Events at Member Institutions

The Kennebec Historical Society’s July Public Presentation:  “Maine’s German POW Camps in World War II”

Between 1944 and 1946, more than 4,000 German prisoners of war called Maine home. The story of how they arrived, and the lasting impact that they had on the people who encountered them is one of Maine’s most interesting and obscure stories.  Using materials and research used to create the 2012 exhibit “Maine Boys Overseas and German Boys in Maine,” Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine Program Director David Greenham shares the lively and surprising story of an interesting chapter of Maine history.  It is a story of cooperation, kindness, and enemies who became colleagues, and even friends. 

David Greenham is an adjunct professor of Drama at the University of Maine at Augusta, works as a grant writer and Program Manager for the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine (HHRC).  He spent 14 years as the Producing Artistic Director of The Theater At Monmouth, and has been a theater artist and arts administrator for more than 25 years.  In 2013, David was the creator and performer of Maine at Work, a touring program commissioned by the Maine Humanities Council. He has also been seen as a performer with Everyman Repertory Theater, Bath Shakespeare Festival, Camden Shakespeare Festival, and Capitol City Improv in Augusta.  In 2013, David created the exhibit Maine Boys Overseas, and German Boys in Maine for the HHRC.  The exhibit and the research to create it was the inspiration for the POW Camps in Maine program that has been presented for several community groups in Maine.  He continues to research the project with the goal of writing a book about the topic in partnership with several historians.

The Kennebec Historical Society July Public Presentation will take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. at the Michael Klahr Center at the University of Maine at Augusta, 46 University Drive in Augusta.

The L.C.Bates Museum has a blue marlin caught by Ernest Hemingway and mounted by Maine taxidermist Fred C. Parke of Bangor. Scholar Susan Beegel will present a talk on Wednesday, June 29 about the marlin and its history and marine life in Hemingway's work Old Man and the Sea. The talk is free and prior to the talk you may visit the museum to see the recently preserved marlin. 

The L.C.Bates Museum is located at 14 Easler Road (on route 201) in Hinckley, ME. For more information contact the museum at 207-238-4250 or at lcbates@gwh.org.

The Tate House Museum presents Poetry in the Garden on the Tate House lawn by the Stroudwater River on Tuesday, June 28 from 6:30 - 8:00 PM.

Seeing with the Heart's Ear is a presentation of poems from Martin Steingesser's new book, Yellow Horses, and a garden of poems by several other poets presented as an ensemble work in two voices by Martin, Portland’s first Poet Laureate, and performer Judy Tierney.

Martin Steingesser's poems whisper, shout and occasionally slam. He is author of three books of poems, Yellow Horses; Brothers of Morning; and The Thinking Heart: the Life & Loves of Etty Hillesum, based on Hillesum’s writings, composed and arranged for performance. The Thinking Heart has toured in New England and in Europe, at the International Etty Hillesum Congress (2014). “His poems are ablaze with imagination,” said poet Laure-Anne Bosselaar. “A burning, tender voice,” declared former Maine Poet Laureate Baron Wormser.

Judy Tierney is a performer and member of The Thinking Heart Ensemble that toured New England and Europe, a former radio show host, dancer and Taiji practitioner.

This promises to be an unforgettable evening as Martin and Judy captivate the audience by bringing words to life with their engaging presentation.

This event is part of the Tate House Museum Summer Lecture Series. The admission fee, which supports the museum and its programs, is $10 ($8 for museum members). Light refreshments will be served. For reservations please call 774-6177 or e-mail the museum at info@tatehouse.org.

A Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2016, at the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center, in Livermore, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The Festival features a craft fair with artisans demonstrating handmade craft and selling original artwork.  Admission to the craft fair is free.  Regular admission applies to all other activities. There are activities for all ages and all buildings will be open for tours. Ongoing activities for the day include horse-drawn hayrides, tours of the 1867 Washburn family mansion, blacksmithing demonstrations, lessons of the past and spelling bees in the one-room schoolhouse, artifact games and living history in the farmer’s cottage, special presentations, storytelling, and old-fashioned outdoor games such as hoops & graces and croquet. Children’s craft activities include making kites, bean bags, and handkerchief dolls.  Strawberry Shortcake for sale, made with homemade biscuits, local strawberries, and real whipped cream.

For an enchanted experience and to get inspired about life in 19^th-century Maine and Livermore’s celebrated Washburn Family – visit the Norlands – where history comes to life!   

General admission is $10; $6 ages 12 and under; $25 family rate. FMI: 207-897-4366 or norlands@norlands.org.

