Community Calendar

100 MidCoast and Blue Hill Peninsula eateries are offering special yellow menu items throughout July with proceeds benefiting Finding Our Voices. How much yellow can YOU eat, drink, and buy in July to brighten the lives of Maine women domestic abuse survivors?

Hike to one of Acadia’s iconic summits AND help Acadia National Park’s efforts to restore native vegetation!

Acadia National Park, in collaboration with Friends of Acadia and Schoodic Institute, invites tenacious hikers to bring bags of soil to the summits of Penobscot and Sargent Mountains. You’ll get to choose how much soil you’ll carry – carrying as little as five pounds (about the size of a large freezer ziplock bag) is a huge help! This soil is integral to the ongoing summit restoration efforts in Acadia National Park.

L.L.Bean Summer in the Park 2025
🎉 July 4 – August 31, in Freeport, ME
Join us for a summer of free outdoor fun at L.L.Bean’s Flagship Campus! Enjoy daily activities like yoga, live music, movie nights, kids’ crafts, and more, plus special events including a July 4th celebration, local concerts, and dog-friendly weekends. All ages welcome!

Sponsored by Hearty Roots, this event invites you to connect, create, and imagine a future where all youth can thrive. Join us for a day of hands-on experiences, performances, and conversations as we share insights, spotlight youth-focused programs working in Midcoast Maine and beyond, and highlight youth voice through art, music, and more.

Join us for a Seashore Fan Favorite — Ice Cream Night! Held every Wednesday in July and August from 5:30PM-7:30PM, guests are treated to a special evening trolley ride on our heritage railway through our campus AND an ice cream sundae with all the fixin’s!

Sundae toppings include: chocolate, strawberry, butterscotch, and caramel sauces, gummy bears, M&Ms, rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, crushed oreos, whipped cream, and strawberries donated by Wyman’s! Dairy free ice cream is also available.

Tickets are $12/each (children two and under are free). Admission includes the trolley ride and ice cream sundae.

Trolleys will depart at 5:30PM, 6PM, and 6:30PM. Example: if your ticket reads 5:30 – 6:30, your trolley leaves at 5:30. Your ice cream sundae will be after your trolley returns to the Visitor’s Center. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your ticket’s boarding time so you are ready to go at your ticketed departure time. (Walk-ins should arrive by 6:30PM to participate in the event).

Because Ice Cream Night is a fan-favorite, we encourage you to purchase tickets in advance. Eventbrite ticketholders are guaranteed a spot on the trolley during the ride you’ve selected. Tickets are also available at the door but you will be seated after Eventbrite ticketholders (or you may need to wait for the next ride/s to be accommodated).

This season we’re giving back! As a nonprofit, we are so grateful for all of the support we receive from our local community and want to pay the support forward. We’ve selected 9 other local nonprofits who will benefit from Ice Cream Night in 2025 too! On their night, the nonprofit will receive 50% of all proceeds. This means that the nonprofit benefactor on the evening you purchase tickets for will receive $6 for every ticket sold to support their mission.

Check out our 2025 Benefiting Nonprofits:

July 2 Kennebunkport Rotary

July 9 Habitat for Humanity York County

July 16 Kennebunkport Conservation Trust

July 23 Friends of Wood Island Light

July 30 Arundel Conservation Trust

August 6 Brick Store Museum

August 13

August 20 Kennebunk Free Library

August 27

Join Startup Maine and the ClimateTech Incubator at Northeastern in collaboration with the Villager Cafe and the Midcoast Climate, Energy + Green Building happy hour for a midcoast meetup!

Find resources for new businesses, including financing, etc., as well as entrepreneurs, including Orange Bike Brewing in Portland who received $ from the Maine Venture Fund. The happy hour open to anyone - local restaurants, bars and hospitality businesses, as well as those interested in climate, clean energy, or environmental topics, are invited to attend!

Free to attend but RSVP. Light apps and drinks provided.

🍻 Orange Bike Brewing MidCoast Launch + Startup Maine Meetup

in partnership with Northeastern University’s Roux Institute ClimateTech Incubator

📅 Wednesday, July 9 | 5–7 PM

📍 Villager Cafe | 25 Mechanic St, Camden, ME

We’re proud to be pouring at this special Startup Maine MidCoast Meetup — bringing together innovators in climate, cleantech, and sustainability.

This also marks the official MidCoast launch of Orange Bike Brewing Co. Following our recent Bangor expansion, we’re now bringing our award-winning, gluten-free beer to the MidCoast, with new retail partners joining the celebration.

🍺 Enjoy beer, community, and a short toast from our team as we share what’s next.

💼 Backed by the Maine Venture Fund, we’re committed to building a more just and sustainable business right here in Maine.

Gluten-Free for All. For-Profit for Good. Brewing a Better World Together.

Free to attend – all are welcome!

The Shiretown Singers are thrilled to announce their Summer Sing, a series of public singing sessions held on Wednesdays throughout July and August. These gatherings will occur at the Thompson Free Library Pavilion, beginning July 9, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.
This summer event is an open invitation to everyone, regardless of musical experience or ability. No prior note-reading skills are required, as artistic director Allison Aldrich Smith will teach all the songs during each session. Song sheets will also be provided.
The Shiretown Singers, a community choir established in October 2025, held their debut concert in May, which was warmly received by an enthusiastic audience. Inspired by the joy shared during their performances, the choir now invites the community to sing together simply for the love of it, without the pressure of preparing for a concert.
Each week will feature a theme, ranging from folk songs, rounds, popular songs of the 60s, and more. There will also be a chance each session to request songs from previous weeks. Whether you come to every session or drop in occasionally, you are welcome to sing along—or simply listen if you prefer.

Suggested donation $10 per session. Under 18 free of charge, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Nora Krug is a German-American author and artist. Her books were published in 20 countries, and her illustrations have been recognized with gold and silver medals by the Society of Illustrators and the NY Art Directors Club. Among her many accolades, Krug is a recipient of fellowships from Fulbright, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Maurice Sendak Foundation, and others.

Her books are included in the Library of Congress and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University. Her graphic memoir about WWII and her German family history, Belonging, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Autobiography. Diaries of War, her book of graphic journalism that chronicles the contrasting experiences of a Ukrainian journalist and a Russian artist, both grappling with the realities of Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine in 2022, won the Overseas Press Club’s Best Cartoon Award runner-up citation. Diaries of War and On Tyranny, her collaboration with U.S. historian Timothy Snyder, were named one of Germany’s Most Beautiful Books. Krug is Associate Professor of Illustration at the Parsons School of Design in New York City

Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00 PM (doors 6:30 PM), approximately 90 minutes including Q&A.

Free to the public, registration is required.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATION INSTITUTE

Illustration Institute's mission is to raise appreciation and awareness of illustration in its many forms. ii seeks to provide people of all ages the opportunity to learn directly from master artists and working professionals through exhibitions and workshops provided at public libraries, museums, schools, and other community venues.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B.

Parking is available at the Arts District Garage, which has entrances on Casco and Brown Street, with a rate of $5 per hour. Metered street parking is available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and other nearby streets. Free hourly street parking is available between Parris and Alder Street.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step. There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator and a ramp available upon request.

If you need accessibility accommodations/questions please contact us at programming@mainemechanics.org or 207-773-8396.

Maine's First Ship's new Executive Director, Alicia Witham, shares photos and tales from a recent transatlantic voyage.

The 2025 MFS Summer Lecture Series is held at 7pm on Wednesdays in June and July at the Bath Freight Shed. Donations are gratefully accepted. Learn more at mfship.org/events.