This weekend in Maine: What's Happening

There are times of the year that it’s difficult to get any work done.  The holidays are one of those times.  Another time is now.  Mid summer . . . July & August.  The weather is beautiful, rarely a day that’s too hot.  Days stretch out well into prime time.  It’s hard to stay inside.  You almost wish for a rainy day so you can have a few productive hours.  But with so many people on vacation, I find that I’m leaving voice mails for people who won’t return for days and sending emails that are lobbed back as out of office replies.  So what do you do?

Go out and have fun.

Whether you’ve been at work or on vacation this week, I bet you’re still looking for something to do this weekend.  There’s plenty going on in Maine in the next few days.  Find your way to one or more of these happenings. 

Bangor State Fair – Having started July 27^th, this year’s Bangor State Fair is in full swing.  Located on the grounds of the Bangor Auditorium and Bangor Raceway, this is one of the largest and longest running agricultural fairs in the nation.  The midway and games, rides and concessions are pure carnival.  Attendees come from everywhere and people watching (if you’re into that kind of thing) is part of the fun.  One thing that makes this a true Maine show is the lobster roll eating contest, taking place August 3.  Some of the live shows have come to Bangor before and some are new experiences for visitors.  One repeat performer is the Disc-Connected K9s show.  I’d go back and see this one again and again.  The show team trains rescue dogs from all over the world to catch flying discs and jump on their shoulders and show off their agility.  You can even get a mini disc “autographed” with bite marks by one of the dogs.  More food than should be allowed, a great agricultural set up in the Bangor Raceway barns, a photo contest, all kinds of 4H contests, and a live BMX bike show.  Admission is $12.00 for all ages and it allows access to all shows and unlimited amusement rides.  More info here:  www.bangorstatefair.com.

Maine Fairy House Festival – at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay is an event that I attended two years ago.  Such a fun time for kids and grownups.  Lose yourself in imagining a world where fairies giggle and hide in the woodlands and garden.  Build Fairy Houses with your kids.  The Botanical Gardens prepares areas for doing just that, and somehow there’s just enough decorating material to build a great house.  

The gardens themselves are spectacular.  I especially loved the Burpee kitchen garden full of fresh herbs and the Alfond children’s garden.  The children’s garden has a vegetable garden and a keeper’s cottage.  Live performances, crafts, the oh so fun bubble machine, and food make for a fun time.  All I have to say on this one – if you’re in the area – GO – here’s more info and directions and some beautiful photos of the gardens http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar/maine-fairy-house-festival

Maine Lobster Festival – In Rockland, this festival’s claim as “the original lobster festival” can’t be disputed by many.  A tradition for 65 years, it has grown into an event that its creators might not have imagined.  It has gone well beyond the expected lobster related food and fun.  Arts & crafts, maritime displays and demonstrations, and live entertainment.  www.mainelobsterfestival.com

Maine Comedy Festival – being held at the Bethel Inn Resort, funny people and a golf tournament to boot.  www.mainecomedyfest.com.  They’ve got some big names and expect big laughs.  If you’re visiting or live in western Maine, you might want to check this out. 

WLBZ Sidewalk Art Festival – Between the Bangor Fair and this event, my little part of the state is really hopping this weekend.  This art festival grows every year.  It’s great to get out and get inspired by other artists and perhaps get your hands on something really cool.  Check it out at www.wlbz2.com. 

84th annual Kennebunk Antiques Show and Sale -  Held on Saturday and Sunday, August 4 & 5, at the Kennebunk High School gymnasium. Sponsored by the Animal Welfare Society, Inc, this year's show will again have 30 exhibitors from several states selling antiques in every area of the antiques market. Known for its tremendous selection of fine antique glass, fine antique china and antique and estate jewelry, this year’s show will also include Period and country furniture, Folk Art, primitives, Americana, Silver, historical Staffordshire, hand-painted china, pottery, decoys, paintings, prints, Fine Art, linens, postcards & ephemera, and Oriental porcelains. Come early, have lunch & enjoy.  For more info, directions and schedule www.goosefareantiques.com/

Okay so if none of this inspired you to get off your couch and go play, you’re really missing out on some great stuff.

