THINGS TO DO ON MDI
Events this week and in the near future.
It’s our weekly round-up, and I may have missed some things, so apologies! If you have something you’d like in here, please let me know.
To check out our news stories from the past week. Click on the archive section and you’ll see them in chronological order.
Come Sing!
Sing with the Mount Desert Summer Chorale this season!
We’ll be performing Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and Vaughn Williams 5 Mystical songs with orchestra!
Performance dates are August 2 at Ellsworth Highschool and August 3 at St. Saviour’s in Bar Harbor.
Rehearsals start June 20 at MDI High School and then continue on Wednesdays from 6:30-9 p.m.
We are a non auditioned community choir made up of experienced singers of all ages.
THIS WEEK:
MONDAY, JUNE 10
(Re)Building a Kidney: MDI Bio Lab and the NIH’s project to grow new kidneys for humans
June 10, 2024 I 5 PM I Hybrid: Maren Auditorium and Zoom
MDI Bio Lab Scientific Director Iain Drummond and Rogosin Institute Scientific Director Leif Oxburgh will discuss their role as leaders in the National Institutes Of Health's $100 million (Re)Building a Kidney (RBK) project to reduce dependence on donor organs.
More Details
With more than 30 million people suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) the hunt is on for alternatives to dialysis and the transplantation of donated kidneys. A growing body of research is focused on creating lab-grown kidney tissues that could be implanted in a CKD patient.
Medical and research scientists envision a limitless supply of replacement tissues which, derived from stem cells provided by patients themselves, would be better tolerated by their own immune systems. Researchers are now able to grow small, human kidney tissues called “organoids” and engraft them in a larger mouse kidney. But getting them to fully function? Different story.
“It’s a plumbing problem,” says Drummond, Scientific Director of MDI Bio Lab’s Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging. “We know now that we can connect the pipes, at least partially. The issue is getting fluid to flow through.”
It’s one of many challenges of engineering replacement tissue structure and functionality that are being investigated by a consortium of more than 100 scientists in a project called (Re)Building a Kidney, or RBK. The project is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), which is a branch of the National Institutes of Health; Drummond and Oxburgh are Principal Investigators of a $3.4 million, five-year grant from the program.
What Are Science Cafés?
MDI Bio Lab’s Science Cafés provide an informal introduction to ground-breaking biomedical research by its scientists, scholars from near and far and from local experts in other fields as well. Each Café lasts about one hour; the floor is open for questions and discussion. It can get lively and it’s always engaging. MDI Science Cafés are open to the public and free of charge. For more information, visit our website.
Monday events via the Bar Harbor Chamber:
TUESDAY, JUNE 11
OPEN TABLE MDI!
For more information, click here.
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.
Read more about the book group
Tuesday events via the Chamber:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12
Join Carl Little on Wednesday, June 12 at 5:30 pm for a slide talk based on his 2024 "Chebacco" essay, "Mary Cabot Wheelwright’s ‘Journey Towards Understanding.’" The program is free and will be offered in person and via Zoom. Register to attend here: https://nehlibrary.libcal.com/event/11992678
Wheelwright (1878-1958) was a wealthy Bostonian, avid sailor, and amateur anthropologist with homes in Maine and New Mexico. After being introduced to Navajo culture around 1920, she sought to preserve it. She became friends with the celebrated medicine man Hastiin Klah (1867-1937) who helped her document Navajo religion. Wheelwright brought Klah to Northeast Harbor in 1931, a remarkable visit that included the creation of sand paintings on the terrace of his host’s house. Wheelwright’s final home in Maine was on Sutton Island. Her legacy includes the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe and a collection of Wabanaki artifacts in the Abbe Museum collection.
Born in New York City, Carl Little holds degrees from Dartmouth, Middlebury, and Columbia. Little is the author of more than 30 art books, including "The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent," "Edward Hopper’s New England," and "Paintings of Maine." He has collaborated with his brother David on four books, including "Art of Acadia" and "Art of Penobscot Bay." Little writes for Art New England, Hyperallergic, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, The Working Waterfront, Island Journal, and Ornament, and has contributed essays and reviews to MDI Historical Society journals since 1998. In 2021 the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation honored Little with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his art writing. He lives in Somesville.
