SUMMERTIME!

Get ready for a day of fun, friendly competition, and community spirit at the 4th annual Boothbay Cornhole Classic, a fundraiser to benefit Special Olympics Maine and the Bath Area Family YMCA Unified Champion Club. This rain or shine charity event will take place on Sunday, Sept. 8 at the Boothbay Railway Village Museum.  

The Boothbay Cornhole Classic, professionally organized by Wicked Cornhole Events, promises to be the premiere event of the summer, offering a great way for…

One of the most multi-faceted minds in roots music, Alison Brown is a Grammy-winning musician, Grammy-nominated producer, former investment banker (with an AB from Harvard and an MBA from UCLA), and co-founder of the renowned Compass Records Group. On Friday, June 7, she comes to the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor with her band for a show that will make the audience believe in the sound of the banjo.

Although Alison began her musical career as a teenager in the Southern California…

With a career spanning over two decades, Hanneke Cassel has helped redefine what it means to be a modern fiddler. A driving force in the ever-changing landscape of acoustic music, Hanneke blends originality and innovation with the spirit of Scottish traditional fiddle. She will be appearing with Jenna Moynihan and Keith Murphy in a May 10 concert at the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor.

Fusing musical roots from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island with Americana stylings, Hanneke’s…

The award-winning Maine-based Don Campbell Band has been a mainstay at concerts, fairs, festivals, cruises, and civic events for over two decades, performing a mix of Don’s original music and covers. Their dynamic performances have won him accolades at Nashville’s Grand Ol’ Opry, and on Saturday, Sept. 16, Don and the band bring their music back to the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor.

Don Campbell has a unique and uncanny ability to sing comfortably in the tenor range of Vince Gill,…

Saturday morning, Wiscasset’s Jan Flowers said she and husband Larry had just seen “things we never get to see from the road ... Beautiful, lot of pines, we saw the backs of houses that we’ve never seen! It was great. I loved it,” she said after stepping off the one-car Coastliner train in Bath. They were on the first run out of Wiscasset on a three-round trip day for the self-propelled train with which…

An artist’s inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere – photographs, events, experiences, dreams, imagination and talent. Six stone sculptors recently spent 10 days, July 21- 30, at Boothbay Region Land Trust’s seaside field creating new work for BRLT’s Art for Acres Stone Symposium & Art Auction.

Almost all are members of Maine Stone Workers Guild. Isabel Catherine Kelley, John Catizone Jr., Joseph DiMauro, Sam Finkelstein, Dan Ucci and Andreas von Huene worked on new…

Four quintessential roots instruments: the banjo, double bass, acoustic guitar, and fiddle come together on the Boothbay Harbor Opera House stage on Friday, July 28, and what happens next is anyone’s guess. Bluegrass, roots, string band music, and so much more from the trio, Damn Tall Buildings – they’ve been called lightning in a bottle.

Sasha Dubyk on upright bass and vocals, Max Capistran on guitar, banjo and vocals and Avery Ballota on fiddle and vocals bring electric energy,…

The first image directly in front of you as you enter Maine Art Gallery is the color photograph of Kaleb, a Bath Iron Works shipfitter taken by Bath photographer/artist Heather Perry. Kaleb is taking a final draw on his cigarette, barely more than a stub. Kaleb is looking straight into the camera. His is a hard job – hard on the body and spirit being crammed into small spaces welding and grinding, but he looks young and strong. Perry has a triptych photograph entitled, “Lunch Break at South…

Tim Sample is a Maine native whose unique New England style of humor has gained him a national following. When introducing Tim on ABC’s Good Morning America Charles Gibson referred to him as, “The man who wrote the book-literally, on Maine humor!” Legendary newsman Charles Kuralt called Sample “Maine’s Humorist Laureate.” On Thursday, July 27, he will make a pilgrimage to his hometown, and perform at the historic Boothbay Harbor Opera House.

Describing Tim Sample’s work as “humor”…

“Hamlet,” the capstone production of Heartwood Theater’s first 20 seasons, opens July 28 with six evening performances ending Aug. 5.  For those who love Shakespeare, for those who have never seen Shakespeare, for those new to Heartwood, and longstanding patrons – this show is a gem, a must see for Midcoast summer theater.

