It’s our weekly round-up, and we may have missed some things, so apologies! If you have something you’d like in here, please let me know.
Also, you may have to click through to see everything. There are so many things that this email is a bit long for a lot of inboxes.
We hope you have some great adventures this week!
To check out our news stories from the past week. Click on the archive section and you’ll see them in chronological order.
WHAT IS OPEN FOR RESTAURANTS?
This list is constantly updated by Jennifer Cough at First Express and she’s let us share her latest version. This often changes and tweaks throughout the week, so for the absolute latest version, head to that First Express page, which is on Facebook.
ARTWAVES CLASSES AND EVENTS
ArtWaves often has classes, a variety every week. For the updated selection, check out its website here
BAR HARBOR—Join us at the Jesup Memorial Library for a panel discussion on aging with MDI Hospital Chief of Medicine and Hospitalist Director, Dr. Peter Ossanna; JAX Researchers Gary Churchill, Ph.D; Ron Korstanje, Ph.D; and Kristen O’Connell, Ph.D; and Healthy Acadia Outreach Coordinator and Tai Chi for Health Institute Master Trainer, Nina Zeldin.
This discussion will be moderated by former Maine Senator, Jill Goldthwait.
Mount Desert Island Hospital serves a close-knit island and surrounding communities through a 25-bed critical access facility in Bar Harbor and a network of area health centers—all designed to provide comprehensive healthcare for residents and visitors.
The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research organization that leverages a unique combination of research, education and resources to achieve our mission.
Healthy Acadia is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works on a broad range of community health initiatives that help Hancock and Washington counties to thrive. Since 2001, we have worked to identify priority health needs and to address root causes.
MDI Hospital Community Forum: Campus Planning & Facility Update Thursday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m.
BAR HARBOR—Chrissi Maguire, MDI Hospital President/CEO, will share campus planning and facility updates and discuss access to healthcare and advocacy initiatives that impact MDI. Hospital partners in construction and planning will be available to offer their insight and expertise.
Q&A to follow presentation.
Chrissi Maguire, President/CEO of Mount Desert Island Hospital and Health Centers also currently serves as the Chair of the Maine Hospital Association’s Board of Directors, an officer of the Maine chapter of the HFMA, and a member of the national HFMA.
Best Christmas Pageant Ever- the live retelling of a Christmas Classic featuring performances by Children and Adults from all over the island and other Hancock County communities. Guaranteed to bring you the dose of Christmas spirit you are looking for.
BAR HARBOR VILLAGE HOLIDAYS CELEBRATION
HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR
Support local artists this holiday season! Join us for our annual Holiday Craft fair at the Atlantic Oceanside in Bar Harbor. In addition to artists selling their creations, there will also be raffles items, and refreshments available to purchase. Proceeds from the raffles and refreshments benefit the MDI YWCA.
The fair will take place on Friday, December 6 from 10:00-6:00, and Saturday, December 7 from 9:00-4:00.
Birch Bay Retirement Village Art Show
BAR HARBOR—Birch Bay Retirement Village is excited to announce the opening of its latest art exhibit, featuring 42 paintings and drawings created by eight of its talented residents. The exhibit will be on display starting December 6, 3-4:30, showcasing the creative achievements of those living in the Birch Bay community.
This exhibit highlights the transformative power of art and creativity, underscoring the accessibility and joy that creating art can bring at any stage of life.
The art exhibit will remain on display throughout December & January. If you are unable to attend the reception and would like to view the exhibit at another time, please contact Birch Bay Retirement Village at 288-8014 to schedule a visit.
HARVEST FESTIVAL AT THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL!NORTHEAST HARBOR CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
MANSET MEETING HOUSE VINTAGE CHRISTMAS!
MANSET—Come enjoy the display of Vintage Christmas at the Manset Meetinghouse, home of the Southwest Harbor Historical Society. Our museum will be filled with lighted Christmas trees, Village sets from days of old, ornaments hand made and some from the 1940’s. Look for the vintage pottery Bar Harbor Times ornament !
