Community Calendar

Step into the beauty of Maine’s lakeside pines for a transformative weekend retreat designed to help you be fully present. With yoga, workshops, sound healing, community meals, and time for rest, you’ll reconnect with your body, nourish your spirit, and discover balance and joy. Led by Heather Maguire and Sue Bergman, this retreat offers cozy cabin accommodations, five delicious meals, and an open-hearted community that welcomes you just as you are.

Maine songwriters Jud Caswell, Ruth Hill, Darby Sabin, and Sara Trunzo will perform at the Chestervilile Center Union Meeting House Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 p.m. This “Songwriters in the Round” event brings together four individuals - all recording artists in their own right and each with remarkable back-stories. The stage set-up is simple, four chairs, four microphones, and four outstanding songwriters to share their music, their lyrics, and their collective artistry with deep musical roots reaching into folk and acoustic, country, blues, soul, and rock.
The Chesterville Center Union Meeting House is a non-profit community resource located at 3 Borough Road in Chesterville. The building is ADA accessible, and admission is by donation at the door. Light refreshments between sets will be available. For more information visit www.chestervillemeetinghouse.org or call 207 779-0660.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the designation of the church as a Basilica and the inspiring work of the Mark Thallander Foundation, ChoralArt Masterworks will present two masterworks: Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle and Franz Schubert’s Mass in G.

Vierne’s Solemn Mass—scored for choir and two organs—is rarely performed due to the unique space it requires. The Basilica, with its dual organs, is one of the few venues capable of doing it justice. At the 1901 premiere in Paris’s Saint-Sulpice, the main organ was played by Charles-Marie Widor, with Vierne at the choir organ. This performance will feature Maine organists Randall Mullin and Scott Vaillancourt, performing on the magnificent Casavant organ in the gallery and the smaller choir organ at the front of the nave. Schubert’s Mass in G—composed when he was just 18—is beloved for its lyrical beauty, elegant simplicity, and expressive depth. Its graceful lines and transparent textures make it one of the most cherished choral works in the sacred repertoire.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience a magnificent setting, masterful choral artistry, and the majestic sounds of Vierne and Schubert.

Falmouth Land Trust and Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust are excited to partner on a new event this fall: Trail Fest! Join us on Sunday, September 28th from 3-7pm at Wander at Longwoods Preserve in Cumberland for an afternoon of delicious food, live music, lawn games, kids' activities, a bike raffle, and more. This collaborative event will be a fun way to celebrate and support Falmouth and Cumberland trails.

Adult tickets are $50 each, kid's tickets (ages 5 and up) are $5 each, and kids under 5 can attend for free. Support the trails even more by joining the Host Committee! This $300 option includes four tickets and an invitation to a pre-event celebration at Wander. For more information and to purchase tickets visit https://falmouthlandtrust.org/events/trail-fest

Winners of the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Balourdet String Quartet is known for its fearless creativity and tight-knit musical chemistry. Currently the Graduate Quartet in Residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, the ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and alongside world-renowned composers.

With more than 70 concerts per season, the Balourdet String Quartet pushes the boundaries of the string quartet repertoire, premiering works by leading contemporary composers while staying deeply connected to classical tradition.

$30 admission per person or $10 per student at the door. We accept cash, check, credit card or Venmo.

The Bangor Symphony Orchestra opens its 130th season with pianist Jonathan Biss. Program to include the Overture to Donna Diana by Von Rezniček; Symphony in B-flat by Chausson; and the second Piano Concerto of Johannes Brahms. This program to be conducted by Grammy Award winning Music Director Lucas Richman.

Please join us on Sunday, September 28 as retired Louisiana attorney Charles "Chick" Moore shares the background of the Colfax Massacre and what happened afterward in an ongoing tale of restoring due historic and humane recognition. Mr. Moore has taken an extensive interest in the subject, as outlined on his website, and the audience is invited to take a deeper look with him into this chapter of our nation's past - and how it should be recognized today. Read more:

The Colfax Massacre (excerpt from https://www.charlesrmoore.com/copy-of-journalism-project):

After the 1872 elections in Louisiana, pro-freedmen rights and anti-freedmen rights political parties both claimed they had won the state and parish offices. The anti-freedmen took control of the courthouse, but when they were not present the pro-freedmen party occupied the courthouse. After the passage of time the anti-freedmen party decided to take control of the courthouse by force. When a black man named Jesse McKinney was shot and killed by Whites at his home, the Blacks fled to the courthouse for protection. A defensive trench was built. On Easter Sunday the Whites attacked and with the use of a small cannon drove the defenders into the courthouse which was set on fire. This forced the freedmen to surrender. After the last riverboat passed Colfax that day the prisoners were executed and buried in the defensive trench they had dug the day before the battle. Accounts of the number of Blacks killed range from about 60 to 150. There were three White men who died as the consequence of the battle.

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The mass grave has been ignored as if it was not there and has been treated with a callous attitude of indifference. In comparison the graves of the slain Whites have been treated with great respect.

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As a trial attorney who tried cases across Louisiana, Mr. Moore is deeply concerned that the gruesome facts about the Grant Parish Courthouse make a mockery of the Louisiana judicial system. No where else would litigants who, in order to enter the courthouse to seek justice under law, be required to walk over the unmarked mass grave of former slaves who, after they gave up their arms and surrendered, were executed and buried in a trench which they had dug in defense of the courthouse. To permit this situation to exist for 151 years is hard evidence that there is little respect for due process of law or equal rights, particularly for a Black litigant.

Early music concert featuring the world premiere of ‘Canticle of the Sun’ by Bruce Fithian honoring the poem written 800 years ago by St Francis. It will also be a time of new beginnings, as we take an important step forward sharing the next chapter in the ensemble’s journey

Learn about oyster farming from some of Maine’s premier oyster growers on this tasty two-hour river cruise! Hear how oysters are cultivated, harvested, and taken to market, and discover why the watersheds where they are grown impact their flavor. Each guest will receive a ticket for a dozen oysters on the half-shell and a beverage of choice including selections from our beer and wine list. With scenic views, wildlife sightings, sit back and learn about Maine’s oyster industry, then sample some of the tastiest treats the Maine coast has to offer. Additional oysters can be purchased aboard for $3/each. Tickets for ages 6 & under include ½ dozen oysters and beverage.

A free chess club open to anyone over the age of 10. All levels of experience are welcome. We have boards, but feel free to bring your own.