York Haborfest

Welcome to the 25^th Annual Harvestfest in York, Maine!!! The plans for this year include some new and exciting activities along with the grand old traditions. The celebrations begin with the Annual Sidewalk Sales at Short Sands Beach on Columbus weekend, October 10, 11, and 12 where the shops move their merchandise to the sidewalks for their end of  the season sales’

Friday, October 16 kicks off  Harvestfest and includes the Old Fashioned Marketplace with crafts and wares from all across the country, and a food festival on the Village Green in historic York Village. Friday is the second annual Lobsterfest under the tent and the ballpark at York Beach.

On Saturday,  October 17^th. Activities in the Village will include Kidsfest, the juries craft show, an ox roast, live entertainment and the Esplanade, showcasing non-profit organizations of York. The celebrations and festivities continue at the York Beach ballpark. This will include crafters, live entertainment, and the new Corn Toss Challenge. Festivities at Short Sands continue into the evening with the Annual Pumpkin Stroll and FIREWORKS!!

Sunday October 18^th events include the Classic Car Show, crafts at the ballpark, fantastic food and a Native American POW-WOW under the big tent at the Short Sands ball field. And finally the afternoon will feature the Reap the Harvest raffle prize drawing  with thousands of dollars in prizes…

 For more information, call the Greater York Chamber of Commerce at 207-363-4422.

6TH Annual Ogunquit fest

This year, the 6^th Annual OgunquitFest will begin on Friday, October 23 and run through the weekend, ending on Sunday October 25. The weekend will be packed with family oriented events including Ghostly Tours, and a haunted house and maze on Friday , a car show, autumn bazaar, a great pumpkin patch presentation  and cookie monster decorating, pony rides, horse-drawn wagon rides, children’s fall storytelling, a casino night and the “Heels for Health” High Heel Race on Saturday, and topping the weekend on Sunday will be the continuation of the autumn bazaar, a costume parade, the riotous “Bridge to Beach Bed Race” and a haunted house and maze.

The weekend is always filled with laughter and fun for the whole family. And don’t forget to hurry over to Spoiled Rotten to pick up one of their specialty candles created especially for this weekend- Ogunquitfest- it smells terrific.

Last Playhouse Show of the season

All Shook Up mixes a little bit of Shakespeare with a whole lot of The King, and guarantees that your entire family will be jumpin’ out of their blue suede shoes! The book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) sets the action in Smalltown, USA circa 1955, when a  “ rolling roustabout with a song in his soul and an eye for the ladies” rambles into town on his motorcycle, guitar slung over the leather jacket on his back.

Just as in Shakespeare’s lighthearted comedies, everyone falls under love’s spell, but with the “wrong” person. Dennis, the town nerd, loves grease monkey Natalie, who loves the roustabout, Chad, who’s fallen for the museum curator Miss Sandra, who’s a sucker for men bearing poetry, but not for Jim, the man who pines for her. It gets even more complicated, however, because—just like in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night-there’s a character who goes under some gender-bending in order to get close to the one she loves. Add to all that the changing culture climate of the 1950s America and you get “the best retro rock show since Grease”.

Playhouse audience favorite Sally Struthers (Mayor Matilda Hyde) is joined by Todd Duball (Chad) along with Jennifer Cody (Natalie), fresh from Broadway’s Shrek, and  Tony Award winner Cady Huffman (Miss Sandra). All Shook Up is not a show about Elvis, but definitely is a tribute to his legend and his music, and uses the songs he made famous to give insight into the madness of falling in love. The show features 24 classic Presley hits including “Heartbreak Hotel”, “ Burning Love”, Jailhouse Rock”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “It’s Now or Never”, and “Don’t Be Cruel”.

C’mon everybody! You can’t help falling in love with All Shook Up. Put on your Blue Suede Shoes, grab your teddy bear and follow that dream to the Ogunquit Playhouse.

The Marginal Way Beckons You

The Marginal Way beckons you to follow its path. You enter, meander, stroll, sit, stop and wonder at the beauty. How could you ever leave? It is where you return to first whenever you visit beautiful Ogunquit.

Seeing the crashing water, the rocks, the tiny beachlets, the brightness of the sun and smelling the expanse of ocean makes summer creep back into your being. The beach, in the distance, embraces all varieties of people, umbrellas, kids and sand structures. Lifetimes of summers past return to form the sights, smells, sounds and touches of memory. And no matter how many times you return, it is never the same.

The path spawns traffic all day through. In the early morning it is sleepy parents with strollers, toddlers, joggers and power walkers. Mid-morning finds men and women of all ages enjoying a taste of heaven. Later on, families on vacation and teenagers- some interested in where they are and others not. Young adults and young couples come and go throughout the lazy afternoon hours. Later in the evening, those going to dinner or strolling populate the route. Whatever the time of day, watching the people mesmerized by this wonderful strip of land makes you smile.

In the early fall, when the mornings are crisp, the clear cold air welcomes you and only an occasional other walker is nearby. You stop at certain points to take mental notes for daydreaming use in the winter, and you can hardly wait for next summer so you can return ……