TENANTS HARBOR—St. George School Second Grade Teacher Alison Babb had been working on a unit on the concept of “empathy” recently and a particular idea struck home with one student in her class, Liam Ward.

MIDCOAST— It’s a known fact that farmers in Maine work overtime to sustain their businesses; there is no such thing as 9 to 5. 

A team of Maine farmers, came up with a fairly innovative idea two years ago: Why plant more crops than you can sell and compete with other farms if you can collaborate, save time and money and offer customers even more variety than ever before?

That’s just what Adrienne Lee, owner of New Beat Farm, did when she co-founded Daybreak Growers Alliance, a multi-farm share program, along with Christa Bahner, owner-operator of Bahner Farm in Belmont, and Colleen Hanlon-Smith, an owner Locust Grove Orchards in Albion.

Lee, who already operated a own horse-powered multi-farm CSA before her piloting the Daybreak CSA in 2019, saw potential in a group of Maine farms working together, making the most of each farm’s strengths. Unity Food Hub had started this creative model for farm-share collaborative, but had to close at the end of 2017 and a group of farmers who’d participated in that model wanted to replicate a similar multi-farm CSA, but of their own design. As of 2020, more than 20 farms around Maine are collaborating in Daybreak Growers Alliance.

In a traditional CSA where you pay for a share and pick up a box of whatever the farmer has grown in season, perhaps not everything in that box is to your liking. If beets and rutabega are what’s in that share and you don’t like those vegetables, you’re stuck with them.

Not so with Daybreak Growers Alliance, whose website model is closer to an online curbside grocery pick up.

“We use Harvie, an online farm software program that helps us offer customizable shares where our shareholders can choose share preferences and swap items in and out of their share boxes,” said Lee.

For example, a Winter Bounty CSA share from January to May is $36 for one or two adults or small family, which is delivered bi-weekly contains a mixture of hardy greens and storage vegetables. Each share also includes a unique pantry item from one of the farms to compliment the vegetables, such as local dried beans for hearty soups and stews, canned tomatoes and salsa or local cornmeal to make bread and muffins. Customers can also buy customized Meat Shares.

The website allows each customer to customize that box with a “Share Add-On” such as free-range eggs, cheese, yogurt and bread. Best of all, the website “recognizes” that customization and produces recipes for that particular combination of ingredients. So, say you purchased garlic grown from Hallbrook Farm; it comes with this recipe: Garlic - Hallbrook Farm - Pea Shoots and Chicken in Garlic Sauce

With meal kit companies such as Hello Fresh vying for Maine customers, Daybreak Growers Alliance offers not just a healthy, and cost-effective alternative, but every dollar spent is not going to a mega corporation; it’s going back to the Maine growers.

“Because we are working collaboratively with so many farms, we are able to offer a diversity of products throughout the wintertime that just one farm couldn’t justify growing–both the volume and the variety of winter storage crops,” said Lee.

Every share is boxed individually, customizable to each order. Currently they deliver shares to  Belfast at The Crosby Center on Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and to Maine Street Meats in Rockport Tuesdays 4:30 to 6 p.m. They also  also have deliveries to offices in the Midcoast, which is another way to access their shares.

Daybreak also offers deliveries at various Maine locations and farms.

People ordering off the website don’t realize how much time it takes to communicate, prepare each individual order, pack it and deliver it, so they are trying to price the services in a way that works for everyone.

“We’re trying to factor in this time while still keeping a sustainable model,” said Lee. “We want to give our customers value and quality pricing, but we also have to compensate our farmers and employees so that it is sustainable.”

To learn more about Daybreak Growers Alliance and how to sign up for a CSA visit: Daybreak Growers Alliance.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Broken zippers, a busted toaster, holey sweaters and buzzing electronics—it was like the Island of Misfit Toys in the small back room of the Belfast Fiber Arts store on Saturday, January 4, where a crowd of people with older or worn items in their hands, looked for an expert repair.

The Belfast Repair Cafe is a band of “fix-perts,” all volunteers, who come together every couple of months to lend their expertise and repair broken items for free.

Marcia Cooper, of Belfast Repair Café said, “We’re part of the Belfast Community Works, a nonprofit, and we’ve been doing this for a couple of years.”

This past Saturday marked their third time at Belfast Fiberarts, who donates the space for free.

Jasmine Fowler and Sasha Kutsy, founders of Belfast Community Works were initially looking for a Maker Space for their kids when they collaborated to join the international Repair Café movement in a local environment.

“For me it’s about sustainability, not creating more trash or products that are poorly made,” said Fowler. “Secondary to that is creating community. All of these people coming together and sharing skills is what’s it’s about.”

“Relearning so many of these skills that we are losing is also important, “ added Kutsy. “And like Jasmine, the biggest part for me is the community-building, just meeting your neighbors and discovering everyone’s skills that can be put to use, building those connections.”

“Last month, a gentleman came in with an old tattered quilt that he’d made with his mom when he was nine years old,” said Kutsy. “He brought it in and said ‘I don’t care if it’s perfect; I just want it to last.’ None of us are professional quilters, but he trusted we’d just put it back together enough and he left pretty happy.”

The Repair Café is always looking for people with a variety of skills, not just in sewing or electronics.

“We had someone come in with a broken vase and since we don’t have anyone who can repair ceramics at the moment, but could use that skill,” said Fowler.

Even those who are curious to see what the Repair Cafe is all about are welcome.

“We just had someone a minute ago come in and tell us he didn’t have anything to fix, he just wanted to see what was happening back here,” said Fowler. Then he left his name and said he was handy and could volunteer next time.”

Meanwhile on the electronic side....

Paul Eagle sat at one of two  “electronics” stations, working on various radios, switches and lamps that were put forth on the table.

“I’ve been a repair person on and off in electronics and mechanics and have always worked on my car and fixed things,” he said. “If you know the basic principles of electronics, it’s fun to try and figure out the problem.”

Eagle, who has been with the Belfast Repair Café for a year, said most common items brought in are lamps, toasters, mixers, blenders, and vacuum cleaners.

“We encourage people to participate in the repair so they can learn something,” he said.

“People don’t want to throw it into the landfill,” said Cooper. “And let’s face it, this stuff is designed to break and end up there,” said Cooper. “And it’s probably cheaper to buy a new one, but if you can fix it, you’re not adding to the landfill or wasting your money on another piece of junk.”

Bart Read, an engineering manager, worked on an electric heater at the other station.

“We’ve isolated it down to the switch as the problem–it took about five minutes to come to that conclusion,” Read said.  “It’s totally fun. The other thing is if we can’t get it work again, it’s not the end of the world. But, we do have to make sure that in rewiring, the repair doesn’t cause more problems.”

Read said not everything can get a second life.

“We’ve had stuff that’s come in where a mouse chewed through all of the wires of a remote control car and there was no fixing that. So we said forget it,” he said smiling.

The Repair Café takes donations to defray the cost of advertising and other nominal costs. They also use the Belfast Community Works Facebook page to promote their upcoming cafes while they continue to work on a website. In advance of the next Repair Café and encourage people to fill out a form on their website or post a comment on their Facebook page of what they intend to bring in next time, so the volunteers can have the right tools on hand.

APPLETON—On Sunday, January 5, the goats penned in at Appleton Creamery were watching a steady stream of visitors with growing excitement as neighbors and community members stopped by to toss their Christmas tree onto a growing pile of evergreen and spruce trees in the front yard.

Even though owners Caitlin and Bradley Hunter have been accepting recycled Christmas trees informally for years, this past Sunday marked their third formal event: Christmas Tree Drop Off Day.

“We invited people to drop off trees for years, but this is the third year we’ve made it formal as part of the Midcoast Cheese Trail,” said Caitlin, whom along with their daughter, Fiona, offered hot chocolate and cookies to the visitors. “Currently the goats are dry, which means they’re not milking now, so there is no chance of balsam-flavored milk getting into the cheese. It’s a nice winter snack for them — as it’s high in fiber and in vitamin C — but also as entertainment value. Goats are not grazers like sheep and cows. They’re like deer, so they prefer to nibble on small trees, brambles, rose bushes, and raspberry bushes.”

Looking back at the goats, who were enthusiastically, poking their heads through the fencing to receive some attention from the visitors, she added, “But, I think it would be cool to have evergreen-flavored cheese in Maine.”

Dave Pettee, of Hope, dropped off a nine-and-a-half foot tree.

“You ought to have seen this tree when it was up and decorated with all of the ornaments my wife has,” he said. “It’s super nice when she gets it all decorated, got the lights on. It’s the most gorgeous tree I ever had. It was sad to take it down, but when I saw they were taking trees in a drop off, I said, ‘What better than that?’ Because it breaks my heart to burn it. It’s the best way to get rid of it. I feel super good about it.”

Asked if she might experiment with that next year, she said: “I might. You heard that here first.”

The Hunters’ breeds include Alpines, Nubians, and half-Nigerians.

“Normally they eat hay,” said Caitlin. “They always get excited when they see the tree drop off. They love people but they also know they’re going to have a treat.”

For the safety of the goats, it’s required that all trees dropped off are free from tinsel, ornaments, leftover hooks and sprays.

Caitlin enjoyed seeing folks come out to see a working farm in winter. Their annual offer to take discarded trees also serves as a environmental service, keeping trees out of the landfill.

“Most of the trees around here are locally grown, so it all gets recycled back to where it came from,” said Caitlin.

The only other working farm to offer a Christmas Tree Drop-Off Day was the Hart-To-Hart Farm in Albion, nearly an hour away, so this was a convenient option for Midcoast residents. 

With 40 or so trees donated this year, the goat snack would last all winter.

“We feed them one tree a day in addition to their regular food of hay,” said Brandon. “We ration it out to one tree a day, so not to shock their system. The trees last until March. But if they get dry and brittle, we don’t feed them anymore.”

For more information on what other farms and creameries are up to this winter, visit Midcoast Cheese Trail.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Eating healthier, fitness goals, reducing screen time, of course these resolutions are all good but, in this new year what if you’re asking yourself: “What do I have to look forward to?”

Among a myriad of New Year’s articles on what you should be thinking about for your 2020 goals, exercising your creativity is often last on the list, such as in this NBC story on how to be happier in 2020.

But it should be first, particularly for many non “outdoor people” who tend to hibernate in the winter. Feeding the creative mind has tons of mind-body benefits, including stimulating your mental health, reducing anxiety and depression and helping you solve problems better. As with every Cheap Dates article, we strive to find fun, interesting and relatively inexpensive events around the Midcoast and beyond for you and your sweetheart or a buddy. Here are a number of public events to check out for January.

CMCA Art Lab for All Ages

Saturday, January 4 — Rockland

In this month’s ArtLab session, the focus will be on collaborating on a paper collage installation. Using paper, ink and scissors to create numerous cut-out-illustrations to make a temporary installation in the ArtLab documented by a time-lapse video, participants will get to view previous works of featured artist Astrid Bowlby. This session is free and open to all from 2 to 4 p.m. FMI: CMCA Here’s a Calendar for other Art Lab dates.

Waterfall Arts

Saturday, January 4— Belfast

Art Therapists Melissa Kelly and Lisa Cohn are doing a Saturday session from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. called “Finding Balance in the New Year.” This is an ideal workshop for those who wish to be more creative, but don’t know where to start. If you know that some kind of creative outlet is needed to jump start your sense of wonder again, this meditative workshop will focus on using mobile making as metaphor to find balance. Supplies will be provided but feel free to bring your own special objects and materials as well. FMI: Balance

If you miss that, Waterfall Arts is hosting Art Hive open studio sessions Thursdays in January from 1 to 5 p.m. for all ages. A variety of materials will be available for you to create with, including: Paints, Pastels, Collage, Fiber arts, etc. FMI: Art Hive

Yoga and Art Night: Watercolors

Saturday, January 4— Belfast

This inspirational all-levels yoga class held by Ananda Yoga and Wellness will get your creativity flowing through breath and movement, followed by a guided art class using watercolors. The all-levels yoga class will spark your imagination and creativity, from 3 to 5 p.m. FMI: Ananda Yoga

Papercutting

Tuesday, January 14 — Camden

Camden Public Librarian Loraine will teach the basic skills used in the ancient art of papercutting. Using sharp blades and paper, she’ll help participants  make some truly beautiful designs. Templates will be available for use, or participants can create their own. This is a workshop for adults. Registration is required, and spaces are limited. There is a $10 fee. Please call 236-3440 to register. FMI: to see more Jumpstart sessions

Mandala Painting

Sunday, January 12 —Cushing

Try a relaxing painting experience with creating a traditional Mandala design/Tree of Life/abstract design on beach stones gathered locally. Krafter’s Junction at Bearcub will provide all materials provided for a $15 class fee.
Class size is limited, be sure to reserve a space early. Class starts at 1 p.m. FMI: Mandala

Watercolor Journaling

Wednesday, January 15 — Lincolnville

Record your day, your thoughts, your garden, your dreams—in watercolor. Bring your supplies and join this friendly and sharing group for artistic journaling every first and third Wednesdays at the Lincolnville Community Library from 4 to 6 p.m.

Story Hour a.k.a. MOTH Radio Hour

Tuesday, January 28 —Warren

The Saint George River Cafe invites you to come up on their cozy stage and tell stories of the strange, the unbelievable, the triumphant, the terrifying and poignant from 6 to 7 p.m. Free to the public. FMI: Story Hour

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Earlier this month, Matthew Storin, the former editor of the Boston Globe, gave a talk to an audience of some 70 people at the Camden Public Library in conjunction with The Camden Conference.

At a time when the mainstream media is often under siege, when reporting objectively in a post-truth era has become one of journalists’ biggest challenges, Storin had some stories to tell.

But first, a little bit about Storin himself. Prior to the Globe, he was editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, executive editor of the (NY) Daily News, editor of Maine Times and national editor of U.S. News & World Report. His reporting career, which began in his hometown at the Springfield (Mass.) Daily News, included stints in Washington for the Griffin-Larrabee News Bureau and later the Globe, for whom he covered Congress, the White House, and later Asia. Based in Tokyo, he covered the late stages of the wars in Cambodia and Vietnam. After retiring from the Globe, he served as associate vice president for communications at his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, where he also was concurrent professor of journalism. 

PenBay Pilot contacted Storin after his Camden Public Library talk to ask him what were some of the audience’s major questions.

Pilot: what did people want to know about the daily life of journalists and the inner world of newspapers?

Storin: One of the questions I often get asked, is ‘Are most newspapers liberal?’ The short answer is yes, but it’s more complicated than that.

A certain type of person is attracted to journalism and that type tends to “want to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.’ That is the role of the press, though oversimplified. When newspaper reporters report on something the Trump administration did or said, that’s the purpose of journalism. Then, there will be, in my opinion, another three stories that go out of their way to find something negative that might not necessarily be an important story. For instance, Ivanka Trump went to Japan about a year ago and there were fewer than expected in attendance and they made a story out of that. And I think, ‘big deal, it’s not that important.’ On the other hand, I point out to my conservative friends when they start railing about the press is that almost every scandal you know about Hillary Clinton was reported first in The New York Times.

Pilot: Something many people don’t understand is that all journalists who earn their educational degrees are trained in the principles and values of ethical journalism—correct?

Storin: Yes, and also they are trained to be looking for abuses of power and government overreach. And that’s where you get to the question of what some detached observers might say is bias. I will say that journalists definitely tend to have a trust in government in the general sense. Now at the same time, they are quick to leap on what they perceive is an abuse by government, particularly in the financial area, say government overspending or some wasteful program. But what they’re really looking for is a story. Journalists ideally would write a story about their best friend if their best friend had screwed up.

Pilot: Touching on bias, because journalists are also human beings with their own political views, what, is the essential job of the ethical, fair journalist?

Storin: This is the most challenging time I’ve seen for journalists in my professional life.  The combination of lies and out-of-context statements by this administration, coupled with the echo chamber of some Fox News broadcasts, primarily Fox and Friends, threaten the very bedrock of news reporting.  (I’m not talking about opinion commentators.)  Obviously it is more important than ever to be accurate in reporting, but also in the choice of language and topics, newspapers need to be careful not to overreact.  Some reporting in our national newspapers is absolutely essential to holding this administration to account, but I think there are excesses.  Sometimes, to use an old expression, stories make ‘mountains out of molehills’ just because Trump is such a different character, particularly on Twitter. 

Pilot: What can journalists do to continue to earn and keep the trust of their readers and to maintain their own credibility?

Storin: Other than what I’ve already said, they should stick to facts on social media, primarily Twitter and Facebook.  And in an appearances on TV, they should be extremely judicious in their language.  I also think news organizations need to reveal more about their staff people, making clear that they are folks just like everyone else, doing a job as best they can.  I notice that both The New York Times and The Washington Post are doing this a bit, but they need to do more.

Pilot: What can the average citizen do to become better informed, to seek out fair and balanced journalism and to positively participate in meaningful discussion online?

Storin: They need to make at least some effort. I’m afraid many of us do not.  They need to be sure they know the organization producing what they are reading, particularly online,  I think someone who reads either the Times or the Post, should also read The Wall Street Journal, including its editorial page.  The latter is a far better venue for conservative opinion than much of Fox News or other conservative media.  The Journal’s news reporting (separate editors from the opinion pages) is straighter than the Times or Post.

To test the “truthfulness” factor of any story one finds online or to determine whether a source is “fake news” type the name of the media source in Media Bias Fact Check website.

The Camden Conference’s 2020 theme is “The Media Revolution: Changing The World” to be held February 21-23 in Camden, Maine. FMI: Camden Conference.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

For the last 28 years, the 50 state park systems of the United States have been encouraging people to get off the couch on January 1 and get the blood pumping.

First Day Hikes, began locally in Massachusetts in 1992 and went nationwide in 2012. Last year, more than 55,000 people got into it and collectively walked more than 133,000 miles on the guided hikes, including snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on New Year's Day. It’s not only a motivating way to get active, but also a fun, sociable experience for friends and family, especially as we head into the deeper part of winter, when people tend to stay inside and hibernate. We have three local Midcoast Maine hikes to get you moving, two of which are inspired but not affiliated with the First Day Hike. There are others farther afield, as well, in case you want to travel.

Beech Hill Preserve

Wednesday, January 1 — Rockport

The Summit Trail is an easy trail is less than a mile and leads up to the bald hilltop with sweeping view of the Penobscot Bay. No need for a guided hike, you’ll have plenty of people around on this gentle upward slope to the open fields that lead to Beech Nut, a sod-roofed stone hut. The hike starts at 11:30 a.m. and goes until 1:30 p.m. An added incentive? Cookies and hot chocolate will be provided in the hut at the top.  Here’s the trail map.

Lake St. George State Park

Wednesday, January 1— Lake St. George

Go for a leisurely one-mile hike through the day use area and campground or a three-mile hike across the lake around Hawaii 2 Island, dependent on ice conditions. Meet at the first Day Use parking lot past the entry booth starting at 10 a.m. and going until 1 p.m. Bring your snowshoes, creepers, skis and or hiking boots, and dress for the weather. A warming hut will be located inside the barn. Snacks and hot beverages will be provided. Leashed dogs are welcome. This is a beginner level hike. More info.

