The Maine Humanities Council Annual Report — 2004

Grant Sampler — 2004

Augusta: Friends of Lithgow Library, Inc.

Funds will purchase copies of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, the chosen book for a community wide series of public discussions and programs.

Augusta: Maine-Aomori Sister State Advisory Council

An exhibit of photographs from Maine and the prefecture of Aomori, Japan explores the many common cultural points between the two sister states and commemorates the 10th anniversary of their relationship.

Bangor: Penobscot Theater Company

This production of Arthur Miller’s classic play will include community dialogue sessions and exhibits to explore real world themes similar to the mass hysteria and narrow ideology being portrayed on stage.

One of the books in Threatened and Endangered, a traveling exhibition of artist’s books on endangered plants and animals by Rebecca Goodale, supported by an Arts & Humanities grant to the Maine Women Writer’s Collection.

Belfast - Belfast Institute of Lifelong Learning

A project that brings together Belfast community members of all ages and backgrounds to share in the mutual activities of baking and producing oral history.

Berwick - Vivian E. Hussey Primary School

Maine author, Matt Taraves, will visit and speak at schools and for the public in Berwick and Lebanon.

Brunswick - Brunswick School Department

Assisted by an archaeologist, Brunswick students will examine the shore of Maquoit Bay to determine its historical relevance to the Androscoggin Region 1680 to 1690 and share their findings with the citizens of area communities.

Bucksport - Northeast Historic Film

Roundtable III is a day devoted to teacher enrichment focusing especially on humanities resources for Maine Studies and Native Studies.

East Millinocket - Schenck High School

The sophomore English class will create an original drama based on their reading of To Kill a Mockingbird and will perform it at a regional conference at the University of Maine in Orono.

Gorham - USM Center for the Study of Lives

A project to record, preserve, and disseminate oral histories of members from Portland’s Latino community. This will provide a record of the stories as an educational tool to show the contributions of Latinos to the area.

Hinckley - L.C. Bates Museum (Good Will Home Association)

An exhibition of some of the museum’s older natural history collections with a focus on attitudes of previous generations to natural history and preserving artifacts.

Helen and Scott Nearing in their Unity, Maine, farmhouse. This is part of Portrait of the Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing Remembered, an exhibition funded by a grant to Unity College.

Lincoln - Mattanawcook Academy

The freshman English class will create an original drama based on their reading of Homer’s Odyssey and will perform it at a regional conference at the University of Maine in Orono .

Lovell - Western Oxford Foothills Cultural Council

Research by historian Peter Lenz to help create a cultural map of museums, historic properties, performance centers, and exhibit locations.

Montville - The Arts Center at Kingdom Falls

Free public lecture and open discussions by both well-known and emerging artists in different media, talking about their creative process and inspirations.

New Gloucester - Fiddlehead Center for the Arts

A 3-day festival of arts & culture from around the world including dances, story telling, artistic demonstrations and food.

New Harbor - Friends of Colonial Pemaquid

A multi-faceted exhibition about the history of Fort Charles and Fort William Henry at the mouth of the Pemaquid River and the roles they played in protecting the northeastern frontier.

Orono - University of Maine

A series of half-hour radio programs drawn from the archives of the Maine Folklife Center with a mix of recorded interview excerpts, story telling, and traditional music.

Poland - Poland Regional High School

People from the Poland Regional High School area will read the same book and hold a public discussion which will include a videotaped meeting with the author.

Portland - Maine Irish Heritage Center

The Maine Irish Heritage Center and the Portland Fire Museum partnered to present lectures and art exhibitions chronicling the relationship between Irish immigrants and the Maine Fire Service.

Portland - The Winter Harbor Theatre Company

A pilot program at the Long Creek Development Center to teach the youth there how to work together and trust each other through acting, playwriting, and play analysis.

Rangeley - Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust

Three public lectures on the diversity of Maine’s history and contemporary interests.

Philip Sweetland, 91, and Hila Shooter, 9, were the oldest and youngest storytellers at the 2004 Waldo County Pie and Story Festival, funded by an Arts & Humanities Grant.

Rockport - Cultural Resources, Inc.

An exhibit of photographs and excerpts from recorded interviews about what it is like to be a young Wabanaki basketmaker in contemporary times.

Thomaston - Friends of Montpelier

A lecture series to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the General Henry Knox Museum, examining its landscaping, architecture, and China trade porcelain.

Van Buren - SAD #24

Performance of traditional folk songs and French folklore, as well as dances from Quebec, Northern Maine, and France at the State House.

Waterville - Colby College

A celebration of the life and work of the writer/playwright/doctor Anton Chekhov with a series of public Chekhov based events around Waterville.