Thanks to Holly Edwards for finding this one and barely holding back the coffee she wanted to snort from her nose.

Joanna Rohrback invented "Prancercising" nearly 20 years ago, a cross between dancing and excercise that looks like a pretentious pony trying to clop away from its unworthy owners.

Between Rohrback and Korean superstar rapper Psy, prancing like a horse is THE thing these days. Forget The Harlem Shake. The shake has nothing on Rohrback's prance.

Five Town Communities That Care's annual Dance Walk is coming up July 17 at 5 p.m., so this gives you plenty of time to learn Rohrback's sweet moves.

"So let's stop talking and do some walking."

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

CAMDEN - Last week, a friend had told me she found a dazed and confused cat wandering around her back yard. When she approached him, it seemed from the wound on the top of his head and his disoriented manner, that a car had tagged him. She took him to the P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Shelter under the name "Otto," where he has been renamed "Audi" and treated for his injuries.

 Staff member Kathy Howard said: "He had a little boo-boo on his head and was staring off in a corner when we first got him. He was at the vet for little more than a week and everything came back fine. No head injuries or major injuries. He was soon eating on his own and using the litterbox. I'm not sure if it his personality, but he still seems easily startled. Although he's a real sweetie, he'll head-butt your hand to let you know he wants affection. I think he'd do well in a quieter home with a calm person. He's a sweet boy."

He is a tiger cat, estimated at two years old. Sweet little guy. Stop by P.A.W.S. and ask about "Audi." Won't someone make the rest of the eight lives he's got happy?

If you ever think you've hit a cat, do the right thing.

Stop and look, and make sure the animal is okay.

Check the first house you come to and ask if it is their cat.

Otherwise, take the animal to any vet or to a shelter.

Never assume it will be okay.

There's always a chance to save its life!

For more information on Audi and P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center visit pawsadoption.org/available-pets

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND - Our third "Welcome Back, snowbats" installment is here and if you need to know what a snowbat is, get primed through our first "what's new" two articles on Belfast and Camden-Rockport. It's always nice to come back to Rockland after a winter away and see what's open, what's closed, what's new and what's happening. So, here is your rundown for the summer.

Won't you take me to... Foodie Town

Rockland's solid lead on the Creative Economy has lured many a restaurateur to the area, but this winter, two new stylish restaurants landed on Main Street, solidifying Rockland's burgeoning reputation as a foodie town. Watch out, Portland.

First FOG Bar and Cafe opened right after the Frankenstorm of last October, a hip joint catering to the young, artistic crowd, run by partners Ashley Seelig and Josh Cardoso, along with Seelig's parents, Sherrie Gibson and Warren Seelig. They moved into the former Rock City Cafe space, and over the winter, transformed it into a funky gourmet atmosphere with “French and Southern-inspired contemporary comfort food.”  With a new happy hour menu, the bar does brisk business, offering a variety of craft beers (from Maine as well as imports) and some of the best spirits Seelig and Cardoso have found on their own culinary journeys. Check out Pen Bay Pilot's article on it here.

In the spring, 3Crow Restaurant and Bar opened, anchoring the food scene on the opposite end of Main Street. Executive Chef and Owner Josh Hixson spun a completely different menu from his 40 Paper restaurant in Camden to offer “modern American food with a heavy Southern influence,” based in part on Hixson’s own experiences growing up the South. 3Crow also offers a craft beer and cocktail selection as well as a small plates menu that appeals to the younger generation. Check out Pen Bay Pilot's article on it here.

Home Kitchen Cafe (650 Main Street) might look a little different to those coming back. That's because its owners completed a renovation that started last fall when they closed the restaurant for the winter to open up more space in the dining room, as well as a new roof deck that catches a glimpse of the ocean. Husband and wife James Hatch and Susan Schiro are back in business and ready for the summer. Known locally for one of the best breakfast/lunch spots in Rockland, Home Kitchen Cafe should be on the "list" of places to check out this summer.

The Chowder House is another new restaurant that just opened last week at 2 Park Drive, featuring award winning chowders, classic local lobster rolls, and steamed seafood dinners.

In other Main Street news, Rock City Cafe, which now only offers breakfast and lunch, has announced it will add a new evening menu on the nights it is open for the Velvet Lounge music performances (typically Friday and Saturday night).

On yet another foodie note, those who have Primo on their destination dinner spot might like to know that in May, Chef Melissa Kelly won the prestigious James Beard Foundation award (otherwise known as "the Oscars of the food world") for Best Chef in the Northeast. Kelly flew down to New York City to accept her award and attend a party at celebrity chef Mario Batali's restaurant, Del Posto, before flying back to Maine to get right back to work.

Lastly, two local favorite restaurants have reopened under new ownership. Over the winter, The Landings Restaurant on Rockland harbor opened under Mike and Kate Miller and their family. The Millers formerly operated Grapes Restaurant before it was destroyed in a 2004 fire and continue to run Bricks Restaurant near the harbor. The seafood menu will stay much the same and people are excited to have that back deck on the water open once again. Down the road apiece in Port Clyde, locals and tourists alike were thrilled to hear that The Harpoon, now renamed The Black Harpoon, has reopened under new owners, locals, Chris Chadwick, a scallop fisherman, and his mother, Cindy Chadwick. Longtime local chef Barbara Mann is cooking for them and the place still retains its authentic, cozy fishermen's decor. Always worth the drive. Check out Pen Bay Pilot's article on it here.


New businesses and other stuff you might have missed

For those on the move, Scooter Dogs is a new scooter rental and tour/sightseeing business that opened in Rockland Harbor Park. If you prefer to pedal on your own power, Side Country Sports has expanded their space and as always, offers affordable bike rentals as a way to see downtown Rockland and Owls Head. They now offer a public riding club at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday nights.  They ride is about an hour and a half as a group. This is a NO-drop ride, which means you will not get left behind or "dropped." This is a great opportunity to learn about riding in a group and proper rules of the road. Call 207-701-5100

Whoo! Break out the wine glasses. Breakwater Vineyards, out of Owls Head has a new tasting room in downtown Rockland on 373 Main Street, right across from Island Institute. It opened a week ago and will be open seven days a week, noon to 6 p.m. It entails $3 for four pours, allowing for a full glass of tastings, includes reds and whites. FMI: check it out their Facebook page.

And if it's sweets you're craving, Bixby & Co., an organic chocolate shop from  Warwick, N.Y., is moving to Rockland, setting up shop at 279 Main St., at the intersection with Park Drive.

If we've missed any new businesses that would be interesting to folks coming back to Maine, shoot us an email with the subject line"Add to Rockland story" and we'll add it into the list! Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

CAMDEN-ROCKPORT - Your first logical question is: "What's a snowbat?" It's a twist on the phrase "moonbats," locally coined by Belfast promoter Mike Hurley in a Down East magazine article last December. Penobscot Bay Pilot reporter Ethan Andrews prefered the term "snowbat" over "snowbird" in his article, Welcome back to Belfast snowbats! - so we're stealing it.

It's always nice to come back to Camden-Rockport after a winter away and see what's open, what's closed, what's new and what's happening. So, here is your rundown for the summer.

Cappy's Got Huge...

The most noticeable change in downtown Camden this summer is how big Cappy's got. David Robichaud, of Appleton, and Matt Orne, of Camden, purchased the restaurant business and real estate from Johanna Tutone last fall. But that wasn't the only major change. Over the winter, Robichaud and Orne bought the next door establishment, Village Restaurant, and have been steadily working with crews to transform the expanded space into seating for 225 people with two decks, two bars and two private functions rooms, making it the largest restaurant in Camden. The new restaurant will be called Cappy's Harbor View. The dining room will connect to the original bar and the nautical decor that locals and tourists love will remain the same. Coming into town, you'll notice that paint crews have already matched the dark green trim and signature red doors so that it looks as though it has always been there. And the Village Restaurant sign that adorned the entire front of the building has been removed to reveal a row of port hole windows, touché. And for those who remember Cappy's longtime favorite bartender "Big John" Collins, you're in for another surprise. He's back!

Other New Restaurants

Good news for the yachties and the deck hands...starting down in the harbor, a new gourmet pizza place has replaced what was once Poalina’s Way. Brian Hill, owner of Francine Bistro, opened Seabright, a new restaurant that specializes in pizza as well as a good cocktail menu. "We’ll also feature good rum drinks for all the sailors," said Hill. See full story here.

Halfway up Elm Street, a new Latin-inspired restaurant named Comida Latin Kitchen opened this winter, in the former space of Old World Potato Company (next to Zoot). Trained in French cuisine, chef/owner Tom Sigler brings a French flair to Latin flavors from Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Central and South America. See full story here.

And further down the road, Annemarie Ahearn, owner of Salt Water Farm in Lincolnville, has moved her enterprise next to Shepherd's Pie in Rockport, calling it Salt Water Farm Cafe and Market at Union Hall. The market is integrated with the café and offers fresh produce, baked goods and provisions. See full story here.

New Stores And Stuff You Might Have Missed

Speaking of big, snowbats will notice Hannaford Supermarket in Camden has also greatly expanded when they first walk through the new sliding doors. Over the winter, the grocery store finished its renovations, which include a pharmacy and more than 3,000 new products in the new space. People are still wandering around trying to figure out where everything is, except for Hannaford's best customer, Chuck Hendrick. He already knows where the rum aisle is.

Lily, Lupine and Fern is one of the only stores in town offering gourmet craft beers (in addition to fine wines) and if you wander into their shop all the way to the back, you might blink and say "where's the beer?" Never fear, owners Gary and Bunny haven't yanked their stock; they've merely turned a back alcove into the special beer and wine room. Keep walking all the way to the back and hang a Louie, you'll eventually find it. The Marshall Wharf Cant Dog Imperial IPA is worth the trek.

Right next to Lily, Lupine and Fern, tucked down into the alley at #4 Public Landing, a new gallery/studio just opened, run by Jack McKenney, an artist who works with oils and acrylics. Check them out at: jackmckenneystudio.com

Down the street, a little further, Midcoast's largest residents, Rosie and Opal, may reside in Hope, but did you know the loving elephant pals have their own store in Camden? The Hope Elephants Museum Store is at 29 Main St. and is stocked with a variety of elephant-related merchandise, including fine art photographs of Rosie and Opal. Click here for more information on the store.

Green With Envy is another new place that popped up at 25 Mechanic St. this spring. This eco-friendly hair salon uses Aveda products in addition to green cleaning products. Then, there's Twice Upon a Dream, an emporium of new and nostalgic items, which opened on Elm Street next to the Children's House Montessori School.

Other tidbits: Those who remember where Owl & Turtle used to be on Mechanic Street will notice that the alternative Watershed School has moved into that space over the winter. Across the street, another new business is gearing to open June 1, Zarafa, offering children's and maternity clothing. Speaking of kids, Bubbles  & Bean Children's Consignment (next door to Reny's) just opened this winter and they are gearing up for a huge summer.

Lastly, the iconic Norumbega Inn on High Street has reopened, under new ownership, with renovations and refurbishment for those who worried they'd never get to stay in this fine castle again.

So there you have it, snowbats. Stay tuned for your Rockland roundup next week and welcome back!

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

CAMDEN - Peter Berke has endured ribbing from his crew at North Atlantic Painting Company for a few weeks now. It takes a confident guy to drive up to a client's house with a giant wooden duck strapped to the roof of his car, but it's all in good fun to promote West Bay Rotary's upcoming Duck Derby. Note: Due to weather and related tidal conditions this Saturday, May 25, the Duck Derby has been postponed to next Saturday, June 1 at 4:00 p.m.

Berke, owner of North Atlantic Painting Company and a member of West Bay Rotary, said: "In the beginning I got involved with Rotary to promote my business, but as it turns out, I really enjoy the service part of it, the giving back. I never thought I'd be the type of person who would be so involved in this, but once you get involved, it makes you want to give of yourself more."

As for the duck?

"The duck was a combined effort," he said. "My wife, Patty, drew the duck, and my guys in the shop cut out the design and painted it. Then we took it to Adventure Advertising where they made it more like a rubber duck with the signage and decals, just like you'd put on a car."

"This has been a real team effort with everybody in Rotary to get this revived again," he said.

For 19 years, the Duck Derby was an annual springtime event, until its popularity waned for a few years. Recently, there has been interest in reviving it again.

Each raffle ticket bought will correlate to a numbered rubber duck, which will be entered into the Saturday's river race.

"The purpose is to raise money locally through Rotary, so we can funnel it back into local community organizations and nonprofits," said Berke. "As a committee, we decide where it will go, so, for example, it might go to a YMCA-sponsored program, a kids' horse-back riding program or Meals on Wheels."

Fellow Rotarian Mark Masterson, sitting next to Berke said: "Basically what we're going to do is drop 2,500 rubber ducks into Megunticook River, where they'll float down underneath Main Street, over the falls and down to an entrapment we've made at the foot of the falls. It's a wide border with pool noodles and at the end of this is a small aperature, where only one duck can come through. We will have a boat placed there so that each duck's number will be picked up as it goes through and that's how we'll designate who the winners are."

Rest assured, environmentalists, all rubber ducks will be removed from the river when it's over.

"Although, I have to say last year we did get a call from Islesboro or Isle au Haut saying they found a stray duck," said Berke. "But they cost us money, so yeah, we like to get them all back — all our ducks in a row."

Wack Wack.

Prizes for the Duck Derby race include a week's vacation at the deluxe Vanderbilt Resort in Naples, Fla., plus $1,000 cash, or one of several other great prizes, including jewelry from Etienne Perret, dinner for two at Hartstone Inn, a $50 gift certificate to Fresh Restaurant, a two-hour sail for two on the Schooner Olad, a $30 gift certificate to Graffam Brothers Harborside Restaurant, and much more.

Tickets are $5 per duck or 5 ducks for $20 and are available at HAVII, or downtown the day of the event. The event is being sponsored by Camden's West Bay Rotary, the Vanderbilt Beach Resort, Etienne Perret Jewelry, Rockport Automotive and the Hartstone Inn.

Tickets are available at Harbor Video in Camden or the day of the race at French and Brawn in Camden. Launching is scheduled at 4:00 p.m., depending on the tide. There will be a children's activities tent at the finish line starting at 11 a.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN - Cappy's Chowder House may be currently undergoing a major expansion for the summer, but locals and tourists will find another welcome surprise when they walk through the new doors: John Collins, who goes by the nickname "Big John," is back behind the bar after a 13-year absence.

For six or seven years during the 1990s, Big John was the jovial face behind the bar-and the tallest guy in the room, until he left in 2000. Back then, a loyal group of local ladies would convene every Monday night at Cappy's bar for the weekly Girl's Night Out (GNO). The rules were simple: no kids, no boyfriends or husbands. If a guy wanted to join GNO, he had to wear a skirt. (No guys ever did.) Big John heard a lot of inappropriate conversations and served up a lot of "Wedgies" (Budweiser in a mason jar with a lemon), but he still, to this day, remains one of the most welcoming bartenders Camden has ever seen.

Well, like they say, everything old is new again. His first day back bartending for Cappy's was on this past Monday. At the end of his shift, members of the original GNO group suprised him with a card and a photo (sometime circa 1995) of Big John with the GNO crew. We could tell from the photo it was sometime near Valentine's Day and that several of us still hadn't climbed out of the 1980s fashion-wise. Behind us stood Big John, then at 6 feet, 8 inches.

"I'm about 6 feet, 6 inches now," he said, laughing. "I've shrunk."

Asked what brought him back, he said: "For starters, my wife's schedule has changed, so Mondays and Tuesdays were a perfect time to come back. My friend David [Robichaud, along with Matt Orne] bought the place, so here I am." 

In his absence, a few things have changed.

"It's been frightfully familar and very much the same," he said. "There's a new door here," referring to the new entrance to the expanded side of the restaurant. "And a new computer system, which is great."

We pointed out there is also a new mug club, which didn't exist in the 1990s.

"They claim they brought me back because I'm the only one that can move the mugs," he said.

