Pentagoet Inn

Travel New England Picks Pentagoet Inn as a Top Ten Destination

The Pentagoet Inn, Castine Maine has been chosen as one of six New England inns for a romantic getaway.  If you are planning a vacation in romantic Maine, you will find that staying at the Pentagöet Inn, on a bluff overlooking historic Castine and Penobscot Bay, is one of the most romantic getaways in Maine. The Pentagöet Inn, our exceptional bed and breakfast, is off the beaten track but still exciting in its activities and its views. Whether you like to shop, kayak, sail, hike, bike, explore Acadia National Park, or experience fine dining, this quieter section of the Maine coast has something for everyone. 

Check out the whole list on Travel New England's Website.

Castine Maine Seeks Town Slogan

A challenge has been issued!  The Economic Development Committee of Castine has asked for our help in creating a five-word pitch or slogan for our town of Castine. The slogan will be used for marketing, advertising and promotional materials. 

We are calling upon all ye wordsmiths, ex-carnival barkers, PT Barnum pitchmen, bored marketing executives, unemployed fine print insurance authors and idle confidence men who love and cherish Castine. We need your help. We are seeking your finest, most expedient “Madison Avenue” exaggeration that captures and distills the essence of the Castine experience. 

Camden uses “where mountains meet the sea”, Greenville touts “something for everyone” and Old Orchard boasts “it’s a shore thing”. Bucksport claims their “rich in heritage” while Bangor hails “the queen city of the east” and Maine stands by “the way life should be”.

 

The Pentagoet Inn is offering a dinner for two with all the fixings. Entries should be e-mailed to stay@pentagoet.com with the Subject line: Castine Slogan. The deadline is February 1.

Castine, Maine featured in "1,000 Places to See Before You Die"

This year's edition of "1,000 Places to see Before You Die" features the Pentagoet Inn's home town of Castine, Maine.  Visit this historic town on the coast of Maine with a stay at the Pentagoet Inn. 

Castine to Camden Classic Yacht Race August 4th

Castine's Classic Yacht Race to Camden will take place August 4th.  This year's race will celebrate the early twentieth century designs of Nathanael G. Herreshoff. On August 3, a rendezvous of yachts built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. of Bristol, RI., will be on exhibition at the Castine town dock, including two 44-foot NY-30s, Alera and Cara Mia (designed in 1904); the 59-foot NY-40 Rugosa (designed in 1915); and the 72-foot NY-50 Spartan (designed in 1912).

Baron's Auction Preview Party at the Pentagoet Inn July 6th 4-6pm

Everyone is invited to the Pentagoet Inn Wednesday, July 6th from 4-6pm to the Baron's Auction Preview Party.  Some of the auction items will be available for preview at the inn during the preview party.  A cash bar and hor d'oeuvres will be available.  

  The Baron's Auction will take place on the Castine Town Common on Thursday evening from 4-7pm.  The proceeds of the auction and the cash bar will benefit the 7th and 8th graders of the Adams School here in Castine to visit their sister city, St. Castine, France in the spring of 2012.

2011 Midcoast Maine Lighthouse Challenge June 25th and 26th

On June 25th and 26th the annual Midcoast Maine Lighthouse Challenge will take place in the center of Maine's coast between Damariscotta and Castine.  During this two day, self-guided driving tour, participants will have the opportunity to climb the steps to the top of seven lighthouses normally not accessable to the public. The lighthouses available for touring include Dyce Head here in Castine, Fort Point in Stockton Springs, Grindle Point in Islesboro, Rockland Breakwater in Rockland, Owls Head Light in Owls Head, Marshall Point in Port Clyde and Pemaquid Point Light in Pemaquid  as well as the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland.

 

Directions to and from each site will be provided in a commemorative booklet available at each location, where participants will also receive a complimentary memento associated with that site. Challenge volunteers will staff each location from 9am to 6pm (unless otherwise noted) to greet and assist you.

The U.S Coast Guard, will also offer participants the opportunity to view an array of modern optics that serve in today’s lighthouses and other aids to navigation, on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse.

 

The Unites States Lighthouse Society sells Lighthouse Passports on their website which provide pages for official lighthouse stamps, verifying that you've visited a particular lighthouse.  Each participating lighthouse has only one official stamp, custom designed by the USLHS.  The Pentagoet Inn is the official stamp location for Dyce Head Lighthouse here in Castine.  There are souvenirs available once you have completed a Passport booklet.  Please visit the USLHS site for full details on this program. 

