Community Calendar

Join us for the world premiere of FIRE!, the largest commissioned work in ChoralArt’s history, inspired by Portland’s Great Fire of 1866.

Set on Portland’s second post-Civil War Independence Day, this powerful oratorio follows a soldier’s return home to a city celebrating freedom—until a catastrophic fire, sparked by fireworks, changes everything. As the flames ravage the city, the music and story take us through the devastation and into the haunting silence that follows.

But from the ashes, Portland rises again. FIRE! embodies the city’s motto, "Resurgam" – "I shall rise again" – and honors the resilience of its people in rebuilding their city stronger than ever.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Credomesse (Mass in C major, K. 257) rounds out this stunning concert.

For our promotional image, George Frederick Morse’s “Painting of Great Fire, Portland, 1866” is portrayed as viewed from Commercial Street near the Head of Richardson’s Wharf. Used with permission; Collections of Maine Historical Society, MaineMemory.net, item 42791.

Join us for the world premiere of FIRE!, the largest commissioned work in ChoralArt’s history, inspired by Portland’s Great Fire of 1866.

Set on Portland’s second post-Civil War Independence Day, this powerful oratorio follows a soldier’s return home to a city celebrating freedom—until a catastrophic fire, sparked by fireworks, changes everything. As the flames ravage the city, the music and story take us through the devastation and into the haunting silence that follows.

But from the ashes, Portland rises again. FIRE! embodies the city’s motto, "Resurgam" – "I shall rise again" – and honors the resilience of its people in rebuilding their city stronger than ever.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Credomesse (Mass in C major, K. 257) rounds out this stunning concert.

For our promotional image, George Frederick Morse’s “Painting of Great Fire, Portland, 1866” is portrayed as viewed from Commercial Street near the Head of Richardson’s Wharf. Used with permission; Collections of Maine Historical Society, MaineMemory.net, item 42791.

Steve Brooke shares  “A Fisherman’s Dream for the Kennebec River” with Downeast Trout Unlimited on Wed. March 26 at 5:30 pm. Moore Community Center 125 State St. Ellsworth and via Zoom. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/2jxbquJeT4yyNs6dYKCeWw

Before the Kennebec was industrialized this unique watershed, which includes Merrymeeting Bay, produced enormous populations of sea-run fish that helped feed indigenous populations as well as nourish the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. In the 1980’s the Kennebec Valley Chapter of TU recognized the river’s potential and formed the Kennebec Coalition. They spearheaded the removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta. Since this dam was removed the Kennebec’s lower tributaries have shown significant increases in populations of river herring. Sadly, the Gulf of Maine's population of Atlantic salmon was listed as an Endangered Species by the federal government. Four dams still block the migration of all sea-run fish above Waterville to their spawning and nursery habitat. The question is what comes next to restore Kennebec’s once vibrant fisheries?

Steve Brooke is an art conservator who became an environmentalist. He served as Project Coordinator for the Kennebec Coalition during the removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta, which restored fisheries and improved wildlife habitat on the Kennebec and sparked a movement for free-flowing rivers across the US.

Contact Tammy Packie, tpackie@gmail.com or visit https://www.downeasttu.org/ or Downeast TU on Facebook for information.

Mourning pieces, a type of needlework, were produced in young women’s academies from the 1790s to the 1850s. These schools offered a broadly Protestant education and trained young women according to the Enlightenment principles of reason and sensibility. Training schoolgirls in sensibility required teaching them to cultivate their God-given moral sense, and producing mourning pieces became an important part of this education. Jamie L. Brummitt, professor of religion, death, and technology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, traces the rise and decline of mourning pieces and discusses the ways in which women used them to preserve the memories of the dead. They would sometimes stich hair cut from the dead into their needlework, or would otherwise include names, death dates, or gravestone epitaphs. A mourning piece from Old York’s collection will be featured in this talk.

The Kittery Historical & Naval Society presents their third History Talks lecture this year with D. Allan Kerr's “The General and the Prince.” This special event will take place on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 7:00 PM at the Kittery Community Center – Star Theatre. D. Allan Kerr is a beloved Kittery historian known for his deep knowledge of the region’s maritime and military past.

The story of Kittery native General William Whipple is the story of the Colonial struggle for independence from England nearly 250 years ago. The story of the General and his enslaved manservant Prince embodies the struggle for independence for all Americans.

