Bar Harbor's Community Piano Vandalized
Police are investigating
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Psychiatry.
BAR HARBOR—This week, the cover of the community piano in the town’s gazebo has been nailed down after the piano was vandalized.
“It was reported the night of June 10, but we are still trying to determine when it was last seen undamaged to narrow the timeframe,” said Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Chief David Kerns.
A passerby reported the damage, Chief Kerns said. Ivory was stripped. Keys were damaged so much that they are constantly in downward positions.
The town’s gazebo (the Donald A Wood bandstand) is in the Bar Harbor Village Green, which is located in downtown proper and hosts the community piano, which is used by locals and passersby. The bandstand itself was rebuilt in 2010 for $43,000, funded by cruise ship fees collected by the town. It was constructed by E.L. Higgins of Tremont.
The piano has been the labor of love and of spirit.
“It was heartbreaking,” said J’amie Ward, a musician and artist who can often be seen in town singing with her guitar.
Ward was key to getting the current piano out on the bandstand.
“Someone sat there and tore that keyboard to bits, why?! Was it just to be an ass or was it because they know that my partner and I put it out?” Ward wondered.
There is an ongoing investigation about the vandalization of the public-use piano, which allows for impromptu performances and interactions. Much like Little Free Libraries (informal structures where people take books and give them), public-use pianos in communities are meant to enhance collaborative community building and the arts.
There are even websites dedicated to help people find public use pianos to play in their local area or in their travels. Those who want to play Bar Harbor’s will have to wait a bit.
This is the second piano at the location.
“It originally was just a church project, Pastor Rob of the Bar Harbor Congregational Church put out the first community piano a few years ago, but nobody ever maintained it. The piano wore out, was badly out of tune etc after sitting outside,” Ward said of the colorful instrument. “I had started performing in the gazebo a lot and we noticed a lot of people wanted to play but it was essentially a pretty brick. So my partner, River Francis, decided to take on tuning it. But it was vandalized repeatedly once we started maintaining it.”
Despite the vandalization of the pianos, a piano at the bandstand is a big deal for a lot of people in the community. It’s a symbol of music, spontaneity, joy. This second piano also means a lot to Ward who worked hard to get it there.
“Damnit, every time I try talking about it I start crying again!” she said. “I acquired the new piano, spent all my tips from playing on building a dolly for it, coordinated efforts to acquire it, etc. I don’t have a lot in this world, but I do have my community which I adore. To have someone do this is just devastating to me.”
They hadn’t finished the piano’s refurbishment yet, Ward said. Ward had discovered the damage when she came in the morning to start sanding it down to paint.
“Sooo, random act or hateful gesture? I don’t know. I am pretty well known for taking over the gazebo and making a scene,” Ward said.
While the police are working on the investigation, Ward and Francis are also hoping to repair the current piano so that it’s functional again or find a way to get another piano there.
We reached out to the Bar Harbor Congregational Church as well for this story and did not receive a reply.
The video below is of the first piano, not the most recent one. Sarah Ragsdale is playing and the video can be found on her channel.
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Might cameras help protect the piano in the future? Or would they get vandalized?? This is a heart-breaking story.