Castine, Maine Featured in "101 Beautiful Small Coastal Towns of America"

"Castine: One of America's Earliest Settlements" is the opening for Castine's entry in the book One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Coastal Towns of America" by Stephen Brewer.  Published by Rizzoli, the book visits small towns from coast to coast including our hometown of Castine, Maine.

From the book:

"This proud old town on the Blue Hill Peninsula near the wide mouth of the Penobscot River, settled by French traders in 1613, is one of America's earliest settlements and accepts this fact with quiet pride."

"The Pentagoet Inn began receiving guests in the 1890's and the large porch just above Main Street is still one of the vantage points in town."

Pentagoet Inn, "quintessential Maine bed-and-breakfast"

The Pentagoet Inn was chosen as one the places to eat on the Blue Hill peninsula by Maine Magazine.  In the "Eat Maine" column Joe Ricchio says about the Pentagoet Inn, "Were I in the market for the "quintessential Maine bed-and-breakfast experience with the missus," this would be my go-to destination.  I would be infintely delighted by their fresh seasonal menu..."  Read full article on our website.

Pentagoet Inn Featured in Portland Magazine

 The Pentagoet Inn, Castine was one of the featured Maine hotels in this month's issue of Portland Magazine. 

"You don't have to cross the Atlantic to experience European charm.  Transport yourself to the continent at these hotel and inns."

"We've covered a lot of ground, fellow travelers, but there is one, last inn that deserves our attention: The Pentagoet in the picturesque  harbor town of Castine..... Burke, a connoisseur of world history, has created an inn that oozes diplomatic intrigue out of every pore. After a long day kayaking or biking, hit Passports pub and refresh with an “Ambassador”–the Pentagöet’s take on a gin and tonic–while sitting beneath the watchful eyes of world leaders like Gandhi, Lenin, and Queen Victoria."

Read more at our website.

Congratulations to Maine Maritime Academy Graduates

Congratulations to all graduating Maine Maritime Academy students, especially our friend Mary Hutchins!

The 68th Maine Maritime Academy Commencement will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2011, at 11 a.m., in Alexander Fieldhouse. 

Commencement activities will begin at 9 a.m. with the annual awards program in Delano Auditorium, Leavitt Hall. The college's class of 2011 includes 6 associate in science, 203 bachelor of science, and 14 master of science degree candidates. An additional 43 associate in science degree candidates from the college's educational program with Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, will participate in commencement exercises. The graduating class represents more than 130 Maine communities and 20 other states, as well as Kuwait and South Africa.

The annual training cruise on the State of Maine will depart May 3rd.

Maine Maritime Academy students, officers, and crew will visit Mediterranean ports this spring as part of the college's annual two-month training cruise to foreign and domestic ports-of-call. This year's training cruise itinerary includes Norfolk, Va., May 6- 9; Valetta, Malta, May 25- 28; Civitavecchia, Italy, May 31- June 3; Cobh, Ireland, June 12- June 15; Portland, Maine, June 25-26. The ship will host a family day sail on the return leg from Portland to Castine.

Under the command of Captain Leslie B. Eadie, III, of Brewer, Maine, the training ship, State of Maine, will begin sailing operations at 6:15 a.m., and will depart Castine harbor at approximately 7 a.m., on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The training cruise will commence in port on Friday, April 29, for pre-sailing preparation.

Castine Yacht Club                                   

Castine Classic Yacht Race

Thursday, August 4, 2011

 The Castine Yacht Club, in cooperation with the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, is sponsoring the twelfth annual Classic Yacht Race from Castine to Camden on Thursday, August 4, with the first start at about 1145 hours.  Last year's race attracted a magnificent fleet of Classic and Spirit of Tradition yachts. This 19.6nm race will be the first of three day races culminating in the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta on August 6. The race is open to all monohull Classic and Spirit of Tradition yachts at least 28’ LOA with a valid CRF rating certificate. Each yacht must tow a proper dinghy; no toys, please.  Failure to do so will result in time penalty and disqualification from winning any prize.

