ROCKLAND — Kids growing up in the 1970s and 1980s who were invited to a midnight screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show were never quite the same afterwards. It became a shared cultural experience for left-of-center young people and it was the first time an audience ever interacted live, ad-libbing with the characters on the screen.

Now, a live version of the movie is coming to the Strand Theatre Nov 17-20. The Barn Arts Collective, a theater performance and residency organization based out of Mount Desert Island, first debuted their production of the live show on Halloween weekend at Bar Harbor's Criterion Theater in 2015. Lindsey Hope Pearlman, an NYC based director, was invited to lead the production.

“The group of artists that were in residency at the time happened to make up the perfect cast to the show,” she said. “And since someone from the Strand was in the audience,that is why we’re coming back to do the show again in Rockland.”

The very same cast, who now all reside between Maine and NYC, will be coming back to reprise their roles. The high-energy live production will combine the interactive elements of the movie’s cult midnight screenings with the drama and spectacle of a live rock show.

To find out how it all started, a Rocky Horror fan site shares that the 1975 American premiere of the Rocky Horror Picture Show first took place in the Westwood Theater in Los Angeles and limped along with an uninspired following, until a year later when the movie played at the Waverly Theater in New York City. Actor Sal Piro and his friend Marc Shaiman, who’d seen the flick multiple times, began throwing out ad lib lines, much to the glee of the audience. Those lines repeated by audience members at every subsequent show catapulted the movie into cult status.

Pearlman remembers the day she first attended a midnight screening of Rocky Horror herself as a virgin. (Note: The Rocky Horror definition: 1. VIRGIN / v noun/ (n) - anybody who has never seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show).

“I loved how free and joyful and silly the audience was,” she said. “I was also watching it as a director thinking about how to incorporate those elements in our own production, but now I’m fully in the Rocky community today.”

The audience is encouraged to use props, such as newspapers and playing cards, when they appear on stage and the production at the Strand includes a pre-show event to warm up the crowd.

“We are going to rock Rockland with Rocky,” Pearlman promised. “You can expect all of the songs from the film that you love and performances in full costume. You can get up and sing and dance.”

For the Rocky Horror virgins who don’t know what to expect, here is a primer. And a prop list. The performance will also include props for the audience to use. One is also encouraged to dress up as a character from the movie, but it’s not required. Read carefully and thank the poor staff of the Strand when you exit.

Tickets are $22 in advance and $25 at the door. Showtimes and tickets can be purchased here.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—While some people may be exhausted with political topics this week, it is a continuing conversation through Kenny Cole’s art. A Maine visual artist, Cole’s work has been described as a visionary mix with an activist inspired political thrust.

With a show called "Like There's No Tomorrow" solo currently hanging at Win Wilder Hall in Rockland and another, “The Promise of Tomorrow,” on view at Chase’s Daily Perimeter Gallery through December 31, Cole has tried to make sense of a turbulent political climate and what it means to be an American man.

Cole grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1976 studying “a reductionist’s approach to painting, with a consciousness toward the painting object’s physical relationship to the maker/viewer and the physicality of mark-making.”

After moving to Maine in 1994 with his wife and two children, he soon began getting involved with organizing several political art actions.

In 2002, he met the political artist Luis Camnitzer, who had a strong influence on him. Cole states: “I decided to commit myself more fully to creating politically engaging art. I have since then begun to re-visit making more elaborate two-sided interactive painting structures and have become even more determined to expansively explore the allure of the military economy.”

Technology plays heavily into his artwork. Having grown up on the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation, he said, “I often examine our relationship with technology and how through our infatuation with it we sell our souls a little bit.”

Santa Claus and leprechauns appear in several of his paintings in gouache.

“I like to take popular symbolic characters with uniforms and imagine how they might relate to warfare,” he said. "As an artist, I'm interested in schematic colors, pageantry and national colors, such as how they appear on flags, and redefining what they mean."

In “Four Uniforms,” he copied Air Force uniforms he saw in an old encyclopedia he had from the 1960 one for winter and one for summer rendering the Santas cheering on the winter side and the Leprauchans cheering on the summer side. All of the flying insignias in the painting also came from that Encyclopedia page.

In the painting “Three coffins flag,” he said: “While the shape of the flag is familiar, the colors are not and your brain is trying to make connections with national colors. You want to understand what that means.”

“Man Carrying A Cross” at first glance doesn’t make sense until you realize that each truncated Google link refers to an online image of modern day men carrying crosses down a road.

“I first saw this in Belfast, twice actually over the last two years, men carrying a giant cross down the road,” he said. “And if you Google this image, you’ll find thousands of people do this. I was going to do hyper realistic paintings of these photos, but I decided to create the shorthand for what our eyes would be imagining with these photos, so that you would have to disengage with the art and consult your handheld device.”

Asked why he chose to engage with this subject, he said: “It’s just this weird phenomenon of white men carrying a cross for miles and miles all geared up with compartments in the cross where they carry all of their clothes as sort of this self-flagellating quest. What they are telling the world by doing this is that they are suffering, and I think that’s what happened in this past election. Many people didn’t like Trump or what he had to say but then there was the other side, the working class white male who that Trump identified with them and listened to them and that’s why Trump successfully won. We’ve now heard them loud and clear.”

To see more of Cole’s work visit: http://kennycole.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Area businesses are showing their appreciation for Veterans in a number of ways today on November 11, 2016. Here is a list:

Restaurants

American Legion in Rockland is offering a free Veterans Day dinner of prime rib, potatoes and veggies, roll and dessert to all Veterans. $8 for adults and $4 for children.

Rockport Diner is offering 50 percent off a meals for Veterans and current service members.

Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro is offering 75 percent off a meal for any veteran or on active duty.

Graffam Brothers Seafood in Camden is offering $5 lobster rolls for Veterans, EMS, police and fire personnel.

Threshers Brewing Co. in Searsmont would like to thank all Veterans by buying you a pint of fresh ale for your service to our country. Any World War Two vets able to make it will be given an additional free T-shirt.

Boynton McKay in Camden is offering a free meal to Veterans.

Rock City Café in Rockland is offering Veterans a free drink and lunch item.

Waterworks Restaurant will be giving a 20% discount on a food item to any active or retired service member all day today.

Four Corner Variety in Union will be giving away a free meal to any Veteran that comes in with a military ID.

Trackside Station in Rockland is offering 30 percent off an entree for Veterans and current service members.

Bluewater Bakery on Islesboro: Veterans eat free today.

Applebees in Thomaston is offering a free meal to all Veterans and active duty military.

Organizations

Owls Head Transportation Museum is offering all veterans a complimentary museum admission and special activities including a tour with the curator, a membership raffle, and free Model T rides will be offered during the course of the day.

Ocean State Job Lots is offering a 25% discount with proper ID.

Paracraft Unlimited, an apparel designer in Rockport is offering a free bracelet (550 Cobra) to Veterans. Also, 50% of proceeds are donated to help Veterans.

We will be updating this list as more offers come in. Please email news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — At the beginning of October, Betty McBrien, a professional cleaner at Lyman-Morse, noticed a herring gull in Camden hanging around the boat yard, looking for food. “I first noticed him walking around begging for food, but I didn’t know if he could take off and fly. He’d been hanging around so long, some of the guys at the boat yard started calling him ‘George.’ It was getting cold out at night and I didn’t want to see him die.”

McBrien called Avian Haven, a rehabilitation center in Freedom dedicated to the return of injured and orphaned wild birds to the wild. George the gull had already been on their radar from other calls they’d received from people in Camden. On Oct. 17, one of their volunteer staff members, Selkie O’Mira, met McBrien at the boat yard to investigate.

According to Avian Haven’s Facebook summary of events:

“Selkie met Betty at the boatyard and they found George huddled on some rocks up against the seawall, alone. Betty tried to lure the bird close enough to capture, but he flew off. Out across the harbor he went, landing somewhat clumsily on some rocks on the other side.”

The first mystery was solved; he could fly, just not well. “Later that day, Selkie and her husband, Abe, went out again and found the gull in the same location on the other side of the harbor, where he had apparently spent the day. They drove around, climbed down on the rocks, fish in one hand, net in the other, and the gull was soon settled comfortably in a carrier, en route to Avian Haven. The gull had parasites, which we treated. He was also unsteady on his feet and had a deep laceration on his beak. It's an old injury, but George is in remarkably good shape, apparently surviving on soft foods.

We've been offering George an easy-to-manage high protein diet while we waited for the scab on that wound to slough off so we could see what was underneath. Beaks are made of keratin, like fingernails, hooves and antlers, so they continue to grow and can self-repair. The scab came off last week, and we could see that the beak injury was mending very well.”

On Nov. 5, George was well enough to be released back at Camden Harbor, at Lyman-Morse. Avian Haven’s staff came back with him and Betty McBrien was there to witness it.

“I thought there would be a crowd, but it was just me so I was the one who got to open his cage and let him free,” said McBrien. “I was so happy that he was not only healed, but that he could come back to the Camden harbor.

Added O’Mira: “George took his sweet time making an exit from the carrier. Then he scooted over to the seawall where he enjoyed the view for quite a while before flying off beautifully into the inner harbor. Betty is amazing; her concern for this gull and her kindness toward him saved his life.”

To see what else the volunteers and staff do to rescue birds, visit Avian Haven

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — In the spring of 1991, the Eastman Kodak Co. operated out of a brick building on Mechanic Street that is now Knox Mill Senior Living. Through a project funded by Youth Arts and Kodak, each student in the seventh grade class of the the Mary E. Taylor Middle School got to use a 35-mm camera and several rolls of film and go around town for one day on May 1 for several hours shooting images that stood out for them to represent their community. Kodak assigned professional photo editors to select the photos for publication and paid for it, titling the student-created photography book, Our View: A Day in Camden-Rockport Maine.

Ian McKenzie, the technology teacher at Camden-Rockport Middle School, has revived this project twenty five years later for the eighth-grade class. “I was actually an eighth-grader when the seventh-grade class got to do this,” remembered McKenzie. “So, I watched them with pure envy. I came to teaching through media and I love media, photography and creation. This year, the students all received new iPod pros with beautiful camera capabilities and I realized that this year was the 25th anniversary of the Our View book. So, this has become the culminating project.”

McKenzie noted how far technology has come since the original photos were shot. Flipping through the Our View book, he pointed out one of the photographs that depicts a bank of pay phones. That’s not something today’s students would see. That, and the students would not need traditional 35-mm cameras because their iPads function the same way.

“Kids today live in a time of unprecedented ability to create and share through photography, video and social media,” he said. “The editing tools they have on their phones are far superior technology than anything we would had access to at their age. You would have had to owned thousands and thousands of dollars of equipment to get the same quality.”

The theme of this new photography project integrates kids’ natural inclination toward self-expression with technology with a shared sense of community. This project takes it a step beyond the original Our View book. The photos that the students took will be accompanied by writing and video and the final book will be not a coffee table printed book, but rather, as an appropriate sign of the times, an ebook with a link to each student’s personal digital photography profile.

“It’ll be free and we hope to drop the book through Kindle and iTunes Dec. 6, 2016,” he said.

Like the students 25 years before them, the CRMS students were given a crash course in photography techniques with additional training in digital filtering and color correction. On Oct. 20, McKenzie and other chaperones separated the 90 eighth-graders into 18 groups of kids (no more than five in a group) and shot photos over the course of three hours.

“When the original students shot their photos on May 1, there wasn’t much in the way of beautiful scenery at that time, but here we were in peak foliage, which made for a better time to shoot the photos,” he said. “We had a group of kids going to  the top of Maiden’s Cliff, to the top of Beech Hill to both harbors, up and all over towns. We had one girl who hiked to Maiden’s Cliff at 10 a.m. and hiked it again at 5:30 in the evening and got this shot of the sunset in the same spot as her first shot.”

McKenzie said each student has to pare down his or her five best photos for submission, at which point, McKenzie will personally curate 270 photos. “We want the ebook to represent the group’s idea of what defines Camden-Rockport.”

Stay tuned as Penobscot Bay Pilot follows the rest of this project as it gets closer to the book’s release date.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — 16 Bay View has closed off its rooftop deck, the View, for the season and now invites the public (not just guests of the hotel) into their cozy Bay View Street pub for a nice hot toddy.

Marcus Carter, the bar manager of the hotel’s Vintage Room said, “I could have made something with six or seven different ingredients, but since this bar has a vintage feel, I thought we’d go with a vintage drink.”

Inside the small bar large stencils of Mae West and Clark Gable grace the the hearth of the fireplace while on the far wall, images of Camden and the Midcoast throughout the 19th and 20th centuries are prominently displayed. With the weather downshifting into the 40s and rainy storms shredding the leaves off the trees, now is the time to cup your hands around a warm honey-infused whiskey toddy.

The Toddy, also known as a tottie as well as a hot whiskey (no brainer) in Ireland and Scotland is usually a hot water drink infused with herbs and spices and sugar or honey and alcohol. Victoria Moore author of How to Drink describes the drink as "the vitamin C for health, the honey to soothe, the alcohol to numb.” Carter affirmed, “It is medicine for the soul. But what’s important to me is that when you’re here you enjoy the drink because it’s made from good ingredients.”

To make this drink yourself at home, watch our accompanying video. The recipe also follows below.

The 16 Bay View Hot Toddy

• Start with a pot of piping hot water
• .75 oz Knob Creek bourbon whiskey
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp Maine honey (Beth’s Farm)
• Lemon to garnish

Add the whiskey, cinnamon and honey into a cup and stir in hot water. Squeeze lemon and float into the drink and drizzle with a sprinkle with cinnamon.

To see all of our past “What’s In That Cocktail” series (with video!), check out our “Iconic Cocktails” resource page: The best craft cocktails in the Midcoast

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Last year, Rockland resident Sharon Hobson, and Rhonda Nordstrom, owner of RHEAL day spa, came up with the idea to locally collect donated purses filled with sanitary items such as pads and tampons as well as comfort items such as shampoo, body creams, etc. They gave the purses away to homeless women and women at risk in the Midcoast, and their delight, more than 190 filled purses were donated last year — all making their way to New Hope For Women and The Hospitality House.

For the second year, RHEAL Day Spa its Midcoast version of The Purse Project. And rather than wait until December like last year, the spa began collecting the items on Oct. 17.

The whole idea behind this movement was to assist homeless women with sanitary items and personal care supplies as it’s hard enough to go through traumatic life changes without having access to items to keep clean. We started with asking people to provide donated purses filled with sanitary items and then build from there,” said Nordstrom.

The idea has caught on and more women are not just donating purses and bags but also buying new purses filled with items geared toward emotional comfort.  Some of the purses resting on the display area inside the RHEAL day spa are filled with high-end cosmetics and brands such as body wash from Herbal Essence.

“This one woman came in donating four purses, each wrapped in a warm scarf, which is her own personal fashion signature,” said Nordstrom.

Stephanie Primm, executive director of the Knox County Homeless Coalition/Hospitality House, explained how much women helping other women means to one of their clients.

“A vast majority of our families come from a generational poverty scenario, with long histories of low education levels, domestic violence, abuse, addiction and other challenges,” she said. “Many have lost hope, or simply have forgotten what it's like to feel joy, or that inner sense of being excited by something beautiful or comforting. Because they are in 'survival' mode when they reach our doorstep and are generally in trauma, kindness, respect, dignity and caring are the primary focus in all we do.”

“The Purse Project has had a profound effect on our clients. The way these beautiful gifts are created, with care and individuality, it makes them feel special, makes them feel cared about, and gives them something beautiful, often for the first time in years or decades,” said Primm.

Kristi Braun, development director of New Hope For Women had a story to share. “Last year, after receiving a delivery of purses via the Purse Project, one of our advocates at New Hope for Women started working with a mother of two who had just lost her home, due to it being condemned. A victim of verbal and physical abuse for years, the woman finally mustered the courage to call 911, and was connected with our advocate when the police gave her our hotline number. She was emotionally devastated, physically bruised and financially destroyed.

“After hearing the woman’s story, our advocate excused herself from their meeting and quickly picked a purse that she thought fit the woman’s personality. When the advocate returned and handed the purse to the woman, and explained what the Purse Project was, the woman started to cry and thanked her profusely. She said that she truly appreciated the thoughtfulness that went into it and hoped that one day she could return the favor,” said Braun.

“In addition to the actual purse and the contents inside, a Purse Project purse can also provide a much-needed boost in morale and self-esteem for a client who is going through a particularly challenging time. We often hear from our clients that just knowing someone cares means so much to them,” she said.

The co-founder of the project, Sharon Hobson, has gone a step further and brought packs of 20 sanitary items like tampons and pads to the AIO Food Pantry in Rockland.