"We've missed his laugh," said GNO veteran Leigh Ann Englander. If you've ever heard Big John's booming laugh, it sounds exactly like Sesame Street's The Count wth its booming Ah-ha-ha!

"I miss his perfect handwriting on the specials' boards," said Joanne Parent, another GNO member and former Cappy's employee. "I'd come into work and the lettering was brilliant. I'd want to know how to recreate his 'n's and his 'h's."

Big John has also had some personal changes since his old days slinging Wedgies. He's now married with two boys, eight and ten. He said he's looking forward to a summer with the new expanded restaurant, which is to open by mid-June.

"It is very well run, clean and organized and I'm just looking forward to having fun," he said. "I love tending bar. There's going to be two more bars and two decks."

How will people react knowing he's back?

"I'm one of those recognizeable people," he said. "I suspect I'll see a lot of people from the old days."

As for Girls Night Out, Big John better get used to raucous inappropriate conversations on Monday nights again. The girls are back.

Cappy's Chowder House plans their big grand re-opening around mid-June. Find out more details from their website or Facebook page.


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

Five Town Communities That Care and I have collaborated on a column to address the news concerning the presumed death of missing Glenburn teenager, Nichole Cable, and information on what parents and teachers can do concerning youth online safety.

Recently, police announced that a 20-year-old Orono man is facing a murder charge in connection with the disappearance of Nichole Cable of Glenburn. Earlier news reports mentioned that a fake Facebook account, or what is known as an  “imposter profile,” was used to lure the 15-year-old away from her home.

Understandably, situations like these heighten parents’ fears about their children’s safety online. Here are some suggestions on how to broach this topic with your own children.

An imposter profile is when someone creates a fake website or social networking profile in order to deceive a target.  In these cases, the predator stealse the identity of someone the target may have known in real life, and communicates with them through this imposter Facebook profile.

What we know is that predators often “groom” young boys and girls online by befriending them and finding out what they like, what hurts them and what makes them tick in a short amount of time. It’s incredibly easy to find a wealth of information on a teen simply by requesting to be their friend on Facebook. Once the teen accepts the friendship request, the predator looks at what kind of media/music/movies the teen likes, what drives his or her personality and what “angles” they can use to manipulate the impression of having common interests. For example, the predator sees what bands the teen likes on his or her Facebook page and stores that as nuggets of conversational “bread crumbs” by casually mentioning: “Oh you like One Direction? I like One Direction too!” From there, the common interests quickly lead to personal revelations and “heart-to-heart” talks. Pretty soon, the teen feels like he or she has someone special who deeply understands them and might be the only one who knows what they are going through.

What parents/teachers can do.

As upsetting as this situation is, current news stories need to be used with your teenagers as a talking point. Here is an excellent list of tips in how to guide this conversation:

• Meeting People Online: Dos and Don’ts of Online Relationships for Teens

The number one rule I tell teens is “Don’t friend anyone on social media that you don’t already know in real life and trust 100 percent.”

Everything you upload for content can be used against you, whether to groom you for nefarious purposes or for use in cyberbullying situations. Content is often repurposed for malicious reasons.

So many teens shrug off this advice thinking, “Oh, she’s being alarmist. It’ll never happen to me.”

It happens every day around the country, and in Maine, and these stories need to be told.

The other suggestion I‘ve repeatedly made to parents is to implement aBeanStalk's uKnowKids app on your teen’s cell phone, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.  This column explains how to use this free “parental intelligence system” so that it instantly alerts you via text or email if any keywords your teen and someone else uses with them contains language around cyberbullying, sexting and predatory grooming. You’ll also know exactly whom your teen has ecently accepted as a friend on social media without compromising his/her online privacy.

If you'd like to know more about how to protect your kids from an imposter profile, along with other safety tactics, join my free webinar June 13 at 5 p.m. There are currently eight spaces left for Identifying & Preventing The Six Most Common Cyberbullying Tactics.

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Kay Stephens is the co-author of Cyberslammed: Understand, Prevent, Combat and Transform the Most Common Cyberbullying Tactics, sponsored by Time Warner Cable. She has been making presentations at Maine schools on specific cyberbullying threats, such as imposter profiles and how to understand, prevent, combat and transform them. To see more posts on this topic, visit Kay Stephens at her Affiliate page on Penobscot Bay Pilot.

Five Town Communities That Care is dedicated to promoting healthy youth development and to the prevention of problem adolescent behaviors, including substance abuse, violence, delinquency, school dropout, teenage pregnancy and suicide.

The Teen2Teen VidFest contest rules were pretty straight forward: Any teen from Lincoln County could enter with a 15-, 30- or 60-second public safety announcement video on teens and tobacco use, distracted driving, or bullying. Out of 12 student directors (all from Lincoln Academy), 15 films were judged.

Teen2Teen video fest winner Ploypailin Intarawut took first prize with a trophy and $1,000 with her short artistic PSA that layered grim smoking statistics with a soft focus close up of a teen girl’s face changed by years of tobacco use. See her winning video in this story.

“It was challenging for the directors; we narrowed it down to the top three or four videos,” said one of the judges, Orion Breen, program director at Lincoln County Healthcare. “I thought [Intarawut’s winning video] was artistic, very well made technically and it sticks with you — you can watch it more than once.“

Lincoln County Health Literacy Partnership is a joint venture whose major goal is to educate members of the community regarding healthy choices and healthy behaviors.

Maya Crosby, Lincoln Academy’s digital and print media teacher said: “This had nothing to do with our class; it was extracurricular. She’s talented and creative. It shows some good artistic and technical ability.”

Intarawut said: “I like to make short films and wanted this to be something different, not something you’d usually see. I wanted it to be abstract, so everybody who watched it could take away from it a different perspective.” 

Intarawut also makes travel documentaries and said she’ll use her prize money for her college fund. She has been accepted to Mount Holyoke and plans to do a double major in international relations and East Asian studies.

The committee awarded Nathan Austin, a junior at Wiscasset High School, the second place trophy and a prize of $500 for his green screen depiction of distracted driving while texting. Lincoln Academy student Sammy Zaidi received the third-place trophy and $250, also on distracted driving. Finally, the Audience Award and $100 went to Lincoln Academy student Aidan Shadis.

Breen said the winning films will get shared on public access and local TV channels as well as online. 

“We hope the work of these students will inspire other teens to think about their actions and affirm healthy life choices,” said Breen. “We want this night to be just the beginning.”

To see a playlist of the rest of videos in this story go to "Teen2Teen Videos."

 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — The concept is astoundingly simple, yet no one in the Midcoast has ever done it before. This past winter, a little take-out place called Scallions opened up in the Reny’s Plaza mall in Belfast, but lest anyone equate the idea of “to go” with fast food, this eatery is setting itself apart with its fine dining options.

Scallions describes itself as “restaurant quality prepared food to go.” For 14 years, Diana and Charles Evans husband owned The Rhumb Line, a fine dining restaurant in Searsport. Following that stint, they got three years of corporate catering under their belt before coming up with this concept.

“We have a lot of customers who were loyal to The Rhumb Line who were thrilled to know we’re carrying some of the restaurant’s signature dishes, such as the crab cakes and the horseradish encrusted salmon with a roasted red pepper mayo over brown rice and side vegetable,” she said.

Inside the bright and airy customer area, there are a few tables and a front counter framed by the large sign with the Scallions logo. The most visible part of the restaurant is the to-go coolers, which are stocked with pre-made “grab and go” entrees, lunches, sandwiches, salads, soups and desserts. Another cooler stocks beer and wine, for the convenience of one-stop shopping. “If you want the quality of a whole foods meal, but don’t feel like grocery shopping or spending another two hours after work in a restaurant, this is what it’s all about,” said Evans.

Their brand caters to local ingredients, smaller portions, and affordable ($10 or less) good, quality food in containers that can be popped into microwave or oven.

Scallions developed out of the couple’s need to see more take out options on Belfast.  

“When we didn’t feel like cooking ourselves, our only take-out options were really pizza and Chinese food. Sometimes when you want that, it’s great, but if you don’t, there’s not much else.”

They originally learned of this restaurant quality to-go concept when a friend mentioned visiting such a place in Connecticut. Knowing how well this concept would work in Midcoast, something clicked. “When it comes right down to it, it’s what we knew,” Evans said. “Now, it’s taken on a life of its own.”

What might not be evident at first glance is that the restaurant also has a full kitchen and grill in the back and does a full “to order” menu such as prime rib sandwiches, quesadillas and burgers as well as daily specials, including The Rhumb Line-favorite crab cake, alone or over salad.

Their menus and to-go items change seasonally. Moving into spring, Scallions is shifting their menu to using locally sourced lighter fare. “We’re really working with what’s coming through the door,” Evans said. “We just got our first order from Ararat Farms, which is great. They have salad greens, which is an understatement. They’re amazing. We just did fresh fennel and red pepper salad with a light sea salt extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.”

Another favorite: Roasted sweet potato on baby spinach with a maple-mustard vinaigrette.

“People seem to be crazed for that salad,” she said.

Come summer, they’ll offer more fresh fish that they get from Maine Shellfish and Wholesale Seafood. Off the grill, they’ll bring back another seasonal customer favorite: a pan-seared peppered swordfish sandwich with Vidalia onion picalilli.

They also plan to offer to-go lobster roll, something one can rarely get in Belfast without sitting down at a restaurant.

With their catering background, they have no problem taking a larger order for groups and doing an entire dinner for 8-12 people that the host can simple re-heat at home.

“You can say you made it,” Evans laughed.

The Belfast area has given them an amazing reception said Evans.

“One of the things I like about Belfast is this is a great professional environment to be in. Everybody has their own niche and nobody steps on each other’s toes. We have great wraps in Belfast with Bay Wraps, so we won’t even offer that. We’ve got great place for raw juice with the Juice Cellar, so we won’t do juice in here. We all just do our own thing.”

Some days when you’re feeling anti-social, blah, overtired or just can’t face the world, it’s good to know there’s a place that gets it and puts the “comfort” in comfort food.

For store hours, menus and specials follow them on Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

I love how people think Mainers are one iconic stereotype you'd find in Yankee Magazine; e.g.; the crusty old timer or the lobsterman who "ayuhs" when spoken to. As you can see from Pen Bay Pilot's galleries, Midcoast has such a diverse cross-section of people. We are a hotbed for the creative economy and we've got a vibe you don't even know about, yet.

Case in point: Hot Pink Flannel is the party planning crew of Rockland and Jesse Stuart is the photographer to capture the scene. On May 11, they threw down the last party of the season at the Time Out Pub. Known for their outrageous themes, including '80s Prom Bomb and Stache Bash, HPF's latest fling was all about the glitter and neon, titled NeonBling II. Here are some of the best poses and photos.

For more information visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Photos courtesy Jesse Stuart.

Imagine looking up at the sky and seeing this? Would you laugh? Call 9-1-1? Kickstarter is the world's largest crowdfunding platform for creative projects. People use it to launch their books, movies, albums and other tech ideas. But one day, New York comedian Kurt Braunohler got a silly idea and thought, "why not run with it?"

He raised $7,000 with the help of 257 backers and got a skywriter to write "How do I land?" in L.A.

In his statement, via Gawker, he said:  "I think we can all agree that life is pretty bleak place to be a lot of the time. Often you might even think, 'Who thought this was a good idea to begin with!?' (God – what a jerk.) But I think that if there’s a way we can, just for a fleeting moment, give strangers an unexpected gift of absurdity, then I think we can make the world a slightly better place."

If you were in the midst of dialing 9-1-1, you can put the phone down now.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST - Summer's coming. Time to grab some friends and break out the bar-b-ques, cocktails, and... chainsaws? Leatherface is back and this time it's personal. This well-made sequel takes us back to 1974, the morning after the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It begins with a shootout between a local vigilante mob and the Sawyer family with exciting cameos by Chainsaw alumni Gunnar Hansen, Bill Mosely, and Marilyn Burns. With seemingly no survivors of the Sawyer family, fast forward 20 years later when a young woman returns to Texas to claim her inheritance. From this point, it actually almost feels like like a regular film, as opposed to being one of the slasher genre. Bring your sympathy for the devil, because this time around, we find that Leatherface has a heart. And not just the one on his plate.

"Family is a messy business. Ain't nothing thicker than blood!"

I'll confess that the first 10 minutes made the whole movie worthwhile for me. But watch the whole thing; you'll want to get every last drop.  This movie aspires to be the first in a new franchise of Texas Chainsaw sequels, so expect to see more of stars Alexandra Daddario, and Scott Eastwood. Disregard any previous franchise timelines. Ignore any discrepencies in the details. Enjoy it as a rousing sequel to the original classic. And remember, it's only a movie.
 

Reviewed by Jim Dandy. Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

The Hot Mamas threw a Fashion Night Out! benefit in Rockland May 11 to help the teens and young adults who are part of Rockland's Out! As I Want To Be.

The fashion show took place at the David Scriven Crowley Gallery at 409 Main St. in Rockland, featuring five designers and outfits from two local retailers modeled by a dozen local men and women.

Participating designers included Lisa Barfuss of 
Skirtin’ Around; knit-wear designer Sarah Brand-New of Belfast; Gail Perezutti of New York-based Candela; Susan Perrine, an artist known for her creative outfits fashioned from books; and furrier extraordinaire Greg Tinder of Tsarevich Couture in Northport. Participating retail stores include Four-Twelve in Rockland and the Eclectic Closet in Belfast.

As always, the go-to photographer for any happening event in the Midcoast was Jesse Stuart, who shares his runway photos with us. Here are some of the best looks and best photos from that night. To see more of Stuart's work, check out his Facebook page.

Photos courtesy Jesse Stuart

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

BELFAST - This Friday evening, May 17, at the Tarratine Tribe Hall, 153 Main Street in Belfast, a series of craftsmen, artists and innovators will strut their stuff at PechaKucha Night Midcoast Maine, emceed by poet Arielle Greenberg Bywater.

PechaKucha, which is the Japanese term for the sound of conversation "chit chat," was originally devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. The way Pechakucha Midcoast works is eight people each present their work, ideas and creative process in a 20-second-per-image, 20-image engaging, fast-paced slideshow.

Friday's eight include Michael Beaudry, timber framer; Sarah Boisvert, Maine FabLab; Rob Brown, painter; Nicole Magnan Caruso, Peaceful Nest Yoga; Rhonda Feiman, Japanese-style acupuncturist; George Mason, artist; George Haselton, Rockport Mechanical; and Laura Waller, artist.

To get an idea of the diversity of each presentation here's one to watch this Friday.

'If you can dream it, you can make it"

Sarah Boisvert is the founder of Maine FabLab, a "fabrication lab" in Biddeford where students and adults can dream up an invention and use the lab's sophisticated equipment to build potential product prototypes. A volunteer for MIT, Boisvert adapted the concept from the ideas of Neil Gershenfeld, a professor at MIT's FabLab as way to encourage more young people to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). From In an interview on a guest blog post for www.kcharry.com, Boisvert gives an example of whatever can be dreamt up can be made real. In the Maine FabLab, they offer equipment that anyone can use.

For example, Boisvert said, "3D printers are machines that build complete things in plastic from CAD drawings, so if you can imagine something, and create a CAD file, then you can have it in your hands in a day or so, complete with moving parts!"

According to FabLab's website, this can be used to create everything from customized hand brace orthotics, implantable joints, ornate bricks for construction, parts for NASA satellites, housing for consumer electronics, iPad & iPhone cases and holders, as well as artistic creations such as sculpture, jewelry, and toys.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., program begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door.

The next PechaKucha Midcoast Maine event will be on September 13 in Camden and November 15 in Rockland. For more information, email pechakuchamidco-ast@gmail.com or visit midcoastmagnet.com/content/pecha-kucha.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

NORTH HAVEN - Fighting princesses and bears who snack on pizza delivery guys are only a few of the wildly imaginative plays being performed this weekend at Waterman's Community Center in North Haven. On May 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and on May 19 at 1 p.m., theater goers will get to experience seven original full-stage productions about 15 minutes each. The scriptwriters range in age from 9 to 65.

