April - October, 2005 ~~~ Saco, Lille, Bethel

"Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon" is an exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Building Museum, with assistance from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Barn Again!" was on display at the Saco Museum from April 9 through June 8, at the Musée culturel du Mont-Carmel in Lille from June 15 through August 12, and in the Mason House Exhibit Hall at the Bethel Historical Society from August 19 through October 22, 2005. To strengthen the local impact of the exhibit, each site will sponsor public programs. Families are invited "Downtown on the Farm" at the Saco Museum on May 21 to experience demonstrations, activities, and crafts. On April 28 and September 9, architectural historian Christi Mitchell, of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, will give presentations on the history of Maine barns. On October 8, a lecture by William Bunting will precede a festive barn dance. Bunting is the author of A Day's Work, a two-volume collection of historic Maine photographs (Tilbury House). Exhibit and event details are online at www.mainehumanities.org/programs/barnagain.html.

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July 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2005 ~~~ Damariscotta

The 2005 Round Top Center for the Arts Lecture Series will bring four speakers to the Darrows Barn for the Performing Arts in Damariscotta this July. The series begins on July 6 with Maureen Fant, a food writer and frequent contributor to the New York Times travel section. Fant's talk is entitled "Under the Roman Rain: A Gastronomic Memoir of Learning to Live in the Eternal City." On July 13, a panel of distinguished architects will discuss "Louis Kahn: The Man and his Buildings." Moderator William Thompson will speak with Nathaniel Kahn (filmmaker and Louis Kahn's son), Harriet Pattison (landscape architect of Kahn's Kimbell Museum and Nathaniel Kahn's mother), Henry Wilcots (project director of Kahn's Bangladesh buildings), Winton Scott (Portland architect and Kahn's student), and Christopher Glass (professor of architecture at Bowdoin College). In conjunction with the panel, Damariscotta's Skidompha Library will screen two films: Spent Light: Louis Kahn and the Salk Institute on July 7 at 7:30 and My Architect on July 12 at 7:30. On July 20, the Council's own Charles Calhoun will speak about Longfellow (the subject of his new book Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life) and the American visual imagination in "To Picture a Poet." On July 27, award-winning biographer Brenda Wineapple will speak about Hawthorne and friendship. All lectures start at 7 p.m.; admission is $7 for members, $9 for non-members. For details, please consult the Round Top Center for the Arts website at www.roundtoparts.org or call (207) 563-1507.

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July 7 - 9, 2005 ~~~ Norway

The town of Norway will hold its third annual Norway Summer Festival, part of its Main Street Downtown Revitalization project, on July 8 and 9, 2005. This year's featured historical figure is mineralogist and philosopher George Robley Howe (1860-1950). Throughout the summer, an exhibition of local minerals collected by Howe will be on display at the Norway Memorial Library. An evening of oral history to collect anecdotes about Howe will lead to an article by David Sanderson of Waterford, available for free to the public during the Summer Festival. Historian Vandall T. King will deliver a public lecture on Howe on July 7. An exhibition of paintings by featured artist Duncan Slade, entitled "New Work: Finding the Ordinary in the Extraordinary," will be on display at the library alongside Howe's minerals during the month of July. Slade is a well-known local figure with a storefront studio at 227 Main Street. He recently had this to say about his work: "After 22 years of applying oil paint to over 300 rectangles of canvas, I am an 87-year-old man, still playing my role as an artist, mostly painting people in their downtown habitat, pedestrians, cars, etc., with occasional stories into nature, ocean, waterways of all kinds." For more information about the Norway Summer Festival, contact Norway Downtown at (207) 739-2215 or visit www.downtownnorway.com.

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July 8 & 9, 2005 ~~~ Central Maine

The Central Kennebec Heritage Council, a coalition of museums and historical societies, has been working for over a year on a Maine Historic Landscape Legacy project, intended to introduce the public to heritage landscaping. Their efforts will yield public educational opportunities, new period plantings, and children's programs such as garden parties. Each participating institution-the Fairfield Historical Society, the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, the Norridgewock Historic Society, the Skowhegan History House, the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, the Oakland Museum, and the Macartney House in Oakland-has planned tours, talks, and/or exhibits. On July 8, landscape architect Theresa Mattor will launch the project's public component with a lecture on Maine's historic designed landscapes at the L.C. Bates Museum. On July 9, each of the Central Kennebec Heritage Council museums will hold an open house to display the range of landscape designs represented by their buildings and grounds. Project co-director Deborah Staber, (207) 238-4250, can provide contact information for any of the participating museums.