Georges River

Saturday, January 4 — Searsmont

Note the date for this one as it takes place a few days after the New Year, but meet up at the the Searsmont Town Library by 9:45 a.m. to car pool to the trailhead. On this family friendly hike, exploring the wilds of Searsmont with  guides Sarah Crosby and Bill Evans (who have been hiking, bushwhacking, skiing and snowshoeing the area for many years). Take an easy two-mile stroll along the Georges River in an exploration of some of the dam areas. Bring clothes and footwear appropriate to the weather. Hosted by the Searsmont Town Library and Georges River Land Trust, here’s more info.

For more information visit  First Day Hikes and check out the five Maine state parks also participating.

Kay stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—On December 30, 1919, The Courier-Gazette put out its Tuesday issue for its usual price of three cents for a single copy.

The headlines were nothing spectacular on that day, even though it was the day before New Year’s Eve. Maine, along with the rest of the U.S., was just about to enter a decade known as the Roaring ‘20s.

 Current Mood

The newspaper industry was concerned about a partisan and capitalistic threat to democracy, according to a small piece on the inside pages. “The world is in greater peril today than during the war period. One half of the world is determined to subdue the other half. Capital is in conflict with Labor for supremacy. Labor is in conflict with Capital for supremacy and the rank and file are paying for the conflict.”

The News

A few column inches were reserved for local tidbits of color. One gentleman (unnamed by the paper) who worked on Rockland’s Main Street, was thrilled, to say the least, to receive an unexpected Christmas gift.

“Don’t open this until you get home,” said a Main Street businessman, the day before Christmas, handing an envelope to his clerk. When the envelope was opened, a hundred dollar bill dropped out. And this handsome gift was by no means a misplaced one.

The prominent section of the front page was reserved to announce that Arctic Explorer Donald B. MacMillan was visiting the Midcoast for the purpose of commissioning a boat called Bowdoin to be built in Boothbay the following year for an upcoming expedition.

Central Maine Power had private investigators looking into malicious mischief done by some disgruntled power customers. “This investigation shows that the interruptions were due to the fact that “someone shot away insulators on the high tension line of the company,” according to the report.

In the Shipping News, The Courier-Gazette reported that the owners of the schooner Lavina M. Snow contacted the Coast Guard to assist their schooner, which had been stranded on the southwestern point of the Abaco, Bahama Islands.

Over in Camden, there was mention of The Penobscot Woolen Mill, “Camden’s newest industry,” located on the corner of Washington and Mechanic Streets and “handy to to the trolley line,” which was using the Megunticook River as its power source. The mill had about 20 looms at that point, employing 50-60 people.

And in other news sure to rankle local citizens who made their own cider, the front page noted that a collector for internal revenue for the District of Maine proposed that all sweet cider be taxed from now on.

Advertisements

In December 1919, Maine was still the only state under legal Prohibition, so any revelry that was being planned for the following day had to be done under covert action. A bold and accusatory advertisement with the all-caps title DRUG HABIT appeared at the bottom of the front section. It was paid for by The Neal Institute, a Portland franchise of an Iowa company, which claimed it could cure those with drug and alcohol problems within three days.

 The Courier-Gazette’s own classified advertisement

Other ads placed within the paper announced post-Christmas bargains, with Christmas nuts on sale at 35 cents per pound, fresh cod at 25 cents per pound and two large grapefruit for only 25 cents.

Automobile dealers were already looking ahead to the latest 1920 models of Buicks and Chevrolets, Scripps-Booth and G.M.Cs., which could be purchased at The Rockland Motor Mart (care of Dyer’s Garage Tel. 124.)

New Year’s Eve

Little could be gleaned about the Midcoast’s plans for a festive New Year, but some planned to go ice skating that evening from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Skating Rink at Training Station. The Empire Theater was “business as usual” with a Wednesday night New Year’s Eve screening of “The Outcasts of Poker Flat.” The novel, adapted into film featured a rakish gambler who fell in love with a girl young enough to be his daughter. Not to be outdone, the Park Theatre planned a racy NYE show of “Bathing Beauties in Person,” a Mack Sennett five-reel comedy for 25 cents plus War Tax.

For fans of a more rowdy New Year’s Eve, the Rockland A.C. Spear Block was putting on two wrestling championship matches between Patsy McCarty (the Irish Giant of New York) vs. Charles Metro (of Laconia, N.H.) with another match between Kid Bolduc from Lewiston and Young Stecher from N.Y.   And lest you think this was only for men, there were “Special Seats for the Ladies” from $1.00 to $1.50 in ticket prices.

Looking Ahead

The Tuesday issue didn’t offer any reminiscing editorials or any year-end retrospectives. One only had to skip ahead two days into the future to see what values The Courier-Gazette reflected upon in its January 1, 1920 issue.

These prophecies for the year 1920 were an annual tradition, printed by The Courier-Gazette. “Made by Dr. Delmer Eugene Croft and adduced from the Pythogorean Code” these prophecies are laid out in essay form one by one, taking up most of the front page.

And as a new day passed, Mainers continued their lives, forging ahead through another winter, as they always have.

To see more past issues of The Courier Gazette, visit: Courier-Gazette. To learn how to access more digital archives of Maine newspapers visit: Digital Maine.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

We’re not just getting a new year culminating this Tuesday night, we’re getting a new decade; hence all of the Roaring ‘20s parties that are happening for New Year’s Eve. Whether you’re a day partier, a happy-hour-then-bag-it-and go-home type or a diehard up ‘til midnight and beyond, Penobscot Bay Pilot has the complete rundown on what’s happening for New Year’s Eve in the Midcoast, including new venues and events. Enjoy your night and stay safe!

Belfast

New Year's By The Bay

This is one of Belfast’s biggest events of the year. The 22nd Annual New Year’s By The Bay celebration will take place in 12 venues within walking distance throughout downtown Belfast, beginning at 2 p.m. with music and performance events all day and evening and culminating in the midnight bonfire at the Belfast Public Landing. The three bands capping off the night this year include The Dolphin Strikers, New Years by the Bay and The Right Track from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. at the Belfast Boat House. Adult tickets: $20; children under five are free. For more information visit nybb.org.

Perennial Cider Bar

For their first NYE, Perennial opens at 5 p.m. for a public celebration. You can believe organic sparkling cider will be involved.

Front Street Pub

Join them for a fun no-cover event to ring in the New Year starting at 9 p.m.  DJ and dancing along with giveaways and a countdown to 2020.

Bowen’s Tavern

Bowen’s will be hosting the band Recall, which kicks off at 8 p.m. to help ring in the new year! $5 cover charge includes champagne toast at midnight. 

Bazz Theater

The Belfast Maskers have a special event at Bazz Theater (17 Court Street) from 4 to 5 p.m. Join in on a round of a cappella songs, circle singing and a gathering “led in the spirit of jubilance, unity and community.”

Camden

Joyful Dancing will be putting on a Roaring ‘20s NYE party at High Mountain Hall from 7 to 10 p.m. A $10 entrance fee gets you a dance lesson  from 7 to 8:00 p.m. in solo Charleston and partnered Charleston. From 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., there will be dancing to a mix of tunes from the 1920s swing era with contemporary music as well. No partner or experience needed. Prizes for best outfits.

Rockland

Trackside Station

Rock in the New Year with Red House, a live band at Trackside Station. Ages 21-plus after 9 p.m. Complimentary champagne toast at midnight and watch the ball drop on a 150-inch screen.

FOG Bar and Café

The Blind Albert Band is rocking FOG Bar and Café with their annual masquerade theme which is “wacky & wonderful handmade & collected masks.” The festivities start at 8:30 p.m. No cover This year boasts an eco-friendly confetti drop at midnight.

Ada’s Kitchen

Ada’s is going with a Monte Carolo and Roaring ‘20s theme this NYE from 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The $65 ticket price covers your dinner, games, a DJ, and dancing all night, plus a glass of Prosecco to toast to the New Year. Limited seating is available for dinner. FMI: Tickets.

The Speakeasy

The Roaring ‘20s is the perfect theme for The Speakeasy (just below Eclipse), with live music by The Don Brewer Blues Project.There will be hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, and a champagne toast at midnight. Other surprises will be revealed at the party, which kicks off 9 p.m. Ticket Prices: $30 per person or $50 per couple.

The Samoset

Ring in the New Year at Samoset Resort with dancing, cash bar, and live entertainment featuring Creatures of Habit. Event starts at 9pm; 21+ Tickets $25 and can only be bought online.

Hope

New Year’s Eve at The Farmhouse

Barrettstown Farmhouse is holding a public informal evening of live music from Emmett Lalor and Friends. The band will play until 12 a.m. and afterwards, a house DJ will be playing a set into the new year.

Union

The Pour Farm

The Pour Farm is doing a NYE Tap Takeover at Sterlingtown Public House from 3 to 9 p.m. with live music starting at 5 p.m. and shareable menus.

Searsmont

Threshers Brewing Co.

Threshers will be also hosting a 1920s costume party with prizes. The 220s will be playing live and the band starts at 9 p.m.

South Thomaston

Waterman’s Beach Brewery

“We know some people have to start the new year with a work day, so we decided to celebrate early.” Waterman’s is sending 2019 out in a blaze starting at 2 p.m. with a bonfire on the beach and live tunes by The Hardshells starting at 5:00 p.m.

And Beyond

Here are a few NYE celebrations worth traveling for.

Downtown Countdown —  Bangor

Celebrate Maine’s largest public New Year's Eve in downtown Bangor with bars, restaurants, clubs and cultural organizations all coordinating the celebration. Then, meet in the square at midnight for the annual ball drop from the roof of Paddy Murphy’s. FMI: Schedule

Primo Cubano Dance Party — Portland

One Longfellow Square is welcoming Primo Cubano back to start the new year right with an evening of music and dancing, with an open floor and plenty of energy on stage. The evening will cap off with a champagne toast at midnight. 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show. $20 adv., $25 day of. FMI: Tickets

Note: If your establishment isn’t listed here it’s because either we were unable to find any details of your event posted online or it was restaurant seating only, not a public party. We will be adding more details and more New Year's events as they become available. Please check back! To contact us with more details, email  news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—After all of the gifts are unwrapped, the leftovers are put away and the hoopla dies down, it’s time for the adult equivalent of that last little bit of chocolate or candy cane in the bottom of your stocking. It can be found in Old St. Nick, a deliciously frosty cocktail crafted at Hoxbill in Camden Harbor.

Beverage Director Marcus Carter collaborated on the invention of this drink just in time for the holidays.

Upon the first swig, it’s an arctic blast of peppermint, followed by the sweet crunch of candy cane and rounded out by creamy maple. Then, take a bite of gooey toasted marshmallow—the cocktail’s garnish. 

It is a jolly, jolly sip—and meant to be savored, preferably by a roaring fire.

This cocktail takes a bit of preparation. First the rim of a martini glass is dipped in melted chocolate. After putting a candy cane in a Ziploc bag and smashing it down to granules with a hammer, Carter then dips the rim a second time, so the glass comes away coated with chunky, swirly bits.

“People are loving it,” said Carter.  “It is a dessert drink, however, not typically one you’d start out with. People are coming in after they’ve had dinner at home and giving it a try. Or after a meal here,  instead of dessert, this caps off the night with a sweet finish.”

Watch the video to see how the cocktail is made. You’ll need:

• 2 oz grain vodka such as Ice Pik
• 1 oz. Vermont Ice Maple Créme
• 6 drops peppermint extract
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• ½ oz. chocolate sauce
• Toast a marshmallow and spear with garnish pick

Add components into a shaker full of ice. Shake until ice crystals form and pour the drink neat, into the martini glass, and present with marshmallow.

Make the cocktail yourself this holiday week or have it made for you. Hoxbill is not open on December 25, but will be open the following day.

Related: See some of our past holiday cocktails.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—On Wednesday, December 18, a classroom in Rockland’s  South School looked like a book sale with 4,600 children’s books filling every available table and box underneath.

The best part? Every single book was given away for free.

This is the fifth year educator Jenny West got to feel like Oprah Winfrey and do the “Favorite Things” Giveaway, in which every student from South School got to pick 10 books to keep and bring home.

“I started the Books in Every Nook program years ago because I’m a reading teacher here at South School and I was finding that many students didn’t have books in their homes,” she said. “So, to solve that problem, I came up with the idea of gathering new and used children’s books and then re-distributing them to students once a year.”

Not many people realize how much work goes on behind the scenes to do this giveaway. West spends her time year-round collecting books and a number of volunteers help her to set it up. “I get books everywhere,” she said. “I collect a lot over the summer from library book sales. I go to yard sales. I get books from local publishers and authors who donate books every year and then I get people who donate money for me to go out buy books.”

“In past years, we’d typically allow students take five books home, but we have 300 students this year, and with so many to give away,  I’m allowing them to take home 10,” said West.

In 20-minute increments, each grade assembled inside the classroom where West explained how to select a book and how many could be taken. The reaction from the students when they discovered they could select 10 this time, was to simultaneously throw their hands up in the air and cheer or jump excitedly up and down. And then, like an episode of Supermarket Sweep, the kids swarmed the tables, looking for books that interested them.

“We carefully planned this to get the books in their hands right before they took off for Christmas break,” said West.

Asked what types of books she knows how to buy for the students, she said, “They love nonfiction. They love reading about real things, especially animals. I don’t think I have a single nonfiction book about animals left and I bought a good 300 of them.”

The older grades tend to like the chapter books and more fiction titles.

The entire room organized like a library: in fiction sections, nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, poetry, biography, even a Christmas section.

At one point a 2nd grade boy walked up to West. “Do you have anything scary?” he asked.

She instructed him to search the far table. “There’s a bunch of Goosebump books over there,” she said. Delighted, he found a couple of R. L. Stine’s best sellers.

“We’ll probably give away 3,000 books today,” she said. “At the end of the school year, we do an open house and I give away the rest then for the summer break.”

Dressed like a Christmas Elf, West said, “This is my favorite day of the year. It’s so great to see that kids still love books. The first group of students that came in this morning only to discover they could keep 10 books this time—they went wild. One little girl asked me, ‘We get to keep these forever?’”

For more information about the program contact jwest@rsu13.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Giving someone the gift of services or an experience this season is one way to free the world of extra stuff and clutter, but it also supports many of the hard-working businesses in our community at the same time. It’s a win-win! So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Traveling Escape Games

Edgecomb, Maine (But Will Travel)

Traveling Escape Games Edgecomb, Maine (But Will Travel)

The back story: People may remember Midcoast Escape Rooms, the family and friend game that puts you in a locked room with clues to get out. Well, now that business model has changed and owner Martha Manchester is bringing the same type of game to your house.

“I loved the puzzle and game part of it, so I changed the idea to bring the puzzles and props to someone’s homes,” she said. “We have two games: the Museum Heist or the Pirate Pillage. I come to your house, and set up the game for you. It’s awesome for groups of friends or families all together for the holidays. People solve a series of puzzles, decipher codes, unravel clues and complete the mission of finding treasure before your hour is up.  It’s a cross between an Escape Room and a Scavenger Hunt. We’re actually giving away real treasures if they can solve such as pearl earrings, and money clips or key rings.”

Cost: $30 per person with a minimum of six people per game. Martha is the Puzzle Master. She’ll stay for the hour to set up and break down. She can bring the games to houses within 50 miles of Edgecomb. FMI: Traveling Escape Games

In her words: “People love getting together and solve all the puzzles with the goal of keeping the treasures, but it’s hilarious, especially right down to the wire. People are crazy, frantic, it’s hysterical.”

A Night at The Strand

Rockland, Maine

The back story: Between first-run indie films, live eclectic performances and HD worldwide broadcasts, The Strand Theatre is a great escape for a few hours, and is the perfect way to lift up the person in your life with a little cultural infusion. “Take a look at our calendar and if you know someone would really enjoy a particular performance, you can buy a gift card for that performance or as many as you like,”  said Jana Herbener, marketing and community relations manager.

Cost: An affordable stocking stuffer is a $9 movie in the form of a gift card, and a Fan Membership is $50. “With a Fan Membership, every time you come to a movie you’d pay $2.00 less than a regular ticket, but you also get a free movie on your birthday, a free one-time movie pass and admission to two of our Member Appreciation Movie Parties, so in essence, the $50 membership gets you free in four times a year,” she said. “This past year we screened ‘Love Actually,’ and ‘Thelma and Louise’ for our Member Appreciation Movie Parties. We have hors d'oeuvres and sometimes movie trivia to make it fun.”

In her own words: “A gift for someone else is also a gift for us, because it helps us maintain and expand our programming and offer performances that other places may not be able to offer,” she said.

An Art Membership-The Art Loft

Rockland, Maine

The back story: The Art Loft, Rockland and Knox County’s community art center, is under a new director and new direction these days. Perhaps you have a budding artist on your holiday list who could use a creative boost. “Our memberships are normally for a full year, but we are now offering an introductory membership for adults, which is good for five months — from January 1 to May 31,” said director David Blanchard. All members receive 20 percent off fees for classes in drawing and painting at the Art Loft, as well as advance notifications for all classes. “So, if a class has a limit of say eight people, as an Introductory Member, you’ll be the first to hear about it and have the best shot of getting in,” he said.  Members also gain admission, for a very small fee, to the Members’ Studio, (which is open only to Members). “That gives you a time you can come in and create during certain scheduled hours, sharing the space and comraderie with others,” he said. There are also Members-only art exhibitions at the Art Loft, which gives many budding artists their first chance to show their work in public. They also get 20 percent off at Huston-Tuttle, which sells art supplies in Rockland. “If you sign up for just one of our typical four-session classes during January through May, you’ll save about $30, which essentially pays for the Membership itself,” he said.

Cost: $31.75 A gift membership can be purchased through artloftrockland.org

For families of seriously ill children, teens and babies, this is a difficult time of year. Television advertisements blast happy home-for-the-holidays messages, while Christmas songs on the radio extol the joys of family all being together.

With a child in the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, however, families have enough to worry about without having to think about gift-buying for the holidays.

Two fifth graders from Warren Community School wanted to ease the burdens of parents and bring some joy to their children this season. “

As part of ‘WCS Gives Back’ a program at our school which emphasizes gratitude during November and December, we really work hard to encourage our students to display this character trait,” said Assistant Principal Jessica Berry. “One of our students, Jennika Shuman, inspired her class to start a food pantry drive in November. That was so successful, her buddy Summer Staples came to me afterward to ask if we could organize a toy drive for the children who have to stay in the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital this Christmas.”

Berry knew that Vicki Murray, owner of Laugh Loud Smile Big, a cupcake and custom goods store in Rockport, often donated cupcakes and gifts to BBCH and elected to pair up with Murray as the delivery vehicle for the toy drive.