The museum will be open on Saturday, December 7, from 1-4 p.m., Wednesday December 11, from 4-6 p.m., and Saturday, December 14, from 1-4 p.m.
Come enjoy hot mulled cider and homemade cookies! We also will have available for purchase Southwest Harbor, Manset & Seawall book, reprinted recently the Jesse Parker book, Recollections of Southwest Harbor, Maine 1885-1984. Special holiday prices! 192 Seawall Rd. Southwest Harbor, call for additional information 244-8063.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE CONTEST!
Celebrate Lucia Fest with the Downeast Folk Dancers and the Kotwica Band!
Vocalist Frances Stockman as Santa Lucia, photo courtesy of the Kotwica Band
BAR HARBOR—According to Swedish tradition, Santa Lucia brings light and treats to all during the cold, dark days of December. We’ll feature the Langdans, Hambo, and other Swedish dances plus holiday songs and dances from Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, and more – December 7, 7:00-9:00 p.m., at the MDI-YWCA, 36 Mt. Desert Street, Bar Harbor. Dances will be taught by Carolyn Rapkievian and friends – no experience and no partner is needed. Sponsored by the Downeast Folk Dancers. Admission is $10 at the door. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559917761571
TREMONT TREE LIGHTING!
TRENTON GRANGE VENDOR MARKET!
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA!
ITALY TRIP ITALIAN DINNER
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER!
Best Christmas Pageant Ever- the live retelling of a Christmas Classic featuring performances by Children and Adults from all over the island and other Hancock County communities. Guaranteed to bring you the dose of Christmas spirit you are looking for.
Library Kick-off of Holiday Book Sale and Scallop Raffle
Images courtesy of the Library and Holly Masterson
SOUTHWEST HARBOR—Find wonderful treasures for everyone on your holiday gift list, at the Southwest Harbor Public Library’s Holiday Book Sale Kick-off beginning Saturday, December 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hundreds of new & nearly new hardcover and paperback books, perfect for gift giving, will be for sale, including a selection of glass ornaments.
We’re also kicking off our annual one-gallon fresh-caught Scallops Raffle. Holly Masterson, our Southwest Harbor fisherman featured in Ali Farrell’s “Pretty Rugged: True Stories of Woman of the Sea”, has once again generously offered to arrange for a special order of one gallon of fresh-caught scallops for the lucky winner. Tickets are 1 for $1 or 6 for $5. The winning ticket will be drawn at 12 noon on Friday, December 27. If you can’t be here in person to buy tickets, call or email, and staff will assist you.
All proceeds from the book, ornaments, and raffle ticket sales support the Library’s ongoing programs and operations. Find a gift for everyone at the library!
Images courtesy of the Library and Holly Masterson
The book sale and raffle will continue through the holidays during library hours: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wed 9 a.m. – 8 p.m., and Sat 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Contact us at 207-244-7065 or at circulation@swhplibrary.org.
PRAYER SHAWL MISSION GROUP
Welcoming all knitters and would be knitters…and crocheters! The Welcome and Care Team at the Bar Harbor Congregational Church UCC is hosting a weekly Prayer Shawl Mission Group every Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at the Bar Harbor Congregational Church UCC. The intention of the group is to create a sense of community and a flow of Prayer Shawls for distribution to those in need of comfort due to illness, loneliness, or loss. Supplies and instruction will be provided to those with skills for knitting and/or crocheting and for those with a desire to learn.
There are no costs to the participants.
For more information contact Pat by calling (203) 770-0063 or email: pgdizazzo@yahoo.com.
BAR HARBOR—Families with Unique Needs is for people who are neurodiverse, ID/D, autistic and their families and guardians. Families with Unique Needs gathers monthly to share a meal, make friends, network, and share resources. Our mission is to support neurodiverse people to interact with their community and build skills for independence.