Presented in the black-box Poe Theater, with seating very close to the stage, audience members will thrill to the action, as this committed cast delivers one of…

This summer there are few days when Boothbay Harbor’s historic Opera House will go quiet. As part of the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration music, theater, storytelling, and even an afternoon lecture on the work of painter Andrew Wyeth fill the coming weeks.

On Thursday, July 13, Windborne, “the most exciting vocal group in a generation,” bring their voices, drawing on the singers’ deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony. The uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old…

Hodgdon Yacht Services is pleased to announce the launch of Boothbay Boat Rental. The boat rental fleet includes Angler 20-foot and 22-foot center consoles with 150hp outboards that can be rented for single or multi-day periods.

Based out of Hodgdon Yacht…

The weekend of September 9 and 10 features two top Maine musical acts on the historic Opera House stage in Boothbay Harbor. Friday, Sept. 9, will see country and blues with Denny Breau & Friends in concert followed by an evening of American roots rock with the Jason Spooner Band on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Denny Breau has been called a “musician’s musician.” His rhythmically flawless and dazzlingly clear style allows him to do stunning things with a six-string guitar. He first draws in…

Call for artists for the Boothbay Region Art Foundation’s 15th annual juried Art in Maine exhibition to be held at the foundation gallery Oct. 8 through Nov. 13.

Art in Maine exhibit presents a fresh and selective look at the fine art being created by Maine artists today, showcasing originality in the media of painting, drawing and sculpture.

Submission deadline is Friday, Sept. 23 for all Maine residents. No digital or photography work will be accepted for this show. The…

Over the years nearly every branch of the military has sent their top-ranked professional musicians to Boothbay Harbor’s Opera House to perform. While travel was restricted during the height of the Covid pandemic, Wednesday, Sept. 7 sees the return of military brass to the historic Midcoast stage.

Navy Band Northeast’s Tidewater Brass Quintet performances are appreciated by audiences of all ages. The quintet performs a wide range of musical styles encompassing traditional and modern…

Together, musicians John Doyle, Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’Leary make up the trad group, The Alt. Originally hailing from Ireland this trio of musicians come together with their guitar, flute, whistle, bouzouki and voices to create one of the finest touring trad groups this side of the Atlantic. On Saturday, Sept. 3 they land in Boothbay Harbor to perform at the historic Opera House.

The beautiful mountain Knocknarea in Ireland’s County Sligo is said to be the final resting place of…

Home and Garden tour tickets still available. On Friday, July 15, join us for the ever popular Boothbay Region Garden Club Home and Garden tour.

Discover a charming 19th century home with beautiful period garden and other outstanding coastal properties.

Pick up your $30 tour ticket at the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce next to Hannaford supermarket. Thank you for supporting BRGC’s scholarship programs and enjoy this year’s spectacular tour.

During the height of the pandemic touring musicians were forced into hibernation and live performances were few and far between. The summer of 2022 at Boothbay Harbor’s Opera House is now experiencing the opposite, with dozens of nationally touring acts scheduled to come to this historic stage over the coming month including the upcoming Thursday, July 7 concert featuring folk icon Tom Rush alongside singer-songwriter Matt Nakoa, and on Friday, July 8 a concert by the acclaimed trio The…

On Sunday, June 19 at 10 a.m., the Boothbay Railway Village Museum, Route 27, Boothbay will open for the season. It’s Father’s Day on Sunday and all Dads get to ride the train for free.

Come check out what the staff and volunteers have been working on since the facility closed last December. Be sure to read the June 2022 edition of the Village Voice, attached here, for more information. The newsletter includes a list of some of the main events during the summer.

Some of the…

That’s right, racing fans, it’s time to rev up your motors! Maine’s 2022 lobster boat racing season kicks off right here in Boothbay Harbor with the Charles Begin Memorial Lobster Boat Races on Saturday, June 18.

