Two totally random personalities. Two completely, couldn’t-be-more-opposite messages. Slap ‘em together in a mashup and... brilliance.

Like peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches, someone thought putting Rob Ford, Ontario’s embattled mayor, and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s insane split for a Volvo ad together would be an epic match. Maybe it shouldn’t go together but it does.

Thoughts?

 

BELFAST—Tonight must be the night for bringing the community creatives out of the woodwork. While Pecha Kucha brings out the artists and entrepreneurs in Rockland this evening, those living in and near Belfast don’t have to travel very far to get their own taste of the creative spirit. Bell The Cat is opening up their performance space on Friday, Nov. 15, for an open poetry/spoken word jam — the last one in 2013.

Hosted by Ellen Sander, Belfast's Poet Laureate, the Jam includes any form of language used to entertain an audience, including spoken word, poetry, Shakespearean monologue, incantations, slams and poetic raconteuring. Musicians are welcome to accompany the artists. Artists are encouraged to bring their books, broadsides, CDs or other publications to sell

“Bring works to read, recite or to work on, an instrument if you play one, or a musician, to accompany poetry,” said Sander.

"And bring your appetite. Bell The Cat has scrumptious fresh soups, salads, deli sandwiches, cookies, pastries and coffee/tea beverages. Not to mention free WiFi and beer & wine. We always have a big table for poets who munch and there is other comfortable seating around. We've been doing this since March, we have an intriguing group and it's always a good party."

Participants can sign up to perform at 6:30 p.m., with readings starting at 7 p.m. Bell The Cat is located at 15G Starrett Drive, Belfast.

FMI: email laureate@belfastpoetry.com


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Around here, authors are like groundhogs. You might see them once a year — or wait, was that their shadow? For the past year, the Belfast Free Library has been bringing authors out of their hidey holes with their “Maine Writers Talk About...” a series of author talks, each with a different theme.

"We've had six writers in this series since last May,” said Brenda Harrington, director of Adult Programming at the library. “We wanted to highlight Maine authors who weren't necessarily the number one best-selling most popular authors, but who have something to say. And we wanted to invite them to come speak about their craft or their approach to writing."

This past Tuesday, Nov. 12, the series concluded with award-winning author Elizabeth Hand and her presentation "Guided by Voices: Channeling Fictional Characters."

Hand is one of those rarely seen, almost underground Midcoast authors whose writing is frankly some of the sharpest and most glittering stuff you’ll ever see come out of Maine. She’s the author of 14 novels and three collections of shorter fiction. She’s won numerous awards; her 2007 book Generation Loss won the inaugural Shirley Jackson award for best work of psychological suspense.

In her trademark Chuck Taylors, she stood in front of an audience and read selections from a variety of her essays and novels, including her most recent crime thriller, Available Dark, the follow up to Generation Loss, featuring her punk photographer, Cass Neary.

She read in various voices, male and female, old and young. Breathy and Brooklyn-y.

“I’m not ever going to do a Maine accent when I read,” she warned her audience. “I might try that out of state, but never here.”

When an audience member asked how she’s able to switch persona so easily, she answered, “It’s like a radio tuning in, when you finally nail the voice of your character.”

"When I'm supporting one book, I usually just pick out one character and rehearse, but for this event, I thought it would be fun to read from multiple books, sort of 'Lizzie's Greatest Hits,'” said Hand. “I just thought it would be more fun for the audience."

It’s no small trick to entertain an audience these days — particularly when audiences are hard-wired by technology, movies and games to be constantly amused with flashes, bangs, CGI, quick cuts — the usual short attention span problem for authors. Many authors will get up in front of a podium and simply read to their audience like children at story hour, but unless one’s speaking voice is well trained and melodic, that is a format that doesn’t always work. Fewer and fewer younger people respond to that; and authors need to adapt to this reality.

"I think people mostly want to be entertained and ideally, moved,” said Hand. “And for me, I've done readings when I've had many people in the audience and when there's literally be two or three people. Anytime you have an audience, you're there to entertain them. That's my job."

This year-long series of writers speaking about their craft has been made possible through the support of the Friends of the Belfast Free Library.

"It's been really well received,” said Harrington. “This was our first year. We're going to offer it again next year with six or maybe seven new authors and continue it."

For more information about the author, visit elizabethhand.com. “The Maine Writers Talk About...” series also included Debra Spark (The Pretty Girl), Monica Wood, (When We Were Kennedys) Rhea Cote Robbins, (Wednesday’s ChildBill Roorbach, (Life Among Giants), Jaed Coffin (A Chant To Soothe Wild Elephants),

The Belfast Free Library is at 106 High Street in Belfast. For more information about the Maine Writers Talk About... series, visit belfastlibrary.org or call 338-3884, extension 30.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — If you’ve never heard of the term “holler band” you’re not alone. It’s a self-termed genre coined by The Ghost of Paul Revere, one of the three slated bands to appear at the Strand Theatre in Rockland Nov. 22 for Hollerfest. According to band members it is “based off the old gospel songs and the old field hollers that people used to do working in the fields” —so in other words, a more amped-up version of folk.

“These are younger, newer bands, sort of the rising stars on the scene,” said the Strand’s Executive Director Sarah Ruddy.

The Ghost of Paul Revere (listen here) from Portland, are dedicated to writing powerful, stripped down music that is meant to be experienced live and intimately. Joining them are Maine faves, Toughcats (listen to a clip here). For 10 years now this power trio of banjo, resonator guitar, and drums have been playing and performing their original Garage Rock styled Pop Americana across the nation. They are known for their captivating high energy live performances, intricate catchy melodies, driving rhythm, and tight vocal harmonies. And for your triple threat, Darlingside, (see videos here) a string-rock quintet, will also be on hand for the evening. They came together with five songwriters, a mandolin, a cello and violin, guitars and drums, a chorus of voices, and a van named Chauncey.

“It’s a new kind of roots rock that’s the ‘less precious’ version of Americana,” said Ruddy. “When my music booker and I were talking about putting this show together, we were both thinking we’d really like to bring Toughcats. They’re such a big, popular band in Maine. But they usually don’t get this size of a venue. So, we thought, why not just make this a showcase for this kind of genre.

This ain’t your daddy’s ragtime folk so get ready and get stoked to see this show.

Tickets on sale now: $17 general admission. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. The Strand balcony and lobby bars will be open for those ages 21+ with a valid ID. For more info: (207) 594-0070 RocklandStrand.com


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The most disturbing thing you can think of happens everywhere in Maine. People—the majority of them male—sit behind their keyboards or flip through their cell phones when no one else is around. What they are watching is unspeakable.
 
In 2008, data compiled by law enforcement agencies indicated that 2,155 individual computers in Maine had been identified as trafficking in the most hardcore images and movies of infants and toddlers being tortured and raped. Because the majority of sex offenders prey on family members, friends or acquaintances, the abuse can start early and continue for years. Many of the victims are infants or toddlers; the “older” victims being abused are 14- and 15-years-old.
 
Finding and arresting people who disseminate or traffic in child pornography in Maine is the majority of Lt. Glenn Lang’s job. Lang supervises the Maine’s Computer Crimes Unit, which investigates the production, selling and downloading of child pornography in the state. They annually prosecute between 70 and 80 of the highest volume traffickers in Maine. Based on their own sleuthing and a slew of tips, the CCU visits two to four houses or businesses each week in every part of Maine. With search warrants in hand, they seize all digital devices on the premises. Simultaneously, they interview the suspect. But here’s where an investigation can either go exceedingly well or get bogged down into the annals of Backlog Hell.
 
To do their job effectively, Lang and his team of 16 employees need a forensic mobile unit (a van) with them when visiting a suspect, so they can verify or disprove what the suspect says in the interview by previewing the laptop or digital devices on site. If they have to send all the equipment back to the lab in Vassalboro, that’s where the bottleneck in the system occurs, which hinders the case.
 
The single biggest problem is that the CCU only has two converted, retrofitted cargo vans to work with. Both are aging, and experiencing frequent power blow-outs. And neither have the kind of room needed to allow for multiple examiners to work a single case. 

Much like the LifeFlight of Maine helicopters that service every area of Maine, a fully equipped forensic van is needed to work all corners of the pine tree state. The inadequacy of the retrofitted vans are hindering the CCU from being as efficient as they could be in identifying and arresting those involved in the burgeoning crime of producing, selling and/or possessing child pornography in Maine.
 
Former Camden teacher and Mainely Girls Executive Director Mary Orear has worked with adolescents for more than 40 years. A staunch advocate for children and adolescents, especially girls, she recently founded a nonprofit undertaking a campaign to raise $100,000 to buy a new mobile forensic lab for the state Computer Crimes Unit.
 
“About a year and a half ago, I saw a story on Maine Watch about how the Computer Crimes Unit in Vassalboro went after the child pornographers in this state. However, because of their lack of equipment, they had such a backlog and they needed more help,” said Orear. “About five or six months later, I had a nagging feeling, wondering if they got the help they needed. So, I called Lt. Glenn Lang and he said there were two or three major needs not being funded by the department; the number one need being this forensic mobile unit.”
 
A phone call with Lang confirmed this was still the issue. 
 
“To be really effective, we need a fully equipped van with two forensic stations in the back, which can also function as an interview room,” he said. “Possession of hardcore child pornography is really a symptom of a much greater problem. These people want to have sexual contact with children and every study and statistic I’ve seen in the last five years has stated that 80 percent of these people [who possess child pornography] are in fact, hands-on offenders.
 
“What we’re trying to do each and every time we go out is bring an expert who administers polygraph tests,” he said. “So that if we get to a house, we can determine with a polygraph test on the spot if this person is one of those 80-percent who is a hands-on offender. The two times we were able to get out polygraph examiner to come out with us, we were able to get confessions from these guys.” This field previewing routinely results in confessions of 95 percent of suspects, when confronted with the offending images, said Lang.

Most people don’t realize it takes an inordinate amount of time and effort for forensics team to make correlations between someone’s actions and seized digital devices, which contributes to the backlog. If the CCU can get a confession at the moment of the device seizure, it takes a tenth of the time to complete the forensic examination. In some cases, that can lead to an immediate arrest.

“Our best chance to get any admissions out of these guys and to solve these cases is right on the scene,” said Lang. “If we’re forced to wait a week or a month after we confront someone, the chances of getting a confession out of [them] is close to zero.”

Asked if the Maine child pornography problem is worse than other states, he said he didn’t have any comparable data.

“It’s a national and worldwide trend,” he said. “But it’s always a percentage of the population who does this. If you have more people in that area, you have more problems in that area.”

The forensic mobile unit is also used to investigate the sex slavery trade, as well as under-age sexting, although these cases aren’t as prevalent as child pornography. “It goes widely under-reported in Maine,” said Lang. “When things go critical, we hear about them.”

Orear and Mainely Girls have been committed to this issue for the past year and even managed to raise nearly $10,000 for the forensic mobile unit before receiving the official go-ahead. Lang and the CCU are fully on board with her fundraising efforts. 

“I think it’s the helplessness of these children who can’t in any way defend themselves that is the ultimate definition of a victim,” said Orear. “The older ones — 13, 14, 15 years — it’s hard enough for them to protect themselves against this, but child pornographers routinely target toddlers and infants, children who don’t even stand a chance of protecting themselves. That’s really what grabbed me. It is a crime that has really developed over the last 25 years. As a society, it is our responsibility to protect children.”

To date, Mainely Girls’ efforts have generated more than $25,000 in donations and the nonprofit is currently appealing to individuals, foundations and corporations. “Interestingly, many male donors have really stepped up their support around this,” said Orear. “It’s really gratifying to see.”

To find out more about how you can help or contribute, contact Orear directly at mainelygirls2@gmail.com.

To report any type of online child exploitation, contact National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or contact Lt. Glenn Lang directly at  glang@mcctf.org.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Children's House Montessori School at 58 Elm St. in Camden recently offered two free parent-education workshops and of the approximately 20 parents that attended, many had never seen the Montessori method in action before. “A lot of parents are really curious how Montessori works, so we like to offer these workshops as a nice opportunity to bring parents in and help them understand what we’re doing,” said Kristin Sidwell, administrative director of the school. “It really helps to create community too, so we’re all working together.”

“Many parents like the philosophy that children are learning at their own pace,” she added. “Sometimes you have to be right there in the classroom to see it because children aren’t always really able to tell you how they’re learning.”

One of the Nov. 6 workshops, titled “Montessori in the Home,” was led by teachers Meredith Gutheinz, Zoë Foster and Jackie Grannis Phoenix  and about 10 parents attended. The idea around this workshop, said Sidwell, is that children need opportunities to explore, experiment and try new things. By preparing and structuring the home environment to allow such exploration, parents can provide children with practical opportunities to experience independence, self-esteem and the joy of feeling like an important and useful member of the family.

“We introduced them to the Montessori principles like self-sufficiency and independence in your house, so your kids are feeling like equal members of the household, such as putting away their laundry, hanging up their coats and brushing their teeth,” said Sidwell.

The other workshop was titled “The Montessori Math Advantage” and led by teachers Darci Grotton and Katy Hall Dermott.

In this workshop, said Sidwell, the Montessori math curriculum is designed to set children up for a deep understanding of math concepts that will give them an advantage at all levels of their school experience.

“For example, we teach children to use concrete materials like beads or cubes in a hands-on way to get a basic concept and understanding of advanced math concepts before they move into the abstract principles,” she said.

The mission of the Children's House Montessori School is to provide an educational culture that respects the child’s innate desire to learn and fosters curiosity, creativity and critical thinking, while preparing every child to become a thoughtful, independent and compassionate global citizen.

To learn more about the Children's House Montessori School visit: camdenmontessori.org/home


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Those who hear the NaNoWriMo (sounds like nanno rhyme-o) acronym for the first time might think it’s odd, but for aspiring and veteran writers alike, it’s the welcome sound of inspiration. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which challenges participants to write a 50,000-word novel in one month.

For the layman, that’s about 2/3 of a novel, or about 150-170 pages. And yes, you can do it!

The Rockland Public Library is participating in NaNoWriMo and offering space in its lower level to “Come Write In.” The space and informal group, led by five-time NaNoWriMo participant and author Lee Heffner, invites aspiring novelists to gather in a place and write together throughout the month.

“Writing groups are very important to the process, but finding the writing group that is right for you is the trick,” said Heffner, who has actually completed the 50,000-word goal twice in the last five years. “It has to be one that has common goals and where participants respect each others’ writing. The hardest thing, I think, to learn as a writer is to give and receive constructive feedback. It takes a long time to get over not feeling wounded when somebody critiques your work.”