A Toyota sleigh steers from Lincolnville to Portland every December

Vicki Eugley, of Lincolnville, quietly turns her Toyota Highlander into a sleigh every year and collects donations of presents and toys for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.

Like Murray, she does it with little fanfare. With a full car, she drove the gifts to Portland on Sunday, December 8.

She puts out the call in November, and before long, friends are dropping off bags and boxes of toys, clothes and art supplies with her. They love to contribute to the effort for many different reasons, and look forward to the annual tradition.

“I’ve been doing this for about three or four years,” Eugley said. “We get a lot of donations from area friends and neighbors and just bring them down.”

 Presents from Vicki Eugley’s car all set up at BBCH.

After putting out the message to the community, Warren Community School was able to collect three full boxes, more than 40 gifts, thanks to parents, teachers and other members of the community. Thanks to Murray’s coordination with BBCH and a special Christmas Wish List, items donated ranged from onesies for infants to gift cards for teenagers.

Murray took the gifts down on Friday, December 13.

“As Summer helped load the items into the car, she kept saying, ‘Wow there are so many toys here!’ said Berry. “She was so proud of what she had accomplished. We want our students to be participants in their community, and to learn how to support and give back to others.”

Murray had her own connections to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. Her daughter needed to stay there after she was born and again, briefly when she was 10.

“They gave her wonderful care,” she said. “When she got upset, they had this Magic Closet or what they call the ‘Oww-ie Box’ and it was filled with toys. They let her pick a toy and it would distract her and calm her enough to carry through a procedure.”

For the last seven years, Murray has taken gifts and cupcakes to children whenever the hospital has called her.

Murray has a permanent box out front in the store year round for anyone who wishes to donate a toy or a gift card to BBCH.

“Whenever we do our cupcake donations, we grab whatever is in the box out front and bring that down with us,” she said. “People donate craft supplies along with gifts. And we even get gift cards for the nurses. What they take home with them emotionally every night, we can’t imagine.”

During the holidays, people’s thought turn naturally to giving and the box out front of Laugh Loud Smile Big overfills with donations from people in the Midcoast. Murray said last year, her pick up truck was so full of donated gifts that they had to make two trips down to Portland.  “

“When kids come in to the store with their parents, they see the gift box and wonder what it’s for,” said Murray. “I often hear parents teaching their children the importance of giving back, especially this time of year.”

Murray recognizes it’s a commitment to drive down to Portland multiple times a month with donations and cupcakes, but said, “it’s my passion.”

However, she insists that it the Midcoast community that allows her to be the bearer of good tidings.

“We have grandmothers come in and hand me $100 bills and tell me to make someone happy. We have parents come in with beautifully wrapped gifts for someone else’s children. We’re in tears in the kitchen half the time when people come in with gifts.”

So many of the gifts given to the children go home with them as reminders of what they survived and the comfort that it brought them. Donations to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital can be made beyond the Christmas season and dropped off at Laugh Loud Smile Big for birthdays, special occasions, and even just a reward for getting through a tough chemotherapy session. To help out visit Laugh Loud Smile Big’s Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SEARSMONT—Every Saturday, Bob MacGregor, founder and president of Waldo County Woodshed, can be found with other volunteers in Searsmont from 8:30 a.m. to noon, cutting, splitting and stacking wood for the benefit of other people. For the last six years, this volunteer-run, nonprofit has made sure families in Waldo county get through the winter with enough firewood to heat their homes. Last year, they gave out 170 cords worth $40,000.

On Saturday, December 9, the group held a Wood Processing Day, a volunteer event, to make it easier for families to pick up free firewood.

Local arborist, Travis Hamilton, of Arbor Tech, contacted MacGregor and asked him if he could use ‘a bunch of arborists with saws, splitters, tractors and trucks volunteering for a day.’

MacGregor was thrilled.

“We try to have several volunteer days each season, but this time, having a group of arborists who are trained in chainsaw safety come to us—that was something new,” he said. “It was a great help to have them out there working on their own without supervision.”

Hamilton arrived with his crew of five, and 10 volunteers in all put in about six hours that Saturday sawing the wood, splitting it with three wood splitters, and stacking it into wire racks.

“We cut as much wood as we could process,” said Hamilton, noting that some people who came to collect firewood for their families  hung around afterward to help chop and stack more wood for others.

“People that need wood can just come and grab some in these quarter-cord bundles stacked up in these wire racks,” said Hamilton. “The idea is that if you take some wood, in return, just spend a little time fill up the rack for the next person. There’s a big pile  of loose cord wood nearby.”

“I had a guy mention to me the other day, ‘If I only refill one rack, you’re not getting ahead; I should fill two racks,’” recalled MacGregor.  “That’s the kind of thing I like to see as we are just a bunch of volunteers ourselves. ”

Even though there’s no pre-screening, Waldo County Woodshed has some sensible rules in place for those in need of wood to ensure that the wood distributed evenly. Those rules can be found on a pinned post on their Facebook page.

“The most important thing is to call ahead,” said MacGregor. “We have a volunteer scheduler that takes all the phone calls and directs people to the right site on the right day. By knowing how many people to expect at each site we can make sure we have enough wood and volunteers at the sites.”

You don’t need to qualify for anything,” said Hamilton. “It’s on the honor system. He’s not charging people; he’s not screening anyone. I think a couple people may have taken advantage of that in the past, but if someone needs wood that bad, Bob just says, ‘Go ahead and take it.’”

“Sometimes, we have people come each week, sometimes just enough to get them through before LIHEAP kicks in, but we just want to make sure we have enough to distribute out to everybody,” said MacGregor.

“This is the first year my crew and I volunteered,” continued Hamilton. “I would bring Bob my surplus wood from job sites. I have all the wood I can shake a stick at, literally. So, I try to give it away to people who need it, whether it’s my friends, or someone in the community.We’re a wood-rich community and people shouldn’t have to worry about staying warm. It’s important to give back, especially during the holidays. It makes us feel good that we’re able to do it.”

MacGregor said he doesn’t want to take business away from loggers and people who sell firewood for a living, so they fund-raise to buy wood from loggers and to process it, keeping everyone in business. “We do get a little bit of wood donated, but for the most part, we just prefer to buy it from loggers whatever the going rate it,” he said.

MacGregor isn’t looking for a lot of accolades. Formerly involved in the wood industry, he knows a lot of people who rely on wood heat as their primary source each winter.

“I just do it because people need help and we’re able to provide it,” he said.

Waldo County Woodshed has eight distribution sites around Waldo with Searsmont at their main yard. They will be opening another facility in Knox Count early next year at the Warren Transfer Station.

MacGregor encourages people to volunteer if they have a few hours on a Saturday morning.

“You don’t have to call ahead,” he said. “Just come out to Searsmont and we’ll find you something to do,” he said.

Donations can be made online or mailed to P.O. Box 401 Belfast. for more information visit: Waldo County Woodshed.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

For the month of December, we continue our series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive in the Midcoast. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Alpaca Dryer Balls

Unity, Maine

Handmade dryer balls made from alpaca fibers

The back story: Corry and Robin Pratt own the alpaca farm Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm in Unity. “Currently we have 35 alpacas and we also believe we have four new babies on board; we’re just waiting on ultrasound, ” said Corry.  “Our dryer balls are made from local, ethically sourced alpaca which hold no harmful chemicals and are beneficial for those who are hypoallergenic. They are also are recyclable, sustainable, and economic.” One can last you your entire life if you take care of them. “What’s unique to ours is a lot of companies use something in the core, but ours are alpaca all throughout,” she said. “We card the fiber and then wet felt it into a snowball; the friction adheres the ball and then tightens. Then we wash and dry it, which shrinks right up into a solid ball. You put them in a nylon stocking in the dryer. They can be used over and over. And unlike wool dryer balls, which have lanolin in it, which can coat your clothes the way chapstick does if it’s left in the dryer by accident, our alpaca dryer balls have no lanolin and no odor or greasy coating. They even reduce static and pull lint from your clothes.”

Where to find it/price range: $9.00 apiece. The dryer balls are sold individually. They can be found at all three of their store locations in Northport, Ellsworth and their farm in Unity as well as online.

In their words: “You can even put a couple of drops of essential oil on them, to lend your own fragrance. As we enter the flu season, just put two drops of the doTerra™ On-Guard oil will help boost your immune system and invigorate your body to fight against illness.”

Mermaid Mugs

Lincolnville, Maine

Handmade Mermaid Mugs

The back story: Randy Fein is accomplished ceramic sculptor and well-known arts educator. She works out of her studio on Melvin Heights Road to craft ceramic art, including handcrafted mugs, fired three times. With a background in printmaking, she finds the images of mermaids and Photoshops them. “I created this method where I make my own decals and then they are fired onto the clay in a third and last firing,” she said. “It’s quite a process; like an overlay on top of the glazes.”

Where to find it/price range: $25.00. They can be found at Belfast Harbor Artisans and at Waterfall Arts’ HANDMADE show. Randy can also be reached online.

In her words: “I love the water, I love to swim. I love that when you’re in the water, your whole being changes. I started making these pieces without fully knowing the whole folklore of mermaids, but I think they get a bad rap, that they’re seductresses and that they lure men to the rocks, and make them crash. I always thought that was unfair.”

Origami Nautical Ornaments

Rockland, Maine

Ornamental star made from nautical charts

The back story: Blenda Risteen, the one-woman creator behind The Orange Chair Studio, started off making decorative paper lamp shades, but wanted to create some products that appealed to more people, especially her local customers. She began using nautical charts to make tree ornaments. “I have always loved origami and I used to make these folded stars out of thick metallic papers for our Christmas tree,” she said. “I realized I could use the same idea with the designs I was already using for my other products. The nautical chart ornaments were an instant hit. I sold hundreds of them the first week! And they’ve been my best selling item ever since.”

Where to find it/price range: $8.95. They can be found in several stores in Maine including Archipelago in Rockland and Lisa Marie's Made in Maine as well as through her website.

In her words: “My favorite kind of art is the kind of art that, when I look at it I think, ‘Wow, that person must have had so much fun painting/drawing/sculpting that...’ My hope is that the joy I have while creating each item shows in my work too!”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Each December, we shine the spotlight on Maine craftspeople who make products by hand. This week, we focus on those who work out of their homes, farms and kitchens to make quality products, using unique Maine flavors and ingredients. Best of all, all of these items can be picked up locally and shipped.

Toddy Pond Farm Fromage Blanc

Monroe, Maine

A soft spreadable cow's milk cheese, plain or flavored with herbs and olive oil. Try the honey fig and orange peel for a festive holiday cheese plate at your next party.

The back story:

Heide and Greg run Monroe’s Toddy Farm, which was recently featured in a film about farming in Waldo county. They recently opened a farm store and a “cheese cave” at their farm, which is about an 11-mile drive from Belfast. This 500-acre family farm produces 100% grass-fed dairy products and pastured meats, as well as hosts a variety of events for visitors in the summer.  Their Fromage Blanc, one of several cheeses they produce, is a small batch cheese made exclusively with milk from the farm’s herd of heritage breed cows. The cheese is a spreadable creamy treat packaged in a reusable glass Weck Jar and offered in several flavors; Garlic and Herb, Lemon Rosemary, Honey, Fig and Orange Peel and appearing on shelves soon, Cranberry Ginger.

Cost: From $6 and up with a $3 refundable jar deposit. Toddy Pond Farm’s Fromage Blanc can be found in natural food stores up and down the coast from Brunswick to Brewer, as well as the Belfast and United Farmers Markets and the Toddy Pond Farm Store.

In their words: “We’re passionate about making delicious, nourishing, beautiful food, but we also care deeply about how that food is farmed and produced. We strongly believe that calves should be raised and fed by their mothers. We don’t know of any other dairies that follow that practice, thus we use only our own milk, and don’t buy in milk from any other farms to produce our dairy products. That certainly makes running a creamery challenging at times, but we feel grateful to be able to hold true to our values.”

CupKate’s Chocolate Heath Bar

Searsmont, Maine

A handmade chocolate cupcake that uses crunchy English toffee and smooth milk chocolate as its kicker.

The back story:

Katie Maddocks bakes out of her home and started making cupcakes because they allowed her a lot of creativity. “You can always bake cookies, but there only so many designs,” she said. “With cupcakes I can do really creative flavors, and creative frostings designs with the toppers or make them into little Christmas trees on the holidays. “For the Chocolate Heath Bar cupcake, we start with a traditional chocolate cupcake and all of our frosting is butter-based; no shortening. Powdered sugar and incorporate Heath Bars into the frosting, and then top it with chunks of more Heath Bar and caramel.”

Cost: A mini cupcake is $1.25; a regular sized cupcake $2.50 and can be found at her stand at the United Farmers Market in Belfast on Saturdays. She also does special orders through her Facebook page.

In their words: “I have to say although the Chocolate Heath Bar is popular, the one I run out of most is a banana cupcake with dark chocolate butter cream and walnuts. That’s been one of the surprising best sellers.”

Water Buffalo Gelato

Appleton, Maine

Sicilian-style Water Buffalo Milk Gelato of various flavors.

The back story: Brian and Jessica Farrar were both raised on farms in Maine and decided when they grew up they did not want to work on a farm. Surprise! As they explain on their website: “Our ‘plans’ went out the window! We began raising water buffalo shortly after our first introduction” and long story short, now they raise water buffalo, incorporating thw “whole animal-no waste” attitude.  “The Sicilian-style gelato is made right here in Midcoast Maine with the milk from Maine’s only herd of water buffalo. Made with whole milk instead of cream for a creamy mouthfeel without the heaviness of ice-cream. Our gelato is churned less than traditional ice-cream to create a denser treat allowing more intense flavor to come through. It is small batch farmstead gelato made at our family farm. Water buffalo have extremely creamy milk that is slightly sweeter than other milks making our gelato absolutely delicious! And because it is a farmstead gelato, you can also visit our farm during the summer to meet the buffalo that produce the milk for the gelato.”

Cost: Available in 4 oz. ($3) or 12 oz. ($7) at the Belfast Farmers Market on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Guini Ridge Farm in Rockport on Dec. 14 & 21 at their Christmas markets as well as directly from their farm.

In their words: “Try Muddy Wallow CHOCOLATE, Cream of the Crop FIOR DI LATTE (sweet cream), Crack of Dawn COFFEE, Greener Pastures MINT as well as occasional seasonal flavors.”

ROCKLAND—In a former classroom now converted to a studio at Lincoln Street Center, one curious creature, approximately four foot high, dominates one side of the room. It resembles a deer made with bright red and pink fabric and a whimsical floral pattern on its chest, akin to what would cover your grandmother’s upholstered chintz chair.

Spilling out from its body are fabric entrails, ropes of intestines in red satin and pink tulle. This sculpture by Olivia Vanner, a Rockland artist, is called called “Torn” and it’s meant to delight, then disturb.

Vanner, 23, received her degree in Art from the University of Maine at Farmington. She works two jobs, one full-time at Rock City Coffee, and one part-time at Center for Maine Contemporary Art at the front desk. When she has free time in the evenings, she heads to her studio at Lincoln Street Center and tries to clear her mind to create. “I’ve got a full schedule,” she said. “It depends on how each day goes; if I have enough energy after work, I’ll head to the studio. I try to work three evenings a week if I can.”

It took Vanner half a year to sew, crochet and handcraft “Torn.”

At first glance, the bright and whimsical colors of the creature are attractive to the eye; inviting you to come closer and inspect it. That’s when the jarring realization hits that, it is in fact, a dying or dead creature. Even though the entrails aren’t real, there’s a feeling of unease standing so close to it. A subconscious cue as you look down to make sure your feet aren’t touching it.

“That’s definitely what I wanted to have come across to my audience,” said Vanner. 

In her Artist Statement, Vanner said,  “I investigate adult interpretations of reality influenced by childhood experience. More specifically, my interests lie in the anxiety and fear hidden in the comfort and safety of childhood.”

“What inspires the piece and what I do in art, is to bring life—or death—to the ideas and emotions surrounding the representation of the animal in connection to materials from childhood environments,” she said. “I was trying to show there’s a dichotomy in memories of childhood and the realities of adulthood—that memories change as you become an adult, and that feeling exposed and vulnerable can be both beautiful and grotesque. It’s all in how you experience it and what sticks with you.”

Another of Vanner’s installations, “Decapitation,” was lurking just behind a demi wall.

“Decapitation” drapes over her easel, two-feet wide and two-feet long. This sculpture, once floating over a plush pool of blood, looks out to the viewer with yarn-wrapped eyes. Its prehistoric features are composed of pale knit sweaters, fleece muscles, gaudy red scarves. Its exposed entrails spilling over the easel are made from chunky, fuzzy yarn. This piece was also inspired by the recurring themes of material, memory, beauty, and gore. In this piece, Vanner was pushing the envelope even further by including realistic teeth in the jaws of the body-less beast. The identity of the animal is more abstract.

“This was very intentional,” she said. “I wanted to see how far I could disguise its species and how far I could hint at realism within this piece.”  

On the Open House night November 22, people of all ages wandered into Vanner’s studio, including children.

“For a small child looking at these sculptures, they seem huge,” she said. “To an adult, they are not so big. But it’s about [the death of that animal] and that’s something I want to see my audience create a dialogue around.”

“Luckily the children were respectful and seemed to find the work interesting,” she said. "I think some of them didn’t find it to be their cup of tea. I also noticed a wide range of reactions in adults. Some were delighted by the various textures and patterns, while others seemed more concerned by its dismemberment. No matter what age, they all were tempted to get a closer look and touch the fabrics in the piece.”

Vanner, who also creates paintings, animations, and drawings in addition to her installations, finds inspiration in objects and materials such as upholstery, plush fabrics, dollhouses, even home videos on VHS, which she said, “carry past emotions we have invested in them.” (See embedded animation.)

Vanner has submitted some of these works into local exhibitions and some of her painting and sculptures can be found on the walls of the Merrill Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.

For more info on Vanner’s work visit her website or her Instagram page at info-@oliviavanner

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

I was considering a dozen ways to write this story, but settled upon the most simple choice: highlight the most worthy local organizations that I’ve covered as a reporter in the last seven and a half years.

We’ve just come off a bombardment of Thanksgiving,  Black or Buy Nothing Friday, Shop Small Saturday, Small Brewery Sunday, (a new thing) and Cyber Monday. All of it has been about consuming and spending.

But, Tuesday, December 3, is a re-set of priorities. It is known as “#GivingTuesday, “a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world,” created in 2012. Its aim is to get involved with your community, be it monetarily or by volunteering for one day.

Though the Midcoast is made up of a number of small communities, we tend to think of ourselves as one big community.  It’s no exaggeration to say that strangers will go out of their way to help you out of a fix. Time and again on the Midcoast Message Board, you’ll see posts from people stranded on the side of the road who put out an SOS out on the Board. Almost every time, someone comes to that person’s rescue. Or say, someone loses a wallet at Walmart. It’s promptly found, returned, completely intact. Another great example: someone’s cat goes missing; an entire community spends six months helping the out-of-state owner finding it.

