get the legendary ‘90s ska band from New York City to come up here? Answer: Natty B. Nathaniel Bernier, a longtime fixture in the Midcoast music scene, is celebrating his birthday in a big way. Since 1981, the Toasters have been in the forefront of the second and third wave of ska music starting their long career in NYC. Uncommonly seen in Maine, we welcome them to Rockland for the first time ever! Presented by his company Bantam Property Management and Megalith Records, this all ages, chem-free show has no pre-order and is first-come first serve. Kids under 12 who sing Natty B. any song get in for free. (If unable to sing, drooling is acceptable.) Opening the show will be some gentlemen very familiar in the music scene: DJ Soul Stew (James York), DJ Jr. Jive (Matthew Maloney) and DJ Southpaw (Mark Kelly.) No alcohol, drugs, weapons or bad attitudes please! $12 recommended donation for tickets at the door. The DJs start at 7:30 p.m. and the Toasters will take the stage at roughly 9:15 p.m.

CMCA’s grand opening on Winter Street

Sunday, June 26—Rockland

On the press tour, I was able to get a sneak peek into the brand new 11,500-square-foot glass-enclosed gallery at 21 Winter Street and it looks like Sunday is going to have bright sunny skies so the public can get a true sense of what world-renowned architect Toshiko Mori created to bring the outside in and how the natural light plays into her design. (I absolutely love that she designed it to not be fussy or elitist, but accessible to all). It’s a beautiful building, but the work they chose to exhibit across the generations with artists Jonathan Borofsky, Alex Katz and Rollin Leonard is just as stunning. The ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony goes from 1 to 2 p.m. After that, from 2 to 5p.m., the public can get a glimpse of the galleries and exhibitions.

Windjammer Days Festival in Boothbay

Sunday, June 26—Boothbay

it’s officially summertime now in Boothbay with their Windjammer Days Festival and between the Blessing of the Fleet, the Reggae Cruise, yacht races and art and crafts shows, it will be a great day for everyone to get out on the waterfront and check out the windjammer fleet. No entry fee. Check the schedule of what’s happening.

Killer Road Trip: Strawberry Festival or Craft Brew Fest: Take Your Pick

Saturday, June 25—Portland and South Berwick

For the sweet tooth, the Strawberry Festival is the best place to be in South Berwick with free entertainment, games, trolley rides, food vendors and uncounted plates of strawberry shortcake. FMI: Strawberry Festival For beer lovers,the annual Craft Brew Races in Portland are a celebration of local craft brewing in Portland. The first part of the event consists of a timed 5K road race (walk, run or crawl) followed by a local three-hour craft beer festival. Festival only passes are also available. FMI: Craft Brew Races.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Sometimes you need to get away to reinvent your life. That’s what one woman did after moving from Islesboro to Camden last year. Megan Murphy, a baker, decided to turn her rickety 1940s one-car garage on Limerock Street into a little bakery.

“When I got over here, I needed to work out what I really loved to do with what would work in Camden,” she said. “The reality of rent downtown versus what I could commit to as a single mom wasn’t feasible, so this made the most amount of sense.”

Murphy is the mother of four children, three of whom are adults, and her youngest is 7-year-old Rosalie Joy, the namesake of her bakery. She’d been baking for more than 15 years, working for small bakeries in Portsmouth, N.H., as well as on Islesboro and Chebeague islands. Trying to work regular baker’s hours without childcare wasn’t an option, so she took one look at the paint-flecked interior with the electric garage door and decided it needed to be transformed. Within two weeks, she’d found French doors at the ReStore in Rockport, and a $50 jewelry case at a thrift store. She turned that into a baker’s case. After some painting and refinishing, the whitewashed shabby chic garage emerged as Rosalie’s Joy Bakery last month.

However, as a micro-business in a zoned neighborhood, the hours need to remain limited. She’s only open one day a week —every Saturday morning starting at 8:30 am until to around 2 p.m.

“This is a mixed commercial neighborhood and if I were to be open more than one day a week, I’d have to get approval from my neighbors,” she said. “But as most of my customers are my neighbors, that might not be so hard.”

But right now, one day works out perfectly as she’s not ready to commit to more than that this summer.

Working out of her state inspected and licensed home kitchen to do special order baking, Murphy will be pulling all-nighters every Friday into early Saturday morning.

“My whole motto has always been fresh, fresh, fresh,” she said. “I do all my baking the night before and just push through all night. At 8:30 a.m., I’ll open the doors to the garage. But it’s worth it; because everything I put out there will be as good as I personally know how to make it. I know what it’s like to be spending the calories on a cinnamon roll. And if it’s sub par, it’s not worth it.”

On Saturdays, Rosalie’s Joy will primarily offer breakfast items and desserts.

“On the top row of the top rack of the baker’s case you’re likely to find cinnamon rolls, blueberry lemon cinnamon rolls with lemon curd baked in and pecan honey sticky buns,” she said. “We’ll have bacon cheddar scallion scones and fruit scones. On the counter, we’ll have a sour cream coffee cake, which you can buy by the slice.”

But what’s coffee cake without coffee? Murphy has paired with local coffee purveyors Coffee On The Porch, and you will find a fresh carafe on a side console in the morning.

She will also offer custom layer cakes, cookies, brownies and bars, which Rosalie Joy helps her mother with. “Not only does she help me in the kitchen, she’s a great box builder for cakes,” Murphy said.

Look for the white Cape with the pink door at 36 Limerock St. in Camden.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

We’ve finally busted out of the rainy cold temps and Maine is shining this entire weekend with multiple kick off parties for the summer, comedy, and great ideas for Dad!

Camden Harbor Kick off Party

Friday, June 17—Camden

Camden Harbor is pulling out all of the stops with a harbor party 6-11 p.m. with a DJ Terry Frank spinning tunes down by the wharf. Harbor Dogs Chef Jesse will be supplying pulled pork, chicken, ribs, vegan baked beans, and cole slaw free with donations. All proceeds go to the Hospitality House. 

Comedian Juston McKinney’s “How to Train Your Dad”

Friday, June 17—Camden

JustOn (you’d better not spell that with an “i”) McKinney is taking the stage at the Camden Opera House for a Father’s Day special with jokes and stories about his own dad and being a dad in New England. Having been numerous times on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and the Blue Collar Comedy Next Generation Tour with Bill Engval, Juston’s act “How To Train Your Dad” is the perfect Father’s Day present. Tickets are $17 and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. FMI: Juston McKinney

Summer Solstice & Dock Party

Saturday June 18—Rockland

The traditional Summer Solstice Street Party is going to rock Main Street, complete with music, food, fun and games (as well as a flash mob!) from 4 to 7 p.m. After that, toddle on down to the first-ever Summer Solstice After Hours Dock Party at Journey's End Marina at the end of Tillson Avenue, featuring a cash-only bar, music and dancing from 6 to 10:30 p.m. The street party is family-friendly, while the dock party is strictly for adults, 21 and over, with ID. Both events are free to the public and no cover charge.

Free admission to Maine’s state parks for Mainahs

Sunday, June 19—statewide

If you possess a Maine identification, today is your lucky day. From 9 a.m. – closing, all residents will be allowed free day-use entrance to Maine State Parks and Historic Sites. No rain date will be available. The open admission does not apply to Acadia National Park, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW), Baxter State Park, the Maine Wildlife Park, Peacock Beach, Scarborough Beach, Swan Island, Penobscot River Corridor (PRC), or the Penobscot Narrows Observatory in Prospect, though admission to Fort Knox State Historic Site will be free that day. (If you’re scratching your head and wondering, okay, what does have open admission? click here.)

Roll up to Bangor for Rock of Ages

Sunday, June 19—Bangor

This play has been getting some buzz over how funny it is. Rock of Ages will take you back to the times of big bands with big egos playing big guitar solos and sporting even bigger hair! This Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical features the unforgettable hits of the 1980s, including songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, and Poison, and more. Here’s the latest review in The Maine Edge. Check out the 3 p.m. matinee. Tickets are $35 and can be bought here.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

TENANTS HARBOR — Think all you need is a pair of good boots to get in a quick hike after work this summer? Think again.

Author Peter Kick has some advice and it’s going to sound a lot like the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared.”

“The one deceptive thing about hiking is that you don’t need any equipment and that is what always makes people the most susceptible to the elements,” Kick said. “So often people think they’ll just hike up in a T-shirt and shorts, and right back down from a 2,000 foot climb to my campsite or car in no time.”

But when something goes wrong, it goes very wrong when nightfall hits.

For Kick’s latest book, Desperate Steps: Life, Death, and Choices Made in the Mountains of the Northeast, he combed through the accident reports of 20 back country misadventures and misfortunes of New England’s biggest mountains to find the common thread of what went wrong and how those disasters might be averted in the future.  

Kick, who lives part of the year in Maine, is a New York State licensed guide, and author of several hiking and cycling guides. His previous books include AMC Catskill Mountain Guide, AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills & Hudson Valley, and Discover the Adirondacks.