"Back in February we put out a call for scripts from local and summer residents and these were the best of the submissions," said Waterman's Program Director William Trevaskis. "We've gotten a lot of fantasy topics this year. For example, one of the plays written by a third-grade student named Sierra Koerber Marxis is called Brave Princess, and is about a princess who teaches knights how to fight. "It's great, it's very imaginative, very fast-paced," said Trevaskis, who also does sound design for these plays.

As for the adult plays, Jake Greenlaw (who play drums for the Toughcats) and Adam Alexander have put together a dark comedy called Craig? about a pizza delivery man who thinks all bears are friendly until he is eaten by one. Lest we give it away, there is a twist, apparently involving a second pizza delivery guy and a second bear.

Other plays are written by Katherine White, Jacqueline Clark, Sam Minot, Marten Dunn and Terry Goodhue; directed by Courtney Naliboff, AC Alexander and JJ Greenlaw and Terry Goodhue.

This is the second year Waterman's Community Center has put on this Play Writing Festival with most of the actors, sets and production drawn from students and faculty from the North Haven Community School.

Tickets are $7/$10. To get tickets, call William Trevaskis at 207-867-2129 or email him at programs@watermans.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

THOMASTON - As a non-mom, I'm not generally inclined to go to literary readings about Mother's Day. (It's a little like going to a car convention when you only ride a bike.) But somehow, I knew if I went to Billy's Tavern last night for their "Mother's Night Storytelling" event, I'd find a much richer understanding of what it means to be, or not be, a mother in these times. Because gay or straight, wealthy or poor, in a committed relationship or single, ambivalent or determined, every woman has asked herself this question at a point in her life: "what kind of mother would I be?"

Hallmark Cards, Inc., may think they have the slick and packaged answer for that one, but last night's storytellers gave a nuanced performance, using music, photo essays (like Pecha Kucha) and funny and poignant stories to illustrate how different we all are as women, but how we all ask ouselves that universal question.

Brooke Willams, a writer, and co-owner of Billy's Tavern, said, "We're all in a writer's group together down in Portland and I just felt like we needed to do an event that showed all these different perspectives. Essays are so hard to get published these days, but I thought these were stories other women needed to hear."

The storytellers were Elisabeth Wilkins, Kella River, Cathy Kidman, Brooke Holland and Brooke Willams.

Wilkins, the first reader said, "My piece was about how my Italian mother-in-law didn't understand why I was breastfeeding my child because to her, it carried a cultural association of poverty. But I think what she was really worried about is that I would raise my child so differently than she raised hers and these differences would prevent her with having a connection with her grandchild." To see Wilkins's story online, click here.

Kella River, a music therapist and a professional singer/songwriter sang a couple of songs, and one in particular, titled "Mother" was refreshingly honest. With lyrics, like "Mother you kill me," the song was about not fulfilling a mother's expectations while simultaneously chafing under her control. What was so interesting about this song is that it dared go to the place that Hallmark will never dare to go, layering the omnipresent image of June Cleaver with what a real mother says behind closed doors. (See our accompanying video of her performance.)

"I've played that song only a few times," said River, "and I'm pretty careful with it. The first few times I played it people seemed kind of disturbed, and I thought, 'well, that's my truth.' On the one hand, you have to accept that we're all imperfect. On the other, whatever you pass on to your kids can be lifelong."

The hue and cry that erupts every time a woman chooses to portray a less-than-positive view of motherhood will invariably follow, perhaps even in this article. I see it all the time. One person chooses to speak her truth and dozens protest, as if she is somehow speaking for all womankind. She's not. It's her truth. She's allowed to speak it.

Willam's piece titled Microwave Chicken got the most laughs and head nods from the audience.

"I've been writing that piece for so long and I've been trying to figure out what that piece was about," said Williams. The premise is that Williams's mother gives her a microwave oven to make life simpler, but it's not a tool that Williams wants or find necessarily simplifying in the 2000s as it did for her mother in the 1970s.

"It's essentially my relationship with my mother," she said. "But it's about rebelling about how your mother does things, and about feminism. I see a lot of women my age and younger who are approaching motherhood a lot differently than their own mothers."

Shonna Milliken Humphrey, another author, was slated to do a piece last night about her ambivalence about not having kids, but she was unable to come to the show. "I was really hoping to put that piece out there, because so many people are not having kids," said Williams.

In yet, another twist of perspective, Kidman's essay was about not being a mom, not because of choice, but because of ovarian cancer. With grit and humor, she wove through her story about how she and her partner had thought about having kids, until life changed her plans.

"I felt like I'd just got spayed," she said to the audience's laughter.

Brooke Holland, a photographer, took us through her own life story about how she lost her own mother at 18 and how she came to grips with this crushing loss, first through her photography and later, through her own sweet twin baby girls. Using a projector and a screen, she took us through this journey with each evocative photograph. One self-portrait stuck with me: an image of Brooke, lying cradled inside a mossy overhang, as if that could subsitute a mother's arms. (I think there was a sand storm that blew through the doors of Billy's Tavern at that moment, because my eyes wouldn't stop leaking.)

In the end, "what kind of mother did I have?" and "what kind of mother would I be" were deeply personal and different answers for everyone on stage and in the audience. Each story coaxed us to cross that bridge from our stereotypes, our long-held beliefs and our convictions and allowed us to see the truth from many facets. And that's why we tell stories.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

ROCKLAND — The Hot Mamas, an eclectic group of Midcoast women, aren't into your plain, old, run-of-the-mill fundraisers. If they're going to put their energy toward something, it's a sure bet it's going to be innovative, it's going to be energetic and it's going to be hot... tssssssss.

On Saturday, May 11, they're getting behind Fashion's Night Out and a cause they deeply believe in: helping the teens and young adults who are part of Rockland's Out! As I Want To Be, an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer and questioning young people ages 14-22.

The Fashion's Night Out fashion show will take place at the David Scriven Crowley Gallery at 409 Main St. in Rockland, featuring five designers and outfits from two local retailers modeled by a dozen local men and women, including Oceanside East Principal Tom Forti and Trekkers' Executive Director Don Carpenter and The Hot Mamas.

Participating designers include Lisa Barfuss of 
Skirtin’ Around; knit-wear designer Sarah Brand-New of Belfast; Gail Perezutti of New York-based Candela; Susan Perrine, an artist known for her creative outfits fashioned from books; and furrier extraordinaire Greg Tinder of Tsarevich Couture in Northport. Participating retail stores include Four-Twelve in Rockland and the Eclectic Closet in Belfast.

One of The Hot Mama founders, Marianne Forti, said, "We just wanted to do something a little different, a little edgy, something we haven't done before to raise money for a local cause. So, we pulled in all of the contacts we knew to put this together. A fashion show is necessry for spring - I think we're all looking for a little boost in our wardrobes." 

"Most of The Hot Mamas are moms - not all, but all of the groups we support have to do with families and children," continued Forti. "We just thought it's hard enough to be a teenager, period. And when you add in questioning your sexuality, or being labeled as different, we just all sympathize how these kids must struggle because a lot of us have kids of our own."

Sarah Brand-New, one of the designers offering her pieces to the show said, "This particular cause is dear to me as I've watched close friends struggle with coming out. It's a great cause for teenagers who are coming out. This type of support could be a life saver." A yoga instructor as well as a knit-wear designer, Brand-New will be offering 19 pieces in the show with eight walks featuring her yoga knit wear line consisting of shorts and pants and legwarmers.

"I love the local yarn I've discovered living in Maine," she said. "The colors are absolutely psychedelic."

Doors open at 6:30 and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Three Crow/40 Paper will offer a cash bar and DJ Terry Frank will spin tunes next door at Asymmetric Arts after the show.
 
All the proceeds will benefit Out! As a I Want to Be. Tickets are $30 and available at HAVII in Camden and Rheal Day Spa in Rockland, and online at www.outmaine.org

The Hot Mamas is about 35 women from the Midcoast who raise awareness and funds for the benefit of local women, children and families by hosting, creating and participating in fun and adventurous events. In the past, creative fundraisers have included camping out for an entire night to raise money for homeless teens as well as hosting a cocoa stand at the U.S. National Tobboggan Championships to raise money for fuel assistance to benefit local families. Find them on Facebook at: The Hot Mamas.

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

You know that scene in Being John Malkovich when John Cusack falls down the strange portal only to emerge viewing the world through someone else’s eyes? That’s what these Rad Kids columns usually end up being about; a small shift in perception through one teen's eyes.

Zhanna (pronounced Johnna) Kurbanova, 18, goes to Camden Hills Regional High School… though she doesn’t have to. In her country, Turkmenistan (bordered by Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), teens graduate high school at age 16. After that, the girls usually go on to be wives and homemakers. Some go to college. Some even work, but in a country with nearly 50 percent unemployment, not many.

Two years ago, after Zhanna graduated from her own high school, she could have gone one of those directions. But she wanted more than anything to come study in the United States, so she applied to her country’s Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program. Out of 3,000 applicants, Zhanna was one out of 15 students who won the opportunity to be ambassadors of their country in the U.S. Applicants were judged on the basis of their ability to speak English, be well adjusted, mature, responsible, flexible, and unique. Check, check, check. The rules stipulated more study and 50 hours of community service.  Because of her age, Zhanna could have tried to go to college here, but she wanted to strengthen her English and history skills. So back to high school it was: this time as an 18-year-old in a New England school district.

Perspective shift  No. 1: If you graduated high school, would you go to another country and go back all over again? It’s a little like time travel. Think about it.

She first lived with a host family in Dexter, but found the area a little too remote, and soon moved to the Midcoast to live with host family Lynda Clancy and Jim Dill for the school year.

“This has been my dream since I was 10 to come to America,” she said in her low, Russian accent. “It was my father’s dream to come here and he told me I fulfilled his dream, too.”

When she speaks, (and she’s very articulate given her 10 months here) Zhanna lets loose a tumble of exuberant exclamations.  For her, being able to wear what she wants, having access to the Internet, being able to buy kettle potato chips with her own money, is like winning the lottery. Being able to go back to school and take several honors classes, including history, French, biology, algebra, debate and jewelry, makes her feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Perspective shift  No. 2: When’s the last time you got excited about kettle potato chips or the Internet ...or algebra? Right?

The first time she came to Maine and saw how high school kids were allowed to dress, she thought: Freedom.

“In our high school, it’s mandatory to wear a uniform. A long green dress, the color of our flag,” she said. “Here, you get up in the morning and put on the first clothes you see - that was new for me.”

She wears what typical Maine kids wear, sweatshirts and jeans, nothing too revealing.

“I was a little shocked to see girls wearing yoga pants though, because I wouldn’t be allowed to wear that in my country.”

Another difference is the way adults and students interact at school.

“In my other school, teachers want you to show discipline first, then be a good student second. Here, in the U.S. you can be friends with teachers. In my country, the teachers are superior. They’re friendly, but they hardly talk to you the way they do here, more casually.”

Zhanna describes her country as independent but neutral, politically.

“We used to be part of Russia, but the majority of people are Turkmans and Muslims, but really modern. In a traditional Turkman family, the father is the head of the household in all matters and the mother takes care of the children. Women are allowed to work but in traditional households, but not in public places. Usually women become teachers. If they’re really modern, they go to work in Russia or London.”

Her mother, a Russian, married her father, a traditional Turkman, and she is their only child.

“It’s been a fusion of two cultures," she said. "Growing up learning two languages, with two religions (Christian and Islam) and two cultures, I'm trying to find out who I am in the middle. The most important thing is that my mom and dad want me to be happy and have a good job. My mom has always encouraged me since I was young and I feel it’s really important to tell your kids that they’re smart and can do things.”

As all U.S. teens know, it’s not cool to be too enthusiastic. Layer that with the Yankee mentality of “give me some time to get to know you first” and it's easy to understand why Zhanna is still learning to navigate how kids relate to one another here. 

“In my country, it is really closed, so you wouldn’t have a foreign exchange student. But if we did, everyone would be really, really interested about that person and want to get to know them. Here, students are not really interested. At first, I took it personally. Then I realized, they’re afraid. They’re shy. Then I started to talk to them first and I got a better reaction.”

Perspective  No. 3: What kind of guts does it take to be a new kid in school? A new kid who doesn’t know the customs and cultures and who, like all teens, would just like to fit in? Could you do it?

She says she has made a few U.S. friends as well as other exchange students.

“My role here is a little different, than just a student," she said. “I have to submit weekly and monthly reports on everything from my grades to my community service work to project report.”

When she’s not studying or volunteering, she loves playing tennis and belly dancing.

“In Turkmenistan, you cannot show your belly. I’ll tell you a little story. In my school, when I was 13, I had friends who were dancers and did these dances for certain holidays. I think it was for Women’s Day, we were doing a Latin belly dance, and my principal, a  female, when she saw our dance, she started to hate me. She didn’t want us to show our bodies. She (held that grudge) until I graduated.”

The principal’s assumption was that Zhanna was wanton. “Here, it is a big opportunity to express myself through dance. I’m really thankful for that.”

Zhanna graduates with the rest of the Class of 2013 in June and will go back home after that.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” she said. “I could go to Russia and study or I could stay in my country and do more community service for my people. We don’t have a really good education system in Turkmenistan and English is so hard to learn. I could work with the FLEX program and help others.”

Or she could follow another dream, one that wouldn’t be necessarily welcome in her country.

“I was thinking about opening a yoga studio and teaching belly dance,” she said. I might get some problems for that, but I’m a person who strives for freedom.” Eventually, she’d like to make her way back to New England and go to college to study science, business, entrepreneurship, or psychology.

Asked what she’ll miss the most, she sighed, “The Internet.”

“Oh and the food. I love Japanese, Chinese and Thai food. I’m going to bring some things back for my family. I really want my father to try bacon,” she said, laughing. “But he wouldn’t eat it because Muslims don’t eat pork.”

As for herself, another sigh. She’s going to miss those kettle-cooked potato chips.

Hail To The Rad Kids is a feature highlighting teens with artistic or musical talent. Or just plain have something to say.  Another venue that highlights teens in our community is Sound Off, a monthly feature sponsored by Five Town Communities That Care to publicly recognize the contributions that middle and high school teens are making in our community.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot

In sixth grade, I "found" an old history textbook at the end of the school year and proceeded to vandalize it, drawing my own characters within the pages, reworking captions and providing expletive-filled text bubbles to corny illustrations.

In sixth grade, you think you're hilarious and I blame Mad Magazine for that.  Of course, I got caught and of course this has to be prefaced by "kids don't try this at home" but now that we're several weeks away from school letting out and on the downward trajectory of the almighty "Senior Slump," here are some of the best examples of vandalized textbooks from bored, ingeniously creative and very, very bad kids. Which one is your favorite?

Photos courtesy of Xaxor.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — There's no chance a blizzard is going to get in the way this time. The "Down the Chute Beer & Wine Challenge," originally scheduled for Feb. 8 during the 2013 U.S. National Toboggan Championships, is back on track Saturday, May 11, at the Camden Snow Bowl Lodge on Barnestown Road, from 3 to 7 p.m. The afternoon will feature samplings of Maine made beer and wine, as well as plenty of food and fun to help kick off summer.

For the admission price, participants receive a "First Eva' Down the Chute Beer & Wine Challenge" souvenir glass and tasting tickets, which will be exchanged for samples of beer and wine from six Maine breweries and three local wineries. We checked in with the participating breweries and wineries to see what they plan to offer. Note: more brewers will be adding their descriptions later today.

BREWS

Andrew's Brewing Company: "We'll offer our English Pale Ale, a traditional style English ale, with medium body, and amber in color. It has a mix of hoppy, earthy, malty aromas and flavors. This is our flagship of the fleet. Most popular with a good lobster dinner! We'll also have Summer Golden Ale, which is deep gold in color and well attenuated with a light malty palate.  It has a hop character of medium bitterness with notes of grapefruit and slight earthy tones.  A great beer to enjoy on a hot summer day after mowing the lawn."