This year’s Castine Classic event will celebrate the glorious early-20^th-century designs of Nathanael Herreshoff.  On Wednesday, August 3, notable examples of Herreshoff’s genius will be on exhibition at the Castine Town Dock, including 49’ Bar Harbor 31 Desperate Lark (built in 1903); 44’ NY-30 Cara Mia (built in 1905); 58’ P-Class Joyant (built in 1911); and recently restored 72’ NY-50 Spartan (launched in 1913).  At 1600 hrs these yachts will be honored at a symposium in Delano Hall, Maine Maritime Academy.  The symposium will illuminate the finer details of the restorations of Spartan and other Herreshoff yachts, all of which relied heavily on the drawings, photographs and files of the Herreshoff archives housed at the Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Kurt Hasselebalch, the Hart Nautical curator, will chair the discussion among a panel of restorers, owners and sailors of Herreshoff yachts.

§         Wednesday, August 3:           1600 hrs  –  Herreshoff Symposium at MMA
1800  hrs. – Reception at CYC

§         Thursday, August 4: 0830 hrs. –  Skippers Meeting at CYC at which sailing                                                                                 instructions will be provided
                                                1145 hrs. –  Race start (first class)

§         Friday, August 5:                   Camden Classic Yacht Race to Brooklin

§         Saturday, August 6:               Eggemoggin Reach Regatta

Registration

 To assist us in planning these events, please return the attached Registration Form as soon as possible.  To register for the Camden Classic Yacht Race to Brooklin and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, please refer to www.erregatta.com. 

The preliminary Sailing Instructions for the Castine Classic Yacht Race are posted on www.castineyachtclub.org.   If you have any questions, please contact us.

David Bicks	Bill Light	Bob Scott
dbicks@dl.com	billlight63@alumni.virginia.edu	bscott@aerotropic.com
212-259-8040	207-326-8541	207-326-9444
207-326-8607	207-326-2072

 

Boston Magazine Recommends the Pentagoet Inn

In the October 2010 issue of Boston Magazine, 52 towns are recommended as weekend getaways for the fall.  The Pentagoet Inn in Castine, Maine has been selected as a place to stay on your Maine vacation this fall. 

At the inn this fall we have been making home made doughnuts to serve with the hot local apple cider.  Our dinner specials have included seared duck breast a la orange, veal osso buco with soft polenta and local farm vegetables.

Maine Fall Foliage set for Colorful Season

The fall season in Maine is well known for its spectacular foliage colors.  A drive anywhere in the state will provide trees draped with stunning shades of gold, red, yellow and orange.  Here in Castine and around the Blue Hill peninsula is no exception.  What better place to view the marvelous colors than right next to the ocean.  A hike up Blue Hill mountain just 20 minutes from our Maine bed and breakfast will surprise you with a sweeping horizon of fall colors leading right to the ocean.  The Blue Hill peninsula was named as one of the best places in New England for fall foliage by Yankee Magazine this month.

Castine Maine - Elm Tree Benefit Tuesday June 29

 

The Pentagoet Inn invites you as a “Friend of the Elms” on Tuesday June 29 for a Moroccan inspired dinner to support the Elm Tree Fund. The cost is $65 and all proceeds go to the Elm Tree Preservation Fund of the Castine Garden Club. Come eat and drink with us! Please book your table ahead 326-8616 or email us at stay@pentagoet.com. We have special hotel rates at our Maine bed and breakfast for this event.

Castine Maine - Midcoast Maine Lighthouse Challenge

On June 26 & 27 the Midcoast Maine Lighthouse Challenge takes place in the center of Maine’s treasure filled coast between Damariscotta and Castine. Visit 7 land based lighthouses participating in the 2010 Midcoast Tour. They include Dyce's Head in Castine, Fort Point, Grindle Point, Marshall Point, Owls Head, Pemaquid Point, the Rockland Breakwater as well as the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. The Pentagoet Inn www.pentagoet.com is the official lighthouse stamp center for Dyce Head in Castine Maine, we are just a short walk away. Our Lighthouse has a functioning light and was re-lit in 2008 after 73 years of darkness. Come visit our light, come visit our town!!

Castine Maine - UNESCO Considers Castine Maine a World Heritage Site

 According to reliable sources at the National Enquirer Castine is up for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Competing in a tough field with such Maine competitors as Bucksport and Augusta, Castine has a compelling case for this prestigious designation. Several Castine residents have recently been seen influencing visiting UNESCO officials staying at the Pentagoet Inn bed and breakfast in Castine Maine. A rival militia group from Bucksport calling themselves “The No Good Bastards” abducted one of the officials who was later ransomed for a pair of Pentagoet crab cakes and thirteen Chechen rebels. What a day!