Heffner is a big proponent of the NaNoWriMo process for any level of writer because of the limited time frame. For 30 days in November people are under the gun to get to that 50,000-word goal. “We are acculturated to work by deadlines,” she said.  “I think that’s one of the most important aspects of NaNoWriMo — the second is the principle of ‘Murder your Internal Editor.’ Writing is broken into three different processes: writing, editing and marketing and they require very different areas of focus. Write first—then edit. Then when it’s all done, market it.”

Two of Heffner’s participants were there to learn and to be encouraged. Linda White, a psychotherapist for 30 years, was interested in writing a series of essays, 12 essay for 12 months. “I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve wanted to write about some of the insights that have evolved beyond traditional therapy and the spiritual aspects,” she said. A lot of my work professionally came from my own journey, so there’s been a book or two in me for a long time.

Emily Lattimore, another participant, has had more experience as a writer, but was using this month and group to get re-engaged. “I want to write the kind of books I do already write, but I’d to sell them,” she said, laughing.

“NaNoWriMo is an unbeatable way to write the first draft of a novel because it’s such a powerful antidote to that horrible foe of creativity: self doubt,” said Grant Faulkner, executive director of NaNoWriMo. “As many NaNoWriMo writers have discovered, the best way to learn to write a novel is by simply plunging in to write a novel.”

In addition to a comfortable and quiet space, the Rockland Public Library library is providing free WiFi. Additionally, there will be weekly gatherings to write and exchange ideas with fellow novelists. Beginning Nov. 6, gatherings will be held on Wednesdays in the Library's Board Room, from noon to 2 p.m. This is a time to write together and share ideas, breakthroughs, frustration and more.

Visit www.nanowrimo.org for more details and to register to write on a national level, or simply join Heffner’s local group and get crackin’—that muse isn’t going to sit there forever. See her Pinterest page for inspiration. For more information, call the Library at 594-0310.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

MONHEGAN —Ten miles out on Monhegan Island, Matt and Mary Weber are just like most Maine islanders — always working. Matt’s a full-time lobsterman and Mary’s a teacher and right now, their jobs are in full swing. But at the end of the day when most people come home to unwind and relax, Matt and Mary are back to work again with their recently launched seasonal brewery, Monhegan Brewing Company. Even though they have closed the microbrewery for the season, there are still orders to fill and marketing to be done.

With Monhegan’s lobstering season from Oct. 1 to June 7, we had to catch up with the Webers by email and ask more questions about their unique microbrewery. They specialize in small batch, hand-crafted beer brewed by Danny McGovern, a visionary with more than 20 years in the Maine brewing industry.

Q: What's the back story on you guys? And why did you pair up with another brewer?

A: Danny McGovern is Mary's father.  Mary grew up with home brew equipment all over her house and, when she was 16, he [McGovern] started Lake St. George Brewing Company in the mid 1990s (one of the first Maine microbreweries) out of their home.  Since this was the very beginning of the craft brewing movement, his only market was in the Portland area, so self-distributing proved to be time consuming and expensive.  After closing Lake St. George, he went on to work at Belfast Bay Brewing Company, where he created McGovern's Oatmeal Stout, which is still on the market, but now contract brewed and distributed by Shipyard. He then moved on to Marshall Wharf, where he still brews.  We all decided to go into business together for a few reasons:  

  1. We live here.  It's a beautiful place and it attracts a very eclectic mix of visitors and residents.
  2. Danny wanted to be an owner again and he wanted to create a family business that would allow him to pass on the knowledge of his craft to us and future generations.

Q: Maine has seen a total explosion of microbreweries since the 1990s. But you're the only outer-island brewery in Maine. How is that an advantage — and also a disadvantage?

A: Being the only outer-island brewery is an advantage in the sense that everyone who visits the island in the summer (and it's a LOT of people!) hears about us and/or visits us.  We're obviously the only microbrewery on the island, and, given the movement toward supporting local food/economy/business, people are thrilled to be able to buy a product that was produced right on the island.  There are lots of fans of Monhegan, so that name alone gives us notoriety. Our product is what people are loving, but the name gets them to notice it. Obviously the disadvantage to having a brewery on the island is that we have to get everything out here.  It is expensive and sometimes logistically tricky.  Distributing off island also presents those same challenges.

Q: Describe how your careers have influenced the type of beers you make along with the labels you've given them.

A: As you know, Matt catches lobsters. And this winter, we will be doing a rum barrel-aged beer that is influenced by rum’s maritime history.  Besides our Trap Stacker Special Ale, names are less influenced by his profession, but rather by our home.  Lobster Cove APA is named after the cove that is pretty much our front yard.  Shipwreck IPA is named for the D.T. Sheridan, a tugboat whose remains are still on the island.  Our idea has been to name all of our beers after island historical landmarks.

Q: Do you trade your beer with other islanders? If so, for what?

A: We don't trade beer, but we do have an exchange going.  The Island Farm Project is happy to take our spent grain for compost.  In exchange, they are growing hops for us.  This helps both parties, as waste removal is tough on an island.

Q: Tell us what Monhegan Brewing Company's next steps. How do you plan on getting your beer noticed?

A: The plan for our second year of business is to participate in beer events across Maine, starting with the beer/wine tasting at Camden Snow Bowl's toboggan event this February, Down The Chute Beer & Wine Tasting 2014.  We will add to our bottle line-up by next spring, including some limited releases, one of which is a Quadracentennial brew that we will release this summer to commemorate 400 years since Capt. John Smith landed on Monhegan.  This will be a huge event on the island next summer.

For a limited time, you can currently find Monhegan Brewing Company’s Trap Stacker Special Ale (22 oz $10.99) at French and Brawn Market Place.

For more stories about who else is microbrewing in the Midcoast check out:

• 24 Hours in the Midcoast for the ‘Craft Beer Lover’

• New Rockland brewery launches at Rock Harbor along with three new craft beers


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

BELFAST—Talk about putting your cheese out in the wind. . .

Eat More Cheese, a specialty food shop that opened in Belfast last year, just moved to 94 Main Street from its previous location, tucked behind the building that houses Rollie’s Bar and Grill. Unfortunately, on their grand opening day, high winds in Waldo country knocked out the power for most of the morning.

The power had just gotten back on around noon. Owners Tony and Natalia Rose took it in stride, but were relieved to be able to switch the cheese case lights back on.

The new space on Main Street has twice as much room as the old location and they’ve stuck with their warm mustard colored walls and earthy packaging. “We’re really pleased with this new space,” said Tony, “especially for visibility and accessibility. It will be a lot easier for folks in town and visiting to come in.” This expansion will allow Eat More Cheese to offer an even larger selection of fine cheeses from around the world, as well as salami, charcuterie, beer and wine, chocolate and other specialty products.

“Basically, we can now offer even more cheese,” he said.

The shop carries an ever changing selection of cheeses with upwards of 75 varieties in stock at any time, all of which can be sampled by customers before purchase.

“We’re going to be doing some tastings for the holidays and winter season,” said Tony.

To find out when the tastings are, stay tuned to their Facebook page.   Or contact them at 207-358-9701 or info@eatmorecheese.me

Click to see our previous article on Eat More Cheese.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—It’s what you call a “fixer upper.”

Those who attended last Saturday night’s third annual bash by The Collective were delighted and amazed to find a small-scale replica of Dorothy Gale’s tornado-transported house smack in the center of Winter Street. The art piece was created by Resisting Entropy, a group of Midcoast artists who work collaboratively within a condensed time frame and shared space to transform reclaimed and found materials into unique and unpredictable artworks.

When Jared Cowan, an artist and owner of Rockland’s Asymmetrick Arts got together with The Farnsworth’s small group of creatives known as The Collective, they were brainstorming a party theme for their upcoming bash “From Kansas to Oz.” Given that The Farnsworth Art Museum had just launched a new exhibition “The Wonderful World of Oz: Selections from the Willard Carroll/Tom Wilhite Collection,” Cowan had a kind of far-out idea.

“At first, we sort of were just laughing, coming up with the concept—let’s build Dorothy’s house after the tornado slammed it into Oz,” Cowan suggested. Mind you, he said this to his artist group with the assumption it would be done—like most of their projects—in 24 hours.

“We said that’s crazy, let’s not do that; it’s way too difficult,” said Andrew White, one of the artists. “Then we said, ‘okay, if you really want to do it. . .’ Then you get 14 or 15 talented people in the same space and everyone just understood and went for it.”

With the presiding group including some carpenters, installation artists, sculptors and painters, the design of the exterior took form as it went. To see a full list of the contributing artists of Resisting Entropy, click here. The slammed-together house was made with all reclaimed and found materials, including sections of fencing from The Farsworth. They built it in eight modular sections, lightly framing up each component, so that it could be taken apart and re-assembled on The Farnsworth’s courtyard after the initial event. “We couldn’t anticipate the end product, and up until midnight, I thought we were behind,” said Cowan. “Then we hit this quantam leap between 12 and 2 a.m. and all of a sudden we made this giant jump and we were sort of three hours ahead. The last part was building the roofing and we didn’t even assemble that until 4:30 in the morning,” he said.

“At some point in the night, we all looked at each other and said, ‘We are a little strange and broken that we find doing this kind of thing fun,” said White. “But I’m glad we all found each other so we can do these kinds of projects.”

It’s like a giant, cock-eyed doll house. There’s a kitchen, living room and bedroom. Inside the foyer, there are working old-fashioned light fixtures, and a reclaimed wood floor. Original paintings have been included like the “Home Sweet Home” welcome mat and the optical illusion staircase by artist, Greta Van Campen. Old photos with broken glass frames tilt on the walls, along with lopsided bookshelves and upended furniture. The house was even electrically wired by artist Eric Leppanen so that the fixtures inside would light up as well as the flood lights surrounding it.

While most of the group concentrated on the exterior, several artists focused on all of the quirky interior details. “We were all inside putting the interior together while everything was being built around us,” said Bethany Engstrom. “So, we were thinking what would happen to the furniture if the house had fallen down. We wanted to create an interior that was still in motion. For example, the chairs are strewn about and other items are hanging in mid-air. Susan brought a lot of materials from her own house to put into this house,” she said.

For now Dorothy’s House can be seen on The Farnsworth’s courtyard on Elm Street. It may be there for about a month. “Before the snow flies,” Cowan said. He said the group is open to hearing from anyone who might be interested in hosting Dorothy’s House on a more permanent basis.

“We should list it on a real estate website and see if anyone bites,” said White.

“It’s probably as weather-and water-tight as 80 percent of the houses in Rockland,” Cowan joked.

To see more photos of The Collective’s third annual bash, check out our gallery, We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.


Photos by Kay Stephens. She can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Every year, I think The Collective might not be able to top their own event from last year—and so far, every year I’ve been wrong.

This is the third year The Farnsworth Art Museum has drawn on its highly creative young artists’ committee, The Collective, to envision a theme blowout bash, and this year’s theme, appropriately enough was “From Kansas To Oz.”

They keep switching up locations for each annual party and this year, The Collective took over Winter Street in Rockland. The crowning center piece was The Dorothy House, a 20-foot slammed-together crooked house made entirely from reclaimed materials. (Stay tuned for more on this house later this week!)

Once you got past the wonder of this crazy house, two galleries opposite each other on Winter Street were transformed into dystopian alternative realities of Oz. From hay bales in tiny stalls with cut outs of flying monkeys to The Poppy Room (poppies, poppies poppies!) to the large warehouse room showing the original 35 mm The Wizard of Oz film on the wall, the atmosphere was kickin’—made even better by the imaginations of the partygoers. They had to come up with their own interpretation of where they were on their journey from Kansas to Oz and the following gallery will show you where their minds were.


All photos by Kay Stephens. She can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

Hey, if your daughter really wants to dress up as a princess this Halloween, that’s cool. Kids should feel free to dress up as whatever and whomever they want (though I am so over the sexy costumes for girls and women. Sexy Bacon Strip. Really?)

Mashable came up with a great column, 18 Badass Girls Who Skipped Princess Costumes, compiled by Christine Erickson. Click through to see all 18 photos of these cuties in sci-fi, male superhero and other costumes.

I’m including my absolute fave here. She didn’t want to be a princess. She wanted to be Prince!

What’s your favorite?


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Imagine having to leave your 8-year-old son alone in a country where warlords routinely kill and rape your neighbors, then seize their houses. Somali refugee, 26-year-old Khadija Hassan, had to make an extremely difficult decision five years ago when she and her husband gathered the rest of her five children to flee to America, eventually settling in Lewiston.

In the Somalian refugee camps, chances for resettlement are based on ration cards. It’s complicated to explain, but when Khadija’s son, Hussein, was 4, he was placed in his grandparents’ custody; therefore, under their ration card, not Khadija’s. Because of this discrepancy, when Khadija’s placement was randomly chosen, she could only take the children on her card.

The plan was always to send for Hussein once they got settled in Maine. But soon after they left, Hussein’s grandparents both died and he was then placed in his uncle’s care. While on their way to another refugee camp, his uncle was shot in his tent and had to be transferred to a hospital in Nairobi, leaving Hussein alone, once more. For the last five years, Khadija has been trying to raise the money to get her son back. Hussein has lived in a horror zone, displaced from his home, shuffled around in the Kakuma refugee camp, which has grown to nearly 500,000 refugees in 20 years. New refugees continue to arrive, but the Kenyan government has suspended full-scale registration. Without being registered, new arrivals cannot access all of the assistance to which they are entitled.

This is exactly Hussein’s predicament. Now 13, he continues to live on his own in a dangerous refugee camp in Kenya without the proper, updated documentation. The conditions of the refugee camp are chaotic and violent, according to a case worker familiar with Khadija’s plight. Aid workers have been kidnapped and sometimes murdered, along with attacks on security personnel. Refugees have been targeted for assassination. It’s a brutal world for an adult. One can’t even imagine the breaking point of this boy, with no parents and no home.

At the time of this article, attempts to reach Khadija and her case worker were unsuccessful. However, a small group of students at Camden Hills Regional High School have been working on Hussein’s behalf in an effort to bring him to the United States and to reunite him with his mother. The students include Audrey Lane, Frances Pendleton, Emily Haining, Emily Quinn and Sara Wandell.

“Emily Quinn told me about this and when she was describing the situation, I felt so sad for this boy,” said Lane. “When she came up with something we could do to help him, I wanted to join.”

Quinn learned about Hussein’s predicament from her mother, Donna Gates, a psychologist doing trauma treatment with Somali refugees.

“I thought how we could raise the money and get the funds together to bring him back here,” said Quinn.

She and her friends decided to raise $3,000 for his visa and travel expenses. They created flyers, donation jars and raffle baskets, then placed them in a number of area businesses. Among the many locals and businesses that helped, Zoot Coffee in Camden evenly matched every dollar donated.