If you’re a boat captain, signup is at Brown’s Wharf at 121 Atlantic Ave. between 8 and 10 a.m. First race is at 10.

This year’s color for the T’s ($20) and sweatshirts ($35) is maroon. Get yours at the signup table. They sell out fast, so get there early even if you’…

Harbor Theater is bringing you a three-day outdoor movie extravaganza with a giant pop-up screen, live music, food and drink (including popcorn and candy), and films for all ages on Thursday, Aug. 27, Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29; gates open at 6:30 p.m. All three events will be free and open to the public; first come, first served. This is our way to thank the community for its patience and support while the theater is closed due to COVID-19.

Bring your car, your boat, your…

Susan Webster is one of the artists chosen to submit work for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art’s (CMCA) Biennial opening Oct. 3 in Portland. This is the second biennial show Webster has been selected for; the first was in 1981 for the All Maine Biennial at the University of Southern Maine.

Webster was among 12 artists invited to participate in Maine College of Art’s Institute of Contemporary Art show, “Darkness in the Light,” exhibited July through September in 2019. Her piece in…

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) announced July 14 that the Amtrak Downeaster will begin operating four round-trip trains between Brunswick and Boston every day beginning on Monday, July 20, 2020 as it enters Phase 2 of service restoration. 

Other Phase 2 service elements include the availability of onboard food service and the re-opening of some Downeaster station facilities. Visit …

After 10 years of providing award-winning culinary tours throughout Maine's seacoast, Maine Foodie Tours (MFT) is expanding and evolving their offerings to include all-outdoor activities in seven locations. The change comes as restaurants across the state move to outdoor dining, and limited indoor seating.

The new tours are designed to appeal to Mainers on a “staycation” as well as visitors abiding by the COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

Maine Foodie Tours has been operating for…

The modern abstract painting in front of me draws me into its surreal world … An oval mirror near its center draws me in. I see a figure of a woman inside it. I cannot tell if she is standing or seated. She appears to be looking straight ahead at a shadow figure standing in a doorway. Who is it? And where does the doorway lead? Is temptation encouraging her to join the unknown figure into another realm of being or consciousness?

Whatever happens, it will be intense, Look! A…

Fishing netting for lace, sailcloth for dresses, maps turn into shoes, rope for ornamental braiding, life jackets become totes ... these fishing industry materials and gear are used to create charming, often breathtaking clothing for the Fishin’ For Fashion Show. This is the sixth consecutive year for what has become a much anticipated event during Boothbay Harbor Fest. Ocean Point Marina’s boat shed is the venue for a second year for the sixth annual Fishin’ For Fashion Show Sept. 7 at 5 p.…

“I figured, well, everybody (paints) Red’s Eats, so I would paint what’s next to it,” around the bakery Creamed, Port Clyde watercolor artist Kathleen A. Fox said on the corner of Wiscasset’s Main and Water streets opposite both businesses Thursday night. The plein air work underway on the Maine Art Gallery member’s lap might go into that Warren Street, Wiscasset gallery’s plein air show, she said.

Other painters interviewed around Main Street at the Aug. 29 Wiscasset Art Walk were…

Salt Bay Chamberfest’s 25th season, Aug. 1 - 17, promises a wide range of concerts and events, both ticketed and free. Music and performers celebrate the organization’s commitment to supporting the future of music while also honoring the past. Concerts address a range of topics connected to the season’s theme, Music of Our Common Earth, and span genres from classical to jazz to hip hop. The season features five festival concerts at the historic Darrows Barn at Round Top Farm in Damariscotta…

“Humidity and me are not friends.”

A sweat bead ran down Wiscasset Transfer Station Superintendent Ron Lear’s right temple Saturday morning as the station opened for a day the National Weather Service predicted would hit 95F in Lincoln County and feel like 100-plus. He’d already been there an hour.

Lear and the rest of the staff had two strategies to beat the heat: Drinking a lot…

The 22nd annual Maine International Film Festival, held in Waterville, Maine July 12-21, will honor director Hilary Brougher with a screening of her new film, “South Mountain,” followed by a Mid-Life Achievement Award ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 14 at the Waterville Opera House. A special after party for the filmmaker and MIFF guests will be held at OPA Waterville on Main Street in downtown Waterville.

