SUMMERTIME!
New show by Jefferson artist at BRAF
The Boothbay Region Art Foundation (BRAF) presents Jefferson-based artist Carol Wiley’s solo show, “The Shapes of Our Lives.” This exhibit, hung in the upstairs Harbor View Gallery, runs from Aug. 28 to Oct. 15.
Said Wiley of her work, “As I gain maturity as an artist I find myself feeling freer to use a variety of media to explore color relationships, interesting shapes, and linear movement without restriction and to tell my story. Of these explorations, color is by far my favorite… Read more
Campgrounds strive to salvage season
The Boothbay region’s only recreational vehicle campgrounds, Shore Hills of Boothbay and Gray Homestead Ocean Campground of Southport, are in the midst of what would have been quite a successful season as Maine celebrates its 200th anniversary.
Shore Hills campground host Paula Reny-Warford said all of May was lost as the announcement for openings of private campgrounds came less than a week before Memorial Weekend. “… My mother and I already had cancelled everyone's reservations,”… Read more
Camden Conference and Rockland Public Library present Ret Talbot
The Camden Conference and Rockland Public Library will present Ret Talbot in a Zoom presentation on Sept. 3 at 6:30 p.m. He will be discussing “Melting Ice, Vanishing Fish — How Climate Change in the Arctic is Affecting Maine’s Fishery.”
As the once well-established borders between the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans become blurred by warming waters, a massive fisheries resource shift is underway. Valuable species like halibut, pollock, snow crab, and cod are appearing in… Read more
‘Summer’s End’ art show at Ocean Point Inn
Ocean Point Inn will host “Summer’s End” an art show featuring the works of local and regional artists. The show will open on Wednesday, Sept. 2 and run through Monday, Oct. 12.
An opening reception for the artists will be held Sept. 2 from 5-7 p.m. at Ocean Point Inn, 191 Shore Road, East Boothbay.
Any local artists who would like to be included in the show may pick up an application at the inn. The deadline for submission is Friday, Aug. 28. Each artist may submit two… Read more
Lobsterman’s Wharf now an open air restaurant
The disappearance of the red Lobsterman’s Wharf building in East Boothbay a few years ago marked the end of an era. And a new era has begun. The former restaurant, built around a minesweeper pilothouse, now offers open air dining – exclusively.
This kind of restaurant is what owners Dan and Eileen Miller have wanted to do right along. But the original plan in 2019 was to demolish the restaurant and replace it, completely rebuild the wharf, replace the pilings and the foundation… Read more
Fat Boy Drive-In hosting MSMT fundraiser
Fat Boy Drive-In is proud to sponsor Maine State Music Theater in showing the 2020 season's cancelled classic, “Mamma Mia!” Monday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. Limited tickets available!
This event will be a drive-in style viewing of the movie to raise money for MSMT's 2021 season! Parking will open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served between 6-7.
Each ticket includes admission to the show, dinner from Fat Boy Drive-In, and a donation to MSMT. Minimum of 2 tickets per car, tickets… Read more
‘Ed Parker: Painting the Story’
Beginning Thursday, Aug. 20, and running through Tuesday, Sept. 22, Gleason Fine Art hosts “Ed Parker: Painting the Story.” The Southport resident is universally acknowledged as one of America's leading marine painters working in the folk art tradition. It is also fair to say that his creations are far more sophisticated than the term “folk art” might suggest.
For each of Ed Parker's complex and expertly composed paintings, the artist sifts through his vast knowledge of all things… Read more
Run2Respond Relay rolls through Wiscasset, Woolwich
Every race Danny Evarts wanted to enter this year was canceled due to the pandemic, until Sunday, when the Woolwich firefighter got to bike seven miles from Wiscasset’s fire station to Woolwich’s and then run three miles to Bath’s, in Run2Respond. The interstate relay event benefits responders’ well-being and mental health via the non-profit Firefighter Five Foundation, according to Run2Respond.com
Minutes before leaving the Wiscasset station, Evarts said he was out of shape but it… Read more
Alna artist Kate Nordstrom exhibit
“Bunny is my essence,” says Alna-based artist Kate Nordstrom, and then, with a mischievous smile, she moves on to the next topic, how she paints.