Liz Dailey, a teacher at CHRHS who heads up the Amnesty International Club, offered to help the girls on her own time. (CHRHS doesn’t allow students to fund-raise for individual campaigns).

“They approached me as an adviser and I helped them put together the raffle baskets and showed them how to build awareness in a community,” said Dailey. “People would stop and ask questions about Hussein and the girls would explain what they were doing for him. I was drawn to it, because any time students are thinking outside of their own world view, it’s always inspiring to me. When Emily gathered some students together, I really wanted to support that.”

So far, the group has successfully met their goal to raise $3,000 to bring Hussein to the United States. The frustrating part is that even though the funds are there, the obstacle is getting someone to take Hussein’s photo and process the paperwork for his visa. Hussein is still living unescorted — essentially like an orphan — in the refugee camp.

“There’s no one who can help him or bring him to the United Nation’s office,” said Quinn.

His mother has had occasional phone contact with him over the years, according to Quinn. The last they knew of his situation, he had been living with some neighbors, but these neighbors may have already been relocated. To compound his problems, landowners and public officials who control the displacement camps often divert incoming aid, and children are also more often the victims of malnourishment.

“I feel so awful for him,” said Quinn. “I cannot imagine living in these conditions with warfare every day, with no family around,”

The girls and Dailey are hoping to expand more awareness for Hussein, not necessarily more funding, but to find a way to get someone like a United Nations employee to find Hussein and process his photo and visa paperwork so he can finally be reunited with his mother and family.

“Perhaps our next step is to get a letter campaign going,” said Dailey. “Maybe we can get help from Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King.”

Quinn nodded. “We’re just going to keep working to find a way to get him here,” she said.

If anyone wants to get in touch with Dailey or the students, the best email to reach them is liz_dailey@fivetowns.net

For more information, contact: Refugees International or The UN Refugee Agency.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

I swear the clock has turned back to 1998 because I have not seen this much enthusiasm around Halloween parties in years. YEARS, I tells ya. Ever since The Collective bumped up the Halloween standard, a host of other bars, restaurants and venues have been dying to get in on the gig. (Only one stupid Halloween pun is allowed per story and that was it.) Because Halloween is officially on Thursday, Oct. 31, the parties have been spread out — before and after. So get yourself to the Goodwill, you have a lot of costumes to make. Here is your Halloween rundown up and down the Midcoast.

Saturday, Oct. 26

The Collective — Rockland

8 p.m. to midnight

Join The Collective — the Farnsworth Art Museum’s newest membership group — for its third annual bash in downtown Rockland on Winter Street. Drawing on the museum’s Wonderful World of Oz exhibition, this party is not to be missed. “There will be dancing, drinking and OZing.” Drinks and light snacks will be served amongst an atmosphere created by The Collective Steering Committee and other community volunteers. Dress for Kansas or dress for Oz • Cash Bar • Tickets are limited • The bash is free for Collective members and $10 for non-Collective members. To purchase or reserve a ticket stop by the Museum Store, email membership@farnsworthmuseum.org or call 596-6457 Ext. 145.

The Black Harpoon Halloween Party  Port Clyde

9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Wear your costume, judging is at 9 p.m. Prizes for 1st (cash prize), 2nd (gift certificate prize) and 3rd (gift certificate prize). Appetizer buffet for $5 starting at 8 p.m. They will be having specialty beer for the night and several Halloween cocktails, such as "Witches Brew." 

 Trackside Station's 5th annual Halloween Bash  Rockland

9 p.m to 1 a.m.

DJ VJ will be playing all of your favorites, along with modern dance music.  “We encourage everyone to come in costume,” said owner Kelly Woods. “All of our female bartenders will be Disney princesses.” $100 cash prize for best costume. There will be drink specials. 21 and over with ID. No cover.

 The Smokestack Grill—Camden

9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

It's the Smokestack's annual Halloween party!! Costume contests with cash prizes, games, drink specials and this year, live music with JUST TEACHERS!!

 Halloween Dance at Waldoboro VFW Hall Waldoboro

8 p.m. to close

The Waldoboro Fireman’s Association and Soule Shuman VFW Post of Waldoboro are co-hosting a public dance with Bad Penny, a country and country-rock music band, providing the music. According to Waldoboro Asst. Fire Chief Bill Maxwell, “Bad Penny is very popular in this area and was the band that helped kick off the anniversary celebration we had back in August.”

Costumes are encouraged and prizes will be awarded for the following categories: Most Original Costume, Funniest Costume, Best Group Costume, Scariest Costume, Best Couple Costume and People’s Choice.

Cost is $8 per person and $15 per couple. For more information contact VFW Commander John Blodgett at 832-6343 or Asst. Fire Chief Bill Maxwell at 832-2161.

Front Street Pub — Belfast

9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Join them for their 9th annual Costume Party and Jager giveaway night with cash prizes.

Bowen’s Tavern Belfast

9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Halloween party kicks off with Octavia, a rock and roll band. They’re offering a $200 cash prize for the best costume, but you must be present for the time of the judging. Drink specials include $1.50 Rolling Rock draughts. $5 cover.

 

Thursday, Oct. 31

3Crow Restaurant & Bar’s Funky Halloween Dance Party Rockland

9:30 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Get on the good foot and get down to great live funk, soul and classic R&B with The Groove Machine. Featuring members of Active Culture, Bim Skala Bim, Chronic Funk, Blind Albert, and the Elevator Pilots ... this is going to be a night you (and your dancin' shoes) won't want to miss. Costumes • Prizes  Drink specials Soul Train Line  Come help tear the roof off the mutha-sucka.

FOG Bar & Cafe’s All Hallow’s Eve with The Dolphin Strikers  Rockland

9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Guess what folks, they've got The Dolphin Strikers at FOG Bar Halloween, when all the ghouls come out to play with one of the best bands in the Midcoast. There will be Halloween drink specials, and those in costume will be generously rewarded. (Think contest ...). Come one, come all, get dressed up and have a ball. 21+ with I.D., $5 Cover, Costume-like attire suggested.

Myrtle Street Tavern Rockland

9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

The popular DJs, The 220s will be playing reggae and they’ll be offering “Scary-eoke” with a costume contest and prizes. 21+ with I.D.

Front Street Pub Belfast

9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Join us for a Halloween party with bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving contest, pumpkin baking contest, and more. 21+ with I.D.

Three Tides: Halloween Black Light Dance Party Belfast

 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Doors open at 8 p.m. and the music with DJ Ian Hammond, (Portland’s Penthouse Party Resident) begins at 9 p.m. 21+ with I.D.

Friday, November 1

Feast of Fools Masquerade Ball, Simonton Corner Community Hall Rockport

7 p.m. to close

For a minor donation of $5 in advance or $7 at the door, you can join us for an evening of dancing and mystery as we encourage all who attend to come in costume! The 220s will be playing and they are not a band to miss! Their eclectic sound can play anything from the classic sound of Jimi Hendrix to the Beastie Boys and Daft Punk! To enter the costume competition, there is a small fee of $3 a person or $5 per couple, which will be awarded to the winners of best individual and best couple’s costume! For those bringing potions in which to imbibe, be sure to have your ID on you, for we will be checking them at the door. 21 and over only!

Saturday, Nov. 2

Blue Goose’s Hallo Week After Northport

7 – 11 p.m.

The Juke Rockets will perform at the Blue Goose on Route 1 in Northport during Hallo Week After: A post-ghost fundraiser. Guests are encouraged to come in costume and enjoy fine food samplings from local restaurants and caterers, high energy blues dance music and a cash bar. There will also be a raffle featuring fabulous prizes from local businesses. Tickets are $25 per person and are available for pre-sale at Waldo County YMCA and Left Bank Books in Belfast, and at Totman's in Belmont. All proceeds benefit community nonprofit organizations Cold Comfort Productions/Belfast Maskers and the Waldo County YMCA. For more information, contact Waldo County YMCA 338-4598.

Stay tuned as more details and more events emerge! If you have a 21-and-over party that we’ve missed, please email Kay at Penobscot Bay Pilot!


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PORT CLYDE — Tom Judge, executive director of LifeFlight of Maine and a member of the St. George Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Association, was the second paramedic on the scene Aug. 11, when 9-year-old Dylan Gold of Cohasset, Mass., was fatally injured in a motor vehicle crash on the Monhegan Dock. In addition to Dylan, his mother, Allison, brother Wyatt and Joss Coggeshall of Port Clyde were critically injured by an out-of-control vehicle.

“I took care of the Gold family that day and Joss, who also got hit,” said Judge. “It was the most horrible day for everybody. But, when you have these events like Rock The Dock, which was originally established to honor the fishermen we’ve lost at sea, it’s painful, but it’s important to remember those people in our lives. Memory has to be an active process. Because, otherwise these people disappear into the sands of time.”

Saturday’s Rock The Dock 2013 benefit brought out hundreds of people from all over the Midcoast to honor Dylan, as well as a way to remember others lost in community. One of those perfect Indian summer days, the wharf filled up quickly Oct. 19. There was no entry fee; instead there was a donation jug, in which person after person came through stuffing twenties and higher in.

Standing outside of the tent, Judge looked on at the folks streaming inside and said, “It’s really important today to celebrate the life of this little boy. That’s what his family wants; this incredibly courageous family. This entire community needs to put their arms around each other and say ‘We care about each other.’ And that’s how you mend the holes in the fabric of the community.” See our video of Judge’s tribute to Dylan Gold.

For this event, there were about as many volunteers as there were attendees. More than 2,000 lobsters had been donated and were being served up by local lobstermen, along with fresh corn on the cob and butter. “Go on, take two, take three,” said one volunteer piling up a plate of soft-shelled lobsters.

A long row of tables held an enormous amount of donated homemade food. At one end of the table, shuckers Togue Brawn and Erich Culver cracked open oysters harvested from Virginia and North Haven as fast as people could scoop them up. From crock pots of pulled pork and beans to industrial dishes of homemade lasagnas and casseroles, no one was going to go hungry that day. Then there was an incredible array of desserts...if people still had room.

Amy and Andy Barstow, owners of Monhegan Boat Line, had been originally planning a Rock The Dock event when the accident happened. Like so many others in the community, they were devastated by what happened and wanted to find a way to honor Dylan’s memory. They contacted the Gold family, who gave their blessing to proceed with the event.

Organizers said the event raised nearly $30,000 that day. All proceeds from the event went to LifeFlight of Maine, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit air medical and critical care transport organization and to the St. George Volunteer Ambulance and Firefighter's Association.  No one even realized, while Rock The Dock was going on, Lifeflight was already in use that very morning, needed for a motorcycle accident in nearby Thomaston.

”When you think about when things go wrong, the promise of 911 is such an incredible promise to society,” said Judge. “It’s simple, but profound. If you call us we will come.”

“We touch every corner of Maine,” he added. “It’s a huge job. We’re at a point where we need to add a third helicopter, which is literally like adding a third hospital in Maine.

While a live auction proceeded in one corner of the tent, many stopped to add their signatures to an art piece designated with a heart motif for the Gold family by artist Millie Donovan. A few people got up to dance to live music by Country Choir and Maine Rocket and later in the afternoon, Judge, and Monhegan Boat Line family member, Jim Barstow, and the Revs. Randall Thissell and Bill Hickey stood up before the audience to add their perspectives on everyone’s purpose for being there.

As the sun shone through thickening clouds, a crowd on the farthest end of the wharf looked up to see a bald eagle soaring across the sky. Then, Jim Barstow, holding an old iron bell, stood by the edge of the dock. For every name spoken, Barstow rang the bell once in the traditional blessing of the fleet.  A flowered wreath was tossed into the slate-colored sea, its loosened petals slowly scattering out with the breeze and the tide.

To all huddled around to witness it, this moment hurt. It was a strange mixture of emotions, both the deep stab of pain in the chest and the relief of being surrounded by a community of people who deeply cares what happens to one another. Watching the wreath float away was both a remembrance and a goodbye to those who have been lost — but to also make sure they never truly disappear.

Anyone who wishes to donate something in remembrance of Dylan, who had a previous flight  from Monhegan by LifeFlight, can do so by making a donation to the Dylan Gold fund at LifeFlight of Maine.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—“Unmask! Unmask!” cried Edgar Allen Poe’s narrator in Masque of the Red Death.

No, wait a minute. Change of plans. Keep them on.

Zany Rockland party planners Hot Pink Flannel are kicking off their 2013 party season with the Thomaston youth organization Trekkers to host an Autumn Masquerade on Oct. 19 at The Speakeasy, a new lounge located under the Chowder House at the Tradewinds Motor Inn. The occasion marks the 5th anniversary for Hot Pink Flannel and the 20th year in existence for the Trekkers. For that reason, they wants to celebrate it with all you Midcoasties; yeah we said Midcoasties.  There will be saucy dance music provided by DJ MJ from Portland, door prizes and lots of masks.  The party starts at 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.  It is a 21 and over party with a $5 cover.  So join HPF and Trekkers in celebrating an awesome local youth organization, put on a crazy mask and dance until your feet hurt.  See you on the dance floor!

Learn more about Hot Pink Flannel here.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — The 60 exhibitors at the Maine Made 2013 showcase, Saturday, Oct. 19, will include food producers, artisans, jewelry crafters, wine makers, photographers and fine furniture makers, among others. The show is billed as the “premiere resource” for locally-made products in one place in the Midcoast.

For the entrepreneurs who work hard to make valuable, handcrafted products, this is their time to shine. From newcomers to the area like Bixby Chocolate Co. and Dulse & Rugosa to long-timers like Orange Iron Fabrications and Rheal Day Spa, this will be the place to shop locally and support Maine artisans.

“Along with a great variety of vendors, this year’s show features some fun new activities,” said Karen Brace, member services manager of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. ”While the number of exhibitors has doubled to 60 and the show’s floor space has expanded, we’ve also added live chef demos, a kids’ crafts area and even a relaxation spot where parents can get a 10-minute massage while their kids make crafts.”

Wine tasting will be featured as well as samples from area chefs using Maine products as their ingredients.

“The wine, cheese and beer tasting area is always popular, and in that space we plan to feature live music,” said Brace. “But, the one thing I like best about producing the Maine Made show is that it gives locals the chance to support the small businesspeople who work hard around our state creating  these incredible items. It’s a ‘shop local’ opportunity for sure.”

Maine Made 2013 is at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Tickets will be available at the door. Prices are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and children under 12 are free. Wine tasting is an additional fee.

The one-day show is co-produced by the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Maine Food Producers' Alliance. The state Department of Economic and Community Development is collaborating with producers and sponsors to promote Maine’s small businesses.