Castine Maine - Flash in the Pans Community Steel Band to perform in Blue Hill

On Monday June 14 the “Flash in the Pans” www.flashinthepans.org will be doing a community dance at the Blue Hill Town Park to benefit the Nichols Day Camps www.nicholsdaycamps.org and the Senior Companion Program. Blue hill is a scenic twenty minute drive from the Pentagoet Inn www.pentagoet.com. This is good fun and for a good cause, see you there!

Castine Maine - Health Officials Befuddled by Bizarre Origins of Post Terrific Pentagoet Disorder

The same tenacious research team from John Hopkins University www.jhu.edu who discovered the origins of Ebola have now found a link between a puzzling condition that guests of the Pentagoet Inn seem to rave about, they call it Post Terrific Pentagoet Disorder or PTPD. Normally triggered by inflamed pangs for a good nurturing, the need for a caring touch, a full breakfast and bikes for guests, this comfortable ailment commonly manifests itself in an extreme desire to return to the Pentagoet Inn Maine bed and breakfast. At present the only known cure is a return visit to the Hotel Pentagoet, preferably on a weekly basis according to the Sturgeon General www.surgeongeneral.org. Accompanying this update is a photo of our guests Dr. Pepe' Bismol and his wife Loretta who both happily suffer from PTPD. Photo Courtesy of Passports Pub, "Where Wise Men Fish".

Castine Maine - Coastal Living Magazine Awards Castine Variety Best Lobster Roll 2010

The folks at Coastal Living visited the nation’s best Seaside Dives and their results are in: “We scoured the coast – and filled our paper plates – to find the seaside dives with the tastiest dishes, from fried shrimp to fish-and-chips.” In this national quest they chose the Castine Variety of Castine Maine as the Best Lobster Roll in 2010. They go on to say, “This waterfront general store makes an immense version of the classic New England lobster roll – chilled meat in a buttered, toasted, split-top bun. You can eat it there, among the postcards and rental DVDs or cross the street and gaze out over the harbor.” Still Hungry? Join the locals here for a no-frills eggs-and-bacon breakfast, and catch up on the town gossip. 1 Main Street, Castine: 207-326-8625. Stay with us at the Pentagoet Inn Maine bed and breakfast and you are less than a blocks walk from having your first Castine Variety Lobster Roll.

Castine Maine – North Korean Diplomatic Envoys Arrive at Hotel Pentagoet to Gather Inspiration for Farm to Table Initiatives

In a move calculated to deflect attention from the recent sinking of a South Korean naval vessel North Korea has dispatched diplomatic envoys to the Blue Hill Peninsula. They were sent here to gather “back to the land” tips in order to spur a great leap forward in the collective kitchens of their mother country, a Farm to Table Revolution so to speak. Inspired by their beloved leader Kim Jong il and later threatened with incarceration the entire nation of North Korea has been studying the works of Scott and Helen Nearing of the Good Life Center www.goodlife.org. The envoys will be visiting Elliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch at Four Seasons Farm www.fourseasonfarm.com in Harborside Maine, the Castine Farmers Market www.castinefarmersmarket.org and later Julie Vandegraaf of the restaurant at the Pentagoet Inn  Maine bed and breakfast. The North Korean Tourism Ministry is working hard to lure the American tourist interested in foodie tours of North Korea.  In a prepared statement released to the National Enquirer Dear Leader has unveiled their latest marketing pitch aimed at the American market and entitled "Finish Your Supper!"

Castine Maine - Travel Channel Host Samantha Brown Applauds Hotel Pentagoet's Passports Pub in a Top Five Moments in Maine video

Last week's Travel Channel episode on the Maine Weekend Getaway series featured Samantha's sailing adventure on the Schooner Victory Chimes of Rockland Maine www.victorychimes.com. She recaps her trip in a most recent blog post and a video on her website entitled Top Five Moments in Maine. Our pub is mentioned as one of her Top Five Moments and Samantha goes on to say “While in Castine we had a few drinks at one of the best pubs I have ever been to -- The Passports Pub. It was a bar Ernest Hemingway had never been to but would have loved". Photographed here is Samantha Brown at the bar.