“Studies have been done [showing] that women having their menstrual cycle need about 20 sanitary items, so we’ve put together these packs for any woman who is also looking for food assistance,” said Nordstrom. “Our next phase will be a toilet paper giveaway since the food pantry can only give one toilet paper roll per family once a month.”

To donate to The Purse Project, fill a bag or purse with feminine hygiene products, necessities and niceties (excluding non-perishable food items) and drop your bags at RHEAL Day Spa, 453 Main St. in Rockland, before Oct. 29, after which they will be given away. FMI: Call 207-594-5077.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Election Fatigue: It’s real and we all have it. Pew Research Center’s latest poll shows that more than one-third of social media users are worn out by the amount of political content they encounter.

Close To Home Subs & Burritos co-owner Susan Schiro was also feeling election fatigue. The restaurant is on Main Street, in Rockland.

“It’s customers, it’s employees, it’s people online constantly complaining that there’s no one to choose from,” she said.

She had a light bulb moment and created a batch of butter cookies in the shapes of donkeys, elephants and the good old U.S. of A. with the appropriate colored icing, calling them “This Election Bites” bipartisan butter cookies.

“I thought, how can I tie this in?” she mused.

“I have to say, they are really good butter cookies,” said Schiro. “You can give it to your friends who are really depressed about what’s going on in the political landscape. You can hand them out on election day. Do whatever floats your boat.”

Schiro not only created the concept and the cookie, she designed her own packaging. “My background is in graphic design,” she said. “I owned a T-shirt printing business for 21 years. My background was not in cooking,” she laughed. “but I know how to make a package look pretty.”

No matter who wins on November 8, a number of your friends and neighbors are going to be pretty upset. You might need to hoard a bag all to yourself.

The cookies can be purchased at Close To Home or the Home Sweet Home bakery next door.

All Hallow’s Eve is fast approaching and we have combed every cool event going on we could find to bring you a comprehensive rundown of Halloween-themed events. We've color-coded these events for Adults and Parents and Kids to make finding them easier. Don't forget that there is also a Candy Drive for the Camden and Belfast neighborhoods most hit up for Halloween.

Tuesday, Oct. 25

· Adults and Parents and Kids: Stephen King’s Thinner is being screened at the Colonial Theatre in Belfast starting at 6:30 p.m. With props from the movie and extras on hand to tell some stories, this will be one fun event for all ages. See our recent story here.

Wednesday, Oct. 26

· Parents and Kids: A Halloween Spooktacular is happening at the Camden Public Library from 5-6 p.m. with stories, games, crafts. Great for the little ones and don't forget to come in costume! Spooky snack volunteers, please call Miss Amy at the library at 236-3440.

Thursday, Oct. 27

· Parents and Kids: Local author, Liza Walsh will be holding a launch party for her new book Ghost Hunter's Handbook. You'll get to explore the library for ghosts, make Halloween crafts, hear some scary stories, and get some spooky surprises from 3:30 o 4:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28

· Parents and Kids: The Union Fair turns the Union Fairgrounds into a Trail of Terror. Children under 12 must be accompanied by adult. For safety, no costumes or visitors allowed.  The cost: $10 per person. There will also be a free, all-ages maze, fire pit and food, drink and s'mores. This event goes every night up to Oct. 31. from 6-10 p.m. For detailed directions or for more info visit unionfair.org

· Adults: The Thomaston Public Library is showing a free screening of Dressed to Kill, a 1946 Sherlock Holmes movie in which two victims are found dead after buying the same music box. The film starts at 6:30 p.m.

· Adults and Parents and Kids: The Morrison family in New Harbor opens their Haunted Castle's Keep Oct. 28-30, 5-9 p.m. each night, at 2634 Bristol Road. Free event. FMI: 677-3741.  Read our story about it here.

· Parents and Kids:  Ashwood Waldorf School’s annual All Hallows’ Eve Walk. takes place from 5-7 p.m.FMI: Ashwood Waldolf Walk

· Parents and Kids: The Boothbay Railway Village will once again be cloaked in mystical moonlight and creepy candlelight for the annual Ghost Train 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.. Just once a year the ghouls and goblins come out to haunt the otherwise peaceful museum. Witches and other monsters will assist the engineer and train crew with departures every 30 minutes, the last leaves the station at 7:30 p.m. The event happens again on Saturday, Oct. 29.

· Adults: and Parents and Kids: Fright at the Fort’s theme this year is Out of this World. Admission is $10 per person ($5 for those 12 and under) Additional information on Fright at the Fort may be found on the fortknox.maineguide.com  Starting at 5:30 p.m., the haunted fort tour goes Oct. 28-29. Pro-tip: Don’t arrive any later than 8:30 p.m. and buy your tickets online to avoid the long lines. See our recent story about the scary clown phenomenon here.

· Adults: Swing and Sway Halloween Dance at High Mountain Hall, 5 Mountain St./Route 52, Camden from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Cost: $10; $15 with 6:30 p.m. warm-up class. Prizes for best costume. Open to the public, no partner or experience necessary.

Saturday, Oct. 29

· Parents and Kids: Five Town Basketball hosts a Halloween fun day at Lincolnville Central School for kids with pumpkin carvings, hot cocoa and candy. Lunch items, such as hot dogs and hamburgers along with cold beverages and hot apple cider will be served. RSVP by Oct. 27 with number of pumpkin carvers to jalcala@fivetownhoopdreams.net.

· Parents and Kids: Trunk or Treat hosted by Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 15 Wesley Lane, Rockland, from 4 to 7 p.m. It will be a festive night with games, face painting, crafts and, of course, treats from the trunks of cars that are decorated for Halloween.

 · Parents and Kids: Trunk or Treat host by PTF of Warren Community School, 117 Eastern Road Warren 3-6 p.m. Event will move inside in the event of rain. Concessions will also be sold for an easy, convenient dinner.

· Parents and Kids: Pumpkin Palooza: Jack-o'-lanterns will be at the Amphiteatre in Camden. Bring pumpkins to the Amphitheater or drop them off during the day in the children's garden with your name on them. All ages and carving talents welcome and encouraged to participate in the event that begins at 7 p.m. Take your pumpkin home right after

· Adults: Splyce-o-Ween: Join the Halloween costume dance party with local modern/alternative/classic rock band at the Wentworth Event Center in Belfast. Cost: $10; $15 couple. Cash bar, appetizers, snack bar.

· Adults: Invitation-only screening of Island Zero written by Tess Gerritsen and filmed locally this year at the Camden Opera House from 7 to 9 p.m. Free/donations for Camden Fire Department and the opera house. Cast and crew will be in attendance. To get an invitation, email:  islandzeromovie@gmail.com.

· Adults: The Midnight Riders are excited to be playing the Halloween Costume Ball at the American Legion Hall in Rockland from 7 to 11 p.m. Boogie with old and new friends. Open to the public, tickets are $10 at the door with refreshments available.

· Adults: FOG Bar Halloween Bash: Have a horrifically good time with local band Diamond in the Rough. Starts at 9:30 p.m. and goes to 12:30 a.m. $5 cover, 21+, costume contest with prizes live at 11 p.m.

· Adults: Rock City Café hosts their annual Halloween party after the musical set of Slippery Slope ends from 7 to 9 p.m. People are encouraged to come in costume.

· Adults: Shizzleween is happening at Myrtle Street Tavern featuring the band The Shizzle. Music starts at 9 p.m.

· Adults: Halloween bash at Trackside Station in Rockland with TWO DOLLAR PISTOL playing. Cash prize of $100 bill for the best costume voted by crowd’s applause. The event starts at 9 p.m.

· Adults:  Thresher’s Brewing Co. in Searsmont will be hosting their first ever Halloween costume party SPOOKtacular! Lincolnville’s blues rock trio / and Thresher's very own house band, The Tune Squad will be kicking everything off at 7 p.m. with some top shelf rock & roll for all you ghouls & boys! The Grinning Dog BBQ will be handy-by serving up some frighteningly delicious BBQ / pork & brains that is sure to satiate any appetite! No cover just bring a costume!

· Adults:  Front Street Pub in Belfast celebrates Halloween at 9 p.m. DJ D-Vice will be spinning, the shot girls will be roaming the room, and the bartenders will be slinging crazy drink specials all night. $200 cash prizes for the scariest and most unique costumes.

· Adults: CMCA’s annual kickin’ Halloween party Glitter & Glow takes place at the Bicknell Building in Rockland from 8 p.m. to midnight. Cost: $20; $10 Center for Maine Contemporary Art members. Tickets at cmcanow.org. Prepare to wear reflective, glow-in-the dark or glittery, sparkly costumes. Live music, 40Paper cash bar, Fox on the Run food truck, Kinetic Energy Alive dancers and more.

· Adults: Speakeasy’s Zombie Prom with The Dolphin Strikers. Prizes for the most creepy and creative zombie. 9 p.m. to midnight. $5 cover

Sunday, Oct. 30

· Parents and Kids: Family Flashback Film Fest showing Beetle Juice is happening at the Strand Theatre at 12:30 p.m. Tickets: $3. Doors open at noon.

· Parents and Kids: The Waldoboro Fire Department will be hosting its annual haunted house at AD Gray School, from 2 to 4 p.m. for younger children. That same evening, from 6 to 8 p.m., the haunted house will come to full life for all ages to experience the elevated terror. Each visitor is asked to make a $1 donation to enter the haunted house. Event continues on Oct. 31

Monday, Oct. 31

· Parents and Kids: Trunk or Treat: Vose Library in Union hosts a not too scary event with vehicles decorated in kid-friendly  fashion for Halloween. Children will trick or treat at the vehicles, and can enjoy cider and a small snack at the library as well. There are places for 24 vehicles; those who want to take part should sign up by Oct. 26.

· Adults and Parents and Kids: Children, parents and friends are invited to the Spooky Halloween Radio Show outside the former church on Spring Street between Court and Cedar streets on Halloween night from 4 to 8 p.m. to experience broadcast radio at its most basic. Kids of all ages are invited to explore their inner radio personality, honing their announcer voices at a live microphone; a show will be edited from the material and together with photographs of the evening, posted to Belfast Community Radio’s website belfastcommunityradio.org.

Parents and Kids: The Lincolnville General Store is hosting a pumpkin carving event starting at 4 p.m. at Grampa Hall’s Yard with a costume contest, chili contest, Halloween dessert contest and pumpkin carving contest. Email lincolnvillegeneralstore@gmail.com for more info.

 We will be updating this list as we go. Please email any corrections/updates to news@penabypilot.com

CAMDEN — The Smokestack Grill is done. On a 70-degree afternoon, Oct. 17, staff and friends of the Smokestack Grill in Camden were clearing out the contents of the bar, carting equipment out of the front door past stacked bar stools.

Smokestack Grill is on the first floor of a building on Mechanic Street, which overlooks the Megunticook River and waterfall. Co-owners and brothers, Zachary and Seth Cohn started the bar and restaurant in 2009. Prior to the Smokestack Grill, Sea Dog Brewing Company operated in the space during the MBNA days. And like Sea Dog, Smokestack had a large bar hosting both live music and DJs.

Beginning in 2004, real estate developers began converting Building Six, part of the Knox Mill into 26 condominiums, complete with roof decks and gardens. Over the course of the Smokestack’s run, noise complaints from residents of the neighborhood continued to dog the business. In an Aug. 7, 2012 Camden Select Board meeting, Chairperson Martin Cates said  it was unfortunate that the Knox Mill condominium owners did not know the bar existed when they bought their units.

He said that the Board had discussed the right of businesses to exist and expressed a concern about setting a precedent by telling businesses how to operate. As a compromise, the owners erected noise-reduction curtains when bands and DJs played. See that story here. 

The Knox Mill directly above the Smokestack sold last spring, and former offices have been converted to residential apartments. According to the Camden Town Office, no permits have been received for any new enterprise to fill the space. A permit application for any use by the mill’s owner would be necessary, per the ordinance.

Still, the ever-evolving nature of the Midcoast restaurant scene has claimed another local hangout, and some might even say — the last of the gritty bars.

Bartender Kristen Wallace took a few moments out helping the owners move out of the space.

“We’re definitely sad; it’s the end of an era for sure,” she said. “It’s been a good long run. The camaraderie of the staff is what I’ll miss most and the customers’ became family. We had a lot of fun during the Toboggan Races.”

Former employee Alex Schellhaas was also on hand to help out.

“After Gilbert’s closed, the guys who used to arrange the live music open mics came here to see if we could keep that going and we did,” he said. “It’s a nice space for music. It’s really cool inside.”

On Saturday night, the local band 2 Dollar Pistol played and the place was rocking with the Camden-Rockport High School Class of 1981, which just so happened to have scheduled its class reunion there.

It was pure ‘stack: noisy, friendly, unpretentious, and full of familiar faces.

Sunday night was the last night open.

“The customers were really sad, all the regulars,” Schellhall said. “It’s done; they don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Staff can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Lobster and blueberries might get most of the media attention when it comes to Maine’s most iconic foods, but salmon and seaweed are the hottest products these day. On Oct. 16, Good Tern Co-op in Rockland put the focus on Maine’s most promising up-and-coming exports with their Salmon Cookout & Seafood Celebration. The event took place from noon to 4 p.m with the Co-op offering grilled salmon and seaweed salads, and free iced tea and spring water.

“The cookout was really a way to draw attention to sustainable fishing already happening in Maine, and bring the community together in celebration of the work of the Island Institute and our fishermen,” said Hannah Woodman, organizer of the event. +“This is a great time to highlight it, especially with what the Island Institute is doing around aquaculture.”

Last spring in the WAVE magazine, PenBayPilot.com highlighted the collaborative relationship between fishermen and kelp farming in our story Kelp Farming is a win-win when it comes to healing the ocean. The story highlighted how kelp as sustainable super food also reduces the ocean’s acidity.

“We also wanted to highlight what Matt Luck, a commercial fisherman out of Bristol Bay, is doing,” she said. “He has been a fisherman for decades, his passion is to talk about the wild salmon he catches as an amazing resource.”

Luck has been working for 40 years to promote the sustainability and traceability of seafood in Bristol Bay. He’s served on multiple boards and commissions and actively works with scientific panels to improve how his industry catches the fish.

As the marketing chair of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, Luck advocated to develop a “Bristol Bay Brand.”

“My main goal was to tell the story, create a connection with the consumer and reach the huge demographic that will embrace this story,” he said. “Long story short, our industry is a bit mired in a tired old commodity model and we just couldn’t get any traction. Basically, I decided to pursue this myself. I trademarked the name Pride of Bristol Bay, negotiated access to product with the leading producer of high quality fillet product from Bristol Bay for whom I harvest and away I went. I currently supply wild salmon through my website, www.prideofbristolbay.com through a buying club model in select locations across the country. In September I will launch a nationwide, order online, deliver to your door program exclusively with Bristol Bay sockeye. The product will be affordable and shipped through a green shipping model using 100 percent bio –degradable material by a certified B corporation, Crystal Creek Logistics.”

"I always look forward to my trip to the coast of Maine,” said Luck. “It is a joy to spend time with peers who understand the value of responsibly managed fisheries and love to fill their freezers with the clean, pure protein of wild Alaska salmon."

To learn more about Pride of Bristol Bay visit: prideofbristolbay.com

to learn more about the Island Institute’s ongoing integrated aquaculture projects visit: islandinstitute.org/aquaculture

(Photos courtesy Lux Butcher)

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penabypilot.com

BELFAST—There is Maine, the real place and then there is Stephen King’s Maine, full of backwater mill towns, neighborhoods with dark secrets and sewers inhabited by psychotic clowns.

In 1984, King published Thinner, under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, about an overweight lawyer who ends up hitting a Gypsy woman with his car by accident and killing her. Because of a crooked small-town justice system, he escapes jail time, but soon after is accosted by the victim’s Gypsy, father who puts a curse on him, causing him to lose weight at an alarming rate.

According to a 1985 article in The Washington Post, King’s inspiration for the novel derived from a conversation he’d had with his physician. 

"I used to weigh 236 pounds, and I smoked heavily," King admits. "I went to see the doctor. He said: 'Listen man, your triglycerides are really high. In case you haven't noticed it, you've entered heart attack country.' Resentful that he had to quit eating so much and smoking, he began to gradually lose weight. ...I began to think about what would happen if somebody started to lose weight and couldn't stop.”

On October 25, the Colonial Theater in Belfast along with Our Town Belfast is hosting special 20th anniversary screening of Thinner with some movie props and extras in the film on hand before the show.

Along with locations in Belfast, the campy thriller was shot in Camden, Appleton, Kittery, Thomaston, Port Clyde, Augusta and Portland.

Our Town Belfast Executive Director Breanna Pinkham Bebb discussed several of the locations shot in Belfast. 

“I took some screenshots of the iconic Belfast locations in the film and assembled them in a Facebook invite.” (Due to potential copyright issues, we won’t reprint the screenshots, but you can see them on Our Town Belfast’s Facebook event page here for comparison.)

