Historic house tours in Bath made easy

After being recognized as a Preserve America Community and one of twelve Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the City of Bath is offering visitors a downloadable walking tour podcast. Using your own iPod or MP3 player, people can now learn about some of the most beautiful and well-preserved historic homes and buildings in Bath.

Three separate tours lead listeners through north, south, and central sections of Bath. The narration describes architectural elements, history of the buildings, and anecdotes on notable residents.

To download the tour, go to www.cityofbath.com/pub_visiting and click on "Walking Tours." For those visitors without iPods, rentals will be available at the following Bed and Breakfasts: the Pryor House, the Benjamin Packard House, the Galen C. Moses House, the Kennebec Inn and the Inn at Bath. They are also available at the Bath Railroad Station information center, Now You're Cooking and the Holiday Inn.

"Bath is one of the most beautiful small cities in Maine," according to City Manager Bill Giroux. "Having the iPods available throughout the city allows all visitors to experience our architectural heritage."

For further information on the architectural walking tour podcast, contact Erika Helgerson at ehelgerson@cityofbath.com or call 207-443-8330 x223.
Long known as "The City of Ships," Bath, Maine finds its soul and identity in shipbuilding. From its architecture and cultural offerings to its urban downtown, Bath's shipbuilding roots define its character.

WANTED: The perfect tree for Portland's Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony!

A search is underway for the "perfect" spruce or fir tree for the holiday season in Monument Square kicking off with the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony to be held on
November 28th at 5:30pm.

The winning tree is 50-70 feet tall and trees will only be considered within 15 miles from Portland. We will remove it from your property at our expense!

All tree entries must be received by November 7, 2008. For more information contact Portland's Downtown District at (207) 772-6828 or email info@portlandmaine.com .

Portland Museum of Art launches blog

The Portland Museum of Art has launched it's first-ever blog, On Reading Online, located on the Museum's website at www.portlandmuseum.org/about/blog. The new blog was created in celebration of National Book Month and in conjunction with the exhibition André Kertész: On Reading (through November 16), which features 89 photographs by internationally renowned photographer André Kertész that capture people reading. During the run of the exhibition, the Museum encourages people to visit the blog to share thoughts and ideas about books and reading. On Reading Online poses questions for participants, inviting conversation around various book-related topics, such as: "What are you reading?" "Why do you love your favorite book?" and "What was the first book you ever checked out of the 'grown-up' section of the library?" On Reading Online will have daily updates to the online conversation and feature comments from Maine authors as well as visitors to the blog.

"The Museum is excited to launch this new initiative that extends conversation beyond the Museum's walls," said the Museum's Peggy L. Osher Director of Education Dana Baldwin. "On Reading Online is the first in a series of conversations between the Museum and bloggers from across the country and around the world. Bloggers can look at the site in December when the Museum's blog topic shifts to a discussion of contemporary art in Maine."

On Reading Online is made possible in part by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council.

Portland Wine Flight registration open!

Saturday, October 25 at 9:30am
Maine State Pier
Registration: www.tri-maine.com or Active.com, keyword "Wine Flight"

About the Wine FLight:
A fun, new 5k Run/Walk Lifestyle Event that combines the celebration of fitness and health with spectacular views, good company, and the best food and wine Portland has to offer. It's untimed, so come and have fun without worrying about finishing fast, slow, or somewhere in between. The course through Portland's East End that starts and finishes at the Maine State Pier. The Flight course consists of three out and back loops - each one with a unique food tasting experience at the end of it.

The food and wine. The Wine Flight 5k combines the fun of a 5k run/walk with the joy of food and wine. At each "Aid Station" you can sample delicacies from local purveyors that make excellent accompaniments to wine - cheese, olives, fruits, veggies, and chocolates. Indulge - you've earned it.

It's a great way to be active and social. There is no time clock for this race - it's is all about the experience and atmosphere. Run as hard or as easy as you'd like between stations. Make your pit stops longer than your splits. Chat along the way. Meet fellow runners and toast your competitors. The Flight is packed with festive atmosphere.