This program is a collaboration between the Northeast Harbor Library and the MDI Historical Society.
Wednesday events via the Chamber:
THURSDAY, JUNE 13
Resilience Hubs & Peer-to-Peer Check-in Networks: A Community Dialogue
Town of Mount Desert - Thursday, June 6th from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
at the Northeast Harbor Public Library
Town of Tremont - Thursday, June 13th from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
at the Bass Harbor Public Library
During these discussions, community members will learn about resilience hubs and how these hubs have been implemented around the country, as well as examples of how neighbors have united to implement localized emergency responses through peer-to-peer check-in networks. Participants will then provide feedback on how such projects might unfold within the local community to best serve residents. The Town of Mount Desert and the Town of Tremont currently have a joint-grant through the Maine Community Resilience Partnership that is funding planning for multiple possible projects, including resilience hubs and peer-to-peer check-in networks.
Fusion Flow Fitness
Thursdays in May and June, 5:30-6:30 pm at ArtWaves
https://artwavesmdi.org/event-5696289?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=5/2/2024
This class is a braid of yoga, pilates, barre, and the art of not caring what you look like, but how you feel. Move, sweat, breathe, and enjoy!
Thursday events via the Chamber:
FRIDAY, JUNE 14
CONCERT
Join Divisi for their second in-person concert since 2020! Featuring exclusively contemporary a cappella settings of music surrounding themes of Love, Light, and Loss, this moving program is sure to offer something to everyone.
Suggested donation of $10 is gratefully accepted at the door
Friday events via the Chamber:
SATURDAY, JUNE 15
MDI COMMUNITY MARKET!
Come see us at Mother’s Kitchen from 9 to 1 and find plenty of fresh food from your local farmers & harvesters
We’ll have veggies, mushrooms, seedlings, fish, mussels, vegan baked goods and art! Live music from 11 with Gus La Casse and Mathias Kamin! Community tent! You can purchase fresh food to donate to Common Good Soup Kitchen in Southwest Harbor! Mother’s Kitchen and Salsbury’s will both be open. Plenty to do and to see! And we’re still accepting vendors, so if you’re interested in joining come chat with us
FINBACK ALEHOUSE LIVE MUSIC!
There’s live music every Saturday night all summer long at the Finback Alehouse in Bar Harbor. Music starts at 9:30!
VIRTUAL WRITE ON! WRITING GROUP
Want support for your craft? The Write On! writer’s group has been meeting at the Jesup since 2014, and remotely during the pandemic. Each meeting, members may bring in up to 1200 words to read for feedback, and in turn offer feedback to others. Although each member doesn’t get to read work every time, the group shares the time fairly. The group meets on Zoom, and hold in confidence what is shared. This group welcomes adults 18 and up writing in many genres. There’s no homework–the only commitment is two hours on Saturday mornings.
Date and Time
SATURDAYS
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Location
Zoom
How to Attend
Call the library, 207-288-4245, for more about us and how to join, or email info@jesuplibrary.org.
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.
Saturday events Via the Chamber:
SUNDAY, JUNE 17
PLANT SALE
Grow something wonderful this season and help support the Wild Gardens of Acadia by shopping the Wild Gardens of Acadia Plant Sale on June 17, 2023, from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine.
The plant sale will be held at St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church in Bar Harbor and will feature annuals and perennials, vegetable seedlings, native plants, house plants, and ferns. There will be options aplenty to add color to your garden or bring some green into your home. Cash and checks are accepted
Proceeds from the sale fund the maintenance and operations of the Wild Gardens of Acadia at Sieur de Monts in Acadia National Park. The Gardens display over 400 native plants in habitats that represent those found in the park and are open daily from dawn until dusk.
St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, Mt Desert Street, Bar Harbor
6 p.m. start
Bar Harbor's Eden Farmer's Market
Maine grown, raised and value added delights in Bar Harbor.
Sundays, 9 am -12 noon, rain or shine, Park and Main Streets.