This June, the New England Museum Association will be presenting a leadership workshop exclusively for directors and trustees called High Impact, Low Drama: Optimizing Your Board/CEO Team. They will be having a workshop on June 23 at Bowdoin College. Members of Maine Archives and Museums are invited to attend this workshop at the NEMA member rate of $65. They are encouraging the executive director and at least one board member to attend the workshop together. The $65 fee includes up to 6 people.

You can find complete details about the workshop here - http://nemanet.org/conference-events/museum-leadership-workshops/.

Also see this PDF: NEMA Leadership Event Invitation 2016_form.pdf

Join us for an Educator Evening on Thursday, May 12, 6:00-8:00 pm. Enjoy refreshments, conversation, and networking with fellow educators while learning about current exhibitions, artworks and artists and how to incorporate them into your classroom teaching. Those attending will receive contact hours for certification. For more information, contact Matt Timme, Mirken Coordinator of Education and Public Programs, at mrtimme@colby.edu or visit https://www.colby.edu/museum/

Explore the beauty of Maine through the juxtaposition of art and natural history. This exhibition will join the flora and fauna of the surrounding area with an artistic definition of a field as an expansive space. Works in a variety of mediums from contemporary Maine artists depicting fields of land and color will be featured. 

The L.C. Bates Museum is proud to announce its new exhibition Open Spaces: Reimagining Pastoral Maine, opening on May 6th 2016. The show, the result of a collaborative effort between the L.C. Bates Museum staff and two Colby College students, Francesca Soriano and Nora Hill, under the supervision of Professor Véronique Plesch, aims to explore the natural beauty of Maine’s fields and the flora and fauna that fill them. Defining fields as an expansive space, the exhibition seeks to combine scientific and artistic methods of looking at fields. Works in a variety of mediums from contemporary Maine artists will be featured. The exhibition gives visitors a broad perspective of how artists view and portray nature. 

An opening reception for the exhibition will be held at the L.C. Bates Museum on May 6th from 5-7pm. Throughout the summer there will be various workshops with featured artists and visitors of all ages are encouraged to attend. The L.C. Bates Museum is located in Hinckley, Maine and welcomes visitors to explore Open Spaces: Reimagining Pastoral Maine as well as any objects on display from the Museum’s rich permanent collection.

Join us for an Educator Evening on Thursday, April 14, 6:00-8:00pm. Enjoy refreshments, conversation, and networking with fellow educators while learning about current exhibitions, artworks and artists and how to incorporate them into your classroom teaching. Those attending will receive contact hours for certification. For more information, contact Matt Timme, Mirken Coordinator of Education and Public Programs, at mrtimme@colby.edu or visit https://www.colby.edu/museum/

March 27, 2016

9:30am to 2pm

$5-$7 for breakfast; otherwise free

 

Celebrate Maine Maple Sunday at the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore. Experience a late winter ritual done the old-fashioned way. Enjoy a hearty breakfast in the historic farmer’s cottage with fresh hot pancakes and sausage drizzled in Norlands’ own maple syrup. Visit the Sap House to see boiling demonstrations and meet the working team of oxen. Journey back to 1853 in the District #7 one-room schoolhouse. The schoolmarm will be ready to teach you the basics reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic using materials of the time. It’s all in fun! Burn calories from breakfast by walking (or snowshoeing) along the tranquil fields and wooded carriage trails on 445 acres at this National Historic Site. Visit the gift shop for Norlands’ own maple syrup and other treats to take home.

 

The only charge is $5 - $7 for breakfast; otherwise the event is free.  No reservations are necessary.  The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center is located at 290 Norlands Road in Livermore. 

 

FMI: call 207-897-4366, email norlands@norlands.org, or visit www.norlands.org.

Did you want to participate in the Cultural Emergency Resource Coalition's facilitated disaster planning program, but the timing just didn't work out for you? Consider applying for an NEH Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions!

Deadline: May 3, 2016 (for projects starting no sooner than January 2017)

Amount: Up to $6,000 (no match required!)

For this round NEH is particularly interested in projects that address disaster planning. If your organization is interested in hiring a consultant to help walk you through CERC's process for writing your own disaster plan, we can help you determine your needs, identify a consultant and develop a budget for a grant application.

Eligibility: Applicants must 

• care for and have custody of the humanities collections that are the focus of the application;
• have at least one staff member or the full-time equivalent, whether paid or unpaid; and
• make their collections open and available for the purpose of education, research, and/or public programming, as evidenced by the number of days on which the institution is open to the public, the capacity to support access and use, and the availability of staff for this purpose.

For more information, see the program description:

http://www.neh.gov/files/grants/pres-assist-grants-may-3-2016.pdf