Belfast Summer Nights are in full swing. Every Thursday in the summer, starting at 5:30, the streets of downtown Belfast reverberate with music, dancing and the chatter of crowds. There’s a different band each week, and best of all, it’s free! Bring a chair, or a picnic, or simply come to watch and enjoy!
The annual North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, ME is this coming weekend! Check out their fabulous line-up. This event kicks off the season of festivals, followed by Lobster Festival, Maine Homes, Boats and Harbors Show, the Camden Windjammer Festival and many many other arts, crafts, music and tasting events that take place in Midcoast Maine.
It’s called A Taste at The Top, an event being held at Point Lookout, our neighbors to the north in Northport/Lincolnville, Maine on Saturday, July 24th, and it looks like fun!
Sponsored by Maine Brewers and Vintners, the event offers samples from the state’s premier micro-breweries and wineries, (too many to mention here), gourmet food, and live music in a spectacular ocean view setting. Check out http://www.centralmainebrewfest.com/ for all the info you need, including directions, and a list of vendors that are selling tickets now!
You may also email for tickets: tickets@centralmainebrews.com.
Fast Tube by Casper
One of our innkeepers just came back from a couple of days of the three day Camden Windjammer Festival, going on right now, this Labor Day Weekend in Camden, Maine. Friday started with a Parade of Sail of all the local windjammers. Once docked, the schooners were open for visitors. Dinner bells rang on one boat after another as crews gathered around supper to strategize for the evening’s Schooner Crew Talent Show. Hundreds of people dotted Camden Harbor Park, a lawn rolling gently towards the harbor, to watch the friendly competition where contestants ranged from 5 years old to 75. It’s not entirely clear whether a winner was ever declared, but a fantastic time was had by all on an evening which ended in a gorgeous display of fireworks over a full moon.
Fireworks at the Camden Windjammer Festival 2009
Saturday came as another clear, warm, sunny day – perfect for the Lobster Crate Competition and the eventual dunking for the contestants in the run across 20 wooden lobster crates tied together and strung between two floating docks in the harbor. 9 year old Cedar with over 2 thousands crates, was a repeat champion and many others put on a good showing, including one adult with a record of 5 crates. Volunteers scurried about attending to a variety of other activities, including the Chowder Tasting from 8 local restaurants (Bay View Lobster, The Waterfront, Big Fish Cafe, Home Kitchen Cafe, Ephemere, Cody’s and a couple of others). An added ingredient of sweet potato established a clear winner in the author’s opinion and I cast my ballot without a doubt. Much else was happening on the docks and on shore: more visiting hours on the schooners, demonstrations of engines, blacksmithing, knot-tying, toboggan making. Sunday’s “Build A Boat” race started Saturday with many participants hammering and cutting, working with a deadline as the race starts at 2pm on Sunday.
Schooner Crew Talent Show at the Camden Windjammer Festival 2009
The Inn at Ocean’s Edge is a proud sponsor of the 4th annual “Maine in America Summer Gala” at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME. In addition to being a fundraising event for the non-profit museum and a party to celebrate the beginning of the summer social season, the gala is also an opportunity for the museum to present the “Maine in America” award to an important artist with strong ties to Maine.
This year, the Maine in America award will be presented to Robert Indiana. Museum literature describes, “Robert Indiana, probably best known for his “sculptural poems” LOVE and HOPE, has lived on the island of Vinalhaven in the Star of Hope Odd Fellows Hall since the early 1970s. His career as a sculptor, print maker, and painter has spanned six decades and he has been described as speaking “to the vital forces that shaped American culture during the latter half of the 20th century.”
Robert Indiana's LOVE
ROCKLAND (April 15): The Farnsworth Art Museum is organizing a major exhibition on renowned artist Robert Indiana, drawn almost exclusively from his extensive holdings at his home and studio, The Star of Hope.
The show — “Robert Indiana and The Star of Hope” — will explore the vast range of Indiana’s work from the 1950s to the present, focusing on his efforts since he moved to Vinalhaven in 1978. The show will run from June 20 to Oct. 25. It will include some of Indiana’s best known pieces, such as “LOVE,” the American Dream, his Marsden Hartley Elegy series and one of his newest, the “HOPE” sculpture, which premiered at the 2008 Democratic convention. Other pieces, such as “EAT,” which premiered at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, will be seen for the first time since their original installation.
“The Star of Hope” represents Indiana’s first major exhibition in years, and will be supported by a number of events including the presentation to Indiana of the Farnsworth Art Museum’s annual award at the Maine in America Gala on June 27; a world premiere of a documentary on Indiana by filmmaker Dale Schierholtat; placement of Indiana’s famous “LOVE” in Winslow-Holbrook Park in Rockland; and Robert Indiana’s Summer/Fall Symposium.
Maine in America Award
The Presidents Council of the Farnsworth Art Museum will host the Summer Gala 6 p.m. Saturday, June 27, to present the Maine in America Award to Indiana. The award will honor Indiana’s outstanding contributions to Maine’s role in American art. Bruce Boege’s Bel Isle Trio and Mr. Whoopie band will perform. The cost is $250. For reservations call 596-6457, ext. 117. All proceeds support the Farnsworth’s education and public programs.
We hope you will join us in honoring Robert Indiana and supporting the work of this superior cultural institution, the Farnsworth Art Museum.
-Olga
Innkeeper
It's the night of the 81st Academy Awards and I am contemplating a last minute invitation to accompany a friend to the live presentation of the Awards at the Rockland Strand, our local movie theater. Red carpet, champagne, fancy dresses and friends I haven't seen in a while are all guaranteed to be there.
That's what I love about the Strand – it's not just about movies, it's about community. In fact, their website, has three different schedules: screen, stage and community. Here's an excerpt from the "About Us" page. Keep up the good work, Strand. We love you!
"The Historic Strand Theatre, located in downtown Rockland, Maine, has
been entertaining moviegoers since 1923. Independently owned and listed
on the National Register of Historic Places, the theatre underwent an
extensive historic restoration in 2004–2005. The Strand was updated
with state-of-the-art sound and projection equipment, the interior and
exterior were restored, and a new marquee was added.
Once again Rockland's only movie theatre, the Strand offers the best of
independent and world cinema, documentary, classic and retrospective
film. In addition, the Strand hosts live musical performances &
concerts, comedy, conferences, and other special events. The theatre is
also available for rent on a limited basis."
-Olga
Innkeeper
From Black Point Inn
