The Inn At Ocean's Edge blog

The leaves are changing, and for the last several years in Camden, it’s been a sign that annual PopTech conference is nearing. And with it the question we get asked daily, “What is PopTech?”

While sometimes technology is a theme, it’s not what it’s all about. Rather, PopTech is about innovation. Here’s a great explanation of what PopTech hopes to achieve:

“We bring innovators together from many different fields—science, technology, design, corporate and civic leadership, public health, social and ecological innovation, and the arts and humanities, among others… …We convene this community in intimate, peer-level gatherings where participants can share their most provocative questions and their most promising new ideas, and begin to work together on new approaches to some of the world’s toughest challenges. In so doing, we constantly seek out the ‘genius in the white spaces,’—insights that can only be discovered when people from very diverse disciplines come together, and concepts from one field are ‘mashed up’ with those from another.” Read more about PopTech.

The PopTech conference takes place primarily in the beautiful Camden Opera House every October.

The annual Camden International Film Festival will be in town this weekend, starting on Thursday night, 9/27. It’s a great chance to see some amazing films, chat with the filmmakers and experience the movie venues which are not normally open to the public. Camden Opera House and the former Bayview Cinema will host screenings, as well as The Strand in Rockland, a currently operating theater.

If you’re looking for a true Maine experience, consider “Betting The Farm” (showing at 7:30pm on Thursday), a modern documentary about local dairy farmers who formed Maine’s Own Organic (MOO) Milk cooperative.

“BETTING THE FARM is the story of a group of Maine dairy farmers who, dropped by their national milk company, are suddenly confronted with the real possibility of losing their farms. Banding together, the farmers launch their own milk company. Farmers Vaughn Chase, Richard Lary, and Aaron Bell, along with their families, struggle to make ends meet as they get the company off the ground. But faced with slow sales and mounting bills, can the farmers hang together long enough for the gamble to pay off? Or will they be left worse off than before?”

Check out this and other listings for the 4 day event at www.camdenfilmfest.org

http://www.camdenfilmfest.org Copyright 2012

The bi-annual Harbor Arts and Crafts Show is coming up this weekend, 9/29-9/30. The vendors will set up in beautiful Camden Harbor Park and the library’s amphitheatre for the weekend event. Camden Public Library will also be holding an outdoor book sale.

Coming up this weekend is the annual Country Roads and Artisans Tour. Here is a PDF of the full locations listings.

“The tour showcases the highly refined skills of local craft designers and artists. It includes a wide variety of work, all carefully and thoughtfully handmade at our studios here in Midcoast Maine. Some of our work uses centuries-old techniques, while other work takes advantage of more modern processes.

Most of our studios are open all year. On the second full week-end in September, we invite you to enjoy our free open studio tour. For more information, call 207-236-9619.

Please note that all studios are open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the three days of the tour, but regular hours differ. You will find these listed on the back panel of the brochure.”

Lunch is served on the corner of Routes 235 and 105, across from Hope General Store, as a fundraiser for the Hope Elementary School.

Camden Snowbowl is one of very few skiing mountains on the Eastern seaboard with a view of the water. In the spring, summer and fall seasons, the Snowbowl, part of Camden’s Parks & Recreation Department is open for mountain biking, hiking, swimming, tennis and ball field use. On Saturday, August 25th, the Snowbowl will make its chairlift open to the public. 10am – 5pm, $5 per person, located at 20 Barnestown Rd in Camden.

Photo courtesy of Camden Snowbowl

This is one of my favorite events, as you can tell from our past years’ coverage. Camden Windjammer Festival is an all ages event celebrating the maritime history and traditions and honoring the current status of maritime industry in Maine. The schooners and windjammers which used to carry cargo up and down the coast are now primarily engaged in carrying passengers, either on daytrips or overnight trips. On Labor Day weekend, the old wooden vessels come together in Camden Harbor and are open to the public. Crew Talent Show takes place in the evening on Friday, on the lawn in Harbor Park. Crew and passenger from each boat compete with performances which, in the past, have included reciting poetry, singing, playing musical instruments, fire throwing and much more. There are many activities for children and adults to delight in – boat building contest, lobster crate race, cooking contest and much more. Check out the website for a full schedule of events and come out on Labor Day Weekend!

This coming weekend is going to be a busy one, as generally the last two weeks of July and the first three weeks of August are in Midcoast Maine. Summer Harbor Arts & Crafts Juried Show is setting up camp, as usual, in Camden’s Harbor park on Saturday and Sunday. Atlantic Street will be closed to traffic starting midday on Friday. Tons of vendors show off Maine’s best artisans. From Harbor Park, peek into the Camden Public Library for a gorgeous view of the harbor from the air-conditioned Reading Room (original brick building) on the 3rd floor. The library is hosting a summer book sale, ourdoors, under tents, as part of its fundraising efforts.

Friendship sloops from New England and beyond will gather for the annual meet of the Friendship Sloop Society in Rockland. These little wooden boats used to be the standard for lobstermen, but today the majority are used for pleasure and are privately owned. Some do offer cruises, in Belfast, Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor.

And as I mentioned my previous post, the Maine Celtic Festival is on this weekend as well, in Belfast. Chase the wheel of cheese down the hill in US National Cheese Championships on Sunday, 7/22.

Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the nation’s beloved poets of the 20th century. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Millay grew up right here in Midcoast Maine and was discovered at a poetry reading at the Whitehall Inn in Camden. The Whitehall Inn is hosting a series of events this summer to honor 100 years since the discovery of Millay in 1912. A three page schedule of events throughout the summer can be found here. There is a statue of Millay in the Camden Harbor Park if you’d like to say hello.

We have been recommending bicycle rentals for years – there are beautiful country roads and shore roads to explore in Midcoast Maine. New this year – Midcoast Adventure Rentals – introduces bicycle, scooter and scoot coupe (picture below) rentals right in downtown Camden. I’ve been seeing these around town, and people riding them really do look like the people in their advertising brochure – smiling, having fun and with a picnic basket strapped to the back.

Scooter rentals have been popular in Europe for ages and more recently have been gaining popularity in the US as well. A valid driver’s license and credit card are required to rent. Scooters are for individual use, but scoot coupes can take a team of two adults, or adult and a child over the age of 5. The details are all here on the Midcoast Adventure Rentals website.

There are many destinations within close distance of their location in downtown Camden – Aldemere Farms, Vesper Hill Children’s Chapel, Hope General Store, Lake Megunticook (and its lovely sandy beach), Camden Hills State Park – particularly the back road (Route 52) to the Maiden Cliff trail. They will also deliver with advance notice and can cater a large group.

CAMDEN – To describe the drink menu at 40 Paper as elaborate is to hit the nail on the head. Have a cocktail,a glass of wine, one of a variety of draft beers, or take a flight – a sampling of 3 or 6. Peruse the menu featuring modern Italian cuisine and you won’t be disappointed. The atmosphere is fun and cozy (and not in a real estate sense!), with beautiful decor, lighting and furniture, including couches. The food is genuine, the service is prompt and hardly anything is left to wish for at this relative newcomer in town.

Located just off the busy Route 1, 40 paper is nicely set back, yet still extremely easily accessible on foot on Washington Street, in the Knox Mill. Its irregular awning and patio tables are easy to spot on approach as you turn the corner from Mechanic St, or Tannery Ln onto Washington.