Castine Maine – Zapatista Rebel Group Converges on Pentagoet Inn for Cinco de Mayo

Calling all Pancho Villas! Hold on to your sombreros and stop stroking your moustaches. Join us in welcoming the Northeast Chapter of the RZRGA, the Retired Zapatista Rebel Group of America. They will be holding their annual Cinco de Mayo celebration dinner in Castine Maine at the Hotel Pentagoet www.pentagoet.com. An awards ceremony will follow the dinner after some brief remarks from Commandant Marcos and the showing of a recruitment film entitled “The Three Amigos”. Don’t be alarmed, they are actually coming here because of the food. They heard about Taco Tuesday at The Reef and are hoping they could switch Taco Tuesday to be Taco Wednesday. At press time this had not been resolved. Don’t worry, the Reef has a no bandoliero policy, Viva La Revolucion! These Zapatista are foodies and they will be making a gastronomic tour of the Blue Hill Peninsula and a half day pilgrimage for dinner at El El Frijole www.elelfrijoles.com in Deere Isle, Maine. They are here to spread cheer, drink a lot of beer and strike some limited fear. After all they are rebels so keep your daughters at home.

 

 

 

Castine Maine - Travel Channel Host Samantha Brown's Castine Schooner Adventure to Air on May 6, 10:30 PM

Samantha Brown, the globe trotting, adventure maven and Travel Channel host sailed into Castine Maine last summer on the schooner Victory Chimes www.victorychimes.com out of Rockland Maine. She visited with her film crew and the ship’s Captain Kip Shields in our Maine bed and breakfast pub. Since then we have become Samantha Brown groupies, her photo is on the wall between the Dali Lama and Mahatma Ghandi, she is that charming. On May 6 at 10:30 PM the Travel Channel www.travelchannel.com will air an episode of this schooner adventure to Castine. We can’t wait to see her interview with Jack in Passports Pub at the Hotel Pentagoet, Castine Maine.

 

Castine Maine - Pentagoet Inn Featured in Victoria Magazine

Castine Maine – The Pentagoet Inn will be in the May issue of Victoria Magazine, on the newsstand I believe May 6. We are so excited, we love this magazine and are so happy its back in circulation. Many years ago Julie was featured in a book published by Hearst and Victoria honoring women entrepreneurs entitled “The Business of Bliss”. They have devoted an entire page to photos of the Pentagoet Inn Maine bed and breakfast. This is such a happy return!

Castine Maine - Hotel Pentagoet Now Accepting Reservations for Unsupervised Romance!

We have decided this year to accept reservations for unsupervised romance. You see the old fellow to the right in this accompanying antique litho, the one curled up in the corner of this dory who looks like Jack snoozing, he will no longer be necessary, you can leave him home if need be. The Pentagoet will drop its longstanding policy of chartered chaperones. We are embracing this new edict in a committed spirit of understanding and acceptance in an effort to foster romance and catch up with the times. We at the Pentagoet www.pentagoet.com believe in Love!

Castine Maine - Sno Cones Without Borders

I am sorry to announce but Jack will be taking a sabbatical this season. He has been developing a long simmering idea just taken off the back burner, he's fled the country in fact and has petitioned for asylum. After much hand wringing and little business research he has opened a franchise of Sno-Cones Without Borders in the Sudan. This may come as no surprise to some of you who understand his love of this harsh country and the Turkana tribesmen. He feels it may be good timing because of a delightful cease fire and when it comes to global warming this place couldn't be any hotter, just think what something cold means to these poor fellows in what is considered one of the hottest climates in the world. Along with the Sno-Cone franchise we are fast developing ideas for a second Pentagoet Inn www.pentagoet.com to be based near Lokichoggio, a sister property so to speak but with air conditioning, alot of concertina wire and individual personal protection. Just imagine you want to take a long trip and you'd like to stay in a hostile third world country yet with the familiar and caring service you so deserve. This is what we are striving to achieve! Happy April Fools!!!!!!!!!

Samantha Brown - Goes to Castine Maine

   This roaming travellord, worldly culture maven, “Up In The Air” Vera Farmiga look and travel alike was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal Life & Style section under Tricks of the Trade, “Samantha Brown on Traveling Chic”. As a Travel Channel Host she is on the road 230 days a year, this girl knows how to pack a bag! In this article Samantha imparts valuable wardrobe mixing suggestions, she does the research to fit the part, she’d wear a burka in Baghdad if it means comfortably immersible. Last year Samantha Brown sailed into Castine harbor on the schooner Victory Chimes www.victorychimes.com out of Rockland Maine. She visited us in our pub at the Pentagoet Inn Maine bed and breakfast along with the ships hardy, handsome and gregarious Captain Kip Shields and crew. Since then we have become Samantha Brown groupies, her photo is on the wall next to the Dali Lama, she is that charming. While in Castine she dressed as a Castinian, for sailing on the high seas. If you are depending on the kindness of strangers in a foriegn land where it helps to blend, read this article, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703701004575113980166069458.html.