Here are some ways you can give back to certain organizations and nonprofits on Giving Tuesday, whether it’s through your wallet, donated items, your time, your skills, or even your endorsement. I’m going back to Memory Lane with every single one of these organizations—read why.

Hospitality House Adopt a Family

Here’s a great story about four high school girls from Camden Hills Regional High School who, in 2016, spent money they specifically raised from a bake sale and a raffle to benefit families at the Knox County Homeless Coalition/Hospitality House for Christmas.

Here’s how to help Adopt a Family this year

Life Flight and Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital

In this 2014 story, a CHRHS teen, who suffered a devastating ski injury, got rescued by Life Flight. And the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital saved her life. To pay it forward, she convinced her school’s Interact Club to give back to the children at the hospital for the Christmas holidays.

Here’s how to give back to Life Flight Network Foundation and Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital

“Knit Happens” and Maine Special Olympics

In 2017, I met a bunch of wonderful women at the Thomaston Public Library. They were part of an informal knitting group called “Knit Happens,” who met once a week to provide warm, snazzy hats and mittens for Maine athletes of the Special Olympics Maine State Winter Games.

Here’s how to knit for Maine athletes or donate to Maine Special Olympics 2020

Show Some Love For The Animals

Winter time is not the best time for lost or abandoned pets. In the fall of 2016, P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center got walloped with 20-30 sick barn cats. That same year, Pope Memorial Humane Society rescued Saint, a cat with zero time on the clock. And this one got me in the feels: a story on Peace Ridge Sanctuary, an organization that has rescued thousands of abused, exploited and severely neglected farm animals with the only purpose to give them safety and sanctuary for the rest of their lives.

Here’s how to donate, volunteer and support P.A.W.S., Pope Memorial Human Society and Peace Ridge Sanctuary.

Kids, Kids, Kids

There are so many kids in our communities who are hungry, don’t have money for lunch, don’t have proper winter clothes and struggle. I’ve done a bunch of stories over the years about the extraordinary generosity of everyday people including Perley Martin, Director of School Nutrition for RSU 71, the man responsible for making sure none of the children in the summer school program went hungry. Or Jen Wenz, a crusader for lifting up kids who were denied school lunches because they had no money. Or how Waldo Community Action Partners makes sure every year kids have backpacks, teen girls have prom dresses and families have food. Then there’s Waldo County Technical School. The principal and staff treat their students like family with food and clothing programs. And Out Maine ensures that LGBTQ youth in the Midcoast have the kind of support they need to thrive, as evidenced by their recent eye-opening artistic retreat at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Here’s how to create a lunch account,  support Pay It Forward Kids, donate to WCAP programs (including upcoming Heroes 4 Hunger holiday food box drive), and support Out Maine.

All The Ladies

Women suffer economic hardships more than men in the aftermath of divorce and in domestic violence. In the Midcoast, New Hope For Women does tremendous work empowering women to gain their independence and to honor those who’ve died, as this annual Empty Place at the Table exhibit attests. Another grassroots organization needs a spotlight: The Ripple Initiative, a furniture bank for families in need; the majority of whom are women and children. Before she closed her business, Rhonda Nordstrom headed up The Purse Project, to give homeless women bags filled with comfort items. And one more VIP mention: The Soap Closet, a tiny grassroots project that helps Waldo county families with personal hygiene products.

Here’s how to support  New Hope For Women, The Ripple Initiative, Purseverance 207 (which The Purse Project recommended when they closed) and The Soap Closet (call Judy Beebe at 207-930-3604)

One More Way To Say Thank You

Many veterans and people currently serving in the military often hear “thank you for your service,” but tomorrow is an excellent way to put those words into action and help others who are away from their families during the holidays, who have served our country and who just deserve some extra TLC. A recent story outlined six local businesses to support for National Veterans Small Business Week.

Here’s how to donate to Maine’s Veterans’ Homes, support and volunteer at TOGUS or even give money from your Clynk bags, gas cards, clothing and even personal care products to make someone’s life easier.

Even if you are under economic burdens yourself, there’s one more way to help a business you love on Giving Tuesday without spending a penny.

Note: There are so many worthy organizations in the Midcoast that I could not cover them all or else this would have been a 4,000-word story. Feel free to put your deserving organization in the comments. This will be an ongoing feature.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

THOMASTON—Watts Hall Community Players Director Daryl Hahn is currently traveling back to Maine from a Thanksgiving vacation just in time for Saturday night’s performances at Watts Hall, November 30. On her way to the train, she had only four minutes to explain what the upcoming short plays were about: hence, just like the evening’s namesake: the synopses are short and sweet.

There are 10 performers who will be performing a program of five short, 15-20 minute plays. “They are very silly,” said Hahn.

Sure Thing

“This is about two people who bump into each other into the coffee shop and all the initial ways that conversation could go.”

Words, Words, Words

“This is about three monkeys that have been put into a lab to test the theory that if you put monkeys together for enough time, they will come up with Hamlet.”

Variations on the Death of Trotsky

“It’s the day after he has been hit with the ice axe that hit him. It’s a series of variations on how that ice pick ended up in his head.”

The Importance of Being Ernest

“This is a very truncated one-act version of the classic play; we’re going to play it as a teaser for an eventual full production of the play.”

Check Please

“This is a series of blind dates that a man and a woman are simultaneously having on stage; the focus switching back and forth on the two.”

Short & Sweet starts at 7 p.m. The performances plus intermission will run to nearly two hours. Admission is free.

Even though most people would be taking the holiday weekend off, the Watts Hall Community Players have been busy rehearsing.

“We have a really dedicated and talented group of actors and crew who said, ‘Hey this sounds like fun’ and that’s what you’re going to see,” said Hahn.

Watts Hall is located at 174 Main St, Thomaston, ME 04861.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND— Lincoln Street Center, which was at one point the Rockland High School, is brimming with new energy and talent. On Friday, November 22, a number of artists currently renting studios and living at the Center in residencies opened their doors to allow the public to view their work.

Participating artists included Vincent Carducci, Amy Files, Ariel Hall, Karen Jelenfy, Justine Kablack, Madeleine Morlet and Anna Queen; On the Round and White Dog Industrial.

Lincoln Street Center, which once had a hard time filling its studios, no longer has that problem. The repurposed building is a hive with sculpture artists, photographers, painters, a yarn store and even a sewing machine repair shop in the basement. The revival of this building on Lincoln Street is largely due to the investments made by the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, based in Maine, which provides resources for artists. Executive Director Donna McNeil, along with the support of her board of directors, can be credited for spearheading the forward momentum.

Live/Work Space

In February, 2019, PenBay Pilot reported that Rockland City Councilors were considering a petition by Donna McNeil  to alter the conditional use clause of Lincoln Street Center. A “Live/Work” ordinance would allow artists to live temporarily in residencies at Lincoln Street Center.

“The petition garnered the unanimous support of the City Council and Mayor Lisa Westkamper, who sponsored the zoning change,” said McNeil. “Further, without the willingness of the owner of Lincoln Street Center, Erez Ram, to support artists live/work space, the project would not have gotten off the ground.”

Thanks to the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, an ADA-compliant bathroom and kitchen was installed in Lincoln Street Center in 2019. The foundation’s support also converted four classrooms into four light-filled studios with partitioned sleeping space for residencies. In addition, the Foundation also offers a stipend of $1000.00 a month per resident.

What a Residency Is Like

Anna Queen is one of the artists in residency at Lincoln Street Center. She opened her studio during the Open House to visit with the public and answer questions about her artistic process. An interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture and video, Queen is originally from Richmond, VA  and moved to the Midcoast in 2014. She had been living in Rockland for the several years when she applied for a six-month residency.

Even though she lives in her own apartment in Rockland, the studio has been crucial to her creative process.

“I think having people who are invested in this space, living here and working here is incredibly important, because they become your community,” she said. “Any building, such as this school that is currently laying dormant in any city can be repurposed this way. Creating affordability for artists is what needs to happen. The other part of it, the stipend, is not something other residency programs do. It literally allows me to buy materials, take time off work to create. What this foundation is doing is not the norm at all.”

She is a big proponent of not only what Lincoln Street Center has accomplished, but the message that the Live/Work ordinance has sent to the artist community.

“In any city, to assume that a working artist can pay both the rent for an apartment and for a studio from any wages you’d make as an artist is insane; it’s unrealistic,” said Queen. “So, it’s amazing that the town of Rockland was receptive to this [ordinance change] and supports artists here.”

“There’s really no other place in Rockland with concentrated and still relatively affordable artist space as Lincoln Street Center,” said artist Amy Files who rents a studio there. “I feel like there are a lot of folks in Rockland who enjoy having a thriving local arts scene, but don't understand or make the connection of how important it is for local artists to have space to work in. Some think that having studio space is a luxury/hobby/fun item when it's really an integral/necessary item for artists to work."

McNeil has worked hard to see this dream realized in Rockland. “Years ago we tried to do this in Portland,” she said. “When public buildings were released from their original usage, we tried numerous times to turn them into Live/Work spaces, but the city never supported it. I have to thank Lincoln Street Center’s landlord, in particular. Most landlords want to get the most money they can out of a building, which usually means renting them out as offices. But he was very happy to rent it out to artists and now the entire Center is filled to capacity.”

An artist’s residence vary from one months to six months. Applications for the residency program have just been expanded nationwide and submissions are accepted twice a year for the six, two and one month slots. The Foundation is currently accepting applications for the summer session, April-September 2020. Information can be found on their website, www.ellis-beuregardfoundation.org.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Welcome to our ongoing feature Behind the Slides, where we meet up with an artist who recently presented at a local PechaKucha night and find out the deeper story beneath the images he or she chose to portray.

Emily Candler Davis was one of the presenters at PechaKucha Night, held at the Camden Opera House on November 8. Emily Candler Davis is a photographer, potter, bodyworker, and poet, who lives on Mount Desert Island. She is a graduate of Goddard College and has had her latest project, The Nature and Psyche Project, displayed in Vermont, at the Maine Farmland Trust in Maine, among others. She loves short film forms and being involved in the inherent rights of Nature movement. Being the granddaughter of George Washington Davis, former Maine minister, and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she feels the new civil rights movement is coming forward and the time to act for the benefit of every person and for the Earth is now.

The actual slide notes are in italics. Beneath the slide notes will be the deeper story.

#Journalism is not a crime

“Enchantment is the oldest form of Medicine.”— C.G.Jung

The Nature and Psyche Project is a photographic documentary of current events and is based on the on going dialogue humans have with Nature. The art form happens when we come through our own process into that magical moment, of “Ah-ha,” and into a gracious whole moment. The presence and healing of the moment, where we are open to and engaged with Nature, as with Thich Nhat Hahn’s, “I am in Love with Mother Earth,” and our inter-relation to her, is the heart and soul of the Nature and Psyche Project.

# Journalism is not a crime. This image arose from the cliff sides of Acadia National Park. Distressed by the world’s imprisonment of journalists and artists, imprisonment of the truth, of gnosis, and of our courageous artists in the fields of the world’s struggle toward a green and socially just world, the Earth seemed to shift: “Explain it to me?”and I replied, “I can’t. I can’t explain detention, exploitation, or torture. This hashtag reminds us all to hold true to our idealistic dreaming, our world work and voice, and our constitutions!

Lioness Eye

Taken on a nine-degree day, where the river meets the ocean in a luminous, albeit icy embrace. Dreaming of warmer climates, planting seeds, and thinking deeply on reversing deforestation, “Lioness Eye” emerged from sunlight, water, and stone. A mixture of elements, we greet the image as her own.

“More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. More than half of the world’s estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One hectare (2.47 acres) may contain more than 750 types of trees and 1,500 species of higher plants. The U.S. National Cancer Institute has identified 3,000 plants that are active against cancer cells. Seventy percent of these plants are found in the rainforest. Twenty-five percent of the active ingredients in today’s cancer-fighting drugs come from organisms found only in the rainforest.” Savetheamazon.org

Mysteries

Pure organic water.

The grandmothers sing chants of praise and thanksgiving to the water for giving us life—under current Pachamama law adopted by India, Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, and Parts of the United States (OH, MN, PA, CA, CO).

This photograph holds the deep sadness and struggles of the tribal nations of the world, the recent murder of rainforest activists, the political struggles against dictators, and the deep topic of instilling the inherent rights of things (tribes, people, animals, lands, mountains, rivers) to their personhood and protected under the law.

“Matadorian Lucifer”

I feel the greatest personal impact for me as an artist, and as a person, is the great love I have for Mother Earth. This projct has become a newspaper of current events as seen through my lens and the Earth’s imagination.

"Matadorian Lucifer’s story is the sadness of the concentration camps at the borders in America. How did we as a nation go from "Never Again" and fighting the good fight of World War II, to holding the shadow? The sweetness of his mouth, and the bullet wound, just like the recent transgender woman who was shot point-blank at the border.

Drungpa

So much of the project has come to me from a long line of ancestors my grandfather, a liberation theologian, his great good work with Dr, Martin Luther King in Seminary School At Crozier, Dr. King's great work with Thich Nhat Hahn, and Thich Naht Hahn's great work with Mindfulness, Buddhism, and my own bodywork practice.

“Drungpa” peers out from the branches and flowers; his is a presence of limerence and a deep Bon Buddhist Mandala. He gazes deep: “ How could the UN state to the Rohingya that the genocide continues without any other thought?

To learn more about Emily Davis’s work visit her portfolio of: The Nature and Psyche Project

A traditional family Thanksgiving may be ideal for some, but for people who don’t have family in Maine, may have strained family relations, or just don’t feel like slogging through holiday travel, there’s another way.

Friendsgiving, a decidedly un-traditional potluck dinner with friends, is how to put a fun and stress-free spin on the holiday, while staying put in Maine.

Internet sleuths pinpoint the origin of the term Friendsgiving around 2007 or 2008 to reflect an informal gathering of a ragtag crowd, e.g., the child-free, the “holiday orphans,” the coworker, neighbor or single friend who is going to be stuck with a frozen Swanson’s Hungry Man turkey dinner and Netflix. It’s all about the camaraderie, and how we get through these long Maine winters.

The best part about Friendsgiving is that it’s not beholden to stringent tradition.  It can be a lunch or dinner gathering. It can even be a few days before Thanksgiving, so people can get their “friend fix” before joining their families on November 28.

How To Plan The Menu (And Divvy up the Dishes)

According to the Rules of Friendsgiving, the host planning the party is the one cooking the bird and the gravy. The most reliable friend has to bring the hors d’oevres. The rest of the guests take the pressure off the host by bringing a side dish, a dessert, and/or a specialty cocktail.

The Food Network has some ideas on this. From mac and cheese to potato chip stuffed potatoes, this is the ideal time to ditch the canned cranberry and green bean mushroom casserole. Supporting Maine’s lobster industry and the lobstermen still out there hauling this time of year is a great way to add in a side dish to Friendsgiving and here are some great appetizer ideas from the Maine Lobster Festival.

Friendsgiving Rituals

The rituals of Friendsgiving are meant to be silly and fun or meaningful to the group. It can be a themed event, like a Tom Hanksgiving or a Friends-themed Friendsgiving with Rachel’s English trifle. Arriving in your own custom headwear is highly encouraged, using materials from a craft store.

Others just all agree to arrive in their pajamas and slippers. Gather everyone around for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade which starts at noon, and take a shot every time one of the hosts says “fun” or “wow.” Here are the rules. For designated drivers, teetotalers or people adulting, do five jumping jacks instead. Board games are also a major feature of Friendsgiving as a way to loosen up guests who don’t know each other very well. Some folks even like to give thanks ahead of time by volunteering together at Heroes 4 Hunger at 6 a.m. or band together to help serve Thanksgiving dinner to others before going back to the host’s house and continuing the celebration.

Once the Friendgiving meal starts, there’s still no need to be formal. Gather plates and pillows and eat on the floor watching old favorite movies or the Big Game. Your mother would be horrified, but she’s not going to be there. Or cover the table with butcher block paper and give everyone crayons. You can even put up a homemade poster and let your friends write what they are thankful for.

There’s even a few public Friendsgivings being hosted around Maine for strangers who want to become instant friends.

Here are more tips to make your Friendsgiving a festive one!

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—If you’re shopping at the United Farmers Market of Maine in Belfast and happen upon Mike Raven’s booth, “Grandpa’s Specialty Smoked Meats,” you don’t have too far to walk for table service, as he recently opened a tiny restaurant next door.

Last month, Raven opened Grandpa’s Kitchen, an offshoot of his smoked meats business, in the kitchen annex attached to United Farmers Market of Maine formerly used by Jamaican Vybz.

As the family cook, Raven grew up observing his grandfather in the kitchen.

“My grandfather was of German descent,” said Raven. “He was a butcher and he made all of his own sausages by hand. When I was eight years old, I started helping him with an old-fashioned grinder.”

Sourcing his beef and pork from a Maine farm, Raven makes sausages, kielbasas, hot Italian and sweet Italian sausages, polish Kielbasa and 100% beef hot dogs by hand, and then smokes them. He also hand-slices pastrami and corned beef.

“It’s like nothing you’ve tried in the store; it’s all made by hand with much more flavor,” he said.

The space presents a simple, but inviting area with four tables and counter seating for breakfast and lunch. Grandpa’s Kitchen’s menu, which is slightly German-influenced, just as you’d expect it to be, consists of mostly homemade comfort food. For breakfasts, Raven makes his own red flannel corn beef hash omelet and Grandpa’s sausage gravy, among some of the more popular offerings.

“That one is probably my biggest seller, always fresh,” he said, of the white gravy recipe.

He also serves Buckboard, an English-style bacon and maple bourbon bacon with breakfast.

For lunch, the menu is still finding its stride with a bacon cheeseburger made from grass-fed cattle, a Reuben sandwich and a Cuban sandwich, among the current selection.

Raven said the menu featured in this article will be ever-changing, but he plans to alter the menu to go with the seasons. The current menu doesn’t yet reflect the homemade soups made daily, such as a ginger-infused beet, or the vegan meals they’ll soon be offering, such as collard greens, lentil soup and squash soup.

“I’ll be adding specials, like lasagna, pot roast, more turkey dishes coming up for Thanksgiving,” said Raven. “If anyone wants to share a meal or break up something on the menu, they can.”

Grandpa’s Specialty Smoked Meats still has a place in his new restaurant, in the display case by the front counter.

“Besides all of our sausages, we’ll be offering smoked turkeys and chickens to go as well,” he said.

Grandpa’s Kitchen  is not yet found online or on social media. It is open every day except Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE—Even though it was a drizzly, gloomy day when I visited Janet Redfield’s house and studio on a rural road in Lincolnville, her stained glass doors on both the front and back of the house were aglow with moody light. Handcrafted by Redfield, the doors are threaded with asymmetrical wooden panels; it’s like a viewing the jungle through creeping vines. This same light is caught in a variety of glass sconces, artwork and sun catchers throughout the house she shares with her husband Scott Dickerson, a former furniture maker who made the woodwork in the doors.