For more information on Maine Made 2013, and to see a complete list of vendors, chefs, wineries and breweries are attending, visit MaineMadeShow.com, call 236-4404 or email karen@penbaychamber.com.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PROSPECT — Jeremy Sawyer was a teenager when he began volunteering as a frightful-looking clown at The Friends of Fort Knox’s annual haunted tour, Fright at the Fort. Now 26, he’s just as excited to drag out his costume as ever as he gears up to crouch in a corner Friday night and scare the bejeezus out of passersby.

“I love horror movies and comedies. I’m a real fan of B movies,” he said of the campy cross-comedy/horror genre.

He is a huge fan of Halloween and created the sinister clown character “The Freak Show,” which plays on people’s fears of clowns in general.

“He’s so way out there, beyond who I normally am,” said Sawyer. “If I can’t make them scared, I’ll make them laugh.”

“My voices are what gets them,” he said, giving a demonstration — “Kids, where y’all goin,” he said in a scratchy Downeast Maine accent.

He created the costume from scratch with help from a makeup artist who had instructed the Fright at the Fort “haunters.” Along with the striped black and neon green costume, he’ll unveil a new prop he procured this year called a scream cannon, which is a loud horn blast combined with a spotlight.

“We’ll just get up behind people and set this off,” he said, smiling.

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,” he said. “We all get along and have a lot of fun doing this each year.”

They call themselves Carnevil.

“All of us have said we’d love to do this again for other organizations, as long as it doesn’t interfere with Fright at the Fort’s schedule,” he said.

Sawyer has costume ideas sketched out on paper that he hopes to transform into more characters down the road. For now, The Freak Show is primed and ready to go. If you go to Fright at the Fort this year and an evil clown jumps out at you with a scratchy Maine accent, go ahead and scream. It’s just Jeremy.

To learn more about what Fright at the Fort is all about, check out our latest story, The ghoulish underbelly of Fright at the Fort.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PROSPECT — Every day is Halloween for Leon Seymour, executive director of the Friends of Fort Knox, the group that transforms the fort each October into an elaborate haunted house tour. Seymour, who took the job 14 years ago, knew Fort Knox had the creepy potential to become more than just a tourist destination for war buffs. With its tight passageways and stony gloom, Fort Knox was the perfect setting for a scary thrill ride — it just needed someone with a twisted imagination to conceive of another marketable use.

“Here’s the story,” Seymour began. “When I was a kid, I loved Halloween. I’d work for months to get my costume ready, but, half of the Halloweens, I’d come down sick and couldn’t go out.”

For 14 years, he has been making up for lost time with Fright at the Fort, which last year shuffled 8,200 people through the tour over the course of two weekends, bringing in more than $72,000. Fright at the Fort proceeds support the ongoing mission of the Friends of Fort Knox to preserve and restore the fort and enhance its education, cultural and economic value to the people of Maine.

“It’s grown in complexity, year after year,” he said. “People come back every year, so you’ve got to show them something different and keep them excited.”

It’s just a few days before Fright at the Fort kicks off its 2013 season, Friday, Oct. 18. Seymour is like a little kid again leading a daylight tour of the fort, as staff and volunteers set up elaborate props and staging.

“Make sure that zombie baby is tied down,” he instructs one of his staff, pointing to a hideous creature that sits tucked in one of the narrow stone windows. “Or else somebody will walk off with it.”

He dreams up a different theme each year. This year’s theme is the Black Plague, circa 1347.

“The Penobscot Job Corps has been working with me to put it together this year,” he said. “We’re going to have stacked bodies, cots, straw bales strewn around. We’ve got a wooden cart with wooden wheels to bring out the dead. And a few surprises,” he says with a sinister chuckle. This is a guy who really gets into it.

“Nobody has done the Black Plague theme. You can’t just go to a Halloween store and buy plague props,” he said.

All year he has been making his own props, as well as buying big ticket items for the upcoming event, having them delivered by freight from out of state.

Just outside of the Spider Tunnel, a few men are standing on staging, working on the Fort’s masonry.

“They’re not part of the Fright crew,” Seymour explains. “They’re actually repairing the masonry. Many of the Fort’s repairs come out of the net proceeds we make each year from Fright at the Fort.”

Browsing the Fright at the Fort FAQs, an honest to God question people have asked is: “Will I be injured, dismembered or killed at your event?”

The answer, if you’re worried, is: No. In addition to their security staff, they also have at least one EMT and one police officer on staff.

But that’s the kind of thrilling unease that brings in people in droves from all over the state and country. No haunted house tour in the country can beat the Fright at the Fort experience. The Fort’s natural haunting, stone cold architecture is of course, a major factor. But Fright at the Fort’s 100 or so volunteers bring their A-game, from set decorators to live costumed “Haunters,” who make the most out of jumping out of dark, confined spaces. For 35 minutes, participants will wind through spooky corridors, in and out of buildings, experiencing fake blood, zombies, violence, gore, loud noises, gunfire, strobe lights, darkness, fog and chaos.

For Seymour, a fan of science fiction and most Halloween genres, he tests out each and every prop and chamber of the tour, going through it with a meticulous checklist.

“Look at these slaughtered pigs,” he says, tapping the hanging, swinging rubber pigs. “I love these. Did you know that if you fell into a pig pen, they have been known to attack a person and start eating them?”

He slapped the gruesome props with a big smile. “This is Christmas for me,” he said.

Fright at the Fort is not recommended for children younger than 13 or those who scare easily. The event runs Oct. 18 and 19, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., and again Oct. 25 and 26, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. To be able to make it through the fort, arrive no later than 8:30 p.m. Note, there are always long lines, but the occasional screaming and visits from ghouls makes the wait, well, part of the frightful fun. Tickets are $10 per person ($5 for 12 and under.) Express tickets may be purchase in advance by calling 469-6553 or dropping by the Friends of Fort Knox gift shop located in the Fort Visitor Center. To learn more visit: Fright at the Fort.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PORT CLYDE— Port Clyde, a tight-knit fishing community, hasn’t held a Rock the Dock community event since 2010. This fall, there had been a plan in place on Oct. 19 to come together after the season to commemorate the renovation of the Monhegan Boat Line mailboat, Laura B, and to remember the commercial fishermen and lobstermen lost at sea, as well as to build a fisherman's memorial at Marshall Point.

“We were excited to put on a Rock the Dock event this year, but when the accident happened in August, we weren’t sure if it was still appropriate to have a community celebration,” said Amy Barstow, co-owner of the Monhegan Boat Line with her husband, Andy.  

This past summer, 9-year-old Dylan Gold, of Cohasset, Mass., was fatally injured in a motor vehicle crash on the Monhegan Dock Aug. 11.  In addition to Dylan, his mother, Allison, brother Wyatt, and Port Clyde's Joss Coggeshall were critically injured by the runaway vehicle.

Barstow, like so many others in the community, were devastated by this event and wanted to find a way to honor Dylan’s memory. She contacted the Gold family and asked for their blessing to have the celebration in Dylan’s honor.

“They were very supportive of the idea and wanted the community to have it, so that’s how it has come to be,” said Barstow. 

This event is donation-only and Barstow added that the Gold family declined any percentage of the proceeds. Instead, they wanted it to go to the events’ recipients, LifeFlight of Maine, an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit air medical and critical care transport organization and the St. George Volunteer Ambulance and Firefighter's Association.

However, anyone who wishes to donate something in remembrance of Dylan (who had a previous flight by LifeFlight from Monhegan) can do so, by making a donation to the Dylan Gold fund at LifeFlight of Maine.

“Everybody has been so happy to do something, whether it’s cooking or donating something in the raffle or cleaning up,” said Barstow. “We’re going to have it right on the dock and do a moment of silence for Dylan, along with a moment of silence for the blessing of the fleet.”

In a traditional fishing community, the blessing of the fleet is a ritual where lobster boats and fishing vessels line up in the harbor to receive a blessing. It is a tribute to those who have lost their lives on the water while making their living.

The Rock the Dock for Dylan begins Saturday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. and includes lobster and a pig roast, along with other homemade dishes, raffles, remembrances at 3:30 p.m. and the annual blessing of the fleet at 4 p.m., followed by music into the evening featuring The Country Choir and The Maine Rockets.

For more information and how to help, contact the Monhegan Boat Line at 207-372-8848, abarstow@monheganboat.me.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

THOMASTON — Looking for something to do this Saturday? Oct. 12, the Knox Museum will host its inaugural "Taste of Thomaston," a food and wine festival celebrating notable local chefs, vintners, cheese artisans, brewers, fishermen, farmers, and all things delicious, local and “foodie.”  The event takes place rain or shine in a big heated tent on the grounds of Montpelier, the big white house just off Route 1 at the turn to Saint George in Thomaston.

“This is the first time we’ve done anything like this,” said Tobin Malone, director of programming and marketing. “This year we’ve been reaching out to the local community to make connections and build bridges. We have this beautiful property of 10 acres that is really underused and we want to let people know it’s available to them. Also, in terms of our mission statement, the original owners of Knox were wonderful entertainers. They’d throw their doors open, have big parties and feed everyone in town.”

Heading up the list of notable local chefs contributing some of their signature dishes to the tasting event will be Melissa Kelly of Primo Restaurant; Kerry Altiero of Café Miranda; Scott Yakavenko of the Slipway; and Herbert Peters of Thomaston Café.

Jessica Shepard, of The Uproot Pie Company, will be on hand dishing out her famous wood oven-fired pizza. Glen Libby of Mid-Coast Fisherman’s Co-Op will serve up Port Clyde’s fresh catch. Also on hand to share their unique creations will be Peter McBean and Frank Morrill shucking Cushing oysters, Jeanne Johnson of Breakwater Vineyards, Molly Sholes of Spruce Mountain Blueberries, Elaine Waldron of Hootin Gluten Free Bakery, Andy Hazen of Andrews Brewing Company, Nancy and Pat O’Brien of Fiore Artisan Olive Oils & Vinegars, Jeff Wolovitz and Maho Hisakawa of Coastal Farms Heiwa Tofu, and specialty cake baker Darci-Lynn Chickering-Morris of The Sugar Tree.

Additional specialty local products will be available for tasting from Terra Optima Farm Market, State of Maine Cheese Company, 3 Dogs Café & Sweet Sensations, and Maine Street Meats. Sarah Flint will showcase her Scarlet Smile bittersweet wreaths. And the entire Thomaston Farmers Market will relocate to Montpelier’s grounds for the festival.                

Montpelier itself will be decorated for harvest season for the very first time, and will be open and free for guests to wander through nine rooms on their own and view Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday and Monday, Oct. 12 and 14, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Admission donations are $10 for adults, $8 for those between ages 21 and 35 and for seniors 62 and older, and free for museum members. The tent opens at 11 a.m. and the tasting continues until 2 p.m. Only guests 21 or older will be admitted to the tent, and all the tastings are free. For more information contact the museum at info@knoxmuseum.org or 354-8062.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

Q: What are your favorite kinds of books to read?

A: Woodworking books mostly because I like working on furniture.

-Kerry Lambertson

Unity, Maine


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN - In October, locals and vacationers are all trying to squeeze the last little bit out of the end of season they can with schooner trips and lobster rolls, sure. They’re the obvious Bucket List choices, but one little activity that happens annually needs to be on everyone’s Bucket List radar and that’s the Ragged Mountain Ski Club and Camden Snow Bowl’s Sunday pancake breakfasts and chairlift rides.

The cost for the breakfast is a donation and the cost for the chairlift rides is $5 per person (a sweet deal, down $2 from last year!) For unlimited rides all day it’s $15.

Richelle Gagney, a Camden Snow Bowl employee said: “Last weekend was our first opening weekend and it was a real success. We actually had quite a few people from out of town, a lot of people coming in to see the foliage.”

Gagne said the chairlift rides are also bringing out local mountain bikers in droves.

“We have hooks on the chairs and that makes it easier for them to ride up with their bikes and come down the mountain after,” said Gagne. 

Sunday’s weather is calling for sunny skies in the low 60s–absolutely prime temperatures for the ride. If you’ve never done it before, take a picnic lunch and warm clothes. The 15 minutes slow ride up and down with the gentle rocking of the chair will be the most serene thing you’ve ever experienced. At the top of Ragged Mountain, you’ll have all of the best views (without having to work up a sweat). It may be lazy, but that’s what Sundays are for!


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Imagine trying to get yourself a cafe latte in New York City’s ‘sNice Cafe in the West Village, when all of the sudden, the girl in the corner whose laptop just got coffee spilled on it goes supernova. She has full blown rage for the guy who did it. All of a sudden the guy is slammed up against the wall and driven upward by some unseen force. Then the tables and chairs all move on their own and books come flying off the bookshelf.

How would you react?

Apparently, this was an elaborately staged promotion for the upcoming remake of the thriller Carrie, engineered by Sony. And while the jury is out whether everyone in this clip is an actual real customer, the idea is pretty novel, which is why this video has amassed more than 18 million views since it came out.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

ROCKLAND — The Wizard of Oz is coming to Rockland in a way you’ve never seen before.

The exhibition,The Wonderful World of Oz: Selections from the Willard Carroll/Tom Wilhite Collection, opens at the Farnsworth Art Museum Saturday, Oct. 12, and runs through March 2014.  A private party and screening will be held for Farnsworth Members Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. celebrating the opening of the exhibition. On Sunday, Oct. 13, The Farnsworth will offer a free lecture at 1 p.m. to give insight into the origins of the collection.

The Midcoast is home to two of the movie’s greatest collectors. Willard Carroll was only 4-years-old when he began collecting pieces from The Wizard of Oz. An American film producer, writer and director, he has amassed close to 170,000 objects of memorabilia and is recognized as having the largest privately held collection in the world. Several books, including The Wizard of Oz Collectors' Treasury and All Things Oz have been published displaying parts of his collection, which includes the Wicked Witch of the West's hourglass. He also wrote and produced the video series, The Oz Kids. He established Hyperion Pictures with Thomas L. Wilhite, a former Disney executive who greenlighted Return to Oz

Carroll and Wilhite approached The Farnsworth Art Museum about establishing an exhibit.

“Our director, Chris, was just over the moon about the idea,” said Farsnworth Communications Officer David Troup. “It’s just a real fun, family-friendly exhibition that engages new audiences. The thing that’s really going to make this different is that it’s not just the movie, it’s the books, the 1904 play, the materials and memorabilia. They culled some vital pieces from their collection, for instance, not just original costumes and props from the movie, like the fabulous hourglass and models of the flying monkeys, but also puzzles, games and books and marketing elements like posters from the movie and original play.”

“When you start a collection like this, the collection starts to take on a life of its own,” said Troup, who said that Carroll and Wilhite may be entertaining the idea of opening their own museum at some point.

And it doesn’t stop there. On Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. the Strand Theatre will screen the original 1939 35mm classic, The Wizard of Oz.