Head’s up for next weekend (11^th & 12^th) – start making plans for

Downtown Bangor’s Artwalk  – August 10^th

 http://artwalkmaine.org/bangor/

Kahbang Music and Arts Festival begins

http://www.kahbang.com/

MAINE TRAVEL: SPEND THE DAY – You can BELIEVE IN FAIRIES

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of sorts. It seems like I’m trying to cram in all the summer fun that I can before school starts, work gets more demanding, and the winter looms. Writing about the neat places we’ve been has two benefits; one is that by passing on information about these places, a reader or two might be inclined to check them out – kind of my pay it forward idea; the other benefit is that I get to relive the day, thereby extending the good feelings.

Here is a little info about one of our recent day trips:

COASTAL MAINE BOTANICAL GARDENS, Boothbay Maine - www.mainegardens.org/

I’ve been wanting the check this place out for some time now. It’s relatively new, and continues to grow. The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens opened in June of 2007, after 16 years of planting and building.

The Visitor Center houses a gift shop, café, and event space for weddings and birthday parties. It’s a beautiful building and fits perfectly into the Maine Coast feeling of the location. Just outside the Visitor Center is the Great Lawn & Ledge Garden.

 

Although we hadn’t planned it, we were thrilled to find that the day we visited was part of the Maine Fairy House Festival Weekend. The Great Lawn was skirted with craft vendors offering all manner of fairy attire: wings, wands, fairy house crafts and books. Someone had ingeniously set up a step ladder rigged with a power source that propelled a wheel of bubble wands and kept a continuous flow of bubbles floating throughout the lawn area. Families picnicked and enjoyed the space. A local ice cream vendor was set up with a line of customers that didn’t dwindle the whole time we were there. I had the blueberry ice cream, in case you’re wondering. Children and adults alike frolicked. Bubbles flitted and popped.

The Burpee Kitchen Garden was not only visually stunning in its design but a sensual summer feast of scents that lingered on hands rubbed on the warm leaves of lemon basil, thyme, sage, lavender and marjoram. From there we couldn’t help but be pulled into the brand new Harold and Bibby Alfond Children’s Garden. What a fabulous place! Twisty walkways, a misting rock garden with swings, a pond with lily pads and pitcher plants, a treehouse, a Wabanaki hut, bear cave, huge vegetable garden with playful identifying signs, a weather station, and it went on and on. My daughter’s favorite part, and the place we spent the most time, was at the fairy house area.

 A small wooded section had been designated for fairy house building. Since this was the third day of the Maine Fairy House Festival, there were quite a few houses already built, and we had to search a bit for some prime fairy house real estate. There were piles of house building supplies – pine cones, tree bark, twigs, moss, any manner of natural object found in the forests, which, in Coastal Maine, includes shells, dried seaweed, and smooth beach rocks.

Children had built fairy houses of all sorts and had included walkways, hammocks, tables and chairs, bridges and fences. What amazes me about these fairy villages is the imagination of children as they design and dream of the fairies that will visit.

After spending quite a while building her fairy house, my daughter sat back, pleased with her creation. I watched kids of all ages, from toddlers to tweens hard at work and deeply entrenched in their projects. One little boy squatted near us, very interesting in the building process, and even more so in the bright green caterpillar that had dropped out of the tree overhead onto the soft moss that had become the playground.

We worked our way through the Children’s Garden and toward the trails that zig zagged their way down to the waterfront. We checked out the Haney Hillside Garden and followed the Shoreland Trail along the water. We worked our way up to Birch Allee then caught a ride on one of the Garden’s shuttles, which run around the property and deliver guests to various locations on the grounds.

We truly could have spent quite a bit more time there, having lunch and enjoying all of the 250 acres that are available to explore.

Of note here: my husband is not a gardener, nor is he a photographer and I had thought that he would be bored and anxious to leave. That was not the case at all. The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was exciting and vibrant, and managed to hold the interest of even the biggest of kids.

My advice: take all the kids, it’s worth the admission. Spend the day.

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are open year from, every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you’re a member, it’s free to enter the gardens. Non members are $10 for adults and $5 for children 3 -1 7. Under age 3 is free. Note that a family of 2adults and 2 kids under 18 can get in for $25. Groups of 10 or more are $7 per person.

Check out the calendar of events for all of the goings on at the gardens.