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July 8 - 10, 2005 ~~~ Stonington

In 2002, the Stonington Opera House commissioned an original chamber opera to capture the voices, stories, and sounds of life in Down East Maine. A grant in 2003 allowed them to engage award-winning poet and noted librettist Beatrix Gates in this project. Gates collected oral histories from residents of Stonington and Hancock and based her libretto on their stories. The musical score by Anna Dembska was recognized by one of 17 prestigious Commissioning Music/USA awards from Meet the Composer. The opera, "The Singing Bridge," is now complete and will premiere at the Opera House this summer. Opening night, July 8, is also the Opera House's Sixth Annual Benefit Gala. The opera will continue on July 9 and 10. For tickets or information, call 367-2788 or visit www.operahousearts.org

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July 11, 18, 25; August 1 and 8, 2005 ~~~ Montville

The Annual Artists' Lecture Series at the Arts Center at Kingdom Falls brings six distinguished Maine artists to the community for discussions of their creative process and inspiration. The speakers are Warren Selig (June 27), Robert Shetterly (July 11), Abby Shahn (July 18), Emily Brown (July 25), Harold Garde (August 1), and Dennis Pinette (August 8). Each lecture will be videotaped and archived with a written transcript in the Arts Center library for future study by students, artists, and scholars. The series dovetails with the Center's summer program of 40 arts workshops in various media for students of all ages. Lectures begin at 8 p.m. in the New Studio building at 52 Kingdom Road in Montville, and are free to the public with a $5 suggested donation. For further details, please call (207) 589-3025.

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July 11 - 16, 2005 ~~~ Hanover, NH

The Classical Association of New England (CANE) Summer Institute brings people interested in ancient cultures together with New England's most accomplished scholars for a six-day collegial program of lectures and mini-courses on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. This year's program, "Golden Ages," will investigate and challenge the idea of antiquity as a golden age and the uses of that image through the succeeding millennia. Portions of the program are open only to paid registrants, but nine public lectures are free and open to the public. This year's Institute takes place July 11-16. For a list of lectures or information on how to register for the entire Institute, please visit http://www.dartmouth.edu/~classics/CANE/CSI_2005_Index.html.

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July 22, 2005 ~~~ Whitneyville

July 22 will be one of the highlights of the Whitneyville Library's summer reading program for children. On that day, the Library Association has arranged for several Maine artists and musicians to join the children for a puppet-making workshop and help them create a puppet play about life in Washington County. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Whitneyville Congregational Church, and the Whitneyville Community Program are partners in planning for the workshop. To learn more about this program, please contact Patricia Brightly, library director and children's librarian, at (207) 255-8077.

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July 23 and October 1, 2005 ~~~ Kennebec County

This summer, the Kennebec Land Trust will offer three Saturday morning painting field trips to trust properties as part of their lyceum and plein-air painting programs. Participants, both beginners and experienced painters, will have the opportunity to work with guest artists in various media. On July 23, Marc Poirier will be at the Vaughan Homestead, overlooking the Kennebec River in Hallowell. On October 1, Lois Strickland will be at the Gott Pasture Preserve, at Wilson Pond in Wayne. The Kennebec Land Trust will hold an art exhibit featuring participants' paintings at Slate's Restaurant in Hallowell in March 2006. For registration and additional information, please contact the Kennebec Land Trust (207) 377-2848 or e-mail kennebeclt@ctel.net.

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July 26 and August 10, 2005 ~~~ Lovell

ASL classes at the Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library in Lovell have stimulated interest in deaf culture among local hearing people. The library will now draw on that interest in its efforts to increase access to humanities programming for deaf people in the region and to promote communication and cultural understanding between deaf and hearing communities. This summer, in addition to its ongoing ASL classes, the library will engage certified ASL interpreters for two public programs: a lecture by David Morine, author of Vacationland: A Half Century Summering in Maine, on July 26; and the second annual Charlotte Hobbs Storytelling Festival on August 10. The storytelling festival organizer, Jo Radner, is a folklorist, storyteller, and oral historian who has studied ASL and is uniquely qualified to work with both hearing and deaf performers for the festival. Please contact Radner at (207) 925-6244 for more information.