“We’re doing tons of programming around this,” said Troup. “The 35mm version is not the kind that just anybody can get. It’s called a library copy and only a museum can request it, so we made the request and we’re presenting it in partnership with the Strand.”

The price for The Strand matinee is $7.50 for all seats. Tickets are available at the box office, day-of-show, 30 minutes prior to the screening. For more information visit farnsworthmuseum.org


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

Q: Do you swear in front of your parents?

A: Not my parents, but I’m a high school baseball coach and sometimes I swear at the parents—but never in front of the kids!

-Rob Johnson

Houston, Texas


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — It’s been two years since Rock Harbor, a restaurant and pub on Main Street that replaced The Black Bull, sprung up. But working pretty much seven days a week to get the new restaurant up to speed wasn’t the only priority for owner Dan Pease. He had a vision all along to add a brewery to the restaurant and after several months of construction and brewing, he introduced three new Rock Harbor beers to the public this past weekend, just in time for football season.

A home brewer himself, Pease said he wanted to put a brewery in when they opened the restaurant, but held off until he could first research the best type of commercial system to purchase.

“We realized that to vent a traditional propane or natural gas system in this building would be very cost-prohibitive, so when this particular system, which happens to be electric, came up for sale in Portland, we bought it,” he said. “Although it gets a bit steamy in here when we’re brewing, we don’t have to vent with this system.”

The copper and stainless steel system is encased in a glass room that has taken up some restaurant space, but affords patrons and passersby on Main Street an attractive view of the brewery’s inner workings.

Over the summer Pease began brewing his first batch, which he titled Batch 101, a saison, also called a farmhouse ale. “This was our first one, our learning curve, you could say. Our fermentation temperatures were higher than we wanted, so it gave us a little bit of a bite up front and then it smooths out. It actually turned out to be really nice,” he said.

After experimenting with Batch 101, he decided to make two more. The next one, a pale ale, was called Twin Screw. “Our second beer was a pale ale with rich malt character and slight hop additions,” he said.

He calls the third Copper House Ale, an English style bitter, better known as his house beer.

“But, don’t be scared of the name, bitter, because it has a very balanced flavor to it,” he said. “Where you would normally end up with a very sharp hoppy taste, we actually embittered it more with the grains so it doesn’t come out as sharp.”

He said it took 300 pounds of grain and 124 gallons per batch to make eight kegs at a time. “We have 24 kegs of beer sitting ready to meet the public,” he said. Helping him as assistant brewer was Rich Ruggerio of the former Rocky Bay Brewing Co., which was also formerly located in Rockland.

At the time of this interview, no one but himself and a few tasters had sampled the beers. He was on the verge of launching them this past weekend.

“When you’re putting out something for the first time and you’re adapting a new system to a new location, it’s a little nerve-wracking,” he said. “The beers are awesome though, so much fun to make. At the same time, when I’m releasing something, I’m happy to have people try it and give feedback. As we move forward, these brews will get better and better.” Pease said he really loves IPAs and brown ales and will plan on making a high-alcohol, robust holiday beer next.

As it turns out, Pease said the Copper House Ale instantly became a fan favorite, selling out two of the first eight kegs in that weekend.

Rock Harbor Brewing Co., now officially the only craft brewer in Rockland, just joined the Maine Brewer’s Guild and has put itself on the Maine Beer Trail map, which is welcome news to folks who come to the Midcoast to sample hand-crafted Maine brews.

For more Midcoast brewers, see our article 24 Hours in Midcoast for the ‘Craft Brew Lover’.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

You know Cheap Dates is all for the adults, right? Stop right there if you think this is going to be some kids-running-around free for all, for I’ve got the inside scoop on how you and a sweetie or a good pal can get a hay ride and corn maze all to yourselves... muhahahah.

On Fridays, from noon to 5 p.m., Beth’s Farm Market on Western Road in Warren operates a good old-fashioned hay ride and opens their corn maze to the public. (They do this Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., too, but that’s when all the families are there.) The trick is, you have to go on a Friday between noon and 4 p.m. if you want the hay ride or the corn maze all to yourself. For $5 apiece, you get a hay ride and entry into the corn maze with a free apple and cup of cider after. Fabulous Cheap Date find right here, cha-ching.

Winston Williams, a long-term employee of Beth’s Farm Market is usually the one to drive the tractor, as it bumps down a dirt road, past apple trees with some of the most beautiful plummy colors you’ll ever see. The ride itself is only few minutes but word to the wise — wear long pants, ‘cause those hay bales are itchy.

Okay. About the corn maze. You might be thinking, eh... kids’ stuff. But have you ever seen the horror movie, Children of the Corn? Winston took one look at me and said: “It’ll take about an hour to get through. Here’s my cell phone number if you get lost.”

No joke. Winston will give you his cell phone number. One time a few years ago here, a woman and her two small children from New York got lost in the corn maze and called 911. The police had to come and find her. This is apparently a common occurance if you Google it.

But Winston’s got your back. He won’t leave the corn maze until you come out. So tra-la-la, in I go and through the maze I merrily traipse along until, I hear this swishing sound behind me. Turn to look. Nothing. Keep moving and the swishing starts again. Like the wind whispering through corn stalks you say? No, like some deranged child preacher named Malachi is behind me with a scythe. All of a sudden, there’s this tittering sound and I am officially creeped out until a murder of crows (murder!!) spills out from the tops of the stalks and flies directly above.

Now you see, with a sweetie by your side, all this fear and adrenaline can turn into some secret snuggies or a gale of laughter if you’re with your friends, but when you are by yourself in a corn maze and you’re embarassed to call Winston (and no way in hell you’re calling 911), things get a little dicey. I found a short cut and was out in 7 ½ minutes.

Winston: “Whoa, that was quick. You’re sure you don’t want to stay in longer?”

Me (run-walking) “I’m good.”

After you get back to the Farm Stand, be sure to browse around their store and load up on vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables like heirloom squash and Concord grapes. They even have fresh, unshucked oysters for a buck a pop in the back. Best place ever to have a great fall day together. But you only have a few more weekends left — they shut down the hay ride and Corn Maze after Halloween!

For more information on Beth’s Farm Market visit www.bethsfarmmarket.com or call 207-273-3695.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

CAMDEN — This is the story about a girl who made up her mind to be a comedian some day and then went out and did it. A former Midcoast resident, she flew in this week from Los Angeles to hang out in Camden for the Camden International Film Festival before she takes off on a three-month comedy tour.

But let’s back up. Josia (pronounced Jo-see-ya) Elliott was living in Camden in 2011 with her then-boyfriend, Justin Stroup, and bartending at Cappy’s Chowder House. Like a lot of 20-somethings, while slinging beers she was dreaming of what she wanted to do with her life. One summer day, she and Justin were goofing around, imagining an animated cartoon idea with one of their friends, Blake Trenholm, a waiter at Cappy’s, about what Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Mr. and Mrs. Claus would be like in the off-season. Josia and Justin saw Rudolph as this dysfunctional child star, “kind of Corey Feldman meets The Dude from the movie The Big Lebowski,” she said.  And they pictured the Clauses to have bumps in their marriage.

“It wasn’t the Rockwell portrayal,” she said. “Mrs. Claus is a woman who never reached her potential and she is now overcompensating by getting Botox, losing the weight and wants to re-brand herself as the new face of Christmas.”

As they talked about it more, Blake, a caricature artist who attended Full Sail University, began sketching out the characters on paper. And suddenly, an animated cartoon series called Northern Tights was born, just waiting to be pitched to a TV producer.

Around this same time, Josia thought to herself: I could make it out in L.A. I could be a comedian and work the comedy circuit.

Despite having little-to-no experience (with the exception of one five-minute improv set she’d done at a bar several years earlier), she made a plan. She was going to quit her job at Cappy’s and move to L.A. Her first move was getting in with an exclusive bar there. Then, as a bartender, she used her natural ability to connect with people and networked with industry insiders.

“I started meeting people very similar to myself and they were moving forward with creative projects and TV shows, and I thought, ‘I could do this, too,’” she said.

While at CIFF this past week, Josia was busy setting up tour dates and coordinating with Justin and Blake on getting the Northern Tights series in front of producers. It was just green-lighted this week.

“I’m pushing for online distribution of the show because I think that’s how people want to consume content now,” she said. “Because it's online, I’m keeping it about three-minute episodes. No one my age can pay attention for longer than that, anyway.”

Right after our interview, Josia had an appointment with L.A. voice actors to call in on Skype and work with Justin and Blake as they recorded the voices for the script of Northern Tights.

She’ll be leaving in a few days for the rest of her comedy tour.

“I’ve always been creative, painfully so,” she said. “What I love about Maine and why I keep coming back every year is that the culture here is very creative and whimsical. They love sea stories and folklore and legends.”

Since the age of 21 she’s been collecting comic bits and stories on bar napkins and notebooks and a lot of this material has ended up in her act. She was able to make this her full-time career as of last year.

“I'm not rolling in the dough, but I'm a working comedian... And that's pretty sweet,” she said. She describes her act as mostly observational humor. “I talk a lot about relationships, kind of a little insult-y and a little dirty. I have been banned for being ‘too vulgar,’ which makes me feel like I’m on the right track,” she said, smiling.

Recently, she was part of a professionally taped show called “Drunk Comedians Gaming,” in which she got together with some popular comedians such as Sam Brown from TV sketch comedy show, The Whitest Kids U’ Know. “We just got drunk and played video games and it was pretty funny. We’re looking at the footage Monday or Tuesday and again, we plan to release this online through our official YouTube channel.”

Pretty soon, she’ll fly out to kick off the tour in Montana, then do a few sets in Wyoming, where she grew up, then head out to Colorado and end up in Washington and Oregon before getting back to L.A.

As to where all of this comedic content is going to end up, she takes a laissez faire approach. “You know, people always ask what’s your end game? I honestly just want to be undeniably good at what i do, and build online content.”

You can keep tabs on Josia through her website, josiaelliott.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST  I can’t think of a more fitting cocktail to start the first day of October — one of the most spectacular months in Maine, which culminates with the Halloween finale.

The Gothic just switched up their cocktail menu to coincide with the equinox and one of them, “Death In The Afternoon” is one of the most thrilling and spooky tastes you’ll ever come across. Jon Poto, the bartender who put this cocktail on their new menu, says it was inspired by Ernest Hemingway, who wrote a 1932 nonfiction book of the same title.

“Hemingway had a cocktail he’d drink that had this great quote: ‘Pour one jigger of absinthe into a champagne glass. Add iced [brut] champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these, slowly.’ So, this is basically a twist on that by adding a splash of Cointreau and splash of lemon," said Poto, who gave us a live demonstration in constructing the cocktail.

It’s very simple. To make this at home, all you need is:

  • A shaker of ice, in which you pour:
  • Juice from ¼ of a lemon
  • ¾ ounce of absinthe. (Poto ecommends the brands Lucid or La Fée Abisinthe Parisienne.)
  • A splash of Cointreau
  • Shake and strain into a champagne flute
  • Top with Cava or any sparkling wine (or champagne) and garnish with a lemon twist.

The end result is like nothing you’ve ever tasted with fennel and anise as its most prominent notes. “It’s a pretty intense cocktail, maybe not one you’d drink all the time,” said Poto.

Although Hemingway might disagree.....

Stay tuned to The Gothic’s Facebook page as they plan to roll out a Halloween tasting menu later this month. For more of our "What's in that cocktail" series featuring original drinks made by local Midcoast bartenders, check out our Pinterest site.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Q: Who made the last incoming call on your phone and why?

A: Marti Wolfe from Five Town Communities That Care. We were talking about their mentoring program and I was getting information of how I could be of service.

-Linda White

Annapolis, Maryland


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CIFF Shorts are free and open to the public thanks to support from The First. We captured some quick clips and Q & As with the filmmakers after the screening of their films as the audience asked them questions.

One of the more sassy subjects of the Shorts program starred New York photographer Flo Fox, directed by Riley Hooper. Both of Flo’s parents were dead by the time she was 14 and she essentially raised herself on the streets of New York. With gritty style and a witty sense of humor, Flo has been documenting the streets of New York City since the 1970s. Now in her 60s and battling multiple sclerosis, lung cancer and visual impairment, Flo continues to pursue photography and maintain her adventurous, feisty spirit and dirty sense of humor. (And as the audience can attest, Flo’s famed D***thology portraits were both uncomfortable and hilarious.)

Audience question: How do you know Flo and what is she up to now?

Hooper: I have a friend who was working at an art gallery that represents artists over the age of 60. She was represented there and my friend introduced me to her. Flo is still living in New York and still doing photography, basically just as happy as ever.

To see a trailer for Flo click here.

To see more Filmmaker Short Bits from CIFF, go to

• Filmmaker Short Bits: Former nude model realizes everything stays on the Internet

• Filmmaker Short Bits: One man’s discards are another man’s art


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Spoon Maine, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop just opened this month at 44 Bay View St. in Camden (opposite the street-side parking lot of The Waterfront Restaurant). Erin Donovan and Maria Anderson are the proprietors of this whimsical, little shop and along with comfortable gathering areas to sit and chill (literally), they also have an inviting "topping bar" with everything that could possibly go with their frozen yogurt.

Here are some things you didn't know about Spoon Maine

• Tell us a bit about you two and why you decided to go into business together?

Maria is a transplant from Washington, D.C., where she managed a busy medical office. She is the mother of two teenagers, who keep her as a spectator of plays and soccer games. Erin moved here from New York City. She is a mother of three small children and a writer and comedian. We opened a frozen yogurt store because we were so tired of wondering who else would do it, so that we could eat it.
 
What’s the 411 on your flavors?
 
We searched across the country from New York to Arizona until we found a couple of different frozen yogurt brands that would deliver taste and smoothness while using natural sugars and flavors. We will change the flavors every few days, though vanilla and chocolate will likely always remain on the board. Our toppings come from local and regional providers. It was important to us to get as many Maine-made products and distributors as we could.
 
Do you have any special promotions or events coming up this fall/winter to entice people in to have frozen treats?
 
We will have a weekly Shovel Our Parking Lot Challenge that we hope draws the whole town. :) We will eventually be adding all kinds of spontaneous fun in the way of trivia nights, movie nights, TV premieres, post-game (basketball and football) celebrations, birthday parties, and more.
 
Do you have Wi-Fi? If so, what's the best way to eat frozen yogurt with one hand on the keyboard?

We do have Wi-Fi. We are presently interviewing Personal Spooners who will spoon yogurt into the busy typist's mouth. Until we find those people, we recommend that you do not try to multi-task while eating our yogurt.

Your toppings bar is a sweet-lovers dream. What special topping flavor profiles would you build say, for:

The harried mom who has 10 minutes to chill before she picks up her kids.

