The Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) is excited to virtually bring you its 2021 Spring Conference. Not their typical “spring conference”, this year’s virtual event will combine the unveiling of the 2021 MEREDA Index, as well as recognition of their 2020 Notable Project Recipients!
Join the Maine Development Foundation for this afternoon event! The City of Vancouver, Canada has been ranked as one of the greenest cities in the world, a youthful city, and a city of Reconciliation that has adopted the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People. Women have played a pivotal role in governing and transforming Vancouver by fostering collaborative action, educating and holding space for youth voices and action, and redefining what it means to be a city on unceded indigenous land. In this interactive session we will meet some of these women and learn how they are building enduring change by advancing intersectionality, equity, justice and civic resilience.
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Portland Ovations, in partnership with the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, is creating a staging of Wabanaki Stories and Storytellers for school and family audiences. The ‘First Look’ event will bring together our colleagues at Abbe along with respected Wabanaki storytellers for a sharing and discussion on the important role storytelling and storytellers play for the Indigenous nations and peoples in Maine.
Join Portland Bach Experience and Maine magazine for an afternoon of music and revelry!
Free and open to the public, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a carnival concert showcasing the arts in Portland. The afternoon opens with an orchestra fanfare, followed by a parade and community dance party. As you explore the musical carnival, look out for pop-up performances by the Portland Bach Experience orchestra, Ballet Bloom Project, Shoestring Theater, 240 Strings, and a Fairy Queen drag show. Wood nymphs and fairies of all ages are invited to imbibe, dance and celebrate the power of community through great music. Masks required, costumes encouraged.
Location: Anderson Street, Portland
How is Maine responding to workforce needs through innovation, talent development, and educational opportunities? Join the Maine Development foundation to learn about the recommendations from the State’s Ten-Year Strategic Plan and Economic Recovery Plan, educational opportunities within the University of Maine System’s Micro-Credentials for Professionals and Community Members program, and how these innovations impact career prospects for students of all ages in Maine. Our discussion will be led by Kimberly Moore, Director of the Bureau of Employment Services with Maine Department of Labor; Rosa Redonnett, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Credential Attainment with the University of Maine System; Jennifer Chace, Program Director at Education Action Forum of Maine. Participants will also hear from UMaine-Augusta student, Amie Shurman, and recent graduate, Dancile Nshimirimana, Licensed Practical Nurse. Part of MDF’s Innovating For Economic Growth Series.
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Join naturalist Rich MacDonald at the Wendell Gilley Museum to build a house for chickadees and learn about the birds who will live there. In this two-hour workshop, learn about the life history and ecology of chickadees and other bird species that might visit your birdhouse, and how to best site your creation to entice birds to use it. The class is for people 10 and older. Anyone younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Class size is limited to 10. Materials provided and you take home your birdhouse that day! Fee: $35 per person
Reserve now!
Virtually join Portland Ovations for ‘Screen to Stage,’ to be a part of the future of live, in-person performances in Portland. This mini experience offers all audiences a curated taste of what’s to come in PO’s 2021-2022 season. You’ll hear from Ovations staff and see videos of the internationally acclaimed artists in music, theater and dance Ovations is bringing to Portland. You’ll also hear from some of the Ovations’ Members whose voices, presence and support have made Ovations sing for all these years.
Ovations’ Members will be able to pre-purchase tickets for the selection of announced performances starting that night during the annual Members Only Pre-Sale, as well as join staff in a virtual post-show Member lounge for questions and conversations.
Be sure to renew or become a new Member by June 15 to have the opportunity to buy your tickets immediately following the event, join us in the Members post-event lounge AND to receive a special pre-event treat.
As they celebrate their 90th year, Portland Ovations is excited to raise the curtain on a new season, one of being together not only on our screens but also on the stage.
Join MDF for a workshop with Janine Fondon, Co-Founder UnityFirst, Assistant Professor and Chair of Undergraduate Communication at Bay Path University. We will revisit the path from inequity to inclusion by learning more about truth-telling in a world of fake news, distorted facts and untold history. The session will examine a range of topics from the tragedy of George Floyd, the struggle of women of color to make change, violence against Asians, the future of white privilege, and Juneteenth. How do we address systemic racism in a divided society? Part of MDF’s Women Transforming Leadership Series.
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Union Church of Biddeford Pool is celebrating their 20th Speaker Series Anniversary with another slate of nationally recognized speakers. This year’s summer-long series features virtual addresses from authors and thought leaders who take their inspiration from nature as part of the unifying theme: “Rekindling Love for Our Living Earth.”
Four presentations are scheduled over a three-month period, all touching on important topics related to the health of our planet. On June 17th, Jennifer Comeau, author and founder of Sunrise Hill Sanctuary, kicks off the series with a presentation on “Reclaiming Your Wild.” On July 8th, local entrepreneur Phil Coupe, founder of Revision Energy, will give a talk entitled “A Blueprint for a Renewable Energy Future.” This event will be a hybrid in-person/zoom event. On July 29th, Diane Wilson, Executive Director of the Native American Food Safety Alliance, and author of The Seed Keeper, will speak about “Seeds for Seven Generations.” On August 19th, author and Harvard Divinity School Writer-in-Residence, Terry Tempest-Williams will speak on “Defending Wild Earth”. All events are at 7PM EDT via Zoom.
Several additional events are included with your Series ticket price, such as a Movie Night, featuring a screening of Kiss the Ground, an inspiring film about agricultural revolution in America, a workshop on the wonders of nature, and community “Deepening Conversations” designed to and enhance conversation around “what is mine to do” in terms of climate and environmental degradation.
Birds in Art features work by sixty different contemporary artists, who offer their unique interpretations of the avian world in a variety of media.
The 2020 show (being shown at the Gilley summer 2021) is the 45th iteration of Birds in Art, an international exhibition organized by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin that travels to just a few select venues each year. This is the third visit of Birds in Art to the Gilley, and the show features sixty contemporary artists, including Andrea Rich and Don Rambadt – both of whom have been featured in their own exhibitions at the Gilley – and talented Maine artist Sherrie York. Other artists, spanning a wide variety of media and styles, include Don Rambadt, Jett Brunet, James Coe, Terry Miller, Barry van Dusen and Alan Woollett. Look to the Wendell Gilley website for a variety of great programs that explore Birds in Art.
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