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August 2 - 4, 2005 ~~~ Presque Isle

The Historical Pavilion is an annual event at the Northern Maine Fair, bringing items from more than twenty regional historical societies and family collections together for an exhibition of local history. The Pavilion is in the Forum, the largest building on the Northern Maine Fairgrounds in Presque Isle. This year's Fair runs from July 29-August 6; the Historical Pavilion will be open August 2-4. For more information, contact Kevin McCartney at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, (207) 768-9482.

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April - August, 2005 ~~~ Central Maine

From 1866 to 1965, Dexter photographer Bert Call captured Central Maine and the North Woods in thousands of photographs and prints, most of which have never been exhibited. This summer, the cultural heritage and ecotourism committee of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council will bring these images before the public eye in a traveling exhibition hosted by a number of Mid-Maine historical societies. To see the exhibition, which travels between April 1 and August 31, Patrick Meyers, Cultural Heritage Director at the Economic Development Council, at (207) 564-8377 and ask for its current location.

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May - October, 2005 ~~~ Hinckley

On May 15, a retrospective exhibit of the life and works of renowned author, illustrator, and field biologist Bernd Heinrich opened at the L.C. Bates Museum. Heinrich has an enduring connection to Maine: he is an alumnus of the Good Will-Hinckley Homes for Boys and Girls, and he currently does much of his research and writing at a farm in the mountains of western Maine. The exhibit includes eight cases of historic documents, photographs, objects, watercolors, text panels, and drawings. In addition, a catalog prepared by the exhibit curator, William Lipke, features an essay written by Heinrich for this project. A children's program on four Wednesdays in July and school visits throughout the year will make the exhibit accessible to all ages. Bernd Heinrich appears at the museum on May 31 and July 8 and 9. The exhibit closes on October 15, 2005. The L.C. Bates Museum is located on Route 201 in Hinckley. For details, please call (207) 238-4250.

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May - October, 2005 ~~~ Lubec

The Association to Promote and Protect the Lubec Environment (APPLE) was formed to help visitors to Washington County interpret the historical, cultural, and ecological highlights of the area. Starting this summer, APPLE will offer guided historical tours of Lubec and Campobello, employing local people as guides. Area historical societies have contributed their resources to the development of these tours, which will run from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. Contact Ruta Jordans, (207) 733-2385 or rutaj@ptc-me.net, to learn how to join a tour.

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June - December, 2005 ~~~ Freeport

The Freeport Historical Society is celebrating 30 years as stewards of Pettengill Farm, a nineteenth-century salt-water farm located on the estuary of the Harraseeket River. The celebration, A Window Through Time: Pettengill Farm & The Soul of New England, includes an exhibit with a catalog, two workshops, and an open house. The exhibit combines contemporary black and white photographs of the farm, taken by fine art photographer John G. Kelley, with historic images and artifacts selected from the Society's collections. It opened on June 15 with a reception and book-signing, and will remain on display through December. Exhibit hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10-2:30 p.m. and Wednesday 10-7 p.m.

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August - October, 2005 ~~~ Ogunquit

"Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Associated Press Archives," an exhibition of 121 black and white photographs, will be on view at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art from August 29 through October 15, 2005. Among the photographs are the well-known picture of a sailor and a nurse kissing in Times Square on VJ Day and the Pulitzer Prize-winning picture of the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. In addition to the photographs, the museum will present special events including education programs, photography workshops, and public lectures. The museum is located at 543 Shore Road in Ogunquit. For details, call 646-4909 or visit www.ogunquitmuseum.org.

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Summer 2005 ~~~ North Haven

North Haven Arts & Enrichment is creating an exhibition of photographs, posters, video recordings, audio recordings, and narratives to celebrate the performing arts on the island of North Haven. The materials document the history of the island's successful drama program, which stages a minimum of two productions each year and made national headlines with its original musical, "Islands." Waterman's Community Center, which houses a 134-seat theater, a preschool, a gallery, and a coffee shop, opened in February 2004 and serves as an ideal venue for an exhibition celebrating the creative potential of this island community. For information, contact Keely Felton, program director for North Haven Arts & Enrichment, at (207) 867-2100.

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