- Pistachio Yogurt with Lucy's Toffee Granola, Chia Seeds and a drizzle of Dark Chocolate Sauce.
 
The guy who's just been dumped...by text message.
 
- Chocolate Yogurt with Brownie Bites, Reese's Cups, Caramel Cups and Chocolate Sauce. And we can handle phone disposal with the nightly trash.
 
The hyper-hypo child (SNL reference) who probably shouldn't have a lot of sugar.

- Our Only 8 (low sugar, low dairy) yogurt of the day topped with blueberries, strawberries and granola. And a helmet.
 
The up-from-NYC-dude who's taking a break between CIFF films.
 
- The Tart Mango with Salted Caramel Sauce. And a man purse big enough to sneak it into the theater.

Unless you're a restaurant or bar in Camden, there aren't many places open late at night — (except for you.) How are you hoping to use this space after 5 p.m.?

We will be open until 9 p.m. during the week and likely 10 p.m. on weekends. We want this area to have a destination place after it gets dark...at 2:30 p.m.

For more information, follow Spoon Maine on Facebook.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA — On a warm, 70-degree Fahrenheit day, hundreds of people gathered for the 2013 Pemaquid Oyster Festival Sept. 29, held outdoors on Schooner Landing’s riverside deck right on the banks of the Damariscotta River.

“We brought up 15,200 oysters for today,” said Jeff “Smokey” McKeen, a.k.a Oyster Czar. “We’ll probably go through all of them on such a nice day.”

Along with their lineup of musical entertainment, exhibits, the annual oyster shucking contest and oyster poetry contest, this year the festival also offered an old, re-built Navy boat, renamed River Tripper, which holds 49 passengers.

This festival always brings out a fun-loving crowd. It was made for people who just cannot get enough oysters. Most people opted for a dozen on cardboard trays with their favorite toppings—such as horseradish, hot pepper sauce or a variety of homemade mignonettes (freshly made combinations like Champagne/Tarragon or Blueberry/Lemon made by Kayli McKeen, who runs Waldo Stone Farm) or just plain and raw with lemon.

And as always, fresh Pemaquid Ale was on tap and Bloody Oyster Marys (bloody mix with oyster liquor added to give it extra tang) sold out within the opening hour.

Steve Peters, one of the die-hard volunteers who has been working at the Festival for nine years, was busy shucking oysters throughout the entire day.

“You just keep going, it’s a lot of fun, supporting a good cause,” he said. Smiling, he handed a freshly opened oyster to one of the patrons in line. “Here’s another nice one!”


Photos by Kay Stephens. She can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

CIFF Shorts are free and open to the public thanks to support from The First. We captured some quick clips and Q & As with the filmmakers after the screening of their films as the audience asked them questions.


The first short film to kick off CIFF’s Short program was an eye opener. CONSTRAINTS, directed by Eric Gulliver, is the story of a former nude model whose portrait is used to explore notions of exploitation vs. empowerment. While visualizing the tenuous line between "art" and "pornography," the film extrapolates the details of the model's former lifestyle: why it started, what happened at shoots, and why it ultimately wasn't for her. Through aesthetic mystery and underlying tension, the documentary illuminates certain paradoxes of representation - the difference between intent and viewership. Told through the words of a former model this tale of personal regret is made even more urgent because "what goes on the Internet, stays there forever.”

While the film never showed the model’s face or full body, archival footage of women in bondage told much of the visual story.

Audience question: How did you come to know this young woman and how did you get to the point where she allowed you to tell her story?

Gulliver: She was a friend of mine and it was a big challenge not to show her face during the shoot. I also didn’t want to engage in the photo shoot [in which the model is posing nude for a photographer]; I just wanted to hint at it. Just give a glimpse of skin. The actual situation in the film [Japanese bondage] I put in was only one of a couple of situations she described. There are actually events that take place like this and I was hoping to go and shoot them for the film, but I just wanted to get the idea of people getting tied up. What you’re seeing is Library of Congress stock footage; they have some really crazy stuff in there.

To see the trailer for CONSTRAINTS click here. Stay tuned for more Short Bits coming to you from the 2013 CIFF conference.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — It’s always interesting to see what Camden International Film Fest’s (CIFF) opening night film will be, as it sets the tone for the weekend, along with the bumper (the short intro before each film shot by Jonathan Laurence). This year’s opening film titled Cutie and the Boxer was shot by director Zachary Heinzerling over approximately five years as he worked his way into filming the relationship between Ushio Shinohara and his wife of 40 years, artist Noriko Sinohara.

Ushio, a Japanese Neo-Dadaist artist, is more than 20 years Noriko’s senior and he earned early fame with his colorful, oversized works, such as his impressionistic boxing paintings, where he would dip his gloves into buckets of paint and slam the canvas from left to right in under a few minutes.

His wife, Noriko, is also an artist who has lived much of her life in Ushio’s artistic shadow. Her comic book drawings of herself as “Cutie” and her partner on paper as “Bullie” are a stark contrast to the poignant captions she gives the characters... essentially telling the audience that her support and sacrifice has not necessarily been equally returned over the years. At one point, Ushio makes a crack in the film (he words shown in subtitles) when he says: “The average must support the genius.” To which Noriko replies: “You are so pitiful,” much to the audience’s laughter. However, Noriko’s narrative becomes the more compelling thread of the film, as it shows how many years it has taken her to find her own identity.

Anyone who has ever lived with an artist or was the artist while the other partner made a living will see themselves reflected in this documentary about a marriage, which is both contentious and affectionate, resentful and proud. It is the perfect film to open a three-day weekend of workshops and screenings that center around the art of film and the art of making it. What exactly goes into one’s sacrifice? You tend to wonder — who are the other average people in these filmmakers’ lives supporting the genius? Or is it the other way around?

In a post-screening Q & A with Farnsworth Art Museum’s Director of Education, Roger Dell and Cutie and the Boxer’s director Zachary Heinzerling, the audience got a bit more insight on Heinzerling’s relationship with the Shinoharas and how he earned their trust to film them day to day.

“It was really hard to see the intimacy beneath the charade that they play off each other. When asked questions about their relationship, they were always deflecting that, talking about practical reasons [why they stay together]. They’d say it’s easier to pay rent with two people instead of one. They’d not give a real answer to these questions, so it became a process to really trying to see their connection and bond. I think their generosity played into allowing a side of themselves that they weren’t necessarily used to showing, especially to someone like me, I’m from Texas, I don’t speak Japanese. So culturally, there was obviosly a wall that we chipped away at. And what you see in the film is really the only last year and a half of shooting—we’d reached this level of comfort. I became a house hold object. Noriko called me her ‘rice cooker’ or ‘vacuum cleaner’— I was just around.”

To find out more about how Heinzerling came to know his subjects, check out this article on IndieWire. You can see Cutie and the Boxer’s original trailer here. For more information on CIFF’s lineup this weekend go to: http://camdenfilmfest.org


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

CIFF Shorts are free and open to the public thanks to support from The First. We captured some quick clips and Q & As with the filmmakers after the screening of their films as the audience asked them questions.

Belfast videographer and artist Wes Sterrs debuted his first six-minute short film Breakfast, featuring another Belfast artist, Eric Leppanen, who re-uses and recycles paint and other discards in his art. Over breakfast one morning, Eric explains his process. One of his paint can pieces, shown in the film, is on display at the CIFF main office this weekend on Bayview Street, known as The Hub.

Audience Question: Why did you create a story around breakfast?

Sterrs: Eric’s the kind of guy who’d have you over for breakfast. That’s how he is, he’s very hospitable. So all the talking we did in the film sort of centered around this table of food.

To see the trailer for Breakfast, click here. Stay tuned for more Short Bits coming to you from the 2013 CIFF conference.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

ROCKLAND — I sat down last week with local author and essayist Eva Murray, (Well Out To Sea: Year-Round on Matinicus Island, 2010), whose latest book, Island Schoolhouse: One Room For All, provides a fascinating look at one-room schoolhouses that still exist in Maine. The book goes beyond the quaint notion of the schoolhouse structure; it’s peppered with stories, anecdotes and history of the people who actually live on these island communities and how the school, as an entity, unites them.

In 1987, Murray moved to Matinicus to teach in a one-room school herself.

“It was just me,” she recalls, “like a Peace Corps posting.”

Instead of going back to the mainland for graduate school, she chose to stay on Matinicus where she married and raised a family. Over the last 26 years, she has started a small bakery, become an emergency medical technician, taken on a number of roles in municipal government and volunteer organizations, including serving on the school board, and started the community's recycling program. Those who enjoy Murray’s forthright, funny and tart columns about island life will find much of the same in Island Schoolhouse.

 

What did it take to go around and interview the schools in order to write the book?

The term ‘one-room schoolhouse’ has some vague borders around it. There are approximately six island schools we call one-room schoolhouses, but sometimes, a couple of them are actually two-room schools, depending on how many students they serve, any given year.

I started with my own experience as an island teacher and an islander. Then, to research the book, I did some formal and informal visits to the other islands, particularly Isle au Haut, Monhegan, Frenchboro, Cliff, and Little and Great Cranberry. I found out it was important to make several visits to each island, and this is why: like any community, each Maine island has had something happen in their past that was sort of painful. For example, Matinicus has a reputation for being a violent place.  They had all been bullied, harassed and nagged by journalists before, so by the time I got there, a lot of people had pulled up the drawbridge. I had to get to know people on a more personal level in order for them to feel at ease that I was really interested in the school, the teaching, and not just the latest lobster war or whatever. It helped that I’d been an island parent, teacher and school board member, but it takes time to rebuild the burned bridges. So, it was very important that the research side of this book be done slowly and patiently.

 

What is the biggest misconception about a one-room schoolhouse?

That they don’t exist, anymore, or that they are a thing of the past. Some people just think of one-room schools as these old historic structures that have been preserved in many towns, with the old-timey elements like the separate boys’ and girls’ entrances, but my purpose was not to write about the architecture. Rather, this book is about the people still teaching and learning in our smallest schools.

There’s also the assumption that it isn’t real school if there are not 20 other kids of the same age doing the same thing — that teaching to one or two children somehow isn’t valid.

Then there’s the technology; people assume kids still write on slates. The fact is, we have the advantages of a rural environment and tiny community with lots of adult-to-child interaction and big kids helping the little kids, but we also have some of the most technologically advanced schools you will find anywhere. Almost every kid has access to his or her own laptop. They do a great deal of video conferencing and other online interaction. There are inter-island reading groups on Skype and an inter-island student council. There’s the Outer Islands Teaching And Learning Collaborative, where teachers and students from six one-room schools do academic work together. And not all of the children’s experiences together are on an island. The kids on all six islands will take field trips on the mainland; they’ve even all gone to Boston together.


There’s a section in your book titled THIS IS THE REAL WORLD with another subtitle: We are not Old Sturbridge Village. Talk a little about why some people view a one-room schoolhouse as sort of this anachronistic old-fashioned throwback to the book and TV show, Little House on the Prairie.

At some point, all of the island’s teachers and parents have heard, ‘But how is little Bobby going to manage when he grows up and has to go off island to deal with the Real World?’ The assumption is that an island education is not the real world. My angle is, anywhere where you have to deal with everything yourself.. .your kid gets sick, your roof leaks, your car dies, the groceries don’t get delivered from the mainland... you deal with it yourself. What could be more real than a place where you don’t have the option of calling someone on your smartphone and arranging for someone else to come fix your problems? The islands are perceived as a place to get away to on vacation. Most people for whom it is not vacation feel their world is the real world.

Island children can be members of the working community as soon as they self-identify as old enough; for example, they can start lobstering very young if that’s their thing, or start other small businesses, or help out with community needs.

If you’ve got a really motivated young person, he or she will often have more opportunities and fewer cultural obstacles than in some other places. I’ve seen elementary school-aged kids help out with all sorts of island events — both happy and difficult occasions. I don’t like to say they ‘grow up early,’ because people often misunderstand what that means, but they do learn a lot of real-world skills that some other children don’t have. Many island children can work, can drive and sometimes run a boat, can cook, and can help out in an emergency before they go off to high school.

 

There is so much to this book for educators, for Maine history buffs and for anyone who is interested in knowing how children thrive in this unique academic set up. To learn more about the book visit: Tilburyhouse.com 

To find more about Eva Murray’s writings visit: evamurraywriting.com


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

Q: Do you believe in love at first sight?

A: Absolutely. When you see a new puppy, don’t you fall in love? When you see a beautiful garden, don’t you fall in love? When you see people you’ve missed, don’t you fall in love all over again? Yeah, I definitely believe in love at first sight.

-Barbara Stephens

Mendocino, California


Welcome to our new feature Behind The Slides, where we meet up with an artist who just presented in Pecha Kucha and find out the deeper story beneath the images they chose to portray.

Elisa Wike Hurley, from Mt. Desert Island, was the last of eight artists to speak at the Sept. 13 Pecha Kucha event held at Bay View Street Cinema in Camden. Like the others, she took the audience through her creative process in a visual storytelling format with a 20-second-per-image, 20-image slideshow. Unlike most artists who have a very specific process to their design, Hurley, instead told a story of the personal journey she’s been on for four years since a painful separation leading to divorce in which she found herself inexplicably alone and lost.

“I have different photos of wandering in and through the woods, where I found comfort,” she said. “Others in this Pecha Kucha series include photos of a 95-year-old artist named Ruth in a nursing home, whom I found on one of these wanderings,” she said.

Rather than over-explain it, we will provide a sample of Hurley’s photos in the right column and match them with the actual slide notes (in italics). Beneath the slide notes will be the deeper story.


The cave

The quiet darkness of a cave is not where I expected to find myself in the middle of winter on Mount Desert Island. But there I was. Sitting. Old Sorrels soaked, camera in my hand.

“I had been married for 25 years and over the course of a year or two, my husband couldn’t figure out if he was still interested in being married or not. I had two teenage children and as difficult as that was, I knew it wasn’t right. Regardless, after he left, there was this inevitable, momentous grief process. We’d been through everything together, so I was in shock. I found myself guided to get out of the house, get out of what was familiar and enter the woods. This is a cave near Echo Lake and it was winter. I just started prowling around and would find myself nestling into things, like going into caves or holes or lying down where deer might have lain down. I think the cave was a little for comfort and a lot about facing your fear like walking into a dark place where you don’t know what’s in there or what you’ll encounter, but you go in anyway. I felt, ‘You’re going to be on your own, so face those fears.’”

Self portrait

Then again, I didn’t expect my 25-year marriage to end the way it did. The kitchen floor, my dearest friend, bits of sticky rice next to my cheekbone. Please help me. No, I didn’t expect that at all.

