Good morning from eastern Maine, where this week, I am profoundly grateful for this uncommonly beautiful fall we’ve been having. It’s been a rough few days (family caregiving can be extremely emotionally draining) and man, that’s some solace.
Mega congrats to my friend Callie Ferguson, who was named Journalist of the Year by the Maine Press Association at their annual awards ceremony last weekend. She richly deserves it! Read this incredible series of stories. Or this one. Or this one. There are so many!
The New York Times attempts to explain Aroostook County to the rest of the country. How do you think they did?
And Vogue does a photo shoot on Mount Desert Island inspired by Maine fashion. Will Maine lobstermen begin wearing Burberry rainjackets and Miu Miu boots?
Apparently the old Marden’s location in Brewer will soon be home to something called The Loot Company, which the internet says is a discount liquidator retailer that already has locations in Pittsfield and Augusta. So don’t worry, folks: you can get stuff nobody wanted from Amazon and slightly damaged appliances in Brewer once again! All is right with the world.
I don’t mean to knock a Maine company, but… gross?
One of the most successful writers the state of Maine has ever produced was born 160 years ago this week, and you’ve almost certainly never heard of him. Gilbert Patten was born in the Penobscot County town of Corinna in 1866, and by the time he was 20 years old was already a published author, selling western and adventure stories to dime novel publishers. He was most famous for his Frank Merriwell series of novels, which he published under the pseudonym Burt Standish (so Maine!) and which detailed the exploits of a strapping young lad who played sports at Yale and solved mysteries while he was at it - the ideal young white man, in other words. The books were so popular around the turn of the 20th century that they eventually were developed into a newspaper comic strip, an NBC radio show and a series of 1930s film shorts. It even inspired a Broadway musical, “Frank Merriwell, or Honor Unchallenged,” which flopped after one performance. Patten spent most of his life in Maine, but in 1941 moved to California, where he died in 1945. Under his own name and others, Patten published more than 200 novels in his lifetime, almost none of which remain in print today.
Music & Dance
Oct. 24: Somes Sound, 6 p.m., Fogtown Brewing, Ellsworth
Oct. 24: Cilla Bonnie, 7 p.m., The Underground Lounge, Belfast
Oct. 24: Osmia, Class Machine and Shafted, 7:30 p.m., Red Rabbit Bazaar, Bangor
Oct. 24: When The Dead Won’t Die, Choke Out, Rope Trail and Obsolescence, 7 p.m., Old Town Theatre, Old Town
Oct. 25: Richard Hsu, Violin and Sarah Hoskins, Cello, concert of duos, 3 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church, Bangor
Oct. 25: UMaine Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble, noon, Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 25: Maxwell String Quartet, 3 p.m. Minsky Recital Hall, University of Maine, Orono
Theater & Comedy
Oct. 22: “Gravitas and Other Myths,” circus arts performance, 7 p.m., Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 23-24: Bangor Comedy Festival, two nights of stand-up comedy and roasts, Hollywood Casino, Bangor
Oct. 23-24: Wits’ End Productions presents staged readings of “Aunt Dan and Lemon,” Wallace Shawn play, Basil Burwell Community Theatre, Belfast
Oct. 23: Halloqueen Drag Spectacular, 8 p.m., Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor
Oct. 22-25: Penobscot Theatre Company presents “Broomstick,” scary play for adults, nightly, Bangor Opera House, Bangor
Oct. 22-25: Grand Players present “Into the Woods,” nightly, Grand Theatre, Ellsworth
Oct. 23-25: School of Performing Arts presents “Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom,” play, nightly, Hauck Auditorium, University of Maine, Orono
Arts, Books, Film & Culture
Oct. 22: Maine Heritage Lecture feat. Hudson Museum director Gretchen Faulkner, 4 p.m., Bodwell Lounge, Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 22: New Writing Series presents author Hollie Adams, 5 p.m., IMRC Center, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 22: “Two Memoirists in Conversation,” feat. Suzanne Strempek Shea and Maria Millefoglie, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books, Belfast
Oct. 22: “Water, Carbon, Time: Exploring Peatlands in a Warming World,” talk by Jennifer Mooy, 7 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill
Oct. 24: Bangor Historical Society presents “History in Focus: The Brady Gang Shootout,” 10 a.m., starts at Thomas Hill House, Bangor
Oct. 24: Wild Seed Collection Field Experience, 10 a.m., Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden
Oct. 24: Author talk with mystery writer Kate Rumohr, 1 p.m., Brooksville Free Library, Brooksville
Oct. 24: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with live shadowcast, 8 p.m., Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 26: “Belfast: Now and Then,” presentation by photo historian Kevin Johnson, 7 p.m., Belfast Free Library, Belfast
Oct. 27: “Bucks Harbor,” Maine documentary screening, 6:30 p.m., Colonial Theatre, Belfast
Oct. 28: Libra Lecture presents mathematician Eknath Ghate, 3 p.m., Hill Auditorium, Barrows Hall, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 28: “What’s In Your Electricity Bill?” community discussion on energy policy and practices, 5:30 p.m., Bangor Public Library, Bangor
Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.
Oct. 23-25: Maineiac Manor haunted house, nightly with opening no-scare hour, Bangor Mall, Bangor; click here for more info
Oct. 23-25: Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live, multiple shows, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor
Oct. 24-25: The Odds and Artisans Market, daily, Brewer Auditorium, Brewer
Oct. 24: Downtown Bangor Trick or Treat, 2-4 p.m., businesses throughout downtown Bangor
Oct. 24: Annual Twilight Tours ghostly storytelling, 3-6 p.m., Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport
Oct. 25: Great Maine Apple Day, day of apple tastings, workshops, tours and more, noon to 5 p.m., MOFGA headquarters, Unity
Oct. 25: Full moon guided paddle, 5 p.m., Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, Old Town
The brilliant Australian electronic music ensemble the Avalanches have put out their first new album in six years - and only their fourth overall since their spectacular debut, “Since I Left You,” 26 years ago. “No Bad Memories” is as freewheeling, funky and utterly packed with insane samples as ever, and it’s as fun as that sounds. I recommend listening to the whole thing in one go, but here’s a little taste in this ridiculous music video with Haley Joel Osment. The Avalanches always make me think of my friend Thom, and my friend Thom died in August. I wish he could have heard this one. He’d have loved it.