Stuff about me
My name is Keith Michaud and this is “Letters From Away,” a blog written by a Mainer living outside the comfortable and sane confines of New England. The blog is intended for Mainers, whether they live in the Pine Tree State or beyond, and for anyone who has loved ’em, been baffled by ’em or both. Ayuh, I am “from away.” Worse still, I live on the Left Coast – in California. Enjoy! Or not. Your choice.
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Category Archives: Entertainment
25 fun fall things to do in Maine | Bangor Daily News
Your alarm goes off in the morning. After coffee, a shower, reading the newspaper and getting dressed, you’re out the door — and that’s when it hits you.
There’s a slight chill in the air. A yellow leaf flutters gently to the ground. Your clothing isn’t warm enough. Autumn has arrived.
In between unpacking your sweaters and bringing in the patio furniture, the change of season means a renewed vigor for experiencing all that Maine has to offer. From leaf-peeping driving trips around the state to Halloween events, from apple picking to concert-going, the fall is the time when Mainers really get to bask in the glory.
The gold, red, orange and yellow that light up treetops lasts only about a month — so what are you waiting for? Get out and have fun, before you make that appointment to put on your snow tires.
Click for the rest of the story by Emily Burnham in the Bangor Daily News.
Posted in Entertainment, Maine
Tagged American Harvest Picnic, Aroostook County, Aroostook State Park, Art and Poetry Gallery Walk, Autumn, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, BangPop!, Blue Hill Fall Foliage Food & Wine Festival, Camden International Film Festival, Collins Center for the Arts, Common Ground Country Fair, Craft and Gift Show, Ellsworth, fall, Fling Into Fall, foliage, Fort Knox State Park, Fright at the Fort, Gifted Hand Fine Art, Great Maine Apple Day, Halloween, Haunted Woods Walk, hunters breakfasts, Lord Hall Galleries, Maine, Mainers, Monday Blues, Orono, Pemaquid Oyster Festival, Portland Stage, Rockland, Sebago Lake, SmackFest, State Theatre Opening Weekend, The Grand, The Strand Theatre
Light show: Open Lighthouse Day offers rare chance to peek inside the towers, keepers’ houses at 25 of Maine’s lighthouses | Portland Press Herald
Living in Maine and never climbing a lighthouse is kind of like living in South Dakota and never seeing Mount Rushmore, or visiting Memphis and skipping the tour of Graceland.
You know you should do it, but somehow you just never get around to actually going.
Well, here’s your chance. On Saturday, 25 ocean, river and island lighthouses throughout Maine will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Some of these lighthouses aren’t normally open to the public, so this is a rare chance to peek inside their light towers and keepers’ houses.
Even if you’ve been to Portland Head Light a million times with visiting relatives, during Open Lighthouse Day, you’ll be able to climb the tower, which is usually closed.
“At the 25 sites that are going to be open, there will be people there staffing, and many of them will have guided tours,” said Bob Trapani Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation in Rockland, which is sponsoring the day along with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maine Office of Tourism. “It’s an educational opportunity, not just a chance to climb.”
Click here for the rest of the story by Meredith Goad in the Portland Press Herald.
For more info and a complete list and map of lighthouses that will be open for Open Lighthouse Day, http://lighthousefoundation.org/ or www.lighthouseday.com.
Auto Biographies: Participants in Bangor, Brewer car show talk about their passion for power and speed | Bangor Daily News
They say the clothes make the man. But sometimes, it’s the car that makes the man — or woman. Whether it’s a tricked-out 2006 Toyota, a biodiesel-powered 1980s Volkswagen, or a stately 1950s Chevrolet, there’s something elemental about putting the keys in the ignition and heading out for a drive in your car — your favorite, your indulgence, your baby.
Both Bangor and Brewer will play host to hundreds of car lovers this weekend, with the Wheels on the Waterfront Bangor Car Show on Saturday, and the Brewer Days Car Show on Sunday. Both events are free and open to the public for those interested in seeing some vintage vehicles and some seriously souped-up newer cars. In the spirit of the weekend, we’re celebrating cars and car owners by chatting with a few Maine motorheads about their passion for wheels.
Click here for the rest of the story by Emily Burnham in the Bangor Daily News.