“Right here on Main Street, below our office, you can see in the 1996 film a shot of what looks like Quigley Realty and beyond that Threads and Weaver’s Bakery before they moved out of town,” Pinkham Bebb said. “Today, the white border around the sign is still the same but it is now Realty of Maine and beyond that are the signs for City Drawers and Man on Main.”

The shot of actor Robert John Burke who plays the lawyer, Billy Halleck, can be seen in a phone booth on Main Street, which Pinkham Bebb estimates might have been right where the lamp post is.

“If there any young people watching the movie, they’ll probably look at the phone booth and say ‘What is that thing?’” laughed Pinkham Bebb.

“There are some other scenes that were filmed in Rollie’s Bar and Grill, but I believed for the exterior, they shot footage of the Consumer Fuel Building, the red brick building at the intersection of Maine and Front Street,” she said. “So, that will be kind of fun for people to figure out what’s happening there.”

“The Belfast Landing is another place that they filmed the movie, which is kind of hilarious, because it was meant to be Old Orchard Beach. But they put a bunch of carnival equipment down there to simulate that.”

Extras and anyone involved in the filming of Thinner 20-plus years ago are especially encouraged to attend. PenBay Pilot reached out to the community to ask if any extras from the film had any stories to share and Midcoast resident Fred Carey had this to share:

“One of the members of the film crew showed up at my company Steel-Pro in Rockland and asked if I could dull and age the hunting knife to be used in the movie,Thinner and remove the manufacturing name I said sure and hit it with a grinder and then a sandblaster and passed it back to him. He said, ‘What do I owe you?’ I said "’Nothing; when you’re done filming can I have the knife back?’ A couple of weeks later they showed back at the shop and gave me the knife and I have it to this day.”

Carey never saw the movie, so he doesn’t know when the knife was actually used in a scene, but perhaps a savvy viewer will.

The screening will be held October 25 at the Colonial Theatre. In true Halloween spirit, there will be a prize awarded for the best Stephen King character (from any book or film – not just Thinner) costume. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the film to begin at 7 p.m.  The screening will allow some time for the extras in the film to share a few minutes of reminiscing with the audience. For more information, event details, and to RSVP, visit: their Facebook event page

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA — If you happen to see a mysterious figure in a red cloak wandering through a cemetery in the weeks leading up to Halloween, do not be alarmed. Her name is Sally.

Ten years ago, Sally Lobkowicz, an experienced genealogy researcher living in Damariscotta, was working part time as a substitute teacher and providing elder care when she felt compelled to take her career in another direction.  She found it by setting up walking tours that would share her love of history, but not just Maine history...haunted Maine history. She found a red cloak, a unique branding element, and launched Red Cloak Haunted History Tours in Damariscotta, taking people both native and from away on lantern-lit evening tours of historic sites and ghostly haunts.

“It just snowballed from there,” said Lobkowicz, who now offers the evening walking tours in eight villages of Maine, including Camden and Rockland. In addition, she offers daytime tours, cemetery tours and private tours with the help of seven other red-caped tour guides she employs to be her surrogates.

Lobkowicz began looking into local ghost stories after hearing tales from locals. “I discovered that there are quite a lot of buildings that people feel are haunted in each of these towns, and some of the stories are quite chilling,” she said. “There are also plenty of interesting historic tales to recall.”

The tours take people through back streets and by buildings that even most locals don’t know have connections to hauntings. Take, for example, the Camden Post Office.

“There are a couple of different stories related to the post office,” she said. “It had a couple of jail cells in the basement used as a temporary holding area. There was also one death in that building.” See Camden historian Barbara Dyer’s story about its construction 100 years ago in a Pen Bay Pilot story.

And in Rockland, Lobkowicz knows of one house that is haunted — by a dog. “This lady shared with me that she has a ghost of a dog in her apartment,” she said. “In the night, she has felt the impression of a dog jumping up and laying down at the end of her bed. She said she discovered the woman who owned the apartment before her had a little dog and and that she and the dog passed on the same day.”

Unlike other pararnormal investigators who can “sense” a ghostly presence without equipment, Lobkowicz is forthright that her main focus is on the haunted history of a place.

“I have very little sensitivity to the spirits around us,” she said. “I’m more researched based, but my husband, Greg [Latimer], does have a little more sensitivity than I do. We tend to rely on instruments that are more scientific.” However, she added, her tour guests have been known to see or “pick up” on spirits that she can’t.

She and her husband have co-written two books on ghostly presences in Damariscotta and Boothbay and continue to work together on paranormal investigations. After the season wraps up at the end of the month, she and Latimer will travel down to the Caribbean to research a number of haunted areas there. What they discover will likely end up in another book or another tour.

Having lived in Maine for just short of 40 years she is very knowledgeable about Maine in general as well as specific areas. The one night she hangs her “off duty” sign is on Halloween.

“There’s a lot going on that night and we’re wrapping up our busy season at that time. This year, we’re actually volunteering at two different haunted houses on Halloween night.”

To learn more about Red Cloak Haunted History Tours visit: redcloakhauntedhistorytours.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA — If you happen to see a mysterious figure in a red cloak wandering through a cemetery in the weeks leading up to Halloween, do not be alarmed. Her name is Sally.

Ten years ago, Sally Lobkowicz, an experienced genealogy researcher living in Damariscotta, was working part time as a substitute teacher and providing elder care when she felt compelled to take her career in another direction.  She found it by setting up walking tours that would share her love of history, but not just Maine history...haunted Maine history. She found a red cloak, a unique branding element, and launched Red Cloak Haunted History Tours in Damariscotta, taking people both native and from away on lantern-lit evening tours of historic sites and ghostly haunts.

“It just snowballed from there,” said Lobkowicz, who now offers the evening walking tours in eight villages of Maine, including Camden and Rockland. In addition, she offers daytime tours, cemetery tours and private tours with the help of seven other red-caped tour guides she employs to be her surrogates.

Lobkowicz began looking into local ghost stories after hearing tales from locals. “I discovered that there are quite a lot of buildings that people feel are haunted in each of these towns, and some of the stories are quite chilling,” she said. “There are also plenty of interesting historic tales to recall.”

The tours take people through back streets and by buildings that even most locals don’t know have connections to hauntings. Take, for example, the Camden Post Office.

“There are a couple of different stories related to the post office,” she said. “It had a couple of jail cells in the basement used as a temporary holding area. There was also one death in that building.” See Camden historian Barbara Dyer’s story about its construction 100 years ago in a Pen Bay Pilot story.

And in Rockland, Lobkowicz knows of one house that is haunted — by a dog. “This lady shared with me that she has a ghost of a dog in her apartment,” she said. “In the night, she has felt the impression of a dog jumping up and laying down at the end of her bed. She said she discovered the woman who owned the apartment before her had a little dog and and that she and the dog passed on the same day.”

Unlike other pararnormal investigators who can “sense” a ghostly presence without equipment, Lobkowicz is forthright that her main focus is on the haunted history of a place.

“I have very little sensitivity to the spirits around us,” she said. “I’m more researched based, but my husband, Greg [Latimer], does have a little more sensitivity than I do. We tend to rely on instruments that are more scientific.” However, she added, her tour guests have been known to see or “pick up” on spirits that she can’t.

She and her husband have co-written two books on ghostly presences in Damariscotta and Boothbay and continue to work together on paranormal investigations. After the season wraps up at the end of the month, she and Latimer will travel down to the Caribbean to research a number of haunted areas there. What they discover will likely end up in another book or another tour.

Having lived in Maine for just short of 40 years she is very knowledgeable about Maine in general as well as specific areas. The one night she hangs her “off duty” sign is on Halloween.

“There’s a lot going on that night and we’re wrapping up our busy season at that time. This year, we’re actually volunteering at two different haunted houses on Halloween night.”

To learn more about Red Cloak Haunted History Tours visit: redcloakhauntedhistorytours.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA — If you happen to see a mysterious figure in a red cloak wandering through a cemetery in the weeks leading up to Halloween, do not be alarmed. Her name is Sally.

Ten years ago, Sally Lobkowicz, an experienced genealogy researcher living in Damariscotta, was working part time as a substitute teacher and providing elder care when she felt compelled to take her career in another direction.  She found it by setting up walking tours that would share her love of history, but not just Maine history...haunted Maine history. She found a red cloak, a unique branding element, and launched Red Cloak Haunted History Tours in Damariscotta, taking people both native and from away on lantern-lit evening tours of historic sites and ghostly haunts.

“It just snowballed from there,” said Lobkowicz, who now offers the evening walking tours in eight villages of Maine, including Camden and Rockland. In addition, she offers daytime tours, cemetery tours and private tours with the help of seven other red-caped tour guides she employs to be her surrogates.

Lobkowicz began looking into local ghost stories after hearing tales from locals. “I discovered that there are quite a lot of buildings that people feel are haunted in each of these towns, and some of the stories are quite chilling,” she said. “There are also plenty of interesting historic tales to recall.”

The tours take people through back streets and by buildings that even most locals don’t know have connections to hauntings. Take, for example, the Camden Post Office.

“There are a couple of different stories related to the post office,” she said. “It had a couple of jail cells in the basement used as a temporary holding area. There was also one death in that building.” See Camden historian Barbara Dyer’s story about its construction 100 years ago in a Pen Bay Pilot story.

And in Rockland, Lobkowicz knows of one house that is haunted — by a dog. “This lady shared with me that she has a ghost of a dog in her apartment,” she said. “In the night, she has felt the impression of a dog jumping up and laying down at the end of her bed. She said she discovered the woman who owned the apartment before her had a little dog and and that she and the dog passed on the same day.”

Unlike other pararnormal investigators who can “sense” a ghostly presence without equipment, Lobkowicz is forthright that her main focus is on the haunted history of a place.

“I have very little sensitivity to the spirits around us,” she said. “I’m more researched based, but my husband, Greg [Latimer], does have a little more sensitivity than I do. We tend to rely on instruments that are more scientific.” However, she added, her tour guests have been known to see or “pick up” on spirits that she can’t.

She and her husband have co-written two books on ghostly presences in Damariscotta and Boothbay and continue to work together on paranormal investigations. After the season wraps up at the end of the month, she and Latimer will travel down to the Caribbean to research a number of haunted areas there. What they discover will likely end up in another book or another tour.

Having lived in Maine for just short of 40 years she is very knowledgeable about Maine in general as well as specific areas. The one night she hangs her “off duty” sign is on Halloween.

“There’s a lot going on that night and we’re wrapping up our busy season at that time. This year, we’re actually volunteering at two different haunted houses on Halloween night.”

To learn more about Red Cloak Haunted History Tours visit: redcloakhauntedhistorytours.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PROSPECT — The scary clown sightings all around the country may be someone’s idea of a sick prank, but they are damaging the reputations of clowns both good and evil everywhere. 

By day, Andy Hall, 27, and Jeremy Sawyer, 28, are a post office clerk and a custodian, respectively. But every weekend in October when night falls, they don their oversized shoes and horror makeup. But make no mistake, these “scary clowns” are not the same as the ones marauding and terrorizing neighborhoods.

The two started off as friends at Searsport High more than 10 years ago, where they first shared the same love of dressing up as horror clowns for Halloween. Then, Sawyer had the idea to formalize their shared hobby. When they had enough clowns (to presumably fill one small car) the group named itself CarnEVIL, for the purpose of providing entertainment at Fright At The Fort, the Knox biggest Halloween haunted tour in Maine.

The one thing CarnEVIL does not do is go rogue. The “scary clown” phenomenon first developed in South Carolina with police reports of clowns trying to lure kids into the woods. The internet caught on and soon clown sightings spread to other states, including, naturally, the most haunted state in the U.S.— Maine—home of Stephen King’s penultimate evil clown Pennywise in the novel “It.”

For Sawyer, the phenomenon is not funny.

“Whatever these people are doing is overstepping boundaries, peeking in windows and getting in people’ personal space,” he said.

“The thought of people dressing up as clowns and going out to scare people alone and not part of some controlled situation for entertainment is something I can’t understand,” added Hall. “There’s a legitimate phobia of clowns as it is; it’s called coulrophobia. So, if these people dressed up as clowns coming out of the woods are trying to scare people randomly because they are bored or they’re trying to get attention, I don’t think it’s right. They’re not helping our group at all. It just perpetuates a stigma against our group and the Shriners. The Shriners dress up as clowns every year, not to be scary, but to volunteer at events and parades. They’re doing really good things for the community. If you think of a five-year-old kid who has been hearing about all of these scary clowns wandering in the dark, it doesn’t help us or the Shriners. We’re just trying to give people in a unique setting a good experience.”

Hall said his group has discussed the recent events of scary clown sightings in Maine prior to their Fright at the Fort appearances throughout October. Last week, police in Waldoboro investigated a report from multiple students at Medomak Valley High School who saw scary clowns on Manktown Road. Before that, a clown confronted a woman in Auburn, pointing his finger at her as though it were a gun and said “bang.” In response, the woman drew a handgun on the perpetrator and scared him off. Hall said, “I followed that story as well. My group has been concerned about it.”

There is one room dedicated to scary clowns at Fright at the Fort, and this year, Sawyer said, “We’re going to know everyone in that room and who is behind each costume. I’ve had to have extra precaution this year because of this.”

Though the Fright at the Fort events always have security and police monitoring the crowds and prohibit people from bringing in any weapons, Hall said the flight or fight in people is so strong in a haunted house environment that they are always prepared for inadvertent contact, probably even more so this year than any other year. “We’ve always been trained never to touch any of the participants of Fright at the Fort, but in the past, we’ve been punched and we’ve been hit. But, we’re ready for it and we have an amazing amount of volunteers who also keep an eye out for any trouble.”

He’s part of the 100 volunteers who orchestrate the haunted tour each year as nearly 8,000 people make their way through the Fort’s creepy corridors.

“I’m part of a group of 15 people who do what I do,” Sawyer said. “We all get along and have a lot of fun doing this each year. We’re very supportive and we help teenagers [who volunteer with CarnEVIL] get through high school with service hours.”

Keep that in mind lest you think this is all funny business.

To find out more about Fright at The Fort visit: fortknox.maineguide.com/Fright/

Related story: http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/freak-show-gonna-scare-you-silly/22428

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — A group of die-hard DJs and fans of community radio are trying to lay the groundwork in getting Belfast’s first community radio station established by the new year.

Jennifer Hill and Karen Nelson are two Waldo County DJs, who have affiliations with WERU in Blue Hill. Along with a group of about 18 others, Hill said the idea has been in the works for awhile, but now the timing is right.

“The City of Belfast can only get an FCC license every 15 years for a low-watt station and recently they applied for it and got it and now want to turn it over to our group to make it happen,” said Hill.

The group envisions that the low-power station will have a broadcasting area of 5-10 miles and will be operational by January 2017. A small 20-foot by 20-foot room in the basement of Waterfall Arts will be the site of the broadcasting studio.

Nelson’s background wasn’t originally in radio, but when she lived in North Carolina in 2001, she always had an interest in music. 

“I always wondered how do people got those jobs [to be a DJ] and one day, my favorite radio host said they were looking for trainees," she said. "I think my hand was on the phone before he stopped talking.”

After moving to Maine to 2010, Nelson took a radio spot at WERU called Maine Sunday Best, which she still currently hosts.

“To start something from the ground up here in Belfast from the ground up is intriguing," she said. "And now I can answer the question: ‘How do people get these kind of jobs?’”

“A lot of the people involved with this project are involved with WERU,” added Hill, who not only worked as an office manager for WERU but also hosted a show on the side.

“I think the best part of radio is the access,” she said. “You don’t need a computer or high-speed -nternet. All you need is a transistor radio you can buy at a yard sale for a buck.”

Modeled on sort of the same community feel as WRFR in Rockland, the Belfast Community Radio station slated to be on 100.9 FM will offer a diverse amount of live and recorded talk radio and music curated to individual tastes of their volunteer DJs. Programming ideas and principles are coming together right now as committees meet. “Belfast is such a cool community," said Hill. "There are all kinds of people here, old, young, people born here, people from away. And here’s a chance to coalesce the community in a way that we can hear each other. People always say ‘no one’s listens anymore.’ Well with radio, it’s all about listening.”

To make it happen, the group’s fundraising goal is to raise $20,000 by December 1 in order to purchase sound equipment. They plan on three major live fundraising events in addition to a Go Fund Me page and in-person donations being taken at Belfast City Hall.

The first event will happen Friday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. with a potluck supper and music jam at 17 Court Street in Belfast. The public is invited to bring a meal or beverage to share to this free event, which will be held at the former Court Street church.

Fundraising Committee leader and DJ Erik Klausmeyer will be spinning with other musicians to raise funds for the new station.