Six of the stories in his latest book focus on Baxter State Park and the Appalachian Trail, including the most recent tragic case of thru-hiker Geraldine Largay, whose remains were found Oct.1 4, 2015, after a two-year search. According to a journal she kept while hiking and then while lost off the trail, she survived for nearly four weeks after she was reported missing. According to officials who investigated her disappearance and the subsequent location of her body, the campsite she set up after losing her way in the densely wooded remote area was just a 10-minute walk to a dirt trail that turns into a road. Searchers with K9s also came to within 100 yards of her at one during their effort to find and rescue her in the days after her husband reported her missing on the AT. She died from a lack of food and environmental exposure, according to published reports.

Like so many who have analyzed Largay’s case, Kick said he is still baffled about her inability to find her way out of the woods.

“I’ve spoken to the private search groups, the volunteers, the mercenary searchers and the Maine Warden Service, and they all had different ideas as to what happened,” he said. “This was a 66-year-old woman, who lost her hiking partner in the middle of the journey. Early on in her disappearance, Todd Remaley, chief ranger of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, said the most likely thing that happened was the simplest explanation, that she wandered off the trail and got so lost she couldn’t find her way back. And to me that’s the part I can’t figure out. But not everybody has a good sense of direction and she was probably too frightened to try and find the trail again.”

He cited the Appalachian Mountain Club “Ten Essentials” list for the items that every outdoor enthusiast should bring on a backcountry excursion.

“What it really boils down to is, ask yourself any time you go out into the wilderness, if something happened, could you respond effectively to an emergency and spend a night in the field safely?" he said.

 A map and compass tops this list. In Largay’s case, several media outlets reported that she had left behind a GPS device at a hotel, a piece of equipment that many people surmised would have ensured her survival if she’d had it with her.

“I don’t think she knew how to use it,” he said. “And, it’s not one of those necessary ‘Ten Essentials.’ I think a compass is more reliable because you don’t have to rely on batteries. You don’t need to know how to take a bearing or to triangulate; all you have to know is the four cardinal directions and to know where the trail is. But, you can’t walk endlessly on a compass bearing and come out alive. You have to know where the nearest waypoint is.”

He cited another case in Maine where the person might have benefited from knowing and using the 10 Essentials. That’s the story of Mike Hayes, an ultralight hiker, who got caught out for three days and nights on Mt. Katahdin and had to be rescued by helicopter. He didn’t have enough food, clothing or even an adequate topographical map. But, he was lucky, despite the odds and lack of preparation, because he was one of the few to make it out alive. And he was very contrite and said, “I really blew it,” said Kick.

After studying dozens of accident reports from all over New England, Kick said he concluded, “Very few people go into the wilderness prepared to spend the night. Having enough outerwear, enough water and food and a fire starter is the difference between hypothermia and possibly dying and just enduring an uncomfortable night. But, the one thing that gets people into the most trouble is the lack of light, like a headlamp.”

Kick knows this firsthand. “One time, I came down the Hunt Trail on Katahdin with three headlamps and I actually ran out of light by the time I got back my campsite about 11 p.m. I hadn’t changed the batteries and I thought, ‘Oh well, I’ll just be back down in no time. so that just goes to show that it’s easy to be complacent.”

To learn more about Kick’s book visit: Desperate Steps

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

As the local story goes, in 1847, 16-year-old Hanson Crockett Gregory, a boy from Clam Cove, Maine, (now part of Rockport) was working aboard a ship when he got mighty sick of the way frycakes failed to cook thoroughly in the middle. According to a interview published in the Washington Post in 1916, Gregory, who was by then a retired 85-year-old sea captain said: “Now in them days we used to cut the doughnuts into diamond shapes, and also into long strips, bent in half, and then twisted. I don’t think we called them doughnuts then — they was just ‘fried cakes’ and ‘twisters.’

“Well, sir, they used to fry all right around the edges, but when you had the edges done the insides was all raw dough. And the twisters used to sop up all the grease just where they bent, and they were tough on the digestion.”

The Maine way has always been “Waste Not, Want Not” and Gregory found an innovative solution to those inedible frycake centers.

In the article, he continued: “Well, I says to myself, ‘Why wouldn’t a space inside solve the difficulty?’ I thought at first I’d take one of the strips and roll it around, then I got an inspiration, a great inspiration. I took the cover off the ship’s tin pepper box, and — I cut into the middle of that doughnut the first hole ever seen by mortal eyes!”

Thus, Gregory became in a roundabout way, the inventor of the donut hole. He took his invention home to his parents in Camden and showed his mother, who then promptly made a batch and took it to friends in Rockland. 

“Everybody was delighted and they never made doughnuts any other way except the way I showed my mother,” recalled Gregory.

His invention, however, would not go uncontested and according several culinary historians and food writers, many others tried to lay claim to the hole. But throughout history, Gregory’s story of invention has been popularized and perhaps enjoyed the most.

To commemorate Maine’s contribution to the donut hole, an art and public history show, “Hole History: Origins of American-Style Donut” is running through to June 25 (National Donut Day) at two locations: Asymmetrick Arts on 405 Main Street and Win Wilder Hall 328 Main Street in Rockland.

Alexis Iammarino, a Rockland artist, is behind this w(hole) hing. Curating the works of authors, artists, and historians regionally and from all over the country, the two-venue show features a mix of paintings, photographs, written passages, video pieces, and old newspaper accounts of everyone’s favorite deep-fried pastry.

“I’ve reached out to culinary historians who’ve devoted to years of study around the donut hole and who’ve investigated the origins of Gregory’s invention story,” said Iammarino.

Collaborating with local artists Jared Cowan and Josh Cardoso, the event brings out some left-of-center pieces. “The donut-hole is a rabbit-hole leading to awesome and unexpected creative diversity,” said Cardoso. “Putting a void in the center is endlessly generative."

“Sometimes when you do a themed event, the submissions might be somewhat of a stretch to relate to the theme, but artists have been making the donut the subject of their work for decades so, between that and the local creativity we’re bringing to it, this is something that’s fun and engaging for everyone,” said Cowan.

Submissions in the show will feature artists/writers from Maine, New York, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Kansas, Canada and Ireland. The opening reception held at both galleries on June 3 will feature images and narratives relating equally to authenticity, tall tales, and toroid geometry: anything and everything relating to the iconic American pastry. It would also not be complete without donuts made from local bakers whose insides you can bet will be thoroughly cooked. As Gregory might say if he were still around: “Them’s mighty good eatin’.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

This is the best time of year when summer hasn’t fully kicked in and you’re not cursing at the out-of-state plates in front of you yet. This weekend hear some great music, stories and comedy or take that road trip to the summer festivals.

Richard Salloom, storyteller, singer

Friday, June 10—Rockland

Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and storyteller Richard Salloom will be at Trackside Station during dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. Roger Salloom has been called "America's best unknown songwriter." He was in the center of the 1960s San Francisco psychedelic scene, playing the Fillmore with Santana, Van Morrison, BB King and Procol Harum. He’s performed with The Band, Steve Forbert, Doc Watson and John Prine, to name a few. Expect some great stories and music that’s a cross between blues, roots, Americana, country and soul.

Midcoast Kings and Queens of Comedy

Friday, June 10—Rockland

Comedian Earl David Reed opens the stage in a night of a comedy standoff between four other comedians for the title of Queen or King of Midcoast Comedy at the Strand Theatre. With 15 years of stand up comedy under his belt, Reed has performed at more than 100 comedy clubs and colleges, and is a favorite in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The contestants are: Dawn Hartill, Jared Horning, Kristin Tripp and Heather Ellsworth. They’ll each have 5-10 minutes of stage time. The winner will be chosen by audience vote. May the best comedian win! The show starts at 7:30 pm and tickets are $20.

Chicky Stolz with The Charlie Nobles

Saturday, June 11—Rockland

Join Chicky, Noah, Tom, Jed, and probably JR as they coast their way through swampy blues and some boozy Americana. This annual event never disappoints at FOG Bar and Café at 8 p.m. Take a listen here. No cover.

Killer Road Trip: Kennebunkport Summer Festival

Friday, June 10 to Sunday, June 12—Kennebunkport

Of all the weekend events offered during this annual food, wine and art party, I recommend the Grand Tasting Party on Saturday from noon to 4 pm. “Under a beautiful white tent along the Kennebunk River, check out the more than 25 chefs and wineries offering samples. You will not leave this event hungry.” Tickets are $65. My other recommendation is the Brews and Tunes party, also on Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Hosted at The Green at the Captain Lord Mansion for an afternoon of–you guessed it: beer and live music. There will be food trucks, vendors, and a lot of fun. Check out the Fogcutters band here. Tickets are $15 advance/$20 at the door.

Killer Road Trip: Summer Kickoff Weekend

Saturday, June 11 to Sunday, June 12—Portland

Kick off summer in Maine at the 43rd annual Old Port Festival. This family-friendly event is an outdoor celebration of art, live music and amazing food in the heart of downtown Portland. Three great events take place in one weekend starting with Walk the Working Waterfront, Saturday, June 11 (11 a.m.-3 p.m.), Shop for a Cause Day,  Saturday, June 11 (All day) and the Old Port Festival, Sunday, June 12 (11 a.m.-5 p.m.) Bonus: METRO: Greater Portland Transit District is offering FREE rides all day (all routes) on Sunday, June 12. Hop on a bus and don't fret about driving and parking.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

When grocery shopping or eating out, we don’t often give much thought to buying an item encased in a plastic clamshell and doubly wrapped in cellophane, then loaded into plastic bags. It’s the same with getting takeout in a non-recyclable plastic container with utensils we toss out later. But it could be something to stop doing and participating in today, June 8, World Ocean’s Day.