Great Portland location. Fall is a great time to run in the city, and The Flight course takes full advantage of Portland's scenery. Take in the views from the start and finish festivities at the Maine State Pier and wind your way around downtown, up Fore Street, and the along Eastern Prom and shoreline.

Aid Stations: Each loop ends at a unique aid station - a different type of food tasting experience. Stay and sample everything or grab and go!

Post-Race Party: Celebrate your accomplishments with the rest of the participants by toasting to good health and good wine!

Proceeds support two great groups:
Hardy Girls Healthy Women is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women. Our vision is that all girls and women experience equality, independence, and safety in their everyday lives. To that end, our mission is to create opportunities, develop programs, and provide services that empower them.

GoGirlsGo! is the primary programming focus of the Women's Sports Foundation designed to combat the alarming physical and psychological health hazards affecting America's young girls. GoGirlGo! uses sport and physical activity as an educational intervention that supports girls' health and wellness in childhood and early womanhood.

A Race Across Portland scavenger hunt registration open

THINK. GO. GET IT. A Race Across Portland is on Saturday, October 18, 2008.

THINK. GO. GET IT. (TGGI) is Portland West's first scavenger hunt race throughout the City of Portland. Teams of two people (or to four people for the family division) will solve clues and traverse the city using their own two feet and/or public transportation. It is a day of trivia, exercise, challenge, friendly competition, memories, and, best of all, it's fun! After the event, we will have live music, food and informational tables staffed by our community partners.

TGGI is a fundraising event for Portland West. Portland West is a 40 year old non profit organization in the West End of Portland. Our mission is to eliminate the conditions of poverty and build community. You participation in this fun filled event with help us continue to keep our mission alive!

See the attached information to sign up. Fill out the registration forms, drop it off or mail it in!

THINK. GO. GET IT. A Race Across Portland a wonderful event for all.

Download registration form [doc]

Maine Art Scene Announces Its Official Launch

Maine Art Scene (maineartscene.com) proudly announces its launch of a new online arts and culture magazine devoted to showcasing the arts and art-related events in Maine. From gallery and museum exhibits to concerts, live theater, poetry and artist interviews, Maine Art Scene is Maine's premier online resource for current and complete updates on art happenings throughout the state.

"Since we moved to Maine, my husband and I made friends with numerous artists," said Brenda Bonneville, editor of Maine Art Scene. "Because of our backgrounds in marketing and communication, we quickly became involved with several local artists and arts organizations in helping them promote their message. In doing so, we realized that the opportunities for them to promote their work year-round through press coverage and advertising were limited, expensive, or both."

In response, Brenda and her husband Thierry created a comprehensive, interactive online venue to serve as the voice of all Maine artists and arts organizations. The search engine-optimized website has been live for three months and has already published over 250 press releases that highlight events, Maine artist interviews, and art news. In addition to art-related press releases, Maine Art Scene maintains a statewide art directory, a searchable calendar of events, several multi-media artist profiles (slideshows, podcasts and streaming videos) as well as the blog "artTalk" where anyone can post Maine art-related comments. Finally, Maine artists who do not have or can't afford a website can also get a web page with image or sound portfolio on the site for a nominal fee.

"Unlike most publications, we focus exclusively on Maine art-related activities, creating a smaller but perfectly targeted audience," says Thierry, media director for Maine Art Scene. "Instead of writing the content ourselves, we decided to give artists and arts organizations the option to submit their own press releases. For a fee of $10-$15 per press release, artists and arts organizations are guaranteed that their Maine art-related news will be published, provided they meet our standard submission guidelines."

The closely monitored readership has seen exponential growth each month, and there has been enthusiastic response from artists and arts organizations. "I like the way a submitted press release always makes the front page as opposed to other sites where you just disappear in a calendar section," says Maine artist Kenny Cole. "Maine Art Scene's online publication helps to fulfill a need that has been talked of among Maine art circles for some time. I am excited at their launch and look forward to their future," says Suzette McAvoy, independent art consultant and former chief curator of the Farnsworth Art Museum.