The group has various subcommittees working to follow through with their efforts and meets at the former Court Street Chuch on Monday nights. To learn more about the future station visit: www.belfastcommunityradio.org

ROCKLAND — Craigslist may be the largest classified advertisement websites in the world, but meeting up with strangers can get sketchy. And enough deals have gone bad —robberies, rapes, assaults, even homicide — that police stations around the country have begun to set up clearly marked, well-lit areas under surveillance for Craigslist exchanges.

In September, the Rockland Police Department decided to establish two safe exchange zones as well. One is designated right in their own parking lot at 1 Police Plaza and the other is in J.C. Penney’s parking lot in the Rockland Plaza.

“A couple of other agencies in the state have been doing this and Officer William Smith brought the idea to me, so I told him to to go ahead put it together,” said Deputy Chief Christopher Young. “Obviously, our parking lot is probably one of the safest places to exchange or sell an item, but the representatives from Rockland Plaza were willing to get on board and offer another site. They have great surveillance in that area as well.”

 Young said he hasn’t seen any incidents prior to setting up these zones, but said, “Any time these exchanges take place, there’s is always the potential for something to go wrong. It’s not just a matter of personal safety, but if something were fraudulent in the exchange or a theft, we’d have a license plate on camera and identification of someone on camera.”

Another advantage of preparing to meet at a safe exchange zone is to gauge the intent of the person you’re trying to meet.

“If that person did not want to meet at this designated space, that would be a red flag, a real concern if I were on the other half of that transaction,” said Young.

Young had other common sense tips for setting up a safe exchange.

“Meeting in broad daylight is always better,” he said. “I understand that people have to work, but try to make the exchange on a day off rather than at night after work. Also, bring another adult with you. If someone intended to meet up with you for nefarious purposes, having another adult there is probably going to curb anything he or she intend to do. And when you do the exchange, conduct it outside the vehicle. Don’t ever get into the other person’s vehicle.”

Beyond Craiglist, these safe zones are also useful for selling household items, virtual yard sales, car sales and money exchanges. One exception, which Young stresses, is that gun sales at these zones are prohibited.

“Given the climate across the country right now, the last place we want to see gun transactions taking place are in the middle of a busy parking lot. The decision to limit the sale of firearms was not done to infringe upon anyone’s second amendment rights.  It was the decision of the police department to limit these transactions to avoid a potential tragedy. It’s that simple.”

Young points out that if someone has a constitutional right to carry a gun (and is not meeting for the purpose of selling it), that’s different and allowed.

“I would just say for your safety, and the safety of our officers, keep it concealed,” he said.

If you have any questions about these safe exchange zones, contact the Rockland Police Department at call: 207-593-9132

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

This is our last weekend of above-average summer-like temperatures until Hurricane Matthew decides to ruin our fun, so enjoy all the leaf peeping, festivals and food and beer-wine pairings for your Columbus Day Weekend. 

Killer Road Trip: Bring Your Own Apples Free Cider Press

Friday, Oct. 7—Bangor

Want to make your own cider (hard or non-alcoholic) from fresh local apples, but don't have access to a cider press? Wouldn't it be cool if a local homebrew shop offered a free Bring-Your-Own-Apples cider pressing event this fall...? Central Street Farmhouse in Bangor is offering to press your apples for free from 2 to 8 p.m. The event takes place in the Pocket Park, right next to the store.

Taste of Thomaston

Saturday, Oct. 8—Thomaston

Here’s some tasty goodness. Knox Museum's wildly popular annual food and wine tasting festival is back, celebrating everything local, featuring 30+ signature bites and sips from Midcoast Maine's finest chefs, growers, vintners & brewers, cheese artisans, bakers, and more. The event rain or shine goes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $55 Museum Members/$75 General Admission/$125 VIP passes ($100 for Knox Museum Signature Society Members). FMI: Taste of Thomaston

Killer Road Trip: Swine and Stein Octoberfest

Saturday, Oct. 8—Gardiner

Get your porky fix with the 6th Annual Swine & Stein Octoberfest,  a trifecta of beer, food, and music. A beer tasting will showcase the incredible diversity and quality of Maine craft beers. Restaurants and local food vendors from Gardiner and across the state will serve up a variety of interesting culinary dishes featuring local pork along with other quality menu items. Adding to the festivities, a line-up of favorite and emerging Maine bands will entertain throughout the day, including Gunther Brown..11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. downtown Gardiner. $20 day of, $10 designated driver. FMI:
For tickets and other info, visit http://www.gardinermainstreet.org/events/swine-and-stein-oktoberfest/

Hope Orchard Fall Festival

Sunday, Oct. 9—Gardiner

Apple pie and hard cider lovers, this one’s for you. Fiber, yarn, candles, household ornamentals, fabric creations, & glasswork will be featured along with wood-fired pizza and harvest sandwiches will be for sale, provided by Uproot Pie Company and Washington General Store. Music on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m featuring Rosey and the Wayfaring Stranger.

Great Pumpkin Drop

Monday, Oct. 10—Damariscotta

Since this is an extended weekend, we’re including a Monday event which is sure to thrill the kiddos and the little kiddo inside you. Watch as  600-pound Atlantic giant pumpkins will be dropped from a 180-foot crane onto targets ranging from a local police department’s junked-cruiser to double-decker junked-cars stacked on top of one another! In the green-spirit of recycling, the splattered pumpkin pulp is gathered for eventual pig feed at a local farm, and the previously junked-cars are recycled as scrap metal. The renowned rock band “Nikki Hunt Band” will be performing from 1 to 4 p.m. FMI: mainepumpkinfest.com

Kay Stephens can be reached atnews@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA — Last winter, Quinn Gormley, an organizer for the Mid Coast Queer Collective based out of Damariscotta, got a call from a member of the organization at 2 in the morning. “It was in the middle of February and this person had just been kicked out of his house after coming out to his family,” she said. “He was 10 miles from downtown with no transportation. He didn’t even have good winter clothing; it was 10 degrees below and they had no place to go.”

It was a scary moment for the organization, which scrambled to try and find this person some short-term help; it was also a watershed moment.

Of all of the homeless youth under the age of 24 in the U.S., 40 percent identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, said Gormley, adding they are at the highest risk of homelessness.

MCQC operates a drop-in program at Skidompha Library. “Homelessness is showing up more and more in our drop-in program,” said Gormley. “Frequently it was happening at times when the individual was coming out and housing instability or homelessness would then occur very suddenly.”

In the Damariscotta area, the nearest youth homelessness shelter is an hour away, in Portland, and there are frequently no beds available. More importantly, homeless shelters by and large are are not necessarily welcoming places to L.G.B.T.Q. people, according to Gormley, who has heard this time and again from MCQC members who fear for their safety.

The larger solution — providing an L.G.B.T.Q.-welcoming homeless shelter in that area — is not a reality at this time. What these homeless youth do instead, is couch surf at friends’ places, sleep in cars or shuffle around to extended family.

“These are really temporary solutions,” said Gormley.

The organization has been working since last winter to find alternative solutions. “We realized we can’t solve homelessness, but we can do something about helping youth who are thrust out of their homes suddenly,” she said. “When they are in temporary shelters and need basic resources and supplies to survive, we thought to put together “safety packs.”

Like a military bug-out bag, a portable kit that normally contains the items one would require to survive for 72 hours when evacuating from a disaster, MCQC has put out a call to the community to donate items for safety packs for immediately homeless L.G.B.T.Q. youth.

“The idea is when we learn someone is coming out and think it’s not going to be safe, we give them the backpack ahead of time,” said Gormley. “So, if they get kicked out, they have the go-bag with school supplies, warm clothing and that kind of stuff. And eventually, we’re going to add TracFones.”

The items needed for a safety pack include:  A large backpack (rolling bag or duffle); a tiny lock that fits on a backpack zipper; an emergency blanket; a face cloth; a basic first aid kit (bandage strips and butterfly bandages in assorted sizes, over-the-counter pain relievers, alcohol wipes, elastic wrap bandages); basic toiletries (travel-size toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, comb, nail clipper, hand sanitizer, 18 tampons-they have multiple uses, roll of toilet paper); no. 2 pencils and a small pencil sharpener; a box of black pens; a small notepad; and a Reny’s or similar gift card. Donated items do not have to be exactly as described above; a close approximation is fine.

Asked about the tampons, Gormley said, “All of the items in the bag aren’t just randomly assembled. We actually reached out to homeless L.G.B.T.Q. youth and asked them specifically what they needed, and they said that tampons are really useful for bloody noses. If you’re outside all night, you’re going to get a bloody nose.”

The drive to assemble the safety packs started in June and at this time, they now have five completed packs to give away.

“Our target is to assemble at least 50 of them before the snow flies,” Gormley said.

Items may be dropped off either at the Second Congregational Church’s office or at the office of Skidompha Public Library Executive Pam Gormley.

Related link:

• Maine State Housing Authority Emergency Shelters

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Though there are wonderful qualities to Maine, it’s not always “vacationland” and for some, life can take an unexpected downturn. The breadwinner in the family loses a job, and stable housing. A woman beaten by her husband, takes the kids and runs. A veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder comes home to a broken marriage. A drug addict finds herself without a stick of furniture as she works to better her life and start fresh.

These are the realities that a life-time resident of Rockland, Sharon Setz, and her friend of 30 years, Lori Alice Friant, know only too well. Setz and Friant started a nonprofit last spring called The Ripple Initiative. In September, The Ripple Initiative opened their shop in the converted garage of a friend at the corner of Union and Willow streets in Rockland.

The shop is the physical manifestation of Setz’s decades of networking throughout Rockland, finding donated furniture and goods from neighbors and friends that she can turn around and pass on to families impacted by poverty.

Setz has always been one of those community members who has helped out her neighbors. A former house painter and house cleaner, she has spent many years organizing a Secret Santa drive for neighbors in need, something she said she wished she could have done full-time. Friant, a former waitress, did the same kind of community giving in Lewiston and Portland before she moved to Rockland.

“I never thought I had anything to offer, other than some charitable giving, but Sharon took it to another level,” said Friant.

“For years, I’ve been dreaming about doing this year-round,” Setz said.

A chance meeting with a friend who works in nonprofits told her she could do this full time. After a year of getting their ideas into a business plan and the nonprofit status complete, Setz and Friant have established their mission and opened their doors.

“The idea just came together, that we would just find quality things at estate sales or donated items and would sell them to people who could afford it,” said Setz. “The income would allow us to do things for free for people who can’t afford it. For example, when the Hospitality House finds permanent housing for their homeless families, we give them a number of household items, all free.”

Essentially the Ripple Initiative’s mission is three-fold: to sell quality items in the shop and pass the profits into more resources for the areas’ impoverished; to collect donations of household goods and furniture through a neighbor-to-neighbor clearinghouse and give them away free to families in need; and to eventually set up a website registry, similar to a bridal registry, where they can match individual needs with specific donations.

“My garage and basement is constantly filled with items like mattresses and household furniture,” said Friant. “If we get a call from Hospitality House or from someone moving into an apartment or house with absolutely nothing, we want to give them a bed, a dresser, coffee maker, a microwave, silverware, shower curtain, a toilet scrubber—hundreds of dollars worth of items for free that it would cost them to set up a proper household.”

“We also go to estate sales, and people make appointments to donate something to us,” added Setz. “I know a lot of people here.”

Asked why people should choose to donate  their items to The Ripple Initiative, Setz said, “The donations and profits go to charitable endeavors in this community—your neighbor, instead of going to people out of state.”

The Ripple Initiative thrives on the premise that when people are given a helping hand by neighbors, the person is uplifted and pays it forward in donations when they’ve successfully broken the cycle of poverty.

“I’ve seen it time and again,” said Setz, pointing to several pieces in the store. “These are beautiful donations from several people we’ve helped before.”

The shop is beautifully appointed with quality antiques, mid-century furniture, artwork and necessary household items.

“We’re very selective in what we take in from people,” said Setz.

“We don’t take anything broken or chipped,” added Friant. “The items you get are in very good shape. We only take in things you’d be proud to have in your own home.”

Unlike Goodwill, people are not encouraged to “drop off” items; instead donations are accepted by appointment only.

For more information visit: The Ripple Initiative

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT — Wait, The Wizard of Oz is a banned book?

For Banned Books Week, Rockport Public Library’s Youth Services Librarian Ben Odgren pulled some beloved classics and newer literary sensations off the bookshelves on Wednesday night,September  in a presentation to exemplify which books are still being banned in school libraries all over the nation.

Take the book by L. Frank Baum that first introduced the world to the Yellow Brick Road in 1900. According to Kristina Rosenthal from the University of Tulsa, the reason provided for the book’s banning in all public libraries in 1928 was because the story was ungodly for “depicting women in strong leadership roles.”

Then there’s Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the best novels of the 20th Century and yet, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, one of the most challenged and banned classical books. The reasons have varied over the years from institutionalized racism to vulgar content.

The more young adult literature adapts to the culture of modern times, the more challenges and bans libraries are bound to see. Contemporary favorites such as the ‘Harry Potter’ series has been banned by religious parents for glorifying witchcraft while the dystopic ‘Hunger Games’ novel series has been banned for being anti-family, anti-ethnic, violent and dabbling in the occult/satanic. Even the children’s picture book, ‘And Tango Makes Three,’ which topped the 2010 banned list, got targeted for “homosexuality, religious viewpoint” as reported by the Office of Intellectual Freedom. Based on a true story, the picture book depicts a Central Park zookeeper who observed the close companionship of two male penguins and had built a nest together. So, the zookeeper gave them an egg from another penguin couple to care for. When it hatched, the baby penguin chick named Tango had two daddies. When it was published in 2005, it challenged assumptions about what constitutes a family.

 According to Banned Books Week’s website, “Hundreds of books have been either removed or challenged in schools and libraries in the United States every year. According to the American Library Association (ALA), there were at least 311 in 2014.  ALA estimates that 70 to 80 percent are never reported.”

“It’s mainly school libraries where books gets challenged, which is what has to happen first,” said Odgren. The library has to provide a challenge form which allows the person to provide written reasons for wanting the book removed. The library then has to appoint a committee of citizens, a book jury, if you will, in order to review the complaint and ultimately uphold the ban or dismiss it.  “We’ve never had a book challenged or banned in the Rockport Library, as far as I know,” said Odgren. “I think what parents who do challenge a book want to see happen is that the book is replaced by another on a particular English curriculum. Either they want the book removed for everyone or just want the book changed out for another for their child.”

Odgren said often a banned book has the opposite intended effect, making the young adult want to read it more. “The young adults are wondering ‘what’s in that book that they don’t want me to know about?”

“That’s the problem with banned books in general,” said Odgren. “One person who decides that the book is not fit for his or her child is making the decision for everyone not to read it, once it is banned from a library.”

To learn more about what made last year’s Top Ten banned books on Banned Books Week visit: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — The kidnapping of a Rockland woman as she left work Wednesday night has shocked this community. Violent crime of this nature is not something that people in small towns generally have to worry about and the aftermath of the attack has left many women feeling vulnerable.

According to police, a Portland man drove to Rockland and waited in his car until he spotted his victim. A young woman left work at 11:30 p.m. to walk home. She was walking on Main Street, near the intersection of Cedar Street.

According to the police report, she noticed the perpetrator open his car door with a ski mask on. When he grabbed her and tried to pull her into the vehicle, she fought back, until he got her in a choke hold and caused her to lose consciousness. The man dragged her into the passenger’s side of his sports utility vehicle where she regained consciousness. Soon after, she realized a police cruiser was following them with blue lights on. Despite the perpetrator trying to shove her out of the car and threatening to kill her, the woman grabbed the steering wheel in an attempt to jerk the vehicle off the road. As a result, the perpetrator was apprehended by police officers as he attempted to flee the car.

Deputy Chief Christopher Young received the call when it happened and has advice for women on how to protect themselves.

“I would say this is an isolated incident, “ he said. “The perpetrator had no connection to the area, which makes this that much more disturbing, but Rockland is still a safe community.”

From the beginning of this incident to the end, he said the young woman did everything right.

“First, women need to be vigilant when they are walking to their cars or down the street in the dark,” said Young. “Pay less attention to your cell phone and more attention to your surroundings. I know with modern technology, you sometimes want a little bit of entertainment as you’re walking home, but I think the number one preventative behavior is put the phone away and look around to your surroundings. Let someone know when you are leaving late at night from one location and when you plan to arrive at the other. Let them know the route you intend to take.”

On comment boards in reaction to this article, several women have indicated they will start walking around with a gun or pepper spray from now on.

Young said: “One thing I would always caution is that if you feel the need to go out and buy pepper spray, you need to know how that will affect you. There are environmental factors that can work against you, such as wind shift, which can blow it back on your face. If the perpetrator were to get the pepper spray away from you, it could be used on you instead. You really need to know how to react to that. We don’t allow our officers to carry pepper spray until they’ve been sprayed in the face, so they understand the effects and their incapacitation level.”