Sebago Brewing Company: "We're looking forward to doing this at the Snow Bowl, having talked for years about having a brewers event there. We're going to be offering The Frye's Leap India Pale Ale, a medium bodied American IPA with strong hop flavor and aroma as well The Sebago Summer Hefeweizen, a traditional unfiltered Germany style wheat beer."

Penobscot Bay Brewery: "We're offering Red Flannel Ale, a hearty, full-bodied brown ale with a sweet aroma, rich malty flavors from the Special B roasted barley and Perle hops for bittering. At 42 IBUs and 8 percent ABV, this is aptly named for the red flannels displayed on the label that keep you warm and toasty. Also on tap, Building 5 Rye IPA. This India pale ale has great copper color and lacey head. It’s spicy with a hint of orange in the nose that quickly gives way to the peppery bite of rye and a soft nuttiness. A 'winnah' of a brew that started out at the Maine Homebrew Competition and continued as an all-around favorite. It is 70.5 IBUs and 7 percent ABV."

Shipyard Brewing Co: "We'll be serving Monkey Fist, which is the genesis of a new generation of IPA. The traditional elements of a classic English IPA have been redefined by American craft beer innovation. Monkey Fist is edgy, aggressive and unique in style. This beer is brilliant copper in color and exploding with Warrior, Glacier and Cascade hop character but able to maintain a beautiful balance. We'll also have the Shipyard Summer Ale. In 2010, this traditional American wheat beer was named Best in the Northeast in the United States Beer Tasting Championship.  It also received a silver award at the 2007 Los Angeles County Fair. With its inviting golden color and mellow malted wheat flavor, Shipyard Summer Ale is sure to please those looking for a clean, cool taste sensation on long, hot summer days. It's what we call the perfect lawn mower beer!"

WINES

Winterport Winery: "We're offering three wines. 1. Applause, a sparkling pear and almond is a wonderful aroma of almond with an applause of bubbles to tingle your palate. It is luscious on the nose and delectable to sip. It’s like no other bubbly around. Named for the round of applause it received upon first sip." 2. Cranberry, gently tart, and 'smackin’ good' with a smooth finish. It’s a great sweet-tartness of cranberry that was voted the Best Fruit wine in New England in 2011 at the Big E and remains an area best seller. 3. Taxi Cab, a cabernet sauvignon with a full 'fare' of fruit along with soft tannins and a great mid-palate structure to balance the oak notes."

Breakwater Vineyards: "We'll have a pinot noir and riesling; both are dry and pair well with all the local seafood and cheeses here in Maine.  We'll also have Bees Knees Mead, made from some of our own Maine honey.  The name is whimsical and means sweet and good, just like our honey!  All these wines are perfect as we enter into the warmer months of the year."

Cellardoor Winery: "We'll be offering three wines, 1. Monti al Mare, a balanced blend of Sangiovese and old vine sinfandel that is full of ripe, concentrated flavors of cherry, raspberry and Amaretto, ending with a warm, spicy finish. It goes great with lasagna or other Italian dishes. 2. Perfect Stranger, this Cayuga wine has bright aromas of juicy pear and crisp green apple, ending with a refreshing sweet and tart finish. Enjoy with a cheese plate, crackers and your favorite antipasti. 3. Sweetheart, this 100 percent Concord grape wine bursts with aromas and flavors of fresh grapes on the vine, while on the palate there is a harmonious balance of sweet and tart. Serve with poultry at the dinner table, or as a wine spritzer."

Organizers say that they to recoup their losses from the February cancellation, and hopefully be able to donate to a great cause in memory of great friends and Rotarians Ken Bailey and Don Gross. All net proceeds, after losses have been paid, will go to support the Ragged Mountain Foundation in the memory of Bailey and Gross, both strong supporters of the Toboggan Championships and the Ragged Mountain Ski Area.

Hot dogs and soft drinks will be available for sale. The State of Maine Cheese Co. will be there handing out samples and the Rotary Interact club will be selling pretzel necklaces. Down the Chute is open to people aged 21 and older, and all IDs will be checked. There will also be a $5 entry level fee for designated drivers. Tickets can be purchased for $20, in advance, at BrownPaperTickets.com, or at the door for $25 until they run out.

For more information on the Down the Chute Beer & Wine Challenge, contact West Bay Rotary at 691-9204, email westbayrotary@gmail.com or visit the event's Facebook page.

This Cheap Date has the perfect ingredients: A Maine-grown wines tasting paired with a Maine-island botanicals bath soak. (All you ever have to do is pair a wine tasting with anything, even a community organized pick-up-dog-poop day, and I'd go to it.) On Sunday, May 5, Breakwater Vineyards in Owls Head is teaming up with Dulse & Rogosa, a natural bath and beauty products company on Gotts Island to offer a unique twist on the typical wine tasting. Called "Taste, Make & Take," each person will be able to taste a particular wine, then go into another room and make a bath product from island-gathered botanicals such as rugosa rose petals, wild dulse and Irish moss, balsam needles and bay Leaves as well as natural salts and essences. The cost is $10/person.

"The idea came up because Claire Weinberg, co-owner of Dulse & Rogosa, said she really enjoys taking a hot bath and having a glass of wine," said Breakwater Vineyards co-owner Jeanne Johnson. "For instance, we have a rosé wine called Rosé Rugosa and that would pair perfectly with their rugosa rose hips for a bath soak. It's a little different way than pairing wine with food, but it's just kind of a fun way for us to offer something like this together."

Participants will get to sample four wines and make four different natural bath soaks to take home.

The event takes place at Breakwater Vineyards, 35 Ash Point Drive in Owls Head, from 2 to 4 p.m. Call 207-594-1721 or email info@breakwatervineyards.com for reservations.

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

BELFAST - It's a good thing someone knows how to make a truly good Margarita around here because Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and we're going to need one STAT. La Vida's bar in Belfast boasts around 35 tequilas, some of which are so rare, you'd have to travel to Mexico to find them. Shelly Trisch, the manager at La Vida gave us a live demonstration on how to make their signature Spicy Mango Margarita, which uses fresh puréed mango and a house tequila infused with Habenero peppers, giving the cocktail a fresh, sweet citrusy flavor with layers of subtle heat.

Then the heat came on a little more. You wouldn't want to have five of these.

"Two would probably be your limit," said Trisch.

To make this  "Mango Chunkalicious"* cocktail at home use:

1 shot glass with fresh mango purée

1 1/2 oz Casa Sauza Giro Gold Tequila (La Vida's house tequila)

1/2 oz Triple Sec

Splash of lime juice

1/4 oz house habenero tequila

3 oz sour mix

Splash of orange juice

Shake in cocktail shaker full of ice and pour entire shaker into a Margarita glass rimmed with salt and topped with a lime.

La Vida is the only restaurant and bar in Midcoast doing five nights of Cinco de Mayo starting May 1. They will be open late each night, offering daily specials and events, such as a different margarita of the night sponsored by Cointreau where you keep the bar shaker that your Margarita comes in. There will be door prizes every night and 5 percent  of bar sales will help raise money for a different nonprofit each night, such as Our Town Belfast, Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Belfast Art Walk, P.A.W.S. and The Cinderella Project.

Wednesday May 1: Happy Hour all day and night

Thursday May 2: Buy one fajita and get half off a second fajita

Friday May 3: Double happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. and again 9 to 11 p.m.

Saturday May 4: $12 fishbowls! 64 ounces of house margaritas for just $12.

Sunday May 5: Cinco de Mayo and Family Day. Every Sunday kids eat free (with qualifying adult).

For more information stay tuned to their Facebook page, call 930-6320, and check out their profile on penbaypilot.com Main Street.


 

*term courtesy of Michele DiGiralamo


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

BELFAST - The streets of Belfast are flooded with people looking to get their music fix... of every type. The fourth annual celebration of Belfast's Free Range Music Festival is currently ongoing and we caught some of the acts earlier today. Just to give a sample of the diversity (not to mention the high quality acts) this Festival offers, check out our two-minute clips on Clio & Chloe, The Hips and Pete Witham & The Cozmik Zombies.

Clio & Chloe are 17 and 14, respectively. Their light, playful, sometimes ethereal duets were complemented by their friend Jimmy on guitar. This is some sweet music and it's easy to see these girls having a successful musical career together some day.

The Hips are a six-piece band playing some rockin' dance-party music in a church...no less. They are rhythm and bass driven with funky sax and guitar and rounded out by fabulous vocal harmonies.

Pete Witham & The Cozmik Zombies got the entire American Legion Hall stomping with their Rockabilly/Psychobilly. Playing original roots music with "witty lyrics, theatrical delivery and a heavy dose of chicken plucking stomp" these guys had everyone on the dance floor hopping at 2:00 in the afternoon.

Also new this year for the music lover was the WERU Music & Gear Sale down at the Belfast Boathouse. It was a record and CD yard sale extravaganza.

Not to miss tonight (I'm told) is O'Death at 7:15 p.m., which draws on traditional folk, bluegrass, punk, gypsy music, metal, swing and jazz stylings.

Lastly, Three Tides will round it all out again at 9:00 p.m. with an epic outdoor party hosted by Portland promoter HillyTown, featuring live sets from Ava Luna, Leapling and Leaves, Leaves.

If you haven't bought your pass(es) yet, there's still time to do so!  You can order through their website: www.freerangemusicfestival.com. Passes will be available to purchase (and pick up if you pre-purchased) at the Festival Info Center at 171 High Street in the Our Town Belfast Office in the Mini Mall near the Colonial Theatre. The Info Center will be open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.  Adult passes are $25, Children 12 and under $10.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PORT CLYDE — The tiny roughhewn bar room in Port Clyde known affectionately as "The Poon" was packed to the rafters April 24, its first opening night under new ownership. Chris Chadwick, a scallop fisherman, recently bought the original Harpoon restaurant with his mother, Cindy Chadwick. They’ve renamed it The Black Harpoon, based on its original name dating back more than 30 years.

There was "huge excitement when the news got out we were re-opening," said Neva Joseph, who used to own Craignair Inn in Spruce Head and worked for Linda Bean. "People were happy that a local boy bought it."

Chadwick persuaded Joseph to leave her position with Bean’s company and come oversee the Black Harpoon as the general manager. "I've known Chris since he was in junior high. I couldn't say no to his dream," she said.

According to Chadwick and Joseph, the original bar/restaurant was owned by Ed Black and Gary Harper more than 30 years ago. Then it was bought by Johnny Morse and Wayne and Carol Curtis, who had it for 20 years. The Harpoon burned down in 1991 and was re-built. When it was sold again, it sat on the market for several years. Last January, the Chadwicks purchased it.

"It is a local establishment, but the tourists love it. People from all over have been calling to see when we're opening," said Joseph.

Nothing to the original bar has changed. "We wouldn't dare," said Joseph, laughing. They've just added more draught beers to the bar, as well as an Angry Orchard Hard Cider. 

Most seafood restaurant chains try to approximate the look of authentic maritime decor, but hard as they might, they'll never come close to the Black Harpoon. It's a fisherman's bar — the real deal.  Original lobster buoys donated from local lobster fishermen hang from the ceilings and rafters while faded photographs of locals in grade school, high school and college, and war-time portraits line the walls.

A gentlemen coming up to the bar to order a Grey Goose on the rocks noted dryly, "I've known just about every one of these people [whose images grace the walls]; I dated some of them too."

For the tourist, it just looks like a clump of lobster buoys and gear hanging from the rafters. For the locals, every time you look up, you're seeing someone's family name and years of stories attached to the buoy's color scheme.

Roger and Betty Libby were one of the first to check out the bar's re-opening. Their sons are both fisherman. "We've been coming to this bar for 30 years," said Roger Libby. "We're very excited it's back." To prove their kinship to the place, Libby pointed out his naval photo in the corner of the bar and on the very opposite wall in the same place, his wife, Betty's photo as a young woman.

Joseph said the dining room has been redecorated and the restaurant will be opening May 9. 

"A local well-known lady, Barbara Mann, is cooking for us," said Joseph. "You could say she's sort of a celebrity around here. When we put it up on Facebook that Barbara Mann was going to be cooking for us, people went crazy. She cooked for years at the Ocean House. Her signature breakfast dish of home fries, eggs, ham and a secret cheese sauce is called 'The Morning Sunrise,' which is like a cardiac arrest in a dish,"  said Joseph joking.

The Black Harpoon will be open for dinner Monday through Saturday. On Mother's Day, they will be serving from noon to 6 p.m. They will now be serving breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays and will open for lunch starting in July. They plan to stay open in the winter on a limited schedule (Thursday–Saturday). Find them on Facebook or call 372-6304.

Eight years ago, a single teenager, who went by the nickname Muffin, started an awareness campaign for kids who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. Alone, she faced off her entire school, vowing a day of silence, making it visibly known she was standing up for kids too afraid to speak.
 
One girl’s campaign has now spread to hundreds of students and staff. This Friday, April 26, students at three Midcoast high schools will observe a Day of Silence, a student-led day of action to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT harassment in schools.  Participating students at Oceanside East, Oceanside West and Medomak High School will take a vow of silence for the school day, excluding class time, to bring attention to how name-calling and bullying can effectively silence the voices of LGBT students and allies.  
 
Never has the time for this awareness campaign been so pivotal. Only last month, a 13-year-old girl from Thorndike committed suicide. Her family saidbullying played a role in her death as she was harassed for “trying to figure out her sexuality,” according to The Portland Press Herald.
 
In a recent study by GLSEN of Maine’s school climate, 97 percent of students heard “gay” used in a negative or derogatory way; nine out of 10 LGBT students reported experiencing harassment in their schools and communities.  And LGBT students are more likely than their peers to miss classes and fall behind because of harassment.
 
Teenage advocates of Out! As I Want To Be, are organizing and leading the Day of Silence at each school. Lindsay Parker, who is part of Oceanside East’s GSTA (gay-straight-transgender) Alliance at school is coordinating her school’s event.
 
“We’re spreading awareness that gay bullying does happen," she said. "We’re going to wear red because that’s the color of the Human Rights Campaign. We’ll have a big poster everyone can sign. People can take photos of themselves holding up a sign that says, 'My name is _____I’m going to stop the silence by ______.' ”
 
Parker said the campaign of silence is supposed to be outside of class time.
 
“People can be silent at lunch time and in between classes if they want to," she said. 
 
She explained the purpose of the silence is for allies to show an empathetic alliance with those who are silenced every day, afraid to speak up for themselves.
 
“I want people to know that I am an ally and that they can come to me,” she said.
 
“We’ve got the principal and vice principal on board with it," said Parker. "The whole office is cool with it. I’ve got teachers coming up to me saying if we need anything, they’ll help out.”
 
The students are clearly aware, however, not everyone will be on board with this concept at the schools.
 
“I have the feeling we’re going to get some trouble on the actual day," said Parker. "I anticipate some kids will be rude about it.”
 
Seren/Alec Merrifield, the organizer for Oceanside West explained: “Most people don’t care about bullying. They think there is a minimal of bullying [against LGBT students]. But when it does happen, everybody in the school turns on one person. So, we’re just trying to get people to notice that is does exist.”
 
Alisha Nickerson, the organizer for Medomak added: “People tend to notice a mass amount of people being silent more than they seem to actually notice bullying all around them. We’re hoping  we can make it known we’re not going to back down.”
 
Harriet Mosher and Lis Clark, adult advisors at Out!, said Camden Hills Regional High School has been doing a Day of Silence for several years. Due to scheduling conflicts, CHRHS will be organizing its own Day of Silence in the near future.
 
“This is the first year this event has spread to multiple schools in the Midcoast,” said Clark.
 
“Even though it culminates on one day, the conversation about the importance of this issue has been happening between and among students and teachers for a couple of weeks now and will continue after the day is over,” said Mosher.
 
For students looking for support or who wish to be allies, contact Out! As I Want To Be In Rockland at www.outmaine.org.  CHRHS and both Oceanside Schools have GSTA (gay-straight-transgender alliances) and Medomak is working on instituting one in the fall.
 
