Portland, MAINE (3/4/10) – Norman Patry’s journey from the desk of an investment office to a bicycle seat in coastal Maine is not just the story of a man who pursued – and caught – his dream. It’s also a tale of how one person’s vision can inspire others.

Patry’s business, Summer Feet, is celebrating its 10^th anniversary, in providing van-assisted bicycle tours, where all lodging, food and other logistics are handled for clients.

The business grew out Patry’s cross-country bicycle adventure, which he took as a break from his work with annuities and other financial instruments, even though he had not being on a bike for 13 years. Today, Summer Feet trips spur others to get out of their homes and, in many cases, onto bicycles for the first time in years.

“I hadn’t been on a bicycle outside for at least 16 years,” said Colleen Harwood, a nurse who lives in Bolton, Mass. “But two years ago, I decided to take a trip with Summer Feet to coastal Maine, as a way to get my husband away from his Blackberry and laptop.”

“A trip like that just does so much good for your psyche,” she said. “You let things go.”

The day after her return from the trip, Harwood bought a bicycle. She is now an avid cyclist who has twice completed 50-mile fundraising rides for charity. It also helped her reconnect with family, she said.

“This trip said to my husband and me that we really are still connected as a couple and can have fun together,” Harwood said. “I think it’s good for any relationship to do something like this.”

Summer Feet offers bicycle tours to some of the most stunningly beautiful locations in New England, Canada and New Zealand. Four new trips are planned for this summer. Two are geared for all cyclists:

• Quebec, where riders will take the Route Verte, which was first among the Top Ten Bike Routes selected by National Geographic Magazine. The trip includes Quebec City, as well as historic villages and beautiful natural features such as the spectacular Montmorency Falls.

• Cape Breton, which has been described by Bicycling Magazine as one of the best rides in North America. This trip includes Cape Breton Highlands National Park and incorporates the Scottish flavor to be found in this part of Nova Scotia.

Summer Feet’s other two new trips are being adapted to meet the needs of deaf people. These vacations will be led by experienced bicycle-trip guides who also are fluent in American Sign Language. The first of these trips will take place Aug. 27-29, in and around Acadia National Park, near Bar Harbor, Maine. The other will be Sept. 24-26 to the area around scenic Camden, Maine.

“It’s amazing how much I’ve learned doing this,” Patry said. “I love riding my bike, of course. That’s how I got started. But I also really enjoy the other part of the business — making sure clients have incredible, sometimes life-changing experiences.”

Andrea Schall took a Summer Feet trip to the Maine coast in 2006, even though she was not much of a bicyclist at the time.

“It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on. Norman and his guides totally understand what you need, and they take care of you,” said Schall, who lives in Los Angeles. “It actually got me into biking to the point where I bought a bicycle and bike all the time now.”

Summer Feet is different from many of the large tour operators, in its ability to find unique local experiences that higher-volume businesses miss. His trips to Camden, Maine, for example offer sunset dinner cruises on schooners.

“Summer Feet is very purposeful in how they run the trip to make sure that you have a wonderful experience,” said Tom Braun, a middle school teacher from Iowa who was an active bicyclist even before his first Summer Feet trip. “A lot of the places you stay are right on the water. The food is great. And you don’t carry a suitcase at any time in the trip, because they take care of all that for you.”

Patry began his cross-country trip by taking a book out of his local library and getting a map of Virginia through the Adventure Cycling Association. A few years later, he stopped working with finance in Massachusetts, so that he could move to Maine and start Summer Feet.

“The first year we had 11 clients, total,” Patry said. “Today, we help hundreds of people explore beautiful, new areas every year. Some of our clients bike all the time. But others really fall in love with bicycles on our trips, the same way that I did on that ride across America.”

Based in Portland, Maine, Summer Feet offers travelers assisted bicycle tours and the most-authentic experiences available of beautiful locations in Maine, Canada and New Zealand. Summer Feet has a decade of experience in providing van support, knowledgeable guides and logistics for memorable bicycle vacations. More information is available at www.summerfeet.net, via email to info@summerfeet.net, or by phone at 866-857-9544.

###

For Immediate Release:

Studio to Host Public Service Competition

February 23rd, 2010 – Portland, Maine The national 7DAYPSA competition will be coming to The Maine Studios in Portland in May. The contest is the brainchild of Duncan Putney and Andre Stark of Original Concept & Development and is a way for film makers to showcase their talent while helping local charities. The first competition was held in 2009 in association with the Flickers film festival in Rhode Island. This year’s Rhode Island competition is just wrapping up and will benefit Big Sisters of Rhode Island and The Sensational Child.
Like their Rhode Island counterparts, teams of film makers, called “Agencies”, will obtain their information packets between May 13th-15th and will have only seven days to write, shoot and edit Public Service announcements(PSA) for a local charity. One local charity is selected for every four agency teams that register. The charities are selected by a committee provided by the host organization and are not announced until agencies begin filming. The final produced PSAs will be judged and an awards ceremony will be held. Public Service Announcements of exceptional quality may also be submitted for national recognition such as Emmy or Telly awards.
The Portland competition is being hosted by The Maine Film Collaborative at The Maine Studios. Sponsors for the event include Allagash Brewing Company, WCSH-6 and Fox Maine News 23. Both television stations have agreed to air the winning entries in support of the selected charities. “I have seen work from the 48 hour film festival in Portland, and have great expectations for the 7DAYPSA submissions.” said local competition organizer, Krystal Kenville. “I am very excited to see what the teams from Maine can put together for this amazing project!”  Following the success of the competition in Rhode Island; Maine is only one of a number of states to host competitions. “We’re hoping this expands to more venues. Competitions in Boston, as well as New Hampshire and Connecticut are in the works.” Kenville shared. “Venues in Dallas, Baltimore and Los Angeles have also been approached.”