Sunday events via the Chamber:
FUTURE EVENTS:
ACADIA WILDLIFE CENTER
Open House & Silent Auction!
ACADIA WILDLIFE CENTER IS CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF REHABILITATING INJURED NATIVE WILDLIFE!
Join us for our ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE and SILENT AUCTION
When: Saturday July 6th
Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Where: Town Hill Community Hall 1328 ME-102, Bar Harbor, ME 04609
Directions: Please park at Town Hill's Community Hall which has plenty of free parking. Our Silent Auction, Bake Sale and much more will be outside the community hall. We will be providing shuttle rides from the Town Hill's Community Hall, 5 minutes down the road to our Nature Center, and then back to the hall throughout the day.
Activities:
Town Hill's Community Center: Silent auction, raffle, baked goods, local restaurant participants, playground, and more! We have many gift items and gift certificates donated by local businesses and every dollar will support the ongoing work of Acadia Wildlife Center. We will be drawing 2 RAFFLE TICKETS at the end of the day, each winner + 3 of their guests will be invited to a release of wild animal that has been rehabilitated and is ready to go back to the wild!
Nature Center: (via shuttle back and forth from Town Hill's Community Hall) Explore our Nature Center, meet our Animal Ambassadors, learn about Wildlife Rehabilitation & Environmental Conservation! You will learn about each species and observe wildlife you only ever see from a distance. The Ambassador Non-Releasable Education Animals currently in the Center are: A Red Fox, Bald Eagle, Porcupine, Skunk, Vulture, Great Horned Owl, Bats, Red-Tailed Hawk, and others.
BAR HARBOR FOURTH OF JULY PARADE
Acadia Wildlife will be marching in the Bar Harbor July 4th Parade/
OPEN HOUSE CELEBRATION FOR ITS 30th YEAR ON JULY 6!
To celebrate tits 30th year on July 6th, Acadia Wildlife will be having a silent auction, raffle, merchandise, bake sale, and possibly an ice cream truck at the Town Hill Community Hall.
The organization will be having people park at the ball field and transporting them down the road to visit the center. More details to come, but save the date!
WRITING WORKSHOP
You can still register for a writing workshop with Kevin Wilson on Wednesday, June 26 from 5-7 p.m in Northeast Harbor.
https://nehlibrary.libcal.com/event/10802101
Open Garden Day 2024
Saturday, July 27, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Seal Harbor, Maine
Six private gardens—details here.
$50 per guest. Stay as long as you like, just let us know if you plan to arrive morning or afternoon. Tickets are non-refundable. Event is held rain or shine.
Proceeds benefit dozens of local horticultural and conservation projects.
Note this is a shuttle-only tour, no private car access. Signs and volunteers will direct you to parking on east Cooksey Drive. Free bus access to Seal Harbor from Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor via Island Explorer. Most gardens have uneven terrain, stairs or narrow paths so are not handicap or stroller accessible. Houses are NOT open. Restroom available at Seal Harbor Village Green. No video cameras, dogs, or smoking. Cell phone photography only.
GET YOUR ANNUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY ON!
To get tickets, click here.
INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCES
Years ago Bar Harbor had monthly international folk dances with live music in the Municipal Building "ballroom". The live band that played was The Bar Harbor Folk Orchestra with Tom Crikelair, Jon Archer, Carl Karush and Joe Niemczura. But in the 1990s, the dances were discontinued. International folk dances in Ellsworth were suspended in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. But now an enthusiastic group of dancers and musicians from both on and off the Island, have assembled to relaunch this community activity. "We want to share our love for other cultures and the joy of dancing to live ethnic music" noted one of the group members of the newly-formed Downeast Folk Dancers. "We hope everyone will come to join in the fun!"