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Here's the thing. To get a meme to go viral, you have to kick it up a notch. Most people have the attention span of Ryan Lochte. It's not enough to come up with the idea of placing a cat on a Roomba, one must dress the cat up in a shark costume first. Oh, and let's just perpetuate this WTF moment a little more by adding a waddling duckling to the mix.

I could watch this all day long. (Editors: quit messing around and get some real work done!)

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

CAMDEN — Mimie is a calico domestic short hair stray from Belfast that the P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center took in a few months ago. "I think she was probably somebody's pet at one point and either she got out and ran away or some other circumstance happened and someone picked her up and brought her here," said Laura Stupca, shelter manager.

The vet estimates she is about eight to 10 years old, "but she doesn't act it," said Stupca. "She came in at 18 pounds and the vet recommended put her on a special food for weight loss or else she'd be a candidate for diabetes and arthritis, etc. Mimie is out on our lobby during the day time, but has to stay by herself in a bathroom at night because she gets her own food. If she were to live with the rest of the cats who have a free feeding system, she would try to eat food she doesn't need. But if she was in a home, it would help her lose weight faster, because she could run around more," said Stupca.

She's quite a beauty with light brown eyes that match her fur. She started purring the second my fingers touched her and is a very friendly cat.

"Oh my goodness, she's very lovey," said Stupca. "Whenever someone crinkles a treat bag, she'll perk her head up and waddle toward that direction."

Stupca said she'd thrive with extra attention and some one-on-one activity.

"She'd do great in a home with stairs. She needs to do a little Stair-Master."

Do you have a little love in your heart and room in your home for the pretty, "big-boned" Mimie?

For more information on Mimie and P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center visit: pawsadoption.org/available-pets/mimie

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND - -They knit. They stealth through the night.  They’re the Mid-Coast Yarn Ninjas and they take street art seriously.

Self-described on Facebook as: “A group of stealthy rebel knitters, crocheters, and fiber artists who want to purty-up the city of Rockland with colorful displays of yarn graffiti,” the Ninjas agreed to be interviewed if they remained anonymous.

This past Sunday they "purtied" up a children's playground on Warren Street, lacing hand-knit spring flowers throughout the chain link fencing. Members worked on crafting individual crocheted flowers for more than a month and a half. "Originally, we planned this the first day of spring," said one Ninja. "But we got all that snow, so we delayed it a little bit to be more in time for Earth Day and sort of April showers-May flowers."

Other photos include Operation Farnsworth Trees from last summer's street party in which the Ninjas hoisted up long swaths of multi-colored knitting. In pairs and trios, they shuffled the yarn scarves around the trunks of the trees and began stitching the pieces together.

“We are just trying to start the group and thought these trees would be a good project,” said the lead Ninja. “We just told people to knit about 8 inches and drop it off to us. Our core group has probably been knitting for about five hours in anticipation of this event.”

Continuing she said, “If we get a big enough group, we just want to do something cool and intricate with coordinating colors. We have some more plans coming…”

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

DAMARISCOTTA - World Book Night has a simple concept. On April 23 every year, bookstores and literary champions from around the world assemble an army of "book givers," who give free books away to "light or nonreaders, especially people who may not have access to printed books for reasons of means or geography." The book givers receive 20 free paperback copies of one World Book Night title, not too many to carry, but enough to share with a good number of potential new readers.

One book store in Maine is taking up the cause on a local level.

"This is our third year doing the World Book Night giveaway," said Susan Porter, an employee of the Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta. To spread the love of reading and books, this gets books into areas to give to people who don't necessarily go into book shops," she said. "The Bookseller's Association, The American Library Association, Barnes and Noble and a lot of publishers donate free books to us to give out to people. Then we ask people to sign up to be givers. This year we have nine people who've signed up."

One such giver is Jane Najim, a cochair for the Ecumenical Food Pantry in Damariscotta. This is her first year as a giver.

"They asked me to participate and I was thriiled because they're  an independent book store and I'm the type to browse on Amazon first then call Maine Coast Book Shop and ask them to order it for me." She picked up her box of 20 books this week and is preparing to give them out tomorrow night. All 20 books, as stipulated by World Book Night rules, have to be of one title and Jane had to choose from a special list of 20 titles on the World Book Night website.

"They give you three choices of titles you can pick from and I got my choice, which is Mudbound," said Najim. "It takes place after World War II in the Mississippi Delta. It's all about the treatment of black people by white people in that area, but specifically how poor white people treated black people. And it's also about black men who go off to war and were treated equally, but when they came back home they were the 'boy' once again."

Mudbound won Bellwether Prize for Fiction. This is the synopsis:

It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm—a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not—charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.

"I loved it, it was a very provocative book," Najim said. Asked who she planned to give them away to, she said, "I'm going to give them to the people at our food pantry. We have a lot of readers who can't afford to buy books. It's going to be quite challenging for some of them to read and digest, but I think they're going to be glad to have read this book. I think it's going to be provactive and will challenge them. That's something we all could use."

On a micro level we can all be part of World Book Night and open someone's world a little more. On April 23, take a title from your own bookshelf and give it away to someone who a light or nonreader.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT — It felt like the first real day of spring yesterday. After the long, dragged out winter, it felt good to sit on a large chunk of granite pier by the ocean at Rockport Harbor and soak up the afternoon sun. Boat builders at Rockport Marine were outside, moving a bunch of heavy chains, tending to business and a group of kids were attempting to skateboard off the stacked floating docks.

Real skaters know every spot in a town where to ollie, grind, slide and bomb. Having known a bunch of skate rats, I have a real affinity for the ones who take risks to do what they love. I'm already anticipating getting crap for not telling these kids they should wear helmets or suggest they take their sport over to the sanctioned skate parks, instead of running around town and practicing the old-school organic way.

They let me film them, but I decided not to use their names.

"Our parents all know we skate," one said. "They told us if you get hurt, it's your own fault."

I see it like this: This is a visual snapshot to show you what kids do in our town when adults aren't around. These were polite kids, sweet natured. They could have been doing a lot worse or wasting the first real spring-like sunny day we've had in months holed up in a dark basement texting one another or glued to a laptop.

Instead, they were messing around, playing, practicing, improvising, experimenting. Doing kid stuff.

Remember people, skateboarding is not a crime.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN-From the "God knows we could use a distraction" department, this photo was dropped off to us by Larry Kinney, who saw this trailer parked by the Hannaford Supermarket in Camden. Before people get too upset, let's weed out facts from perceptions. No, this wasn't someone's awesome Plan B in the likely event of a zombie apocalypse, this is a word used in the trucking industry to refer to a refrigerated trailer.

Happy 4-20-13 peeps.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Every Mother's Day we are encouraged to buy gifts for our mothers, from cards to flowers to candy. And though those things are nice, three local mothers we spoke to were perfectly happy with the little things in life that money can't buy.

Here are their answers to our question: "What is the best gift you've ever received from your children?"

Traci Kirkpatrick

Traci is a fulltime working mother, who owns Traci's Diner in Belfast. She is the mother of three children, Sam, 6; Willoe 10; and Tyler, 11.

"We do a lot of things as a family together, but my kids don't get a lot of one-on-one time with me alone. Because of that, they all came up with the idea to spend one day alone with me. My daughter, Willoe, and I just got back from an overnight trip in Portland and that was our thing this year to do. Sometimes I'll take one day off from school to go Christmas shopping together with one of the kids. They all look forward to it; it's important to them. And I hope it's not because of skipping school!"

 

Angela Austin

Angela is also a fulltime working mother, who owns Angela Austin's Beauty Lounge in Searsport. She is the mother of a three-year-old daughter, Brielle.

"The first thing that comes to mind is her words. She'll say these little things like 'I love you momma' or 'Be careful momma.' Then, next it would be her artwork. She makes something for art every day for me, like this paper plate she put together with triangles and circles and put a little ribbon on it so I could hang it up."

 

Mary Carver-Stiehler

Mary is an author and on-call volunteer firefighter with the Camden Fire department. She has seven children, whom she home-schooled when they all lived in Cambodia. Now, she only home-schools her eldest son, Joseph, 16. Her 13-year-old, Ian, and nine-year-old, Daniel, go to public school while her eldest children, Pat, 18; MaryKate, 21; Brendan, 24; and Megan, 27, live out of the state.

"My kids are always asking me if I need help or the support. They ask: 'Are you okay, Mom? Do you need help?' So I'd say that is the best gift I've ever gotten from them."

 

Pen Bay Pilot has come up with a perfect gift for your mother, as well.  In the spirit of Mother’s Day, we’re launching a Mother’s Day Photo Contest. All you have to do is submit a picture of your mother along with a caption or description if you choose. It could be a quiet moment, a silly moment, a thoughtful portrait or a light-hearted candid. It can be anything that shows your mother in a unique light or shows the world exactly how you see her. Others can be in the photo, as well.

The winning photo will be chosen by the public so, submit your best! The winner will receive a gift from each of our advertising partners, Hoboken Gardens, Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery, Bennett’s Gems & Jewelry and Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center.

For more details on how to enter visit: Mother's Day Contest

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE-We've already established that the best Cheap Dates are the free ones, right? Well this one ties in perfectly with warm spring weather and the need to stop wearing your give-ups (i.e. sweat pants). It's time to stop cramming Cheetos into your eating hole and face it: bathing suit season is right around the corner. Good thing Point Lookout Fitness Center in Lincolnville is having an Open House this Saturday and Sunday (April 20 and 21) allowing everyone free access to their free weights and cardio machines, aerobic and stretching rooms, squash, racquetball and tennis courts, outdoor track, soccer fields, gymnasium, Nintendo Wii gaming system and public lounge with billiards and ping pong.

I spoke with Matt Merrifield, Point Lookout's Fitness Instructor, who will be hosting tours both indoors and outdoors. His suggestion for a Cheap Date? "Come for a free workout, then play racquetball, then maybe get a bite to eat at the Copper Pine Cafe, " he suggested. "Or go hiking on our 3.2 miles of trails." According to weather reports, Saturday and Sunday afternoon are looking like the best times for being outdoors.

He then showed me the identical racquetball and squash rooms. "Racquetball has a smaller racquet and a bigger ball," Merrifield said explaining the difference the two games. "And for a date, it's more fun to play," he added. Check. That's on the list to try.

Speaking of play, light-hearted competitive adult play boosts the emotional connection between two people. Point Lookout provides all the equipment, so playing Horse in basketball, or one-on-one soccer, ping pong, or billards can turn any game into a memorable date, especially if you add some good-natured smack talk or trash-talking.

They even have an entire room dedicated to Nintendo Wii, so you and your date can play virtual basketball, baseball, tennis, boxing or a variety of games. Perfect for people who have forgotten what it's like to pick up a real baseball bat, tennis racquet, basketball or boxing gloves. Or operate a door knob. See that was a little smack talk; you get the idea.

Point Lookout's weekend hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information visit: Point Lookout Open House Weekend.

Cheap Dates is a series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN-To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield, poets "don't get no respect." (Arrgh the grammar!) Well let's just say in most places, to be a poet is to be a fairly unappreciated writer. What with laptops, iPads, Netflix, video games, etc. who has the time to actually listen to a poem? Well, given that it is national poetry month, Midcoast is about to get a real treat. Maine poet Richard Blanco, who served as this year's inaugural poet for President Obama, will be coming to the Midcoast Monday, April 22, to meet with local middle school students and do a public reading at the Strom Auditorium at Camden Hills Regional High School, 25 Keelson Drive (Route 90) in Rockport, at 7 p.m.

We turned to Kristen Lindquist, a poet, essayist and naturalist, to ask why this is so special and what to expect.

"What makes it exciting for me is probably different from what will make it exciting for the average person, because the average person doesn't read a lot of poetry," she said. "We have an opportunity to hear a wellknown poet read in our community. I can't think of when we've ever had such a high-profile poet visit the Midcoast. I'm excited because I think his reading will bring increased appreciation and respect for poetry and hopefully encourage more people to attend readings by our local poets and writers." 

Blanco, 44, who lives in Bethel, is the first immigrant, the first Latino, the first openly gay person, and the youngest person to be the U.S. inaugural poet. He is only the fifth poet to take part in an inaugural ceremony, and joins the company of Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Miller Williams and Elizabeth Alexander. 

"I've read all three of his books and I think he's wonderful," said Lindquist. "After reading them, it makes total sense why he was chosen as the inaugural poet because his work really speaks to everybody."

She went on to say: "He's a straightforward, accessible poet with a primary focus on place and identity and notions of home. His background is really interesting. His parents were Cuban and they went to Spain just before he was born. A month and a half later they flew to the United States where they lived in exile in New York and Miami. So, he always had Cuban family around him talking about the lost homeland. But to Blanco, America was his home."

A Cuban American who grew up in Miami, Fla.,, Blanco's work has received numerous awards and recognitions. His acclaimed first book of poetry, City of a Hundred Fires, explores the yearnings and negotiation of cultural identity as a Cuban American, and received the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press. His second book, Directions to The Beach of the Dead, won the Beyond Margins Award from the PEN American Center. A third collection, Looking for The Gulf Motel, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2012.

An insight into who Blanco is beyond his poetry can be found in a little anecdote he shares on his website: "At a poetry reading a woman once asked me to share something about myself that no one would know directly from reading my bio or my work. Somewhat embarrassed, I told the audience about my poetry dance — a little Michael Jackson-inspired shtick I do around the house in my pajamas when I am high from a good-poem day."

Lindquist will be introducing Blanco on stage: "I'm working on my speech right now. I'm trying to keep it not too long, but not too short either, like, 'okay, here he is!' " she laughed.

In preparation for Blanco's visit, students at Hope Elementary, Appleton Village, Lincolnville Central, and Camden Rockport Middle schools will study his poems and choose the poems they would like Blanco to read. Organizers are predicting a full house at both the student event and the public reading.

Tickets for the public event are $10 for adults and $5 for students, and are available at Lincolnville Community Library, the Appleton Library, Hope General Store, Camden Public Library, Rockport Public Library, Owl & Turtle Bookshop, HAV II in Camden, Left Bank Books in Belfast, and hello hello Books and Reading Corner in Rockland. All proceeds benefit Partners for Enrichment.

For more information on Blanco visit his website: richard-blanco.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

In my last column, Cyberbullying is not ‘sticks and stones.’ It’s psychological warfare I spoke of the fundamental problem of cyberbullying. And it just so happened this column was published the day I found out that another local Thorndike teen had taken her life, in part, due to bullying, according to her family. My words, written before learning of this, presaged what was to come.

'So often, it seems as though adults aren’t truly waking up to the potential destruction of cyberbullying until a teenager is on the brink of suicide.'

With cyberbullying, there is no easy solution. But I'm not here to talk about the problem today; I'm here to talk about one effective solution. I recently interviewed Hannah Masters, founder and C.E.O. of aBeanstalk, a parental monitoring tool for smart phones and Internet activity. There are quite a few of these “parental monitoring” systems on the market, but Masters and fellow mom, Karen Bomm came up with a brilliant way to gets teens to self-monitor their Internet communications. This simple tool identifies and prevents all kinds of potential teen digital pitfalls from cyberbullying and sexting to peer pressure and negative behaviors.

Full disclosure: I have not received any compensation from aBeanstalk and I have no financial or ownership interest of any type in this product. As the co-author of Cyberslammed, I have spent the last seven years studying ways to understand, prevent, combat and transform cyberbullying (the foundation of our book) and aBeanstalk falls squarely under the “Prevent” category. I think their system is one of the smartest, most progressive tools parents can have to protect their kids—from eight-year-olds who are handed iPads and smartphones to older teens who still need help making good choices.

Basically, the way it works is, a parent signs up for an online account on aBeanstalk and keeps a sub-account on any child under 18 who has a cell phone and/or a social networking profile. Any time the child or teen sends or receives any messages (regardless of the device he or she is using to access these sites), aBeanstalk will monitor those communications and filter out any keywords for sexual content, profanity, aggressive language or cyberbullying. If certain words are flagged, the parent gets immediately notified by email or text message.