As far as a gun, the same advice applies.

“You need to be familiar with any type of a weapon you intend to carry to deploy as part of self-defense,” he said.

Young said that women need to trust their gut instinct.

“If there is any issue, I don’t care how insignificant it is where you feel uncomfortable going somewhere by yourself, call us. We’ll make sure you get to your car safely.”

At the very least, he said, ask a male co-worker or friend to walk you to your vehicle or to a safe place.

The police and community point to the young woman’s willingness to fight her attacker, despite his threats, as the reason for her survival. At one point, she was actually able to make a 911 phone call, as well.

“If women want to feel safer, they can also sign up for a local self-defense class and learn some counter attack strategies,” said Young. “In this particular case, with this particular victim, she put up a fight. And that fight more than likely caused the car accident that ended the chase.”

For more “street-smart” self-defense tips for women visit: attackproof.com To reach the Rockland Police Department call: 207-593-9132

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

From Belfast to Waldoboro (and a Portland road trip), we’ve got an eclectic lineup of hot jazz, cold bourbon, Maine craft arts and brews, a fashion show and art-comedy-music fest in Portland.

Kentucky Bourbon Tasting with Workshop

Friday, Sept. 30—Waldoboro

Kentucky native Scott Byrd will be giving a three-hour presentation through the Medomak Arts Project in Waldoboro about why the best bourbon originated in Kentucky and how Maine’s Prohibition affected its production and sale, among other interesting history tidbits. An optional tasting will also occur. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and costs $20. They strongly encourage you to check before just showing up by emailing jminzy@gmail.com or calling 832-4774. FMI: Medomak Arts Project

Maine Craft Weekend

Saturday, Oct. 1 to Sunday, Oct. 2—Midcoast

It’s going to be a great weekend for a road trip throughout the backroads of the Midcoast. As part of the annual state-wide self-guided tour of Maine’s craft studios and breweries, not necessarily on the beaten path, here’s an opportunity to explore the life and work of craft artists featuring participants all over the state who are not regularly open to the public or who have planned special MCW events and demonstrations at their locations. Plan a route to include a pottery wheel lesson and a glass blowing demonstration in the morning, swing by a brew pub for lunch, wrap up the day perusing a craft show.  Here’s what’s going on in the Midcoast. Also, see our recent story on one man who created his own dream job by foraging in the forests and beaches.

Knitmaine-ia Fashion Show to Benefit New Hope for Women

Saturday, Oct. 1—Belfast

Fashion shows are so few and far between up here, this one is worth a mention. An afternoon fashion show is taking place at the Belfast Boat House from 2 to 4 p.m. For the seventh year, Knitmaine-ia celebrates diverse fiber arts traditions with hand-knitted, crocheted and felted garments and accessories both modeled and displayed. Tickets are $12 and all proceeds are donated to New Hope For Women

Killer Road Trip: Waking Windows Fest in Portland

Saturday, Oct. 1—Portland

Here we go, something for everybody. I love daytime festivals. Waking Windows is a music, arts, comedy, and literature festival that will take place in downtown Portland, and will feature more than 60 performers in 10 venues. Tickets are $25 for a day pass and can be bought here. All of the events kick off at noon. FMI: more info.

The Hot Sardines at the Strand

Sunday, Oct. 2—Rockland

Coming in with a band name that would sure to be on Opus the penguin’s iPod, The Hot Sardines are up from New York City to play the Strand Theatre. This jazz collective that Downbeat called “one of the most delightfully energetic bands on New York’s ‘hot’ music scene,” is steeped in “hot, foot-stomping jazz, salty stride piano, and the kind of music Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt and Fats Waller used to make.” General admission is $45 and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

MONTVILLE — As Maine Craft Weekend approaches, there’s one artist in Liberty who is living the artist’s dream. Mark Guido, like many people who live in Maine, had to get by on multiple jobs, working as a mason, a builder, and even a teacher, before he discovered his true path. 

“I started making rustic furniture out of found materials in the woods, such as Speckled Alder,” he said. “Initially, I was introduced to a guy who made furniture like this and I figured out how to do it on my own, making chairs, tables, shelves and magazine racks. But, then, I began to collect stones. I was still working as a mason at the time and still had a lot of tools to work with brick and stone, so I just started making decorative pieces out of them.”

For the last six years, Guido has been self-employed making and selling rustic furnishings in a business called Timberstone Rustic Arts. His studio can be found in  Montville on Route 3.

Guido said he goes out to approved areas, such as certain islands and private landowner’s beach areas with permission and find smooth rocks, mostly granite.

“Mother Nature shaped it; I just collect it,” he said.

His smallest stone pieces are toothpick holders and beautifully Japanese inspired single flower vases. The largest pieces are shallow birdbaths and fountains.

“When I see a stone, I’ll instantly see what I’m going to make out of it,” he said.

Guido said some of his ideas have come from other stone workers, and some just come from seeing items in stores or online made out of wood plastic, such an an iPod holder.

“If I see something like that, a functional piece of art, I just figure out a way to make it out of stone,” he said. 

A few of his crafted pieces are his own original concepts such as the stacked stone lamp. The stones range from biggest to smallest and he works with a 14-year-old apprentice down the road named Dylan Marsh to create the handmade paper lampshades. Dylan is homeschooled and helps Guido three hours a day on his orders, from polishing and drilling rocks to constructing the lampshades by hand. Learning this kind of craft from Guido has prompted Dylan to make his own stone crafts.

“Mark said he’d come hunt me down if I competed with his business,” Dylan joked.

Another original concept Guido invented is a liquor dispenser made from a chunk of granite he finds in a Frankfort quarry. After shaping and polishing the rectangular block, he drills the top down in and affixes a spigot, with the bottle resting upside down at the top and a spigot below, an invention he’s currently getting a patent on.

He said other ideas come from customers themselves. At a recent craft show, he said a customer came up to him and said, “Mark, when are you going to make sponge holders?”

That, as they, say,was a no-brainer. All he had to do is drill out a slot in a relatively flat round rock. 

“I probably sell about 500 a year,” he said.

Guido collects rocks probably about five times a year, enough to keep him working and selling year round.

“Figuring out how to create cool things out of found materials, and knowing that people love them is probably the most satisfying part of this,” he said. “A finished piece starts in the woods or on a beach and I know that’s going to keep me in a job for the next year.”

Guido, like other crafters, artisans and brewers is gearing up for the Maine Craft Weekend in the Midcoast October 1-2. The Midcoast section of the self-guided tour features participants who are not regularly open to the public, or who have planned special MCW events and demonstrations at their locations. Tour-takers are invited to plan a route that includes a lesson, a demo, a craft beer lunch and a craft exhibit to name a few. For more information about Maine Craft Weekend, visit mainecraftweekend.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center has had a wild ride in September, with a nearly overwhelming influx of animals rescued from certain death (see our recent story:P.A.W.S. walloped by discovery of 20 sick barn cats,) but one project they’d been planning for has been fulfilled.

“We regularly bring up animals from high-kill shelters from the south,” said Executive Director Shelly Butler. “But with all of the flooding in Louisiana that has been happening recently, shelters down there are even more crowded than usual.”

Six puppies, (ranging in age from 11 weeks to 7 months) were set to be euthanized when P.A.W.S’ partner rescue organizations and volunteers in Georgia and Texas scooped them up from the county kill-shelters, in some cases on their last day of life.

“These organizations literally pull the dogs off the floor and get them healthy,” Butler said. “They either then find foster homes or adopt them out and we’re the third party down the line. When they cannot find any other no-kill shelters to take them in, then they’ll transport them up in a van to us in Maine.”

Both Butler and Claudia Eekels, director of operations, have probably worked 50-plus-hour weeks this month, with all that’s been going on.

“On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 11, after dealing with the influx of the barn cat colony, I met the volunteer van driver at midnight and got all the dogs comfortably in the kennel,” said Butler. “It’s just what we do.”

The Southern U.S. tends to have an overpopulation of dogs as opposed to the Northern part of the country. According to Southern Roots Rescue, “Despite the low cost spay and neuter programs that are offered to low income families, pet owners do not have their pets altered and this is the major factor in why most southern shelters are consistently overcrowded.” Hundreds of dogs that are strays or surrendered by their owners are placed into shelters on a weekly basis. And when the shelters become overcrowded, the staff often has to make the agonizing decision to give a dog a certain number of days to live before they are forced to euthanize them.

In the last three months, P.A.W.S. has transported in 20 dogs from their rescue partners, San Antonio Pets ALIVE! and Doggie Harmony. In the upcoming months, they also plan to continue helping their partners and plan to transport 10 dogs a month to the shelter.

“These dogs from our partners are just some beautiful, healthy, energetic dogs that need a loving home,” said Butler. “They’re here getting a fresh start.”

Barn Cat Update: To date, through the generosity of the community, P.A.W.S. has raised $9,500 for the medical care of the barn cat kittens and their mothers. All of the cats are responding well to the antibiotics and the staff anticipates all of them to be available for adoption in the next two weeks. (Read about them here: P.A.W.S. walloped by discovery of 20 sick barn cats

“We are so grateful for the compassion and overwhelming generosity from our community,” said Butler. “Not only does it reinforce the true reason we are here — to care for those animals that cannot care for themselves — but it warms our hearts knowing the community supports our mission and cares so deeply for animals in need.”

To learn more about how you can adopt an animal, volunteer or donate, call 236-8702 or visit P.A.W.S. at 123 John St. in Camden.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE—When we last checked in with Wesley Henderson of Lincolnville, the soon-to-be eighth grader had competed with his peers from Studio Red in a New England competition at Westbrook Performing Arts Center this past spring, after which he’d been awarded one of five $500 scholarships to the prestigious Hollywood Summer Tour in Los Angeles, California.

Wesley fundraised for the trip himself and in July, he and his mother flew to Hollywood.

Now back in Maine, he told us of his experiences, starting with flying for the first time.

“Not a lot of people like flying on a plane,” he said. “My mom was just like ‘ugh.’ But, when I got on, and all the little things like being given peanuts made me so happy.”

The Hollywood Summer Tour is an invitation-only dance career intensive intended for advanced dancers who are serious about learning about the commercial dance industry in Hollywood. The kids were mentored by top industry professionals who are actively working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, including
dancers for Britney Spears, Madonna, Will Smith, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Rhianna, Missy Elliott as well as those who’ve performed on shows like Cirque du Soleil, So You Think You Can Dance All-Star, The X-Factor and America’s Got Talent to name a few.

Once ensconced in L.A., Wesley, along with dancers his age all around the country jumped into the first of six days of intensive dance lessons.

His first class was taught by a French ballet teacher.

“She’s a professional ballet dancer who has been on Broadway,” he said. “It was kind of nerve wracking. You look around and see all of these really good dancers here and ask yourself am I going to stand out?”

Turns out a few kids in that first class felt the same way.

“It was really hard for a couple kids,” he said. There was one girl I could see getting upset. She was really good, but I could see how frustrated she was that she wasn’t getting the moves down. Same with me. Ballet wasn’t my strong suit. You kind of have to trust yourself that no one is going to judge you. You’re still dancing, you’re having fun.”

Along with a variety of dance classes in hip hop, street jazz and acrobatic dance, he also got to participate in Q & A sessions with industry professionals, do a head shot and red carpet photo shoot and a professional dance demo reel, which he now use as part of his dance resume.

On the last day he met Adam Sevani, an American actor and dancer, known for playing Robert Alexander III (or "Moose") in Step Up movie series, one of Wesley’s favorite dance movies. “Meeting him was so cool,” he said. “When I saw him come up on stage, I was like...”

And here, without saying anything, his face said it all. He was mesmerized.

In addition to being able to see Disneyland, Universal Studios and other parts of California, he and his mom packed a lot of experiences into one week. “I feel like I got much stronger,” Wesley said. “After getting home, I had jet lag, but we had dance camp the next day, so I just toughed through it. Being out there for a week actually pushed me harder to be a better dancer.”

The Hollywood Summer Tour has been known to cultivate exceptional young dancers and bring them into the industry when they’re older, something Wesley has his sights on.

“I’m already planning on going back out there when I’m older,” he said. 

Related story: Twelve-year-old Lincolnville boy heads to Hollywood on dance scholarship

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

As we ease on into the first official weekend of fall, the shift is being felt in the music, scenes and events in the Midcoast this weekend. This time of year in Maine it’s like walking around on Tatooine during the day and Hoth at night, so layer up and enjoy the outdoors ad nighttime events.

Last Belfast Art Walk of Summer

Friday, Sept. 23—Belfast

This is the last Belfast art walk of the summer before the snow flies, so get hoofing. Explore the galleries in downtown Belfast from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and catch the former artists of Aarhus Gallery at the Belfast Framer & Betts Gallery for a special show and opening reception at 5:30 p.m. Featured performers for the September Art Walk are Kate Hall singing to the accompaniment of pianist Lincoln Blake. Special changes include the ever-changing and always enticing Pop Up Art Tents, full of sly surprises, courtesy of Our Town Belfast. Maine Farmland Trust will be coordinating ‘farm to gallery’ food tastings, celebrating the synergy of local food movement and art.

Toughcats play Three Tides

Saturday, Sept. 24—Belfast

They may not be around as much anymore because they’re touring the country, but Toughcats, Three Tides favorite go-to band is coming back for a show from 8-11 p.m. This Americana Pop Rock band originally from The Fox Islands will be back to thump and pluck their way into your heart.

The Common Ground Country Fair

Friday, Sept. 23 to Sunday, Sept. 25

Every year people have this total love-love relationship with the Common Ground Fair. You’ll have all weekend to appreciate it. This annual celebration of rural living, with 1,400-plus exhibitors and speakers emphasizes vibrant communities, sustainable living and local economies, while highlighting organic agriculture. Gates open at 9 a.m. each day. Click for advance and regular ticket information.Toughcats play Three Tides Saturday, Sept. 24—Belfast They may not be around as much anymore because they’re touring the country, but Toughcats, Three Tides favorite go-to band is coming back for a show from 8-11 p.m. This Americana Pop Rock band originally from The Fox Islands will be back to thump and pluck their way into your heart.

Pemaquid Oyster Fest

Sunday, Sept. 25—Damariscotta

Shuck it up and get ready for the always-popular Pemaquid Oyster Festival in downtown Damariscotta on Schooner Landing's riverside deck from 12 p.m. to dusk. As always, the Pemaquid Oyster Festival will feature a great line-up of entertainment, food, educational exhibits and thousands of oysters fresh from the Damariscotta River. Besides freshly shucked oysters and cold local beer, don’t miss the Oyster Poetry readings at 2 p.m. and the Maine Champion Oyster Shucking Contest starting at 3 p.m. FMI: Shucking and Poetry

The Muppet Movie

Sunday, Sept. 25—Rockland

Admit it. You love this movie. It doesn’t matter if it’s for kids; Muppet movies have always had a sly wink for the adults as well. The Strand Theatre is hosting the original 1979 “The Muppet Movie” for audiences of all ages. It’s only $3 and the show starts at 12:30 p.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SEARSPORT — September’s Mini Maker Faire in Camden produced some wonderfully strange inventions, but perhaps most noticeable was a large, brown, square structure on the street, something looking like a tool shed with an accordian-shaped facade. It was, in fact, a giant camera obscura, or pinhole camera, designed by John Bielenberg and constructed by him with the help of carpenter Richard Mann.

“It was created last summer for Penobscot Marine Museum’s Magic of Photography exhibit,’ said Kevin Johnson, Penobscot Marine Museum’s photo archivist.

There’s a small door to the walk-in camera. Inside there are benches on either side that can accommodate up to 10 people. On a sunny day, the only light to come in from a 1-½ inch aperture reflects on a white screen on the opposite wall. Once inside the camera and your eyes adjust, watching the images come through the aperture seem like you’re watching a a silent movie. Only...something’s off.

“It’s very educational, because once inside you see how a camera actually sees the world, which is upside down and backwards,” said Johnson.

“A camera obscura is the Latin word for ‘dark room,’” he said. “It’s a natural effect. It wasn’t invented. It was discovered nearly 2,000 thousand years ago, that light passing through a pinhole produces an inverted image on the opposite wall of a darkened room."

An experienced photographer with vintage cameras himself, Johnson explained how it worked. “Rays of light travels in a straight line, so light reflected off the sky is reflected in a downward angle and light reflected off the ground is reflecting back up. Believe it or not, your eyes actually see the world the same way as this upside down backward image on the wall. Your pupil is the pinhole, but your brain corrects the image so that it is right side up.”

Camera obscuras are not new. They were created as simply a box with a tiny aperture to let in daylight.