As part of the magazine's inauguration, Maine Art Scene is organizing the first non-juried statewide online exhibit of contemporary fine art photographers. Opened to all fine art photographers who are part-time or full-time Maine residents, the exhibit will premiere on maineartscene.com on October 15, 2008. The exhibit will serve as an opportunity for Maine's photographers to showcase their work online. Featuring over 120 fine art photographs, selected works will become part of Maine Art Scene's permanent online fine art exhibit, to debut in December 2008.

"We are delighted to promote the work of so many Maine creative fine art photographers," says Brenda. To name a few, the list of forty artists includes Kevin Johnson, selected in June as one of the twelve rising stars in the Contemporary Maine Art Forever Young exhibit (organized by the Farnsworth Museum). Maine Art Scene will also showcase several of the 2008 Maine Photography Show (mainephotographyshow.com) winners including Seth Whited (first place, black and white), Elizabeth Cradock (second place, color) and Corrie Zacharias, (first place, digital/computer). Also featured are established gallery artists including Susan Guthrie, Jim Nickelson, Arla Patch and Mark Rockwood (from voxphotography.com) as well as younger talent Clare Rosen who worked with and was mentored by Joyce Tenneson.

Following its first online Fine Art Photography exhibition, Maine Art Scene will be launching a series of interactive multi-disciplinary art exhibits.

wepushbuttons Presents 2008 WPB Awards

wepushbuttons, a Portland, Maine-based electronic and hip hop music advocacy group and community forum, announces the launch of the ballot for the 2008 wepushbuttons Awards. The Awards honor exemplars in all areas of electronic music from the Maine music scene, including categories for Best Hip Hop Act, Best House Act and Best Club DJ. In all, there are roughly 100 nominees in 18 different categories.

The ballot can be found online at:
www.wepushbuttons.com/wepushbuttons-awards-08.

Balloting opened on Monday, September 29th, and will continue until October 25th.

To announce the winners, wepushbuttons is presenting their 2nd Annual wepushbuttons Awards show on Saturday, November 15th at Space Gallery. Doors will open at 8pm and there will be a $5 cover charge. The event will be a celebration, not just of the winners, but of all the nominees and participants in the ever-growing electronic music environment in Maine and it's accomplishments as a whole. There will be several presenters from throughout the music and media communities in Southern Maine, and performers include the Secret Weekend, Pentateuch, A Frame and Mike Clouds, Metris and Vik44, Shupe, Brzowski, Moldy, and Alchera. Taking the mantle from last years' host Mike Clouds, the 2008 Awards event will be hosted by fellow WPB co-founder Todd the Rocket Richard, also known as DJ rocket.one. The DJ duo Atomik (formerly Brown Jacket Media, aka Jason Keith and Matty T) will be the resident DJs for the Awards.

The event is presented by wepushbuttons.com, a Portland-based webzine/forum/portal site dedicated to uniting and promoting Maine's growing electronic music scene and presenting it to the global community. In addition to their community-based website, wepushbuttons has assembled 2 download-only compilations of outstanding electronic music from here and away, called WPB ecomp. WPB also promotes Maine electronic music via regular showcase nights at large nightclub venues around Portland, and a monthly residency at the White Heart Lounge. wepushbuttons has also been the resident DJ crew for the wildly popular and successful Maine Roller Derby League.

wepushbuttons is not genre specific, but instead covers all forms of electronic music: hip hop, techno, house, trip hop, downtempo, DnB, breaks, trance, IDM, leftfield, electro and beyond. There is something for everyone at WPB. Whether a producer or consumer, artist or fan, label head or tech head, all have a place to discuss what's new, interesting, and influential to life and lifestyle in electronic music.

Maine Brewer's Festival: Volunteer = Free entry

Tickets for the Nov. 1 Maine Brewer's Festival have officially sold out. But if you weren't quick enough to purchase tickets, there's still hope.

Volunteers are needed to assist with wristbands at the front doors and sell bottled water at a lobby table during one of the two Saturday session.

Volunteers earn free admission, including a T-shirt, sample glass and tickets for beer samples.

The work isn't hard, and volunteers have a good time and get to enjoy plenty of the the Maine brews, music and festival rowdiness.

For more info or to volunteer, contact Paul Haley: haley@gwi.net

For all the Brewer's Festival details: www.mainebrew.com