Redfield, who, describes herself as “reclusive,” is opening her house and studio to the public on Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

“I’ve made a lot of stained glass objects, specifically for this event, including a bunch of Christmas tree ornaments,” said Redfield, who will display hanging panels, small glass birds, fused glass bowls, mobiles, and stained glass windows and will also give demos to anyone who wants to try cutting stained glass.

Redfield has been making stained glass objects since 1973. A year later, she moved to Maine, where her hobby turned into a full-time profession.

“I started out doing one craft show and I’d never been to one before,” she said. “I had no idea what it would be like. At that one event, I got so many orders from craft stores for my small stained glass objects, such as little rainbow boxes and mirrors, that I called my employer the next day and told them I was giving them two weeks notice.”

Eventually, Redfield found her artistic stride in custom, large-scale stained glass windows and doors, which can be found all over the country.

Since the 1980s, her work has been commissioned all over the U.S. with a recent piece just shipped to Australia.

Locally, her ocean life-themed stained glass works can be found at all the local ferry terminals, while more abstract designs can be found in the windows and map at Camden Hills High School, the windows at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast, in Lincolnville school’s cafeteria and at Lincolnville Library. Nature themes are found, as well, at the Camden Rockport Elementary School.

Her latest piece, a 100-fused stained glass fish, was installed in the entry hall of the new Amanda C. Rowe School Elementary School in Portland.

“When you walk into the school, it looks like an aquarium,” she said.

The Maine Arts Commission has been the biggest boon to Redfield’s career.

Maine has a Percent For Art Law, which stipulates that a certain percentage of funding must be set aside in the construction of any public building in Maine for the acquisition of art works in order to support and develop Maine artists and add artistic appeal to buildings.

“I’ve done 30 Percent For Art projects in the state of Maine,” she said. “It is all administered by the Maine Arts Commission, but you have to apply for each opportunity. A committee determines how they choose the art for that public building. It’s usually a competition. For example, 100 people can apply to be the artist for the building and then they winnow it down to four or five semi-finalists. If you’re chosen as a finalist, you have to present a specific proposal on what it will look like, how much it will cost, and other details.”

Stained glass as an art form seems like it would be extraordinarily complex, but it’s really just like forming a bunch of glass jigsaw puzzle pieces together, said Redfield. The hardest part is coming up with a good design in the first place.

Redfield gave a brief demonstration by selecting a square piece of clear glass. Laying it down on the table, she simply took a glass-cutting tool, similar to a pen with a little steel wheel at the end and traced a curved line. The glass broke in half perfectly in that design.

“There are two different ways to make stained glass,” she said. “I make a full size drawing and cut out each piece of the pattern. Then, I wrap each piece in a piece of copper foil and solder all of the pieces together into a frame. The other way is to layer all of the glass in a kiln and fire it, which fuses the layers of glass into one solid flat piece.”

“The hardest part has been the arrangement of colors,” she said. “You can’t see how the final piece is going to look until it is done and held up to the light. But after so many years, I have an instinct for what colors go together.”

Redfield’s studio is in Lincolnville, at 90 Salamander Road; 763-4465. For more information visit penbaypilot.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND —Two years ago, OUT Maine Executive Director Jeanne Dooley had a light-bulb moment while on a personal artistic workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle. While there, she floated the idea of having the young people she works with at OUT Maine, a statewide resource for LGBTQ youth, go to Haystack for an immersive art weekend.

That idea eventually got traction, funding and momentum and this past September, nearly 70 LGBTQ teenagers from all around the state were able to meet up for a three-day immersive art weekend at Haystack. Paul Sacaridiz, Haystack’s executive director, went a step further and arranged for a dozen LGBTQ art instructors from all over the country to fly in and be the guest faculty for the weekend as well. 

“We fund-raised to do this and Haystack made major in-kind contributions to make this happen,” said Dooley, of the inaugural trip. “And each student paid $25 because it’s always good to have some kind of buy-in. Not every parent was able to take off work and drive the student to Deer Isle, so we arranged for three buses from Portland, Augusta and Bangor to bring about half the youth to Haystack.”

Former OUT Maine high school students who graduated were invited back to be the “Junior Counselors” in the dorms, providing not only guidance and supervision, but an informal mentorship as well.  

Students had studio workshops in blacksmithing, graphic design, printing T-shirts, pottery and metal-smithing. 

“In the evenings the faculty made presentations and spoke about what it was like to be out or not out and  then faculty and youth went back into their studios until 10:30 at night,” said Dooley. “One of the faculty from Wisconsin arranged and fund-raised for a transgender non-conforming punk band called ‘Gender Confetti’ to attend and play a set on Saturday night and the kids loved that. Haystack loved it. It was absolutely incredible.”

Since this inaugural immersion weekend, the plan is to offer it every other year to LGBTQ juniors and seniors all over Maine. 

Dooley said before they kicked off the weekend, they did an informal “show of hands” poll to determine the group dynamics. She said 75 percent of the teens had never engaged with OUT Maine before and 75 percent had never been to Haystack.

When it was time to leave, students had to check in with Dooley before they left with a parent or on the bus.

“Every single kid was burbling with gratitude, for the connections they made, for the possibilities of their artistic expression, for the vision for what is possible as a gay person in the arts,” she said. “Some of them were in tears. I was in tears. It was like getting showered all weekend in affirmation, which is exactly what we needed to do for them.”

“The power of the Arts Community, and what it can do for LGBTQ youth is tremendous,” continued Dooley. “We often see that when LGBTQ rural youth graduate from high school in Maine, there aren’t a lot of opportunities; maybe working at fast food places or a supermarket. But, what we did that weekend is help shift the perception that a career in the arts is entirely possible. On one of the buses going back, one of our faculty overheard a group of teenagers discuss how Haystack had completely opened their eyes to really becoming artists. They were talking about how they could actually take control of their lives through this medium. It blew my mind. And this is the kind of work we continue to aim to do, to support that, and to find programs that continue to develop their potential.”

Dooley said she perceived this weekend as more than just one moment in time: it was powerful enough to launch potential contributions by other arts programs in the state of Maine. “My hope is that these art organizations can see what we accomplished here and can bring hope, possibility and vision to these young people who are starving for these possibilities. That weekend at Haystack has received more visibility around these issues than I’ve ever seen. I am hoping that this is a call to action for arts communities to help inspire the potential of LGBTQ youth in all kinds of media: art, music, theater. Anything that helps them find their self-expression, to find their possibility and to find their voice.”

To learn more, visit outmaine.org/our-work

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—At some point, every emerging artist has the thought, “How do I make this into a full-time living?”

Kim Bernard has some answers to this question. A full-time professional artist, organizer of Rockland’s annual Sculpture Races and a professional development workshop teacher for the last 30 years, she is about to lead a weekend workshop “Artist As Small Business” at Rockland’s Steel House November 16 and 17.

“In the last three years, I’ve been focusing my teaching on creative and professional development and small business training for artists,” she said. “I think there is a huge need for that. Artists aren’t necessarily trained in marketing, or business. There are so many aspects to it: how to promote their work, how to write an artist’s statement, or how to build a website. These are the kinds of skills artists needs to have beyond a mastery of their medium.”

Bernard, who regularly mentors artists, has sifted through every business aspect she’d absorbed and learned in her own journey as an artist to distill what others need to know to be successful.

“The bottom line before you quit your day job to go full-time an an artist is first, that your work has to be good; it has to come from a dedicated studio practice. And once you have a strong body of work, then there is a whole other skill set needed to promote and exhibit it. ”

Bernard’s upcoming workshop focuses on the essential skills of creating a real business from budgeting and business plans to state tax IDs and insurance. Bernard promises to “tackle these dry-but- necessary topics with interactive exercises, humor and dark chocolate.”

“You’d be surprised; when these dry topics apply to artists, to their own work, then it suddenly becomes really interesting,” she said. “I have done all of these things in my own work that I now teach; I have gone to the Small Business Administration for advice and direction. I have researched small business books and resources. I have practiced these skills for 30 years. I just distilled it down to only what artists need to know and got rid of the rest. I keep it very interactive; very applicable to each artist with exercises. There’s a lot of get up-move-around; let’s do brainstorming sessions to keep it interesting. Everyone walks away with an action plan to develop their business over time.”

Workshop participants may include painters photographers, sculptors, potters, makers, people who craft and more. “It really applies to any creative endeavor,” she said.

Bernard has been teaching these type of workshops all over the country and even does one-on-one consultations with individual artists to work on action plans.

There are many great, free resources artists who are interested in becoming a business can access. The Small Business Administration, the Maine Revenue Service, the Maine Arts Commission, irs.gov and  NOLO Small Business and books from the public library are places to start. 

“The problem is that this can all be overwhelming and artists don’t necessarily know what’s applicable and what’s not,” said Bernard.

Bernard is offering one scholarship to attend “Artist as Small Business” at the Steel House Nov. 16-17.  To apply, email her paragraph of why you should receive it to  by Nov. 12 midnight.

For more information, visit: Rockland Steel House

Kay stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Each year, the second week of November is the time to celebrate and support the small businesses that veterans and service members own during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW).

According to a Small Business Administration (SBA) report, veteran-owned firms represent 9.1 percent of all U.S. businesses, yet in Maine, the percentage is even higher at 10.62% with nearly 15,982 small businesses operating in the state. Here is the entire list of Veteran Owned Businesses and/or Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses in Maine,  broken down by counties, cities and categories.

“It is easy to say ‘Thank you for your service” but supporting a veteran-owned business shows your true gratitude for those who served,” said Rosendel “Rosey” Gerry, a former Lincolnville Selectman. 

See our sidebar for six local businesses located in Waldo and Knox County.

Resources for New Businesses

For those who have served or currently serving, and who are interested in starting a business in Maine, there are a number of valuable resources to get one’s entrepreneurial idea off the ground.

SCORE Maine has a web page dedicated to Resources for Veteran Business Owners with six ways to get help in forming a new entrepreneurial business.

With SCORE, there are a wealth of webinars, blog posts, and articles from funding to franchising to transitioning from a military career to entrepreneurship. In addition, SCORE offers free mentoring to all veterans at all of their chapters as people navigate their next business move. Here is their national webpage for Veteran resources and to contact them through local offices visit: SCORE

The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) is one of the centers listed in the SCORE web page and they have chapters in New England with a presence in Maine.

“We have a number of consultants and volunteers in Maine all over the state,” said Director of VBOC of New England Marco Capaldi. “We have a Boots to Business program [entrepreneurship courses] which had 100,000 participants nationwide and in Maine, we generally run two Boots to Business programs a year. I have two consultants in Lewiston-Auburn and one in Brunswick, at Brunswick Landing as well as 10 volunteers who help with any Maine veteran who contacts us.”

Capaldi said the best way to get started is to contact their office through their website.

“I try to come up six or eight times a year and do a lot of consultations by Skype,” said Capaldi. “We generally follow up through phone calls and emails and the clients lead the way. They tell us whether they want to do a consult or attend a class. We have a ton of resources to offer them and I also refer them to the local Maine Small Business and Training in southern Maine. We have a wonderful team down there I send a lot of folks.”

Capaldi said they are always looking for more Maine volunteers to help with Maine veterans and can be reached at MCapaldi@CWEonline.org

For other events going on this week celebrating veterans and their families visit: www.penbaypilot.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—In a move to give Maine artists more visibility and accessibility, Center for Maine Contemporary Art will unveil its first virtual exhibition in early December.

“This is a new concept for CMCA, and I think unique to gallery and exhibition spaces in Maine, but it’s a concept that has already gained popularity in some of the major cities where physical space is harder and more expensive to come by,” said Justine Kablack, curatorial and communications assistant. Kablack will be one of several guest curators of the exhibition through her gallery SISTERED in Portland.

As the internet has transformed almost every other aspect of society, online exhibitions are just gaining traction in the last decade. They can be an outgrowth of a cultural institution such as CMCA or they can be constructed as an independent online portal, a virtual space that is not restricted by business hours, wall space or production costs and gives and the visitor the feeling of being in a real gallery.

“We’re pretty excited about this as we have limited space and staff at CMCA and this a great way to add more exhibitions to our line up,” said Kablack.

CMCA Director Suzette McAvoy also expressed her enthusiasm for the online format.

“Last year, we premiered 3D virtual tours of all of our exhibitions and archived them to our website,” she said. “So, visitors and students across Maine can see our shows even if they can't visit in person. The online exhibition format is a way to extend our reach beyond our physical walls." 

CMCA, a nonprofit, does not offer any of the artwork for sale.  Instead, the curators will choose high-quality works from the submissions and group them according to how well the pieces interact with one another.

Given the nature of digital exhibition, an important criteria is how well the piece is photographed as well as the quality of the work itself.

Currently, submissions are still accepted until November 15. The parameters for the type of artwork CMCA is seeking are fairly broad. Artists with a strong connection to Maine, through full or part-time residency, exhibiting, creating artwork or studying here, working in any medium are encouraged to apply and is not limited to physical 2-D or 3-D objects.

“The artwork itself doesn’t have to be a painting or something made by hand,” added Kablack. “It can be a digital image or a video made from a computer.”

Once the curators have finalized their decision, Kablack estimates the first CMCA digital exhibition, titled [ON]now exhibitions, will be available online in early December on their website.

For more information and to apply visit the CMCA website.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

UNION—It’s been five, long years for Union herbalist Katheryn Langelier, owner of Herbal Revolution, contending with a lawsuit filed against her and two other herbalists for their use of the term ‘fire cider’ as it described their apple cider vinegar products.

As of Oct. 2019, that fight is over. In a 40-page ruling, Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, declared that the term fire cider is generic and cannot be trademarked.

Langelier had been selling her product Fire Cider No. 9 for years when she learned that Massachusetts-based herbal company Shire City Herbals, had trademarked the term in 2014, and was putting legal pressure on small businesses around the country to cease using that term.

The term fire cider is widely accredited to herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, who initially created the recipe in the late 1970s, a spicy, apple cider vinegar that includes hot peppers, horseradish, onion, and garlic. Gladstar never trademarked the term; instead, freely encouraged other herbalists to use her recipe, and use the term as well in the marketing of the product.

As a result of a petition and boycott against Shire City Herbals, codefendants Nicole Telkes of Austin, Texas, and Mary Blue, of Providence, Rhode Island, were the other herbalists named in the $100,000 lawsuit.

Langelier was forced to change the label to her product, naming it Fire Tonic in 2014 after receiving a cease and desist letter from Shire City Herbals.

With the judgment that has now cleared them, the three herbalists set a legal precedent. This means no corporation can trademark a generic herbalist term. The trio are tying up loose ends with the USPTO to finish cancellation on the mark.  

“We look at this as a win for the herbal community.” said Langelier. “Our next goal is to create an herbal dictionary, so that when somebody goes to trademark a generic term, the United StatesTrademark Office has a reference to refer to,” she said.

Langelier, Telkes and Blue stood together with Gladstar throughout the entire lawsuit. At the trial, each woman took the stand and explained to the judge exactly what the term ‘fire cider’ was and why it should have never been trademarked in the first place.

“It weighed on me every single day,” said Langelier.

The Portland law firm Verrill Dana represented the ‘Fire Cider 3’ pro bono.

“None of us had any money to fight this; we were all small companies, so we are indebted to our lawyers for working with us the whole way on this,” said Langelier.

As it turns out, Langelier and Blue were scheduled to speak at a conference in Maryland and to accept a Community Award from the American Herbalist Guild for the fire cider movement in September. Two weeks before the conference, the defendants learned of the judgment in their favor and Langelier and Blue were able to announce the verdict in front of more than 500 herbalists.

“Up until that moment, I’d known the verdict, but it didn’t feel like the weight was off my shoulders yet,” said Langelier. “Once we made that announcement at the conference, it felt like a huge release.”

“People were overwhelmed with joy, shouting, responding in tears,” she said. “Even though they weren’t being sued, they’d felt the weight of what this was doing to our community.”

As far as next steps, Langelier is busy trying to run her business, having secured a new 4,000 sf production and shipping facility in Union. Asked whether she is going to return to rename her herbal concoction Fire Cider once more, she said, “Absolutely, we have a new look that will be coming out soon." 

To follow this ongoing story visit: https://freefirecider.com/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—“Hitting your mark” as an actor is always a challenge on stage. Try doing it 15 feet in the air.

For Camden Hills Regional High School’s upcoming performances of Mary Poppins in November, Theater Teacher Rick Ash and Tech Director Tom Heath knew they were going to need some help with the theatrical side of flying. After all, Mary Poppins is known for taking off with her parrot-handled magical umbrella alongside her chimney sweep sidekick, Bert.

“Tom and I have used theatrical flying techniques multiple times in past productions such as Peter Pan and Wizard of Oz,” Ash said. The go-to company for this service is Flying By Foy, the most prolific and widely-respected theatrical flying service in the world. Established by Peter Foy, a stage flying effects specialist who founded his company in 1957, Flying By Foy is based in Las Vegas with specialists all over the country.

With support from Youth Arts, Ash and Heath employed a rigging specialist, Perry Fertig, affiliated with Flying By Foy, from the University of Southern Maine to go to the high school. For two days, Fertig taught the students and the crew how to use the “Track on Track” flying system in the Strom Auditorium, and which allows the performer to be lifted by ropes and move vertically and horizontally across the stage.

The system is one of several Flying by Foy patented mechanical inventions.

“The students did really well with it,” said Ash, who added that while the students loved the flying part of it, the harness isn’t always comfortable to wear, which is an added layer to one’s acting challenges on stage.

“Fertig taught them how to balance themselves while they were up in the air, but more than that, he was actually choreographing certain moves with them,” said Ash. “When Mary flies away at the end of the show, it has to be done very specifically. Meanwhile, we have three people backstage on the pulley system, two people on the lift line, and one person on the travel side of it, all working together to make sure Mary hits her mark.”

This production is one of CHRHS’ most ambitious musicals to date with 14 scenes in each act. This show features flying actors, multiple sets, numerous costume changes and a professionally painted backdrop by Scenic Art Studios under the direction of Tony Award winning owners Joe and Deb Forbes.

Mary Poppins performances are November 8, 9, 15, and 16 at 7:00 p.m. and there are 2:00 p.m. matinees on November 10 and 16. Tickets can be purchased online.

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Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Every November, writers around the world watch the clock move from Halloween to the first of November with a combination of anticipation and unease. The whole objective of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is to spur writers to draft a 50,000 word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30.