With thousands of causes bombarding us daily to do this or change, that — why should we care?

Because, plastic pollution is a number one source of what’s killing the ocean. It doesn’t take a genius to make the connection between human consumption and environmental destruction. Whether it’s the recent story of the overwhelming plastic debris that regularly washes up on Hawaii’s beaches or the 13 sperm whales that were found dead, washed up on shore, their stomachs full of plastic, it’s time to be a little more conscientious in choices when it comes to buying or using or being given plastic.

The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots nonprofit environmental organization with 85 national chapters that work to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches. Melissa Gates, Northeast Regional Manager, said, "One of the best ways to reduce our plastic footprint in the ocean is to change our every day consumer behavior, such as bringing your own shopping bags to the grocery store or refusing plastic straws when you go out to eat. When grocery shopping, refuse to buy items that are overly packaged. These little changes really goes a long way. Not only does it remove the market demand, but also it sets an example to others, as we continue to work to make that paradigm shift."

All that throwaway plastic ends up as litter on beaches, streets and sidewalks, and then through storm drains or creeks flowing into the ocean. Plastics, such as Styrofoam or water bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate, never break down and never goes away. It doesn’t biodegrade, it photodegrades, which means it is broken down by the action of light into smaller and smaller fragments over time

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, billions of pounds of plastic currently swirls in large convergences, making up about 40 percent of the world’s ocean surfaces. If that doesn’t make you sick, this will:

All those photodegraded tiny bits of plastic are mistaken as a food source by marine animals, such as fish we catch, and eat.

“All of the broken down bits can be ingested by marine life with devastating results,” said Gates. “Not only is it creating this toxic soup that all marine life is swimming around in, but of course, when you eat seafood, you are also eating those toxic chemicals.”

Surfrider Foundation’s Maine chapter organizes periodical campaigns to do beach clean ups—but it’s not simply to beautify the beaches, it comes with the mission to study the debris they pick up and to analyze where it’s coming from.

“First, we catalogue the debris to trace it back to the source of pollution,” Gates said. “Then, we use the data to help inform regulatory decisions that would stop the source of pollution in certain areas.” Asked what are the biggest sources of trash and debris the Maine volunteers have collected on beaches over the last few years, she said, “Cigarette butts are very prevalent on beaches. A lot of people don’t think of it as plastic pollution, but filters often contain little bits of plastic. Plastic grocery bags, abandoned fishing gear and expanded polystyrene, like Styrofoam coolers, food packaging and cups that have broken apart, are also big sources of marine debris.”

Just like Earth Day, which started in 1970, has galvanized more than a billion people worldwide to make small differences to protect the earth, World Oceans Day is inspiring people to take part in creating a healthy ocean.

Gates and fellow Surfrider Foundation member and Friendship lobsterman, Richard Nelson, will be participating in a panel following the film screening of Ocean Frontiers, an award-winning film about ocean stewardship. The screening will take place on Thursday, June 16 at the Belfast Free Library. The Maine chapter’s next public event is on Saturday, June 18, which is International Surfing Day in Ogunquit.

FMI: More details. To find out when other campaigns and beach cleanups will be happening in Maine, visit their Facebook page or sign up on their email list.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE — Since the age of 6, Wesley Henderson, of Lincolnville, has been working hard to be a dancer. At that young age, he had his sights set on big goals. He started out in ballet, but gravitated more to hip hop when he began training at Studio Red in Rockland. At 8, he was starting to lose interest in what they were learning at his age range, so he began taking teen level classes as well. “So, that’s when I started getting a little more forward in my dancing career,” he said.

Today, at 12, it might seem cute that he used the word “career,” but in fact, this kid has fast tracked into a legitimate professional career as he prepares to travel to Los Angeles this July to participate in the prestigious Hollywood Summer Tour. After performing in a regional competition in Portland with his Studio Red dance troupe, Wesley was awarded one of five $500 scholarships to the Tour, beating out hundreds of dancers with more than 550 dancing competitions.

This week-long invitation-only dance workshop includes multiple dance classes in all genres of dance with some of the biggest names in the commercial dance world, including some who have appeared on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance.

And while the scholarship win was good, there was one other thing holding him back: $500 wasn’t going to get his mother and him to California for a week, so Wesley set his mind on a new goal — to raise $4,500 (which doesn’t include airfare) to stay for a week.

“In my family, I’m always the one to want to do something even if it is a super hard thing to do. I knew it was a lot of money,” he said. So, the family started a GoFundMe page, along with several in-person fundraisers he has done locally around town. His last few fundraisers have raised more than $200 and his GoFundMe page has already crept to nearly $3,000 in a month.

“I’ve never been on a plane before, and I’ve never been so excited in my life,” he said.

Stay tuned as Penobscot Bay Pilot tracks his progress.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Sam Richman, the former chef of Salt Water Farm, decided on an innovative route when the Rockport restaurant closed unexpectedly in 2015. He began operating a series of pop-up Mexican dinners under the name Salty Soup Kitchen. Working with restaurant colleagues and friends in several locations, the dinners proved to be a success all through the winter of 2016. And he might have continued that route had he’d not been tipped off that the owners of Sunfire Grill on were retiring after 14 years, leaving the Main Street space open.

Richman took over the location and is now working on opening his first restaurant called Sammy’s Deluxe. However, don’t expect to find Mexican fare on the menu.

“The Mexican Nights we did were sort of a side project, but now I’m returning to what I think I do best, which is getting the freshest ingredients locally and treating them simply,” he said.

Richman describes the menu he’s currently working on as more of "high-brow/low-brow Main-New England-Americana.”

He added: “I’ll go down to the farmer’s market or local fish market and whatever’s the brightest, shiniest ingredient will end up on the menu. I just want to treat the ingredients well, let them shine and not make very fussy food with it.”

He’d worked as a chef in a number of restaurants in New York City and has experimented with a number of supper clubs, but this is his first venture as a restaurateur. 

“I’ve learned a lot working in other people’s restaurants, but it’s nice to be able to be able to stretch out a little bit and work on some of my own ideas,” he said.

In addition to highlighting the freshest produce possible, the menu will include classics taken seriously. Offerings might include comfort food such as a cheeseburger made with the best ingredients or a corn dog he perfected while working at Salt Water Farm.

Having grown up in New Hampshire, he said his foray into New York City was a good one, but the lifestyle was too busy for him.

“I just wanted to get back to New England,” he said. “Maine had a more vibrant food scene going on, not to mention the quality of restaurants that exist here. I think this area supports a really good restaurant culture with some of the greatest ingredients in the world.”

Richman plays Led Zeppelin over the restaurant speakers as he works to transform the restaurant’s interior. Tables and chairs are stacked to the side and the Mexican memorabilia is shuffled aside to be put away. He is not going for a modernist look with Sammy’s Deluxe, but instead, plans to keep the decor simple and rustic.

“I want people to feel like they can come for really well-shopped for, well-cooked food without having to be in a fancy restaurant,” he said. “I’m a cook, not a designer, so you’re not going to be coming here for the really cool space, you’ll come for the good food.”

As for the fans of the Mexican food he made with the Salty Soup Kitchen, he said: “I definitely have a love affair with Mexican food, so it might make an appearance as a special night. We’ll see.”

Richman said he plans on opening as soon as he gets through his city council hearing, which may be mid-to-late June.

For more information visit Sammy’s Deluxe on Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Here’s your official start to June with a weekend packed with art openings, storytelling and a slavish dedication to America’s most beloved fat injector: the Donut.

Jam-packed Art Walk Openings

Friday, June 3—Rockland

Rockland’s First Friday art walk has so much going on, we’re going to break it up into three parts. New openings include Carver Hill Gallery’s show “FEMMetonymy” from 5-8 p.m. in which the artists use clothing as a vehicle to “challenge convention, tell a story, express an opinion and elicit an emotional response.” Jonathan Frost Gallery hosts an opening for “Leo Brooks and Jonathan Frost: Works on Paper” from 5-8 p.m. with Steve Lindsay accompanying with jazz piano. The Landing Gallery will hold an opening for two shows: “Postcards from Home” with new oil paintings by Sarah Faragher and “Passages: Time & the Sea” with ceramic boats by David Riley Peterson from 5-8 p.m. And CRAFT Gallery will open “In Bloom,” featuring watercolors by Susa Van Campen and rugs by Sara Hotchkiss. Finally, art hounds, don’t forget, you can check out the new Art Loft in the back of the Thorndike Building. There will be a table for people who want to “give art a try.”

Hole History Show

Friday, June 3—Rockland

Rockland artists have been working for months to elevate and celebrate Maine’s ties to the Donut Hole in a two-venue art opening happening at Asymmetrick Arts (405 Main Street) and Win Wilder Hall (328 Main Street) titled “Hole History: Origins of the American-Style Donut.” Curated by artist Alexis Iammarino, this show features more than 60 contributions from artists, writers, videographers and culinary historians and continues until June 25. The reception kicks off 5-8 p.m at both places with of course, coffee and donuts to celebrate National Donut Day. Look for more of the background story in our forthcoming summer issue of The WAVE.