“They didn’t have a way to capture images at the time, but it was used extensively by Italian Renaissance painters to trace the landscape upon paper or canvas,” said Johnson. “They desired to capture perspective and depth-of-field to pinpoint accuracy. Then, they’d take the paper and turn it right side up again and use that to create their art.”

With any invention, there’s a bit of trial and error. “When we first constructed this piece, we had an aperture the size of a dime and the images projected upon the wall were incredible sharp,” he said. “But you’d have to sit here about 15 minutes before your eyes could properly see the images.” Carving out a slightly larger aperture sped up the time the human eye could register the images.”

Johnson said the camera was a huge hit at the Mini Maker Faire and was full from start to finish. The only thing they didn’t think about is how hot it would get inside. “When we constructed it the winter of 2015, we weren’t thinking it would be a sauna in the warmer months,” he joked.

The giant camera had to be specially moved by Belmont Boatworks using a crane and boat trailer and has now been re-positioned back on the front lawn of the Penobscot Marine museum in Searsport for the remainder of the season, which ends Oct. 17.  Johnson is hoping to find funding for a custom trailer for the structure, so it can be moved to travel to schools, festivals and fairs.

For more information about Penobscot Marine Museum’s past photography exhibits visit: Penobscot Marine Museum/Photograph

Kay Stephens can be reached atnews@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Robbie Trowbridge, a sixth-grader at Cape Elizabeth Middle School, came up to Camden with his mother, Nina, for the Mini Maker Faire, held at the Camden Public Library Amphitheatre on Sept. 10, 2016.

Although officially part of the Maker Faire, he didn’t have a booth or a project to display. Instead, his project was to interview both the Makers and the participants, and edit the audio recordings using audio editing software to tell people’s stories.

Q: What made you want to come all the way up to the Camden Mini Maker Faire?

A: I thought it would be cool to make an audio recording or what everyone else was doing.

Q: What gave you the idea to be the reporter on the scene?

A: I went to a camp last summer at The Telling Room, where we went out on the streets of Portland and we would ask people all sorts of different questions and create Vox Pops and then edit the audio. So, I wanted to make one for the Faire.

Q: What’s a Vox Pop?

A: A Vox Pop is a collection of audio of a bunch of people asking other people the same question. The interviewer records and and then puts together all the different answers. [Note: Vox Pop is short for vox populi}

Q: Give us an idea of some of the questions and answers you asked people at the Faire.

A: I went up to some Makers who I thought were doing really cool things, like one woman who glued all of these playing cards together in a circle and it looked like the cards were going through each other. I also interviewed some people just going to the Faire, some kids, some adults. A bunch of people said that Makers were going to change the world with new ideas and technology. Like, because of Makers, the world will be easier for people.

Q: Reporter to reporter, let me ask you this: was it tough to go up to strangers and ask questions?

A: Before I did the camp last summer, it was really tough to go up and just talk to people. I’d look around for about 20 minutes before I would talk to someone because I was really nervous. But, now I go up and do it pretty easily I think.

Q: What kind of equipment did you use to create a Vox Pop?

A: I had a little digital recorder. I used Hindenburg editing software to design and put together the Vox Pop.

Q: We’d love to hear a little of your audio project.

A: Sure. Here’s a few minutes. [Note we converted Robbie’s .mp3 audio file into a YouTube video, which is attached to this story.]

For more photos from this year’s Mini Maker Faire visit: Camden Public Library’s Facebook

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

I wrote a number on the back of a cocktail napkin last night that I’m looking at right now, and which says “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini.” Perfect sentiment for this weekend with a beautiful day Friday and possible showers late Saturday and Sunday. So who cares? It still feels like summer, right?

Great Maine Outdoor Weekend

Friday, Sept. 16, to Sunday, Sept. 18 — statewide

In three days, 100-plus events are scheduled all around Maine to celebrate the outdoors, from moonlight paddles to spectacular hikes. Locally, we’ve got a few special things going on.  Here are more suggestions as well as a map

Mic Mac Mayhem Musical Festival

Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17 — Union

Happening rain or shine, this low-key campground music festival features the bands Jonesville, Midlife Crisis, the Midnight Riders, $2 Pistol and the Dyer Neck Gang over the course of the weekend. Campers are $20 pp or $30 couple for the whole weekend. Non-campers are $10 pp per night. There will fire pits raffles, food available and more. BYOB. FMI: Mic Mac Campground

Feedback Music Festival

Saturday, Sept. 17 — Belfast

For the third year, Waterfall Arts is hosting a lineup of rock ‘n’ roll decadence with four bands featuring Quantum, Ace Tones, Bad Island and Million Brazilians. These may not be bands everyone has heard of, but they bring that small, authentic vibe to Belfast that makes the town a magnet for music hounds everywhere. The show goes from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. and is $5 at the door. FMI: Music lineup

Open Winery Day

Saturday, Sept. 17—Midcoast

Tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., wineries across Maine will be opening their doors to share their craft of wine making. Some will over special events, tastings, music, and more. Cellardoor Winery will have food and wine pairings. Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery will be hosting a grape picking, crushing and pressing demos and a pig roast. Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery will have Bloody Mary tastings and raw oysters, demos, blueberry and Sangria tastings. Younity Winery & Vineyards will have tours, tastings, Creamery samples and a concert.Breakwater Vineyards will have pizza and wine pairings with Fiore oils. Winterport Winery will have tastings and food samplings. FMI: Open Winery Day

Killer Road Trip: Insane Inflatable 5K Race

Saturday, Sept. 17 — Scarborough

Even if you don’t participate this is one heckuva spectator sport. Get “pumped up” for a course filled with the world’s largest and most extreme inflatable obstacles ever produced such as The Mad House, Crash Course and Big Balls. Here’s your chance to be a kid at heart, and insane by choice! It takes place at Scarborough Downs at 8:30 a.m. FMI:  Portland Race

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT—Three years ago this September, folks may remember the Cowpocalypse in Rockport Village when a herd of Belted Galloway cattle, “Belties,” from Aldermere Farm, busted out of fence post in their paddock and decided to take a stroll down Union Street into Rockport.

Rockport author Paige Pendleton is just about to release a new children’s book about that event on September 17 to coincide with Maine Day in Portland.

“On a beautiful September day, about 30 cows — all female — began trotting down into Rockport Village by Graffam Seafood,” said Pendleton. “No one at the farm realized it at first and they meandered around. Of course it got everyone excited. They walked right through the Graffam Seafood picnic area and milled around. And what was really funny was that when they were done exploring, they just turned around and went back on their own. It was like they were bored and just felt like going on an adventure.”

Though people tried to herd them back, the ladies were having none of that. “I think people tried to get them to go back but that wouldn’t have influenced them one way or another,” said Pendleton. “Belties have very unique personalities. They’re smart, adventurous and curious.”

The White Belt Society, the title if her new book, is a play on the words The Red Hat Society. 

“They were on a girl’s day out,” said Pendleton.

The picture book is illustrated by award-winning illustrator Thomas Block and published by North Country Press. Pendleton didn’t know if there was such thing as a “Beltie genre” of books out there, but if so, this would be in that category.

In honor of Maine Day at the Big E, Pendleton and Block will be releasing The White Belt Society for a book-signing on the front lawn the State of Maine Building on States Avenue at Eastern States Exposition, The Big E, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

For more information about the book visit: paigewpendleton.com and for more information about the event visit: http://www.thebige.com/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Now that it’s September, “kitten season” is supposed to be over. At least that’s what P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center thought. The staff had all been working long hours this first week of September, trying to process a slew of new rescue animals that came into the shelter when they received a visit from a gentleman who discovered a large cat colony living in an old barn he was about to dismantle in Liberty.

Most feral barn cat colonies are self-sufficient, except these animals were in dire straits.

“He recovered and brought in two nursing mothers and 18 kittens varying in age from 3 weeks to 12 weeks, all of which had acute upper respiratory infections,” said P.A.W.S. Executive Director Shelly Butler. “Their eyes were matted shut; they had ear mites and the majority of them would have died if he hadn’t discovered them.”

“When they have upper respiratory issues like that, they can’t nurse; they can’t breathe and they can’t get nutrition they need,” said Butler. With the staff and volunteers pushed to the limit, the kittens were bottle fed every two hours for 24 hours until they regained their strength.

In the last month, P.A.W.S. has taken in 36 kittens and seven young mothers, several which were already pregnant when brought in.

The two biggest issues this week are getting the fleas and ticks off the mothers and kittens, and the upper respiratory infections under control.

“If we can’t get the fleas off them, quickly enough, they risk becoming anemic,” said Butler.

With upper respiratory infection being so contagious, the mothers and kittens had to all be separated to get healthy and are now recuperating in various staff rooms, including the staff bathrooms, while they regain their strength.

In the women’s restroom, for example, a small 1-year-old calico mother came out from beneath the bathroom stall to greet us. She had arrived with a litter of four severely ill kittens. Three have since died, as their upper respiratory infections were so acute. Even with medical care and bottle feeding, their bodies were so weak, they couldn’t get the nutrients they needed to survive. Only one kitten, Cliff, remains with his mother, Olive, in quarantine. His eyes are still so glued shut by the mucus, that he lay there listlessly on a blanket by the toilet, one eye shut and the other trying to open to see who was calling to him.

P.A.W.S. in-house veterinarian, Dr. Jodie James, has been treating them.

“They’re all on medications now and I expect them all to do well,” she said. “It’s still a little early to tell, but the best thing is, we’ve got them all in different rooms so they’re not shut up in a cage. That quality of life is very important in their healing process.”

A large unexpected influx of cats and kittens such as this equates to a nearly $10,000-expense for P.A.W.S.

“This pushes our resources absolutely to the limit,” said Butler, explaining that with 36 cats, immediate care translates to roughly $200 per cat. “And that’s just to get them healthy, and ready for the adoption floor, such as flea and tick medication, and medicine to clear up the upper respiratory infection, vaccinations, and spayed/neutered. This doesn’t include their food, the additional staff time, and the strain on shelter supplies to keep everyone clean, safe and fed for the next few weeks until they can be adopted.”

While the staff is working to find additional foster homes for the recovering kittens, Butler is seeking help from the community.

“We absolutely need financial assistance with medical expenses to get them the care they need,” she said. “Flea and tick medicine alone is close to $20 a dose. On top of that we need special kitten food and formula and more kitty litter to change out.”

Those interested in fostering the kittens would need to go through an application process. For those who’d like to donate toward their medical expenses, visit: pawsadoption.worldsecuresystems.com/donate

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com 

CAMDEN—In preparation for the fourth annual Mini Maker Faire, Charley Lind has been like a kid again, constructing handcrafted slingshots out of wood with his three boys, 17, 14 and 11.

This will be Lind’s fifth time at a Maker Fair around the state of Maine. “In the past I presented a variety of projects: 3-D printed items; foam airplanes, using a design I created; and giant bubbles—we’re talking six to 15-feet across!—using my own bubble recipe formula and huge handmade bubble wands. Each time is different, but I try to steal the show the best I can,” he said with a laugh.

Makers like Lind all over the Midcoast are part of a contemporary subculture that love to create physical objects in their spare time such as electronics or robotics, as well as metalworking, woodworking and arts. Most makers learn new skills or about new projects from websites and YouTube, which is what inspired Lind on this latest slingshot design.

“My boys are fascinated by certain other makers’ and inventors’ YouTube videos, such as those created by kipkay, Grant Thompson -‘The King of Random,’ and Joerg Sprave of The Slingshot Channel,” he said. “They watch videos of these guys making incredible stuff out of household items. Unlike Myth Busters, which suggests ‘Don’t try this at home,’ these makers are saying ‘Try this at home.’”

The experience is more than just a hobby said Lind. “Watching these YouTube maker videos with my boys has been a new way to connect with them.  Actually building some of the contraptions has inspired them to become makers, too.”

Lind’s slingshots will be in a special area designated for practice and demonstration in the Camden Amphitheatre. “The organizers have put some special thought into this and the projectiles will be marshmallows. That’s the safest ammo I can imagine,” he said. "The slingshot the participants can use is sort of like an overpowered Angry Bird version. I will have other slingshots on display that are the typical letter-Y shape. I’ll also demonstrate the larger, more dangerous slingshot.” See his Facebook video demonstration.

The Midcoast Mini Maker Faire takes place on Saturday, September 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Camden Amphitheatre and in and around the Camden Public Library. Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers all ages and backgrounds. The public can expect to make a water piano, learn to code, build underwater marine sensors and virtual reality headsets, and meet a replica of R2-D2 from Star Wars. With more than 20 makers presenting, people will be able to witness mandala stones, animation, yarn, tatted lace, tintype photos, found object sculptures, drone photography, and even homemade slime. This annual event is a collaboration between the Camden Public Library, Midcoast Magnet, and the Steel House. Admission is by suggested donation of $2/person and $5/family. For more information visit midcoastmakerfaire.com.

Photos courtesy Charley Lind

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—A female rock climber falls 250 feet to the ground, broken, but alive. A BASE jumper has to overcome his deepest fear before every single jump. A woman comes to terms after being stranded in the ocean.

These are just some of the narratives in Waterfall Art’s upcoming Maine Outdoor Film Festival, currently traveling around the state and which comes to Belfast on September 10.

MOFF began very simply when in 2002, a couple of outdoor enthusiasts in The Forks decided to put together a print publication called No Umbrella covering tales of carnage, river accomplishments, outdoor sports photography, humor and more.

In 2012, Maine business-owners (and raft guides) Nick Callanan, Nick Bowie and Joe Christopher talked about reviving the spirit of the old river rag, and how to create a Maine institution where film and the outdoor lifestyle converged; a film festival celebrating Maine’s broad array of beautiful places, recreational opportunities and creative people.

Twenty-six short films have made the 2016 list as MOFF travels all around the state this fall. Each screening is carefully curated and for Belfast, Callahan is leaning more toward conservation/nature films with a sprinkling of adventure. One film he hinks will resonate very well with this audience is Moosehead’s Wicked Good Plan, a half-hour documentary about how Plum Creek’s Moosehead Lake development has impacted Greenville. “It’s fascinating, just the way different people in Greenville came together to just consider the land use in their area. It’s not heavy handed; it depicts both sides from Plum Creek representatives to business owners. Plum Creek can build any time, but because of the economic climate they haven’t yet. And this film brings everybody up to speed.”

On the adventure side, he thinks “Endurance Ultra marathon” will also be very interesting the the crowd. The nine-minute film depicts ultra marathon runner Matt Williamson, who shares personal insights from his dedication to endurance and how he has overcome challenges in becoming an international athlete.

“I’m really happy with the selection we have in Belfast,” said Callahan. “Waterfall arts is just such a cool venue. They’re bringing a lot of good things to the area.”

Meg Fournier, Waterfall Arts program committee member said, “We’ll be outside of the building on the lawn with a big screen and a full sound system. People should bring their lawn chairs and they’re welcome to bring a picnic dinner. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

To see a full list of the MOFF selections click here.

Suggested donation is $10 and will benefit the program’s Teens to Trails.

In light of several area bar/music venues that are being forced to shut down live music due to ASCAP licensing fees, this weekend’s post is all about the music and the musicians in Maine just trying to make a living. Keep rockin’ in the Free World.

The Wicked Woods

Friday, September 2—Rockland

Rock City Café invites The Wicked Woods, up from Portland to play. Their influences range from from Classical to Classic Rock and Jazz, to Metal and Pop. Every song is different yet played with the same clarity and precision that is their signature sound. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Free Concert with James McMurty

Saturday, September 3—Union

Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery is hitting on all sixes with their summer concert series and they’re not done yet. James McMurtry, who is currently touring this summer is landing at the Vineyard and playing a free concert at 2 pm. An American rock and folk-rock/Americana singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader, and occasional actor, the guy is multi-talented. One of the Monkees (Michael Nesmith) has this to say about him: “James McMurtry is a true Americana poet—actually he is a poet regardless of genre.” Bring your chairs and blankets.

The Tune Squad at Theshers Brewing Co.

Saturday, September 3—Searsmont

If you haven’t ventured out yet to see Midcoast’s latest brewery and tasting room in Searsmont, now’s your chance. The Tune Squad will be at Thresher's Brewery this Saturday for a night filled with Blues, Brews & BBQ! Thresher's Brewery will be serving up the best craft brews around & The Grinning Dog will be parked alongside cooking up some of their delicious BBQ!  Goes from 6-9 p.m.

Creatives/Maker Meetup

Saturday, September 3—Rockland

Welcome to the second Maker Meetup for Midcoast makers. What is a Maker? Here’s a definition. Basically, it’s a gathering for highly creative types. They invite you to meet some of the Makers who will present at this year’s Midcoast Mini Maker Faire, where you can talk informally about your own ideas. The event takes place at The Steel House in Rockland from 5pm-7pm. Light snacks and soft drinks will be provided. BYOB.