“When I’m painting, I’m playing, I’m experimenting” with colors, combinations, forms, dream images, and intuition. And while the paintings do appear playful, they are also complex and layered with visual surprises, which the artist describes as magical realism. They are fantastical but recognizable, and they tell stories.
Kate… Read more
Celebrating 10 years of Markings Gallery
Markings Gallery, an artists’ cooperative with three large display rooms nestled on a lively little street in the shipbuilding city of Bath, is the rare shop that you bring all your out-of-town friends and relatives to see. There’s a magic to Markings that needs to be shared.
Markings is celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Normally, Markings, known for its gallery shows and artists talks, would throw a big bash to mark this historic accomplishment. But not this year with protocols… Read more
Coming up: Cattle Call and Don Campbell Band
Mark Farrington sings of log trucks and snowmobile trails as the lead vocalist for Cattle Call, while Don Campbell brings memories of Dan Fogelberg to the stage this summer. Both musicians, and their bands, will help wrap up August performances at the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor.
Mark Farrington’s band of Maine musicians always leaves audiences calling for more of their originals. Hard to describe but perhaps pigeon-holed as “Maine Country and Folk,” the band brings an… Read more
Free boat in, drive in, sit out movies
Harbor Theater is bringing you a three-day outdoor movie extravaganza with a giant pop-up screen, live music, food and drink (including popcorn and candy), and films for all ages on Thursday, Aug. 27, Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29; gates open at 6:30 p.m. All three events will be free and open to the public; first come, first served. This is our way to thank the community for its patience and support while the theater is closed due to COVID-19.
Bring your car, your boat, your… Read more
Prix fixe dinner and a new art show
Artists’ stories an eclectic mix of materials and genres
“Lost and Found”, the current online show at the Maine Art Gallery, features three Maine artists who create mixed media narratives with all manner of materials from traditional art supplies to textiles, papers, and found objects. The show, which can be viewed at www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org … Read more
‘You guys rode history tonight!’: WWFRY reopens with landmark trip
“This is the part where the train said, ‘I thought I could, I thought I could,” Maynard, Massachusetts’ John McNamara said in a narrow gauge train in Alna Friday night after it took public riders down from Top of the Mountain and to the bridge at Trout Brook for the first time since Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway last did in 1933. Friday’s face-masked riders went further on the rails than the public has gone in the 31-year-old WW&F Railway Museum’s history.
Sue Heil Kibbe in New Harbor art show
Robert Mitchell’s 2021 calendar bolsters the spirit with stunning photos
Looking ahead to 2021 with 2020 vision, Robert Mitchell has once again outdone himself. Through a dozen remarkable photos, his Around Boothbay Harbor calendar is just what we need to calm our cares as we mark off the days of the coming year. The images of local sites Mitchell selected don’t hint at the troubles of recent and coming months – a welcome change from so much of what we see.
That isn’t to say that Mitchell remains unaffected. His letter from “The Mitchell Group,” which… Read more
New show at Wiscasset Bay Gallery
"Impressionism, Modernism and Realism, " which opens Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery, is a diverse exhibition spanning the early 19th through mid-20th centuries with works by Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Belgian and American artists.
Of particular interest is a vibrant watercolor by neo-impressionist, Hippolyte Petitjean (French, 1854-1929). Using his classic pointillist technique, Petitjean depicts a vase of flowers… Read more
I love a mystery!
Paul… Read more
10th annual Ina and Lew Heafitz endowed lecture online
This year, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG) will present its 10th annual Heafitz lecture, “Where Nature Leads: Sustainability, Livelihood, and Innovation in Midcoast Maine,” via an online panel discussion, Aug. 13 from 2-3:30 p.m.