Free roof deck and hotel art tour

Friday, June 3—Rockland

250 Main, Rockland’s newest boutique hotel is finally completed and this might be the closest locals will get to seeing what went into its architecture, design and thought process with a grand opening starting at 4:30 p.m. followed by a complimentary wine and beer reception and room tours of the five-story building. The jewels of this unique hotel include room 405 with an attached balcony and the roof deck with stunning views of Rockland’s harbor. Check out our latest Cheap Dates story on it.

National Doughnut Day & National Trails Day

Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4—Midcoast

If you want six-pack abs AND you want donuts, you are not alone. (And you know what’s going to win out anyway.) Local donut havens such as Willow Bake Shoppe in Rockland are celebrating National Donut Day. Lucky for your pathetic abs, tomorrow also happens to be National Trails Day. In Maine, there are several hikes planned and the closest one to the Midcoast is the Grand Opening of School Nature Trail in Tenants Harbor, meeting at the Jackson Memorial Library at 10 a.m. The public is invited to celebrate with refreshments and hike the path through woods.

Killer Road Trip: Moth Story Telling in Portland

Saturday, June 4—Portland

If you’ve ever listened to The Moth Radio Hour on NPR, likely you’ve heard a dang good yarn from an everyday storyteller who made you laugh, cry or think about it long after the story was done.  Each Moth Mainstage features simple, old-fashioned storytelling, by five wildly divergent raconteurs who develop and shape their stories with The
Moth’s directors. The hottest ticket this weekend is a live Moth storytelling event in Portland at the State Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the stories stat at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $30-$45, depending on seats.  FMI: MOTH Stories

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — It might not be obvious from the street view, but 250 Main, Rockland’s newest boutique hotel, has the look and feel of a gallery on every floor, with art from a variety of local Maine artists, including Eric Hopkins, Sam Cady and Janice Kasper, hanging on the walls.

And on Friday, June 3, anyone who is out and about for the city’s monthly Art Walk might want to pop in for the hotel’s grand opening, which kicks off at 4:30 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Louise MacLellan-Ruef and Rockland Maine Street Inc. Executive Director Gordon Page Sr.

This is the public’s opportunity to enjoy complimentary cheese and crackers, wine, beer and non-alcoholic drinks in the spacious lobby while getting personalized tours from the staff inside some of the hotel’s signature balcony rooms. Simultaneously, the hotel’s curator will be giving a tour of all of the artworks in the building. It will also be one of the few opportunities locals not staying in the hotel will get to view the stunning roof deck overlooking The Pearl and Rockland Harbor.

“People can walk around, see who the artists are and what galleries they are from,” said Hotel Manager Taylor Corson. “Every art piece in the hotel is for sale.” 

In a group tour Corson led last week she said she recalled that, “one woman in the group stopped and looked at a piece on the wall and said, ‘Oh my gosh I painted that! I had no idea it was here.’ It was the coolest thing.”

The architecture of the hotel is not hotel-like at all. From the reddish cement stairwell floors with famous quotes from authors on the risers to the expansive lobby that doubles as a lounge area, there’s a lot to take in. There are no long hallways on the upper floors and there is plenty of glass and light.

The hotel was designed by architect Scott Tease of Scattergood Designs in Portland, while the individual look of the rooms was designed by James J. Wall of Thirlwal Building Design. Cabot Lyman of Lymon Mores Boatbuilding built the five story, 26-room hotel with many of the interior finishes produced at his boatyard in Thomaston.

People will also get a chance to glimpse the rooms themselves, including the jewel of the hotel, Room 405, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a secluded deck with white couches.

“It’s pretty amazing with a gorgeous view,” said Corson.

Bonus for the Cheap Daters: anyone who attends can enter a drawing for a free night at the hotel. To find out more visit: 250mainhotel.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The good news is locals will tell you we didn't get the brutal beating we endured the previous winter. The even better news is how Camden and Rockport have begun to transform with a slew of new restaurants

Here's our annual listing of the new businesses and changes that occurred over the winter in Camden, Lincolnville and Rockport — what's open, what's closed, what's new and what's happening.

Restaurant news

Cappy’s Chowder House...Sea Dog Brewing Co.

Back in February, the rumors were swirling about Cappy's Chowder House closing after 37 years and what would take its place. PenBayPilot broke the news that The Sea Dog Brewing Co. (once a Camden fixture in the 1990s) was returning and had signed a lease to take over the Cappy's location. Renovations have been taking place all spring with plans for an outdoor deck. They are set to open June 15.

Camden House of Pizza

The Camden House of Pizza is under new ownership. Midcoast residents John and Mary McCluskey, who have lived in Hope for the past 20 years, have purchased this established business.  They are now accepting credit cards and offering slices for those with smaller appetites.  See our recent story here.

Rhumb Line

Restaurant patrons who are used to the views from The Waterfront, Peter Ott's on the Harbor and Camden Deli will notice something different across the inner harbor this summer — people at picnic tables and a bar looking right back at them on the dock at Wayfarer Marine. Rhumb Line opened with chef Scott Yakovenko at the helm in late May and it has already become a local hot spot. Can't beat that U-shaped zinc-topped bar with views of the Camden Hills and the boats bobbing on the brine. See our recent story here.

Tap & Vine

Another new place that sprung up with harborside seating is at 9 Bayview Landing. This June, Tap & Vine, a pop-up beer and wine bar began offering a selection of draft beer and wines on tap.

The Vintage Room

And just to be a little different, 16 Bay View Street's new 22-room hotel completed last summer quietly opened The Vintage Room, with a lobby bar and small plates menu.

Atlantica Restaurant

Fans of Atlantica Restaurant will be sad to know they finally closed this past fall, (which is where Tap & Vine is now located).

Spoon

Spoon, a frozen yogurt shop that opened in 2013 at 44 Bayview Street, said goodbye to its patrons September 2015.

Seabright....Fireside

Fireside, a new restaurant featuring wood-fired cuisine, opened June 2 on Camden's Public Landing where Seabright used to be. Managed by Benjamin Curtis of Lincolnville, Fireside's menu will center around Italian and Mediterranean-influenced cuisine, along with local craft brews and a full bar.

Shepherd’s Pie, Salt Water Farm...18 Central Street, Nina June

Two neighboring Rockport village restaurants went away this winter and being replaced with two new restaurants. Shepherd's Pie closed for what looked like the season in March, until Penobscot Bay Pilot learned that they were closed for good. A new tenant, a raw bar and grill called 18 Central Street, will take it over. And when Salt Water Farm also closed, it was announced in early June that New York City chef Sarah Jenkins from Manhattan is taking over the space for her new Mediterranean restaurant, Nina June.

Business news

Knox Mill, Penobscot Bay Pilot, Maine Women’s Fund

Last spring we reported on the Knox Mill's conversion of office spaces on the top floors, rumored to become senior housing, but over the winter, the new ownership of the mill complex property announced it saw opportunity in creating apartment complexes for all ages. This spring, the offices of Penobscot Bay Pilot and Maine Women’s Fund, among others such as Outward Bound and the clock repair shop, all moved out during the major reconstruction. Now the PenBayPilot.com offices are located in the the former HAV building at 87 Elm St. in Suite 215.

Shepherd Block

On the heels of that story, we learned that Marianne and Stuart Smith, of Camden, had entered a purchase and sales agreement for the Shepherd Block in Rockport Village, and for the two vacant lots on either side of that historic brick building. The deal is expected to close in late July. The Smiths plan to keep the building intact. See that story here.

Salty Dog

The Salty Dog, located at 123 Elm St in Camden, a full service pet grooming salon just announced its opening in early June. Family owned and operated, with more than 25 years of grooming experience and four years of veterinary medicine, the salon offers botanical baths, top notch clips for all breeds, “pawdicures,” and therapeutic skin treatments.

Leonard’s

In February, Leonard’s a clothing, jewelry and accessory store moved from Route 1 in Rockport to 23 Elm Street in Camden.

East Coast Yacht Sale/True Course Yachting

And finally, a new yachting supply store headed up by East Coast Yacht Sales and True Course Yachting on 44 Bay View Street took over the Spoon location on Camden’s Bay View Street.

If we've missed any business updates, comings and goings, expansions and the like, shoot us an email with the subject line "Add to Rockport/Camden story" and we'll give it a look.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Every spring the Monopoly board of Rockland switches up a little, gaining and losing a few businesses along the way. This was a big year for restaurants, hotels and art galleries as we watch this once rough and tumble town continue to evolve into a hot spot. Here's what happened over the fall and winter— what's open, what's closed, what's new.

Restaurant news

Brown Bag...Home Kitchen Cafe, Home Sweet Home, Close to Home

This past fall, it was a bit of a shock to learn that local favorite lunch spot The Brown Bag was going out of business after 28 years, but luckily, Home Kitchen Café owners James Hatch and Susan Schiro took over the space, planning to expand their restaurant's popular brand with three separate businesses under one roof. Moving their ice cream parlor from behind Home Kitchen Café into the left side of the Main Street building and leaving the right side a bakery and calling it Home Sweet Home, they turned the middle section into a burrito and sandwich shop called Close To Home with "made to-order homemade subs similar to a North End Boston Italian style." Read our story about it here.