Organize Your Ideas

For first-time authors daunted by how to start, dive in by teaching yourself how to write a novel. This Writer’s Digest article outlines six excellent how-to books specifically geared to the NaNoWriMo writer (see tips 15-20). Now that you’ve got an idea about how to go about it; it’s time to organize all of that inspiration. Pre-Internet, the old-school way of writing a novel was by hand, with initial ideas on index cards, or in notebooks, which then took an eternity combing through to piece together the chapters. It’s well past time to update those old-school ways.  Scrivener, a program designed specifically for writers, is a powerhouse tool to organize content in multiple sub-files, and helps with plotting fiction, from the first idea to the final draft.  Scrivener is priced at $49 (for the Windows and Mac versions) normally, but they are offering a free month trial for NaNoWriMo writers with a special novel template available in the “Fiction” section of the project templates chooser. It’s based on the regular “Novel” template that Scrivener already offers, but it will create a project with the 50,000 word target set up for NaNoWriMo. Alternatively, yWriter is a free word processing program that breaks down your novel into manageable chapters and scenes. It was created by a programmer and author who wanted to make his own experience writing a novel easier on writers.

Connect with Your Fellow Maine Writers

Some days the magic just isn’t there and the blank page in front of you is like a direct taunt: “Y’aint got nothin’!” Those are the times to close the notebook for laptop for a moment to look for inspiration, a pep talk or commiserate with writers in your same position. Statewide, we have Maine NaNoWriMo Facebook group, a closed group with 434 members, that functions as a virtual cheerleader, particularly when writer’s block sets in. NaNoWriMo as an organization has a Midcoast region (from Bath to Bar Harbor along the coast). They welcome those in surrounding areas such as Brunswick/Topsham and Ellsworth/Hancock/Winter Harbor. To sign up for the Midcoast region visit /nanowrimo.org/regions/usa-maine-mid-coast We also have Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, a statewide organization that supports Maine writers and authors with multiple in-person meet up and events.

When NaNoWriMo is Done: What Next?

Don’t fret if you don’t make it all the way through. NaNoWriMo establishes discipline, the backbone of good writing habits. But the one major negative with NaNoWriMo is that it puts the emphasis on achieving word count over achieving quality. A good novel isn’t done in one draft—or one month. And there will be a lot of those 50,000 words that you will toss if you truly have the discipline to be a good writer. Author Sam Munger feels strongly about this on his blog post, Writers: Please don’t do NaNoWriMo. Please. Don’t do it. but his points are valid, particularly this one: “If you want to be a writer, you must do this every day. Not just in November. Every day. This must be part of your life.”

And one more point. November may be done, but the editing isn’t. Publishers and agents are often deluged in December with half-formed, unedited novels. So, once the NaNoWriMo pressure is off, take the time to let the novel sit while you go off and do other things. When you come back to it fresh, Hemingway ($19.99) is an online editor tool that cleans up clunky sentences, offers phrasing alternatives and alerts you to the passive voice. In the meantime, you can build up a potential literary agent and publisher list with Querytracker, which has both free and paid versions to explore and save agents and publishers in your genre with a helpful closed forum to submit your first five pages, queries and synopsis to other writers for honest feedback.

Keep going.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Walter Guptill, of South Thomaston, has always had a fascination with gravestones. A member of Maine Old Cemetery Association, Guptill volunteers to repair old gravestones that have been damaged, particularly around the Midcoast.

“When you spend a lot of time in old cemeteries, you realize there is an energy there that cannot be explained,” he said. “I walk through them often and right now the beauty of the trees changing colors around the cemeteries is something to be seen.”

Born and raised in Owls Head, Guptill cites his love of genealogy as his primary interest, which led him to restoring gravestones.

“I started doing family genealogy and that led naturally to cemeteries,” he said.

It was one unmarked grave, in particular, that led Guptill down a rabbit hole in his quest to find out to whom it belonged.

“I was walking around the MacPhail Cemetery in Owls Head and saw this cement base that was at the end of a row, but there was no stone set upon it,” he said. “Now, that’s not uncommon. Some stones are hundreds of years old and they can knock over and be buried several feet below ground.”

But, his curiosity would soon uncover something much bigger than a missing gravestone. Researching old newspaper stories and leads through Find a Grave, a worldwide database of cemetery records, he found his answer— and it was grisly. 

In 1905, an English immigrant, Edward Bennett, came to America and settled in South Thomaston with his wife, Edith. Newspaper records show he was employed at Littlehale’s Grain Mill in Rockland. Edward and Edith had three children, Edward Jr, Barbara H. and Nancy. 

“Through my research, I discovered Edith had died from pneumonia in August 1911 and was buried in the MacPhail Cemetery,” said Guptill.

Guptill pored through old newspaper stories from the Courier-Gazette around that date and was shocked to find this headline dated September 2, 1911: “Three Hearses In the Cortege. Burial of the Murdered Bennett Children and Their Suicide Father an Awesome Spectacle — A Cablegram That Came Too Late.”

Guptill kept finding more clues in both the death certificate of Bennett and in the certificates of the three children.

“They died by chloroform, administered by their father,” he said.

According to official records, Bennett was distraught over his wife’s passing. Despondent and alone, he murdered his children.

According to the Courier-Gazette news story, Rev. Russell Woodman, Bennett’s confidant, described Bennett’s demeanor at his wife’s service to the Courier-Gazette reporter: “He had never seen such absolute agony as when Mr. Bennett knelt by his wife’s grave and lifted his eyes skyward without sound or word. It was indeed the grief that does not speak, whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break.”

Before Bennett had committed the horrible act, he left a suicide note addressed to Rev. Woodman and then walked down to the ocean and drowned himself.

“The story goes that the Reverend never saw the suicide note addressed to him,” said Guptill. “He only saw it for the first time when the Courier Gazette published portions of it.”

Guptill’s recreation of the events can be found under Edward Bennett’s listing in Findagrave.com

Even though the story had a tragic conclusion, there is still one more mystery to be solved: Where are the gravestones of Edward Bennett and his children?

“I spent a lot of time in the library and the probate court,” said Guptill. “I wanted to see if the documents included buying a gravestone, and it did. I still think there is a gravestone underneath the ground by that cement base that still needs to be discovered.”

For more stories about Maine Old Cemetery Association findings visit moca-me.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—For the last 30 years, Janet Halsey has lived on Pearl Street in Camden and has been handing out candy for trick-o-treaters for Halloween. But more than a decade ago, residents of Pearl Street began to see a significant jump in the number of costumed revelers visiting their neighborhood. With its safe sidewalks and inviting, suburban neighborhood, Pearl Street—through word of mouth — became a hot spot, the place to seek candy for Halloween, prompting the Camden Police Department to close off the mile-long street to traffic for several hours each October 31.

Now, each year, approximately 1,200 children and teens take to Pearl Street with their pillowcases and plastic pumpkins and for residents, that typically adds up to spending about $100 on candy, a prohibitive expense for those who live on a fixed income.

For the last nine years, Halsey and other volunteers, Jane LeFleur, Pam Elliot, and Lori and Chris Van Dusen have been collecting candy to distribute to Pearl Street residents in advance of Halloween to ease the burden.

“My neighbor has a clicker for every piece of candy that goes out the door and for the last four or five years, that number has gone up to more than 1,000,” said Halsey.

“I love it, but not everyone loves it because it’s expensive,” said Elliot. “In Belfast, Cedar Street is like our Pearl Street for Halloween, but they receive assistance from the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce; whereas we rely on our community to donate some candy.”

Halsey said for the last several years the new owners of Clean Bee Laundry in the Reny’s Plaza, Ryan and Candace Lawrence, of Camden, took over the initiative from the previous owners to serve as a drop-off point for candy.

“I’ll pop in there a couple days a week before Halloween and pick up the candy, then we, volunteers will let the residents of Pearl Street know that if they need any more candy, to come down to my house and pick it up,” said Halsey.

Pearl Street is closed at 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. American Legion Post 30 offers their lot at the corner of Pearl Street and John Street for trick-or-treat parking. 

For more information on the Candy Drive, visit: Pearl Street Halloween.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Halloween falls on a Thursday this month, which sort of splits the difference between both weekends in terms of where the best Halloween party is happening. We have combed through every cool event going on to bring you a comprehensive rundown of Halloween-themed events. From parties to art, from poetry to theater, and to haunted houses, we've color-coded these events for Adults and Parents and Kids to make finding them easier. Don’t forget that there is also a Candy Drive for the Camden and Belfast neighborhoods.

Thursday, October 24

· Adults: Author Greg Latimer hosts a free talk “Discovering the Paranormal” at 6:30 p.m. at Rockland Public Library.on his recent expedition to 108 spooky spots in 12 states and 21 cities for MysteriousDestinationsMagazine.com. His talk is free.

Parents and Kids: Camden Public Library is hosting a Halooween Spooktacular for all ages from 6 to 7 p.m. Come in costumes and attend the free family-friendly event with stories, crafts and games.

Friday, Oct. 25

· Adults and Parents and Kids: Fright at the Fort’s theme this year is “20 Years of Fright” and this is the last weekend for it. Experience the most terrifying frights and scariest sights from the past 20 years. Goes 5:30 - 9:00 pm and repeats on October 26. Arrive no later than 8:30 pm to experience the full 20+ minute tour.  Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for kids under 12. Pro-tip: it’s absolutely worth it to beat the lines and get advance express tickets at FrightXTix.com. Additional information on Fright at the Fort may be found on the fortknox.maineguide.com 

Parents and Kids: Camden Public Library presents “Pumpkin Palooza.” Come to the Amphitheatre between 12 to 6 p.m. with a carved pumpkin or  carve one between 4 and 5 p.m. There will be family, teen and adult contests.and all pumpkins will be lit at 7 p.m., after which, they can be taken home.

Saturday, Oct. 26

Parents and Kids: Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Rockland is hosting its free annual children’s community Halloween event from 5 to 7 pm. Following a party with games, crafts and refreshments, little people will go from trunk to trunk “Trick or Treating.”

· Adults: Old Alewives in Warren is hosting a Halloween Barnyard bash from 6 to 9 p.m. Live musical performance from 'Memento Morier: Songs From Old, Weird America' featuring murder ballads and spooky country songs. Costume prizes and a fire pit.

· Adults: Fog Bar and Cafe in Rockland is hosting a Monster Mash Halloween with live music from The Mullet Makers from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

· Adults: No Guts No Glory at Trackside Station in Rockland is holding a $100 cash prize for best costume. Ages 21 plus. $5 cover. Goes from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.

· Adults: Shiny Objects is playing at the Rockland American Legion from 7 to 11 p.m. Costume contest, live music, great food and drinks, fun and games. $10 for non-members.

· Adults:  Maine Sport Outfitters in Rockport is hosting “Boos and Brews,” a free literary event from 5 to 7 p.m. with scary stories read by Maine authors, beer from local breweries and wine from Cellardoor Winery. There will be door prizes as well.

· Adults: Neighborhood in Belfast is throwing a Halloween Hoedown with DJ Luke McDuke from 9 p.m. on. No cover; costumes encouraged.

· Adults: Front Street Pub in Belfast is having its annual Halloween Party: two rooms with two DJs. Costumes; photobooth. No cover. 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Monday Oct. 28

· Adults: Dave Keller Band, playing the annual Halloween dance night in the upstairs music room of Time Out Pub, 275 Main St. Doors open 6 p.m., and admission is $15 at the door.

Thursday, Oct. 31

Parents and Kids: The Vose Library is holding its annual Trunk or Treat event in the library parking lot. Everyone is encouraged to wear costumes and enjoy Halloween-themed displays, candy and festive costumes. Parking is available curbside on Common Road and the library parking lot will be closed to traffic. Those who wish to decorate their vehicles for this event contact:  785-4733 or voselibrary.org

 Adults and Parents and Kids: Rockland Shakespeare Society presents “Enter Ghost” in the Community Room of the Rockland Public Library at 2:00 p.m. Be afraid. Be very afraid-- "Enter Ghost" is a collage of ghost-scenes from Shakespeare's plays, ranging from spine-tingling to hair-raising to downright creepy,

· Adults and Parents and Kids: The Lincolnville General Store is hosting a community Halloween party at the General Store, where there will be a photo booth. Come dressed up and participate in our annual costume contest, which includes three categories: best individual, best group and best baby (which can include one adult). Then the Mallet Brothers Band will play live. Starts at 7 p.m.

· Adults and Parents and Kids: Bring the kids and join us for Threshers Brewing Co.’s first annual trunk or treat at 5 p.m. They still need volunteers to hand out candy and decorate the trunks of cars in a spooky and creative way. The best trunk will win a prize! Open Mic stars shortly after, so stick around for some great tunes.

· Adults: and Parents and Kids: Thriller Flash Mob. Each year Kinetic Energy Alive teaches the community how to do Michael Jackson’s Thriller Dance in six weeks and takes to the streets on Halloween night to dance right in the middle of Pearl Street, a well known trick-or-treating community gathering area starting at 7 p.m. To learn more about how to join visit: Thriller Dance

· Adults: The Thomaston Flagship Cinemas is hosting a free screening of Halloween; first come-first serve from 9 to 11 p.m.

· Adults: This Halloween, celebrate the macabre, the morbid, and the melancholy at The Pour Farm Brewery in Union with the 2nd annual Edgar Allen Poe-try Slam. Read a spooky poem you wrote, bring a classic, or just come out and drink a few beers with the ghosts.  Goes from 6 to 9 p.m.

· Adults: Ghosts of Fort Knox Tour. On the scariest night of the year, join professional ghost hunters Halloween night on an after-hours guided tour as they investigate the rooms and dark passages of Fort Knox. More than just a tour with tales, the 207 Paranormal Ghost Trackers use state of the art technology and techniques in search of ghosts and paranormal phenomena. Limited capacity of 30 persons (minimum age18 or 12 if accompanied by an adult). Bring a flashlight! Starts at 8 p.m.

· Adults: “What Really Scares You?” Former Army officer, educator, and writer P.G. Smith will offer a lighthearted, interactive discussion at Camden Public Library at 7 p.m. on how and why horror literature thrills, provokes, and entertains us. Using short readings from the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and his own work, Smith will explore the dynamics of mood, suspense, and mystery.

If we’ve missed anything, please email any corrections/updates with the subject line:“Halloween Rundown” to news@penbaypilot.com

Gabby Schulz lives deep in the woods of Maine—it’s as far away from the city he can get.

As one of 10 participants on the floating artist residency in my story, Ten artists, two canoes and ten days down The Penobscot River, Schultz’s particular brand of artwork struck me. I thought I’d see photographs, poems, and sculptures at the artists’ reception (and I did, all good) but I didn’t expect to see hand-drawn comics with a biting tone.

Here’s an older comic, titled The only thing I know, that provides a window into Schultz’s mindset. 

“I drew that comic while I was a working stiff in Chicago for a couple years,” he said. “Chicago is a really big city with a truly antagonistic stance toward nature or beauty of any kind. Every weekend I'd go mushroom hunting, which meant I had to ride my bike five miles to the center of the Loop, then catch a commuter rail an hour out of town, as far out into the suburbs as I could get, then bike another half an hour to the nearest green area on the map. It was hilarious to me that it took this much effort just to see grass without Roundup on it, but it was the only joy I could find out of life there. After a couple years of this ritual I did some research, and I learned the reason this one natural area hadn't been built up like the rest of Illinois was because it was the (unmarked) dumping ground for the world's first nuclear reactor. I guess this story is supposed to illustrate how desperate I was during this time to get to a place with trees instead of buildings, or plants instead of people, and how that must mean it's pretty important for humans to be outside of cities. But also it’s so fascinating and sad how hard it is to describe something so essential in any meaningful or articulate way.”

Part of his bio gives a clue into his rationale. “I've embraced ‘gallows humor,’ a lifelong friend of comics, as the only sane response to the forces hurrying our own kaleidoscopic collapse, and I see absurdity as one of our few remaining pathways to beauty and joy.”

“At this point it seems pretty self-evident that the world as we know it is dying, fast, and this can make an artist a little philosophical about what concepts like ‘obligation’ or ‘engagement’ or ‘posterity’ might really mean anymore,” he explained. 

He applied for and secured a spot on the Village Canoe in August, an experience, he said that took him out of the woods and into a communal experiment with strangers, which is not always a comfortable prospect when one works alone.

“Overall it was just what I expected—a lot of paddling, some good nature communion, a little chaos, and some wonderful bonding with strangers,” he said. “The communal experience was definitely the highlight of the trip, as the group was such a great combination of different people with different focuses and interests and personalities — and yet, no one was pretentious or overbearing or unavailable or boring. We all gelled really nicely, and from what I hear that's a bit rare with a bunch of artists.

“I was very curious to find out how other artists might be processing our changing relationship with the natural world, but I'm not sure anyone knows what to do now. With the fresh awareness of the Sixth Extinction hanging over us, communing with nature suddenly feels fleeting, unreal. Any inspiration I can draw from wilderness now feels more like finding ways to say goodbye -- to the ocean, animals or plants soon to be altered forever by climate change. It makes one feel obligated to document this very special moment in our history — likely a final chapter, as I see it — but that's also a hell of a thankless job. You have to laugh to keep from crying, and luckily that's a talent cartoonists have honed for generations now.”

Out of his 10-day paddling and camping experience, Schultz created three comics for the final artists’ show; one titled Biolumes, one titled Time Capsule and one, untitled featuring a hug.

“I guess the Biolumes one is pretty self-explanatory, but the Time Capsule comic was just a statement of despair on everything,” he said. “You have a wonderful trip camping on some islands, but really, how is it contributing to stemming the tide of doom? Even with our minimal impact, how can we hope to ally ourselves with the natural world instead of further poisoning it? Looking at our efforts with a wide lens, it all just feels so hopeless, and decades from now our consumptions and comforts will probably seem criminally dumb, and all our big plans to save the world is just so much comically impotent hubris. Ironically, I feel like if more people were willing to see ourselves in this way, maybe meaningful change could happen. But while holding my breath waiting for that to happen, maybe it's all i can do to at least try to make us laugh at ourselves a little.”

For more information about Schultz’s work visit:  gabbysplayhouse.com and for more information about the project visit:villagecanoe.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

This time of year, cemeteries in Maine seem to affect two kinds of people: Those who zip by them as fast as they can while holding their breath and those who are drawn to them like moths to flame.

Everyone who is a member of the Maine Old Cemetery Association falls in the latter category.

Founded in 1968 by Dr. Hilda M. Fife of Kittery, MOCA developed out of Fife’s sheer interest in preserving the monuments and stones in a long neglected cemetery near her house.

Within the last 50 years, that interest in preserving old neglected cemeteries in Maine has grown statewide, with more than 800 members from 40 states and several Canadian provinces. Three meetings are held each year in various parts of Maine where the public is invited to hear speakers, tour local cemeteries, and learn about MOCA’s activities. 

Jessica Couture, vice president, is one of those who love spending time in cemeteries.

“I walk around in them every chance I get,” she said. “People are fascinated by cemeteries, whether it is the inscriptions, stories of the lives beneath the memorials or the architecture.”

The website lists many resources, including The Maine Inscription Project, started by Roland Jordan, which has an online database of more than a million inscriptions on gravestones all over Maine. As a benefit of their $7 yearly subscription, these records are accessible to members.