“One of the things I gave myself permission to do is in my bedroom, now that it wasn’t a shared bedroom, I started writing on the wall with chalk, at first, to be practical. Because if I ever had to move, you could easily get rid of chalk. And then, I’d use anything, marker, crayons. It was very freeing to express myself immediately on something. And in this photo, on this day, it was an agonizing day. I wore this magenta beret a lot. If my eyes were looking up, you’d notice how worn they were.”

The boots

The whisper — get up. The voice — go outside Elisa. Enter the woods. Prowl, climb, crawl, dig. And so I did for almost two years.

“You really can’t see from the shot, but my pants are torn and ripped. In Bar Harbor, there’s a very steep, muddy embankment by the water and I just starting climbing it. I kept tumbling back down. Again, it was about facing my fears to get to the top. I remember the whole time I kept saying ‘you could do this’; the tree roots helped me up. When I finally made it, I just collapsed at the top. For some reason, this is when I decided to pull out my camera and take a shot of my boots.”

Ruth

At the edge of the Atlantic, where river meets source, I met Ruth. Artist. 95. Tucked like a bird in a nest, tucked in a blue gray chair in a nursing home.

“I kept wandering that day and found myself at the edge of the Atlantic in March. On that piece of property is a beautiful mansion that serves as a nursing home and rehabilitation center. I got this intuitive blast that I was going to get myself cleaned up and go back there the next day with flowers, but I didn’t know who I was going to give them to. There is a period in the grief when you have to get out of yourself and maybe it’s time to see that there are other people in the world who are suffering. So I did that. I gave flowers to a woman in the last room on the left and as I was leaving, I had a distinct feeling that there was still someone I was supposed to meet that day. There was a door ajar and I knocked and tucked in this blue gray chair was this woman, Ruth. She said, ‘Hello de-ah.’ We started to talk and I pretty much went back for every day for two years.”

The cattail fluff

I’m not odd. Odd, she told me. I’m awed. I’d like to put some of these milkweed seeds in an envelope and send them to my son. Tell him: this is what I’m working on.

“I’d bring her things I found from outside all the time, rocks, bits of milkweed pods, shells, bones, things she could examine. She’d spend hours looking at the things like an artist. She’d never felt a cattail before and at first, she just touched the velvety outside. After a couple of days, it burst open. It was funny, because she had it all open and laid out on her table. And all of the nurses wanted to clear it out, but she’d barricaded them with stacks of books so they couldn’t get to all this open cattail fluff until she could show it to me.”

 

To know more about what happened with her journey and with Ruth, Hurley is at work writing a book about these experiences. For more information about Pecha Kucha visit: www.facebook.com/PechaKuchaME


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

 

 

ROCKPORT — My Facebook friends know me as the ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ and I admit, I’m a sucker for black and black-and-white tuxedo cats, as I own two. Every once in awhile I stop into P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center in Rockport and check in with Laura Stupca, the shelter manager, to find out which cat there absolutely needs a home now. She showed me two of their longer residents, Cleo, who is all black and Oreo, who is black and white.

Oreo, a male, is an owner-surrendered cat. In his case, his owners had to move and couldn’t take him with them. He is about 5-7 years old and instantly started purring the second I put my hands on him.

“He’s very loving and wants all of your attention,” said Stupca.

I asked her why shelters are always too full with cats of this coloring, and she said, “People sometimes are superstitious. Or they might think they’re just too boring a color. But I’ve had a lot of people tell me they have black and black-and-white cats and they’re the best cuddlers.”

Oreo came to P.A.W.S. at the end of May, and Stupca said she has seen that as their time at the shelter increases, the more likely they are to become “down in the dumps.”

“I’m not sure if he’s getting to that point yet, but he does lay around sometimes,” said Stupca. “Still, he’s very social and fine with the other cats.”

Speaking of down in the dumps, pretty Cleo sat there on the window sill watching me. “Cleo came to us in 2011,” said Stupca. “Once again, a moving situation where they had to give her up. She’s 7. And Miss Cleo’s favorite activity is to eat, because that’s one of her only sources of comfort. She’s a great cat. I think all she wants out of life is a window to look out of, a soft bed to sleep in at night and somebody to love her. I think she’d do best with a house that was quieter, more laid back, maybe not with a lot of little kids or dogs running around. She’s been here so long, she doesn’t really even leave this room any more. She was one of the original cats in this room, meaning all of the other cats that were put in this room with her have been adopted and she’s the only one left.”

Until the end of September, P.A.W.S. will waive the regular adoption fee on any black cat or tuxedo (black and white) cat, but would like to request a donation in its place. All the cats are healthy and up on their shots.

Now here’s the kicker: I hate seeing an animal get so used to its confined space that it starts to get depressed. I will personally offer up a donation of $50 to P.A.W.S. for the adoption of Cleo and/or Oreo—those two specifically. Just go in and fill out the paperwork to adopt one. Or stop in before Oct. 1 and check out all the rest of the wonderful black and tuxedo cats looking for a forever home.

Bonus: See the small kitten gallery below. (They are not part of this September offer, but they’re so stinkin’ cute they’ll make your day.)

To find out more about Cleo or Oreo, click the highlighted links or visit pawsadoption.org


Crazy Cat Lady Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

Q: If you could hang out with a character from a book all day, who would that be? A:Why Rhett Butler, of course. On this hot, steamy, Atlanta day, I’d have to tell Scarlett, “Honey, Scarlett, you just don’t stand a chance with this man.”

-Elena Herchok, St. Clair Shores, Missouri


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

GOTT ISLAND — Remember the classic children’s book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein? Well, two Maine women are making their living from the “Giving Island.”

Let me paint the picture, because it’s almost straight out of a novel. When the remote Gott Island, off the coast of Mount Desert, awakens in the spring, Claire and Carly Weinberg, the mother-daughter co-owners of the Maine natural skin care line, Dulse & Rugosa, will come back to it and open up their little houses. They will live off the grid, like everyone else, amid dozens of spread-out houses owned by generations of families.

When everything starts to bloom and grow, they will get up, have some coffee on Claire’s big, sunny wraparound porch. Then they will spend their days gathering baskets of St. John’s Wort and rose hips from the meadows, and balsam needles and bay leaves from the wooded trails. Claire will pluck the pink and red Rugosa rose petals from the island hedges as Carly wends her way along the wild shoreline, harvesting seaweeds such as dulse, sugar kelp, finger kelp, and nori. They will turn all off the island’s natural botanicals into skin care products such as body butters, sea salt scrubs, facial oils and bath teas. After years of experimenting with all of these pure ingredients in their own homemade products, Dulse & Rugosa was born.

At the end of the summer, I was invited to spend some time on Gott Island with Claire to observe how this all worked.

On a bright blue-sky day, I was taken out by private boat and met Claire at the landing. As we lugged my backpack and some bags about a half-mile up the grassy hill to her house, I could hear the loud drone of crickets.  There are no cars, stores or ferry service, and only solar electricity on the island. There are no roads, either, just trodden footpaths. As we approached her property, the first thing I saw was this stick-built cozy, country house with a wrap-around porch. Next to it was an even more diminutive yellow guest house, where Carly stays when she’s on island. But she wasn’t here on this day, so that was to be my lodgings. 

After settling in, Claire and I went for a walk around the island so she could show me their best harvesting spots. "We have somewhere between five and seven acres," said Claire as we walked through her fields.

As we walked, I got to know Claire, who is soft-spoken and laughs easily. She made me feel instantly right at home, as if we’d known each other for years.

Lest you think this is too dreamy to be real, or that island living is something ripped out of a soft focus Martha Stewart catalogue shoot, Claire revealed how she’d come to the island. This was her former husband’s family land, a place they’d built their home together for 30 years.  In the early 1980s, the Weinbergs were the only ones hearty enough to live on the island year-round (Carly was only a day old when she came onto the island). They grew their own food, chopped wood for their wood stove and raised their own animals. It was this  do-it-yourself unity that led the family to conceive of harvesting the botanicals that the island produced each year, and turn them into products they could sell.

"We've been wanting to do a business using the resources of this island for awhile, but it had to make sense for where we live. You can't do a market garden because we're just too far away," said Claire. It was not only a unique way to make a living, but also a way to share the beauty and power of the island with others. Dulse & Rugosa started with her husband and Carly's father in the picture.  But rather abruptly, Claire's husband decided to go his separate way last year, and in the divorce, he granted the family land to Carly and gave over the business to both of them.

Claire and Carly have been dealing with their emotions over this adjustment in the family dynamic, in addition to trying to figure out how to continue Dulse & Rugosa on their own.

"We thought, what do we do?” Claire said, telling me she and Carly had quit their jobs when they started the business. The original plan was that Claire’s husband would work overseas for a few years to sustain the family while Claire and Carly launched the business. “We thought, ‘Do we quit? Do we keep going? How are we going to survive?’"

Dulse & Rugosa hadn’t been in operation even a year when Claire and Carly decided to pull together their strengths and keep going as a mother-daughter team. To make ends meet with their start-up costs, Carly took a temporary job in Rockland this summer (where they also bought a house for the production side of the business) while Claire worked on the island, harvesting. This is the first summer they've been able to sell their products and while they don't have a real picture of their business numbers yet, they're focusing on ramping up production and marketing through the fall and winter.

Around dinner time, Claire showed me one of the most blazing and beautiful spots on their property — the garden-grown botanicals they've set aside for Dulse & Rugosa, with rows of yellow, red and orange calendula and blue bachelor’s button. Hedges of Rugosa roses dotted the front of the house. Everything smelled fresh and sweet out there, mixed with tangy island air. Claire and Carly have been cultivating their island gardens for about 20 years. The back and sides of the main house are reserved for an expansive vegetable garden and a teeny greenhouse that serve as their food source while they live there. To fertilize the garden beds, they’ve pulled earth and loam from the forest and added dried seaweed to it to make their own compost. 

After Claire stuffed her hands into a mound of dirt and plucked out some dusky potatoes out, she instructed me to go over to the rain barrel and scoop out some rainwater to pre-wash the potaoes while she went to pick salad ingredients. The biggest insight I got as I squat down with a colander and used a scoop of rainwater and my hands to scrub the dirt from the small red, blue and white potatoes is that nothing can go to waste here. Even though she has a well and a sink in her house, it’s a better use of resources to use the barrel of rainwater for the first wash. This isn’t some back-to-the lander Helen Nearing effort, this is what you do to make it work on an island.

Over an excellent dinner with those grilled potatoes sprinkled with dried dulse, a huge, fresh-picked  salad and plump chicken sausages she’d fired up on an outdoor stone grill, we got down to what her day-to-day life was like out there.

Growing the gardens takes a lot of initial work and outlay. But picking and harvesting is only the first phase. With calendula, for example, you have to separate the petals from the center. "That's something we'll do on some rainy or snowy night. We'll get the wine out and just sit there and work on it,” said Claire. They have to work in batches, making products when the ingredients are ready with the seasons.

"This summer has been rainy and foggy, which hasn't been good for rose petals, but it's been fabulous for calendula," said Claire. She recalled frustrating soggy days when she would have to pluck wet Rugosa petals and painstakingly separate them so they could dry.

As their ingredients are all natural, there is a finite amount one can gather, pick and harvest in one season. In early spring, the seaweeds are ready to be harvested. “Carly is the seaweed picker,” said Claire. “She’s the one with the seaweed license and she goes to the far end of the island at low tide. She loves the ocean and she's really the science side of our business.” Claire shows me a bag of twisty purple dulse that had already been dried.

“I like this because it looks so pretty and we use it in our rose petal cream. Seaweeds are rich in vitamins and minerals, gentle for your skin and full of natural goodness,” she said.

Next, all of their botanicals have to be air-dried, which can seem like a tedious process, then they have to be bagged and transported to Rockland for the next steps.

In a room dedicated for the production at their Rockland home, they have several working tables and hundreds of bags of dried ingredients, waiting to be transformed, including huge jars of olive oil infused with rose hips and Sweet Island Oil with Calendula petals. There, they work on an unstructured schedule, when it makes sense to build up more stock as products move though their inventory. They've built up enough stock, Claire predicts, to last throughout the year, but when their products are gone—they're gone. Devotees of their products will have to wait until next season, when Claire and Carly can get back to the island.

Not everyone can work well with a family member, but Claire and Carly are pretty tight and have been since Carly was in high school. In the Rockland house, they live together as housemates and work very well together. "We get along really well and have this policy ever since the divorce: don't judge," Claire said with a laugh. "And we actually split up our time well with one of us on the island doing the gathering and the other in Rockland doing the production and selling, so it’s not like we’re stuck at the hip all the time."

Twenty-four hours went by fast on Gott Island, and in that time I got a glimpse of its beauty and timelessness. To visitors, that seems to be the prominent takeaway, but it can be a different reality for those who live there, or on any island. Tended responsibly and sustainably, Gott Island will always be the “Giving Island,” but one has to work hard for it. Part of that work is endurance—days of solitude, inhospitable weather, doing without creature comforts.

And I think, after having met Claire (and days later Carly), they embody the perennial strength of dulse and the Rugosa rose, which come back every year. In the spring, so will Claire and Carly.

Related link:

Dulse & Rugosa


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

WARREN — For Lobsterpalooza this week, Sept. 9-14 across the Penobscot Bay Region, we are featuring local resident Jim Nichols, author of Hull Creek, the story of a lobsterman’s challenges on the coast of Maine. Nichols lives in Warren with  his wife, Anne. His short stories and other work has appeared in Esquire, Narrative, Portland Monthly, American Fiction, The Clackamas Review, Night Train and Zoetrope ASE. His collection, Slow Monkey and Other Stories (Carnegie Mellon Press, 2003), preceded his first novel Hull Creek (DownEast Books, 2011) which was runner-up for the Maine Book Award for fiction in 2012 and a Silver Medal IPPY award winner.

A summary of Hull Creek follows:

After the death of his parents, Troy Hull decides to leave college and take on his family's traditional lobster fishing life. But after a few good years, he finds himself threatened with the loss of that life, the result of some bad choices on his part and the changing nature of his hometown. Troy's best friend, also a lobster fisherman, has found his own shady ways to deal with a similar situation, and now Troy must decide whether to follow his pal's outlaw path to solvency or let the straight-and-narrow take him from his beloved home forever. Throw in a run-away wife, a drug deal gone bad, a wicked city woman, and a wild melee where a big-shot TV host and crew get dunked in the chilly harbor, and you have Hull Creek: a timely and rowdy story of the Maine coast.

We caught up with Nichols to get a sense of where he culled his real-life material from.

Q: Writing a novel about Maine lobstermen is not a venture taken lightly. How did you research your topic and did you have an "in" that would allow you to know some of the inner workings that are not available to the general public?