Killer Road Trip: Boothbay Harbor Fest’s Tasting Passport

Friday, September 2 to Sunday, September 4—Boothbay

For only $15, and beginning with a kickoff party at 4 pm, you can spend an entire weekend with your tasting passport and duck into 10 Boothbay locations and get a taste of a signature dish, listen to original music and enjoy the atmosphere. In addition, check out the Spirit of the Maine Cocktail Competition on opening night, a fun competition shows off the talents and creativity of our local Mixologists, and offers Cocktail Enthusiasts some delicious adult entertainment!  For tickets and schedule visit: boothbayharborfest.com/#!a-taste-of-local-flavor/cldl

 Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Life for a Maine farm boy was a lot of work growing up in the 1950s and 1960s—but it wasn’t something you complained about. “Those were hard days,” said Belfast native Mitch Littlefield. “It was very physical work, hard on their bodies, but it was also a very strong close knit society.” Littlefield, whose family owned and operated three working farms during his childhood, raised chickens growing up. Feeling as though the stories he grew up with may be lost, he wrote a series of short stories of life in Belfast in his book, Memories of Shucking Peas.

Just last week, he and his friend, another Belfast native, Frank Coombs, did a presentation sponsored by the Belfast Historical Society to a packed room of more than 120 people at the Belfast Free Library titled Growing Up in Belfast During the 1950s and '60s: Chickens, Sardines, Drive-In Movies and Bowling.

“I think people love to hear those stories; it reminds them of their own pleasant memories of those days for those who grew up in the Belfast area,” said Littlefield. “But, also there was a big cross section of people [who came for the presentation] who moved to Belfast in the last 25-30 years and I think they wanted to feel that connection and understand what life was like in the town they live in and now call home.”

In one of Littlefield’s short stories titled The Chicken Capital of The World he paints a picture of  a working class town that may not have been pretty, but it was self-sufficient.

While Belfast itself had a blue collar populace; the town boasted several factories—shoe, pants, sash and blind, and a sardine processing plant, the chicken industry offered employment for not only the factory workers, but the entire county and beyond. . . Most every farmer within 50 miles of the Belfast processing plants got in on the action. Raising chickens for the poultry plants offered the farmer an additional income stream which quickly became a main component of farming in Maine during the 20th century. So, during those (chicken) salad days, Belfast became the chicken capital of the world and processed, on average, 250,000 chickens a day.

“When I left high school, I wanted to get off the farm, so I went to work in the factories, actually both of them. But I worked in Penobscot Poultry the longest,” he said.

Littlefield’s father, who also worked for another division of Penobscot Frozen Foods, inadvertently pioneered the practice of “pre-packaged” chickens at a time when grocery stores were coming to the realization that consumers would buy more if they could serve themselves.

My dad worked for Ted Starrett at Penobscott Frozen Foods for some time, and in fact, helped develop what we now know as packaged pre-cut chicken. By identifying the precise places to cut the chicken's legs and wings in the joints that make the legs and wings on a chicken work, they discovered the chickens could be packaged as a whole cut up chicken, yet be uniform and presentable to the buying public.

In those days people would just buy the whole bird and cut it up themselves or ask the butcher to,” he explained. “It was quite a change at the time.”

Another highlight of being in the Chicken Capital of the world for Littlefield as a kid was the annual Broiler Festival.

The festival itself was held at the Belfast City Park....There were tents set up to host speakers who addressed political and social concerns, and these tents also offered local musical artists a chance to perform. There were boxing matches, and arm wrestling, and hot-rod shows. The smell of hot dogs, pizza, sausage and onions, dough boys, cotton candy, and greasy French fries wafted through the warm July nights, while our eyes were gleefully assaulted by the flashing neon lights and our eardrums joyfully brutalized by the blaring music of the seemingly hundreds of over-sized speakers scattered throughout the midway. This carnival would start on Monday, and run through Saturday when the festival ended with the BBQ.

“It was the biggest event of the summer. Just a typical country fair with pie-eating contests and your typical 4-H exhibits, but as a farm boy, all those bright lights, the neon and the barkers, the crowd, the great food and the music blaring—these were just things you didn’t see every day on the farm,” he said.

Littlefield recounts more stories of Belfast in his book, including having 200 hundred acres to access in playing childhood games, being a wet nurse for a sheep, working for a sardine processing plant and raking blueberries on summer vacation. You can find his book on Amazon.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

THOMASTON — After three years of fundraising and planning, and more than a year since they broke ground, the new Pope Memorial Humane Society of Knox County animal shelter building unveiled its brand new 10,000-square-foot building in a grand opening Aug. 20. 

If the move has been a little bit stressful for the humans, it has been absolutely therapeutic for the animals. Executive Director Tracy Sala said, “It was very easy to bring in all of the animals. They all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when we moved them in. They all seem much more relaxed. There is so much more room for them now.”

For 26 years, the shelter operated out of building on Buttermilk Lane in Thomaston, constructing additional support buildings as the animal population grew. Conditions were cramped for both staff and animals, and the time finally came to build a bigger, more functional animal shelter right next door.

The new facility, named after its most prominent benefactor, Lyman Pope, exemplifies all of the strategic planning the staff gathered in what did and didn’t work in other animal shelters as they researched how to make a healthier environment for staff and visitors.

The main lobby of the building, with a retail area next to the front desk, offers a glimpse into two distinct wings for cats and dogs. A special room in the lobby with a “Pet of the Day” plaque next to the door allows an animal to be showcased and have its own room for a day while visitors can interact with them.

Both wings of the building were designed with special considerations for both dogs and cats and their differing needs. For example, in the cat wing, 20 “cat condos” with glass enclosed fronts and open ventilated cages in the back give cats more breathing room, more vertical space to climb (which they love) and a better feeling of security and safety. If someone wants to touch and interact with a certain animal, the shelter staff have meet-and-greet rooms for both cats and dogs, so that there are no distractions from other people or animals.

Three additional private rooms, called free roaming rooms, give cats a bigger place and more freedom to run and play on their own. The very last private room in the cat wing, a.k.a. “the corner office,” has a window-filled sun-room attached to it that will be used all year-long to give outdoor cats a feeling of being outside.

Beyond cats and dogs, there is also a small animals room. “We’ve always had hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs rats, ferrets, chickens and rabbits,” said Sala. “Either it’s a new baby, not enough time or new landlords that get these animals sent to us. Before they were housed near the cats, which was really hard for certain animals. Now, they have a special room where they don’t feel any distress.”

The shelter also provides a feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV+) room for cats. Two shy cats, Tiggar and Cyrus, currently occupy that room now. “They have feline AIDS but are non-symptomatic,” said Sala. “They can live a long, normal life indoors. They can’t transmit it to dogs or humans, but it’s best if they are the only cat in the house. It may take a little longer to adopt these special needs cats, but we always do. They are just as sweet, just as deserving.”

The dog wing houses 28 spacious kennels on three sides of the building, all of which open to a grassy outdoor fenced-in area. More than 100 volunteers help with the shelter’s on-site and off-site activities, and each dog gets walked by a volunteer or has outdoor play at least twice a day. Tucked away beyond the public view, there is a dog isolation kennel for dogs that are not ready to be adopted by the public yet.

On the staff side, there are now administrative offices, a room for volunteers, special food preparation/dog grooming rooms and exam rooms. There’s an after-hours animal control room, accessible to the outside where animal control officers can bring in strays at any hour. They’ve also built a spacious multi-purpose conference room, which will be used for staff meetings, volunteer orientations, fundraisers, special events, even birthday parties.

While all of the rooms have their own practicality, some are for the more emotional side of the job. Take for example, their private intake room, for families who have to give up a pet. Giving up a pet, for whatever reason, is very difficult. Having to give up a pet in public adds to the stress,” said Sala. "We're happy we can now provide some privacy to a family to say goodbye without being in the center of a busy lobby.”

There is also a special quiet nursery room for cats who’ve just given birth. At the time of our tour, the staff had put together a mother cat, who’d just had an emergency caesarean section in which none of the kittens lived, with a grey kitten who’d lost its mother. In the cage, the two have bonded and are inseparable.

“We’ll use this room for pregnant cats and abandoned litters,” said Sala. “Oftentimes a mother who has just given birth will nurse an abandoned litter that comes in.”

Other efficient design features ensure that all of the flooring is constructed of fully washable epoxy and all of the cat furniture can be hosed off. The dog wing is equipped with hoses on the hall walls so that it is easy to keep the building immaculately clean. On the grounds, they even constructed a fenced-in covered pavilion for volunteers to walk and play with dogs, even in inclement weather.

One of the shelter’s old buildings next door will still be used half for storage, while the other half will house barn cats waiting to be placed.  The "Cobb House," built in 2012 for an influx of cats, will be the animal infirmary, totally segregated from healthy animals.  The old main shelter building, having had thousands of animals pass through its doors over the last 25 years, will be razed.

Check out our virtual tour through the building in the accompanying gallery. All photos by Kay Stephens

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WALDOBORO — Who says art has to be so serious?

Sculpture artist Jay Sawyer, well known for his sculpture garden now known as Studio J Bone in Warren, only needed one letter in the alphabet — e — to trigger his sense of humor. Forging the lowercase version out of iron, he created what he called Iron e. As Alanis Morrisette would say, isn’t it ironic?

“All of the feedback I got from that one piece was to keep going and create the entire alphabet,” he said. “I was actually resistant at first.”

But he kept going with it and it took three years to create all 26 letters (plus multiple incarnations of certain letters). “I imagine the phonic of the letter and then picture it uppercase or lowercase, then I work a fair share of puns into the piece,” he said.

Take his F-bomb. It’s constructed of a coated ball of steel. From the top emerges a length of pipe on which he welded two additional pieces to form an “f.” From the mouth of the pipe emerges the “wick” of the bomb, which is actually a piece of cable from a guard rail.

Sawyer said art doesn’t always have to evoke a heavy feeling, as long as it evoke some kind of feeling.

“This is a new direction for me,” he said. “There’s a lot of color in these pieces. When I stand next to the F Bomb, it puts a smile on my face.”

“I’ve got a kids’ version of the alphabet I can show and an adult’s,” he says with a grin. “It’s enough to keep you interested, for sure.”

That’s evident in his bluer pieces, like the Screw U (welded entirely of screws) and the G spot (self-explanatory).

With each piece, he feels a personal connection, but none more so than the J Walking sculpture, a welded J with playful legs. Sawyer has positioned the piece on train tracks, on a stone wall, and smack in the middle of the road

“Even other people have commented this piece is more of a self-portrait,” he said. “Whatever he’s doing he’s strutting it.”

Sawyer is hoping to turn his letters into a commercial franchise with a book, cards, t-shirts and mugs.

With more than 40 pieces created, he’s going to be debuting the letters at the University of Maine at Farmington at the Emery Community Arts Center on Aug. 29. The show has a reception planned for Sept. 9,  from 5 to 7 p.m., and they plan to have an opening reception and concert on Sept. 9, from 5-7 p.m., with a concert to follow on the side lawn at 8 p.m. The show will hang for two months.

Let’s hope the public finds the iron “e” in all of it.

For more information visit: studiojbone.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Make summer last! That’s the cry you’re hearing all over the Midcoast this weekend. On both Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 27-28, you’ll have to choose between two great bands/events. It’s a hard life, I know. Oh, and a new taproom for Orono Brewing Co. is worth a road trip.

Tuba Skinny at Unity College

Saturday, Aug. 27—Unity

Unity College, which has a great rep for bringing fresh, eclectic mixes of music, films and art to Maine is hosting Tuba Skinny, a loose collection of street musicians dedicated to bringing the traditional New Orleans sound to audiences around the world. Drawing on a wide range of musical influences—from spirituals to Depression-era blues, from ragtime to traditional jazz—their sound evokes the rich musical heritage of their New Orleans home. The band has gained a loyal following through their distinctive sound, their commitment to reviving long-lost songs and their barnstorming live. Tickets are $15. More info can be found here: Unity College and Tuba Skinny

Go back to the Jazz Age with the Barnstormers Ball

Saturday, Aug. 27—Owls Head

Speaking of barnstorming, the Owls Head Transportation Museum is throwing its third annual Barnstormers Ball, transforming into a 1920s inspired party venue, taking design cues from the famous — and daring — barnstormers who defined an era of aviation. See our recent story here. The party starts at 6 p.m. Tickets for the gala are $100 per person, and a limited number will be offered; reserved tables are available in advance. FMI: owlshead.org/events/detail/barnstormers-ball 

Free Outdoor Concert with the What Cheer? Brigade

Sunday, Aug. 28—Belfast

When the quirky Waterfall Arts and music-champions Free Range Music Series team up, you know it's going to be good. The two organizations are celebrating Waterfall Arts’ first decade in Belfast with a free outdoor concert. The What Cheer? Brigade is an award-winning, 20-piece original brass band from Providence, R.I., with Bollywood, Balkan, New Orleans, samba and hip‐hop influences played with the intensity of metal. The band has shared the stage with artists like Blondie, Man Man, Okkervil River, and Wolf Parade and has performed at many festivals around the world. Additional activities will include an appearance by Belfast's own Random Beats Street Band and more. The event is free and open to the public. Gates will open at 3:30 p.m., music starts at 4 p.m. The concert will take place outdoors. If there is rain, an alternative venue will be announced. Visit www.waterfallarts.org or call 207-338-2222 for more information.

Steel Band and Barbecue

Sunday, Aug. 28—Thomaston

Knox Museum is hosting a big blowout with a chicken and ribs barbecue and music by Steelin' Thunder steel drum band from 3 to 6 p.m. on the big stage in front of Montpelier, the big white house at the turn off Route 1 to St. George in Thomaston. Steelin' Thunder, from Rockland, will perform some rousing selections with a Caribbean flair ideal for dancing or just good ole lazy August afternoon listening. Tickets are $18 and $15 at the door the day of the event. Admission includes food; drinks will be available by donation; and children under age 12 are admitted for free. Pro-tip: try to carpool as parking space will be limited, and bring blankets and chairs.

Killer Road Trip: Orono Brewing Co. opens new taproom

Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 28 29—Bangor

Orono Brewing Co., a fixture in Orono for two years now, just had a grand opening this week with a new taproom in Bangor at 26 State Street. This would be an ideal weekend to check out the new renovated space and tasting room. The tap room opens at noon both Saturday and Sunday. If you go, have one for me!

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — The last time we spoke with Camden Hills Regional High School student Nat Lawson for our Rad Kids series, the 16-year-old was perfecting a mentalism show (essentially mind reading for entertainment) titled Perceptions, which he went on to perform nearly 30 times around New England.

Now 17, a year later, he has graduated from high school and has retired the very successful and lucrative show. What would be a head scratcher to many, Lawson’s just not interested in the fame or the money. He’s interested in bettering his talents.

“I saw a TED talk about a blind man who taught himself to see using echolocation,” Lawson said. “And then I came across a principle in mentalism called Contact Mind Reading where you read the person’s mind by touching the person’s hand.”

Interested in testing this principle on his own, Lawson proposed to his parents that he spend nine days this summer completely in the dark, blindfolded. It’s not something any mentalist has ever done before.

“They weren’t as surprised as you might think,” he said, joking. “I haven’t been normal for about 10 years now.”

In June, Lawson’s father helped him build a dark room in the basement out of plywood, sealing off all of the windows. “The idea for this room was that I could have a place to take my blindfold off and wash my face before putting another blindfold on,” he said.

Lawson constructed three types of elaborately layered blindfolds, one to sleep in, one to shower in and one to walk around in. He started his experiment on the Q Morning Show in the recording studio of hit radio station 97.9 in Portland. Two videographers, Alex Forcillo and Ben Resek, accompanied him, filming his experiment for a documentary they called BLIND.

The walking around part, was perhaps the hardest. He didn’t use a cane, but instead, relied on his film crew to verbally guide him. The few times he went out to dinner with his family, he found it to complicated to explain to the servers, so just told them he’d gotten out of eye surgery. Testing out his theory, Lawson ventured onto the street in the first few days and began trying out his mentalism routine on strangers.

As someone who has interacted with the public as a performer since he was 14, Lawson didn’t care if what people thought he was doing was strange.

“I have had a lot of experience making a fool of myself on stage, on the street in front of people and that’s how I learn,” he said. “I would be at 10 percent of where I am in mentalism now if I were afraid to make a mistake.”

While he was very adept at visually “reading” a person on the street, a blindfold put him back to square one. “The first time I ever did street magic transitioning into mentalism, I was petrified, but I got over it,” he said. “I learned through trial and error to pinpoint the ‘right’ person to approach and the ones who would just shut me down.”

But, with the blindfold on, it was impossible to detect who would be receptive to his act on the street.

