This Week's Haul, June 25: Bloom where you're planted
And: The best events listings in eastern Maine!
Good morning (OK, afternoon I guess) from eastern Maine, where this weekend, you’ll see me at Bangor Pride! Don’t forget: the parade starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, and the festival is on the waterfront this year - not in West Market Square, as it has been in years past. Read my piece from a couple weeks ago about the history of LGBTQ+ activism in the Bangor region, while you’re at it.
A judge has decided that the wreck of the schooner Delhi, which sank in Somes Sound off Mount Desert Island in 1893, belongs to the state of Maine - including the thousands of granite pavers that a salvage company wanted instead. I still think this would make a great story song a la “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Has anybody written this yet? I’m waiting.
Nerd alert: I read historian Alan Taylor’s New York Times article this week about Joseph Plumb Martin, the Revolutionary War soldier whose personal narrative about his war experience is an invaluable historical document. I did not know Martin settled in the Waldo County town of Prospect! Or that he appeared to have been screwed out of a land deal by another Revolutionary War figure in Maine: Gen. Henry Knox. Anyway, the article is worth a read. And Alan Taylor is giving a talk at the Blue Hill Public Library on Tuesday.
Why do we keep having to potentially vote on these stupid, stupid ballot questions? Who is actually asking for this? Is it just a minority of hardcore conservative Christians with a bunch of out of state money and nothing better to do? What a huge waste of time and resources. If these people get their anti-weed question on the ballot next year, I look forward to it being defeated.
The community of Searsmont is still reeling from the devastating explosion and fire at Robbins Lumber Mill last month, with many folks still in the hospital recovering from grievous injuries. The city of Brewer is showing solidarity with our neighbors in Waldo County by hosting a big fundraiser event at 6 p.m. today, June 25, at the world famous Brewer Auditorium. It’s a family-friendly affair, with lots of kids activities and food and a family movie screening at 7:30 p.m., with all donations going to help the folks affected by this tragedy. You could also check out this mini Restaurant Week-style fundraiser being held by a bunch of eateries on the midcoast, all of which are raising money to help Lily Robbins, the young EMT who was critically injured in the blast. That runs through this Saturday!
I loved this really sweet article and photos by the BDN’s Cameron Levasseur on the annual Midsommar festival in the Aroostook County town of New Sweden, held last weekend.
Happy birthday to Medicare, the socialized healthcare program that went into effect 60 years ago this week! Millions of older people, people with disabilities and their families have access to healthcare and increased economic security thanks to this groundbreaking program. We could make Medicare accessible to everyone, of course, but in this country we prefer to make access to healthcare tied to your ability to work, and to prop up private insurance companies that care more about their money than your wellbeing. That’s the American way - waste lots of money for worse outcomes, and further line the pockets of already incredibly wealthy people! Happy 250th!
Music & Dance
June 25: Belfast Summer Nights presents Muskeg and the Monday Night Jazz Orchestra, 5:30 p.m., Steamboat Landing Park, Belfast
June 26: OneSixtyOne, 6 p.m., Orono Brewing Company, Orono
June 26: Pretty Good Jazz Trio feat. Nina Emery, 7 p.m., Surry Arts Barn, Surry
June 26: Pride techno contradance feat. DJ Pawz, 5:30 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Society of Maine, Bangor
June 26: Dance party with the Hot Suppers, 7 p.m., Marsh River Theater, Brooks
June 26: In The Kingdom Of Nightmares, Wormhole and Earthwyrm, 7 p.m., Hey Sailor, Searsport
June 27: Rock and Disco Dance Party feat. Virtual Strangers and DJ Aquavantes, 6 p.m., Black Moon Public House, Ellsworth
June 27: The Mallett Brothers Band, 6:30 p.m., Barncastle Hotel & Restaurant, Blue Hill
June 27: Oeuvre and Phantom Vespers, 7 p.m., Hey Sailor, Searsport
June 28: Dead Gowns and Louisa Stancioff, 6:30 p.m., Working Loose, Blue Hill
June 28: Essex Piano Trio, 4 p.m., Surry Arts Barn, Surry
June 28: Chameleon feat. Philip Greenlief, 4 p.m., Fogtown Brewing Company, Ellsworth
June 30: Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, 6 p.m., Maine Savings Amphitheater, Bangor
July 1: Summer Music Series presents PanStorm, steel drum band, 6 p.m., Bangor Public Library lawn, Bangor
Theatre & Comedy
June 25-28: Penobscot Theatre Company presents “The Fantasticks,” daily at the Bangor Opera House, Bangor
June 25-28: Opera House Arts presents “Outside Mullingar,” nightly at the Stonington Opera House, Stonington
June 25-28: Midcoast Shakespeare Studio presents “(Lady) Macbeth,” a retelling of the original, nightly at Belfast City Park, Belfast
June 26: Delicious Drag Divas, 7 p.m., Eye Candy Studio, Bangor
June 26-28: The Grand Players present “Spongebob: The Musical,” The Grand Theatre, Ellsworth