The group meets Sunday, December 15, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the choir room at St. Saviour’s Church in Bar Harbor for a potluck meal and games.
YWCA CHILDREN’S BIZARRE
Saturday, December 14, 2024
9:00 AM 12:00 PM
The YWCA will hold its annual Children’s Bazaar on Saturday, December 14th. Contact Abby for more information and to request tickets if your child does not attend Connors-Emerson; abby@ywcamdi.org or 207-288-5008.
COME MEET THE ARTIST!
SOUTHWEST HARBOR—Come meet the artist! Join us on Saturday, December 14, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for a special Meet-the-Artist Reception with Terre Lefferts. Celebrate her seasonal exhibit of landscapes and winter activities done in oil, pastel, and acrylic, while enjoying light refreshments. The exhibit will be on display from Tuesday, December 3 through Saturday, January 4. Don’t miss this chance to experience art and connect with the artist!
The ongoing Holiday Book Sale and Scallop Raffle will be up during this time and through the holidays. The drawing for the winning raffle ticket will take place Friday, December 27 at noon.
BAR HARBOR GARDEN CLUB TALKS COMPOST PROGRAM
SOUTHWEST HARBOR—On Tuesday, December 10 at 5:30 p.m., at the Southwest Harbor Public Library, hear from representatives Barbara Amstutz and Jane Sanderson from the Bar Harbor Garden Club (BHGC), Renee Duncan, Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s MDI Regional Outreach Manager and Stone Barn Farm Steward, and Kate Tomkins, founder and owner of Chickadee Compost. These organizations are partnering to provide a subscriber-based service that diverts household food scraps from the waste stream and contributes to compost production.
Learn how you can participate as a subscriber in the first MDI program of its kind. Registration encouraged.
NEW YEAR’S GALA!
WITHAM FAMILY HOTELS CHARITABLE CHRISTMAS
Join us for the 10th Annual Witham Family Hotels Charitable Christmas on Saturday, December 14, from 10 A.M. – 2 P.M.
Enjoy kids holiday crafts, hot cocoa and cookies, write letters to Santa (and receive a response before Christmas!) photo booth, and don’t forget…to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus and get a photo together!
NEW this year, Santa is also bringing a petting zoo full of friends and a pony!
The event is completely FREE, including all crafts, photos, food.
In exchange for attendance, we do ask that all able families bring a donation in lieu of entry fee. This can be either a new unwrapped toy for Maine Seacoast Mission’s Christmas Program (This local charity has been collecting gifts for in need families for over 100 years) or a gently used or new winter gloves, mittens, and boots for H.O.M.E. Inc who distributes warm clothing to folks in need in Hancock County (mens, womens, and childrens).
We hope you and your family will join us for some holiday fun for a great cause!
Sponsored by the Witham Family Hotels.
Kick-off Holiday Book Sale & Scallop Raffle
Image courtesy of the Library and Holly Masterson…
SOUTHWEST HARBOR—9 a.m.-1 p.m. Southwest Harbor Public Library. One gallon fresh-caught Scallops Raffle, drawing at noon Fri. 12/27. Book sale and raffle on through the holidays during library hours: 9-5 Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri; 9-8 Wed, and 9-1 Sat. www.swhplibrary.org. 207-244-7065.
To check if Bar Harbor Fire Department is currently hiring, please go to the town’s jobs page.
But even if it isn’t, you can become a call member
Becoming a call force firefighter requires extensive training, hard work, and dedication to the community. We rely on call force firefighters to respond quickly to emergencies, to perform firefighting duties, and to provide assistance and support to career firefighters. To be a fall force firefighter is to have a chance to aid and serve the community, which is an extremely rewarding experience.
Get Your Knowledge On!
ASC Racial Justice Book Group
Are you interested in joining us? We are open to new members who want to share in the reading and the hard work that ensues as we examine the underpinnings of systemic racism and its effects on society and on each of us individually, in the ultimate hope that our studies can work toward change.