Comida Restaurant...Broken Egg

Despite a still active website and Facebook page, Comida Restaurant, the Latin-infused restaurant, which had moved from Camden to Rockland in 2015, experimented with a new business model of sharing space with food truck 'Wich Please, before announcing its permanent closure over the winter. Broken Egg, a gourmet breakfast and brunch spot took its place, just recently opening for the summer season. See our recent story here.

The Oyster Bar...The Pearl

The Oyster Bar at the Pearl quietly closed over the winter, making room for a longtime fixture of the food scene, Larry Reed, to take over as the new owner. Now what the locals are calling The "New" Pearl, this iconic restaurant on the pier has reopened with a new primarily seafood menu, new staff and new energy. See our recent story.

Sunfire Mexican Grill... Sammy’s Deluxe

And just before the summer season, Sunfire Mexican Grill announced on Facebook that after 14 years in the business, they are retiring and offering the business up for sale. At this writing, Sam Richman, who previously has hosted pop-up Mexican dinners as salty Soup Kitchen, has announced he has taken over the space and will be calling his new restaurant Sammy's Deluxe, described as "high-brow/low-brow, thoughtful, not fussy, delicious, proud, seasonal food—the best of Maine, New England, and Americana."

Business news

Hops & Chops

Hops & Chops, a full-service butcher shop and beer/wine shop at 77 Park Street opened in mid-May in the location formerly owned by Blackboard Deli. With an emphasis on selling Maine craft brews and wine, owner Dale Dare also plans to offer homemade prepared meals to go, which is sure to be a hit with tourists and locals alike. See our story here.

Gelato Rosse, Ice Blossoms

Coming up in early June, two more small businesses dedicated to icy treats will be opening. Gelato Rose (497 Main St.) owned by Annie Higbee and her daughter Cecile Bizet Burbank will open Rockland's second gelato shop. They will share space with Robert Arena who will be opening an Italian ice shop called Ice Blossoms.

Thorndike Creamery...Curator

Rockland lost one of its best pizza places when Thorndike Creamery decided to close their doors in December after being in business for eight years. See that story here. In its place, Benjamin Dorr and Emily Seymour opened Curator in mid-May, a consignment and thrift store for men, which is something the Midcoast has needed for a very long time.

The Reading Corner...Loyal Biscuit

Another blow to the literary community took place when The Reading Corner, an independent bookstore and a fixture on Maine Street since 1975, closed permanently in January, citing the huge changes in the past 10 years in publishing and bookselling. By April, Rockland residents Heidi V. Neal and Joel C. Neal, owners of Loyal Biscuit Co., purchased the building, expanded The Loyal Biscuit, a dog and cat pet supply boutique into that space.

Lodging news

250 Main

After a lengthy construction period over last summer and this winter, the boutique hotel called 250 Main built by Lyman Morse, opened in May. Positioned directly across the harbor, the five floors with a rooftop space built for events, will have prime views of the Maine Lobster Festival, the Maine Boats and Harbor Show and the Blues Festival. See our story here.

Navigator Inn...Rockland Harbor Hotel

Another hotel on track to be completed by Memorial Day is the Rockland Harbor Hotel, formerly the Navigator Inn. Locals who frequented "the Gator" probably won't be happy about losing their favorite watering hole, but tourists will most likely dig its hip and cool facelift.

Art Scene news

Center for Maine Contemporary Art

Center for Maine Contemporary Art is still steadily working to wrap up the finishing touches on its $2.5 million project — an 8,600-square-foot art center with a 2,200-square-foot, glass-enclosed courtyard on Winter Street. The grand opening is set for June 26. See more here.

Dowling Walsh Art Gallery

Dowling Walsh art gallery announced over the winter a proposal to expand their business and build a five-story $3 million building also on Winter Street in the back of their parking lot. They thought the timing would be ideal as Winter Street still remains under construction with the new CMCA complex that is currently being built.

The Art Loft

Art Loft, a new business started by two former Maine Media Workshop grads, Kathryn Matlack and Paula Apro, located in the back of the Thorndike Building, opened just in time for the season's first Art Walk. Offering drop-in art and marketing drop-in classes and workshops, the dup aims to make art more accessible to the average person. See our story here.

If we've missed any business updates, comings and goings, expansions and the like, shoot us an email with the subject line "Add to Rockland story" and we'll give it a look.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

If you're wondering why Camden and Rockland get the Snow Birds moniker and Belfast gets the Snow Bats, it's because years ago, Belfast's champion, Mike Hurley, made up a bunch of bumper stickers celebrating the left-leaning citizens he affectionately called Moon Bats. So, if you've been away this winter, Penobscot Bay Pilot has an update on everything that opened, closed and changed while you were gone.

Restaurant news

Nautilus Seafood and Grill

Over the winter, Nautilus Seafood and Grill, formerly in the location of 95 Searsport Ave. (over the bridge) in East Belfast, moved into the downtown waterfront Belfast location that was formerly the Weathervane Restaurant. They opened in January and thanks to the "location and loyalty" of their steadfast customers, they seem to be thriving. See our story here.

Taco Bell

In November, anyone going through the Wendy's fast food restaurant at 22 Belmont Ave. in Belfast found an empty window with dismantled signs. Right now, Taco Bell is in the process of renovating the space and they hope to be open by the fall.

Arata

The Gothic Restaurant at 108 Main St. has been undergoing changes too, with chef Matthew Kenney announcing that The Gothic, which re-opened Memorial Day Weekend, will now be operating as Arata, a high end, plant-based cuisine concept of Kenney's, and executed by Chef Scott Winegard, director of culinary operations. In a press release, Kenney said that Arata will be a place "to test new ideas, experiment and continuously innovate within the category."

Business news

Kids Unplugged

A new low-tech, high-energy play space owned and operated by Belfast parent and graphic designer Lee Parent, Kids Unplugged just opened in May. The 2,000-square-foot space in the Belfast Reny's Plaza has big plans for activating kids' imaginations. See our recent story here.

sweetFrog

Right next to Kids Unplugged, a frozen yogurt shop, sweetFrog, had a grand re-opening in March. The Belfast location is the fourth sweetFrog store operating in Maine.

Fiddlehead Artisan Supply, Chocolate Drop Candy Shop, Harbor Artisans, The Cool Spot

Fiddlehead Artisan Supply, a sewing, quilting and crafts store that opened in May 2011 on High Street, also moved in March around the corner to 64 Main St., replacing the Chocolate Drop Candy Shop and Harbor Artisans. However, sweet tooths will rejoice when they learn that the Chocolate Drop Candy Shop didn't go away for good; it just reopened at 35 Main St. in the space vacated by The Cool Spot ice cream shop. As for the Belfast Harbor Artisans, they are still actively looking for storefront space.

Bagel Café

What goes out must come in and with Fiddlehead Artisan's former location at 159 High Street available, Camden's Bagel Café owners have decided to expand there. They are currently working on renovations for a new Bagel Café and plan to open this month, in June.

Belfast Bicycles...Sidecountry Sports

Speaking of switcheroos, after 12 years, Belfast Bicycles has closed its doors at 161 Main St., prompting Sidecountry Sports of Rockland to also expand its business and open a second location there. They just opened this month, offering seasonal ski and bicycle sales, rentals and service.

United Farmers Market

And finally, Paul Naron has purchased the former Mathews Brothers building at Miller, Spring and Cross streets and is in the process of establishing the United Farmers Market in the building. He is now making renovations, and it appears that his goal is to be open this fall.

If we've missed any business updates, comings and goings, expansions and the like, shoot us an email with the subject line "Add to Moon Bat story" and we'll give it a look.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BANGOR — Range 15, a new zombie movie, is coming to Bangor this month. The indie flick, which raised more than $1 million in an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, is kicking off its East Coast premiere June 15, while the West Coast premiere simultaneously takes place in Los Angeles.

David Snider, a Maine resident from just outside of Ellsworth, is not only part of the cast, but has also taken on the dual role of poster artist and local promoter.

He is an Army National Guard veteran and up until 2009, he’d been an art editor of a comic book company. He started a collaboration with fellow military veteran and writer, Nick Palmisciano, to create a comic book about veterans. While the book never panned out, Palmisciano had another project cooking — a zombie comedy with combat veterans reflecting the real, non-Hollywood-filtered attitude, language, camaraderie and humor they all shared.

As their Indiegogo page states: “Last fall of 2015, we dreamed up the the movie's concept while sitting in a bar and drinking an inappropriate amount of alcohol. We decided to join forces and make the greatest movie ever. Then we sobered up and realized we didn’t really know how to make a movie. Then we got drunk again and realized that God hates a coward.”

If that doesn’t tip off the movie’s politically incorrect tone, here’s the rest of the movie’s origin story.