“This is a parent’s window into their children’s online activities and mobile phone usage,” said Masters. It works across Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Instagram (the top sites kids are using for social media) as well as texts and photos and videos on the child’s phone. There is even a GPS function for smartphones so if Tommy says he’s going over to a friend’s house after school, you’ll know instantly if he got there.

How do parents get their kid to agree to willingly hand over cell phone and social media passwords? “It is a tough conversation,” Masters admitted. “What I did, is, I knew my own kids wanted a new smartphone, and I think every teen on the planet is negotiating for the new latest and greatest device. So I personally used that as leverage.”

The thing I’m most impressed with is aBeanstalk’s mission is not to have parents “spy” on their kids, but rather, use the tool in conjunction with house rules on digital behavior.

The majority of parents own their kids’ cell phones and have power to be able to say: “I’m not stealth monitoring you. If you want the privilege of owning a phone or using social media, you need to allow the aBeanstalk system to filter the keywords and be aware I’ll know when you are communicating in ways that are unacceptable. In this regard, you will be fully accountable for your actions and online/digital communications.”

“I told my kids, I won’t be looking at all your texts, I won’t be digging around your Facebook posts,” said Masters. “I want them to be free and be able to be kids and be able to communicate with their friends. We set up ground rules such as: Don't be mean. Don’t friend strangers.  Don’t post anything you’ll regret that lives forever online. Only in the event that a notification comes to me that they said something that was out of bounds, I told them we’re going to have a conversation about it.” Conversely, it monitors if your child is the target of inappropriate behavior. “If someone offered my son drugs, or said something horrible to him, I’d want to be the first to know,” said Masters.

And sexting photos? “Oh yeah, we already had that happen,” she said. “My son texted a girl he liked to send him a photo of her face, so he could see what she looked like and instead she texted back, ‘A naughty one?’ and immediately he was like ‘Nooo!’ ”

“As soon as she put the words’naughty one’ out there, it was on my radar and an alert came to my phone,” said Masters. With such steep and irreversible penalties for sexting from state to state, this function alone makes the tool an invaluable resource.

Masters is a “mom on a mission” as she calls herself. After both of her teenage boys got badly cyberbullied, she connected with a friend who had created the aBeanstalk technology and decided to launch a company around it.  “We didn’t grow up with this,” she said, meaning the underground world of social network communications. “We’re the first generation to raise kids who are fully Digital Citizens and realize we have to be engaged with our kids’ online personas,” she said. “It is so easy to miss something when it comes to your kids’ online conversations. It’s so hard to monitor every little thing. When I see posts of kids who ended killing themselves a week later and when I think of what we experienced with our own kids, this is a way bigger problem than anybody can get a handle on. I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to get this out to as many parents as possible.’ ”

The other thing I like about aBeanstalk is that the Basic service for parents is free, so even parents on a budget can access aBeanstalk’s straightforward activity reports and activity analysis tools. The tiered offerings up to the Premier level offer a wider range of monitoring options, which cover the very active texter and social media user.

Since her company has launched in 2012, aBeanstalk has become more than a company; it has morphed into a digital literary and cyberbullying advocacy site. Already they are restructuring their website to "be a foundation of community involvement" and provide free resources to parents, grandparents, step-parents, aunts and uncles.  To join aBeanstalk’s free weekly virtual Internet & Mobile Child Safety Workshop , simply go to http://www.abeanstalk.com/how-it-works/video/

Masters has already seen the positive effects of the aBeanstalk tool in her own household. “My son is my own example,” she said. “He says he has more freedom because now I have peace of mind. They know that I can trust them, that I can verify their location at any time. The first time they get cyberbullied at the beginning stages, we could talk about it.”

aBeanstalk also seems to have a residual effect on kids’ friends. “Kids know the first time one of their friends sends them an inappropriate text or photo, that you, the parent are going to have a conversation with them about it,” she said. They can’t control their friends’ behavior, but to avoid the hassle they can and do say ‘Don’t send me this stuff.’ ”

Masters calls this service a “parental intelligence system” and that is exactly what is needed to tackle the very slippery issue of cyberbullying. Schools have their role; parents have theirs. I will be recommending this tool to every school group and parent I meet this year.

Kay Stephens is the co-author of Cyberslammed: Understand, Prevent, Combat and Transform the Most Common Cyberbullying Tactics, published this year and sponsored by Time Warner Cable. She has been doing presentations to Maine schools on specific cyberbullying threats and how to understand, prevent, combat and transform them. To see more posts on this topic, visit Kay Stephens on The Pen Bay Pilot.

ROCKLAND —With the recent opening in Rockland of 3Crow Restaurant and Bar, Executive Chef and Owner Josh Hixson’s latest restaurant, it appears everything has come full circle.

Hixson and his family have lived in Rockland for the last 10 years, and opened their first retail store, Sage Market, there in 2006. When that business eventually closed, Hixson opened his first restaurant, Brevetto Kitchen & Wine Bar, in Camden in 2008, transitioning that to 40 Paper Italian Bistro & Bar, also in Camden, in 2011. Those moves left some Rocklandites to bemoan “Why…why….why did you leave us?”

He emphasizes that he didn’t abandon Rockland, he just had a long-term plan. “We love the Rockland area. It took getting a self-supporting business [40 Paper] to get us back into Rockland, where we always wanted to be,” he explained.

With a new location and a new look, 3Crow is like a fraternal twin to 40 Paper. There are physical similarities, but their personalities couldn’t be more different. “At 40 Paper, we do modern Italian food with a pretty hard-core cocktail scene,” said Hixson, “but for 3Crow, we wanted to do something totally different.” Their simple menu is described as “modern American food with a heavy Southern influence” and is based in part on Hixson’s own experiences growing up the South. Born in Louisiana, Hixson grew up predominantly in Tennessee and Texas, cultures steeped in the regional stick-to-your-ribs cuisine.

The menu features the kind of comfort food you’d expect from the South, like dirty rice, fried chicken and gumbo. Other dishes weave in Maine flavors, such as the étouffée with Maine lobster claws in a tomato Creole sauce over Carolina white rice.

Asked how he thinks Southern food will fly in a northern state, Hixson said, “Southern food is a big trend right now and a lot of people have expressed to me how excited they are about our food, as they haven’t had a lot of exposure to this style before.”

The entrées are reasonably priced and, in line with the Midcoast restaurant trend in the last five years, 3Crow provides small plates (around $6) to appeal to smaller appetites. This also appeals to a younger generation that isn’t accustomed to habitually dining out, but would like to enjoy a bite or a beer within their budget just the same.

Like 40 Paper, the all-mighty beverage also is a big part of the 3Crow brand. The menu puts a special emphasis on craft beers and good whiskies. “We have 16 taps of all craft brews, with dedicated lines for several Maine beer companies like Marshall Wharf, Oxbow, Allagash Brewing Co and Maine Beer Co.,” said Hixson. “We’ll also have hard-to-find imported draughts as well as 40 different whiskies.”

Also, like at 40 Paper, 3Crow will offer gluten-free options for all of its food, including desserts. These items are prepared by the restaurant’s Pastry Chef, Tara Barker, in a separate gluten-free kitchen.

Hixson has a penchant for naming his restaurants after some historical aspect of the buildings they occupy. 40 Paper, for example, which resides in the old Knox Woolen Mill, was named after the mill’s significant contribution to the U.S. paper manufacturing industry.
 
He’s brought that historical bent to his new Rockland venture as well. “The owner of this building told me that, when it was built around a hundred years ago, it was owned by John Bird’s family and they turned it into a wholesale grocery store, with spices, teas and dry goods,” said Hixson. “They started their own spice company here and called it Three Crow Spice Brand. It was very important to us that the restaurant have a name that pays tribute to the history of this community.”

The décor of this completely renovated restaurant is one more reason to solidify Rockland as one of the fastest emerging foodie scenes north of Portland. Ever since the original Sage Market, Hixson has been experimenting with mixing and matching offbeat lighting, something that has become his signature unifying element in every one of his restaurants. The big wine bottle glass pendants over the bar, with their mad scientist filaments, and the chandeliers that look like enormous strands of DNA are immediate focal points. But you won’t find these unique lights in any commercial store. What many people don’t realize is that Hixson made most of these lighting fixtures by hand, some with the help of his seven-year-old son.

Hixson’s own minimalist tastes shaped the restaurant’s décor, along with a team of designers and carpenters. “We just all put our ideas together to create something that was fun, inviting and draws you in,” he said. The main dining room has the dark, sleek and sexy look of a cigar bar, while the white walls and big picture windows balance out the starkness with lighter tones. Combine all this with the funky chandeliers, the subway tiles behind the bar, and the giant beer listings sign — which resembles Grand Central Station’s daily train schedule — and you get a whimsical twist on the primarily masculine, modernist surroundings.

Hixson also made much use of the remains of a house demolished on Granite Street in Rockland. He used the reclaimed wood to build the bar, tabletops, and even the beer tap handles, which were intentionally left unmarked so that the bartenders have to know by code which craft beer to pour.

3Crow Restaurant and Bar is open for dinner seven days a week from 5:00p.m.-9:00p.m., and offers a special happy hour menu and drink specials from 4:00p.m. – 6:00p.m. The bar stays open until 11:00p.m. weekdays, and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

For more information, check out their Facebook page.

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

UNION - April is whiskey-making month over at Sweetgrass Farm Winery and Distillery and you know what that means for our Cheap Dates aficiandos: it's free, it's fun and c'mon, it's whiskey! (Anyone who has been reading my columns knows I consider it a basic food group. See my last story: What it’s like to sip a $150 glass of pre-Prohibition whiskey.

Owners Keith and Constance Bodine have been making whiskey commercially for the last two years.

"We don't even have our retail operations set up for the season yet, but we're inviting people to come see what's going on with our whiskey production," said Constance. "They can see the mash, smell it and sample it. Our whiskies are distilled twice. So on April 10, we're going to have the stripping run, which is like the rough cut and the final run on April 17, which is the spirit run. Once it comes out of the still, it goes right to the barrel for eight years."

Folks will be able to learn what goes into distilling whiskey and the difference between the stripping run which according to Constance, "has a wonderfully warm, bready aroma" after they pull off all the sugars from the fermented barley mash and the spirit run, "which is distilled down again, increasing the alcoholic content in order to age it for so long in th barrel."

The April 10 stripping run and the April 17 spirit run is open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. Show up at the tasting room.

"It's going to be a pretty casual event," she said. "We'll just be talking about how whiskey is made and people can talk about their favorite whiskies."

Bring a date, bring a buddy and get ready to enjoy the monster mash.

Cheap Dates is a series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

In spring, a young man’s fancy may turn to love, but a woman’s fancy turns to... clothes. As in: “I hate every single thing in my closet. If I have to put on one more sweater or pair of long johns or Bean boots, I will flippin’ lose it.”

Daria Norvlaan doesn’t have that problem, see.  She’s a local fashion designer from Damariscotta with a mean sewing machine. She just has to imagine what she feels like wearing for spring, summer, fall or winter, and simply orders the fabric, cuts it, sews it and applies her own signature silk screen designs on it. Presto — an entire closet filled with new, sleek, and even eco-friendly designs appears.

She runs her own label, Luksin Designs, primarily on Etsy, featuring “earth friendly clothing, made from organic cotton and other sustainable and eco-conscious fabrics. Designed, hand sewn, dyed in small batches and hand silk screened with original drawings, all on the coast of Maine.”

Typically when you see “hand-sewn,” and “earth-friendly” in the same sentence, the image that comes to mind is one of those unflattering grain sack sewing pattern designs, like something you’d see in the Sears sewing department in the 1970s.

But it’s 2013 now, a whole new world for hand-sewn designs, and Norvlaan’s creations are both edgy and retro, like her 1940s-style black dress with the gold Maine pine tree design on the left buttock as well as clingy, natural and sexy, like her tencel racer back tank top.

Speaking of the ‘70s, apparently all the upscale stores in cities from Anthropologie to Macy’s are hell bent on bringing the God-awful dashikis and Boho caftan dresses back from the 1970s this spring. Every single scrap of clothing in these stores feature tripping-on-acid patterns, long flowy maxi-dresses and Love Child billowy tops.

With the '70s fashion era, a very little goes a long way. For Norvlaan, finding the best in a trend takes a subtle eye.

“There’s kind of a '70s sensibility in some of my designs, like the maxi dresses, or tight high-waisted jeans with a capped sleeve tees,” she said. “But I’m not doing any big crazy prints. And I’m not trying to get in on the trend. It’s just because that’s what I personally feel like wearing.”

For example, she pairs suede fringy cowboy boots with a black clingy cocktail dress. Or she’ll create a supple, sturdy black leather bag with a hint of swingy, leather fringe.

A native Mainer, Norvlaan began her career at the ripe age of eight when she began making her own Halloween costumes on the sewing machine.

“As long as I can remember, I’ve always made stuff or altered stuff,” she said.

She went to the Maine College of Art for sculpture and has forged an entrepreneurial path with her designs ever since. First, she began selling to wholesalers, but quickly discovered that the profit they extracted resulted in a higher markup on her clothes — something she didn’t want to pass down to the customer. Now, in order to keep her prices lower, she operates entirely out of Etsy and through indie craft fairs all over the eastern seaboard or through venues, such as the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors annual event.

“It’s kind of intuitive the way I go about making a dress,” she said, explaining the process. In the winter, she’ll order large rolls of organic cotton, wool or tencel, which is a natural fiber extracted from eucalyptus or beech trees and has a silky, Rayon type of drape to it. Tencel is also eco-friendly as the chemicals used to break down the fibers are natural, nontoxic  and recycled, as opposed to making rayon or bamboo in which the chemicals used to process the material are harmful when dumped into the environment.

In her little studio in Damariscotta, she goes to the task of cutting each initial design by hand.

“I’ll make about five prototypes, one at a time,” she explained. “Then, depending on what shows I’m going to, I’ll make about 15 to 30 of each piece using a cutting machine.” 

She then hand sews most of her own creations, outsourcing certain pieces to a small cadre of stitchers she employs. Next she’ll hand dye the garment, create a unique design for it and silkscreen it herself.

She even hires a professional photographer to shoot each design, which she will often model herself amidst stormy or gritty Maine fishing backgrounds.

In a few weeks, Norvlaan will roll out her spring collection, including a new line of faded Art Deco pastels.  Then she’ll hit the road and do some shows in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.  When we often talk about the creative economy and who its pioneers are, Norvlaan is a one-woman band in this way, from start to finish. Stay tuned to her Etsy page to see what she’ll unveil next.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Every year around May and June, high school girls in Maine look forward to their prom. But with new dresses, shoes and accessories (not to mention hair and makeup) averaging around $400-$500, this is not something that a lot of girls can easily afford. So what’s their option — not go?

Nope, because as the fairy godmothers who runs the Cinderella Project of Maine attests, “Where there is a wand, there is a way.”

Going on eight years, the Cinderella Project of Maine has been providing free, new and gently used prom gowns to any high school girl in the state. Some have traveled hours to come to this event each year. Dresses have been donated from personal collections, vintage stores, bridal stores and even as far away as Hollywood, Calif.

This Saturday, April 6, the gowns will be given away to any girl in need with one stipulation — they must “pay it forward” and do a good deed for someone else.

This is the first year that the Cinderella Project of Maine put out an essay contest seeking one special young woman who exhibits the Project’s core value of giving back to the community, calling her their “Cinderella For A Day.” Last year, the Cinderella For A Day was chosen by raffle.

“We wanted to choose one girl who has done good things in their community,” said planning committee chairman Mandie Sawyer. “It’s important to us that girls understand that doing something for someone else is just as important as having a free and beautiful dress for a special occasion. And we wanted to pamper the winner of the contest with a special day of prom-preparation, including donated hair and makeup, tanning, corsage, plus a dinner for two.”

In addition, out of nearly 1,000 dresses and gowns to choose from, the Cinderella For A Day gets first choice of dress.