 

Cafe Reggio - Long Live The Old World Cafes & Bars!

The Café Reggio is a wonderful place full of ambience and set in Greenwich Village at 119 MacDougal St. New York. I could spend the day sipping espresso and sampling their sweets on the dessert menu. A guest sent me this post card last week telling us how much it reminded them of Castine Maine and our pub at the Pentagoet Inn, www.pentagoet.com/passports-pub.html. These special places are endangered, there should be a UNESCO designation for such cherished watering holes!

Marine Envirionmental Research Institute - Blue Hill, Maine Presents Ocean Video Series

March 26: Ocean Animal Emergency

A unique team of wildlife veterinarians at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California engage in heart-pounding rescues to the save the lives sea lions, whales and other marine mammals threatened by warming seas and man-made pollution.  

 

 The Ocean Video Night Series is part of MERI’s 20th anniversary celebration and its campaign to save the world’s most crucial natural resource – the living ocean – while there is still time.  Each film will run approximately one hour. Popcorn and beverages are provided.  A suggested $3 donation per person will help cover costs.  For more information, please contact MERI’s Education Department at 374-2135 or www.meriresearch.org. The Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI), is located at 55 Main Street in Blue Hill and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the marine environment and human health through scientific research and education.  The public is welcome to visit the MERI Center’s Ocean Aquarium, Sea Lending Library, Eco-Store and Ocean Art Gallery. 

 

Maine Environmental Research Institute – Ocean Video Series: March 5, "Tiger Shark: Predator Revealed"

Infamous for its unmistakable stripes and voracious appetite, the tiger shark is one of the most ferocious sharks in the sea. Now, get a closer-than-ever look at this fearsome, yet fascinating predator.

 

Ocean Video Night is part of MERI’s 20th anniversary celebration and its campaign to save the world’s most crucial natural resource – the living ocean – while there is still time.  Each film will run approximately one hour. Popcorn and beverages are provided.  A suggested $3 donation per person will help cover costs.  For more information, please contact MERI’s Education Department at 374-2135 or www.meriresearch.org.

 

Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors - Maritime Film Fest

  In Our Wake: Maine’s Maritime Heritage on Film

presented by Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors and Northeast Historic Film

 

ROCKLAND, Maine - Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, in collaboration with Northeast Historic Film, is pleased to announce its first-ever maritime film program, designed to highlight the state’s rich coastal culture.

 

In Our Wake: Maine’s Maritime Heritage on Film, will consist of two screenings of historic films in two coastal cities – Bucksport and Rockland – that have strong maritime heritages. From lobster pots and four-masted schooners to rescues at sea and fishing for tuna, the films step back in time to 1902 and then travel through the decades to explore Maine’s nautical past. Through the use of home movies, travelogues, silents, and talkies, these moving pictures examine our state’s boats, harbors and people, with live commentary provided and lively audience participation encouraged.

“I love historic still photography, but these movies are really magic. Seeing our ancestors in motion at work and at play is both humbling and inspiring,” said John Hanson, publisher of Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine.

 

The showings of In Our Wake will be on Thursday, March 4, at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, Maine, and Thursday, March 11, at Atlantic Challenge in Rockland, Maine. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. for the 7:00 showings.

 

The program will include Drawing a Lobster Pot from March 1901, which is the oldest film shot in the state of Maine that NHF has found to date. The film Launching of the Doris Hamlin shows the launch of a four-masted schooner in Harrington in 1919. The credits mention a man named Frye and describe him as the youngest ship builder in the world at the time. From Stump to Ship was shot in Machias in the 1930s, and documents the logging operations of the era, from felling trees in winter to shipping finished wood products to market.

 

David Weiss, Executive Director of Northeast Historic Film, said, “These are just a few of the pieces that will be shown during this on-screen journey. We are thrilled to work with MBH&H and know that this collaboration will lead to more great adventures. Please join us and lend your expertise -- the audience will be invited to tell us what they know about the boats and locations shown in the film clips.”