The importance of locating and preserving small cemeteries is akin to preserving local history. As the website states: Someone who lived far away with limited time on their hands would be hard pressed to visit (let alone find) a 200-year old family cemetery in the back field of an old deserted farmhouse located a half-mile off the Route 23 county highway road, and 100 feet beyond a cluster of oak trees and bushes, with nothing but a crude slate marker, engraved by hand, that is partially covered by the earth. 

“We discover of the existence of old rural cemeteries every day, whether it’s a few stones in the back woods of a farm someone stumbles across while hunting,” said Couture. “A lot of old cemeteries are all along ATV trails because those used to be the rural roads of Maine. You’ll be riding along an old ATV trail and boom come across a neatly trimmed cemetery area with flags in the ground. And we record everything we find even if the directions to get to it were ‘turn left by Mr. Smith’s house and follow the old oak tree by the path’ to get there.”

Members of MOCA often double as amateur genealogists, often submit stories about the deceased that they find through old newspaper archives and library records through MOCA’s Stones With Stories page.

One of the major component to MOCA is to educate the public on how to preserve and care for old monuments.

“A lot of people don’t realize that there are proper cleaning techniques for old gravestones,” said Couture.  “For example, never clean with a wire brush or bleach of you risk irreparable damage

Members of MOCA can read more stories about certain gravestones and cemeteries in MOCA’s newsletter and on their website.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Glaze: (v) overlay or cover (food, fabric, etc.) with a smooth, shiny coating or finish

A glaze is the perfect fall metaphor as autumn’s rich browns, reds and yellows overlay some 90 percent forested Maine, so we got to thinking, what other kinds of fall glazes can we find in everyday things?

Molasses Glaze Donut by Willow Bake Shoppe

“The molasses donut is one of our cult favorites,” said co-owner and ‘Donut Technician’ David Joseph. “From what I understand, we’re one of the few bakeries that makes them with real Crosby’s Molasses. The glaze itself is made from powdered sugar, corn syrup, molasses and almond extract. And the donut is a fry cake made with every spice we have in the building. I had a employee describe it in the best way: ‘If you ever wanted to know what Christmas in a bag tasted like, that’s the molasses donut.’ We used to have this one woman who’d call every day and want to know if still we had them. If we ran out, she was irate to say the least. It got to the point where when her number popped up on caller ID, the staff would look at the shelves and if our molasses donut wasn’t there, they’d let the call go to voicemail.”
willowbakeshoppe.com

Thumb Cup with Orange Glaze by Simon van der Ven

“That bright orange is new to my glaze palette,” said artist Simon van der Ven. “It’s a commercial pigment with my own glaze formula. Essentially, a glaze functions to seal the clay, but I chose to leave the exterior of the cup unglazed, and contrast it by making the inside bright and glossy. The thought of developing an orange glaze came to me as a way of supporting the Netherlands Women's national football team who were playing the the World Cup. However, the resulting color and the way it works with this form (and a few others), goes well beyond team spirit. It really sparked something in me. As a result, I'm making a series of these hand-formed, thumb cups  for which I plan to develop other glazes that can harmonize with the orange.” 
vandervenstudios.com

Grilled Maine Salmon with Maple Glaze and Sea Salt

Cookbook author Kathy Gunst traveled to Alaska and discovered how delicious fresh-caught Alaskan salmon can be. She initially developed her Salmon with Maple Glaze and Sea Salt recipe with the Alaskan fish.

“The salmon in Alaska is extraordinary, but I also think wild Maine salmon is just as good—it’s meaty and slightly sweet. The maple syrup brings out that sweetness and that sort of sticky, glaze gives it texture and gorgeous color.”

Her recipe can be found in her book. Simmer maple syrup down to a thick glaze and then brushed onto salmon filets. Use coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper and place the salmon under the broiler or on the grill. The salmon is basted twice with the reduced syrup. The result: moist salmon with a sweet and slightly salty glaze.

(Notes from a Maine Kitchen/Down East Books)

BELFAST—On any given day, students at the Waldo County Technical Center can be found practicing CPR on infant mannequins in an Emergency Medical Services class, or working on small engines, or perhaps practicing how to create logos in the Graphic Design program, along with a host of other practical real-life skills the Center offers.

But jamming out in a professional recording studio? That’s new.

Thanks to the vision of WCTC Director Kevin A. Michaud, musical mentor, Tim Woitowitz, and four former students of the Building Construction program, a fully kitted out recording studio was built within the Center this year. WCTC serves students of Belfast, Searsport and Mount View high schools.

Michaud, a rock and blues musician, initially constructed a makeshift “jam room” on an upper mezzanine adjacent to the small engine —a walled-off space for staff to blow off steam, and play some music. and bass. All of the instruments —drums, some piano, some guitars — were donated.

“My son and I are in a band and we’d play up here,” said Michaud. “Then, come to find out, some other staff revealed they were also musicians. We have a custodian who plays bass; another teacher plays piano. We’d come up at lunch time or waiting for a night event to take place and just play.”

Based on Woitowitz’ donation of musical instruments and equipment, this led to the next idea.

“I approached my board and asked them, ‘What if we built a recording studio in house with fundraising and without any cost to the taxpayer, providing when done, we’d charge the public $40 an hour through the Adult Ed division for a recording session?’” he said.

The board responded to the proposal with enthusiasm and four students began construction on the 16 x 20-foot studio with all of the pine donated by local business Robbins Lumber.

The recording studio has an open audio engineer space, which means it is not secluded behind a glassed-in booth to capitalize on the natural acoustics. The room can accommodate up to eight or nine musicians and comes equipped with vintage instruments (every single one donated) such as a 1962 Gretsch drum kit and a Hammond B3 organ. A multitude of acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitars, keyboards, and amps fill the room.

“We’re just at the point where we will be able to offer this recording studio to the public at a fraction of the cost it would be to record a studio in Portland,” said Michaud. “We hope to be open for business around the holidays.”

Michaud said the studio can record in analog, run the recording back in digital and then mix it any way the person wants.

“This is ideal for local musicians, people wanting to record a birthday song, any thing you can think of,” he said. “Our goal is to capture the sound as naturally as possible. For instance, if a guitarist wants to achieve a Jimi Hendrix sound, they can actually play through a Marshall amplifier.”

Since the studio was built, Michaud said many students have now approached him with the interest in playing music. And that interest in itself could lead to another educational program in the future.

Michaud is big on weaving in the inter-connectedness of WCTC’s programs, and so, some of the quilts on the walls that function as sound baffles will eventually be made by students in the Stitching Construction class. Additionally, students in the Graphic Design program can create CD covers in Photoshop/Illustrator and they will even be able to press the CDs on location, providing a one-stop-shop service through the school for musicians. Michaud, along with his three sons, known as The KahunaKAM Band, will test out the new system themselves recording their first album together this fall/winter.

As for live concerts? Michaud has already utilized the Student Center as a performance space adjacent to the Culinary program’s World Café for musical fundraising opportunities.

“People can’t believe this space is open to the public for little to no cost,” he said. “I just ask to allow our Culinary Program cater the event and it works out great for everyone.”

For more information visit waldotech.org or or contact Michaud directly: kmichaud@waldotech.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PROSPECT —Fort Knox’s annual Halloween event ‘Fright at the Fort’ is listed as one of America’s Spookiest Halloween Attractions, and this year, Maine’s biggest haunted attraction is pulling out all of the stops for its 20th anniversary.

Last year, Dean L. Martin, took over as the new executive director following the untimely passing of Leon Seymour the founder of ‘Fright.’

In our story, Fright At The Fort carries on without founder ‘Halloween King’ Leon Seymour this year, Dean only had six weeks to put on the Stephen King-themed weekend events, something Seymour always wanted to see realized.

“We’ve done a number of themes throughout the years, most recently, honing in more on Maine themes, but for our 20th anniversary, we’re going to be bringing back some of the best props, actors and decorations from the ‘greatest hits’ so to speak,” said Martin. “We’ve got ‘Out Of This World,’ alien theme, ‘Water Over The Damn,’ which are underwater graves, ‘Pet Sematary,’ and clowns from the movie  ‘IT’. We’ll also have ‘What’s Bugging You?,’ the theme of all things creepy crawly, the ‘Zombie Apocalypse, and much more.”

Martin has taken his role with this event seriously and said he has even more surprises up his sleeve. For example, the corn maze, a regular feature within the spooky chamber of the Fort will be more elaborate this year.

“Instead of going through a U-shaped corn maze, we’ve configured it different, where there will be more twists and turns as though it is a real maze,” he said.

Another return will be The Pig Butcher.

“Fans of this animatronic will be pleased that we are bringing him back,” he said. “But he won’t be in the same place. We’re going to mix it up. “

Last year, rumors that Stephen King was planning to attend drew an unprecedented number of people to Fort Knox.

“We did some ads on WKIT, which is a Stephen King radio station and many people took that to mean that Stephen King was actually sponsoring the event. But, of course, he wasn’t.”

Still, the rumor didn’t hurt attendance.

“We broke all records with 15,050 people coming through on all five nights last year,” said Martin, noting that their previous record in  2015, was 10,000 people going through.

“The night of October 20 last year, we had 5,000 people come through, which stopped traffic in both directions for about five miles and two hours.”

Most of the people coming through are Mainers from all over the state.

All proceeds go toward Fort Knox’s operations, conversation and preservation costs throughout the year. Breaking even with netting about $100,000 from ticket sales has allowed Martin and the board of Fort Knox to tackle a roof repair badly needed for roughly the same amount of money. “The whole reason we put Fright at the Fort on is to raise money to maintain the Fort,” he said. “But we’ve also allotted a certain amount to the budget to invest in new props and decorations to keep it fresh. ”

The dates for Fright at the Fort are October 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Gates close at 8:45 so come early. Tickets sold at the door are $12 for adults and $6 for ages under 12. Advance Express Tickets $15 adults, $7.50 for under 12.  Express Tickets allow brave Fright Fans to skip the line to begin their tour.

Related: The ghoulish underbelly of Fright at the Fort

Related: The Freak Show is going to scare you silly

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—The Watershed School, an independent high school, held an open house on Thursday, October 3, at its newly renovated building at One Free Street in Camden.

People expecting to see a typical high school found that the space, just like the school, is anything but typical.

“The space is designed to support innovative and collaborative learning experiences that connect classroom with community,” said Will Galloway, Head of School. Classes are project-based, and students have the freedom to sign in and out of school as fits their schedules. They know this is a privilege, and because of that, there is mutual respect and trust between faculty and students.

It has taken two years to renovate since Watershed School bought the property, which previously housed The Seton School. Spanning three floors, the building hosts an open common room on the main floor, an updated art studio on the first floor, a new Marine Science lab and a Climate Studies Center on the third floor. There are also several other classrooms on the third floor.

Watershed School bought the building in November of 2017, and after initiating a successful fundraising campaign to renovate the building, involved the faculty, students, and the Board of Trustees in the design process.

“The new building allows us to grow our program and student population, said Ronni Arno Blaisdell, Admissions & Outreach Director.  “The layout now reflects our culture. It’s welcoming, focuses on community, and offers the flexibility for an innovative academic program.”

The school allows its communal spaces to be used by other groups in the community such as the Town of Camden Energy Committee, after-school workshops and tutoring, and the middle school group, ChangeMakers. 

Approximately 50 people showed up to see the space and hear Galloway speak about how Watershed School connects classroom with community, along with current and former students, who spoke about how Watershed supported their individual interests and success in college. Camden’s Energy Committee Chair Anita Scott highlighted the positive impact Watershed School has had on the community, especially the Energy Committee and preparing for climate change.

For more information about the school visit: watershed-school.org or call 207-230-7341.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LEVANT—Fall is road trip time and one of the coolest destinations we’ve seen in a long time is the Treworgy Family Orchard corn maze that changes its five-acre corn fields every year into a spectacular interactive maze.

This family-owned farm in Levant, established by Gary and Patty Treworgy in 1983, was just a pond and a cornfield before they eventually transformed it into an apple orchard, farm, petting zoo and five-acre corn maze. It is considered the oldest corn maze in Maine.

But it’s their artistic rendering of that corn field every fall that has garnered worldwide attention. Their award-winning corn maze has been recognized by USA Today Reader’s Choice Award. Having won first place for their Corn Ships Ahoy (a pirate ship) maze in 2018, this year they won second place for their Blueberries for Sal design, based on the cover of the iconic 1949 children’s picture book.

“My brother-in-law, Jonathan Kenerson, has some really artistic talent and every year we come up with an idea of what might make a nice maze with a Maine theme or a farm theme.” said Matt Pellerin, Treworgy’s Director of Agriculture, and who is is the son in law of Gary and Patty.

In previous years, some 60,000 corn plants had been transformed into Paul Bunyan, The Good Knight and Dragon, a Celtic labyrinth and many more designs since 2001, when the original design was a giant popped piece of corn. Inside each maze there are stations with riddles.

“Today there are actually corn maze companies that come in and design and plant your maze for you, but we started doing this before those companies existed,” said Pellerin. “We developed our own methods and in the spring it takes our crew about two days to basically put a grid out into the field, carve out pathways and begin planting around that.”

Pellerin said they never do an aerial check of the design until it is complete, then usually take some photos from an airplane.

“Up until the last two or three years I didn’t know how all the details would turn out until we got up into the airplane,” he admitted. “And I’d be wondering, did I do it right?”

Pellerin said the corn is not actually eaten, because by the time it grows ten feet tall in the late fall, it is inedible and tough. They simply cut down all the stalks and use it for green compost for the next season.

Even though this is a massive labor of love, the farm sees thousands of visitors a year, which helps with the farm’s bottom line.

For thrill seekers who want an extra dose of Treworgy also offers four Night Maze dates in October 18, 19 25, 26 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

“A lot of corn mazes in the fall focus on a scary theme, but we are family-friendly so it isn’t haunted or scary,” said Pellerin. “When I was 16, I’d go out at night and run around a corn maze with my friends and it was a lot of fun, so I wanted to recreate that.”

A hayride and candy treats are part of the maze.

The maze takes about 45 minutes to complete. The maze costs $8 for children and $9 for adults.  Tickets include a free small ice cream.

For more information visit: treworgyorchards.com/cornmaze to see images of past years’ corn maze designs.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — It’s fitting that the first day of October 2019 should be dreary and rainy for it’s the perfect backdrop to introduce best-selling author Tess Gerritsen’s latest novel, The Shape of Night, which releases today.

The novel, based loosely in Midcoast Maine, is Gerritsen’s first in the classic horror/paranormal genre of the haunted house. The story revolves around Ava, a woman trying to outrun her past in Boston. She settles in to a isolated seaside mansion on a Maine peninsula. Brodie’s House once belonged to a Captain Jeremiah Brodie, and soon Ava realizes he has never left.

The rest of the description follows: “Even as Ava questions her own sanity, she eagerly looks forward to the captain’s ghostly visits. But she soon learns that the house she loves comes with a terrible secret, a secret that those in the village don’t want to reveal: Every woman who has ever lived in Brodie’s Watch has also died there.”

In 2016, Pen Bay Pilot spoke with her son, Josh Gerritsen, whom, along with Tess, wrote and filmed their first horror film together, Island Zero. See that story here. 

Gerritsen, who is currently taking a holiday in Italy this week, allowed us a peek into the novel’s origins and influences via email. Here’s a Q&A with the Camden-based author.

Pilot: What horror movie genre did you always like and what movies were ones that stood out in your mind?

Gerritsen: My love for horror films goes across genres, from psychological thrillers like the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers to SF horror such as Alien, to classic haunted house stories. And I absolutely loved Jordan Peele’s recent film Us.  The only films I shy away from are those that rely on sheer gore or are simply slasher films.

Pilot: Who or what inspired this particular tale?

Gerritsen: Decades ago, I wrote a horror screenplay about a woman who falls in lust with the demon-ghost inhabiting her house. The script sat in my closet all this time — until I happened to pull it out and read it again. There was a novel in this story, I thought, so I used it as the jumping- off place for The Shape of Night. Only this time, the heroine is a woman struggling with shame, the ghost may or may not be real, and the house has a disturbing history of women dying under its roof.

Pilot: Was Island Zero your first screenplay? Will you be working on a screenplay for this one?

Gerritsen: I had a screenplay produced as a TV movie of the week (Adrift) in 1993. I’m not working on a script for The Shape of Night,, but Josh and I plan to begin work on another horror film in 2021. My screenplay is based on my novel Bloodstream and it’s another story set in Maine.

Pilot: Did the experience of writing and working on that movie open up a whole new genre of storytelling for you? 

Gerritsen: I’m at a stage in my career where I just want to have fun and experiment and write stories I’m passionate about. The Shape of Night, was a story that combined elements of genres I love: gothic romance, horror, and suspense. My next novel will be something entirely different.

Pilot: Islands and coasts of Maine are third characters in many people's atmospheric novels. What do you love most about Maine's “dark side” that comes out in your latest novel?

Gerritsen: The wild seacoast, the isolation, and the insular nature of small towns all contribute to a sense that Maine is somehow a scary place. Those of us who live here know it isn’t, of course, but Maine writers love milking our scary reputation.

Pilot: Whose house did you glean your details from in order to create Brodie's Watch?

Gerritsen: It’s a composite of any number of old houses I’ve visited in Maine, including Norumbega Inn in Camden and several other B&Bs.

Pilot: Your main character Ava is running away from some tragedy but the synopsis doesn’t mention her profession. Yet she is in full investigative mode at the end. What does she do? Is she a similar character to Jane Rizzoli?

Gerritsen: Ava is a very troubled woman who makes her living as a food writer. She’s forced to investigate the history of Brodie’s Watch because she fears for her sanity. Is the ghost real or not? Is she imagining him? She’s afraid others will think she’s crazy, so it becomes her personal (and private) mission to find the answers — and prove to herself that the ghost is real.

Pilot: Will you be back for a Maine book tour for this book in October?

Gerritsen: I’m on holiday now, but when I get home I will do a signing in Camden (Owl & Turtle) on October 19. Then, a week later I leave for book tour in the UK, Holland, and Turkey.

For more information visit The Shape of Night

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE CENTER—Open since August, The Red Cottage, a crimson farmhouse store on 258 Main Street, is the latest business to add to the vitality of tiny Lincolnville Center. Co-owned by Janis Kay and her husband, Tom Sadowski, the home style store is marked by pops of red color everywhere—from the siding of the 1800s farmhouse to the red scooter under a red umbrella out front, to the red swing under the tree and a red watering can next to bountiful fall flowers.

Kay has been in the retail business for more than 50 years and it shows with her aesthetic inside the small two-story shop. Three rooms are appointed with a variety of items for the home and the garden.

“I had my first shop when I was 20,” she said. The one-bedroom house was renovated by her husband Tom, before they opened.

“We’re still renovating the back of the house, which will give us more room to expand to another room when done,” she said. “And next year, we’ll have an outdoor section.”