A: I agree, it's not to be taken lightly! I tried hard not to mess it up. I'd been out with friends a time or two, and had gotten a taste of the way things were done that way. I also know lots of island fishermen, because they fly back and forth on Penobscot Air, where I work, so I was able to consult with a couple of long-time practitioners of the trade. They straightened me out where I'd gone astray.

Q: Your setting is based on the fictional coastal Maine town of Pequot (which we can probably guess which town it is after you write: Pequot by the Sea, Rockland by the Smell). What are the advantages of making up a fictionalized town?

A: Well, as you know a real town won't always cooperate by having things in the right places for the purposes of the narrative. A fictional town can be just the way you need it to be!

Q: Your book was published in 2011, at a time when landings for lobstermen were high, but so were fuel and bait prices. (Yet, the average per-pound price was $3.19). Two years later, would you say your characters would be just as challenged by the economic factors of this industry?

A: There seem to be plenty of lobsters, but I think the struggle to get a decent boat price is ongoing. The folks who actually do the hard work always seem to find themselves at the bottom of the money flow.

Q: One of the most interesting things about this series is how the authors have chosen to characterize native Mainers and people from away. How have lobstermen in the area reacted to Troy and his lobstering buddies? And what did your general readers think of Troy's antagonists (e.g. the yachties, McMansion owners and the white collar bankers?)

A: People who grew up around here seemed OK with it. One accused me of somehow looking over his shoulder during some of his more unsavory moments. Another told me he'd grown up with Troy and his pals. I got enough positive feedback that I felt pretty good about the whole thing, like I hadn't let anybody down. They seemed to find some satisfaction in what happened to the swanks, as well. On the other side, I was told by a couple of readers who had moved to the area that I wasn't entirely fair with my portrayal of folks from away. I had to point out that one of the lawyers had come through in the clutch at the end.

Q: It's always fun to guess where you based your fictional places on; for example, can you tell us the inspiration behind these places in your book?

  • Thirsty Whale
  • Maine-ly Drugs
  • Captain Cobbs
  • Erky's Wharf
  • Seaview Street
  • Hull Creek
  • Paycot Resort

A: There was a Thirsty Whale Tavern at the old Camden Harbour Inn, and mine was based on that. Maine-ly drugs was a sort of a response to Richard Ford's observation that there seemed to be a lot of folks along Route 1 in Maine who couldn't resist the pun potential of the state's name. Captain Cobb's was something like Cappy's in Camden, Erky's Wharf was just a name I liked. Seaview was similar to Bayview Street in Camden, and Hull Creek was pretty much imaginary. And I think it was the Lord Pequot Inn, wasn't it?  Paycot was a corruption of the name Pequot by snooty types.

To see more reviews of Nichols’s book and more information, visit his website www.jimnichols.org

• For archives of Real places in Maine that inspire literary fiction, visit Penobscot Bay Pilot's Pinterest page.

Related links:

Maine Lobster Council events

 


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Camden’s “greatest show and tell” event drew more than 900 people Saturday, making the first ever Midcoast Mini Maker Faire a smashing success.

The town closed off Atlantic Avenue so that more than 20 exhibitors could display their unusual hands-on inventions in the Camden Amphitheatre.

It’s a rare event that can fascinate both kids and adults and with its resourceful do-it-yourself science and technology, robots, crafts and art, this one appealed to everyone — from science geeks to art enthusiasts. Maggi Blue, one of the organizers, said, “How do I personally know it was a success? My almost 7-year-old boy was entertained for two solid hours, didn't want to leave and was dragging me around the booths for a change. That is a testament to the power of our first Maker Faire. He's one picky kid. As a parent, I'm quite smitten and will be waiting in anticipation for next year's Faire.”

The show seemed to be equally split between unusual and interesting modes of transport, robots in their various incarnations and crazy-weird art installations.

Artist-mechanic Jack Churchill unveiled his latest invention, a steampunk 1956 deux cheveux (French for two-horsepower) made by the company Citroen, a cheap, lightweight vehicle made after the war that French peasants could drive. It was designed to carry four people weighing 100 kilos each, 100 pounds of potatoes and can go 38 mph across a newly plowed field.

“If the world ended and you had to build a car, and build it with stuff you found, that’s where my artistic—if you can call it—direction goes,” said Churchill. Churchill’s vehicle stayed true to the original design with wheels that only have three lug nuts, one of which he’d lost driving around town the day before. “The wheel almost came off,” he said. “Luckily, I found someone with a lug wrench.”

Other DIY vehicles included Jory Squibb’s Sunbeam car, a pedal and electric assist quadricycle. He demonstrated its two-sources of power, a 3/4 horsepower motor and the pedal system.

“They work together to go about 25 miles per hour, 80 miles on a charge,” he said.

David Talley displayed the Elf car, made by the North Carolina company Organic Transit. “There are four of these in Maine. Less than 100 have been made. It’s an emission-free sustainable form of transportation,” he said of the orange, 150-pound stripped-down electric pedal car. “You can commute with it and deal with any kind of weather.”

Bill Buccholz’s micro car Dirigo was built from scratch, originally conceived as an entry for the Automotive X Prize, a competition for a 100 mpg practical and manufacturable car.

“We thought we could do that—how hard was that?” he said of his design committee. “We evolved this three-wheeled rear engine front-wheel drive, deisel-powered, side-by-side seating with storage in the back.” It is made with western red cedar and weighs 130 pounds.

“We didn’t want it to be boxy. We wanted some sexy curves,” he said. The car, which goes 75 mph, has been to Boston dozens of times and even to California.

Other people on the move included the Camden-Rockport Middle School Tech Club’s giant moving horse, Thunderbolt, propelled by two high school students. The “clop clop” sound of the horse’s shoes actually come from the banging of hollow coconut shells. Meanwhile, Paul Cartwright was busy demonstrating how his modified unicycles worked.

Next up dominating the Faire were the robots. Many people tend to think “Eh, isn’t that some kind of science fair kid thing?” However, the Faire changed a lot of perceptions, making robots that much more acccessible to the public. Jared Paradee (aka Robot Overlord) held a cardboard robot-making clinic, while CMCA ArtLab provided brown paper “mystery bags” filled with all kinds of bits and pieces like lug nuts and pipe cleaners. Their table was swamped with kids making individual robots. Edward Seidel brought out the baby pool and showed people how to make a $60 underwater robot (ROV—the same mechanical structure that discovered the Titanic.) With the addition of a video camera and other components, this was a fascinating DIY tool to discover the aquatic world without getting wet.

Technology also played a major part, with the Camden Middle School providing a MindLabs robot demonstation, in which they were all programmed to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Nathan Davis mesmerized the crowd with his computer and iPhone-powered interactive art installation (think: the opening sequence of “Doctor Who” and you get the idea). Meanwhile, Watershed School students demonstrated their FabLab: 3-D printing, laminating and constructing of longboard skateboards. See how that turned out here.

The artists at Mini Maker included Shelby Cote, a fanciful hat designer who was wearing a design of her own making, which was a fascinator (a decorative hat) made with the innards of a music box. The Midcoast Yarn Ninjas were busy knitting up some visual graffiti and Susan Cartwright displayed her hand-operated moving sculptures for the inner-kid in everyone. Pilar Nadal of Tired Press demonstrated how her bicycle-powered printing press could make a unique post card, while next to her, Ella Simon also pedaled away on her own invention, the Icycle Bicycle, a pedal-powered ice cream maker.

Lordy, Lord. There were more exhibitors than we could even cover, and the whole thing was a feast for the senses. We too can’t wait for next year’s event. To find out more about the participants and find more photos from the event, visit midcoastmakerfaire.com.


 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

CAMDEN — During the outdoor Schooner Talent Show at Camden Harbor Park, part of the 2013 Camden Windjammer Festival Aug. 30-Sept. 1, there was another show going on behind the performers, albeit subtle. While schooner crews sang and danced, Buckley Smith, a Green’s Island artist, was busily sketching away, swooping chalk lines across a large canvas. In the hour or so it took for the talent show to conclude, a completed drawing of sailors under full sail appeared (shown here behind the Irish jig dancer and fiddler). It sold to the highest bidder for $500. Not bad work — if you can do it.

A sailor himself, Smith has been drawing for 55 years. We found him the next day on the deck of the windjammer, Nathaniel Bowditch, where he was busy sketching another piece with charcoal and white chalk on a big roll of blue background photography paper. It took him about 45 minutes to complete a depiction of two schooners.

Creating live art is a walk in the park for Smith. “When I’m doing stuff in public, I can draw pretty fast, but when I spend a lot more time on my other projects, like my paintings, even my paintings are pretty quick,” he said. “I like to do plein air paintings where you go out for three hours outdoors, get an impression and come back.”

His boat and sailing portraits are pretty straightforward and realistic, until it veers into the surreal with his fantasy marine line, where schooners soar in the air, ride on the backs of whales and fly to the moon. In addition, he hand crafts sea chests and makes wood carvings and boat models, all meticulously painted.

If you missed Smith during the Windjammer Weekend Festival, check out his work at buckleysmith.com.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

 

We just like to ask people random questions sometimes to see what answers we get

Q: Do you remember your last dream?

A: I dreamt that I found a journal that I’d misplaced, but now I don’t remember in my dream where I found it.

-Pirate John Bullock

Baltimore, Md.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

When is the last time you broke out into sheer syncopated rhythm in public because you were inspired by that ”Dance like no one is watching...” quote? Your Bar Mitzvah? Your ex-husband’s wedding? The Belfast Street Party?

A video taken by citizen “journalist” James Vaughan that is circulating the web as a hot meme features an unidentified graceful gazelle-of-a-man at the Launch x MARRS block party in Sacramento, Calif., last Wednesday, Sept. 4.

With hip-shaking confidence that’s a cross between Napolean Dynamite and Intergenerational Prom Night at the Elk’s Club, this dude makes Miley Cyrus and her twerkin’ look like amateur night at a block party, not to put down block parties. All I know is Five Town Connunities That Care needs to incorporate his hot, sweet moves in their next Dance Walk.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN - Makers unite! The first annual  Midcoast Mini Maker Faire is today, Saturday, September 7, 2013 at the Camden Public Library and adjacent Amphitheatre. For those who are wondering, a Maker Faire is:

"Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these ‘makers’ come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned."

Makers of all types will converge in Camden for a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness – a celebration of the Maker movement. Exhibitors/Makers do not pay for a booth and admission is free.

Andrew White is one of the organizers, along with Camden Library staff member Olga Zimmerman, who was initially the driving force behind getting the concept of the Mini Maker Faire to the Midcoast. White who often works with found materials in his own work said traveling to California and seeing what their Maker's Faire offered "just tapped into Silicon Valley and the creative world that exist there. Think of Burning Man community, the creative part of it, not the Bacchanalian part.  It's nothing you've ever seen around here before. California's Maker Faire is a known entity, it's a new thing, an idea that's happening across the country, empowering people to be innovators."

From cardboard robots to 3-D printed jewelry to interactive art installations, Camden’s Mini Maker Faire will be the bomb. The whole purpose of this is to “encourage exhibits that are interactive and that highlight the process of making things.” In other words, ask questions. Get up close, poke around. See if you can make one yourself. One of the featured Makers is local student Ella Simon. For her 8th grade school project at Ashwood Waldorf School, she created the iCycle Bicycle, a pedal-powered ice cream maker (stationary or mobile). See a full lineup of all the participating Makers here.

Along with White and Zimmerrman, other organizers include Maggi Blue, Ken Gross, Kelly Finlay, Nikki Maounis, and Ollie Wilder. The committee has said this is not going to be a one-off event. The Midcoast Mini Maker Faire will be an annual community-focused annual event, only, smaller, but will follow the Maker Faire motto of celebrating do-it-yourself creativity and tinkering. Their motto: “Make, create, craft, recycle, build, think, play, and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, food, music, science, and technology!”

Featuring both established and emerging local Makers, the Midcoast Mini Maker Faire will be a family-friendly celebration featuring rockets and robots, DIY science and technology, urban farming and sustainability, alternative energy, bicycles, unique hand-made crafts, music and local food, and educational workshops and installations. 

Sponsored by the Camden Public Library as its sponsor and the Midcoast Magnet as a co-sponsor, the Mini Maker Faire will run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN - When people first step aboard a windjammer and get a look at their cabins and the galley, one of their biggest misconceptions gets cleared up right away. That is: accommodations are going to be small—very small. “They’re used to their bedrooms and kitchens at home,” said Justin Schaefer, a deck hand on Nathaniel Bowditch, “And maybe think the accommodations will be more like a hotel, and that’s not the case on any of these boats. Really, the trip is all about being up on deck and enjoying the scenery.”

During Camden Windjammer Festival’s schooner open house tours Saturday and Sunday, we checked out the galleys of three docked vessels to get a sense of how they operate.

Owen and Cathie Dorr own and operate the schooner Nathaniel Bowditch, originally built as a private racing yacht. This seemed the most expansive of the galleys we checked out. The massive 1950s blackened kerosene oven was its focal point.

“We can actually cook a turkey, two pies and a can of stuffing at the same time in the oven and even more on the stove top,” Cathie Dorr said. “It’s really fun to cook because the center of the stove is high and it gets progessively cooler with each shelf, so you have something simmering and you just kind of move stuff around.”

The galley featured plenty of head room and small fold-down wooden tables and benches that can accommodate up to 22 guests — and the chef still has room to cook and move around. Proving the adage “A place for everything and everything in its place,” each of the red-cushions on the wooden benches lifts off to reveal where all the food for a 3- or 4-day trip is stored.

“Here’s a picnic basket for an offshore excursion,” Dorr said, opening one of the benches.

Ray and Ann Williamson own Maine Windjammer Cruises, which comprise the windjammers Mercantile and Grace Bailey as well as the smaller charter schooner, Mistress. We checked out Mercantile’s galley, comparing it with they galley of its smaller sister ship, Mistress. Mercantile’s was very snug with a traditional cast iron stove and a common dining table under cross beams that one has to take care not to bonk a head on.

Mercantile carries 29 guests and we cook on a ShipMate wood stove,” said Ann Williamson. Though each boat has its own chef, Williamson is currently filling in as chef. “I actually prefer the larger cook stove on Mercantile because you can cook so much more,” she said. “There’s much more room as well.” With Mistress’s galley (talk about really small!) WIlliamson has to bend down to reach the tiny stove.

“It’s really a challenge,” she said. ”But we’re only cooking for six guests at a time on this boat.”

Poking around galleys like these, one instantly gets the sense this is what the fun of sailing is all about. The windjammer is in charge. It does not adapt to the modern conveniences of guests; guests adapt to the boat.

Click below for full coverage of the 2013 Camden Windjammer Festival.

Sails up for Camden Windjammer Festival


All photos by Kay Stephens. She can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.