City's oldest street festival packs Federal

Hot temps and sunny skies conspired to bring in huge crowds for this year's St. Peter's Italian Bazaar. A fundraiser for St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Federal Street, the two-day festival is in its 84th year and, according to this story in the Press Herald, is the longest running street festival in the city. Adam and I strolled over Saturday night to check out the booths and games run by parishioners.

Of course, one of the big draws was the food. Pizza was available by the slice, and this booth run by Nappi's sold eats such as meatball subs and Italian sausage. Adam enjoyed a chicken parm sandwich from the stand. As a vegetarian, I was pretty much out of luck (unless you count the cotton candy, which, thankfully for my teeth's sake, I didn't).

We got a real kick out of watching a series of young, buff guys try their luck at the infamous grease pole. The goal: Climb to the top and grab the American flag. The contestants could use a rag to wipe some of the grease from the pole, but, even with such assistance, it was slow going. Regardless of how high they could climb, the view from the ground was pretty impressive.

Lobster boat delivers Red Claws uniforms

Only here in Portland would a basketball team unveil its sharp new uniforms via lobster boat. And that's exactly what happened this afternoon when John Ready, captain of Catch a Piece of Maine, rolled up to the dock below Bell Buoy Park and delivered two Maine b-ball stars dressed in the Red Claws' new threads.

On the left is Matt Clement, a former Lawrence High and Maine Maritime standout, and to his right is Jamaal Caterina, a former Deering High and University of Southern Maine star and Maine's 2001 Mr. Basketball.

Matt and Jamaal then joined Red Claws Chairman Bill Ryan, Jr., who announced that both of today's models would participate in the upcoming Northeast tryouts, which will likely take place in Boston. Let's hope they both make the cut.

The new team also announced its schedule, with the first home game set for Dec. 4 at 8 pm at the Portland Expo. You can buy tickets on the Red Claws' website.

Want to see more of these good-looking guys? Here they are ready for the pages of GQ:

New apartment building offers 43 units, green features

Today's opening of the brand new 53 Danforth apartment building was celebrated by a line-up of well-known speakers. At the podium is Chellie Pingree, Maine's 1st District representative to the U.S. Congress, who is fresh from her much talked about appearance on The Colbert Report. To her left are Dale McCormick, director of the Maine State Housing Authority, Governor John Baldacci, the project's developers Nathan Szanton and Bob Monks, and, just out of the frame, Portland Mayor Jill Duson.

They gathered to applaud the construction of this attractive 43-unit apartment building named 53 Danforth in reference to its street address. It includes 30 affordable apartments and 13 market rate apartments. Located in the Studio District, this apartment building has super-insulated walls, solar hot water heaters, low-flow showerheads, Energy Star appliances and efficient lighting. Tenants who don't own cars will receive a monthly rent reduction of $40. For those who want to go car-free, this location is pretty sweet. It's right next to the West End and Old Port and surrounded by eateries, including Yosaku, Portland Pie and El Rayo Taqueria.

Here's a view of part of the crowd that filled much of Danforth Street. There are lots of notable people in this shot, and I'll just point out a few. In the dark suit is Hans Underdahl, president of the Portland Museum of Art Board of Trustees, and next to him in the tan suit is Mark Bessire, the museum's director. When the museum bought the old YWCA next to its campus it placed $900,000 in escrow to replace the housing formerly in the Y building. That money helped fund this project.

To Mark's right, also in a tan summer suit, is Dave Birkhahn of TD Banknorth, who helped make the project possible by facilitating the bank's purchase of the property's low-income housing tax credits. In front of Mark, is the Portland Press Herald's summer intern Tim Devaney, who will have a story about the new building in tomorrow's paper, accompanied by photos from staff photographer John Ewing, in the green shirt. Be sure to check it out.

As you can see, there were TV crews at the event as well. The lady in the black pants and lime green top is Patty McDougal, who has already rented an apartment in the building. According to Nathan Szanton, others who have leased apartments include a waitress, a Shaw's clerk and an LL Bean manager.

This is a typical kitchen layout in the building's one and two bedroom units. In the units I toured, prices ranged from $771 for an affordable one-bedroom (renters must meet income guidelines) to $1,395 for a market rate one-bedroom.

Without a doubt, the best apartment in the building is this one-bedroom which comes with a giant rooftop deck with views of the harbor and the West End. It rents for $1,550. Should you want to check out these new digs before they're all rented, call Karen Walker at Dirigo Management Company at 871-1080.