Posted in Entertainment, Maine
Tagged Bangor, Brewer, Brewer Days Car Show, cars, Emily Burnham, Wheels on the Waterfront Bangor Car Show
Portland joins list of top college cities | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Portland joins list of top college cities | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
THE TOP 20
Top 20 best small cities for college students to live:
1. Boulder, Colo.
2. Ann Arbor, Mich.
3. Bridgeport, Conn.
4. Trenton-Ewing, N.J.
5. Gainesville, Fla.
6. Madison, Wis.
7. Durham, N.C.
8. Santa Cruz, Calif.
9. Honolulu, Hawaii
10. Fort Collins, Colo.
11. Santa Barbara, Calif.
12. New Haven, Conn.
13. Lincoln, Neb.
14. Albany, N.Y.
15. San Luis Obispo, Calif.
16. Naples, Fla.
17. Manchester, N.H.
18. Oxnard, Calif.
19. Santa Rosa, Calif.
20. PORTLAND, MAINE
5 things to do this Sept. 10 weekend | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Economy, Entertainment, Maine
Tagged "The 39 Steps", Alan Jackson, Alfred Hitchcock, Bangor, Bangor Opera House, Bangor Waterfront, Brewer, Emily Burnham, Fort Knox State Park, Hill in the Ville, Jason Mraz, Penobscot Theatre Company, Prospect, Society of Creative Anachronism, Waterville, Wheels on the Waterfront Bangor Car Show
Music and Nightlife: Mraz-matazz | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Music and Nightlife: Mraz-matazz | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
IF YOU GO
JASON MRAZ
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Bangor Waterfront Pavilion, 1 Railroad St., Bangor
HOW MUCH: $38.50 to $48.50
INFO: 783-2009, Ext. 208; waterfrontconcerts.com; thecolisee.com
WHAT ELSE: Mraz’s show is part of the new Hollywood Slots Waterfront Concert series in Bangor.
Other upcoming shows:
• Alan Jackson, 7 p.m. Friday. $31.50 to $81.50
• Miranda Lambert, 7 p.m. Oct. 2. $27.75 to $41.75
• Godsmack headlining Smackfest, 10 a.m. Oct. 10. $45.50
‘Deadliest Catch Live’ coming to Maine | Bangor Daily News
‘Deadliest Catch Live’ coming to Maine | Bangor Daily News
Limited seating remains available for Deadliest Catch Live. For tickets, call the Merrill Auditorium box office at (207) 842-0800 or visit porttix.com.
Labor Day tourism takes a hit in Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Posted in Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Food and Drink, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged Hurricane Earl, Labor Day, tourism, tourists, Tropical Storm Earl
Blue Hill Fair a family affair: 20-year veterans make drinks for visitors | Bangor Daily News
The Blue Hill Fair is full of traditions, some institutional, some personal and some that involve whole families.
That’s the case for the Lepper family, who for the past 20 years have been stationed at the end of the grandstand on the fair’s midway selling their Lime Fizz drinks to loyal customers, and this weekend was no exception at this year’s event, which runs through today and was interrupted only briefly by Tropical Storm Earl.
Boop’s Lime Fizz began in 1990, after the family, Jim and Nada Lepper and their two children, Jason and Betsy, took a trip to Washington, D.C., where they tasted a drink called a lime fizzie.
“We thought that maybe people would like it at the Blue Hill Fair,” Nada Lepper said Sunday while sorting limes at the booth. “It was a way for the family to be together at the fair and add to the fun we had at the fair. It was a family experiment.”
Click for more of this story by Rich Hewitt in the Bangor Daily News.
Posted in Entertainment, Food and Drink, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged Blue Hill, Blue Hill Fair, lime fizzie
Camden Windjammer Festival off to affable start | Bangor Daily News
CAMDEN, Maine — The Camden Windjammer Festival, abbreviated by the threat of hurricane winds but promising two days of activities nonetheless, got off to a thunderous start Saturday with a bang of cannons and a bevy of maritime enthusiasts.
Gone were the threat of Hurricane Earl, the downpour and the oppressive heat as the clouds parted and a refreshing breeze tousled Camden Harbor, causing the flags atop several windjammers to flutter over the festivities.