Hilary Brougher is an American director and screenwriter, and chair of…

Belfast artist David Estey follows up his 2016 retrospective at Studio 53 with a solo exhibit of 25 recent paintings. The works are improvisational abstract images in a wide variety of sizes done in acrylic on canvas or the synthetic paper Yupo mounted on panels.

An opening reception will be held Friday, July 5 from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition run is July 1-28.

Estey is an award-winning native, with a BFA degree from Rhode Island School of Design, a MSA degree from George…

For the 57th year, Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days are upon us … and what a rockin’ good time those seven days, June 23 - 29, will be!

The Friends of Windjammer Days, at the helm of the festival since 2013, have charted our course. Let’s check out what points are not to be missed (and yes that means all of them).

A new event for the Festival, Sunday, June 23, but not new to the region is the…

The internationally renowned Django Festival All Stars will bring the driving, swinging sounds of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt to the Chocolate Church Arts Center on Tuesday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m.

With stunning virtuosity, the Django Festival All Stars present original compositions, as well as their interpretations and arrangements in the style pioneered by Django Reinhardt that came to be known as “hot jazz” or “gypsy jazz.”

The group, whom The Wall Street Journal has…

There’s gonna be a lot of wake goin’ on this weekend with the start of the 34th lobster boat racing season Saturday, June 15 at 10 a.m. with the Charles Begin Memorial Races right here in Boothbay Harbor. Sign up begins at 9 a.m. Racing fee: $25.

Categories include gas classes based on length and cubic inches, diesel classes based on horsepower and length, a wooden boat race, gas and diesel free-for-alls, and four races just for Boothbay region boats.

The race course runs in…

Early June brings three musical friends and talents together to the stage at the historic Opera House in Boothbay Harbor. On Sunday, June 2, Ellis Paul teams up with Abbie Gardner and Seth Glier for an evening of music and stories among friends.

A troubadour, a singer/songwriter, a folky, and a storyteller -- all are fair labels for Ellis Paul, but they do not quite suffice. Born a stone’s throw from the U.S./Canadian border in Aroostook County, Ellis’ Maine roots run deep. A…

The first week of Salt Bay Chamberfest’s 24^th festival, “Troubadours & Tangos,” is underway. The Friday, Aug. 10, evening concert is the second of four taking place at Darrows Barn at Round Top Farm and will feature a number of  new performers.

Issam Rafea, a renowned performer and educator of Middle Eastern music in both Syria and the U.S., will bring the oud (Middle Eastern lute) to Salt Bay Chamberfest for the first time. The oud dates to ancient Egypt, and its…

During a journalism career that spanned three decades, photographer Peter Southwick produced images that appeared in publications around the world. As a staff photographer for the Associated Press he covered everything from political campaigns and conventions to major sports championships, as well as breaking news and feature stories. He was there for times of joy and sadness, triumph and tragedy, and the smaller “slice of life” moments that provide readers with some relief from the news.…

The first ever Damariscotta Oyster Celebration is coming to Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta. The three-day event kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 14 with a competition at Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort.

The International Oyster Chef of the Year Competition will feature seven chefs from five states and two Canadian provinces.

Local chef Nathaniel Adam from the Boothbay Harbor…

On Thursday, Aug. 31, the historic schooner When and If will sail into Boothbay Harbor with owner-captain Seth Salzmann at the helm.

The 65-foot John Alden yacht is coming to the area for only the second time since 1938, when she was built and launched in Wiscasset for General George S. Patton.

Patton commissioned Alden, one of the most respected boat designers in the U.S. The yacht was built by the F.F. Pendleton Shipyard at what is now White’s Island.

Alden…

Summer wraps up with Boothbay Harbor’s multi-day HarborFest featuring local chefs, tasting, art and music aplenty including three headline performances at the historic Opera House downtown. Marcia Ball, Adam Ezra and Raging Brass will each take to the stage this September and help kick-off the fall season. 