Knowing we needed a director good enough to make our vision a reality and crazy enough to read our script and not call the authorities, we broke into Ross Patterson’s house in the middle of the night and flashbanged his bedroom.  When the smoke cleared, he was sitting in his smoking jacket wearing an eye patch, pipe in hand.  “I’ll make your movie,” he said.  “But first, you’ll have to dance for me.” We promised we’d never talk about what happened next.

The movie’s premise goes like this: Five military buddies wake up in the drunk tank only to find out that while they were passed out in their cell, the zombie apocalypse kicked off. Armed with only billy clubs and their military experience, they break out of jail and fight their way to their old base. Along the way they pick up a whole lot of weapons, a couple of damsels in distress, and accidentally, the cure.

“The guys [who made this movie] got tired of seeing war movies that couldn't even get the uniforms or weapons right, let alone portray combat vets the way they really are — rude, crude, funny and completely politically incorrect,” said publicist Patricia Rumsey.

Snider agrees.

“Even with George Romero’s Day of The Dead, the military is always portrayed as these soulless, humorless robots,” he said. “But that’s not who we are. We’re funny, we rag on each other and that’s the biggest thing I think people forget is that we’re human beings, too.”

The movie’s title, Range 15, is a mashup homage to Ranger Up and Article 15, the two largest military lifestyle brands in the world.

Palmisciano is the CEO of Ranger Up, as well as one of the movie’s writers.  With his influence, both organizations donated $250,000 to the movie if the producers could raise $325,000 on their own.

Due to the overwhelming support of mostly veteran’s communities and military organizations, the donations crushed their original goal, topping more than $1.1 million.

“I don’t think we ever imagined we’d raise that much money,” said Snider. “Almost all of the funding came from an on-the-ground word of mouth campaign, with most of the cast and producers doing the promoting of the movie.”

The additional funding allowed the producers to add more effects and higher star power, such as cameos by well-known actors Danny Trejo, Keith David and William Shatner. Range 15 also features Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry, former Army Green Beret and UFC MMA fighter Tim Kennedy, and retired U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who authored Lone Survivor about his eyewitness account of Operation Redwing and the “lost heroes of Seal Team 10” in a battle against Taliban fighters in 2005. 

Range 15 is a fictional area, and the majority of the movie was shot in Los Angeles.

Snider not only has three roles in the movie (and dies horribly at least twice) and did the artwork for one of the Indiegogo posters, but he also is promoting the June showing of Range 15 at Bangor Mall Cinemas 10. There will be a Portland screening on the same night, as well. Snider anticipates the first showing might be sold out and hopes they’ll add a second showing.

To get advance tickets visit tugg.com/titles/range-15 and click the drop down box to Bangor.

To watch the film’s trailer, click here. (Note: Rated R, NSFW, language, violence, adult content)

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 It’s a great weekend to be a Mainer in every sense. Summer is starting, festivals are happening, pigs are being roasted in your honor and you’re getting a lot of free things thrown your way. Oh! And three day weekend. Bonus!

Steampunk Alice’s Quest for Queen

Friday, May 27 & Saturday, May 28—Camden

The Rockport Dance Conservatory’s spring performance is putting an alternative spin on an old tale. After the students perform several composition pieces, they’ll give a steampunk interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, titled “Alice’s Quest for Queen” Both shows start at 6:30 p.m., at Camden Opera House.  $15 adults/$10 seniors & students/free under 5. Tickets can be purchased at Midcoast Rec Center in Rockport. FMI: 557-5421

Wish You Were Here

Saturday, May 28—Searsport

This is the best time to be living in Maine. Everybody’s jealous of us and rightfully so. The Penobscot Marine Museum opens for the season celebrating a hundred years of unique Maine images used in postcards with its "Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine" theme.  Bonus: if you happen to live in Lincolnville or Isleboro, you get to go for free for a week starting May 29, as part of the museum’s desire to give back to the communities. Check out other “free weeks” for residents of Waldo county on their website. For all others adults are $12 and kids are $8. Check the website for specific hours FMI: Penobscot Marine Museum

Public Pig Roast

Saturday, May 28—Rockport

Maine Street Meats is inviting the public to pig out with a special public pig roast done in a Caja China style (where the whole pig is roasted in a steel box and covered in embers) out in front of the State of Maine Cheese building in Rockport. Big Daddy Farms of Whitefield is supplying the pig, which will be served in sandwiches, along with charred spring onions on a house-made sesame semolina roll,  with arugula, house-made aioli and pickled chili peppers. Top that off with s’mores served on house-made graham crackers with chocolate ganache and marshmallows! Yum! The festivities start at noon; sandwiches sell for $12 and s’mores for $3.50 and when the pig is gone...it’s gone.

Damariscotta’s Fun Festival

Saturday May 28 & Sunday, May 29—Damariscotta

We tried to send you to Machias for a fish festival on April Fool’s Day, but this is no joke. Damariscotta hosts an annual festival dedicated to their return of the alewives. So they are dedicating an entire weekend to music, food and fun. You can find all of the bands here and the day’s events and activities here. Go for the oysters, lobster and crab rolls, homemade donuts and smoked alewives. And beer tent! A great day trip for the whole fam. There is no entry charge.

Killer Road Trip: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens-FREE

Saturday, May 28 through Monday, May 30—Boothbay

It seriously pays to have a 207 area code this weekend.  Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is offering their annual Maine Days all Memorial Day weekend, offering free admission to all Maine residents. just make sure to bring your ID. To search for what’s in bloom during a specific time period, please visit FloraFind, their online database of what is planted at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Most people know Lee Parent as a graphic designer as well as a mother to two daughters. For someone who works so heavily with technology, it might be surprising to some that her new entrepreneurial venture, a play center called Kids Unplugged, is entirely free of technology.

The 2,000-square-foot space in the Reny’s Plaza of Belfast has been undergoing a soft opening this month— all designed to encourage children to use their imagination and to help parents engage in hands-on play with their children.

“As a mom, it is so important to me that my children know how to access and explore the power of their imagination,” she said. “When I was a kid we didn't have cell phones, laptops, computers or mobile apps to do the thinking or entertaining for us. We had the great outdoors as our playground and most often, cardboard boxes/duct tape was my personal form of entertainment.”

Parent also has corresponding books and products on her website that go with Kids Unplugged’s center, which outlines steps for parents on how to actively engage in play, along with guided stories, and toys and crafts that inspire imaginative thinking.

“When I was growing up, books were always my friends,” she said. “And I was really afraid that my girls wouldn’t get that as they grew up.”

Last year, she volunteered to run a gymnastics class at the YMCA in Camden when a friend suggested she open her own play center.

“About 50 people signed up for that one class and it made me realize how many parents just need something like this full time,” she said.

The play center, which has been the site of the annual Cinderella Project for the last several years, is currently being outfitted with a wall-to-wall foam block spring floor.  When it is finished, it will be a multi-purpose room for gymnastics, a play space with a rock wall and indoor jungle gym equipment.

“We will be able to pull in area instructors to do dance classes, martial arts, kids parkour classes and any other physical activities that engage and ignite kids,” she said. “I see this as a facility for the community to offer a number of different classes.”

Parent is also open to renting out the space to instructors would just need a space for their own classes. “Then they can have their name and their brand on the wall.”

This model of shared space for rotating instructors has always been part of the community adult education classes in the Midcoast, but also, most recently in the way artists collaborate as well, as evidenced by the recent opening of the The Art Loft in Rockland as well as the various collaborative artist-makers spaces in Rockland.

Parent plans to host a grand opening May 27, from 3:30 to 8 p.m., as an open house with food and an invitation for kids to come play.

For more information visit: www.kidsunplugged.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WARREN — All winter, the bottom floor of the three-story wooden building next to the St. George River in Warren has been transforming. For 20 years, it had been Wink’s Whimseys, an antique store.  Partners Ann Gonzalez and Fanny Faye Davis left their jobs and condo in Seattle, Wash., last year and moved to Maine, hoping to find more affordable land and a country house. Gonzalez, who’d grown up in New England, said she always had a desire to come back so, sight unseen, they bought a house in Warren and moved cross-country to Maine.

In their first week here, the moving truck still hadn’t arrived, so they took a walk down to Wink’s Whimseys to look for a table. While there, they had a conversation with the owners, Clayton and Joan Winchenbach, who were looking to sell the space. And without much ado, Gonzalez and Davis bought the space, and spent the winter transforming the dusty old antique store into the St. George River Café.

“You’ve got this beautiful river in town and a library, but there was no place to sit and eat and gather together with people, so we decided to open the café,” said Gonzalez.

Renovations are almost complete with a newly stained and polyurethaned dark floor and a sign being made. All of the mismatched tables and chairs inside have been donated by the community— a fitting twist, given that they bought their first table in that building.

Both Gonzalez and Davis have some restaurant experience behind the grill and front of the house. The café offers breakfast, lunch and dinner specials, and Davis’ baking is already getting repeat customers and rave reviews.

“We’re probably going to be offering music and open mics as we get going,” said Gonzalez. They are going full bore seven days a week, with a tentative schedule of 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week, and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m on the weekends. The café also offers free WiFi, which makes it a perfect place for people to work and socialize.