Out of 18 applicants, the Cinderella Project committee chose Mariah Ross, 16, from Mount View High School. Reading her short essay, it’s obvious why she was the natural choice.

Tell us your story. Why should we select you to be the Cinderella for a Day?

I believe I should be selected for Cinderella for a day because I’m always willing to help others, and do it with a smile on my face. I feel without our community and the supportive people in it, I wouldn’t be the strong girl, who today, follows her heart and has faith in herself. Being Cinderella for a Day, would be such an honor, and I’d appreciate it greatly.

Tell us about a challenge you have faced or a struggle you have overcome. How has this impacted you?

I’ve faced many challenges over the 16 years of my life. When I was born I was missing two toes and my right leg was shorter than my left, meaning my leg had to be amputated. Although, it has never slowed me down. In the past, I’ve played basketball, softball and field hockey. And for the past two years I’ve been part of the Varsity cheerleading squad. I recently got my license and someday hope to be an inspiration to young children facing the same struggles I have. If anything, I’m thankful for this happening, because it has taught me to be strong, and to conquer all obstacles in my way.

Community service is a key component for the Cinderella Project and Cinderella for a Day. What do you do?

One of the things I have done this past year is help coach middle school cheering. I was once introduced to a girl who had been in a car accident and her skin had to be graphed so she was worried people would make fun of her in her cheering skirt. I talked to her, and explained how supportive the people in our community are, how if anything they’d be amazed. I was happy to help her and hope to continue helping them. Another thing is my health teacher and I decided to collect can tabs to donate to a nonprofit organization. We are slowly getting it started. I was hoping to donate them to the Shriners Hospital for Children. Although, they aren’t in our community they have made such a huge impact on my life. And I hope to give back to them.

Mariah is going to her junior prom this year on May 18 at Mount View High School. At Mount View, all students can attend junior prom, so this is Mariah’s third year utilizing the Cinderella Project of Maine for her prom gown and accessories.

The day I arrived to do the story, Mariah was trying on a number of dresses. The shy beauty with a big smile had a hard time deciding between a pink satiny gown and a mermaid teal blue gown that offset her blue eyes.

“I like dresses that are really poufy,” she said. “Just like Cinderella.”

With her mother and brother looking on, Mariah beamed as she came out of the dressing room to give a little twirl. “There are a lot of people who make sure that you have help trying on dresses and accessories and make sure you have the perfect day,” she said. “I’m really thankful for this project because it has saved my family a lot of money over the years.”

Mandie Sawyer and Jessica Woods, both of Belfast, have volunteered on the Cinderella Project of Maine since its inception. In the beginning, they’d have to beg area stores to get 100 dresses donated. In 2009, Waldo Community Action Partners took on the Cinderella Project of Maine as a new initiative and it has grown to nearly 11 committee members. Now, area businesses are approaching them with donations and this year, all the businesses that donated will be invited to a “Preview Night,” a special celebratory evening where they’ll meet and talk with Mariah as she emerges in her chosen gown.

The 2013 free giveaway will be Saturday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Reny’s Plaza in Belfast. Dressing rooms will be available to try on gowns, and Cinderella Project staff and other community volunteers will be on hand to assist with the selection process.

• The Cinderella Project seeks to promote a positive body image and increased self esteem by uniting girls in the state of Maine with "fabulous" and free new and gently used prom gowns. For more information visit their website: cinderellaprojectofmaine.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

April is National Poetry month and like the tulips that pop up from the ground, they're meant to be looked at and enjoyed, not hidden away.  Last month, the Good Tern Cooperative Food Market in Rockland put out a call to poets in the Midcoast to mail in a poem of any size or length — or style — and the Good Tern would put them up on the wall for all to see.

The submissions that came in ranged from Watershed high school students who did spare line drawings with quotes from famous authors or musicians to complex mix-media watercolor pieces combining art and words.

Lois Anne, a long time volunteer coordinated the exhibition.

"We probably got 60 poems sent in," she said. "Everything that was submitted went up on the wall. It was very democratic. The one exception is that someone sent in a drawing of a nude man and though it wasn't offensive, it was still going to be something kids would possibly see, so on the other side of the drawing was a painting — we had that side showing."

Anne grouped each of the pieces visually on the wall.

"I thought that grouping them that way might entice people to come closer and investigate."

Some of the poems that struck Anne the most were the high school poems. "The feelings that came out of some of these, I thought it was wonderful."

Here's one by Jarin Brooks. It touches on the natural, seasonal themes that poets like Edna St. Vincent Millay made universal. And if you've ever lost someone in your life, this poem will hurt your heart a little.

 

Snow is falling but will never stay.

Everything gives way to change

Nature’s sacrifice gives way to life.

Nothing is ever truly lost

Always found in something else.

And whatever beauty melts from our grasp

Gives, sprouts life to something else.

 

The exhibition will run until the end of April, at which point, Anne will box up the poems and leave them to be collected by their owners if they wish.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

PORTLAND - In case you feel like a road trip this Saturday, a humongous flash-mob style pillow fight is happening April 6 at Monument Square, on Congress Street, in downtown Portland at 3 p.m. Portland is joining in on the 30-plus cities worldwide that have participated year after year. According to the compendium of cool, Dispatch Magazine, which happens to be hosting the event, this wil be a "public pillow fight of epic proportions."

Da Rules according to Dispatch:

The concept is simple: Everyone meets up in Monument Square for the biggest pillow fight you've ever seen! Bring your pillow, your A-game and don't forget to bring your friends! ALL AGES ARE WELCOME!!

Team themes are encouraged! Positive energy only please - don't want nobody to harsh on your mellow, brah.

PAJAMA AFTER PARTY AT ASYLUM BAR AND GRILL DIRECTLY TO FOLLOW!! 21+ WITH VALID ID FOR ENTRY.

The rules are as follows:
- Soft pillows only!
- Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
- Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
- Remove glasses beforehand!
- The event is free and appropriate for all ages, so watch out for little ones.
- Wait until the signal to begin.
- Please consider the environment; no feather pillows please!

For more information: PortlandPillowFightDay


Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com


 

ROCKLAND-Once again, on Friday, April 5, the Farnsworth Art Museum and The Strand Theatre in Rockland will present Rockland Shorts: An International Short Film Series, a series of short creative films. The series, shown in The Strand, includes an hour of short films selected from an open call to filmmakers. As part of the screening, select filmmakers and media artists included in the series will join in a discussion at The Strand in person or via Skype for a conversation with the audience.

The April 2013 screening is as follows:

  • Opening work by Walter Ungerer
  • Monarda – local – looping 10 minutes – abstract
  • Pneuma – 1 minute – abstract
  • Night Hunter – USA – 16 minutes – animation
  • 38°-39°C – Korea – 8 minutes – animation
  • Danse Macabre – Canada – 8 minutes 
  • Secret – local work by Adam Küykendall – 3 minutes – abstract
  • Du Ska Komma, Sjunger Omma – Sweden – 5 minutes – live action
  • Palimpsest – USA - 17 minutes – live action
  • She Who Measures – Croatia – 6 minutes – animation

Rockland Short Program Director Sally Levi was asked what her "must see" picks were for this event. "I'd say three films not to be missed are local artist Walter Ungerer's experimental film "Monarda;" Canada's breathtakingly beautiful "Danse Macabre;" and 2013 Sundance Film Fest favorite "Palimpsest." All the films look at the world from a different point of view that is intriguing and thought-provoking," she said.

Immediately following the screening, the after party hosted by The Collective will be in the museum’s Morehouse Wing. The after party, which will feature live music by Bill Barnes and Spike Hyssong, tasty treats, and a cash bar, is a way to continue the discussion about Rockland Shorts and the world of films.

"We'll be opening the Main Street doors straight onto the galleries. These are doors which we keep closed at other times, so it’ll be a fun way to enter directly into the museum," said Farnsworth communications officer David Troup. "All of our galleries in the main Museum will be open for the after party, so not only will there be an artistic environment set up in the Morehouse Wing, but it will also be a terrific opportunity to view the current exhibitions."

Tickets will be sold at the door prior to the screening: $8.50 general admission; $6.50 Farnsworth members. Collective members: Free. The films in the series are not rated. Please be advised that some of the films contain adult language and sexual content, and they are not suitable for young audiences. For more information visit: www.farnsworthmuseum.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Artist Maggi Blue just made 72 dyed Easter eggs--that's four 18-packs of eggs. And she didn't do it for her six-year-old son. She is just a little cuckoo for brightly colored things. "What I'll do is go to Walmart and stand there in the egg decorating aisle and buy as many of those little packets of dye as I can, you know the PAAS kind. I just buy a ton of 'em, they're like two bucks, and that's the most fun for me. I don't even like Easter. I just like making eggs," she said.

She said she hard boiled half of them and "used a ton of vinegar," then dyed them and gave them to her parents, who will be organizing an Easter egg hunt on Sunday. The other half she poked a pin through and blew out the yolks so that the hollowed eggs sit like little rainbow colored jewels in their cardboard cartons.

It might sound crazy to make so many multi-colored eggs, but in Blue's Creativity Chronicles blog, there's a simple answer:

Rainbow Rhetoric

I’ve been thinking a lot about rainbows and why I am so attracted to them (and the way they represent the color spectrum as a whole) and why they sooth me so.

As a designer (and artist-type), it’s safe to say that I have always been attracted to color. The right color or combination of colors can make or break a design, a room, a meal - hell, my day. In the dead of winter (like today) with a gray, overcast sky and a vast dead brown dirty landscape, I find myself depressed in the absence of color.

I understand the psychology of color and that certain colors can elicit certain emotional responses (see some links below). For me, it’s my fascination with the entire spectrum together and in ROY G. BIV order and, more specifically - why does it make me so happy and self soothed. I love nothing better than creating a color wheel out of - well anything (as seen by the rainbow pancakes I made last week). I have the ideas swirling about other food color wheels, a color wheel based Easter egg tree…and on and on. One of my most cherished possessions is my large set of Pantone swatch books (and thankfully, as a designer, they were tax deductible - those suckers are stupid expensive).

Read more of her blog post here.

Asked what her plan was for the 36 eggs she had left, she answered, "I've got the rest of them sitting around my house and I don't know what I'm going to do with them!" she laughed.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND-Hot Pink Flannel's fourth annual 'Stache Bash will be taking place Saturday night at the Time Out Pub in Rockland. Past events have brought out wild costumes and competitions (even among the ladies) to see who can rock the most hirsute face. Black Cat Road is the band for the evening.  There will a Mustache Contest for best real and faux 'staches.  Registration for the contest will end at 10:30 p.m. and the judging will be at 11:00 p.m. by a panel of three judges.  Half of the proceeds from the contest will be going to Locks of Love; the other half will go to the winners. Time Out Pub has made a very generous donation to the Mustache contest. Photographer Jesse Stuart will be on hand to capture all of the hairy events (he works for tips and beers).  There will be a Fur Bar for those who forgot to grow or make their 'staches.  The first 20 people to register for the contest will receive a bonus prize.

For more information visit HPF's Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

I’ve been following this Orono cyberbullying case very closely since it broke on the statewide scene. The Bangor Daily News reports: Teen cyberbully pleads guilty to terrorizing former Orono schoolmate. Every day, I receive stories all over the world like this: kids getting defamed, libeled, psychologically tortured by other kids through digital devices. This 16-year-old girl, Lexi Henkel, was incredibly brave to take her story public as her 17-year-old tormentor terrorized Lexi and her family to the point of vacating their home, moving schools and pushing Lexi to the brink of suicide.

So often, it seems as though adults aren’t truly waking up to the potential destruction of cyberbullying until a teenager is on the brink of suicide.

I’m not glad this happened; but I’m glad it became public. In Maine, I don’t think adults are fully comprehending how destructive cyberbullying can be. Since September, I’ve visited and spoken to parents and educators from at least 40 Maine schools to provide some perspective around the motivations behind certain types of cyberbullying and how to prevent it.  Most adults leave with a better understanding that there's not a “one-size-fits-all” solution; that each incident needs to be thoroughly understood before it can be strategically dealt with. But I’ve actually had a few teachers tell me: “We don’t have cyberbullying at our school.”

They are not seeing it, because they’re not part of the kids’ digital networks, but it’s there.  At its highest extreme, it becomes known to the principal and a news story. At its lowest to medium level, it’s being done covertly, through texting, email, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. But it’s there.

But let me go back to this Orono story for a moment, because worse than the “cyberbullying doesn’t exist” mindset is the “suck it up” mindset.

Take for example this anonymous poster “Hussar” who wrote a comment in response to this Orono story:

What ever happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?" It appears that we are raising a generation of over emotional crybabies, scared of their own shadows, that need the nanny state to protect their feelings from being hurt. I am sorry, for Ms. Henkel's pubescence angst, but this is classic case of taking ourselves and perceived dangers to our children way too seriously.

He read the same story as everyone else. He saw that these weren’t some mild, adolescent outbursts. The posts threatened the girl’s life and safety. Here’s an example of a few of them:

 • “Ready for tomorrow night? I’d learn to sleep with your eyes open if I were you. I’m dulling my knife right now so when I stab you in the face, gut and legs it’ll be painful as possible.”

• “You know how all these environmental friendly groups say that waste should be properly disposed of? Well, come on Lexi, do the world a favor, and properly dispose of your [expletive deleted] self!”

• “Your face is like a baby seal. Fat, furry and just asking to be clubbed to death.”

Law 101: A "criminal threat" is when you threaten to kill or physically harm someone either in person or electronically. These are not “sticks and stones” comments. But unfortunately, I’ve seen this mindset appear in multiple comments to hundreds of cyberbullying stories I’ve read through.  It’s not about “protecting their feelings about being hurt” it’s about protecting vulnerable young people from being threatened, defamed, libeled and psychologically tortured—you know, the very types of behavior that will land an adult in court. Just because they’re minors doesn’t mean they don’t have the same legal rights and protections as adults.

Yet, in several Maine schools I’ve visited, students have come up to me after a presentation and told me in confidence that “adults don’t know how to deal with cyberbullying” and that “all this talk that they were going to stop it” has basically been seen as lip-service.

So what happens is: when influential people like “Hussar” reiterate this specious “suck it up” mindset; teens who are being badly cyberbullied feel completely unprotected. Like hunted animals, they feel they will never escape the torment, never find peace or a normal life again—and sometimes they look to the extreme choices.

As Lexi’s mother Judy Henkel wrote in response to “Hussar”:

Know your facts before you write an opinion such as you did. You haven't read the emails Lexi recieved, you haven't heard your daughter say that taking her own life would be easier then having to go through all this. Having your daughter tell you she is thinking of taking her life so it would all stop is just like having a knife plundged (sic) into your heart.

Thankfully, with the staunch support of Lexi’s parents, her community and the police, Lexi has been able to tell her story. I don’t know if she will ever feel safe again as she does her best to resume a normal life, but she has given voice to a deep-seated problem that hides in the very insular walls of social media and electronic communication that we adults don’t often get a chance to see. This is probably one of the biggest cyberbullying wake up calls Maine has seen. . and these kids need your protection.

 

Kay Stephens is the co-author of Cyberslammed: Understand, Prevent, Combat and Transform the Most Common Cyberbullying Tactics, published this year and sponsored by Time Warner Cable. She has been doing presentations to Maine schools on specific cyberbullying threats and how to understand, prevent, combat and transform them. To see more posts on this topic, visit Kay Stephens on The Pen Bay Pilot.

CAMDEN — She goes by the nickname Peytonius Maximus and she rocks. No, literally, she rocks out in an all-female band as the drummer and she just won a category in Hardy Girls Healthy Women’s statewide contest Girls Rock!, which celebrates Maine girls' voices, leadership, and activism.

She is Peyton Feener, a 17-year-old student at the Community School, in Camden.  Oh there’s no doubt she’s one of the Rad Kids. Within two seconds of meeting her at The Rig a few weeks back, she gave off this bubbly, goofy vibe, very playful, just open to the world.