Friday, Sept. 1

Singer and pianist Marcia Ball has been blending Texas blues, Louisiana swamp ballads and New Orleans second-line rhythms into her distinctive…

Well, summer in Maine is in full swing, folks. Now – what's for suppa?

It’s a lot easier to come up with something ridiculously delicious during the summer, when fresh stuff abounds, than in the middle of January, when a lot of that stuff is frozen, or unavailable.

Cases in point: Corn on the cob, blueberries, and big, fat, Maine scallops. The scallops are really usually harvested during the winter months, but if you get them the day they were picked or dragged off the bottom…

The Fourth has come and gone. How'd that happen? It was snowing a few weeks ago, wasn't it? Time flies when you're having fun.

And I have been having fun, sort of.

My sister and mother came up from Ft. Myers a couple weeks ago to stay at the cottage in Cushing. Hard to believe those two weeks have flown by, too. Wendy left on the 12th to fly back, and mum is staying for a couple more…

Okay so it's July 2. Two days before the Fourth of July, which, coincidentally, falls on the fourth this year :-)

I took a break from writing over the weekend, which is kind of unusual for me, of late. I’m usually scrambling to get at least this food column done by Sunday so I don't wake up in the middle of the night sweating, thinking, “OMG! What am I going to write about THIS week!”

At the risk of sounding like a small town columnist (which of course I am haha) my sister and…

A.J. Hungerford wanted so much to make the second annual, Bar Harbor-Portland, Rock Lobster Relay, he flew back in time from a business trip in Boulder, Colorado. And at one of two Wiscasset stops on the race Saturday, he liked Sarah’s Cafe’s cinnamon rolls so much, he said he had to take a picture of them.

“It’s amazing,” the Portland attorney said about the roll he was finishing at 5:46 a.m. near the…

Hoist those sails, set out for the sea or pack those vehicles and head for the highway; and be bound for Boothbay Harbor sailors and landlubbers, for the 55th Annual Windjammer Days Festival just DAYS away! Ten days of fun and adventure await you and yours Sunday, June 25 through Saturday, July 1.

Your 10-day adventure starts Sunday, June 25 with the Arts & Crafts Show on the Boothbay Common at 10 a.m.; the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club One Design Races at 1 p.m., and the Blessing of…

Elise Andersen, daughter of the late East Boothbay artists and ceramists Brenda and Weston Andersen, has been busy lately. She and some of her siblings have been going through the attic of her family home in East Boothbay gathering archives — namely ceramics — made by her parents and other family members from as far back as the 1950s.

With help from family members and friends like Kim Villard, the Andersens’ designer products,…

On Sunday, April 23, the historic schooner Mary E, believed to be the oldest Maine-built wooden fishing schooner still afloat, will be arriving at her new home: Maine Maritime Museum. The public is invited to the museum for a free “Welcome Home” party from 10 a.m. to noon.

Built in Bath in 1906, and restored in Bath in 1965 on the grounds of what is now Maine Maritime Museum, Mary E is a two-…

Chewonki Campground co-owner Pam Brackett is an early riser anyway, but there were many others waking early Saturday in Wiscasset for a special reason.

The inaugural running of the Rock Lobster Relay from Bar Harbor to Portland had two stops in town, the first on Water Street, with the Sheepscot River on one side and the former federal customs house looming large and picturesque on the other side; the second was south on Route One, in the Shaw’s supermarket parking lot, with another…

Each summer Haystack hosts a series of exhibitions in our gallery at the Center for Community Programs, 22 Church Street in Deer Isle. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

The first show of 2016 is “The Measure of All Things: Recent Work by Ted Lott” running June 4-July 8.  Working at the intersection between design, woodworking, and architecture, Ted Lott reveals and celebrates the logic of stick-frame construction, often incorporating found objects to create works that…

The American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront has released the names of the first several artists scheduled to appear at the 15th annual three-day event in August. Announced cultures include western swing, bluegrass, Portuguese, salsa, Prince Edward Island, Sri Lanka dance and Jazz. All seven performers being announced today will be first-time performers at the American Folk Festival.

"This year marks the 15thFestival on the Bangor…