An information session for the competition will be held at The Maine Studios on Presumpscot street in Portland on February 28th at 9AM. Additional information can also be found at www.7DayPSA.org and www.MaineFilms.org.

The Maine Studios is an eco-friendly Film Studio located in Portland; Maine’s largest city.  With over 43,000 square feet of production and office space, this facility is one of the largest film studios in the Northeast.  www.mainefilms.org

Portland, Maine February 19, 2010  Maine Day Trip has introduced a new day trip excursion tour combining American artists’ painting locations with a visit to the Portland Museum of Art.  Now you are able to investigate specific and similar Maine scenic locations where some of America’s greatest artists, such as Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper, painted; then you will visit Maine’s prestigious Portland Museum of Art to view their work.  When available, a museum docent, in collaboration with the Portland Museum of Art, will also be arranged for your group to further enhance this memorable experience.

Winslow Homer (United States, 1836–1910), “Weatherbeaten,” 1894, oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 48 3/8 inches. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bequest of Charles Shipman Payson. Photo by Melville D. McLean.

This full day tour “Walk Where Maine Artists Walked” includes the opportunity to explore areas along the coast from which paintings were made and then view the artists’ results at the museum.  You are able to customize the tour to your specific art interests as well.  Enhance your experience with a light lunch at the Black Point Inn (1878) in Prouts Neck close to Winslow Homer’s studio (1883-1910).

A separate excursion to Cushing, Maine to visit “Christina’s World” Olson House can be combined with the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine.  While Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World” is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, there are many other Wyeth’s at the Farnsworth and Wyeth Center in Rockland.

For more information contact Norm Forgey at (207) 838-5275 or email norm@mainedaytrip.com

About Maine Day Trip: Maine Day Trip is a private company specializing in customized and private touristic sightseeing services since 2007 exclusively in Maine.

Norm Forgey

Maine Day Trip – 110 Marginal Way #139, Portland, Maine 04101

For Immediate Release:

Ian Carlsen Times 3 - Time Travel: An Allegory

Time Travel Comedy Wins Second Festival

February 16th -Portland, Maine – Portland film maker Ritchie Wilson’s film Time Travel: An Allegory has been awarded the Judges Prize at the Iron Mule Comedy Screening in New York City. This film centers on the challenges and humorous paradoxes a young man encounters in an attempt to travel back in time to stop Hitler. Not only does he use the time machine to go back in time to gather plutonium for his experiments, but also steals his own breakfast cereal.

Wilson’s style has always been a bit unconventional, starting with his first completed silent film “Love Potion Number Death” he made with a friend at the age of twenty. The silent comedy pokes fun at conventional film makers with a tongue in cheek directors commentary that takes center stage since there is no audio for the film itself. Time Travel: An Allegory continues in this vein to a climax with a dizzying four copies of the time traveling roommate Charlie. This is the second win for the Time Travel tale which won Best Comedy in the Portland Phoenix Short Film fest.

Wilson still has other festivals in line for this film, but has already produced another short called God, Your Animals Are Stupid. This short focuses on Adam as he adjusts to life in Eden with an omnipresent God badgering him to name all of his creations. Adam protests and ultimately consents when the deity is convinced to make a woman. More of Wilson’s work can be seen at www.ritchiewilson.com.

Ahead for the ambitious film maker is a full length feature comedy about America’s Founding Fathers in addition to more short films and festivals.

Photos by:  Ritchie Wilson, Still Photo from the Film Time Travel: An Allegory

The adventures of Bruce McToose, the fictional “Celebrity Traveler and Explorer”, is the subject of “The Norway Show”, a half hour program to be featured on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network new series “Maine Community Film Collaboration.” Dates of the show are Sunday, February 21, 11 PM and Saturday, February 27, 11:30 AM. The show follows Bruce McToose as he visits the city of Norway, Maine in his misguided search for the famous fjords of Norway – the country

            As the show progresses its clear to viewers that Bruce Mctoose will never finds the fjords of his quest. Instead, with humor and an infectious charm, Bruce McToose stumbles upon becoming an Ambassador of Goodwill. During his ramblings he meets many friendly citizens of the city of Norway and discovers some of the city’s history and famous places. Another highlight of this episode reveals the colorful traditions and characteristic of the country of Norway.

            “The Norway Show” is the inspiration of father and son team, Steve and Josh Hrehovcik. Steve serves as producer and director. Josh portrays the character Bruce McToose and handles writing and story development.

            “The Norway Show” had an original appearance on WPME-TV and had several showings on Portland’s Community Television Network.

Producer Hrehovcik, says, “In future shows we will be traveling around the state to various cities with foreign connections. In Paris, Maine Bruce will hope to climb the Eiffel Tower; in China he’ll want to stroll on the Great Wall; in Mexico he’ll search for some Aztec artifacts. Also on our list of “distant lands” are Poland, Naples, Rome, Denmark, Sweden, Moscow, Egypt and several others.”

In his portrayal of Bruce McToose, Josh Hrehovcik dons an Australian hat, Aussie accent and traveling gear as part of his many adventures.

            Bruce McToose’s travels are all in good fun and an excellent way explore the world without leaving the state of Maine.

The MPBN new series “Maine Community Film Collaboration” is proud to offer diverse selections of productions that showcase our region, people and culture.  Working with organizations like the Maine Film and Video Association local producers can submit completed projects to be considered for air.

            For more information about the exploits of Bruce McToose visit: www.BruceMcToose.com.

            For details about MPBN schedules visit: www.mpbn.org.