 

The March 4 program is at the Alamo Theatre on Main Street in Bucksport. Admission is free. The March 11 program, to be held at Atlantic Challenge, 643 Main Street, Rockland, is part of Atlantic Challenge’s winter lecture series. Admission to the Rockland event is $5 and will go to support the programs of Atlantic Challenge. For both showings, the doors will open at 6:45 p.m., with the films beginning at 7:00 p.m.

 

Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors has published the premier magazine about life on the Maine coast since 1987. The magazine is noted for its eclectic award-winning coverage of all aspects of coastal living. As the name implies, it covers Maine’s fine boats, homes, art, food, people, natural world, and history five times per year. The company also produces the award-winning MaineBoats.com website, and the annual Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show on the waterfront in Rockland (August 13-15, 2010). Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors: In Print. Online. In Person.

 

Northeast Historic Film collects, preserves, and makes accessible the moving-image history of northern New England. The non-profit organization is known for representing the world of film to local and regional communities through screenings of culturally and historically significant film and video as well as of titles that are in commercial release. NHF runs a community cinema in the 1916 Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, and maintains cold-storage vaults that hold thousands of hours of videotape and more than 10 million feet of film. Visit NHF online at oldfilm.org or in person on Main Street in Bucksport.

 

Media Contact: 

Leila Murphy or Jennifer McIntosh

email: news@maineboats.com

Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, P.O. Box 566, Rockland, ME 04841; 207-594-8622; 800-565-4951. www.maineboats.com

Jessica Hosford

email: jessica@oldfilm.org

Northeast Historic Film, P.O. Box 900, Bucksport, ME  04416; 207-469-0924. www.oldfilm.org

MERI - Maine Environmental Research Institute, Ocean Video Series: "Devils of the Deep:Jumbo Squid"

Friday, February 19 at 7:00pm - MERI Ocean Video Night Series continues with Devils of the Deep: Jumbo Squid.  Explore the mystery and power of the large Humboldt squid where, In California and Mexico, these predators are more feared than sharks....374-2135

 

 

Maine Environmental Research Institute - Ocean Video Night Series

On Friday February 12 at 7:00pm - MERI Ocean Video Night Series continues with Addicted to Plastic.  Filmmaker Ian Connacher embarks on an international odyssey to reveal the disturbing accumulation and long-term effects of plastic in our ecosystems....374-2135

MERI Ocean Environment Lecture Series presents Captain Charles Moore, "A Sea of Plastic"

 

Friday January 8 at 7:00pm - MERI Ocean Environment Lecture Series presents Captain Charles Moore, renowned explorer and ocean advocate, with A Sea of Plastic.  Widely recognized for his 1997 discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mass of plastic debris twice the size of Texas, Moore has pioneered the research and remediation of the oceans' plastic burden.  Plastic debris has infiltrated all levels of the ocean food web, killing 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds annually, and treatening human health.  Moore will explore the challenges of our"throw away culture" and our role in a solution.  A reception in honor of the speaker will precede the presentation at 6pm.  This lecture is sponsored by Blue Hill Co-op and The Blue Hill Inn....374-2135

 

 

Castine, Maine, works well as a homebase for a long weekend trip

Photo Charleen Wiseman
 
The Pentagoet Inn and Castine, Maine are recommended in the New York Times "The Moment" as an off the beaten path destination that is well situated to take in all that the area has to offer.

Any season is a great time to visit Castine Maine and the Pentagoet Inn.  Check out the article at The Moment.

Castine, Maine - Most Photogenic Elms

Castine has been chosen by Yankee Magazine's Roadside Attractions as the town with the most photogenic elms 

Considered one of the finest stands of elms in New England, over 300 of these grand trees grace the village of Castine.  Townspeople have devoted local monies to developing a program to help their trees withstand the ravages of Dutch elm disease.  The trees are numbered in order to be cared for in such a way that these treasures will continue to provide shade for many generations of townsfolk.  They are just one aspect of the town's countenance that makes it eminently photographable; other highlights are the town's lovely common, excellent architecture, and its sheltered deep-water harbor.

Pentagoet Innkeeper Jack interviewed on Good Morning America

The Good Morning America Weekend Window TV crew landed in Castine and stayed at the Pentagoet Inn as they toured the Blue Hill Peninsula area last week.  Innkeeper Jack is featured in this 2-3 minute video which spans from the local harbor and its sailing vessels to the working lobster boats of Stonington.

To view the video, follow this link to ABC's Good Morning America website.