Because circumstances surrounding the pandemic have most of us looking for inspiration closer to home, this year’s Heafitz lecture will have a very Midcoast feel—and in the spirit of including the public to join the Gardens in its mission to create… Read more
New August show at Studio 53
Featured artists for the month of August at Studio 53 are Nancy Keenan Barron and Don Josephson. The Gallery will hold a reception in their honor on Friday, Aug. 7 from 5-7 p.m. outdoors near the Sculpture Garden out back - and on the water. Complimentary food and drink will be served. Come and meet them.
Masks must be worn inside the Gallery, 5 art lovers at a time. Studio 53 is at 53 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor. The Gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. seven days a week. For more… Read more
New show: ‘Tom Curry: Surrounded By Water’
Beginning Thursday, Aug. 6, and running through Tuesday, Sept. 8, Gleason Fine Art presents "Tom Curry: Surrounded by Water." The Brooklin, Maine artist has been represented by Gleason Fine Art for over 15 years. This is Tom's fourth solo show.
Tom Curry is intrigued with the idea of being surrounded by water. His first port of call after completing degrees at RISD and Yale was Hawaii. After tiring of Hawaii, Curry and his wife, the science and children's book writer Kim Ridley,… Read more
Small concerts in the big house
This summer’s altered concert schedule at the Opera House of Boothbay Harbor has been met with enthusiasm from both audience members and performers. Upcoming performances include rockabilly, guitar master Sean Mencher on Aug. 8; followed by music from the great operas of the world with Opera on Tap on Aug. 12 and ragtime and boogie woogie with pianist Bob Milne on Aug. 19.
Opera on Tap is the largest network of performing artists in the country, taking a local, grassroots,… Read more
Updated water access restrictions at Popham Beach and Reid State Parks
AUGUSTA –Earlier this week, in response to the fatal shark attack near Bailey Island, water activity restrictions took effect at Maine's coastal State Parks with beaches. Today, July 31, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) is limiting water access at the following beaches:
Popham Beach State Park and Reid State Park restricted to waist-deep water access (the lagoon at Reid State Park remains open).
Ferry Beach State Park… Read more
Maine Fishing Guides visit Camp Knickerbocker
Volunteers of Maine Fishing Guides stopped by Camp Knickerbocker on Thursday, June 30 to teach Y campers different fishing related skills. Maine Fishing Guide is a service based out of Skowhegan, Maine, and is a relatively new guide service that wants to make sure to spend time with the youth in Maine to educate them on what the Maine outdoors has to offer.
The day at camp started by breaking the campers into groups that each focused on a different subject, led by one of the… Read more
Johnny Cash tribute added to summer lineup
The Chocolate Church Arts Center, at 804 Washington Street in Bath, has announced additional concerts as part of its CCAC Real Outdoor Concert Series (CCAC ROCS). On Saturday, Aug. 29 and Sunday, Aug. 30, the CCAC will present “My Life as the Man In Black: Scott Moreau Sings The Music of Johnny Cash.” The concerts will take place on the Great Lawn at the Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington St., as part of a collaboration between the two organizations.
The concerts, as with all of… Read more
BHYC Kayakers paddle out of Port Clyde
The Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club Kayakers, led by Sharma Schacknow, drove to nearby Port Clyde for a two-hour paddle on Wednesday, July 29.
Port Clyde Kayaks participants gave the safety presentation and the group paddled six miles past the historic N.C Wyeth house, between the Caldwell Islands, and partially around Hupper Island.
The weather was gorgeous, the seas were calm, and sharks were nowhere to be seen.
Sunrise Lighthouse Photograph Cruise Sept. 12
Mike Leonard, contributing photographer for the Boothbay Register, is once again hosting the Boothbay Harbor Sunrise Lighthouse Photography Cruise on the Balmy Days II on Maine Open Lighthouse Day, Saturday, Sept. 12, 6 to 8 a.m.
