Community Events Calendar

Interior Visions: Selections from the Collection by Alex Katz - Colby Museum of Art. Interior Visions, the third installation of Rediscoveries, is curated by the artist Alex Katz. The Rediscoveries exhibition series invites members of the Colby College community to select and arrange artworks from the Museum's collection. For Interior Visions, Katz has selected a group of modern and contemporary paintings and works on paper that he describes as "relevant to our times and to each other." Free and Open to the Public Tuesday Saturday 10 am 5 pm, Sunday 12-5 pm and Closed Mondays. The Museum is closed during the following holidays Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Celebrate the day with a Luck of the Irish Craft.

"The trip aboard Maine Eastern Railroad includes 33 bridges and trestles over wetlands, salt marshes and tidal rivers, along with lengthy stretches of forested areas that appear magical as autumn leaf drop hastens". As autumn approaches, the trees along the 57 miles of railroad tracks from Brunswick to Rockland have begun to show hints of color. And as the fall foliage season heats up, so do the phone lines at Maine Eastern Railroad's reservations call center in Rockland. The passenger excursion train service has been offering fall foliage rides every year at this time since 2005. Traversing four counties, the railroad provides leaf-peepers with a behind-the-scenes peek at scenery unreachable by automobile. For several years the railroad has been coordinating the beginning of their annual fall foliage schedule with the release of Maine's official fall foliage website: www.mainefoliage.com, scheduled to be activated on September 14. As is typical in mid-September, reports from state forest and park rangers indicate leaf color is still primarily green. With cooler nights in the forecast, it will be a matter of only several days before color change will become measurable. The state is divided into seven foliage zones. Maine Eastern Railroad operates in Zone 1, referred to as the Mid-coast and south coastal zone. With the heavy rains of late summer, along with shorter days and cooler nighttime temperatures, accelerated color change is expected to provide vivid displays of nature all along the rail line. The trip aboard Maine Eastern Railroad includes 33 bridges and trestles over wetlands, salt marshes and tidal rivers, along with lengthy stretches of forested areas that appear magical as leaf drop hastens. Because the rail line covers so many miles through Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln and Knox Counties, timing of the color change is a gradual and domino-like event in the coastal towns through which the train travels, giving people a broad choice of dates to ride. Passengers may board the train in Brunswick, Bath, Wiscasset or Rockland, and reservations are encouraged for those unsure of the 5-days-per-week train schedule. Events in September include a special stop in Newcastle during the one-day Pemaquid Oyster Festival on September 25. During the month of September, active members of Police, Fire and EMS crews ride for half price. September is also Red Hat Society month, when society members receive the senior rate during the month, regardless of age. In October, the railroad will offer reduced pricing for westbound passengers boarding in Rockland for the Pumpkin Patch Special, when the railroad again makes a special stop in Newcastle, for the annual Great Pumpkin Festival & Regatta on October 6 and 7. While Maine Eastern is a full-time, year-round freight rail operation, the railroad is expected to operate its passenger excursion service through the third weekend in October. For reservations and information, visit www.maineeasternrailroad.com, or call the Maine Eastern reservations line at 207.596.6725.

Tourists, history buffs or those looking for something to do can now enjoy the newest version of The Museum in the Streets. City Historian and others have put together 19 signs that are part of the tour. The tour, which takes about an hour, begins at the waterfront, heads up Winthrop Street. The bulk of the signs are in the heart of downtown along Water Street. The panels (signs) reveal stories, events and traditions that helped shape the area. Hall-Dale French students were part of the translation team that made French subtitles so the panels could be bilingual. Visitors to Hallowell can find maps of the city's Museum in the Streets at City Hall, KV Chamber of Commerce or the Hubbard Free Library. Other Maine communities with a Museum in the Streets include Augusta, Waterville, Thomaston, Biddeford, Belfast and Searsport.

Columbus Day Weekend. Old Fort Western, the 1754 National Historic Landmark fort, store, and house museum on the Kennebec River in downtown Augusta, will be open for Columbus Day Weekend, October 6, 7 and 8, 2012 from 1-4pm each day. On Saturday, October 8, please join us in making apple cider and pies the 18th century way in our kitchen. In the parlor we will be finishing a replica quilt that has been fashioned after an authentic quilt in our museum. Also on Saturday the James Howard Company, a French and Indian War reenactment group, will be mustering at the fort. On Sunday Jeffrey Miller will be demonstrating 18th Century blacksmithing and tours will be offered from 1-4pm. Monday, October 10th, will be the last day that we are open for tours for the season. Homemade pies will be sold each day with proceeds benefiting educational programming at Old Fort Western. Regular admission fees will be charged. Admission is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for children ages 6-16, and children under 6 are free. There is a discount of $1.00 off for AAA and Time Traveler members and Augusta residents are always admitted free to the museum (proof of residency required). Please visit our website at www.oldfortwestern.org for more information or become a fan on Facebook to stay connected and learn more. You can also call our office at 626-2385 during normal business hours for more information.