Kay offers linens, candles, clothing, bedding, ceramics, plants, botanical flowers, some kitchenware and gardening accessories, among other carefully selected items she has chosen from her travels.

“I specialize in textiles and items that enhance your home,” she said.

Right now, her decor is geared toward autumn harvest, but she said she will change the entire aesthetic, seasonally, once the holiday season begins.

Kay, who said she is retired, has the store open four days a week (Wed-Sat 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) The local word-of-mouth has already driven many in town to check it out.

Their permanent sign is still in the works.

“I just want people to realize we’re in Lincolnville Center, not Lincolnville Beach,” she said.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—When it comes to starting and running a business in Maine, Tabitha Blake Perry, owner of Crush Distributors, in Yarmouth, takes a look back on her humble beginnings and how far she’s come. She spoke Sept. 18 at the Midcoast Women’s Storyteller Series in Rockland.

Inspiration

Born in Maine, Tabitha Blake Perry moved to California in her 20s to live in California’s wine county, and there, worked every aspect of the job from production to sales.

While in Napa, she began working for a successful distribution company, McNeil Wines, a move that allowed her to career to flourish as she worked throughout Northern California, establishing relationships with professionals in all facets of the industry.

One such connection was her neighbor, Marc Imbert, who happened to take over his family’s winery in Corsica and introduced Blake Perry to several producers in the Languedoc Region in France. During that time, she rose to be the company’s top sales representative.

All of this education about the industry was getting stored away for something bigger—but she didn’t know it yet.

When she moved back to Maine in 2008 to be closer to her family, she got a job at Back Bay Grill in Portland as a server.

“I sold wine in California and wanted to live in Maine, so I felt as though I had to make it work,” she said. “The year when I moved back East, we were in a recession. Nobody was hiring, so I decided it was only fitting that I use some of the relationships that I had in California to sell wine for myself in my home state.”

Challenges

During her first year as a wine rep of her own newly formed company, Blake Perry did everything from storing the wine at a storage facility to delivering wine out of the trunk of her car. Tasting wines and choosing them selectively was her first priority.

“We choose wines with a sense of place, from the vineyard to the shelf, and we want to be confident that we are supporting families,” she said. “I select wines that truly speak to where they are from and the people who put their hearts in to them.”

Little did she know, she was in exactly the right place at the right time in the right industry.

Today, there are nearly 21 wineries across the state of Maine, comprising a list that includes mead makers, as well as cideries. This relatively young and growing industry has burgeoned over the last 20 years and Blake Perry’s company has grown right along with it. Her company is predominately female and represents a lot of female wine producers, as well as producers from all over the world.

Her biggest obstacle is to stop herself from “trying to do it all”— something all mothers with careers know all too well.

“Balancing motherhood with a career is my biggest challenge,” she said. “Knowing when it is time to turn off the computer and the phone and just be 100% present — I still struggle with that, because I could work around the clock. However, my boys are 3 and 5, I want to enjoy them as much as possible.”

Another challenge comes from being the female owner of a company in an industry that has been historically male.

“I was in Europe on a buyer’s trip,” she recalled.  “I was tasting at a winery and I loved all their wines so much, I was eager to sell them in Maine. I openly said in our tasting group: ‘These wines are truly special. I love them and think we can do really well with them in Maine.’ The winemaker looked at me and said, ‘That is great; please be sure to tell your boss.’”

Today, Crush Distributors offers more than 400 wine brands and has seven sales reps all over the state, a feat that speaks to the perseverance of a micro-business into a full-fledged company. With Maine growing concurrently as one of the best foodie destinations in the nation, there is no shortage of good wine to go with it.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—The little garage sitting next to The Smoothie Shack at 46 Elm Street became available recently when friends and business partners Ariela Kuh and Molly O’Rourke each saw her own vision of how it could be used. The new business, both small bar/restaurant and art showroom, is called Betty Forever,  inspired by a collaborative exhibition they both had at The Steel House, Rockland in 2018.

The name is an homage to the artist Betty Woodman. 

On Saturday, September 15, the garage doors rolled up in a soft opening with grey light washing in over tables of Kuh’s artfully arranged ceramic ware, ANK Ceramics.

Kuh moved her studio to the back of the garage, where she works full time running her ceramic business. A small annex near the entrance serves as a permanent showroom for her work.

Meanwhile, O’Rourke has plans for the open, reverberant space as a small bar/restaurant and event space. They first had to renovate the garage with a new paint scheme, a built in bar with wine refrigerators and a small functional kitchen hidden by a demi wall.

“Ariela and I are good friends and we’ve each worked in the art and food worlds,” said O’Rourke. “We were looking for a flexible, open downtown space, so when we got word of the garage coming up for rent, we knew this was the right spot.”

“Personally I envision the space as a multi-faceted art and food venue geared toward our local friends and community,” she said.

“I currently run my own event design and planning business, so I'm excited to be able to make the space available for private events such as birthdays, gatherings, rehearsal dinners, and work functions,” said O’Rourke. “The venue will also be open as a bar/restaurant a few nights a week. I hope it will fill a nice little niche in the local Camden scene.”

The event space has the capacity of 48 people. The acoustics are very good within the space too, lending itself to more artist events in the future. Kuh and O’Rourke recently hosted a book launch party for the release of Echo Mask, a photo book created by local photographer and friend Jonathan Levitt.  

“We’re going to be having a series of openings so stay in touch with us on our website or Instagram page,” said O’Rourke.

For more information visit: bettyforever.com / @bettyforevermaine on Instagram

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

As we wind down from beautiful 70-degree days into cooler 60-degree days, hints of color are appearing on trees as Mother Nature whips out her paint-by-numbers. Checking the old Fall Foliage Report, here’s a rundown on where to take a road trip in the coming weeks.

“Typically, northern Maine (Zones 6 and 7) reaches peak conditions the last week of September into the first week of October. The rest of the states progression of color will start occurring from north to south in mid-October. Coastal Maine typically reaches peak conditions mid-to-late October.”

Maine Highlands

Head up through Bangor to find Etna Orchard to start, to Conant Apple Orchards. With more than 1,000 apple trees and 20 varieties, this family-owned farm makes their own candied apples and fresh cider as well. Then it’s a liesurely hour-drive up back roads to get to Turning Page Farm, a microbrewery in Monson. If you love farms in the fall, this is a two-fer, as in not only will you get to enjoy a small batch brew, you’ll get some goats to gander while doing so. They’ve got artisanal goat cheese and milk as well as two microbrews on draft, a red ale and a pale ale.

Down East and Acadia

Roberts’ Orchard is a small, family-owned and operated apple orchard located in Poland. As you wind your way up to Down East, stop off the beaten path first to pick your own apples (on a cash and carry basis) and pick up some of the hand-pressed apple cider at the packing house storefront before picking up Route 1 over to Strong Brewing Co. in Sedgwick.

Like so many breweries in Maine, Strong brewing Co. all started with leaving the corporate life combined with serious home brewing hobby. In 2012, they started Maine’s first and the nation’s third “community supported brewery (CSA) by selling shares. Try the Bluff Head, an American Brown Ale named for a nearby beautiful trail with a 500-foot bluff.

Kennebec Valley

Sandy River Apples in Mercer, is nestled along the banks of the Sandy River, and this orchard, which produces more than 40 varieties of apples, is now open seven days a week to pick your own or grab a bag of already picked. This orchard was established in 1852 and the Fenton family has run it ever since.

After that, a short hop over to Skowhegan will bring you to Bigelow Brewing Co. Their tasting room offers locally sourced brews and wood fired pizzas. Try the Jailbreak Chili stout for a seasonal brew with a kick.

Want to see more brew and apple road trips? See our related story from 2018: Three leaf-peeping, apple-picking brew-tasting road trips for October

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST— Swanville filmmaker and artist Chris Battaglia had a bit of a “Field of Dreams” epiphany in 2017.  Working as a documentary filmmaker aboard two-month canoe expedition down the Mississippi River, he got to thinking. Why not form his own community on a canoe expedition and film it? And what better, than a pack of artists doing a canoe expedition in Maine?

It took several years for his “If you build it, they will come” vision to gel, and, after a series of grant applications, he finally had his dream in the form of a 10-day canoe trip from Bangor to Brooklin, Maine.

Deeming the social experiment “The Village Canoe,” Battaglia opened his vision to an international audience to apply to live, work and create upon two canoes for a summer week in Maine. Everyone would pull his or her weight, camp at night, and use the experience to foment creativity. And at the end, they would put on a multi-venue exhibition. 

“While I loved the idea of continuing to work on the Mississippi in the future, I live in Maine and wanted to make Maine the focus,” he said. “Being in a boat was the most creative I’ve ever been and I wanted to recreate that experience in Maine. Connecting people is what I love to do.”

Out of more than 30 artists who applied from around the world, Battaglia and a jury of three, chose and organized a group of 10 artists to be on the crew. Basically, it was an artist’s residency on the water, on the move.

“We had such an overwhelming response that we decided instead of six artists, which was our original intention, we’d go up to 10 artists, adding a second canoe,” he said.

The Kindling Fund in Portland provided the much-needed grant for the momentum. Originally, Battaglia wanted to build his own 30-foot canoe, but practicality required him to hire two canoes from The Penobscot Riverkeepers, each around 30-feet, for the initial voyage, along with a Registered Maine Guide.  Each participant was awarded a modest stipend. The canoes were loaded up with locally-sourced food, camping gear, (supplied by The Apprentice Shop, Hurricane Island Outward Bound, Maine Sport Outfitters and Apeiron Expeditions) paddles, and of course, each participant’s artist supplies.

The chosen applicants came down to eight women and two men, including Battaglia.

“One woman came from the Outer Hebrides in Scotland,” he said. “One woman came from Virginia. Three of the artists came from Massachusetts and the rest were from Maine. And the ages ranged from 20 to mid-40s. It skewed young, but an incredibly mature group of people. I felt that this group was really empathic and communicative. I think the expedition sort of self-selected this type of person.”

On August 23, all of the artists met at Nibezun, the Native-led organization committed to preserving and restoring Wabanaki traditions, slightly north of Old Town and began the trip with a get-to-know-you dinner. Early, the next morning, they set off on The Penobscot River in Brewer.

As with every maiden voyage into the unknown, there were challenges and triumphs.

“The challenges were mostly internal, being away from loved ones or home, but we all camped every night, assisted in the paddling, the chores,” said Battaglia. “We had this democratic summit on the second day, which ended up being a lot of group decision-making and an intense dialogue that positively shaped the group dynamics for the rest of the trip.”

For Battaglia, the main challenge was that he’d never done this kind of thing before and had to figure out not only how to lead the logistics of the trip as well as run a simultaneous artist’s program. Some of the participants would take photographs or notes while paddling during the day. The focus much of the day, was on navigation, communicating, and the logistics of the outdoor trip.  Each night, when they set up camp, the artists had downtime to create.

“People got out their watercolors; painting, drawing, started doing illustrations, photography, fiber arts, art with found materials,” he said.

At the point where The Penobscot River met the Penobscot Bay, the canoes took them to ocean-front islands as well. The group  camped each night on islands stewarded by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and the Maine Island Trail Association.

Now that the trip has concluded, the artists have all gone back home and have begun work on an art exhibition that will take place in Belfast from September 27 to 29. For more information visit: The Village Canoe.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—If you’re seeing spots this week, it’s no coincidence. International Dot Day kicked off September 15 and spans the entire week. Now in its 10th anniversary, Dot Day marks “a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, that began when Iowa teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009,” according to the website.

What’s so special about a dot? It’s a symbol and a metaphor for Reynolds’ story “of a girl who begins a journey of self-discovery after a caring teacher challenges her to ‘make her mark.’”

Shay founded International Dot Day in 2009 and more than 16 million people in 182 countries have found inspiration in this grassroots movement to focus on their creative potential and personal goals in order to “make a mark” on the world.

Educators at Camden Middle School are planning #Dot Day on Thursday, September 19.

“Every year at the beginning of the school year CRMS joins people from all over the world to celebrate Dot Day,” said Middle School teacher Kristen Anderson. “Our students and staff create a goal that they will try to achieve over the course of the school year. Last year the students focused their goal around kindness. This year the focus is on grit. Students will pick something they are passionate about, create a plan, and stick with it through frustrations and failure.”

See video.

Camden Public Library also got into the spirit of #Dot Day calling for an exhibit for local artists and creators early this month. Inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama, a contemporary artist known for her sculpture and installations, the library hosted a mini exhibition of dot-covered items in the Rotunda on September 16.

Kusama’s work ranged from child-like innocence to the provocative. Her 2011installation, “Obliteration Room,” invited members of the public to decorate a giant white room, and everything in it, with colorful dot stickers. In the counter culture movement of the 1960s, she organized a public human installation/performance art featuring naked party goers she painted in polka dots. This, and her inventive art earned her the moniker “The Priestess of Polka Dots.” It becomes obvious what she struggled with just to be true to her nature, that Kusana was brave enough to make her own mark in an era where it wasn’t considered “respectable” for a woman to be a contemporary artist.

Rockland Public Library also hosted its own version of “Dot Day” the second week of September with Children’s Librarian Katie Drago. One session involved “Dot Day” story time for pre-schoolers and another, a craft session for all ages.

“We used Q-tips to paint dots on rocks in sort of a mandala patterns to make them nice and dotty,” said Drago. “We talked about the meaning of Dot Day — how it’s all about being creative no matter how you feel and to remove self doubt. It’s the backbone of my Creative Art Crew session I host once a month at the library. It’s about letting yourself be creative. You don’t have to ‘feel like an artist’ to participate.”

Those who want to share what is inspiring them this week can upload their work to thedotclub.org/dotday/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Penobscot Falls is not a real town in Maine, but it is very much a real place in the latest 3-D artwork of artist Eric Green. It’s a train set town set in 1/48th scale surrounded by buildings, tiny people, rural settings and of course, electric trains.  It was constructed in a converted-attic room on the third floor of Green’s house in Belfast. Measuring nearly 14 feet across and taking up half the room, the mill town meets the ocean.

“The town motto is ‘A drinking town with a fishing problem,’ ” said Green.

Sprawling under tracks, every single building and tiny figurine, every piece of landscape and water feature have been made by hand by Green, a process that has taken three years.

“It’s only a quarter of the way done,” he said.

His plans include lengthening the track and carving tunnels through the walls of the house so that the train can circumnavigate several rooms on the attic floor. So, it will never leave the confines of this house; if anything, it will morph into the bones of the house. Very few people will be lucky enough to see this train set in person.

This isn’t just a train set; this is Green’s childhood world set in 1956, the year Green was born, on a day in October.  The trees are all turning muted yellow and orange colors. Having grown up in a mill town in Maine, Green recreated in miniature the down-and-out the buildings, the depressive atmosphere of a working town which doesn’t know that the primary engine that runs it–the mills– will eventually die out.

“This is the kind of world I grew up in, that I feel so comfortable in,” he said.

“From about the late 1920s and the 1960s there was this beautiful train equipment,” said Green. “The steam engines were masterpieces.”

In this town runs historically accurate Boston & Maine (B&M) trains, box cars, and passenger cars as they hum through tunnels and above water features on both two-foot gauge tracks which interchange with standard gauge tracks.

“I’ve always loved trains, but this place reminds me of my dad when we’d drive through the town underneath the tracks and get fresh bread from a tiny bakery, really early in the morning, when he was still sober,” said Green.

While he admits his relationship with his father was scarred, this train set and town is a tribute to the good times they had together. A column he wrote for PenBay Pilot provides much more context to he and his father’s shared hobby of building models.

“I started building train sets when I was seven years old,” he said.

It has been a lifelong hobby that he still derives deep satisfaction from.

“There are train nuts, people obsessed with trains and I think I know why,” he said. “When you’ve had a chaotic childhood, there is something calming to the relative levelness and predictability of those train tracks.  I really feel good when I’m riding on railroad tracks in real life.”

There is also something soothing to making a miniature train world piece by piece, tiny building by building.

In Green’s Penobscot Falls, there is a wee diner that looks as though it’s open til 3 in the morning; an adult bookstore, a decrepit pool room, a biker bar with two choppers out front that Green had to painstakingly craft by hand. There are two train platforms, numerous brick mill building, a hangar, even a small spot down by the bay—Hobo Jungle—where Green’s miniature bums drink and tells stories over a trash fire.

“These people want to leave Penobscot Falls,” he said of his diminutive characters.

Because he is also a writer, this town is populated with tons of back stories; each character, hand-forged by him, has a purpose and they all have a reason for being there. In the diner, for example, the cook is the bent over the hot grill and the one lone man sitting there (recalling the Edward Hopper painting) is based on a White Tower hamburger spot Green had once, while riding freights across the country, tried to patronize in Minneapolis when it closed at 1am.

The trains, with one flick of a switch, come to life and the passenger cars reveal tiny people in various poses, reading, staring out the window, while the boxcars chug along through tunnels over bridges.

“This has been an obsession,” he said. “It’s a world I want to live in and every time I go up there and spend some time on it, I’m right back in that world.”

All photos courtesy and ©Eric Green.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

MIDCOAST — It’s the 15th anniversary of Camden International Film Festival, and the small-town festival which debuted in 2005 has morphed into more than just a venue for documentaries; it has launched into Points North Institute —“a launching pad for the next generation of nonfiction storytellers.”

This year’s theme is all about power. Who controls it. Who suffers from the imbalance of it and all of the micro stories of our humanity in the throes of it.

It’s really about how we see other people through film and how do we understand the full story,” said Samara Chadwick, Senior Programmer, Points North Institute. 

This year’s “Shorts” a historically free (and low-cost) series of short films held in multiple venues over the five-day fest all have a theme as well.

“We got so many amazing short films and as we watched them, we began to group them around certain feelings, which naturally lent itself to the metaphor of the Tarot Deck, so each block of films has its own Tarot theme,” said Chadwick.  “For example, in the Strength block, these are films all about courage. But different forms; there’s quiet courage and courage that’s intuitive, feminine as well as really dangerous situations, but they all have this quality about being calm in the face of difficulty.”

The Dirigo Short Films are particularly attuned to Maine audiences. Dirigo is Maine’s state motto meaning “I direct” or “I lead.” It’s probably no small coincidence that “I direct” pertains to all of the Maine directors who have submitted their short films to CIFF. One film screening in particular, is hyper local.  Shoulder Season, a nine-minute film by director Halle Johns, looks as though it was shot at the Rockland Rec Center (whose adult teams were previously covered by Pen Bay Pilot)  The plot: “A recreational dodgeball league in Rockland pulls community members through Maine’s drawn-out winter.”

Chadwick notes that while many of the Shorts films revolve around difficult topics, she said, “The films themselves are not difficult to watch. There’s some really gorgeous images and some really funny moments; there’s a lot of lightness, and love and joy. What documentary can do is go beyond the headlines and show you the human connection.”

“Most of the filmmakers of the Shorts will also be in attendance after each block for Q & A,” she added.

The ticketed events usually sell out fast, so people might want to get their tickets as early as possible.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com