“Everything is working out,” said Dan Bookham, executive director of the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizers of the 16th annual festival.
Under a nearby tent, former windjammer Capt. Jim Sharp made adjustments to a 1902 Fairbanks Bulldog engine, whose piston fired once for every four or five revolutions. The clunky old piece of iron — which he affectionately called “Bertha” — was once used by Sharp to haul anchors weighing as much as 1,500 pounds. On a true windjammer, explained Sharp, engines were for lifting anchors or turning bilge pumps, not propulsion. Today, very few vessels of any significant size run without engine power.
“An engine will forgive a lot of sin by a captain,” said Sharp.
Click for the rest of the story by Christopher Cousins in the Bangor Daily News.
A full schedule of events is available at the web site, www.camdenwindjammerfestival.com.
They’re all logged on: Serous outdoors competitions kick off Woodsmen’s Day | Kennebec Journal
WINDSOR – Lynn Faustino and Carol Grime found their stance, gripped the handles and tested the teeth of a two-handled crosscut saw before ripping through a log.
The two women from Rochester, Mass., teamed up for the women’s crosscut saw competition Monday at the 14th Annual Woodsmen’s Day at the Windsor Fair.
Blistering heat continued Monday on the second day of the fair, which ends Labor Day. But Faustino, a 42-year-old registered nurse, and Grime, 60, who works for a logging company, were barely breaking a sweat.
They made the first cut. Then a second.
The saw vibrated as its teeth ground into the wood fiber, dislodging sawdust and spilling it onto the ground.
Faustino said lumberjack competitions are great exercise, and they get to meet a lot of nice people.
“My husband got me into it,” Faustino said after her match. “I did it for six years and just started up again because my son’s doing it now. It’s really great fun, and we get to travel a lot.”
Click for the rest of the story by Mechele Cooper in the Kennebec Journal.
Posted in Entertainment, Outdoors
Tagged crosscut saw, logging, lumberjack, timber, Windsor Fair, woods, woodsmen, Woodsmen’s Day
Sugarloaf unveils plans to double size of ski slopes | Bangor Daily News
Sugarloaf ski resort expansion to Burnt Mountain.
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine – Sugarloaf Mountain is celebrating its 60th anniversary as a ski resort and thousands call Maine’s second highest peak their home mountain. For as long as skiers have hit the slopes there, they’ve looked longingly to the east and wondered “what if?”
What if the neighboring mountain was open to skiing, too?
“We’ve been talking about Burnt Mountain for 59 1/2 years,” Sugarloaf General Manager John Diller said at a Tuesday press conference.
The talking is over.
Click for the rest of this story by John Holyoke in the Bangor Daily News.
Posted in Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Outdoors
Tagged Brackett Basin, Burnt Mountain, Carrabassett Valley, ski resort, skiers, skiing, snowboarders, Sugarloaf Mountain
Weather, talent kept Folk Festival hot | Bangor Daily News
Here are links to a couple of Bangor Daily News stories on the American Folk Festival held this weekend on the Bangor Waterfront. There are stories, photos and video at the other end of these links back to the Bangor Daily News.
Weather, talent kept Folk Festival hot | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Economy, Entertainment
Tagged American Folk Festival, Bangor, Bangor Waterfront, dancing, music, performances
Sixth annual American Folk Festival: The biggest party in Bangor | Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — The crowd began gathering around 4 p.m. to welcome the sixth annual American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront. With full sun, mid-80s temperatures and cloudless skies forecast for the weekend, the biggest party in Bangor was off to a rousing start for the nearly 100,000 people estimated to attend this year.
The Pride of Maine Black Bear Marching Band took formation in West Market Square around 6 p.m. and performed for a crowd of several hundred, some of whom arrived early to snag a seat at one of the downtown eateries. Band director Chris White stood atop a platform and conducted the band through a selection of pop hits and the ubiquitous “Maine Stein Song,” the anthem of the University of Maine.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Andrew Day, service manager at Paddy Murphy’s Pub, located just off West Market Square. “We had people get here early to watch the parade from inside. It’s definitely been a boon. West Market is the heart of downtown, and there’s nowhere else the festival should start.”
Click for the rest of the story by Emily Burnham in the Bangor Daily News, along with photos and video.
Letters From Away 