In the Midcoast, the rainbow-dyed hair, piercings and rocker chick attire is still, to some degree, an alternative look (although in the cities it has become somewhat ubiquitous) and to a surprisingly large amount of adults in this area, it is a scary look Maybe not scary, but unnerving. The stereotypical association with alternative kids around here is: they’re on drugs; they’re not doing well at school; they defy authority.

Peyton is a perfect example of why you should always approach every kid in this town with an open mind. She’s a musician/ singer who is working on a demo album for a prominent record label at the moment. She participates in Roller Derby as a Jeerleader; she DJs for WRFR’s radio show “Out! On the Air With Peyton and friends.” She volunteers for Project AWARE, and Out As I Want To Be. She even worked on Obama's reelection campaign.

Sitting with her family on one of her rare days off at home, we watched as her little sister, Maggie, brought over a doll with the same multi-color hue as Peyton’s.

“I’m part mermaid,” Peyton explained, pointing to a mermaid mixed-media piece she’d created that hangs in her family’s living room.

By her own admission, she stumbled early on in her high school career, dealing with some personal issues.

"Summer of 2010, I was not doing well at all," she said. "And then I went to the Community School. There, I still not doing well and I left after a couple of months, so they told me,’ if you want to come back, you've got to work really really hard.’ I had this case manager who helped me work through things and then I did an art show at Waterfall Arts. After that, I started to get involved with all these other things,” she said.

With her parents’ and teachers’ support, she is a whole different person now. “Community school is freakin’ amazing," she said.

"It's beast." The staff, "is the best thing in the world."

She said she's thriving there. After a nine month program, she graduates in May, where she hopes to still continue working at the Good Tern.

Yeah, that’s right. On top of school, a dizzying array of volunteer roles — she works too.  

“It's really hard sometimes,” she said. “I have to call my mom all the time and ask her: ‘what do I have on my schedule today?’ But I want to be involved with everything.”

Her only day off is Saturday. 

"It's my chill day. Most of the day all I want to do is sleep and watch TV or movies, hang out with my roommates.”

Coming up on April 5, she will be honored among other young women in Maine in an all-day event titled Girls Rock! Weekend in Waterville Maine hosted by Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

She was nominated for Health Advocacy category and won partly for her participation in Project AWARE’s educational PSAs about teen pregnancy, sponsored by Family Planning. “I acted, wrote the storyline and did hair, makeup and wardrobe,” she said. She is also honored for her continuing work with Out As I Want To Be, a Midcoast organization that supports LGBTQ teens.

“I like working with groups that not a lot of people volunteer with because they don’t have a lot of help and I like to help, especially with LGBTQ rights, animal rights, water conservation and civil rights.”

She has a lot of LGBTQ friends and the discrimination they face daily makes her angry.

“It’s just not fair. It’s messed up. People should not have to vote [on same sex marriage] because it’s a person’s right to be happy and get married to someone they love. It shouldn’t even be arguable. It’s everyone’s human right to be loved.”

After some tea, we hang out in her room, waiting for her band mate, who goes by the name, Tuesday, to arrive. Her posters of Johnny Cash, Johnny Depp, Freddie Mercury, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain frame a bed still decorated with Teddy bears. A black drum kit sits in the corner, where she will practice for up to seven hours today, on her only day off.

It’s time to get down to practice. She lifts the drum sticks like she’s about to rock. Well, we already know she does.

 

Hail To The Rad Kids is a new feature highlighting teens with artistic or musical talent.  Another place to check out what the kids are up to is Sound Off, a monthly feature sponsored by Five Town Communities That Care to publicly recognize the contributions that middle and high school teens are making in our community.  

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

THOMASTON - It’s a little like Christmas, at first. The thrill is in opening up an old wooden crate to find bottles packed in form-fitting straw encasements. What we have here is pre-Prohibition bourbon whiskey from 1907, an extremely rare find.

“I guess this is what you’d call turn-of-the-century bubble wrap,” said Chris Burke, owner of Billy’s Tavern in Thomaston, as he put a bottle of Atherton whiskey on the bar.  Lifting the straw encasement off the bottle, he peeled away the thin, crumbling tissue sleeve. The fonts on the bottle’s label alone are retro enough to make any graphic designer giddy. The label’s writing says this whiskey has been aged four years, so its total age is 110 years.  

“Whiskey only ages in barrels, but it can mellow over time in the bottle,” said Burke.  “The flavors can change and become more complex."

Burke explained this was true Kentucky bourbon, named after the place it was made, in Athertonville, Kentucky. On the bottle it is labeled a whiskey, even though technically, because it is from Kentucky, it is a bourbon. Back then, the distilleries didn’t actually make the distinction — that came much later.

Burke, a die-hard whiskey enthusiast, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, right across the river to Covington, Kentucky. Kentucky is where all bourbons are made. Because bourbon was such a cultural fixture (as Allen’s Brandy is to Maine) Burke and his brother, Billy, were well versed in its taste.  

“Bourbon has a very distinctive quality," he said. "Now I love single malt whiskey, but back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, most of what you would see were the Johnnie Walker Blacks and Reds, the Dewar’s, Famous Grouse — blended whiskies.  Growing up on bourbon, these blended whiskies had this very cloying, thin, medicinal taste, so I stayed away from them."

When Burke was around 30 years old, his brother Billy introduced him to Lagavulin, a single malt whisky, which became Burke’s instant favorite.

“It is so smoky and peaty, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “At any rate, this Lagavulin had everything I hated about scotch, but it had such a preponderance of it, it took that thing I didn’t like and blew it up; so then I loved it.”

Because of the Lagavulin, Burke found himself immersed in the subject of whiskeys, reading about them, tasting them, and searching for them. This led him to finding the case of the pre-Prohibition Atherton whiskey. He won’t say where he purchased it or how much it cost (“it’s a trade secret") but he alludes to the fact that growing up where he did, he “knew what he had when he saw it.”

The label boasts: “Unexcelled in purity and quality. Exceptional for medicinal use.” In pre-Prohibition times, Burke said, distilleries would always make this kind of reference to a whiskey’s “medicinal use.”

“It’s very pretty old bottle,” he said. If you found a whiskey this rare, it would probably sell for $100 an ounce or around $150 per glass. Though he hasn’t sold the one empty bottle he now possesses, he said he’s seen them for sale for upwards of $500.

 

It’s time to taste it

But first, Burke takes me through a very detailed journey through the origins and regions of bourbon and whiskey. For the novice, a fine whiskey is like the cream that rises to the top. What makes old whiskey so expensive is that as much as 30 percent can be lost to evaporation (called “the angel’s share") depending on how long it has been aged. In the case of single malt whiskies, add to this the fact that only 10 percent of the whisky in Scotland is retained for bottling as single malts. The vast majority of the rest of it goes to making blended whisky, such as Dewar’s. (Note: for those of you spell-checking, whiskey is generally spelled with an "e," but in the case of Scotch whisky such as Dewar's, the "e" is dropped.)

Burke sets up a glass of ice atop an elegantly cut glass with a sip of the pale straw Atherton whiskey and gives me a glass of Old Grand Dad to try first as a base for comparison.

He coaches me to try it.

“First, when you’re smelling whiskey, it’s not like when you are smelling wine," he said. "The alcohol will fry your nose, so you’ve got to open your mouth when you smell it. You’ll feel a little silly, but you won’t get bombarded with the alcohol.”

As predicted, the Old Grand Dad, a solid, affordable staple, tastes oily, with some sweetness, some apple, and a lot of burn.

A sip of water to cleanse the palate, and now comes the Atherton.

“As you smell it,” Burke said, “ you’ll notice it smells lighter, sweeter, more fragrant.” The scent is much more sophisticated.

As I sip it, Burke helps put words to what I’m experiencing.

“It’s so soft, right? A tiny little spark on the back of your throat and then the flavor keeps coming,” he said. “Not a big alcohol punch, you don’t wince.  It’s like a cognac.”

I try to hold onto this taste. I don’t know whether it’s because it is so old or so rare, but it is sublime.

“To me it’s like drinking Haley’s Comet,” he said. “You’re never going to run across this again.” He added, “I know of 10 other bottles from pre-Prohibition times that are in a private collection and I don’t know of any more.”

So what we’ve just had, maybe a few other people will taste in this lifetime. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

“There will be people who will seek this out, knowing what it is,” he said. “Anybody who hangs out here knows I love talking about whiskeys. One of my favorite things is to encourage people who think they don’t like whiskey to try it. You just have to find the right one and match it up to the person. I know I can turn them on to a whiskey they will love.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT- Overheard at the Center for Contempory Maine Art this weekend: "I just saw that piece on the wall and thought, 'Wow, that must have taken four or five months to make.' "

Nope. Just 24 hours. One and you're done, kid.

The 2013 "Resisting Entropy II" artists who participated in this 24-hour art-making event at CMCA included Jared Cowan, David Allen, Johanna Cairns, Andy White, Bethany Engstrom, Andy Hamm, Siglinde Langholz, Jonathan Laurence, Eric Leppanen and Trelawney O’Brien.They started at around 10:30 am on Friday, and by Saturday at noon, they were exhausted, but done. A lot of eighties music fueled their evening. "From 5:30 to midnight was the longest section of the whole 24 hours," said Jared Cowan, one of the event's main organizers. "But once we got past 1:00 a.m., it really did fly by. For me, when it started to get light out, I got a little extra energy."  A few hours of sleep and they were back at CMCA for the opening reception on March 23.  "There was virtually no fighting over any of the materials," said Cowan. "Everybody knew what each person was looking for and started associating certain materials with someone's art piece and suggesting it to him or her." 

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at what possessed their minds to make what they did. Click on each photo for more information. 

The exhibition will run March 23 - April 7. For more information visit: Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Our reviewers have some of the best suggestions on what to read, what to see and and what to listen to each month. Let Lacy Simons of hello hello books,  Jim Dandy and Tiffany Howard of Opera House Video and Nathaniel Bernier of Wild Rufus Consignments fill you in on this month's killer book, movie and music reviews.

Books

The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World.
Reviewed by Lacy Simons

This month's pick is Lewis Hyde's classic The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. (Check out one of the covers to see its former subtitle, which I guess was too misleadingly suggestive to use for the 25th anniversary edition we have for you in the shop.)

We've been reading this aloud at home in dribs and drabs, which is, as it turns out, a sensical way to read it, given one of the early themes of the book: give it away, give it away, give it away now. (Oh, hello, early '90s. I didn't see you there. Move along now, will you?) Early on, Hyde pulls in folktales to illustrate the value and necessity of sharing your gift, whatever it may be, with a community of your choosing, even if that community is just one other person. This all sounds potentially treacle and gag-inducing, but (despite the impression its current Hallmark-card cover gives) the book is anything but. It's erudite without being forbidding or boring; it's inspirational without being gimmicky or simplistic. And, as the LA Times points out, "Over the years, The Gift has developed a cult following among writers and artists who rarely lend their names to anything as potentially sentimental as a book on 'creativity' — David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith and Geoff Dyer among them. To Jonathan Lethem, it’s 'a life-changer'; video artist Bill Viola calls it 'the best book I have read on what it means to to be an artist in today’s economic world.'"

Pick it up! It's March, and we all need a pile of inspiration.

Lacy Simons is the owner and operator of hello hello books, which opened in August 2011 adjacent to Rock City Cafe, in Rockland. She is a reader, a maker and a collector of fine-point pens and terrible jokes. To find more picks and reads: facebook.com/hellohellobooks Twitter: @hellohellobooks.

Movies

Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away
Reviewed by Jim Dandy

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a good circus. Somewhere in one of my past childhoods there must have been a wondrous tent filled with unimaginable fantasies come true. Or did I just dream it? I can almost smell the dirt floor, the sweat and manure. Well, step right up! Now, through the magic of DVD, you can direct your attention to the center ring from the comfort of your own living room. Your seat awaits. Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away will fulfill fantasies you never knew you had. See gravity-defying  Japanese feudal battles performed right before your very eyes. (Hint, it's done with wires.) See freaks and other oddities as they act out a thrilling mash-up of Beatles classics. See the sad clown as they set him on fire. See the young lady chase the handsome aerialist through dream after dreamlike fantasy, all for the benefit of a thin plot to tie together all of of these wondrous sights.

This was my first Cirque De Soleil experience and I was blown away. The acrobatics and costumes defy description. So, friends, whether you love the Beatles or just hate clowns, see this movie. It's a visual masterpiece. The circus has never smelled so sweet. 

Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

Music

Rebirth by Jimmy Cliff
Reviewed by Nathaniel Bernier

I hadn't listened to any Jimmy Cliff for a few years, save for some of the classics, but hadn't turned up a full album.  This recording starts out with such gusto and such a heavy amount of energy that I have listened to it over and over since picking it up.  Working with punk musician (Rancid) and sometimes-producer Tim Armstrong seems to have really helped turn this album back to a root origin. In fact, in the song Reggae Music he unfolds a history of his own path, starting way back in the 1960s with Leslie Kong, recording songs "in the style of ska." This song kind of sets the mood for the entire 46-minute ride.

This new release for one of the pioneering voices from Jamaica seems to really open up a lot of old doors, conjuring up memories of the ska sounds of the past, the styling of which he started with.  It's a similar production style as T-Bone Burnett did with BB King's hugely successful One Kind Favor album from 2008, when Burnett basically had BB revert back to his single-amp reverb sound of the 1950s.  And Cliff nails it here, what an amazing way to pay homage to your humble upbringing by digging up that "old sound" and putting new life to it.  The old-school style of horn-heavy, skankable ska really shines on this.  A few slower-paced reggae songs are thrown in to mix it up for your aural pleasure.  All in all, this rebirth of Jimmy is exactly what the doctor ordered. This is five-stars.

Nathaniel "Natty B" Bernier, owner of  Wild Rufus Records (Consignments), previously retail and now online, has immersed himself in music for 35 years, hosting several radio shows, deejaying at clubs and parties, writing music reviews and interviewing artists. He is located on the coast of Maine and continues to live through music. Find him at www.wildrufus.com or wildrufus.blogspot.com/.

ROCKPORT — For 24 hours on March 22, 10 local artists will be confined at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art to create experimental art installations out of a giant pallet of discarded materials donated from tradesmen, carpenters, and fishermen, as well as items collected from machine and automobile junkyards.The next day, March 23, they'll catch a few afternoon zzzs, then come back to CMCA for the opening reception, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Jared Cowan, artist and owner of Asymmetrick Arts in Rockland, first conceived of this one-creative-day event with friend, Alan Clark, in 2010. With the original eight participants further molding the shape of the project, they hosted "Resisting Entropy" at his gallery.

Now revised in scope and with an extended roster of artists, the 2013 "Resisting Entropy II" group includes Cowan, David Allen, Johanna Cairns, Andy White, Bethany Engstrom, Andy Hamm, Siglinde Langholz, Jonathan Laurence, Eric Leppanen and Trelawney O’Brien.

"Being at CMCA, we're thinking we can do even bigger installations with a wider array of materials to choose from," said Cowan. Materials donated include construction debris, auto parts, cast-off fishing gear, and even moose and deer bones. Once the doors open at noon Friday, each artist will dive into the process, garbage picking, sifting, layering and tinkering with items to build a unique art installation. They aren't supposed to come into the event with any pre-conceived ideas, but rather, will form a theme based on what they can pick and sort, working together to transform the pile into unique and unpredictable artworks.

"This year, we've gotten everything from lobster trap wreckage to action figures, along with a lot of soft goods like cloth. It's a bit of everything. We tried to select artists of different mediums, so we have painters and photographers as well as installation artists and sculptors," said Cowan.

The last "Resisting Entropy" event had crazy cool elements, such as the "Kitchen" installation made by Belfast artist, Eric Leppanen, which literally looked like some jury-rigged Mad Max type of kitchen, complete with a full bar. Another cool installation created by Cowan was "Jawbone," which ended up being a unique gameboard crafted out of animal bones without any thought of what the game's rules would be.

The exhibition will run March 23 - April 7. For more information visit: Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

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