Leonard, who has hosted this event and others through Balmy Days Cruises for several years, offers tips and advice to photographers during the two-hour adventure.
This is a unique opportunity for people to be able to make photographs of the… Read more
Need to celebrate in August?
Every once in a while, I dip into the National Days Calendar website to get ideas for this column. Before taking this week off from work (returning Sunday, Aug. 9), I discovered that the first week in August is National Simplify Your Life Week. Perfect. I wanted to find some fun things to celebrate during my week off. Then, I thought, why not give my readers some ideas for things to celebrate for the rest of August.
For most of the days listed below, I have given readers a choice on… Read more
Virtual chat with author Lily King
On Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 10 a.m., Skidompha Library’s Chats with Champions program will host its first virtual chat. The guest will be Lily King, the award-winning author of the novels “The Pleasing Hour,” “The English Teacher,” “Father of the Rain,” and “Euphoria,” one of the New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2014 and a finalist for the National Book Award.
King lives in Maine and has graciously offered to discuss her newest title “Writers & Lovers” with Skidompha… Read more
The Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper – hometown news you just can’t get anywhere else.
Lobster Boat Races
SATURDAY of FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND
Races begin at 10 a.m.
Commemorative Ts and sweatshirts at sign up table at Brown’s Wharf on Atlantic Avenue go on sale at 8 a.m. - and they go fast (not as fast as the lobster boats, but pretty close!)
The lobster boat season revs up here in Boothbay Harbor the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend each year!
22 Commercial St., Boothbay Harbor
207-633-7200
Sail the Bennie Alice from Pier 6 in Boothbay Harbor to Cabbage Island, a quintessential Maine experience. The Moore family hosts guests 7 days a week from mid-June through Labor Day serving up traditional Downeast clambakes cooked on the water's edge.
Pier 6, Boothbay Harbor.
207-613-7339
Take the Harbor Princess or Pink Lady II for adventure ... Whale watching - Puffin and pelagic bird trips - lighthouse tour - Reggae cruise - and so many more!
Ticket booth at Pier 8.
207-633-2284
Book a trip aboard the Novelty, Balmy Days II, Miss Boothbay, or Friendship sloop Bay Lady.
Trips include: Monhegan Island, mackerel fishing, harbor tours, more!
Ticket booth on Pier 1 - 20 Commercial St., Boothbay Harbor
207-633-6598
Day sails, sunset cruises, private charters aboard Eastwind and Applejack (formerly the Lazy Jack)!
120 Commercial St./Bristol Marine
Please note: Schooner Isaac Evans is not sailing in 2023.
92 Wall Point Road, Boothbay Harbor
Freedom Boat Club offers an affordable alternative to boat ownership.
207-650-6027
66 Fort Road, Edgecomb
Held the last Thursday in June through September.
Art gallery events, entertainment, food, public participation art projects, more!
First Friday Art Tour
Held between the hours of 3-8 p.m. on the first Friday of June through October.
A self-guided walking (or driving) tour of the art galleries in Boothbay Harbor. See new work by local artists and gallery owners, refreshments; often with live demos and/or music! Times vary. Look for the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber info table outside Coastal Maine Popcorn for the map of participants the first Friday June - Oct. and/or check out the listings in the week’s edition of the Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper!
296 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor
Dinner and a music-filled show - summer stock that’s not to be missed! Visit the website for show dates.
Call 633-5297 for reservations.
Established in 2017 as the Boothbay Region Sculpture Trail by the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce. Sculptures of stone from granite to marble, metal, steel and more lead you along the Trail through town, and then by car to locations in Boothbay, East Boothbay and Southport Island. Trail maps are available at the Chamber, 192 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, and other locations to be announced.
50 Sugar Maple Lane, Boothbay.
Breathtaking vistas, challenging 18-hole golf course, and a sea breeze blowing off the ocean. The stunning new clubhouse is unlike any other facility in Maine with luxury amenities - including Giselaine’s Spa, and unparalleled service.