Join us for a special concert celebrating Bach’s Birthday and Early Music Month with Blue Hill Bach and St. Mary Schola, led by Artistic Director James Kennerley. This performance will feature the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, including Jesu Meine Freude, and Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien.

“Reimagining the Art of Traditional Rug Hooking,” a show of works by Belfast fiber artist Sarah Leighton, will be on display in the lower level of the Rockport Public Library April 3 - 29. The exhibit will feature a collection of Leighton’s primitive, modern, and abstract pieces — inspired by traditional techniques and incorporating contemporary style.

The opening reception will be held at the library from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 4, and will include rug hooking demonstrations and discussion. Attendees are encouraged to bring a sample of their own hooking work.

Leighton grew up in Midcoast Maine, spending much of her childhood with her French-Canadian grandmother, or "memere." Her grandmother was an avid rug hooker, but it wasn’t until Leighton took a rug hooking class after her grandmother’s passing that her interest in learning the craft herself was piqued.

She started with one project a year in a traditional style, creating pillows and rugs. Over time, Leighton’s style evolved as she began experimenting with new materials and embraced a more contemporary approach. Today, she spends much of her free time hooking and uses her grandmother’s hook exclusively.

In 2021, Leighton received the Springboard Artist Grant from the Maine Arts Commission. She lives in Belfast with her husband, Ryan, and their yellow lab, Nixie.

The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine invites you to Couldn’t Have Done It Without Us: How Franco-Americans Saved the US Economy. Join us at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston campus, 51 Westminster St. in Lewiston, room 170, on April 14, 2025 at 6 pm for the event. There is no fee for our programs, which are made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Québec Delegation in Boston and TV5MONDE.

Textiles were the country's largest industry in the 19th century, and after the Civil War it was French-Canadians who powered it. They made up nearly a quarter of the United State's cotton textile employees and 44 percent in New England at a time when more than one half of all cotton textile workers lived in that region. Some scholars have written that there was a change in the source of textile labor in the early 20th century which favored immigrants to the US from southern and eastern Europe. This presentation shows that French-
Canadians were by far the greatest factor in the textile industry labor pool from immediately after the Civil War until the industry’s decline in the mid 20th century. And in saving the textile industry in the post-Civil War period, French-Canadians made an enormous contribution to economic history. There will be a Q&A session following Vermette’s presentation.

David Vermette is an author and an independent researcher. He is the author of the book A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans (Baraka Books, 2018) (French translation: Une race d'étrangers: Le récit méconnu des Franco-Américains, Septentrion, 2024) and the blog French North America. His writing has appeared in Smithsonian and Time, and he has authored articles and reviews published by Histoire sociale/Social History, Résonance, and Le Forum (University of Maine). He wrote a chapter in the book French All Around Us (New York, CALEC-TBR, 2022) and also contributed to Franco-Amérique: Nouvelle édition revue et augmentée (Quebec, Septentrion, 2017). He is also an editor and ghostwriter for academics, consultants, and businesspeople. Originally from Massachusetts, he is a frequent speaker on the topic of Franco-American history.

For more information or to register, contact the FAC archivist, Anna Faherty at anna.faherty@maine.edu or by phone (207) 753-6545. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations (e.g. sign language interpreters, materials in electronic format, etc.), please contact Anna. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.

Pharmacy and medicine in Colonial America relied largely on traditional practices and homemade remedies. Many medicines of the period were derived from plants, some of which had therapeutic value, though often not targeted for the appropriate clinical condition. Robert L. McCarthy, Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Connecticut, discusses how physicians during this period practiced heroic medicine, which included bleeding patients and the use of emetics and purgatives. He provides an overview of American pharmaceutical practices from the Colonial era to today, including changes in education and licensure requirements, and the development of professional organizations.

Pharmacy and medicine in Colonial America relied largely on traditional practices and homemade remedies. Many medicines of the period were derived from plants, some of which had therapeutic value, though often not targeted for the appropriate clinical condition. Robert L. McCarthy is Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Connecticut. He will discuss how physicians during this period practiced heroic medicine, which included bleeding patients and the use of emetics and purgatives. He provides an overview of American pharmaceutical practices from the Colonial era to today, including changes in education and licensure requirements, and the development of professional organizations.