This Week's Haul, April 23: Clean air, hot dogs and ancient chickens
And: I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley
Good morning from eastern Maine, where this past weekend, I sadly did not get to see much of the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe - perhaps five minutes looking over a bridge downtown, before I made my way down the coast for a prior commitment. Thankfully, The Other Maine reader Bill Vassar sent me some excellent photos from a race watch party he attended in Bangor during which party-goers handed out red hot dogs to passing paddlers. Is this the most Maine thing I have seen in quite some time? Indeed it is. Thanks, Bill - looks like it was a hoot!
I did not know that the city of Bangor is allowed to tell the property owners what kinds of people they are allowed to have on their (private) property, but apparently that’s the case. After administration at John Bapst High School complained that St. John’s Episcopal Church was doing the Christian thing and letting a handful of homeless folks camp out there overnight, the city told the church no, they can’t let them do that. Did the city give those people and the church folks another option for places to stay? Nope. Aaaaaaaaand the cycle continues.
But, hey, bright side: according to the American Lung Association, Bangor has the cleanest air out of any city in the U.S. - the only city to make all three of the ALA’s lists, including for unhealthy ozone, short-term particle pollution, and lowest year-round concentrations of dangerous particle pollution.
Ooh la la! Un petit café-boulangerie inspired by the Breton region of France is opening in that bastion of culinary diversity: Jonesboro, Maine. La Laiterie has its grand opening today, and my oh my, those pastries look délicieuse. Always thrilled to have more laminated dough and proper baguettes in this neck of the woods - though please, I beg of someone, anyone: please open a French bakery in the Bangor region.
I am a bit of a “Saturday Night Live” obsessive. I’ve read countless books and articles about the show, have watched hundreds and hundreds of episodes (not every one but darn close to it) and I dissect new episodes with my husband as they air, like a Patriots fan during the playoffs. I doubt I will learn too much that’s revelatory from the new documentary, “Lorne,” about Lorne Michaels, beyond one thing I’m super excited to find out about: Michaels’ legendary Washington County compound in the town of Whiting. He’s spent summers there for decades. Employees make cheese and harvest wild blueberries sourced from his adjacent Josh Pond Farm. Friends like Paul Simon and Jimmy Fallon visit him there. Now that I’m excited to know about.
Read this beautiful excerpt from Maine scientist and nature writer Bernd Heinrich’s latest book. Woodcocks are the vibe right now.
I want to apologize for missing this vital piece of information in last week’s Haul. The world’s oldest chicken lives in Portland. Her name is Gertie, and she’s 15 years old. She’s blind and she likes jazz. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I just want to state for the record that I was a co-organizer of this event - a fundraiser for the Powerhouse Teen Center in Bangor, which briefly was a really cool thing in the area - and that I was the one that went to Sam’s Club and used my parents’ account there to purchase a bunch of aluminum pie pans, multiple 5 pound cans of chocolate pudding and huge tubs of Cool Whip in order to make the “pies.” I was cruelly left out of this 20-year-old cutline!
Music & Dance
April 23: BSO Piano Trio chamber concert, noon, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness, Bangor
April 24: Bangor Contradance featuring The Newell Family Band and caller Julie the Mirthful, 5:30 p.m., UU Society of Bangor, Bangor
April 24: Lennyfest 5, featuring Tree, DIYE, Confusatron, S.C.O.B.Y., Pig Boat, 7 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
April 24: Bangor Symphony Orchestra chamber music series presents “Tapestries from Europe to America,” 7 p.m., Gracie Theatre, Husson University, Bangor
April 25: Trawl, Oeuvre and Loki, 7 p.m., Hey Sailor, Searsport
April 26: Bangor Symphony Orchestra Masterworks series presents “Our American Story,” 3 p.m., Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono
Theatre & Comedy
April 23-26: Penobscot Theatre Company presents “The Garbologists,” new play, nightly at Bangor Opera House, Bangor
April 23-26: Belfast Maskers presents “A Girl In School Uniform Walks Into a Bar,” nightly, Basil Burwell Community Theatre, Belfast
April 24: Improv show from Queen City Improv and Improve InSanity, 6 p.m., Black Box Theatre, University of Maine, Orono
April 24-26: New Surry Theatre presents “The Shark is Broken,” new play about the making of “Jaws,” 7 p.m., Blue Hill Town Hall, Blue Hill
April 24: High Stakes House of Comedy presents Ray Harrington and Adam Hatch, 8 p.m., Hollywood Casino, Bangor
April 25: Delicious Drag Divas drag show, 7 p.m., House of Entertainment, Bangor
April 25: Comedian James Austin Johnson of “Saturday Night Live,” 7 p.m., Cross Insurance Center, Bangor
Art, Books, Film & Culture
April 23: “Writing Buddies,” conversation between writers Linda Buckmaster and Elizabeth Garber, 7 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill
April 25: Independent Bookstore Day; events all day long at independent bookstores statewide; check with your favorite local shop!
April 25: “A Sneak Peek at the Maine Bird Atlas” with bird expert Adrienne Leppold, 1 p.m., Page Farm and Home Museum, University of Maine, Orono
April 25: Indie Lens Pop-Up series screens “The Librarians,” 2 p.m., Ellsworth Public Library, Ellsworth
April 27: Belfast Historical Society presents “Made in Belfast,” lecture on local manufacturing, 7 p.m., Belfast Free Library, Belfast
April 28: State of the Planet lecture series featuring NWS meteorologist Angela LaFlash, noon, Dyke Center, Husson University, Bangor
April 29: Screening of “Building Hope: Ending Homelessness in Maine,” 7 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill
April 29: Red Rabbit Film Club screens “The Hunger,” 7 p.m., Red Rabbit Bazaar, Bangor
Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.
April 24: Limitless Wrestling “Can’t Kick Up the Roots,” 7 p.m., Morgan Hill Event Center, Hermon
April 24-25: Anah Shrine Circus, multiple shows daily, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor
April 25: The Emporium’s 2nd annual Goth Prom, 7 p.m., Morgan Hill Event Center, Hermon
Here are a few nuggets of televisual, musical and culinary gold that I’ve been particularly enjoying in the past few weeks.
New music from McLusky! McLusky are an insane and excellent band from Wales that I’ve been a fan of since way back when I was music director at WMEB 91.9 at UMaine. They are loud and hilarious and somehow incredibly catchy - I think some current favorites like Viagra Boys and Wet Leg owe much to them - and I was so glad to see them reunite for a new album early last year. Anyway, they have a new EP coming out next month called “I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley” and its lead single, “as a dad,” rules. RIYL: Viagra Boys, Big Black, Nirvana, Wet Leg
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” on Apple TV+. I know we’re only four episodes into this new series, but it’s already stolen my heart. Elle Fanning plays Margo, a college student who gets pregnant by her cowardly lit professor, and decides to keep the baby. Meanwhile, her retired pro wrestler and recovering user dad Jinx (Nick Offerman) and tough but insecure MILF mom Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer) take various roles in her new life as a single mom. As the title suggests, Margo needs to make some money - and how she does it forms part of the crux of this tender, funny, frank and colorful show. For all its very adult subject matter, it is a charming family comedy-drama, anchored by the magnetic Fanning, who is a fearless and sensitive actor. I love it. I hope you do too.
Rasa, the new Indian restaurant in Bangor, is awesome. They have a lunch buffet that is (according to my very unscientific social media research) an amazing deal and is always busy, even just a few weeks into them being open. We got takeout there last week and it was excellent. Highly recommended.