“I had to go back to the shotgun technique, approaching everyone to get a few people who had time for me,” he explained. “I had to start all of my methods from scratch.”

Another side effect of keeping his eyes shielded for so long were the hallucinations. “In the last two days of the experiment I began seeing shapes and colors vividly,” Lawson said. “It’s called Charles Bonnet syndrome, in which blind people experience visual hallucinations.”

He had to work through the distractions of these hallucinations while performing mentalism on the street, another obstacle that he said he overcame.

In his street performance/experimentation, he would hold the person’s hand and ask them to think certain things. Reading infinitesimal motor response in the way the person’s hand responded, he could discern what they were thinking. He called that micro contact reading, a completely original method of mindreading he invented himself. He could also lay a finger against a person’s neck and ask them questions, ascertaining the answerer’s truthfulness by detecting the carotid pulse.

“I become a human polygraph machine,” Lawson said.

After nine days, he took off the blindfold back in the studio of the radio show, where blurriness dominated his field of vision for hours. All in all, he found it to be an extremely useful experiment.

“I messed up the first 12 performances on the street, but it got consistently better, so that by the end I was asking questions and getting nearly 98 percent of the guesses right,” he said. “Since then, I’m happy to say none of the progress has gone away. Because I did it when I was 16 and my brain was still developing, I think I was able to make permanent neural pathways.”

In a matter of weeks Lawson is taking a gap year to Argentina through the Camden and West Bay Rotary clubs. There, he will immerse himself into speaking only Spanish and going back to high school for the year. That alone, is amazing. What kid wants to go back to high school? But, it gets better.

While there, he plans to develop an entirely brand new show based on his last experiment in both Spanish and English.

“Mentalism isn’t well known outside of English speaking countries, so it’s going to be another challenge for me to try to learn the correct words in Spanish that most closely resemble what mentalism is and then try to translate that for the audience,” said Lawson.

I have a mentalism prediction of my own. I see Nat Lawson working a big stadium show in about 10 years. Do you?

Related story: Meet 16-year-old mentalist Nat Lawson, who ‘manipulates minds for entertainment’

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

OWLS HEAD — Mobsters and moonshiners still get most of the attention when it comes to the 1920s, but there was another type of rogue warrior who managed to stay on the good side of the law while fascinating the public. Back then, stunt pilots known as “barnstormers” or “wingwalkers” were a fabulous novelty, elevated to nearly celebrity status. In the 1920s, barnstorming became one of the most popular forms of entertainment.

According to the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission:

“On any given day, a pilot, or team of pilots, would fly over a small rural town and attract the attention of the local inhabitants. The pilot or team of aviators would then land at a local farm (hence the name "barnstorming") and negotiate with the farmer for the use of one of his fields as a temporary runway from which to stage an air show and offer airplane rides to customers. After obtaining a base of operation, the pilot or group of aviators would fly back over the town, or ‘buzz’ the village, and drop handbills offering airplane rides for a small fee, usually from one to five dollars. The advertisements would also tout the daring feats of aerial daredevilry that would be offered. Crowds would then follow the airplane, or pack of planes, to the field and purchase tickets for joy rides. The locals, most of whom had never seen an airplane up close, were thrilled with the experience. For many rural towns, the appearance of a barnstormer or an aerial troop on the horizon was akin to declaring a national holiday; almost everything in the town would shut down at the spur of the moment so that people could purchase plane rides and watch the show.”

Ormer Leslie "Lock" Locklear was one such American daredevil stunt pilot and famous barnstormer. Much to the horror and fascination of those watching in the fields below, he perfected the Dance of Death, in which two pilots, in two aircraft, switch places in midair.

Capitalizing on that excitement, the Owls Head Transportation Museum is throwing its third annual Barnstormer’s Ball on Saturday, Aug. 27, transforming into a 1920s inspired party venue, taking design cues from the famous — and daring — barnstormers who defined an era of aviation.

Niki Janczura, event organizer for the Museum, said: “We currently have an interactive exhibition called Women Who Dare: Pioneering Women of Transportation that we’ll highlight during the event.” Harriet Quimby, the first woman to get a pilot’s license is included in that exhibit. Though she wasn’t a barnstormer, in 1912, she was the first woman to cross the English Channel flying a Bleriot monoplane.

People are invited to dress up in 1920s evening wear or vintage aviation-inspired garb. Swan’s Way Catering and Fox on the Run Food Truck will be providing the food and expect signature speakeasy cocktails that were popular during that era.

“We are going to a have a terrific dance band, the Carmine Terraciano Band and the Swing and Sway Dance Company will be performing some classic 1920s dances for the guests,” said Janczura. In addition to a photo booth and live auction, Charlie Chaplin will also be making an appearance.

The party starts at 6 p.m. Tickets for the gala are $100 per person, and a limited number will be offered; reserved tables are available in advance. FMI: owlshead.org/events/detail/barnstormers-ball

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WALDOBORO — Monhegan resident Matt “Captain Mattie” Thomson has been providing the boat-to-plate experience for the public well before it ever became a trend. For the last 24 years that he’s lived on Monhegan, he has captained at various times both a groundfish boat and a lobster boat. At the end of the fishing trip when everyone else would go home, Thomson would fillet up some haddock or hake he’d just caught and then sell it through a little trailer by his house.

“It was originally an exercise in selling our own fish,” he said. “The original menu was fish tacos and fish and chips and that was it.”

With a guy he’d hired to run the trailer on the island, Thomson operated that side business roughly a decade. Then, some life changes began to make him consider moving off island.

“I have a seven-year-old kid and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be out here when he has to go to high school,” he said. “We were originally thinking about bringing the food truck out to Monhegan, but it’s too big to come out here. Then, we thought we might be able to expand the business a little bit on the mainland.”

A jack of all trades, Thomson has had chef training on a number of vessels.

“I’m used to cooking and I like to cook,” he said.  Justin Barker, another chef Thomson met when they were both working on a research vessel out of Boothbay, is the day-to-day operations of the new food truck, Hot Fat which sits on Route One in Waldoboro next to the Delanos Seafood Market.

While Thomson provides the lobsters, they’ve worked out a symbiotic relationship with Delanos to supply the fresh fish on the menu.

Thomson said they’re still working out the kinks in the truck itself. “It’s like buying an old boat,” he said. “We’ve replumbed it and rewired it. We’ve done everything that you do if you buy a new boat and still, you have to work some things out.”

Mainland customers seem to have different tastes than island customers he’s observed. “It’s so different wherever you go,” he said. “Out here on Monhegan, fish tacos and sweet potato fries were what everybody wanted, but in Waldoboro they want cheeseburgers and hot dogs.”

Barker added, “With my fish tacos, it’s all fresh greens from Beth’s Farm Market and handmade sauces,” he said, noting that fish and chips are still their signature dish.

Thomson said will likely shut the truck down in October like most of the other food trucks do, but once they get some traction, they might move it around more during the seasons.

Follow Hot Fat’s daily updates on Twitter: twitter.com/hotfatfish1

To see all of the food trucks that operate in the area visit our guide: Gourmet Food Trucks In The Midcoast

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Winding down in August we’ve got a beautiful weekend for boat lovers, crazy cat ladies and gents, danceaholics and demo derby fiends. And with summer waning, enjoy it while you can!

Belfast Harbor Fest Launch Party

Friday, August 19—Belfast

It’s going to be a stellar night to get thee up to the Steamboat Landing on the Belfast harbor for the 7th Annual Belfast Harbor Fest for their Friday night Launch Party. Gates open at 6 p.m. with the bands starting at 7 p.m. and going to midnight. The featured bands include Frogpipe, Unorganized Hancock, The Sun Parade and Bronze Radio Return. Vendors serve up a variety of local food and drink! No cover charge.

Free Concert on Megunticook Lake

Friday, August 19—Camden

You can get your boat fix Friday night in Belfast or you can jump into a vessel in Camden for a free concert on Megunticook Lake. Brought to you by Bay Chamber Concerts, the Slavic Soul Party out of Brooklyn is playing 6 to 7:30 p.m. This nine-piece band is touted as “NYC’s official #1 brass band for BalkanSoul GypsyFunk.” For more info on where exactly it is, see our recent story.

Dance at Waterfall Arts’ Fallout Shelter

Saturday, August 20—Belfast

Two WERU DJs, Jim Bahoosh and Greg Rossel  are spinning the discs of World Beat, Funk and Soul at Waterfall Arts in the cool fallout shelter at Waterfall Arts. Dance from 7 p.m. until they roll up the streets. They'll have a cash bar for donations and some sweet and savory snacks to purchase.  FMI: thorndikemill.org.

Last Internet Cat Video Festival and Fair

Saturday, August 20—Rockland

“I laughed; I cried; I meowed. It became a part of me.” The Farnsworth’s Cat Festival and Fair is back for its final year! Starting at 6 p.m. they’ll have food vendors, live music by Clint Hartzel and Andre Lascoutx and cat-themed activities. Starting at sunset (a tad before 8 p.m.) they’ll show a reel of 85 Internet cat videos on a 40-foot screen overlooking Rockland Harbor for a running time of 70 minutes. The event will be held in Rockland Harbor Park, free to the public. Bring chairs or blankets. FMI: Cat Video Festival

Union Fair Kicks Off With Demo Derby

Saturday, Aug. 20 — Union

The Demolition Derby is one of the most fun events at the Union Fair, which kicks off Saturday. Watch them crash everyhing from mini vans, to small trucks, to four-cylinder cars. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a smile on a little (or big) kid’s face when the first big "crash" occurs, dirt starts flying all over the ring and smoke billows from under the hoods of vehicles. Insider’s tip: get there early/ Admission: Early Bird/$8 or General Admission $12. Starts at 7 p.m. FMI: Demo Derby

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Since the mid-1980s, Maine has seen the growth of more than 80 breweries and now, it’s getting its own Maine Distillery Trail.

With a dozen spirit makers joining forces all around the state, The Maine Distiller’s Guild announced last week that their Maine Distillery Trail is up and running. Consisting of a digital map and a punch card, the Trail encourages enthusiasts of craft spirits to visit the locations of all of Maine Distiller’s Guild members for tastings and educational tours.

From The Liquid Riot Bottling Company in Portland’s first Brewery/Distillery/Resto-Bar to the Northern Maine Distilling Co. in Brewer (no that’s not a pun) you can try everything from to small batch Fernat-Braca aged in Maine blueberry wine barrels to award-winning vodka. 

In the four years since Penobscot Bay Pilot has launched, we’ve covered our share of local distillers. From Cheap Dates offering free whiskey tastings at Sweetgrass Farms in Union to Tree Spirits’ Absinthe Making a Roaring Comeback in Maine, we’ve covered some of the distillers on the Maine Distillery Trail and even a few that weren’t such as What it’s like to sip a $150 glass of pre-Prohibition whiskey from the now defunct Billy’s tavern in Thomaston.

Maine's small distilleries combine to create more than 50 different products, ranging from popular whiskies and vodka to more obscure herbal spirits such as aforementioned absinthe and fernet.Visit to see the Maine Distillery Trail map and links to Maine’s craft spirit producers.

To see more about each of the members of the Distillery Trail visit: www.mainedistillersguild.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Bay Chamber Concerts has decided to invite you all to a concert. Only hitch is, you’ve got to row, sail, motor or paddleboard across Megunticook Lake to get there.

They’re bringing Slavic Soul Party out of Brooklyn for the event on August 19 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This nine-piece band is touted as “NYC’s official #1 brass band for BalkanSoul GypsyFunk. SSP! has created an acoustic mash-up of Balkan and Gypsy sounds with North American music, weaving the gospel, techno, funk, dub, jazz, and Latin influences of New York’s neighborhoods seamlessly into a Balkan brass setting.”

As one of the hardest working bands in New York, SSP! plays nearly 100 times a year in North America, Europe, Africa and beyond.

Here’s how All Things Considered describes them, “Madcap rhythms, hyperactive horns, a sense of the absurd and just a hint of abstract jazz.”

Here at Cheap Dates Headquarters, we like anything that is fun and free. Thanks go to Lucinda Ziesing of Camden, who approached Bay Chamber Concerts three years ago and asked if they could put on a special concert for those who live on the lake and for the public who can get there by boat. And double thanks to her as she proceeded to raise all of the money so the concert could be free.

Better bring a party boat for the band. Boats can leave from their own docks or from the boat launch on Route 52. You may also rent a boat at Maine Sport Outfitters; rentals must be arranged by noon by calling the Outdoor Programs Department at 236-8797 for pickup at the Bog Bridge on Route 105. Renters are asked to make arrangements for return of the watercraft at pick up time.

See this map to the right for exact location.

For more information visit www.baychamberconcerts.org call 236-2823.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Travis, a Labrador mix, was only a year old, sitting in a high-kill shelter in rural North Carolina, when K-9 Lifesavers, an all-volunteer private nonprofit dog rescue group in Virginia scooped him up and saved his life. By the time owners Chris and Carolyn Groobey, from Annapolis, Md., adopted him, “He went from a dog that thrashed around like a drowning man to one who is a fierce, fast swimmer,” said Carolyn. “Then, he taught himself the art of Frisbee. He will catch one anytime, anywhere, from anyone.”

Every year the Groobeys make a a visit to Maine and last year, they bought a boat and embarked on a cruise around the world. Over the last nine months, Travis helped pilot Toccata more than 6,000 nautical miles, visited seven countries and transited the Panama Canal.  Last week, the Groobeys brought Travis and his Labrador mix brother, Charlie (also rescued by K-9 Lifesavers) to the Maine, Boats, Homes and Harbors Show to compete in its World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials.

Like all of the other dogs competing, Travis had to navigate a series of obstacles such as running over and around lobster traps and getting in and out of the dinghy. But in the freestyle portion of the competition, Travis’ love of Frisbee really shone.

“We just thought, this is perfect, we’ll just put him on a paddleboard to catch the Frisbee,” said Carolyn. “We’ve been working all summer on his act.”

At one point, brother Charlie also joined Travis on the paddleboard while Travis continued to catch the Frisbee

In a fitting turn of events, Travis raised $1,255 to go back to the organization that saved his and Charlie’s life — K-9 Lifesavers Dog Rescue.

To learn more about the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors annual show visit:maineboats.com/boatshow

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—The last time we met Cecile Bizet, 16, she was standing behind the gelato case of Gelato Rose, an artisanal shop she co-owns with her mother Annie Higbee in downtown Rockland. (See our original story here)

Like pretty much everyone her age, she’s on social media, but not just for fun. She runs a YouTube channel with more than 3,500 subscribers and stays active on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She uses the platforms to keep a steady flow of content, offering her perspectives on fashion, travel and creative lifestyle.

She is now turning the camera around for a new video series called WE ARE HUMAN. The project explores the common thread that connects us all and is executed through a series of cinematic interviews. As a teenager growing up in one of the most divisive periods in history, Cecile observes that many kids are trying to discover what sets them apart and makes them unique, using social media to deliver the message. However, her main question is "What makes us all the same?"

Sitting on a bench in Rockland's Buoy Park an hour before she is set to open the gelato shop, she told me where this idea came from.

“For the last three years, I’ve been attending Playlist Live, a YouTube convention in Orlando, Florida,” she said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to meet other YouTube content creators. This past year, I realized after meeting a couple of people, that I had started to form these judgments about them. For some, it seemed that the only reason they were attending the event was to gain more popularity on their social media platforms. This had a huge emotional effect on me because I couldn't understand how some people could be so inauthentic. In my head was scolding myself, saying ‘You shouldn’t judge them. They’re probably great people; you just haven’t gotten to know them.’”

The realization that every person has something more to show than just their outer persona inspired Cecile to start her project. The questions she was planning to ask each person evoked more than just casual conversation. She wanted people to feel comfortable and share their raw inner dialogue.

Finding time around her school schedule, Cecile conducted her first season of We Are Human, starting with her inner circle. The 5-7 minute format aims to show the real person behind the persona we all curate and cultivate on social media and sometimes throughout our daily lives.  

“I’m open to interviewing as many people as possible across all ages, sexual preferences, and race,” she said. “I want to get their story out there so that others may realize they’re not alone.”

The power of film and turning it into a documentary-style format occurred for her when she was a middle school student at Riley School in Rockport.

“We had an unbelievable film teacher, Morgan Kirkham, who taught me how to compose, edit and produce an interview,” she said. “When I was 12, I did a video interview of Glenna Plaisted, the founder of Riley School. She was the most amazing woman. I learned how to listen and how to make people feel comfortable, as well as the power that documentary style film can have. A year after I did that interview, Glenna passed away and that video is the only documentation we have of her in her last years.”

Stay tuned as Penobscot Bay Pilot will be publishing Cecile’s We Are Human series with her commentary behind the videos.

Hail To The Rad Kids is a feature that highlights teens with artistic or musical talent.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com