Good morning from eastern Maine, where this past weekend, our dreams of Labor Day swimming, paddling and grilling were dashed by two full days of gusty winds and intermittent downpours. We stayed inside and did crossword puzzles. Not such a bad alternative.
Such was the wind, in fact, that it partially destroyed the set for the annual performance of “Charlotte’s Web” at the Blue Hill Fair, and actually injured a woman in the process. I’m sorry that happened, but wow: that’s so Maine.
Imagine being such an outright asshole that your sister writes a heartfelt editorial saying that you are unfit to run for public office and that people should vote for your opponent. No, I’m not talking about Robert F. Kennedy Jr, although that happened to him too. No, I’m not talking about that guy in Arizona whose entire family said he was super racist. I’m talking about Maine GOP gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles. That guy. Yikes.
I hope someone who actually cares about the legacy of a great Maine artist buys Robert Indiana’s iconic Vinalhaven home and studio, and not some rich guy from New York or Connecticut who will turn it into an overpriced boutique hotel or worse. I find this entire saga about Indiana’s estate to be really sad and disheartening.
I think it’s pretty great that NBA phenom and Newport native Cooper Flagg and his cousin are opening Flagg Trading Co., a card shop, this weekend in downtown Bangor, in the space that formerly housed Salty Brick Market. The fact that Flagg and his family are leveraging his extremely high profile to open a local business that will likely be very popular among collectibles fans - and will bring new people to downtown - is a huge win for Bangor.
People with kids in Maine schools: how are they adjusting to Maine’s new law prohibiting cell phone use in public schools? Are they twitching and panicking after being away from their phones for seven hours? Or is it all good? I’m very curious.
I’m old enough to remember when the footbridge crossing the Passagassawaukeag River in Belfast was so old and crumbling that people were banned from walking on it. Heck, I’m old enough to remember the old car bridge - an ancient structure that was replaced in the late 1990s and caused several seasons of complaining about the traffic hold ups on Route 1. That bridge actually replaced the footbridge, which prior to the 1960s originally carried Route 1 connecting East Belfast to the rest of town. Thankfully, community-loving Belfastians mounted a campaign to save the footbridge, raising a whopping $4 million to restore the span for generations to come. It officially re-opened 20 years ago this week, and it’s now a beloved feature of the Belfast Waterfront, for walkers, bikers, anglers and tourists.
Music & Dance
Sept. 10: Sea chantey singalong, 3 p.m., Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport
Sept. 10: The Hirs Collective, Impetigore, Horse Funeral and Gash Pile, 7 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
Sept. 11: Songs and stories with Don Sarlin, 6 p.m., Surry Arts Barn, Surry
Sept. 11: Crystal Vision: Fleetwood Mac tribute band, 7 p.m., The Grand Theatre, Ellsworth
Sept. 11: Danny Fisher and the Lochhead Large Ensemble, 7 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington
Sept. 11: Drake White and Stephanie Ryan, 8 p.m., Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor
Sept. 12: Community contradance, 4 p.m., Searsmont Town Library, Searsmont
Sept. 12: Baroque Orchestra of Maine (BOOM), 7 p.m., First Congregational Church, Blue Hill
Sept. 16: Prince Edward Island kitchen party with Cynthia MacLeod and Gordon Belsher, 6 p.m., Black Moon Public House, Ellsworth
Theatre & Comedy
Sept. 10-13: Penobscot Theatre Company presents “On Golden Pond,” nightly at the Bangor Opera House, Bangor
Sept. 10-13: The Belfast Maskers present “Bookworms,” comedy play, nightly at the Basil Burwell Community Theatre, Belfast
Sept. 11: Bread & Puppet Theatre present “The Upside Down World Circus,” 6:30 p.m., The Bay School, Blue Hill
Sept. 12: High Stakes House of Comedy presents comics Jimmy Dunn and Tony V, 8 p.m. Hollywood Casino, Bangor
Arts, Books, Film & Culture
Sept. 10: Book launch for “A Blind Spider” by Moe Claire, 5 p.m., Ellsworth Public Library, Ellsworth
Sept. 11: Book launch for “Landscape with Rocks, Sky, Nails: Poems” by Judy Kaber, 6 p.m., Belfast Free Library, Belfast
Sept. 12: Author talk by Joasha Dundas on her book, “Rosa’s Scarf,” 2 p.m., Ellsworth Public Library, Ellsworth
Sept. 12: Maine Outdoor Film Festival, 6 p.m., Boreal Theatre, Millinocket
Sept. 13: “Million Dollar Mermaid,” classic film screening, 1 p.m., Colonial Theatre, Belfast
Sept. 13: Talk on Helen Nearing’s “Loving and Leaving the Good Life,” by Kate Braestrap, 4 p.m., The Good Life Center, Brooksville
Sept. 15: “Louis Sockalexis & the Integration of Professional Sports,” talk by author Chris Boucher, 11 a.m., Old Town Public Library, Old Town
Sept. 15: “The New Deal at Work: Frances Perkins, Labor Reform and the Continuing Legacy,” panel discussion, 6 p.m., Ellsworth Public Library, Ellsworth
Sept. 16: An evening with Maine author Debra Colby, 6 p.m., Pittsfield Public Library, Pittsfield
Sept. 16: Red Rabbit Film Club w/ Andrew Clark screens “The Sword of Doom,” 7 p.m., Red Rabbit Bazaar, Bangor
Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.
Sept. 11-13: International Seaplane Fly-In Festival, throughout Greenville and on Moosehead Lake, Greenville; more info here
Sept. 12: Great Event Community Yard Sale and Festival, food, activities, music, more; 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Stockton Springs Community Library, Stockton Springs
Sept. 12: Orono Festival Day, full day of music, food, fun, parade, fireworks, sports and more, throughout downtown Orono and University of Maine campus, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Orono
Sept. 12: UMaine Cooperative Extension Garden Fest and Fun Run, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m., Rogers Farm, Orono
Sept. 12: Dark Sky Maine star party, feat. live music, food and stargazing, 4-10 p.m., Flye Point, Brooklin
Sept. 13: 10th annual Maine Cheese Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Manson Park, Pittsfield
This only tangentially has to do with Maine, but earlier this week I spent over an hour poking around the brand new Cooperative National Geologic Map, published earlier this month in its entirety, including all 50 states plus U.S. territories. It’s the first-ever digital map of all geologic data across the entire country, bringing together both the U.S. Geological Survey and state geologic surveys to produce a comprehensive look at the ground beneath our feet.
As you may know, I love maps, and I love accessible, easy-to-understand public science. If you love that kind of thing too, this map is so fun to explore - it really gets down to the granular detail, to the point where you can see data for specific towns and regions. For example, while most of Maine is made up of glacial till left over from the last Ice Age, there are all sorts of cool pockets of Paleozoic volcanic rock scattered all over the state - I didn’t know a big chunk of Bucksport was sitting on igneous rock! Nor did I know that most of the little islands off Stonington are volcanic as well.
Yes, I realize how nerdy this makes me sound. That’s why you like me though, right? Some weeks you’re going to get underground avant-garde electronic music recommendations. And some weeks you’re going to find out about plutonic intrusions into Maine’s otherwise boring geologic landscape. That’s what it’s like living in The Other Maine! Oof. Yeah, I didn’t like that attempt at branding, either.