We have been meeting once a month on the second Tuesday of the month from 10:30- 12:15.
We started with the basic readings of How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee. We then spent many months delving deeply into The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Since then, we’ve read some James Baldwin, Colon Whitehead, Zora Neale Hurston, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Clint Smith and many others. We look forward in the next few months to reading some James McBride and Bryan Stevenson. We also share articles of interest that deal with the issues we’re facing.
If the truly hard, but most meaningful, work we are doing to examine our society, culture and ourselves sounds like something that interests you, please contact me at rjbg2021@gmail.com or 207-664-9954.
Free form dance, conscious or ecstatic, not facilitated. Come drop into your own joyful movement.
This is now held the first, third, and fifth Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. at ArtWaves Dance StudioFor more information, contact Susan at 288-8103 or cloudnine@gwi.net.
Location
Dance Studio at ArtWaves, 1345A State Highway 102, Bar Harbor
The Finback has entertainment most nights. The schedule is posted every Tuesday.
THE NOR’EASTER
The Nor’Easter has music every Saturday night from 8-10 in the summer and 7-9 in the winter.
ONE OFF PUB
The One Off Pub often has music and is often open until midnight. The location? 119 Main Street.
HAVANA
Every Saturday night it’s open, at 6:30 p.m, you can come hear the maestro Bob Lombardi. Maestro isn’t something we put out there for everyone. Havana is on lower Main Street.
“Things To Do” is mostly curated by me looking for things happening in the upcoming week, which takes a lot of time and I truly do not know all that is going on.
If there’s something in Bar Harbor (or MDI or Trenton or Ellsworth) that you’d like me to mention, please let me know, because I’m definitely always missing some events every week.
If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here.
A NOTE FROM US
This is Carrie and Shaun, and as you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been working hard at the Bar Harbor Story, providing local news in a way that keeps you informed, but also embraces and promotes community and the good that is within it.
We take so much time—just the two of us, with a special needs kid that has to be homeschooled—to cover our island community’s (plus, Trenton) local news in a way that’s timely, daily, and remembers that underneath the news . . . there are people who are our neighbors.
We are working hard to get the news out there—for free—for everyone. But it’s taking its toll on our family financially and honestly, sometimes, emotionally, because frontline local news in a small community? It’s hard.
Most media isn’t local (even when it claims it is). Most media has paywalls and advertisers. We don’t. That’s not a smart financial decision for us. It’s a moral one. And we’re going to try to do it for as long as we can because we’re local, we’re passionate, and we’re all about getting the news to everyone—no paywalls.
Richard Stengel, writing in The Atlantic, said, “Paywalls create a two-tiered system: credible, fact-based information for people who are willing to pay for it, and murkier, less-reliable information for everyone else. Simply put, paywalls get in the way of informing the public, which is the mission of journalism.”
As a paper that is owned and staffed by locals, we make every attempt to gather all of the facts for our readers, information that might not be part of the main story and/or information that may not be known even to our towns’ officials, but is still just as important, if not more important, to the story.
We currently have over 3,000 subscribers, the vast majority of them free, with over 230,000 article reads every month. Each of our stories is opened at least 2,000 times. Most are opened well over that amount.
To continue to provide you with fact based, non-editorialized news, we really need your support! If you’d like to support us or subscribe? It would mean the world to us, and to the Bar Harbor Story!
There are a few ways to do that:
You can send us a one-time support via this link here. It will say “Carrie Jones Books” because that’s what our PayPal account is through.
You can become a paid subscriber at either site here (scroll to bottom) or here (scroll to bottom).
Your business or nonprofit can sponsor the Bar Harbor Story with a banner ad. More information on that is here.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR COMMITMENT TO ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY
Bar Harbor Story is a mostly self-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you so much for being here with us and for caring about Bar Harbor!
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