International Folk Dancing with the Kotwica Band, featuring dances from the Baltic, to the Black Sea, and beyond, will be held on the first Saturday of the month this summer: July 6, August 3, 7:00-9:00pm, at the MDI-YWCA, 36 Mount Desert Street, Bar Harbor. Dances will be taught by Carolyn Rapkievian - no experience and no partner is needed. This new series is sponsored by the Downeast Folk Dancers. Admission is $10 at the door. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559917761571
CRITERION EVENTS
June 28th - 7:00PM
Sandbar Solstice: June 15th - 7:00PM
Howie Day - 20th Anniversary of "Stop All The World Now"
Saturday, July 20 | 7PM
https://criteriontheatre.fanlink.tv/072024
ARTWAVES CLASSES AND EVENTS
ArtWaves often has classes, a variety every week. For the updated selection, check out its website here
A FEW OF THE FUTURE JESUP EVENTS
For a full list of Jesup Memorial Library events, click through to its calendar here.
QUESTIONS OF DEMOCRACY
The 2024 College of the Atlantic Summer Institute will examine democracy in the United States during one of the most consequential years of our times.
Struggles for democracy traverse our lives and society, from ballot boxes to inboxes, from the corridors of congress to the halls of schools, from kitchen tables to city streets. Questions of democracy confront us in our debates over freedom of the press, voting rights, and artistic freedom, in struggles of authoritarianism, and in conversations about how to effectively engage with disagreement and conflict across a range of topics.
Join us from July 29 - August 2 as elected officials, authors, analysts, and community organizers discuss what democracy means to them, the threats it faces, and how our individual and collective efforts can fortify democracy now and for future generations.
We will announce speakers over the next weeks. Please check the Summer Institute page for more details as they are announced. Registration is free, and opens May 1 for Champlain Society members, June 1 for the general public.
Upcoming Events at the MDI BIO LAB
Please register for MDI Bio Lab events by clicking on the title.
June 24, 2024 at 5 PM: MDI Science Café online and on campus at Maren Auditorium - What the Science Says About Endangered Right Whales
New England Aquarium senior researcher Amy Knowlton, Ph.D., has worked on the Right Whale Research Program since 1983. Nick Record, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, is an expert ocean modeler and forecaster. They will share her latest findings on whale mortality, ecosystem shifts and potential solutions.
July 11, 2024 4-6 PM: Family Science Night at MDI Bio Lab
Family Science Night is an annual summer tradition where scientists, students, and members of the community come together to encourage learners of all ages to engage in hands-on science activities. We'll have more than a dozen activities and exhibits organized by MDI Bio Lab Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows and several community partners. Bring your friends and family and have fun with science!
Making Democracy Work Series
The Jesup Memorial Library, Acadia Senior College, and the League of Women Voters - Downeast are pleased to announce a short series of programs under the theme "Making Democracy Work." This series will feature prominent speakers addressing the challenges facing modern governance and proposing ways to enhance the democratic process.
Tuesday, July 2nd, 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld
Senior Fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Tuesday, July 16th, 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Steven Levitsky
The David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government at Harvard University
ONGOING:
GET YOUR HERO ON!
BAR HARBOR FIRE DEPARTMENT
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.
La Rochelle Mansion + Museum
Join the Bar Harbor Historical Society at Bar Harbor's Summer Cottage, La Rochelle, this season! See the exhibits and artifacts that helped shaped this storied town!
May 28 at 10:00 A.M. - Oct 26 at 2:00 P.M.
Bar Harbor Historical Society, 127 West Street
$15.00
GET YOUR VOLTA ON!
Volta, in Trenton, has a ton of things always going on. You can check that out here.
GET YOUR MOVIE ON!
REEL PIZZA
Reel Pizza is open! To check out what’s playing go here.
Tickets are on sale via its website.
Please note that for a while this winter, it will be closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
CRITERION THEATRE
The theater’s website is here, and click for the latest updates.
GET YOUR FITNESS, DANCE AND WELLNESS ON!
THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE!
The Neighborhood House has a slew of classes to help you get your fitness on. Descriptions are at its website.
MDI YMCA!
The MDI YMCA’s program guide is here.
DOWNEAST COMMUNITY DANCE
Downeast Community Dance
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
GET YOUR MUSIC ON!
THE FINBACK ALEHOUSE
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 its 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.
IVY MANOR INN
Every day out on the lawn, weather permitting, the music begins at 2!
“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 or even Bangor) that you’d like me to mention, please let me know, because I’m definitely always missing some events every week.