New trail connects Eastern Prom with East End Trail

The other night Adam and I hiked up Congress Street (stopping at Rosemont Bakery for refreshments) and made our way to the gorgeous Eastern Promenade. Here we lingered for a while on a park bench, sipping our drinks and soaking in the most beautiful view in the city. But as the sun dipped lower, we got up to try and find our real destination: The new Fort Allen Park Trail.

We located the recently opened trail just below the gazebo in Fort Allen Park (which is near the southern most end of the Eastern Prom park). Here I am taking a quick rest before we begin our descent.

This trail connection is really a curving granite staircase, which appears to be made from old curb stones. We all know that Portland Trails maintains an amazing network of pedestrian and bike connections throughout the city, and this short trail is just the latest example of how this nonprofit is helping local people get around the city without a car.

At the bottom of the stairs, the trail dumps onto the Eastern Prom Trail. This popular trail runs between the Back Cove Trail and the Old Port and offers parallel paved and stone dust paths, making it ideal for both roller bladers and runners. It was clear from the number of people we saw walking and biking in work attire that it's being used as an alternative way to commute between downtown and the East End.

And with views like the one above, you can see why loads of Portlanders opt to leave their cars at home and hit the trails instead.

Midsummer Night's Dream performed free in Deering Oaks

Last night was the first performance of the Fenix Theatre Company's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which took place for free at the wading pool in Deering Oaks Park. If you missed it, you can catch it again tonight (Aug. 6), Sat., Aug. 8, Wed., Aug. 12, Thur., Aug. 13, Fri., Aug. 14 and Sat., Aug. 15. All shows take place at 6 pm. It's weather-permitting, of course, and it's such a treat you really want to find a way to fit it into your schedule.

Here's a shot of Puck (played by Ian Carlsen) and Oberon (played by Paul Drinan). There's a lot to love about this performance, including the high-quality of the acting and the luscious setting. Another is the fun costumes. I've seen this well-known Shakespeare play performed many times, most recently at Kennebunk High, and I have to say the sexy, urban edge of the actors' attire provided an excellent change of pace.

Here's a lounging cluster of faries, plus the comic band of actors, all of whom played multiple roles in the production. From left to right the comic actors are Snug (Ariel Francoeur, who also plays Hermia), Flute (played by Brian Chamberlain, who also plays Lysander), Snout (played by Seth Rigoletti, who also plays Demetrius) and Bottom (played by Lisa Muller-Jones, who also plays Egeus).

I've also never seen such a physical performance of this play. Not only is there lots of amorous contact, but plenty of slapping, pushing and general rolling around on the ground. It all lent itself well to the humor in this timeless comedy.

At the end of the performance, Fenix Theatre Company Executive Director Rob Cameron took the stage to thank everyone for coming and put in a good word for the donation box. He also held up a copy of yesterday's Portland Press Herald and pointed out the story about Naked Shakespeare being shut down at the Wine Bar due to Portland's strange zoning rules. He urged everyone to call their city councilors and ask that the rules be changed so the Bard and his followers don't get chased out of the Old Port.

Because even though nothing beats seeing Shakespeare in the park on a hot summer night, it's pretty hard to duplicate this al fresco performance in the dead of winter. That's why we need Naked Shakespeare at the Wine Bar. Or else we're bound to suffer "the winter of our discontent."

Regency's 20 Milk Street adds outdoor dining

The sun is shining and there's humidity in the air, which makes it the perfect time of year to grab dinner and drinks outside. Early in the season, The Portland Regency added a handful of tables on the Market Street sidewalk outside of The Armory Lounge. More recently, the historic Old Port hotel created a lovely outdoor dining room on the far side of the parking circle.

There's seating for roughly 20 and both dinner and lunch are served here, weather permitting. The standard menu comes from the hotel's 20 Milk Street restaurant. This restaurant offers steak and seafood-centric fare, but should you want something lighter I hear that the waitstaff is happy to offer the new bar menu from The Armory.

Also, look for nightly specials and the two for $60 dinner special, which includes two salads, two entrees, two desserts and coffee, tea or soda.

Lunch is served outdoors from 11:30 am-1 pm and dinner is served from 5-9:30 pm Sunday-Thursday and until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. For more info or a reservation call 774-4200. The hotel & restaurant are located at 20 Milk Street.