The under-the-radar soft opening this month also fits with Warren’s pace in general, and slow and deliberate they plan on having a grand opening May 28. Stay tuned to their Facebook page for more details.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

This is an exciting weekend for music nerds and winos, as well as literary nerds and theater nerds. Here at Five Things, we are a nerd cheerleader for anything in the arts. Looking like we’re crashing into the mid-70s too; Spring is about to turn to summer!

All Roads Music Festival

Friday, May 20 & Saturday, May 21—Belfast

For the second annual indie music event hosted by Launchpad, this is looking like a killer lineup with Spose and Rustic Overtones playing the American Legion Hall Saturday night followed by an after party at Three Tides. Said Launchpad founder Meg Shorette: “While we will always have a few repeat artists, the wealth of Maine music talent continues to grow and evolve each year giving us endless options for this Maine music focused event. Like most festivals, you're likely to recognize the names at the top of each venues schedule, but don't miss the early part of the day. Bands like Wait, Goldenoak, Leveret and Jon King are really starting to stand out in this scene.” For ticket prices and more info: See our recent story here.

Richard Russo at Owl & Turtle Bookshop

Saturday, May 21—Camden

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo will be at the O & T to sign books and chat with the public at 1 p.m. A sequel to the 1993 novel, Nobody’s Fool, locals might recall a very Peyton Place-esque Camden story that ends up as a scene in the book.

Community Park Celebration

Saturday, May 21—Waldoboro

It’s like Waldoboro is the middle child of Midcoast communities. It never gets any attention, except for this weekend! Join the Community Celebration at River Park off Jefferson Street behind the American Legion Hall (where you can park) at 2 p.m. Medomak Valley Land Trust will be hosting live music and refreshments. While there, check out the new St. George River Café. They have WiFi and yummy baked goods.

Unity College (Adult-themed) One-Acts

Saturday, May 21—Unity

For an environmental college, Unity always surprises me with their events. They don’t shy away from edgy and each of the five short plays in their Evening of One Acts includes four comedies and a drama. For example: Airport Hell, is a one act described as: Think of your worst airport experience.  Then multiply it by 100 and add a few circles of Hell. Eurydice might want to think twice about flying the friendly skies. Not for the kiddies, the show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $15. See more one act descriptions here.

Killer Road Trip: Cellardoor Winery opens new tasting room

Saturday, May 21 & Sunday, May 22—Portland

Cellardoor Winery’s been busy this winter. This weekend they are doing the grand opening of their new 5,000 square foot facility in Portland at Thompson's Point on a finger of land overlooking Portland's Fore River. They plan to use it for tasting flights and by the glass (both $8), dinners, and other events. There will be other gourmet goodies on hand. Note: this weekend marks their soft opening, but the facility will be closed the rest of the week to finish up renovations and reopen the next weekend for the season.   Hours both days: 11a.m.-close

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — For awhile in Belfast, it looked like The Day The Music Died, when the annual Free Range Music Festival had to shut down in 2014. Out of the ashes, thanks to Launchpad, a Bangor-based incubator for artists and musicians, The All Roads Music Festival rose to take its place last year.

An annual festival held in May in Belfast, it’s a celebration of local and indie music talent, gathering some of Maine’s finest emerging musicians under one banner and held in multiple venues throughout downtown Belfast.

The 2016 event, slated for Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21, is already coming out of the gate with a bang with headliners Rustic Overtones and hip hop artist Spose, two of the hottest acts on the Maine music scene. More than 20 music artists will perform in 2016. The festival features performances in a variety of genres including indie rock, folk, pop, bluegrass and indie folk, as well as performers from related contemporary genres, such as alternative country, punk and hip-hop. The festival also includes discussion panels, curated showcases and the Maine Songwriters Circle.

Launchpad founder Meg Shorette said, “While we will always have a few repeat artists, the wealth of Maine music talent continues to grow and evolve each year giving us endless options for this Maine music focused event.  Like most festivals, you're likely to recognize the names at the top of each venues schedule but  don't miss the early part of the day. Bands like Wait, Goldenoak, Leveret and Jon King are really starting to stand out in this scene.”

The event takes place at various venues throughout the city, including the Belfast Free Library, the American Legion Hall, Waterfall Arts and more. A full listing of venues will be posted with the full schedule, which can be found here.

Beyond the music, the festival aims to offer insights into the music business with panels such as “The Life of the Deal,” in which agents can help artists negotiate contracts, advances and performances. A cornerstone of this year’s festival will introduce Rustic Overtones as their first-ever All Roads Legacy Artist as a testament to what the group has achieved since its formation. Since 1993 the group has set the standard for indie musicians working in Maine, attracting audiences in-state and beyond with their unique sound and enthralling personality.The audience will enjoy a retrospective Q&A event, looking back at the journey the band has taken over the past 26 years, exploring their formation, success and creative methodology.

In addition, Launchpad’s mission is aligned with the All Roads plan to introduce the public to relatively under-the-radar musicians and singer-songwriters they might not ever have gotten exposed to, including the younger musicians of the Maine Academy of Modern Music, which showcases 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the First Church.

Other not-to-miss elements of this event include the opening party on Friday, May 20, from 7 to 10 p.m at Waterfall Arts with Wylde Lyfe and Fenimore, as well as a closing party with Jon King held after Rustic Overtones’ act at Three Tides in Belfast.

Tickets are $20 in advance/$25 at the door, with VIP passes $30 in advance/$35 at the door. They can be found here.

 Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 A strange lineup to be sure, but this weekend has beer fests, mind reading, dinner theater and a celebration of spring! Make the most of it.

Lip Synch Contest and Sam Adams promo

Friday, May 13—Rockland

Rock Harbor Brewing Co. is switching things up this weekend and hosting a lip synch contest with beer specials and Sam Adams promos from 8 to 10:30 p.m. The winner will receive two Sea Dog tickets.

Mentalism Show

Saturday May 14—Rockport

We covered Nat Lawson, a teen mentalist before in our “Hail To The Rad Kids” series and this guy is seriously gaining some traction! Check out his latest video in the sidebar on the Chris Wolf show as he reads the mind of a caller. He’ll be performing  his stage show, Perceptions at Union Hall in Rockport at 7 p.m. Experience mind reading, hypnotic influence, and other inexplicable feats of the mind, live. Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance, or $13 if purchased at the door. Tickets also available at Zoot.

The Maine Dish at Traci’s Diner

Friday, May 13 & Saturday, May 14—Belfast

If you go to Traci’s Diner, expect a great home-cooked meal along with a show, about a diner. Very meta. Belfast Maskers and Traci's Diner team up for an evening of dinner and comedy with their play "The Maine Dish" at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. See our recent story here.  Dinner is at 7 p.m., followed by a performance of the sitcom pilot. The show continues May 20 & 21. $40. Reservations required: 536-9123, info@belfastmaskers.com.

Killer Road Trip: Black Fly Brewfest

Saturday, May 14—Houlton

This is a heck of a road trip, but The Maine Brewers' Guild has partnered with Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce and The Thirsty Dawg to bring you northern Maine's premier beer festival. Up to 30 breweries will be participating, bringing more than 100 world class Maine beers. More than a dozen wines as well as ciders and other tasty beverages will be available as well. The event will be held at John A Millar Civic Center 95 Randall Avenue in Houlton. The event runs from 12 p.m. (for VIP tickets) starting at 1:30 p.m. for general ticket holders and runs until 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance ($45 at the door).  There are also a limited amount of VIP tickets for $55 ($65 at the door) Designated Driver tickets are $10 at the door and include soda and water. FMI: Black Fly Brewfest tickets and info

Killer Road Trip: Spring Celebration in Portland

Sunday May 15—Portland

Crossing fingers it doesn’t rain because this is a nice, sweet community celebration of spring. The Tahntay spring parade and celebration brings out the costumes and the “thank god winter’s over” pasty faces. At 11 p.m. at the Eastern Promenade, there’ll be a potluck picnic, followed by a 1 p.m. parade and 2 p.m. celebration. FMI: Tahntay celebration. FMI: Tahntay

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Over the last few months, a space on the working waterfront side of Camden’s harbor, at Lyman-Morse at Wayfarer Marine, has been quietly undergoing major renovations for Chef Scott Yakovenko’s latest restaurant, Rhumb Line, set to open May 18. 

A whole new kitchen had to be built and the interior of the snug space was completely retrofitted by Chris Biggart and Fred Boursier, who fashioned the walls with reclaimed barn boards from Youngtown Inn. In addition, they hand-crafted all of the tables, chairs, bar and bar stools. The modern industrial look is a signature aesthetic in Yakovenko’s other popular Thomaston restaurant, The Slipway.

“It’s an industrial clam shack,” he said.

He has borrowed a tremendous amount of outdoor space onto the wharf with a U-shaped zinc bar backed by an outdoor raw bar that hugs the building. In inclement weather, a giant tent surrounds the outdoor bar area, but on sunny days, even more space will be available on the wharf with picnic tables. Boursier built the bar and craftsman Andy White built the beer tap and will be constructing an enclosure to shut the bar up like a box when closed for the evening.

As the only restaurant on that side of the wharf, all of the seating has an unfettered view of Camden, providing a fresh perspective for diners so used to seeing the harbor from the opposite side.