June 26: High Stakes House of Comedy presents Ryan Shea and Cher Lynn, 8 p.m., Hollywood Casino, Bangor
June 27: Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers present “The Legend of the Banana Kid,” 6 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill
June 27-28: Machias ACT presents “Tick, Tick… Boom!”, nightly, Milbridge Theatre, Milbridge
June 27: Queen City Improve Pride night comedy show, 7 p.m., Next Generation Theatre, Brewer
June 27: Comedy night feat. Zac Calden, Chris Fitz, Mike from Dexter, Malcolm Holmes, Carlo Rojas, Lloyd “Legacy” Sharp, Mike Gray and Katy Moon, 7 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
June 27: Delicious Drag Divas, 6:30 p.m., Jeff’s Catering, Brewer
Arts, Books, Film & Culture
June 25: Book talk with Caroline Bicks, author of “Monsters in the Archive: My Year of Fear with Stephen King,” 7 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library
June 26: POP Studies presents “How to Safely Handle Antique Objects,” 10 a.m., Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport
June 27: Old Town Museum 50th anniversary celebration walking tour of downtown Old Town, 10 a.m., Old Town Museum, Old Town
June 27: Readings and signings by LGBTQIA+ authors Robert Monroe, Miriam Rimkunas and Rylan Hynes, 3 p.m., Anodyne Books, Searsport
June 27-28: “Jurassic Park,” nightly, Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor
June 27: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” 8:30 p.m., Colonial Theatre, Belfast
June 27: Zillman Art Museum 80th anniversary gala event, 5-10:30 p.m., Zillman Art Museum, Bangor
June 23, 30: “Blade Runner,” Black Bear Cinemas, Orono
June 30: An evening with author Jennifer Breedlove in conversation with Gabriella Stiteler, 7 p.m., Bookspace, Bangor
June 30: “American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804,” talk series by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor, 1 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill
June 30: Reading and signing with mystery author Paul Doiron, 11 a.m., Left Bank Books, Belfast
June 30: Recovery in Maine Film Festival, 6:30 p.m., Colonial Theatre, Belfast
July 1: “Stories of the Sea: Adventure and Heroism on the High Seas,” staged storytelling about maritime adventures, 5:30 p.m., Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport
July 1: Sci-fi book club reads “The Murderbot Diaries, Vol 1,” 7:30 p.m., Bookspace, Bangor
July 1: “Revolutionary Ideas: How Popular Power Shaped the Declaration of Independence,” talk by UMaine history professors, 5 p.m., Bangor Public Library, Bangor
Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.
June 26: Mr. Drew and his Animals Too, 10 a.m., Belfast Free Library, Belfast
June 26: Native plants walk and workshop, 1 p.m., Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden
June 26-28: Orono Arts Fest, three days of music, performance, local artists and more, throughout downtown Orono; visit oronoartsfest.com for more info
June 27: Bangor Pride Parade and Festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., throughout downtown Bangor; parade at 11, festival 10-4 on the waterfront
June 27: Lake Ecology and Fields Pond educational paddle, 10 a.m., Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden; bring a boat or rent one
June 27: Furball Festival benefiting the Animal Orphanage, feat. music, artisans, food and more; pet-friendly, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Binette Park, Old Town
June 27-28: Arts in the Park, annual artisan and arts festival, over 100 vendors, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Steamboat Landing Park, Belfast
June 29: Chewonki traveling tidepool interactive exhibit, 11 a.m. Belfast Free Library, Belfast
It’s time to brag about your gardens! Summer has officially arrived, and we’re approaching peak blooming season in Maine flower gardens. I want to see your beautiful photos of the things you’re growing - from tried and true perennials, to profuse peonies and radiant rhododendrons, to the annuals you just planted last month. Send an email (emilyburnham207 at gmail dot com), leave a link, send however you’d like - if I get enough, I’ll share them next week. Vegetables are also acceptable, though we may save that for a later date. And huge fields of lupine - wild invasives they may be - are welcome as well.
I’ll start. Here’s a foxglove in my backyard that is nearly five feet tall, growing out of a rather weedy corner of my bee balm patch. I’m so proud of it.
Just a heads up on the weed question. Back in January (at the protest against the Good and Pretti killings at the Bangor Public Library), there was a young man gathering signatures. His dress and manner blended in with the crowd. He certainly didn't look MAGA or Bible Thumper. his pitch was for a referendum to establish safety standards for weed. This normally not gullible old guy fell for it and signed. It was actually the prohibition referendum. I checked with the town clerk several weeks later and it had not been submitted but it likely will be now.
Also - my recollection of the Medicare debate from the mid 60s is that the major opponent was the American Medical Association.