This annual event is the major fundraiser for the Scribner’s Mill Preservation group.  They pull out all the stops and it is a great historical event.  The Back to the Past celebration is always the first weekend in August.  The efforts of dozens of volunteers and exhibitors help make this a great experience for the whole family.

There are people demonstrating and selling hand crafted items — e.g., spinners and knitters, a tatter, weavers, and a beader. There is a pig roast. There is music. There are diversions for children. There are antique vehicles like a fire truck that periodically shows how water was taken from the nearby stream to put out a fire. There is the mill itself, an amazing feat of restoration. There is a working blacksmith’s shop. There is the house, which is itself being put back to how it looked in it’s hey day.

It is a marvelous way to spend a day. It helps with the mill restoration and is a great step into Maine history.

Photo credit: Sharife

It’s July in Maine and time for the annual Yarmouth Clam Festival, an event which involves about 3000 volunteers united to earn funds for Yarmouth’s non-profit organizations, school groups, and churches.  This event begins at 6 p.m. on Friday with a parade which is as much fun for spectators as it is for parade participants. Following is three days of wonderful entertainment for the whole family.

Stuff you’ll find at the festival are a broad listing of competitions and events, an impressive craft and art show, and of course, lots and lots of good food, featuring clams — steamed clams, fried clams, clam cakes — lots and lots of clams. If you happen to be in Maine this weekend, check out the Clam Festival website for a listing of events and other information, including directions and parking suggestions.

As a side note, from personal experience, I can tell you to keep an eye out for any of the many yard sales in Yarmouth that are sure to be under way this weekend.  As these are generally found on the way to or from the Festival doings, they help make the whole experience interesting.

Photo credit: KitAy

I like car shows.  Always have. It’s just really big fun to me to go and see old cars, new cars, foreign cars, stock cars, custom cars. It’s fun to talk with owners. It’s just fun.

In Maine, there are several such shows throughout the summer. Some are based on a specific theme (e.g., antique) or can be completely free form.  As far as family entertainment is concerned, all are very affordable — most often, $5 or less for adults; $3 or less for kids under 12.  I found one site that helps with looking for car shows in Maine and includes a description of the show, location of the show, and cost of the show.   It depends on car show organizers to keep current, but a visit here will give you an idea what’s going on car show-wise while you’re in Maine.

Consider it at least once.  It’s really a nice way to spend all or part of a day.

Photo Credit: mikebaird

Krongut Bornstedt By: GertrudK Flickr Creative Commons

Along with the restaurant and garden are a row of cobbler style shops where you can hand dip your own candles, watch a loom weaver, see hand blown glass pieces created and so much more. It’s a day trip to savor in all seasons. I particularly enjoyed the Krongut Weihnachtsmarkt held every Wednesday through Sunday from Nov 27th until  December 26th. The Weihnachtsmarkt has  many wonderful European creations and German treasures for purchase. While you shop you can listen to groups singing Christmas carols, take a photo near the oversized Christmas tree or pause for a moment at the manger scene. Along with treasures, music and festivities you will find food, beer and spiced cider a plenty. My sweetest memory of Krongut Bornstedt is of eating German sausages and drinking spiced cider in freezing temperatures as snow fell around us and seeing everyone celebrating the season with laughter and fun. It is a magical place and enfolds visitors in the spirit of European Christmas. 

Krongut Bornstedt also offers outdoor activities to enjoy with friends and family during the warm, sunny summer months. This years  Krongut Bornstedt  Summer Concerts Series will include the Philharmonic Orchestra perfoming Pink Floyd rock music,  an outdoor performance of the stage play Carmen and a performance of Nabucco  accompanied by a 100 person choir and the orchestra.

The old-fashioned charm of a roomy, plush home town movie theatre with hundreds of seats is the stuff of nostalgia for a lot of people.  Those theatres  often have been restored and used for different purposes or have been replaced with sterile, non-descript multiplexes that are synonymous with cinema to at least one or two generations of movie goers.

On Route 302 in Bridgton, Maine, the best of both worlds exists in the Magic Lantern theatre.  The original Magic Lantern, where Steven King’s “Carrie” premiered in 1976, was leveled in 2006, rebuilt and reopened in 2008.  It contains 3 theatres. Each theatre includes a small balcony only accessible to adults age 21 and older.  There is ample parking behind the theatre.

There is also a cinema pub on the premises, making dinner and a movie virtually seamless.  Sometimes in the same room!   Movies are always first-run, and the price of admission is unbelievable.  Adults pay $6.50. Children, seniors and matinees are $5.00.

If you find yourself in Bridgton, Maine, with time to spare, consider a movie at the Magic Lantern.  It’s an experience you’ll remember at a price you can’t forget.