The menu, Yakovenko, said will be “seafood; fresh boat-to-table,” similar to The Slipway, which he’ll also be running this summer. 

“But the menu won’t be the same,” he emphasized, noting they intend to introduce new dishes, such as grilled razor clams and paella. On their first day, a spectacular raw bar will be on display.

“We’ll have a lot of local Maine beers on tap,” he added.

The name is fitting with the area’s boatbuilding culture. A rhumb line is a curve on the surface of a sphere that cuts all meridians at the same angle and applies to the course of a ship in navigation.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the opening.

“My neighbors are really happy around here to have it open soon,” he said.

Boaters can come right up to the restaurant, (but can’t tie up), but a shuttle and launch service is available. Parking will be well marked at the end of Sea Street on the left hand side and people can walk down the paved hill. Keep going until you reach the wharf and you can’t miss it.

The bar opens at 4 p.m. and food is served from 5-9 p.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Anyone who has been a patron of Belfast’s local hangout Traci’s Diner knows they have their own colorful cast of characters. And now the diner is about to become the subject of a play with a whole new set of characters.

The Belfast Maskers and Traci's Diner are teaming up for an evening of dinner and comedy.  The Maine Dish was written by local screenwriter, Eddie Adelman, who set the fictional diner in Midcoast Maine with some very quirky and sketchy characters.

Director Erica Rubin Irish said, “Two mid-westerners, a young man named Tyler (played by Scott Anthony Smith) and a young woman named Shane (played by Makaila Redden) each think they’ve won this diner in an essay contest and arrive, unbeknownst to one another, at the same time. Shane is sweet and innocent and Tyler is a questionable character. The show introduces a whole bunch of interesting characters who have their own story. And you’ll recognize some Maine lingo and comedy in there as well.”

It made sense, then, to stage the play in a real diner. The layout of Traci’s is ideal, with the kitchen and counter area naturally raised as a stage and the lowered restaurant area for the audience. Dinner with a choice of prime rib or a vegetarian teriyaki stir fry will be served at 7 p.m., followed by the Maskers' performance of the sitcom pilot, The Maine Dish.

The pilot, originally written in 2004, was a top 10 finalist on the Bravo Network's reality series, "Situation: Comedy," where Adelman appeared as one of screenwriters pitching the series to a panel of industry judges. It was pitched as "Cheers meets Northern Exposure." The show was eventually optioned by NBC.

The play runs 45 minutes. The dates of the dinner/performance are May 13, 14, 20, 21. Due to the venue, seating is very limited. Tickets are $40 per person and include both the dinner and show. For reservations call 207-536-9123.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Downtown Rockland has no shortage of galleries, but what about fostering more budding artists? Founded by Kathryn Matlack of Camden and Paula Apro of Rockland, two former Maine Media Workshop film students, The Art Loft aims to be a creative center amongst the creative artistic economy.

In their experience, most people never even attempt to express their creativity, either because they don’t feel like they are artists, or because the opportunity never presents itself. Matlack and Apro wanted to find a highly motivating and low-cost way of making art accessible to everyone, no matter their ability, age or income.

“We came at it from two different directions,” said Matlack. “I was volunteering with Restorative Justice and I mentored this guy who was an unbelievable artist. I couldn’t believe how good he was and in his world, art was what kept him going. So, I thought if he could be transformed with this, giving people the space for art could be useful for other groups.”

“I was coming to it from another slant,” said Apro, who also runs a digital media/photography business. “I needed a classroom to do some of my own workshops and then realized, we could use the space for not just mine, but for a whole host of other artist drop-in workshops. The more Kathryn and my visions gelled together, the more it became The Art Loft.”

The brightly lit, open 800-foot space features functional, moveable tables on casters. The legs of the tables, handcrafted by Matlack’s husband, double as storage spaces for large canvases. All around the room are shelves of art supplies for a variety of their upcoming drop-in classes and workshops such as: fiber arts, creative paper arts, photography, oil painting and kinetic sculpture. And not just limited to traditional arts, they also will offer artist business classes such as Wordpress websites and blogging for artists, and photography for business or Instagram. Their workshops are longer duration and they’ll also offer paint nights and special events. Since the versatile tables can be moved out of the way to accommodate other classes that would require more room for movement, Matlack and Apro are open to future class ideas involving physicality as well.

Essentially, they are similar to a continuing education model with their drop-in classes, but with more of a social get-together vibe.

“I love continuing ed courses,” said Apro. “I’d sign up for everything, but because I traveled a lot, I’d miss half the classes and yet, I’d already paid for the materials, so I had all of this stuff just sitting there unused.”

She wanted to remove that barrier with their model. Unlike continuing education classes, most of Art Loft’s class prices include the art materials in order to make it more affordable.

“Our whole philosophy is to take the intimidation out of art,” said Apro. “Walk in; try it and exercise your creative muscles.”

The Art Loft, situated in the back on the first floor of the Thorndike Building on Main Street, held its grand opening May 6 to kick off Rockland’s first Art Walk of the season. To learn more visit: artloftrockland.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Behind the Slides, our ongoing feature, is where we meet up with an artist who presented at a PechaKucha event and find out the deeper story beneath the images they chose to portray.

Noah Bly is a blacksmith artist who also works as an auto mechanic with his father. He began his blacksmith career by taking classes at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle. After six years, he still considers himself an apprentice and takes as many classes he can in metalwork and joinery. He makes his own tools and particularly loves blades, axes and swords.

Note: The slides appear in the right column. Click on the photos to match them with the actual slide notes (in italics). Beneath the slide notes will be the deeper story.

Shop

This is the shop I built after four years of clowning around with a crude setup. The shop was built with a few things in mind. Garden shed to the right, woodshed to the left. The stone section is the metal shop. The stone was gathered from the property.

The shop is 30-by-24-feet and was the first time I built a shed. I forged the hinges on the front and all of the hardware for all of the windows.

Techniques

I chose to include this slide because it shows techniques that are independent to blacksmithing. I've noticed a lot of people think metal can only be bolted or welded. Not so. I thought people might learn a little something from this one.

I initially made this slide for Pecha Kucha just to show people how the techniques work, thinking I’d have time to explain them all, but I only had 20 seconds. The technique I probably use the most is the the slitting and drifting technique, which makes a hole in something without losing any material. As you’ll see from the gates below, it was all put together with the slitting and drifting technique.

Blades and Axes

I initially got into blacksmithing with an interest in edged weapons. I soon found that I enjoyed making anything out of metal. Whether it be some cooking implements for mother or a chandelier for a customer.

I use the sword a lot to clear out all the bushes down by the driveway. A buddy of mine was driving by last fall and said he saw me, said it looked like a lot of fun.

Wood rack

This is a relatively basic frame but joining metal with traditional techniques. Makes it more unique. People often say blacksmithing is a dying art, and it is to a degree, because it takes a lot longer to forge a mortise and tenon then to weld something.

Today, there are so many cheaper ways to do build stuff, but can’t duplicate the aesthetics of the traditional joining and the shape of the metal.

Gates against stone

These were made with a lot of traditional techniques I had been practicing on smaller projects. It was very difficult to include them all in something where they all had to work together and come out square and not twisted. Blacksmithing is not machining; when closing up a mortise and tenon, chances are pretty good it won't be perfect. It's knowing how to correct it that’s tricky.

These gates go in front of our wood stove. I put them there to keep the kids away from it. But, now that those gates are there, they see it as a jungle gym.

Railings

These were the most time-consuming railings I’ve done. I included these because they’re so far from anything I imagined myself doing 10 years ago when I first started making crude throwing knives from old car parts.

These took about 100 hours to make. If I were to say something to my younger self 10 years ago, I’d say, keep going, you’ll be able to work up the skills to this level.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BAR HARBOR — Sarah Keeley, of Bar Harbor, probably got the best Mother’s Day gift a Pearl Jam fan could ever have this past weekend, when her 10-year-old son, Noah, was invited by front man Eddie Vedder to play guitar for the band’s song Sad.

According to a WSCH6 story, Keeley sent a video of her son playing that very song to the band prior to traveling to Quebec City to see them play. Vedder recognized Noah in the front row with his sign that said “1st Show: ‘Sad’ Makes Me Happy.” Soon, Vedder leaned down and asked Noah to come play that song with them.

Of the lead photo, Keeley wrote on her Facebook page: “People keep sending me these amazing photos...it is like the waves of beauty and joy from the other night just keep crashing over and over....”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The ladies at the 2 Elm Street branch of Camden National Bank get into the spirit of Kentucky Derby Day with their best flamboyant hats and a table of goodies, such as mini eclairs, brownies and chips on Friday afternoon, May 6. (L to R: Wendi Ashey, Jessica Humphrey, Jody Landrith, Tamra Hooper, Regina Whitney, Amy Pierce)

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for 3-year-old thoroughbreds. The race distance is one and one-quarter miles long, and it is run on the dirt racetrack at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Colts and geldings in the race carry 126 pounds (57 kg), and fillies in the race carry 121 pounds (55 kg).

Churchill Downs, the world's most legendary racetrack, has conducted thoroughbred racing and presented America's greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875.

The race this year takes place May 7, with festivities beginning at 4 p.m.